Chapter 11 - Sacrifice
Summary: Like a stopper pulled, the retrieval of the Everstone has set loose a maelstrom of powers. Things not dared been mentioned in all the ages of the world, stir and awaken within their putrescent hives in answer to the Hellmouth’s call. Clawing their way free from the poisoned earth, they are driven towards a single goal - the capture of the Key and the destruction of all the world.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Sorry it is late again - Deacon made it long to make up for it though!
Also, please note that Deacon is taking a break for a while from writing and to formulate the rest of of Midnight. If you recall, last time this is around where he stopped writing Midnight, but I PROMISE I WILL make sure he continues on, faithful readers! - Rachelia, the Archivest
Timeline: Immediately follows Book 1: Dusk
Rating: TV-14 (nothing worse than on the show)
Pairing/Characters: Buffy/Spike, Willow/Dusk(OC), Xander/Anya, Giles/Marlena(OC), Dawn, Faith, Angel, Dracula
Book One: Dusk (all chapters)
Previous chapter of Midnight
Banner created by edgehead73.
Hellmouth Ascendant Trilogy: Revamped Edition
Book Two:
Midnight
Chapter 11
Sacrifice
“Got it!” Xander hung up the phone and turned to Buffy, “Okay, they’re on their way.” Xander told them all. Buffy nodded and got out of the car.
“Well, let’s go scope things out.” she stated. Willow turned to Alec.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” she asked. Alec shook his head.
“They may need your magic tricks love, besides one of us should be useful,” he looked down at himself with disgust. Willow took his chin in her hands and kissed him soundly.
“I love you,” she told him simply. He smiled.
“I love you too, princess. Now get going.” Willow smiled bravely at him and turned to leave. Alec caught her hand, she turned.
“Be careful…and good luck.” he whispered to her. She smiled and brought his hand to her lips, kissing it before heading out towards the garage.
Leaving Alec alone to think and curse. It didn’t long to start up again.
“Alec, let me help you.”
Alec brought his fists up to his ears, clenched his eyes shut and tried to block out the voice.
“You’re not real.” Alec whispered hoarsely. He was rewarded by a cold chuckle.
“I’m as real as you are, boy.” the voice replied. “And right now, I want to help you.”
Alec grabbed fistfuls of his hair, white knuckled, “I don’t want your help!” he snarled.
“Oh, you’d rather remain here? Crippled. Paralyzed.” Alec could almost feel the voice smile, “Useless?” the voice chuckled again.
“What do you want?” Alec asked.
“I want what you want, Alec; to kill them, to kill them all. Vampire after vampire, demon after demon, monster after monster,” the voice promised.
“How?” Alec asked.
“I can help you become strong again, Alec; stronger than you were. And back on the front lines where we belong.”
“We?” Alec asked.
“Yes, Alec, you and I fighting together to rid this world of these supernatural abominations,” the voice became imploring, “And I want so little in return.”
“And in exchange, I can fight again?” Alec asked.
“Yes, Alec. Your lover and sister need your help,” the voice paused for effect, “And she will be here soon as well Alec. I sense a force of great evil, lurking. Hunting your friends and promising slaughter.”
“What?” Alec lurched forward in alarm. “What is out there?” the young man demanded.
“Someone that you will need my help to defeat.” the voice confirmed. “I give you the opportunity to protect your family, your women, and regain your dignity as a warrior; the chance to become a warrior again. Your answer?”
Alec sighed, his broken body crumpling within the chair. He really didn’t have a choice.
“I accept.”
A surge of power tore through Alec’s crippled frame, he screamed once and then the darkness took him.
“Okay, we’re going to need to buy some time when Stoney shows up.” Xander turned to Willow.
“Got anything that can slow him down?” Willow thought for a moment then nodded.
“I have the Temporal Distortion spell I used in the bar earlier. Instead of speeding things up it could slow something down, but it would take a lot out of me. I could use someone watching my back.”
“That’d be me,” Buffy put in, wrapping an arm around Willow. “I’ve got you covered, Wills, as always,” Willow smiled and patted Buffy’s hand affectionately.
“All right then. Willow, get it ready.” Xander instructed then turned and looked around.
“Now, where to put the toys…”
Spike wove up and down the street. The motorcycle, designed for racing, was more than up to the task of maneuvering down side streets and avenues, leaping over cars and making excellent time. Cars would come crashing down around him, behind him, in front of him as the enraged golem followed close behind.
“Is that all you got? Huh? Come on you great pansy!” Spike roared, loving every minute of it, the yelling keeping his mind off the burning wounds on his forehead and hands from his close encounters with religious objects. He had stashed the enchanted book in his duster; even now he could feel the itching heat of it pressing against his leg, through his duster, whenever it rested against him. Fortunately, high speeds kept the jacket billowing like a cape and kept the book away from his body.
Spike turned down a street, the golem keeping up reasonably well, destroying cars, plowing through buildings and behaving like a psychotic freight train pulled off the tracks.
And straight after him.
“Yeah…” Spike growled grinning and hunkered down lower in the saddle becoming a vampire rocket as he led the golem to his doom.
Or so the vampire hoped.
“Where’s Anya?” Buffy asked. Xander sighed and shook his head.
“I don’t know, I really wanted her to be here before the golem got here so we could set up,” Xander replied nervously.
“She hasn’t let us down yet, Xand. She’ll be here.” Buffy assured him. Xander nodded but still looked worried. The slayer headed over to Willow.
“Will, how we doing?” she asked. Willow nodded.
“We’re ready. Just don’t forget all my attention is going to be focused on the spell, so make sure you have my back.”
“Consider your back property of the Slayer.” Buffy proclaimed, then blanched.
“Okay yeah that was a little prison movie wasn’t it?”
“Just a little,” Willow replied.
“Hey does anyone else hear that?” Xander asked. Buffy frowned listening.
“What does it sound like?” Willow asked. Buffy’s eyes got wide.
“Like a psychopath on a motorcycle! Get down!” Buffy cried out. They dove to the pavement just in time to avoid being decapitated by a flying motorcycle with a howling blond vampire on it, which came out of nowhere, flew up and over the curb and sailed over their bodies. Spike dove from the bike and landed hard next to Buffy as his bike continued like a rocket and slammed into a concrete support, exploding into metal fragments and flame. Spike covered Buffy with his body as the shrapnel sprayed both of them.
“Nice entrance,” Buffy commented, looking up at her lover.
“Well, anyone can use a door,” Spike offered cockily as his defense.
“Anyone but you sweetie,” Buffy replied kissing him.
“We have company!”
The group looked up to see the massive golem bearing down on them quickly.
“Willow, now!”
Willow removed a watch from her pocket.
“Goddess Hecate, light of path, invoke now time’s cruel wrath. Temporis Languis!” Willow finished the spell and hurled the watch at the creature. It struck the stone goliath and with a burst of light, crackles of yellow energy crawled over its body.
The golem slowed down to barely a crawl.
Xander shouted in triumph, “You got him, Wills! You got him!” he laughed. Willow nodded, her hands glowing yellow as her muscles strained to keep the beast slowed down. Xander chuckled and went back to examining a pillar.
‘Tell me Wills, how come magic has to rhyme? I mean isn’t it a little Harry Potter?” He asked absentmindedly.
And without warning his arms were jerked back behind himself.
“Yes,” an inhuman voice whispered into the boy’s ear, “It is.” And grabbing a hold of his arms, Viisq pulled and began to stretch Xander. Bones began to separate as Xander screamed in agony. Buffy turned.
“Xander!” She charged the pair. Viisq spun around and threw Xander at her…but not before he laid his hands upon the boys arm and squeezed.
And with the sound of tearing flesh and sinew, the bones in Xander’s arm swelled and exploded. Xander screamed long and high in agony as he clutched at the ruins of his arm and he collapsed into Buffy, unconscious. Buffy lowered her wounded friend to the pavement and regarded the monster before her.
“You…” she whispered lethally finally meeting the creature that had paralyzed and tortured her brother, had had Angel shot to pieces and now had maimed her best friend.
“Me.” Viisq replied evenly, “Are you going to abandon your little witch while she keeps my golem at bay?” it asked the enraged slayer. Buffy gritted her teeth in frustration; she wanted nothing more than to annihilate this….freak, but Willow needed protection.
“Buffy?” the slayer turned to face Willow. The young witch was now nearly glowing yellow and gritting her teeth with the exertion of grinding down the massive stone golems attempts to break free and kill them all. Willow tore her head away from the spectacle of the ensorcelled automaton to regard her friend with a burning intensity.
“Kick his malformed ass,” Willow rasped. Viisq had time to look surprised briefly before Buffy plowed into it with the speed of a freight train. Buffy snarled, slamming a fist into the creatures face, “That’s for Angel,” she spun Viisq around and slammed a booted heel into its spine. “That’s for my brother,” She grabbed the creature again and taking a grip on its arm, braced it against a stone cement support, bent then broke it, “And that’s for Xander,” she finished before beginning to rain blow after blow upon the alien monstrosity. Viisq reeled under the onslaught of slayer-strength blows. Its bones were being demolished faster than it could recreate them. Buffy drew back a fist.
“And this is for me,” she threw the punch and was brought to a jarring halt as the Dahaka got a hand up, reshaped into a massive, pseudopod, requiring no bones.
“And this is for fun,” The Dahaka hissed at her. Concentrating, he called to the young girl’s flesh and the skin of Buffy’s hand began to ripple grotesquely as her bones started to separate. Buffy drew back another hand in desperation when suddenly a piece of metal flew from nowhere and sliced Viisq’s tentacle free from its body. Buffy fell backwards, cradling her wounded hand.
“Get your filthy hands off my girl you damn dirty freak,” Spike snarled, getting to his feet and readying another piece of motorcycle shrapnel. Viisq screeched at the vampire and leapt up into the air, his tentacles growing claws and gaping maws intent on consuming Spike.
And with a roar, his game face in place, Spike lunged up with the sharp metal. The Dahaka’s skin split as the makeshift weapon sliced up into its groin, through its ribcage and out the top of its head. The creature landed behind Spike, who rolled to get away from the now-bifurcated monstrosity. Viisq collapsed upon the concrete floor on the parking garage and desperately tried to reform. Spike rushed over to Buffy,
“Are you all right luv?” he asked worriedly. Buffy smiled weakly and cradled Spike’s vampire face with her uninjured hand.
“Your timing is really great,” she whispered. Spike smiled and kissed her hand.
“Nobody touches my girl,” he whispered back fiercely. Buffy smiled, and then froze as she peered past Spike. Viisq had gotten to its feet, its body realigned and healed. Spike turned his head to face the creature and with a roar of vampiric rage charged head on as Buffy moved towards the wounded Xander, cradling him.
“Get the line right you wanker. ‘This is my rifle!’” Spike slammed the sharp piece of metal into the creature’s gut, cutting it open deeply, causing it to wail in pain, ““this is my gun!’” Spike brought the blade up cleaving off Viisq’s arm that had been reaching for him, “’This is for fighting!’” Spike slashed the wildly-flailing monstrosity across the throat, the creatures head lolled back crazily, dangling and held to its collar by a few threads of putrid flesh. “And THIS is for fun!” Spike brought his boot up hard right between the creatures legs sending now pureed monster up into the air to land hard on the top of car,
“Any questions?” Spike quipped casually tossing his makeshift weapon aside.
“One,” Viisq hissed. Without warning, gutted monstrosity lashed out a tentacle catching Spike around the throat, entangling him and dragging him towards itself. Spike scrambled with his hands, catching hold of his discarded weapons as he was dragged towards the beast.
“Spike!” Buffy cried out in terror as Viisq sprouted a set of hands from its own torso and placed them lightly on the struggling vampires face.
“What will you look like without your face?” Viisq asked. Spike readied himself to strike as the creature summoned its unnatural powers, calling to Spike’s flesh.
Nothing happened.
Viisq frowned and tried again, but Spike’s flesh would not answer his call. Spike grinned.
“Imagine that,” Spike quipped, “Dead flesh doesn’t shape nicely…” Spike grinned as Viisq looked horrified, and then promptly drove the metal shiv deeply through the top of the beast’s head. Viisq wailed in pain, a huge maw erupting from its chain to echo the screeching howl of agony.
“…or maybe I’m just special!” Spike finished. Snatching up another piece of metal, he advanced on the incapacitated monster.
“And now, I’m going to take your head off,” Spike promised. He advanced to finish the job when a crossbow bolt embedded in his shoulder, spinning him around like a top and dropping him to the floor near Buffy, sending his new weapon spinning away.
“No!” Buffy cried out in shock and fear for her lover.
“I’m afraid that cannot be permitted.” a deep voice said, dripping with a familiar accent.
DeGanon stepped across and away from the car, reloading his crossbow. Spike rolled onto his back, his face changing back into human form.
“You filthy ponce, I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Spike gritted out as Buffy pulled him to her.
“That was your mistake,” DeGanon replied, he gestured to the other gypsies in the car who brought out Dawn, Anya, Angel and Faith and kept them at crossbow point.
“Dawnie!” Buffy cried out. Dawn tried to go to her but was held at bay by one of the gypsy’s weapons. Buffy turned her gaze to DeGanon
“Why?” Buffy asked.
“Oh yes, tell them DeGanon,” Viisq commented, pulling the shiv out of his skull and reforming, “Tell them all about it, won’t you…father?”
“Father?” Buffy gasped turning to DeGanon.
“Nikolas! That is enough!” DeGanon roared.
“It’s ‘Viisq’ now father. Remember when you and the elders put me and the others in the earth to absorb its power so we could protect your worthless hides?” Viisq smiled sickly, “Do you like what you’ve created?”
“What choice did we have, Nikloas?” DeGanon screamed, “The Turks were at our very borders, they had filled our forests, our masters’ lands-!”
“YOUR masters’ lands! Not mine! NEVER mine! You are free to spend the rest of eternity supping at his wrist to extend your wretched existence, I will not!”
“Traitor!” DeGanon howled in hatred.
“I hate to break up this touching and really sick family reunion but there is something out there that weighs ten tons and is really pissed off and my friend is the only one holding it at bay,” Buffy yelled. Spike turned to look at Willow, her face was pale and drawn.
“She’s right,” Angel informed them coolly, “Sooner or later Willow’s enchantment is going to wear off and when it does, it’s going to kill us all.”
“No, it will kill all of you. Those of you who have heard secrets you were not meant to hear,” DeGanon replied, “I have been forced to slay my own people, vampire. To protect them, to protect this secret.”
“Spoken like a true hypocrite,” Viisq sneered, “Killing off the sheep to protect them…and yourself, of course.”
“I was not the one who betrayed our people by renouncing my heritage! My responsibilities!” DeGanon roared, “Enough of this!” The gypsy chieftain brought the crossbow up for a final time.
“Our secrets shall remain where they started: buried in the earth,” He took aim at Willow, too busy keeping the golem at bay to defend herself, and fired.
“No!” Buffy cried out in terror. The bolt raced forward…and came to a jerking stop as a tendril of darkness wrapped around it.
“Change of plans,” a voice called out from above. Everyone one who could, looked up and gaped.
Alec descended from the vastness of the garage, six tendrils of darkness protruding from his body that writhed and gripped the stone around him, his useless legs now suspended by his new form of transportation.
“Alec!” Buffy cried out in joy…and in a little bit of fear at the awesome sight. Alec lowered himself to the ground floor, two tendrils supporting him a full six feet off the ground, the other four hissing and snapping, purple energy coursing through them. Alec held his hand out and a blade appeared through his palm. One of the tendrils gripped the blade, as naturally as a third hand and removed a complete sword from his arm before deftly placing it, hilt first in his hand. Alec readied the sword as the tentacle that held the crossbow bolt brought it up before his eyes.
“You have betrayed us for the last time, DeGanon.” Alec whispered darkly. The tentacle flexed once and the crossbow bolt shattered.
“My God!” One of the gypsies whispered in shock, crossing himself. An ear-splitting screech broke into their dread reverie. Viisq, paralyzed by whatever passed for fear in its alien mind at the sight of Alec, began to convulse wildly as its body changed shape. One of Alec’s tendrils lashed out and knocked the shapeshifting creature aside and out of the way.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Alec promised, “First…”
With a scream, DeGanon frantically reloaded the crossbow. Angel took advantage of Alec’s diversion, snatching one of the gypsies by the head and dashing him into the roof of the car. Faith followed suit sending a vicious backhand to the other one who held Anya and Dawn captive, knocking his crossbow out of his hand with a snarl and kicking him once in the head. Anya grabbed Dawn and pulled her out of harm’s way. As Anya hit the dirt, movement caught her eye, she focused then gasped when she saw Xander, arm missing, trying to crawl towards them.
“Xander!” Anya cried out and without another word she charged past the golem, towards Viisq, Alec and DeGanon.
DeGanon had finished reloading his crossbow and brought up to bear against Alec who was advancing at a terrifying pace. He fired, then cried out in dismay as one of Alec’s tendrils came up from behind the boy’s back and knocked it away with a simple flick. Then Alec was on him. He brought his sword down, shattering DeGanon’s crossbow and knocking him back. Then two tendrils wrapped around the gypsy’s arms and hurled him away into the windshield of his own car. Two more tendrils pressed the other two gypsies through the backseat doors and into the car. Then with a grunt, Alec took hold of the entire car and, with a screech of tortured metal, sent car and gypsies airborne and away, nearly decapitating Anya who ducked just in the nick of time and raced to Xander’s side.
“It’s okay” she whispered, “I’ve got you.” Anya bent down and kissed her wounded lover’s forehead as he brought his one hand up to squeeze hers.
“The…bag?” he asked weakly. Anya nodded and took it off, opening it for him to see. He reached in and carefully removed the objects he had stolen from the EOD van:
Several C-4 charges and a detonator.
Giles had just enough time to see the flying car coming at him.
“Oh good lord,” he lamented before hitting the brakes and cutting the wheel tightly, skidding out of the way as the car crashed down and skidded away on its roof in a shower of sparks away into the dark. Giles floored it and arrived at the scene of the battle, taking in the paralyzed golem and the prone Angel and Dawn. Hurriedly he parked and ran to them, leaving the car running.
“What happened?” Giles yelled. Angel looked back and smiled slightly.
“Your son just threw a car,” he replied matter-of-factly. Giles turned and peered, then his jaw sagged open at the sight.
“My God,” Giles whispered at the sight of his son.
Alec propelled himself towards his father, lowering to eye level.
“Hi Dad,’ Alec quipped. Giles just stared agog at his son’s transformation.
“What have you done to yourself, Son?” Giles whispered. Alec frowned,
“What I had to, Dad,” the younger Giles replied.
“ALEC GILES!!!!” an inhuman voice roared. They turned; Viisq had recovered from his shapeshifting seizure and now appeared as an eight foot goliath, heavily muscled with bones protruding from its body. “Come die!”
“Dad, get Buffy, Spike and Xander out of there and protect Willow. She’s the only thing holding that golem at bay and she has to be weakening,” Giles nodded as Alec rose up from the ground and readied for war.
“Yeessssss!” Viisq hissed as Alec approached.
“Time to die, monster,” Alec promised. And with a roar, the transformed Viisq attacked, massive spiked fists hammering. Alec scuttled out of the way and slashed with his sword, cutting a deep gash into the creature. Viisq hissed in pain and looked down at the wound in contempt,
“The puppy has teeth,” it commented darkly. Then the wound healed over, “But I am a master of flesh, wounds mean nothing to me,” It roared and charged Alec again.
Giles helped Buffy to her feet, “Are you all right?” he asked worriedly.
Buffy nodded, “Flesh-boy just nearly gave me a case of terminal arthritis,” she quipped, helping Spike to his feet, “Xander’s hurt badly though and we need to help Alec.”
“I don’t think Doc Ock over there really needs our help luv,” Spike observed dryly and indeed Alec seemed to be holding his own, his tendrils helping him move faster than Viisq could attack.
“Help Xander,” Buffy told Giles. The older man nodded and started to make his way across the battlefield as Buffy led her lover away.
“I could have taken him,” Spike muttered.
“I know,” Buffy replied with a slight smile to assuage her lovers’ ego.
“You cannot run forever weakling!” Viisq bellowed, picking up a car and hurling it at the boy. Alec’s tendrils lashed up, grabbing the ceiling of the parking garage and lifted him out of harm’s way as the car crashed down and exploded, the fire giving the place a hellish glow. Alec whipped across the ceiling, appeared behind Viisq, and lashed out, wrapping about the monster and hurled him hard into a wall.
“I don’t intend to.” Alec replied as Viisq picked itself up from the rubble.
Giles crawled over to Anya and Xander attempting to stay clear of the two combatants.
“We need to get out of here,” Giles told them and trying not to stare and the bloody ruin of Xander’s right arm.
“Wait…” Xander rasped, “The plan…bombs on support pillars…bring golem in,” And just like that, it clicked in Giles’s brain.
“Of course!” Giles reached into the bag removing the thick grey bricks of C-4 from the satchel. “How do I arm them?” he asked.
“Peel white paper off the back…sticky underneath,” Xander rasped, “Press the bombs onto the pillar, flip switch to ‘remote detonator’…and then push the red button twice to arm,” Xander lay weakly against Anya, who kissed him gently and tried to shield him from the battle. Giles nodded and began to work.
Viisq roared and charged Alec, leveling a savage blow to his head. Alec brought two tendrils up, locking them together to deflect the blow. Two more tendrils wrapped around Viisq’s head, holding him in place as Alec slashed across the creature’s eyes with his sword. Viisq yowled in agony as Alec hurled the monster away.
“Nice!” Spike yelled out in encouragement then winced as Buffy snapped off the crossbow bolt still lodged in his shoulder and pulled it out,
“Quit being a baby,” Buffy admonished.
“Is he going to be okay?” Dawn asked. Buffy nodded.
“Yeah, he’s a toughie,” the slayer replied, punching Spike in the arm playfully.
“Ow!” Spike yelped.
“Sorry.”
Dawn turned to view Alec and Viisq, “Alec’s going to need help,” the young girl whispered before reaching a decision and heading away from Buffy, Angel and Spike, who were too wrapped up in what they were doing to notice.
Viisq regained its footing and grabbed a piece of flaming debris, hurling it not at Alec but at Willow who looked ready to die any moment, her whole body aglow with yellow, her skin drawn tight and beaded with the exertion of keeping the golem at bay.
“Willow!” Alec yelled and dove to intercept the wreckage. Viisq saw his opening; he charged the distracted man. Alec knocked aside the wreckage away from his lover but was not able to avoid the mammoth Viisq who collided into Alec like a linebacker sending him flying across the garage and smashing into the concrete wall, showering dust and rubble upon him.
Alec inhaled frantically, trying to regain his breath; one of his ribs felt broken, the others simply felt like they had vacated the premises. He coughed a gob of blood out, spitting it onto the ruined gravel floor and grimaced as he felt his inhuman healing factor kick in, first setting the broken ribs with a series of audible “crunches” then healing them.
But they would not be able to heal him before Viisq was upon him.
“And now,” Viisq hissed, picking Alec up by the head, “You die.” Viisq began to squeeze and Alec felt the bones in his skull began to separate. Blinding light filled his vision and Alec knew his was going to die.
Viisq turned as the blinding lights came towards them both. It squinted hard, trying to discern this new threat. It became a set of headlights racing towards them both. Viisq hissed in dismay which gave Alec a chance to slash up with his sword, severing the claws that engulfed his head. Viisq screeched in rage and pain and stumbled away, dropping Alec who rolled out of the way as the car collided with Viisq hard, plowing him into a concrete support with a crunch of metal and bone.
Giles finished setting the last bomb as directed by Xander, who was drifting in and out of semi-consciousness from the pain and blood loss of his injury.
“That’s the last one,” Giles confirmed. Xander nodded to the other man weakly as Anya looked up worriedly.
“Xander’s turning white and he isn’t breathing too well, we need to get him out of here!” Anya cried out. Giles nodded as Xander reached over into the bag and removed a small remote, handing it to Giles.
“After we get everyone out, push this and the whole place will come down,” Giles nodded and examined the remote. His face went pale.
“Xander, the antenna for the remote is gone,” Giles displayed the tiny metal stub that was once the detonator’s antenna. Xander groaned in dismay.
“Without that antenna the effective remote detonation range is about three feet,” Xander informed them wearily.
“So what do we do?” Anya cried out. Xander looked into Giles’s eyes, sending him a look of weariness, pain and determination that said it all. Both of them looked at Anya.
“I love you Anya” Xander whispered as Giles moved off to the side.
“Aw…that’s sweet Xander, I love you to-” Anya crumpled in mid-sentence as Giles struck her in the back of the head, dropping her into unconsciousness. Giles picked her up and handed the remote to the wounded Xander.
“Make sure everyone gets out of here,” Xander instructed the older man before he turned his gaze to Anya, “Make sure Anya is okay…and that she knows why I did this and that-” Xander couldn’t go on, too overcome with emotion. Giles took the other man’s hand and squeezed tightly.
“I will tell her,” Giles promised. Xander nodded and sagged against the concrete support, holding the remote tightly and fixating on the small grey and red package across from him. Giles stopped and turned,
“I’m very proud of you Xander,” Giles told him quietly, his own emotions threatening to silence him. Xander smiled weakly and gave the other man a thumbs up.
“Can’t be the Zeppo forever,” the wounded boy smiled, “Now get out of here G-man.”
Giles, blinking back tears of his own, took the unconscious Anya away from Xander as the other man prepared to do what he had to do.
Dawn ran out of the car, bleeding from a cut on her forehead where her head had hit the steering wheel upon crashing into Viisq. She skidded to a stop next to the prone Alec.
“Are you all right?” she whispered. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
“Yeah,” he rasped, taking her hand in his and her placing her tiny hand over his.
“You fought really well…Doctor Octopus,” she teased gently. Alec smiled back and coughed, weary and battered.
“Thanks petite. You drive a mean SUV,” Alec returned. Dawn smiled.
And like a nightmare, the car was tossed away and Viisq, gory and scorched, came marauding out of the wreckage.
“What a touching scene….” The creature rasped. Its own body was nearly broken but it was animated by sheer hate and bloodlust. The parking garage was a scene of ruin; cars annihilated, cement dug up all the way down to the dirt and cracks in every surface.
Dawn pushed Alec behind her.
“You’re not touching him,” the dimunitive girl promised the advancing monstrosity, her hands braced in the earthen floor that had been exposed by the battle. Dawn was oddly acutely aware of every detail of the soil underneath her fingers, down to the last piece of grit that rubbed between her fingertips. Viisq threw its malformed head back and laughed.
“Dawn!” Buffy cried out and tried to dash into the garage, Faith threw an arm around her, stopping her.
“Hold up B!” Faith cried out.
“Let go of me, that’s my sister, she needs my help!” Buffy screamed.
“Let her do this, Buffy,” Faith said quietly. Buffy stopped and turned on her, “Just this once, let Dawn fight for something she loves,” Faith finished as she turned to send Angel a long look.
“So, little girl, you wish to die along side him? You are more than welcome to, I shall enjoy soaking the earth with your blood.” Viisq hissed and swung a massive claw at them both
“Dawn!!” Alec screamed out and lashed desperately with one of his tendrils, knocking the razor sharp tip of the claw aside but not enough so that Dawn could avoid the blow completely. The tiny girl was knocked to the ground, she exhaled hard bringing up a cloud of dust as her lungs deflated, her cheek resting against the earth. Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her face to mix with blood from her forehead all of which pooled upon the earth.
“Ah so the puppy still has a little fight left in him,” Viisq sneered bringing both its massive fists over its head to crush them both.
Dawn looked up, “STOP!” she cried out.
The fists came down.
Suddenly, the young girl felt a power race through her body, through her blood and tears, through her hand into the earth.
And the earth answered.
With an explosion of soil and stone, Viisq was sent hurling backwards. Dawn cried out and shielded Alec’s body with her own. The scent of pine filled the room and a confused voice called out.
“All right, what am I doing here?” it asked. Dawn blinked back tears and wiped the blood from her eyes and stared and then gaped in wonder.
A tree had sprouted up, no slim reed, but a mammoth oak with a trunk easily eight feet in diameter in the spot where Dawn had been in contact with the earth.
“Who said that?” Dawn asked very confused. The tree rustled and then twisted on its own trunk to reveal a large, heavily muscled male torso, head, and arms, all in wood and leaves, regard her. Dawn stared.
“Who…what?” she stammered. The head nodded.
“A little of both actually, Hi, I’m Pan,” the tree-man told her, “And you are?”
“In trouble!” Dawn yelled and pointed behind Pan. Pan swivled on its trunk and saw Viisq.
“Whoa, ugly!” Pan cried out in dismay at the scarred and bloody goliath.
“Foolish creature; I shall smash you into splinters and then butcher both the girl and her lover,” Viisq spat out.
“Well, you’re really quite unpleasant,” Pan observed candidly.
“Help us!” Dawn cried out.
“Right-o!” Pan replied raising a branch and smiling. And with a creak of wood, the branch split off into two points, then four, then sixteen all in a span of a heartbeat and raced towards the monster. Viisq didn’t even have time to scream as he was impaled by dozens of oaken shafts.
“Hi-ya get along there…whatever the hell you are,” Pan quipped, pulling his arm back and sending the impaled monster to collide hard flush against a support… but not hard enough to dislodge the small gray and red package attached to the other side.
“Sit. Stay. Good dog.” Pan laughed as the pieces of wood in Viisq’s body began to writhe and wrap around the creature fastening it to the pillar. Within moments Viisq was imprisoned in a cocoon of vine and wood that he could not hope to move within, let along escape.
“Yes, well, I think that’s gone rather well,” Pan smiled, very satisfied with himself.
And with a cry of exhaustion and pain, Willow slumped forward into agonized unconsciousness, the yellow glow faded from her body.
The stone golem charged forward, no longer held at bay by the witch’s spell. Pan swiveled to face as it charged forward towards him,
“Oh…nuts,” Pan lamented before the golem lashed out with a massive stone fist and shattered Pan, blasting him into splinters and earth.
“Pan!” Dawn cried out in dismay. The stone golem turned its massive head slowly to regard the two people at its feet. Alec turned to look at Viisq…and caught a gleam of triumph shine from those inhuman eyes as they peeked out from its wooden prison,
“No!” Alec cried out as the golem lunged towards them…and was knocked aside with a roar of rage. Alec couldn’t believe what he was seeing: something huge with wings was battering at the stone golem with its bare hands and howling in…
…Hebrew?
“Get out! Get out now!” Ashmedai screamed as he hammered the stone golem with his fists and wings.
“What about you?” Alec called out.
“I shall return to Abraham! And I shall take this monstrosity with me! Go now!” Ashmedai screamed. Alec wasted no time; he wrapped his tentacles around Dawn and thrust her out and away from the battle and towards Buffy and the others outside the garage.
“Alec!” she cried out reaching out to touch him. Their fingertips brushed against one another for a heartbeat as their eyes met and then Dawn was outside.
“Alec!” the young girl cried out again.
“Dawnie!” Buffy said, wrapping her arms around her sister.
“We have to help Alec!” Dawn screamed. Buffy shook her head.
“Alec’s coming I promise! We need to help Xander, he’s still in there!”
“Xander…does not want our help,” Giles said quietly. Buffy whirled on him…and then suddenly comprehension dawned in her eyes.
“NO!” she screamed out.
Xander was dying, he knew it. He’d lost too much blood and with that crazy gargoyle rassling with the golem there’d be no way he could get out and away.
Then again, that wasn’t his plan.
Coughing, Xander looked over and saw Alec making his way out, Willow carried over his shoulder.
“Hey Alec! You have a way out of here?” Xander called out. Alec turned and nodded.
“Good!” Xander gestured to Willow, “Take care of her and yourself and everyone else.” Xander finished.
Alec frowned, puzzled at the wounded boy. Xander could have laughed at the look, remember how fierce and confident Alec usually looked.
It was as good a sentiment as any to go out on.
Xander smiled once…
... And pushed the button.
There was a flash of light, and Xander for some reason saw Buffy and Willow and Dawn and everyone and they were smiling and happy. Xander smiled back at them feeling like what he had always wanted to be:
A hero.
The garage came down, the explosives chopping the supports off at the base and with a groan of stone on stone, all ten floors of stone, cement and automobiles came down in a deafening crash. Everyone ducked beneath the car as the shockwave washed over them, pelting them with shards of stone and dust.
There was a long groan of stone and metal and then nothing.
Everything was quiet.
Slowly, Buffy peeked her head over the car and stared at the rubble and the rising dust cloud.
“XANDER!!!” she screamed out long and loud that ended in a choked sob at the death of her friend. Others got to their feet, slowly, unsteadily, in shock at the devastation and at the death of the young man.
“Oh no, oh man,” Faith whispered in dread.
“Xander…” Dawn whispered, tears spilling over her cheeks. Suddenly something grabbed her heart and squeezed.
“ALEC?! Where’s Alec?!” She screamed. Everyone jolted out of their grief looked around frantically.
Willow’s body slumped to the ground. Everyone turned; Alec was standing there, suspended there by his tendrils wrapped in darkness that was slowly dissipating around him.
“So did everyone just forget that I can move through shadows?” he asked plainly. He was covered in dust and bloody but alive.
“Alec!” Dawn cried out and raced to him wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him tightly, crying freely, “Xander he was…”
A groan of pain caught Dawn’s attention; she looked over and gasped.
Xander was wrapped in darkness, being held by two of Alec’s tendrils. He too looked the worse for wear but he was alive.
“Xander!” Buffy cried out and ran to him looking up at her weary brother, “Is he…?”
“…Dumber than I ever thought and more heroic than I ever gave him credit for, but he’ll live to fight another day,” Alec confirmed. Buffy wrapped her arms around her brother, squeezing in beside Dawn.
“Thank you for saving him,” Buffy whispered. Alec smiled, feeling happy for the first time since his crippling.
“What are big brothers for?” Alec replied back, smiling. Giles walked over to his son.
“Son…what you did was…amazing,” Giles told him. The girls made room as father and soon embraced.
“Oh for God’s sake this gets anymore Hallmark I’m going to wretch!” Spike yelled, “Someone please stake me!”
Angel handed him the broken shaft of crossbow bolt DeGanon had shot him with, “Now shut up,” Angel told the other vampire. Spike waved him away and walked towards Alec.
“Nice moves mate,” Spike told his friend, extending his hand. Alec nodded and slapped his friends hand.
“You too,” Alec replied.
“We need to get Xander’s arm fixed up, he’s lost a lot of blood,” Buffy whispered gravely.
“I can help with that,” a voice called out from beneath them. Everyone frowned and looked around puzzled.
“Down here you idiots!” The voice called out. Dawn saw it first and gasped.
A single rose had sprung up and from its blossom, a familiar personage.
“ ‘By any other name’ right?” Pan quipped. Dawn frowned as she knelt down.
“But you were killed!” She gaped.
“You carbon based life-forms are so three-dimensional in your thinking, its terribly limiting,” the talking rose leveled a leaf at the young girl chastising, “From you though I expected better.”
Dawn frowned, “From me, what do you mean?”
“All will be explained, come to my workshop. Bring your mangled friend, I think I have something here that can help him,” and with that the rose wilted, died and was blown away by the wind. Dawn blinked a few times in confusion and then walked over join the others who were helping Willow, Xander and Alec rest.
“Okay a talking rose named Pan said we need to go to his workshop so he can tell us stuff and help Xander,” Dawn informed them plainly. Spike frowned.
“Excuse me Nibblet, but when did you go insane and how did I fail to notice?” he replied. Buffy waved it away as she finished fastening a tourniquet to Xander’s stump.
“It’s a long story dear, let’s just get going,” Buffy replied. Everyone piled into the van which was dusty but none the worse for wear.
“Hey…” a groggy voice called out. Everyone turned to stare as Anya regained consciousness, “Did I miss anything?” she asked. Then she caught a look at the ruins of the garage, “Oh.” Anya looked up at Giles, “Hey, did you hit me in the head?”
“Yes,” Giles replied as he got into the car.
“It’s something we’ve all been wanting to do for a while, luv,” Spike added.
Giles cleared this throat, “Well you see Anya…” he explained.
A few moments passed.
“HE DID WHAT?!?” Could be heard being screamed by a very angry woman as the group drove away.
As the dust cloud rose up into the night, the sounds of sirens could be heard approaching. Stone shifted, metal creaked.
And a single massive hand emerged from beneath the wreckage, clawing up for the freedom promised by the sight of the night sky which lay above.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: Sorry it is late again - Deacon made it long to make up for it though!
Also, please note that Deacon is taking a break for a while from writing and to formulate the rest of of Midnight. If you recall, last time this is around where he stopped writing Midnight, but I PROMISE I WILL make sure he continues on, faithful readers! - Rachelia, the Archivest
Timeline: Immediately follows Book 1: Dusk
Rating: TV-14 (nothing worse than on the show)
Pairing/Characters: Buffy/Spike, Willow/Dusk(OC), Xander/Anya, Giles/Marlena(OC), Dawn, Faith, Angel, Dracula
Book One: Dusk (all chapters)
Previous chapter of Midnight
Banner created by edgehead73.
Hellmouth Ascendant Trilogy: Revamped Edition
Book Two:
Midnight
Chapter 11
Sacrifice
“Got it!” Xander hung up the phone and turned to Buffy, “Okay, they’re on their way.” Xander told them all. Buffy nodded and got out of the car.
“Well, let’s go scope things out.” she stated. Willow turned to Alec.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” she asked. Alec shook his head.
“They may need your magic tricks love, besides one of us should be useful,” he looked down at himself with disgust. Willow took his chin in her hands and kissed him soundly.
“I love you,” she told him simply. He smiled.
“I love you too, princess. Now get going.” Willow smiled bravely at him and turned to leave. Alec caught her hand, she turned.
“Be careful…and good luck.” he whispered to her. She smiled and brought his hand to her lips, kissing it before heading out towards the garage.
Leaving Alec alone to think and curse. It didn’t long to start up again.
“Alec, let me help you.”
Alec brought his fists up to his ears, clenched his eyes shut and tried to block out the voice.
“You’re not real.” Alec whispered hoarsely. He was rewarded by a cold chuckle.
“I’m as real as you are, boy.” the voice replied. “And right now, I want to help you.”
Alec grabbed fistfuls of his hair, white knuckled, “I don’t want your help!” he snarled.
“Oh, you’d rather remain here? Crippled. Paralyzed.” Alec could almost feel the voice smile, “Useless?” the voice chuckled again.
“What do you want?” Alec asked.
“I want what you want, Alec; to kill them, to kill them all. Vampire after vampire, demon after demon, monster after monster,” the voice promised.
“How?” Alec asked.
“I can help you become strong again, Alec; stronger than you were. And back on the front lines where we belong.”
“We?” Alec asked.
“Yes, Alec, you and I fighting together to rid this world of these supernatural abominations,” the voice became imploring, “And I want so little in return.”
“And in exchange, I can fight again?” Alec asked.
“Yes, Alec. Your lover and sister need your help,” the voice paused for effect, “And she will be here soon as well Alec. I sense a force of great evil, lurking. Hunting your friends and promising slaughter.”
“What?” Alec lurched forward in alarm. “What is out there?” the young man demanded.
“Someone that you will need my help to defeat.” the voice confirmed. “I give you the opportunity to protect your family, your women, and regain your dignity as a warrior; the chance to become a warrior again. Your answer?”
Alec sighed, his broken body crumpling within the chair. He really didn’t have a choice.
“I accept.”
A surge of power tore through Alec’s crippled frame, he screamed once and then the darkness took him.
“Okay, we’re going to need to buy some time when Stoney shows up.” Xander turned to Willow.
“Got anything that can slow him down?” Willow thought for a moment then nodded.
“I have the Temporal Distortion spell I used in the bar earlier. Instead of speeding things up it could slow something down, but it would take a lot out of me. I could use someone watching my back.”
“That’d be me,” Buffy put in, wrapping an arm around Willow. “I’ve got you covered, Wills, as always,” Willow smiled and patted Buffy’s hand affectionately.
“All right then. Willow, get it ready.” Xander instructed then turned and looked around.
“Now, where to put the toys…”
Spike wove up and down the street. The motorcycle, designed for racing, was more than up to the task of maneuvering down side streets and avenues, leaping over cars and making excellent time. Cars would come crashing down around him, behind him, in front of him as the enraged golem followed close behind.
“Is that all you got? Huh? Come on you great pansy!” Spike roared, loving every minute of it, the yelling keeping his mind off the burning wounds on his forehead and hands from his close encounters with religious objects. He had stashed the enchanted book in his duster; even now he could feel the itching heat of it pressing against his leg, through his duster, whenever it rested against him. Fortunately, high speeds kept the jacket billowing like a cape and kept the book away from his body.
Spike turned down a street, the golem keeping up reasonably well, destroying cars, plowing through buildings and behaving like a psychotic freight train pulled off the tracks.
And straight after him.
“Yeah…” Spike growled grinning and hunkered down lower in the saddle becoming a vampire rocket as he led the golem to his doom.
Or so the vampire hoped.
“Where’s Anya?” Buffy asked. Xander sighed and shook his head.
“I don’t know, I really wanted her to be here before the golem got here so we could set up,” Xander replied nervously.
“She hasn’t let us down yet, Xand. She’ll be here.” Buffy assured him. Xander nodded but still looked worried. The slayer headed over to Willow.
“Will, how we doing?” she asked. Willow nodded.
“We’re ready. Just don’t forget all my attention is going to be focused on the spell, so make sure you have my back.”
“Consider your back property of the Slayer.” Buffy proclaimed, then blanched.
“Okay yeah that was a little prison movie wasn’t it?”
“Just a little,” Willow replied.
“Hey does anyone else hear that?” Xander asked. Buffy frowned listening.
“What does it sound like?” Willow asked. Buffy’s eyes got wide.
“Like a psychopath on a motorcycle! Get down!” Buffy cried out. They dove to the pavement just in time to avoid being decapitated by a flying motorcycle with a howling blond vampire on it, which came out of nowhere, flew up and over the curb and sailed over their bodies. Spike dove from the bike and landed hard next to Buffy as his bike continued like a rocket and slammed into a concrete support, exploding into metal fragments and flame. Spike covered Buffy with his body as the shrapnel sprayed both of them.
“Nice entrance,” Buffy commented, looking up at her lover.
“Well, anyone can use a door,” Spike offered cockily as his defense.
“Anyone but you sweetie,” Buffy replied kissing him.
“We have company!”
The group looked up to see the massive golem bearing down on them quickly.
“Willow, now!”
Willow removed a watch from her pocket.
“Goddess Hecate, light of path, invoke now time’s cruel wrath. Temporis Languis!” Willow finished the spell and hurled the watch at the creature. It struck the stone goliath and with a burst of light, crackles of yellow energy crawled over its body.
The golem slowed down to barely a crawl.
Xander shouted in triumph, “You got him, Wills! You got him!” he laughed. Willow nodded, her hands glowing yellow as her muscles strained to keep the beast slowed down. Xander chuckled and went back to examining a pillar.
‘Tell me Wills, how come magic has to rhyme? I mean isn’t it a little Harry Potter?” He asked absentmindedly.
And without warning his arms were jerked back behind himself.
“Yes,” an inhuman voice whispered into the boy’s ear, “It is.” And grabbing a hold of his arms, Viisq pulled and began to stretch Xander. Bones began to separate as Xander screamed in agony. Buffy turned.
“Xander!” She charged the pair. Viisq spun around and threw Xander at her…but not before he laid his hands upon the boys arm and squeezed.
And with the sound of tearing flesh and sinew, the bones in Xander’s arm swelled and exploded. Xander screamed long and high in agony as he clutched at the ruins of his arm and he collapsed into Buffy, unconscious. Buffy lowered her wounded friend to the pavement and regarded the monster before her.
“You…” she whispered lethally finally meeting the creature that had paralyzed and tortured her brother, had had Angel shot to pieces and now had maimed her best friend.
“Me.” Viisq replied evenly, “Are you going to abandon your little witch while she keeps my golem at bay?” it asked the enraged slayer. Buffy gritted her teeth in frustration; she wanted nothing more than to annihilate this….freak, but Willow needed protection.
“Buffy?” the slayer turned to face Willow. The young witch was now nearly glowing yellow and gritting her teeth with the exertion of grinding down the massive stone golems attempts to break free and kill them all. Willow tore her head away from the spectacle of the ensorcelled automaton to regard her friend with a burning intensity.
“Kick his malformed ass,” Willow rasped. Viisq had time to look surprised briefly before Buffy plowed into it with the speed of a freight train. Buffy snarled, slamming a fist into the creatures face, “That’s for Angel,” she spun Viisq around and slammed a booted heel into its spine. “That’s for my brother,” She grabbed the creature again and taking a grip on its arm, braced it against a stone cement support, bent then broke it, “And that’s for Xander,” she finished before beginning to rain blow after blow upon the alien monstrosity. Viisq reeled under the onslaught of slayer-strength blows. Its bones were being demolished faster than it could recreate them. Buffy drew back a fist.
“And this is for me,” she threw the punch and was brought to a jarring halt as the Dahaka got a hand up, reshaped into a massive, pseudopod, requiring no bones.
“And this is for fun,” The Dahaka hissed at her. Concentrating, he called to the young girl’s flesh and the skin of Buffy’s hand began to ripple grotesquely as her bones started to separate. Buffy drew back another hand in desperation when suddenly a piece of metal flew from nowhere and sliced Viisq’s tentacle free from its body. Buffy fell backwards, cradling her wounded hand.
“Get your filthy hands off my girl you damn dirty freak,” Spike snarled, getting to his feet and readying another piece of motorcycle shrapnel. Viisq screeched at the vampire and leapt up into the air, his tentacles growing claws and gaping maws intent on consuming Spike.
And with a roar, his game face in place, Spike lunged up with the sharp metal. The Dahaka’s skin split as the makeshift weapon sliced up into its groin, through its ribcage and out the top of its head. The creature landed behind Spike, who rolled to get away from the now-bifurcated monstrosity. Viisq collapsed upon the concrete floor on the parking garage and desperately tried to reform. Spike rushed over to Buffy,
“Are you all right luv?” he asked worriedly. Buffy smiled weakly and cradled Spike’s vampire face with her uninjured hand.
“Your timing is really great,” she whispered. Spike smiled and kissed her hand.
“Nobody touches my girl,” he whispered back fiercely. Buffy smiled, and then froze as she peered past Spike. Viisq had gotten to its feet, its body realigned and healed. Spike turned his head to face the creature and with a roar of vampiric rage charged head on as Buffy moved towards the wounded Xander, cradling him.
“Get the line right you wanker. ‘This is my rifle!’” Spike slammed the sharp piece of metal into the creature’s gut, cutting it open deeply, causing it to wail in pain, ““this is my gun!’” Spike brought the blade up cleaving off Viisq’s arm that had been reaching for him, “’This is for fighting!’” Spike slashed the wildly-flailing monstrosity across the throat, the creatures head lolled back crazily, dangling and held to its collar by a few threads of putrid flesh. “And THIS is for fun!” Spike brought his boot up hard right between the creatures legs sending now pureed monster up into the air to land hard on the top of car,
“Any questions?” Spike quipped casually tossing his makeshift weapon aside.
“One,” Viisq hissed. Without warning, gutted monstrosity lashed out a tentacle catching Spike around the throat, entangling him and dragging him towards itself. Spike scrambled with his hands, catching hold of his discarded weapons as he was dragged towards the beast.
“Spike!” Buffy cried out in terror as Viisq sprouted a set of hands from its own torso and placed them lightly on the struggling vampires face.
“What will you look like without your face?” Viisq asked. Spike readied himself to strike as the creature summoned its unnatural powers, calling to Spike’s flesh.
Nothing happened.
Viisq frowned and tried again, but Spike’s flesh would not answer his call. Spike grinned.
“Imagine that,” Spike quipped, “Dead flesh doesn’t shape nicely…” Spike grinned as Viisq looked horrified, and then promptly drove the metal shiv deeply through the top of the beast’s head. Viisq wailed in pain, a huge maw erupting from its chain to echo the screeching howl of agony.
“…or maybe I’m just special!” Spike finished. Snatching up another piece of metal, he advanced on the incapacitated monster.
“And now, I’m going to take your head off,” Spike promised. He advanced to finish the job when a crossbow bolt embedded in his shoulder, spinning him around like a top and dropping him to the floor near Buffy, sending his new weapon spinning away.
“No!” Buffy cried out in shock and fear for her lover.
“I’m afraid that cannot be permitted.” a deep voice said, dripping with a familiar accent.
DeGanon stepped across and away from the car, reloading his crossbow. Spike rolled onto his back, his face changing back into human form.
“You filthy ponce, I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Spike gritted out as Buffy pulled him to her.
“That was your mistake,” DeGanon replied, he gestured to the other gypsies in the car who brought out Dawn, Anya, Angel and Faith and kept them at crossbow point.
“Dawnie!” Buffy cried out. Dawn tried to go to her but was held at bay by one of the gypsy’s weapons. Buffy turned her gaze to DeGanon
“Why?” Buffy asked.
“Oh yes, tell them DeGanon,” Viisq commented, pulling the shiv out of his skull and reforming, “Tell them all about it, won’t you…father?”
“Father?” Buffy gasped turning to DeGanon.
“Nikolas! That is enough!” DeGanon roared.
“It’s ‘Viisq’ now father. Remember when you and the elders put me and the others in the earth to absorb its power so we could protect your worthless hides?” Viisq smiled sickly, “Do you like what you’ve created?”
“What choice did we have, Nikloas?” DeGanon screamed, “The Turks were at our very borders, they had filled our forests, our masters’ lands-!”
“YOUR masters’ lands! Not mine! NEVER mine! You are free to spend the rest of eternity supping at his wrist to extend your wretched existence, I will not!”
“Traitor!” DeGanon howled in hatred.
“I hate to break up this touching and really sick family reunion but there is something out there that weighs ten tons and is really pissed off and my friend is the only one holding it at bay,” Buffy yelled. Spike turned to look at Willow, her face was pale and drawn.
“She’s right,” Angel informed them coolly, “Sooner or later Willow’s enchantment is going to wear off and when it does, it’s going to kill us all.”
“No, it will kill all of you. Those of you who have heard secrets you were not meant to hear,” DeGanon replied, “I have been forced to slay my own people, vampire. To protect them, to protect this secret.”
“Spoken like a true hypocrite,” Viisq sneered, “Killing off the sheep to protect them…and yourself, of course.”
“I was not the one who betrayed our people by renouncing my heritage! My responsibilities!” DeGanon roared, “Enough of this!” The gypsy chieftain brought the crossbow up for a final time.
“Our secrets shall remain where they started: buried in the earth,” He took aim at Willow, too busy keeping the golem at bay to defend herself, and fired.
“No!” Buffy cried out in terror. The bolt raced forward…and came to a jerking stop as a tendril of darkness wrapped around it.
“Change of plans,” a voice called out from above. Everyone one who could, looked up and gaped.
Alec descended from the vastness of the garage, six tendrils of darkness protruding from his body that writhed and gripped the stone around him, his useless legs now suspended by his new form of transportation.
“Alec!” Buffy cried out in joy…and in a little bit of fear at the awesome sight. Alec lowered himself to the ground floor, two tendrils supporting him a full six feet off the ground, the other four hissing and snapping, purple energy coursing through them. Alec held his hand out and a blade appeared through his palm. One of the tendrils gripped the blade, as naturally as a third hand and removed a complete sword from his arm before deftly placing it, hilt first in his hand. Alec readied the sword as the tentacle that held the crossbow bolt brought it up before his eyes.
“You have betrayed us for the last time, DeGanon.” Alec whispered darkly. The tentacle flexed once and the crossbow bolt shattered.
“My God!” One of the gypsies whispered in shock, crossing himself. An ear-splitting screech broke into their dread reverie. Viisq, paralyzed by whatever passed for fear in its alien mind at the sight of Alec, began to convulse wildly as its body changed shape. One of Alec’s tendrils lashed out and knocked the shapeshifting creature aside and out of the way.
“I’ll deal with you later,” Alec promised, “First…”
With a scream, DeGanon frantically reloaded the crossbow. Angel took advantage of Alec’s diversion, snatching one of the gypsies by the head and dashing him into the roof of the car. Faith followed suit sending a vicious backhand to the other one who held Anya and Dawn captive, knocking his crossbow out of his hand with a snarl and kicking him once in the head. Anya grabbed Dawn and pulled her out of harm’s way. As Anya hit the dirt, movement caught her eye, she focused then gasped when she saw Xander, arm missing, trying to crawl towards them.
“Xander!” Anya cried out and without another word she charged past the golem, towards Viisq, Alec and DeGanon.
DeGanon had finished reloading his crossbow and brought up to bear against Alec who was advancing at a terrifying pace. He fired, then cried out in dismay as one of Alec’s tendrils came up from behind the boy’s back and knocked it away with a simple flick. Then Alec was on him. He brought his sword down, shattering DeGanon’s crossbow and knocking him back. Then two tendrils wrapped around the gypsy’s arms and hurled him away into the windshield of his own car. Two more tendrils pressed the other two gypsies through the backseat doors and into the car. Then with a grunt, Alec took hold of the entire car and, with a screech of tortured metal, sent car and gypsies airborne and away, nearly decapitating Anya who ducked just in the nick of time and raced to Xander’s side.
“It’s okay” she whispered, “I’ve got you.” Anya bent down and kissed her wounded lover’s forehead as he brought his one hand up to squeeze hers.
“The…bag?” he asked weakly. Anya nodded and took it off, opening it for him to see. He reached in and carefully removed the objects he had stolen from the EOD van:
Several C-4 charges and a detonator.
Giles had just enough time to see the flying car coming at him.
“Oh good lord,” he lamented before hitting the brakes and cutting the wheel tightly, skidding out of the way as the car crashed down and skidded away on its roof in a shower of sparks away into the dark. Giles floored it and arrived at the scene of the battle, taking in the paralyzed golem and the prone Angel and Dawn. Hurriedly he parked and ran to them, leaving the car running.
“What happened?” Giles yelled. Angel looked back and smiled slightly.
“Your son just threw a car,” he replied matter-of-factly. Giles turned and peered, then his jaw sagged open at the sight.
“My God,” Giles whispered at the sight of his son.
Alec propelled himself towards his father, lowering to eye level.
“Hi Dad,’ Alec quipped. Giles just stared agog at his son’s transformation.
“What have you done to yourself, Son?” Giles whispered. Alec frowned,
“What I had to, Dad,” the younger Giles replied.
“ALEC GILES!!!!” an inhuman voice roared. They turned; Viisq had recovered from his shapeshifting seizure and now appeared as an eight foot goliath, heavily muscled with bones protruding from its body. “Come die!”
“Dad, get Buffy, Spike and Xander out of there and protect Willow. She’s the only thing holding that golem at bay and she has to be weakening,” Giles nodded as Alec rose up from the ground and readied for war.
“Yeessssss!” Viisq hissed as Alec approached.
“Time to die, monster,” Alec promised. And with a roar, the transformed Viisq attacked, massive spiked fists hammering. Alec scuttled out of the way and slashed with his sword, cutting a deep gash into the creature. Viisq hissed in pain and looked down at the wound in contempt,
“The puppy has teeth,” it commented darkly. Then the wound healed over, “But I am a master of flesh, wounds mean nothing to me,” It roared and charged Alec again.
Giles helped Buffy to her feet, “Are you all right?” he asked worriedly.
Buffy nodded, “Flesh-boy just nearly gave me a case of terminal arthritis,” she quipped, helping Spike to his feet, “Xander’s hurt badly though and we need to help Alec.”
“I don’t think Doc Ock over there really needs our help luv,” Spike observed dryly and indeed Alec seemed to be holding his own, his tendrils helping him move faster than Viisq could attack.
“Help Xander,” Buffy told Giles. The older man nodded and started to make his way across the battlefield as Buffy led her lover away.
“I could have taken him,” Spike muttered.
“I know,” Buffy replied with a slight smile to assuage her lovers’ ego.
“You cannot run forever weakling!” Viisq bellowed, picking up a car and hurling it at the boy. Alec’s tendrils lashed up, grabbing the ceiling of the parking garage and lifted him out of harm’s way as the car crashed down and exploded, the fire giving the place a hellish glow. Alec whipped across the ceiling, appeared behind Viisq, and lashed out, wrapping about the monster and hurled him hard into a wall.
“I don’t intend to.” Alec replied as Viisq picked itself up from the rubble.
Giles crawled over to Anya and Xander attempting to stay clear of the two combatants.
“We need to get out of here,” Giles told them and trying not to stare and the bloody ruin of Xander’s right arm.
“Wait…” Xander rasped, “The plan…bombs on support pillars…bring golem in,” And just like that, it clicked in Giles’s brain.
“Of course!” Giles reached into the bag removing the thick grey bricks of C-4 from the satchel. “How do I arm them?” he asked.
“Peel white paper off the back…sticky underneath,” Xander rasped, “Press the bombs onto the pillar, flip switch to ‘remote detonator’…and then push the red button twice to arm,” Xander lay weakly against Anya, who kissed him gently and tried to shield him from the battle. Giles nodded and began to work.
Viisq roared and charged Alec, leveling a savage blow to his head. Alec brought two tendrils up, locking them together to deflect the blow. Two more tendrils wrapped around Viisq’s head, holding him in place as Alec slashed across the creature’s eyes with his sword. Viisq yowled in agony as Alec hurled the monster away.
“Nice!” Spike yelled out in encouragement then winced as Buffy snapped off the crossbow bolt still lodged in his shoulder and pulled it out,
“Quit being a baby,” Buffy admonished.
“Is he going to be okay?” Dawn asked. Buffy nodded.
“Yeah, he’s a toughie,” the slayer replied, punching Spike in the arm playfully.
“Ow!” Spike yelped.
“Sorry.”
Dawn turned to view Alec and Viisq, “Alec’s going to need help,” the young girl whispered before reaching a decision and heading away from Buffy, Angel and Spike, who were too wrapped up in what they were doing to notice.
Viisq regained its footing and grabbed a piece of flaming debris, hurling it not at Alec but at Willow who looked ready to die any moment, her whole body aglow with yellow, her skin drawn tight and beaded with the exertion of keeping the golem at bay.
“Willow!” Alec yelled and dove to intercept the wreckage. Viisq saw his opening; he charged the distracted man. Alec knocked aside the wreckage away from his lover but was not able to avoid the mammoth Viisq who collided into Alec like a linebacker sending him flying across the garage and smashing into the concrete wall, showering dust and rubble upon him.
Alec inhaled frantically, trying to regain his breath; one of his ribs felt broken, the others simply felt like they had vacated the premises. He coughed a gob of blood out, spitting it onto the ruined gravel floor and grimaced as he felt his inhuman healing factor kick in, first setting the broken ribs with a series of audible “crunches” then healing them.
But they would not be able to heal him before Viisq was upon him.
“And now,” Viisq hissed, picking Alec up by the head, “You die.” Viisq began to squeeze and Alec felt the bones in his skull began to separate. Blinding light filled his vision and Alec knew his was going to die.
Viisq turned as the blinding lights came towards them both. It squinted hard, trying to discern this new threat. It became a set of headlights racing towards them both. Viisq hissed in dismay which gave Alec a chance to slash up with his sword, severing the claws that engulfed his head. Viisq screeched in rage and pain and stumbled away, dropping Alec who rolled out of the way as the car collided with Viisq hard, plowing him into a concrete support with a crunch of metal and bone.
Giles finished setting the last bomb as directed by Xander, who was drifting in and out of semi-consciousness from the pain and blood loss of his injury.
“That’s the last one,” Giles confirmed. Xander nodded to the other man weakly as Anya looked up worriedly.
“Xander’s turning white and he isn’t breathing too well, we need to get him out of here!” Anya cried out. Giles nodded as Xander reached over into the bag and removed a small remote, handing it to Giles.
“After we get everyone out, push this and the whole place will come down,” Giles nodded and examined the remote. His face went pale.
“Xander, the antenna for the remote is gone,” Giles displayed the tiny metal stub that was once the detonator’s antenna. Xander groaned in dismay.
“Without that antenna the effective remote detonation range is about three feet,” Xander informed them wearily.
“So what do we do?” Anya cried out. Xander looked into Giles’s eyes, sending him a look of weariness, pain and determination that said it all. Both of them looked at Anya.
“I love you Anya” Xander whispered as Giles moved off to the side.
“Aw…that’s sweet Xander, I love you to-” Anya crumpled in mid-sentence as Giles struck her in the back of the head, dropping her into unconsciousness. Giles picked her up and handed the remote to the wounded Xander.
“Make sure everyone gets out of here,” Xander instructed the older man before he turned his gaze to Anya, “Make sure Anya is okay…and that she knows why I did this and that-” Xander couldn’t go on, too overcome with emotion. Giles took the other man’s hand and squeezed tightly.
“I will tell her,” Giles promised. Xander nodded and sagged against the concrete support, holding the remote tightly and fixating on the small grey and red package across from him. Giles stopped and turned,
“I’m very proud of you Xander,” Giles told him quietly, his own emotions threatening to silence him. Xander smiled weakly and gave the other man a thumbs up.
“Can’t be the Zeppo forever,” the wounded boy smiled, “Now get out of here G-man.”
Giles, blinking back tears of his own, took the unconscious Anya away from Xander as the other man prepared to do what he had to do.
Dawn ran out of the car, bleeding from a cut on her forehead where her head had hit the steering wheel upon crashing into Viisq. She skidded to a stop next to the prone Alec.
“Are you all right?” she whispered. He opened his eyes and smiled at her.
“Yeah,” he rasped, taking her hand in his and her placing her tiny hand over his.
“You fought really well…Doctor Octopus,” she teased gently. Alec smiled back and coughed, weary and battered.
“Thanks petite. You drive a mean SUV,” Alec returned. Dawn smiled.
And like a nightmare, the car was tossed away and Viisq, gory and scorched, came marauding out of the wreckage.
“What a touching scene….” The creature rasped. Its own body was nearly broken but it was animated by sheer hate and bloodlust. The parking garage was a scene of ruin; cars annihilated, cement dug up all the way down to the dirt and cracks in every surface.
Dawn pushed Alec behind her.
“You’re not touching him,” the dimunitive girl promised the advancing monstrosity, her hands braced in the earthen floor that had been exposed by the battle. Dawn was oddly acutely aware of every detail of the soil underneath her fingers, down to the last piece of grit that rubbed between her fingertips. Viisq threw its malformed head back and laughed.
“Dawn!” Buffy cried out and tried to dash into the garage, Faith threw an arm around her, stopping her.
“Hold up B!” Faith cried out.
“Let go of me, that’s my sister, she needs my help!” Buffy screamed.
“Let her do this, Buffy,” Faith said quietly. Buffy stopped and turned on her, “Just this once, let Dawn fight for something she loves,” Faith finished as she turned to send Angel a long look.
“So, little girl, you wish to die along side him? You are more than welcome to, I shall enjoy soaking the earth with your blood.” Viisq hissed and swung a massive claw at them both
“Dawn!!” Alec screamed out and lashed desperately with one of his tendrils, knocking the razor sharp tip of the claw aside but not enough so that Dawn could avoid the blow completely. The tiny girl was knocked to the ground, she exhaled hard bringing up a cloud of dust as her lungs deflated, her cheek resting against the earth. Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her face to mix with blood from her forehead all of which pooled upon the earth.
“Ah so the puppy still has a little fight left in him,” Viisq sneered bringing both its massive fists over its head to crush them both.
Dawn looked up, “STOP!” she cried out.
The fists came down.
Suddenly, the young girl felt a power race through her body, through her blood and tears, through her hand into the earth.
And the earth answered.
With an explosion of soil and stone, Viisq was sent hurling backwards. Dawn cried out and shielded Alec’s body with her own. The scent of pine filled the room and a confused voice called out.
“All right, what am I doing here?” it asked. Dawn blinked back tears and wiped the blood from her eyes and stared and then gaped in wonder.
A tree had sprouted up, no slim reed, but a mammoth oak with a trunk easily eight feet in diameter in the spot where Dawn had been in contact with the earth.
“Who said that?” Dawn asked very confused. The tree rustled and then twisted on its own trunk to reveal a large, heavily muscled male torso, head, and arms, all in wood and leaves, regard her. Dawn stared.
“Who…what?” she stammered. The head nodded.
“A little of both actually, Hi, I’m Pan,” the tree-man told her, “And you are?”
“In trouble!” Dawn yelled and pointed behind Pan. Pan swivled on its trunk and saw Viisq.
“Whoa, ugly!” Pan cried out in dismay at the scarred and bloody goliath.
“Foolish creature; I shall smash you into splinters and then butcher both the girl and her lover,” Viisq spat out.
“Well, you’re really quite unpleasant,” Pan observed candidly.
“Help us!” Dawn cried out.
“Right-o!” Pan replied raising a branch and smiling. And with a creak of wood, the branch split off into two points, then four, then sixteen all in a span of a heartbeat and raced towards the monster. Viisq didn’t even have time to scream as he was impaled by dozens of oaken shafts.
“Hi-ya get along there…whatever the hell you are,” Pan quipped, pulling his arm back and sending the impaled monster to collide hard flush against a support… but not hard enough to dislodge the small gray and red package attached to the other side.
“Sit. Stay. Good dog.” Pan laughed as the pieces of wood in Viisq’s body began to writhe and wrap around the creature fastening it to the pillar. Within moments Viisq was imprisoned in a cocoon of vine and wood that he could not hope to move within, let along escape.
“Yes, well, I think that’s gone rather well,” Pan smiled, very satisfied with himself.
And with a cry of exhaustion and pain, Willow slumped forward into agonized unconsciousness, the yellow glow faded from her body.
The stone golem charged forward, no longer held at bay by the witch’s spell. Pan swiveled to face as it charged forward towards him,
“Oh…nuts,” Pan lamented before the golem lashed out with a massive stone fist and shattered Pan, blasting him into splinters and earth.
“Pan!” Dawn cried out in dismay. The stone golem turned its massive head slowly to regard the two people at its feet. Alec turned to look at Viisq…and caught a gleam of triumph shine from those inhuman eyes as they peeked out from its wooden prison,
“No!” Alec cried out as the golem lunged towards them…and was knocked aside with a roar of rage. Alec couldn’t believe what he was seeing: something huge with wings was battering at the stone golem with its bare hands and howling in…
…Hebrew?
“Get out! Get out now!” Ashmedai screamed as he hammered the stone golem with his fists and wings.
“What about you?” Alec called out.
“I shall return to Abraham! And I shall take this monstrosity with me! Go now!” Ashmedai screamed. Alec wasted no time; he wrapped his tentacles around Dawn and thrust her out and away from the battle and towards Buffy and the others outside the garage.
“Alec!” she cried out reaching out to touch him. Their fingertips brushed against one another for a heartbeat as their eyes met and then Dawn was outside.
“Alec!” the young girl cried out again.
“Dawnie!” Buffy said, wrapping her arms around her sister.
“We have to help Alec!” Dawn screamed. Buffy shook her head.
“Alec’s coming I promise! We need to help Xander, he’s still in there!”
“Xander…does not want our help,” Giles said quietly. Buffy whirled on him…and then suddenly comprehension dawned in her eyes.
“NO!” she screamed out.
Xander was dying, he knew it. He’d lost too much blood and with that crazy gargoyle rassling with the golem there’d be no way he could get out and away.
Then again, that wasn’t his plan.
Coughing, Xander looked over and saw Alec making his way out, Willow carried over his shoulder.
“Hey Alec! You have a way out of here?” Xander called out. Alec turned and nodded.
“Good!” Xander gestured to Willow, “Take care of her and yourself and everyone else.” Xander finished.
Alec frowned, puzzled at the wounded boy. Xander could have laughed at the look, remember how fierce and confident Alec usually looked.
It was as good a sentiment as any to go out on.
Xander smiled once…
... And pushed the button.
There was a flash of light, and Xander for some reason saw Buffy and Willow and Dawn and everyone and they were smiling and happy. Xander smiled back at them feeling like what he had always wanted to be:
A hero.
The garage came down, the explosives chopping the supports off at the base and with a groan of stone on stone, all ten floors of stone, cement and automobiles came down in a deafening crash. Everyone ducked beneath the car as the shockwave washed over them, pelting them with shards of stone and dust.
There was a long groan of stone and metal and then nothing.
Everything was quiet.
Slowly, Buffy peeked her head over the car and stared at the rubble and the rising dust cloud.
“XANDER!!!” she screamed out long and loud that ended in a choked sob at the death of her friend. Others got to their feet, slowly, unsteadily, in shock at the devastation and at the death of the young man.
“Oh no, oh man,” Faith whispered in dread.
“Xander…” Dawn whispered, tears spilling over her cheeks. Suddenly something grabbed her heart and squeezed.
“ALEC?! Where’s Alec?!” She screamed. Everyone jolted out of their grief looked around frantically.
Willow’s body slumped to the ground. Everyone turned; Alec was standing there, suspended there by his tendrils wrapped in darkness that was slowly dissipating around him.
“So did everyone just forget that I can move through shadows?” he asked plainly. He was covered in dust and bloody but alive.
“Alec!” Dawn cried out and raced to him wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him tightly, crying freely, “Xander he was…”
A groan of pain caught Dawn’s attention; she looked over and gasped.
Xander was wrapped in darkness, being held by two of Alec’s tendrils. He too looked the worse for wear but he was alive.
“Xander!” Buffy cried out and ran to him looking up at her weary brother, “Is he…?”
“…Dumber than I ever thought and more heroic than I ever gave him credit for, but he’ll live to fight another day,” Alec confirmed. Buffy wrapped her arms around her brother, squeezing in beside Dawn.
“Thank you for saving him,” Buffy whispered. Alec smiled, feeling happy for the first time since his crippling.
“What are big brothers for?” Alec replied back, smiling. Giles walked over to his son.
“Son…what you did was…amazing,” Giles told him. The girls made room as father and soon embraced.
“Oh for God’s sake this gets anymore Hallmark I’m going to wretch!” Spike yelled, “Someone please stake me!”
Angel handed him the broken shaft of crossbow bolt DeGanon had shot him with, “Now shut up,” Angel told the other vampire. Spike waved him away and walked towards Alec.
“Nice moves mate,” Spike told his friend, extending his hand. Alec nodded and slapped his friends hand.
“You too,” Alec replied.
“We need to get Xander’s arm fixed up, he’s lost a lot of blood,” Buffy whispered gravely.
“I can help with that,” a voice called out from beneath them. Everyone frowned and looked around puzzled.
“Down here you idiots!” The voice called out. Dawn saw it first and gasped.
A single rose had sprung up and from its blossom, a familiar personage.
“ ‘By any other name’ right?” Pan quipped. Dawn frowned as she knelt down.
“But you were killed!” She gaped.
“You carbon based life-forms are so three-dimensional in your thinking, its terribly limiting,” the talking rose leveled a leaf at the young girl chastising, “From you though I expected better.”
Dawn frowned, “From me, what do you mean?”
“All will be explained, come to my workshop. Bring your mangled friend, I think I have something here that can help him,” and with that the rose wilted, died and was blown away by the wind. Dawn blinked a few times in confusion and then walked over join the others who were helping Willow, Xander and Alec rest.
“Okay a talking rose named Pan said we need to go to his workshop so he can tell us stuff and help Xander,” Dawn informed them plainly. Spike frowned.
“Excuse me Nibblet, but when did you go insane and how did I fail to notice?” he replied. Buffy waved it away as she finished fastening a tourniquet to Xander’s stump.
“It’s a long story dear, let’s just get going,” Buffy replied. Everyone piled into the van which was dusty but none the worse for wear.
“Hey…” a groggy voice called out. Everyone turned to stare as Anya regained consciousness, “Did I miss anything?” she asked. Then she caught a look at the ruins of the garage, “Oh.” Anya looked up at Giles, “Hey, did you hit me in the head?”
“Yes,” Giles replied as he got into the car.
“It’s something we’ve all been wanting to do for a while, luv,” Spike added.
Giles cleared this throat, “Well you see Anya…” he explained.
A few moments passed.
“HE DID WHAT?!?” Could be heard being screamed by a very angry woman as the group drove away.
As the dust cloud rose up into the night, the sounds of sirens could be heard approaching. Stone shifted, metal creaked.
And a single massive hand emerged from beneath the wreckage, clawing up for the freedom promised by the sight of the night sky which lay above.