-Title:
The Dark Root-Author:
Ludwig-Disclaimer:
See the first damn part all right?-Type:
Angel/Buffy Crossover Event-Timeline:
Shortly before 5x5/New Moon RisingChapter Twelve
It took almost an hour to make the office habitable again. Angel had to go down in the sewer to extinguish the fire that had been started there. Luckily,the smoke did not have time to spread too much in the upper building and no alarms went off. Still,with all the smoke and the sudden blaze in the street when Jordan died,the vampire half expected to hear the sirens of firefighters coming down their way. He had asked Kate to try and contain any response from the autorities to anything out of the ordinary and,so far,it seemed to have work. While he was doing that,Wesley and Xander had gone outside to move the trucks and park them in a less conspicuous manor. They also collected as much of the ashes as they found,in the hope that it would lead them to their arch-enemy's lair.
Even after opening all the windows,the office still reeked from the smell of smoke and Angel suspected it would remain for days. The scent itself was not too bad but Cordelia's constant whining about it was almost more than he could bare,so he sent her home to rest. There was nothing further she could do to help them tonight anyway and it would be one less thing to worry about when they finaly faced Lilith. The one thing that bothered him the most,though,was the so called dark slayer. If the ancient crone had the power to turn any and all of her troops into such super soldiers,even with Cain's bloody dagger they would be massively out-gunned. Cain had assured him that this was unlikely,as the queen usualy bestowed this 'honor' to only one of her servants at any given time. Still,he had asked their new ally to prepare him another knife,just to be on the safe side. Once he was certain that the fire would not start back up again,he returned upstairs to rejoin the others. Willow and Tara had set their thaumaturgical circle in the middle of his office. It consisted of a pentagon whose points ended with lit candles. They both sat down in the circle facing each other. Between them lay a map of the city of which was spread the ashes Xander had collected. Willow was holding the Cain's charm crystal in her hands and both girls where preparing silently to cast the spell.
"Where are the others?" the vampire asked Wesley.
"Xander is still outside,parking the trucks where they won't interfere with traffic. As for Buffy,she just went back up on the roof …with Cain."
Angel looked toward the stairwell. Then he looked back at the young witches sitting at their feet.
"I hope this works." the vampire added. "Otherwise,we may well find her too late."
"Locating spells are tricky enchantements but Willow assured me that they have been doing many of them in the last few weeks. I'm sure everything will work out fine."
"Well it will work much better if you let us concentrate and quit your annoying chatter." Willow said,irritated. Both men winced and left the room.
"Heu…sorry,Wil." Angel apologized. "Tell us when you're ready. We'll be over here."
She quickly noded and returned to her trance."
Buffy came back outside on the roof where they had just fought the dark slayer,Jordan. Wesley had told her that Cain was allready up there and she searched for him with her eyes. She finaly located the man standing almost in the exact same spot where Angel had foud her earlier. The young woman made no attempt to make her presence known to him,content to just observe him for the time being. Cain was leaning on the ledge and was looking down at the street below. He was not wearing his grey duster,which was folded on the ledge right next to him and she could better see his body now. He was rippling with muscles,his arms almost as large as her legs and his shoulders wide enough to put any football star to shame. Her eyes slowly drifted down his body and she even caught herself staring at his buns for half a second. The man was very handsome,there was no denying that.
Suddently,he became aware that he was no longuer alone and turned his head. When he saw her,Cain smiled and turned completely to face the young Slayer,still leaning on the ledge.
"Was there something you wanted,child?" he asked her softly. For a long moment,she just stood there,as if taken by surprise at his noticing her. She did not know how to feel about him anymore. At first,Buffy was suspicious of Cain when she first met him. Then,hearing his tale of being the oldest living human being,she felt a little dwarfed by him. When he told them that he was responsable of the birth of vampires,her sentiments of inadequacies turned to anger. That anger reached a boiling point when he told her that he was also the one who fathered the Slayer's bloodlines and as such,condemned her to the life of constant fighting that as now her's. But after she and Angel spoke and he made her realize that the man had allready paid several times over for his crimes,she was now bearing mixed feelings toward him.
"Or perhaps did you want to be alone up here." Cain added,picking up his duster.
"No!" she said,gesturing him to a halt. "Actualy,i wanted to talk to you."
The man put his coat back down and waited. For the first time,Buffy noticed that he was looking at her in a strange way,as if he also felt unconfortable,being alone in her presence. He was avoiding looking at her in the eyes and was beating his feet nervously. The thought of this ancient man,who had seen and done so much,being intimidated by her somehow made Buffy more at ease.
"I've been thinking about everything you said over the last hour." she continued. "As unbelievable as your story may be,somehow it all rings true to me. And now… "
"Now you're wondering where to classify me." he finished her thought. "Am i one of the good guy? Should you hate me for everything i've done?"
"Something like that." she answered,lowering her eyes. But Cain put his finger under her chin and gently raise her head.
"I cannot begin to tell you how sorry i am that i make you feel this way." he told the young woman. "Your life has not been an easy one and so much of that is because of me. I tell you this,though,and it is something i never told anyone before; had i stopped to consider what you and your sisters's life would be like,i never would have agreed to Seneah's request. But i couldn't think about that back then. About how your lifes would be harsh and not to be able to be there for all of you,in every way a father should. It pained me to do this but i had to start thinking of others,for a change. I've grown fond of the human race over time and it deserves a chance at happyness,despite what is costs me. It took me thousands of years to learn the meaning of unconditional love,but i learned my lesson well. I just wish i could have found that knowledge much earlier."
Buffy looked in the man's eyes to confirm the sincerity of his words. She had to avert her eyes imediatly or she would have broken down in tears right then and there. The sadness in Cain's eyes was more than any one man should ever bare.
"Angel was right." she admited. "I don't know what kind of man could have killed his only brother but there's one thing i'm sure of; you're not that man anymore. Whatever crimes you commited was paid for a long time ago. You don't deserve my anger or my hatred on top of that. And as for being a Slayer,well…i kinda gotten used to it by now. Sometimes,i even like being supergirl. It helps keep the boyfriends in check."
Cain smiled warmly at her,in a way that reminded her of how her own father used to when she was young.
"These are most certainly the kindest words spoken to me in a very long,child." he told her. "Thank you for this precious gift."
He turned his back on her promptly,looking toward the eastern sky and quickly wiped his face of the tears that were rolling down his cheeks. Buffy took his arm and craddled to his side,and they both stared into the horizon in silence for a long while.
Then,they heard the door open and turned to see Wesley join them on the roof.
"The girls are ready to try the spell." he called out to them. "Come on!"
Buffy turned to Cain.
"Age before beauty,as they say." she said with a quircky smile,gesturing to the door. Cain laughed and started towards the stairwell.
"Kids!" he simply added under his breath.
Back down stairs,the young witches were allready deep into chantings,reciting the incantation with practiced efficiency. Buffy had seen Willow do witchcraft several times before but it never ceased to amaze her nevertheless. The candles around the girls were becoming agitated,as if a powerfull gust of wind was blowing on them but yet she could feel the slightest breeze. Everyone's attention was now on the crystal whom had just started floating over the ashe covered map. As the chanting grew in intensity,so did the glowing red light emanating from the crystal. Suddently,the candle's flames shot upward only to be extinguished a second later. Then,a single flame appeared on the map and burned a small hole in it. Willow quickly smothered the flame with some of the ashes and the crystal fell back down on the map.
"Thats it!" Willow said,pointing to the burned hole on the map. "According to the spell,thats where she is right now."
Angel picked the map up to examin it and show it to the others. The hole had been burned right in the middle of the area where the vampire had fought her the other night. It was in a section of town filled with abandonned warehouses and old buildings and it seemed the perfect place for her to hide. Away from unwanted attention while she slept and yet,close enough to more populated areas to provide her with a steady supply of blood; the perfect hideout. He had suspected as much but the area was quite large and finding her through more conventional means would have been considerably harder.
"So now what?" Willow asked.
Cain picked up his crystal and pocketed it.
"First we make sure that she's actualy there." he said in a solemn voice. "And then children,we get ready for a war."
********************
Thats the third time tonight!
Kate Lockley was sitting at her desk,regreting the arrangement she had taken with Angel earlier in the day. Eversince the sun had gone down,they had received complaints after complaints coming from the neighborhood of the vampire's office. First,it had been about some smoke coming from the building itself. Then,it was about some trucks that were being driven recklessly on the sidewalks. And finaly about some strange explosion that lit up the street like on the fourth of july. Each time,she had managed to intercept the complaint and was able to find some half-brained excuse not to involve the police in it. Luckily,she was the ranking officier in the station at the moment so it made her task that much easier. But the young inspector knew she could only keep this up for so long before her collegues started getting suspicious.
I can't believe i'm risking my carreer over some two hundred year old dead guy! Once this is all over with,i'll have to get my head examined.
But then,Kate remembered her previous conversation with Angel about how dangerous he believed the beach front murderer to be. He had said something about it being a vampire much older than he was and how that was a terrible thing. She had know the vampire for a few months but it had been the first time that she had seen him worried about anything. And for all the animosity she felt toward him,she had to admit that he knew his stuff better than she did. So when he said that a police intervention in the present situation would result in a massive bloodbath,it was a good bet that he was not exagerating in the least.
"Inspector?" came a voice that recalled her to reality. She raised her head to look upon the young man whom had been taking her calls all evening.
"Yes,James? What is it now?" she asked,irritated.
"I've got a woman on line two. She says that there's some kind of satanic ritual going on in the building in front of her appartement. Its in that same neighborhood again. Are you sure you don't want me to send a cruiser there?"
Kate sighed and glared at the young clerk.
"No. I told you,its some sort of religious ceremony going on there tonight." she explained,trying to sound convincing. "Look,i know these people. They don't do any damage but if they see even one police car in the area,they'll wind up sueing the departement for years. Violation of rights to religious freedom and so on. Just…just patch the call through here,i'll talk to her,ok?"
"Whatever you say,inspector." answered the clerk,shrugging.
The young woman pressed her fingers on her noze bridge,feeling a headache coming on. Whatever you're doing,Angel,it better be good!
The phone at her desk rang and she promptly picked it up.
"Good evening,ma'am." she said in as agreable a voice as she could muster. "This in inspector Lockley here. How can i help you?"
**********************
Buffy and Wesley were waiting by the door of Angel's office building when they saw his car pull over across the street. Him and Xander had gone on a little reconnaissance mission to make sure that the spell had given them the right emplacement. They had been gone for only fiftheen minutes but she had worried nevertheless. From everything she had heard so far,Lilith was extremely dangerous. Much more so than even Master Nest or Lothos. But she breathed a sight of relief when she saw them both get out of the black convertible,seemingly unharmed. The two man crossed the street over to them in a hurry.
"So? Did you find it?" Wesley asked promptly.
"We sure did." Xander answered. "Right where Willow and Tara's spell said it would be. An old warehouse building."
"I was able to get close enough to see that the place was swarming with vampires." declared Angel. "About a dozen of them or so. Its not gonna be easy but its doable."
"What about Lilith? Was she there also?" Buffy asked.
"I didn't see her but Cain's crystal was pulsating brightly when i got near the building,so my guess is yes. She must be hiding somewhere in the premises."
"Great then!" added the young Slayer. "The others are downstairs in your living quarters,preparing the weapons. Lets go tell them."
The group went inside and took the elevator down to rejoin Cain,Willow and Tara. They found them regrouped around the table with all of Angels weapons spread on it.
"Good news,everyone." Angel announced as he entered. "We found them!"
Cain raised his head and smiled.
"Exellent!" he commented,then turning to the young witches. "Superb work on the spell,girls. We couldn't have done it without you."
"Well,we aim to please!" Willow said cheerfully. "So whats the plan?"
"Yes. We have to determine how we are going to proceed." Wesley added. "You have the better knowledge of our foe,Cain. Whats our best course of action here?"
The bandana man hesitated a moment before answering,looking over all the people assembled around him.
"Your best course of action is to attack her from all sides at once. That way,you have a better chance of disorienting her and you won't give her the opportunity to take you all down with one spell."
"Our…best course of action?" Angel asked. "You mean you're not going to help us?"
"I'll help you get in and fight her minions but it would not be wise for me to get involved in the battle against her. If i did,she would most likely concentrate her efforts on me and if she manages to kill me,a very likely possibility,she'll have wiped out most of you in one stroke. Only Angel would be left to fight her and this time,i doubt he'll be able to stand against her alone. So it is best that i stay out of this one."
"Thats just great!" said Xander. "So what will you be doing while we risk our necks?"
"I'll be ready to intervene,in case you fail. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but its the only way."
There was a long,ackward silence that followed Cain's statement. This was not what any of them had hoped to hear. Of everyone present,Cain was the only one to have defeated Lilith in the past. But what he said did make sense,to Buffy at least.
"He's right." she said to the others. "We stand a better chance if we do this by ourselves."
"Yeah but still…" Xander started to complain but he was interupted by Wesley.
"Its not because he doesn't want to help,Xander. But thats the way it is nevertheless. If you don't like it then just stay here."
The young man lowered his eyes and resigned himself. Wesley then turned to Cain.
"Just tell us what to expect. How powerfull is she,exactly?"
Cain pondered on his response.
"Quantifiably? She's probably three times as strong as everyone in this room combined,fast enough to dodge a bullet fired at point blank range and hitting her will feel like smashing your fists in a brick wall. Also,as Angel found out the hard way last night,she is a powerfull witch with instinctive control over earth shaking magic and,to top it off,her sole driving force is a blood thirst that could not be satisfied if she drank the whole human race."
He looked around the table to note with satisfaction that all colors had left the faces of his audience.
"You know," Buffy said "if that was supposed to be a pep talk,i think you need to re-adjust your aim just a smidgen here."
"I was merely trying to convey to you the reality of whats coming,Buffy." Cain explained. "You're afraid now? Well you should be for she is a formidable opponent,like nothing you have ever faced before or are likely to ever face again. I've allready seen too many young people go up to face her unprepared,only to wind up dead…or worse."
"Super!" said Willow. "So now that we're all properly terrified,is there any good new?"
Cain picked up a stake and looked at her.
"Actualy there is,child. For all her powers,Lilith still shares the vulnerabilities of her offsprings,al-be-it to a lesser degree. For instance,sunlight would kill her,if she were exposed long enough to it. But thats not likely to happen,especially in a city with so many places to hide from the sun. Fire will burn her,but not quickly enough to do us any good. Crosses would only have an effect on her if they were wielded by a paragon of faith and virtue and,no offense,but i doubt we have anyone here that qualifies as such. So this leaves us with one venue; we have to stake her."
"And this can be done?" Wesley asked.
"Of course it can be done. The trick here,is to survive her presence long enough to do it. However,we do have a few things going for us here."
"Such as?" Buffy inquired.
"Such as the fact that she's not at the top of her shape,due to her centuries of imprisonement." Cain continued. "Also,when i met her a thousand years ago,most of her conscious mind was allready gone,to be replaced by the feral nature of a beast,functioning on instinct. And i doubt that her thousand years long slumber did anything to improve that condition. Which means that even simple tactics have a chance of working against her. If she's attack on many fronts at once,it might just confuse her long enough to give one of you a chance to strike."
Cain looked each of them over before continuing.
"I won't lie to you though; there's a good chance that many of you may not live to see the sun rise tomorrow. Angel is allready commited to vanquishing her,as i'm sure is Buffy. But they also have a much better chance of surviving this than the rest of you. And while your help would be most welcomed,i cannot in good conscience ask you for it. This has to be strictly voluntary on your part and i want you to know that,should you decide to stay out of this fight,i will not think any less of you for it."
There was a moment of silence,as everyone was looking at everyone else,considering Cain's words.
"Well i've never been one to hide from a fight,so count me in." declared Wesley with confidense.
"Tara and i came here to help Angel out and the situation hasn't changed." said Willow.
Everyone turned to look at Xander expectingly.
"Yeah,like i'm gonna weasel out on my friends." he told them,grabbing a spear on the table. "Lets do some damage,scoobies!"
"Wonderfull!" said Cain. "So then everybody pick a weapon and,as Shakespear once said,let us unleased the dogs of war!"
Buffy juggled expertly with her stake.
"Loosely translated,people,that means 'lets go out there and kick some major vampire ass'!"
With that last statement,they all armed up,went out to the cars parked on the other side of the street,and drove of to battle.
********************
Chapter Thirteen
"So what will you do once we've conquered the world?"
The question drew Gonzo out of his daydreams. He looked at the female young vamp that had asked it in surprise. The pretty little blond thing was the first one he had sired,just a few weeks ago and allready,he was regretting it. Tammy was her name and he had met her while she was working the downtown streets. Some girl from God knows what farmland that came to L.A. to fullfill impossible dreams,only to finaly wind up on a street corner,peddling her body to buy some food or some dope. He had taken pity on her and decided to 'save' her from her pathetic fate by embracing her and making her into his first child. But he was to discover that she also came with a mouth that just could not remain shut for more than two minutes at a time. Still,she could do things in bed there weren't even a name for so he was content to humor her,for the time being at least.
"Actualy,i really don't know,sweety." he told her,forcing a smile on his lips. "What would you like to do?"
Her face suddently lit up at the idea that she would get to decide.
"Oh,what i'd really love would be for the queen to like,apoint us as ruler of a contry in her name. Say like the prince and princess of England of something. Wouldn't it be just so romantic?"
Gonzo couldn't help but cringe internaly at the thought.
Rest assured that if that was to happen,i would chose a far more classy,not to mention quiet…princess to rule at my side.
"Of course,my sweet. Thats a wonderfull idea."
"I can see it from here." she continued,to her sire's quiet dispair. "A black,open carriage pulled by sparkling white horse taking us to Buckingham palace on the stroke of midnight. Black flower petals being thrown all around us with the crowd staring at us in terror,wondering whom among them would be our first royal meal."
"Wait a minute! Since we're distributing contries,i wanna have Canada." said Don,another young vamp that came to join them. "Thats where i'm from originaly and i always thought i could do a far better job at running the place than that old crooked jaw looser they keep electing as…"
"I want Africa!" came another voice from behind them. It was quickly followed by a request for China,and then Japan. Someone even asked for the Mir station.
"Hey!" yelled Gonzo as he got up. When the vamps saw he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown,they stopped their chatter. "How about we wait to see how much of the world queen Lilith will want to eat before we divide it amongst ourselves,hmmm? Personaly,i'll be quite happy to get a small,quiet corner of the globe…away from all of you!"
Suddently,the noise of the warehouse door sliding open drew everyone's attention..
Finaly!
Gonzo turned to greet his leader's return.
"So how did it go,Jordan…" his voice trailed off when he saw that instead of his leader,there was a group of seven young man and women standing in the doorway,two of whom he recognized instantly. All of them were bearing stakes,axes,spears and other weapons.
"Jordan,eh? Blond fellow,this tall with big teeth?" asked Angel as he entered. "Yeah,he's dead."
Then,the blond woman standing at his side step forward,leveling a crossbow at Gonzo's chest.
"And unless you're in a hurry to join him in hell," Buffy added in a low,threatening voice, "you and your cronies better clear on out of here,like five minutes ago!"
*********************
This is it!
Angel had been dreading this moment eversince he had gotten behind the wheel of his car only fifteen minutes ago. Not that he was afraid of the possible outcome for him of coming battle. Being dead had a way of making the prospect of one's ultimate demise that less frightening. It did not,unfortunately,diminish his fear that one or more of his closest,not to say his only,friends might find death tonight. He knew their enemy well,having faced her once before and escaped destruction through no small amount of luck. But this time,his friends and the woman he loved were in the line of fire. The vampire would have given everything,no questions asked,to avoid involving them in this. But Cain was right and he knew it. Lilith represented a force of unparalelled destructive capabilities and worse,using that power was the only thing she yearned to do. This had to end here,no matter what.
But now,standing in front of the twelve remaining vampires that served Lilith with his companions at his side,Angel was ready to end it,one way or the other. They had discussed a few strategies on their way here but time was running out on them. Jordan,the late lieutenant of Lilith,had been killed almost two hours ago and Cain feared that his unexplained absense might prompt the remaining vamps to relocate the queen to another,better hidden headquarter. And so they had to act fast to avoid this,as there was no longuer the possibility to track her again with a spell,since the ashes of Jordan had been all used up. Fortunately,it seemed that the vampires were surprised by the scoobie's presence at their lair. Perhaps this,along with the loss of their 'general' would be enough to convince them to cut their losses and leave without a fight.
"I don't know how you managed to kill Jordan,swine." Gonzo spat as his face shifted to a bestial appearance. "But we will not abandon our queen. In fact,i believe she will reward us well when we bring her your shattered remains."
The bandana man step forward and came to stand beside Angel and Buffy. As he did,some of the vampires took a step back but quickly returned to their post when Gonzo shot them an angry glare.
"Don't be a fool,little one." Cain warned. "Your queen cares no more for you than for the mortals she feeds upon. Everything is a tool to her,that she uses to sate her ungodly thirst and discards when its usefullness is at an end. Once you have helped her consume everything in this area,she will destroy you all and move on to consume another part of the world and so on,and so forth until nothing is left for her to feast upon. You and your kind are parasites and as such,you have a vested interest in the human race continuing to thrive so you never run out of blood. Our goals is not incompatible and our quarrel is not with you. So let us pass and leave this place and i promise you that none of you will be killed,provided we never cross paths again."
"You are lying,of course." snarled the vampire. "Queen Lilith gave birth to our great race. She loves us,cares for us and has promised us absolute power over the world of mortals. So here's my answer; long live the queen!!!" he yelled,raising his right fist in the air. Buffy decided that this meant the negociations were over and shot the crossbow at him. Gonzo barely had time to twist his heart out of the bolt's path and it caught him in the shoulder instead. The pain made him snarl loudly and he fell on his back,with the other vampires standing there,looking at him. Gonzo pulled the bolt out of his shoulder and turned to his troops.
"What are you waiting for you morrons?! Kill them all!!!"
With that last order,the vampires attacked. Imediatly,the scoobies spread out to meet the onslaught. Buffy threw her now discharged crossbow in one vamp's face and brutaly wheel kicked another in the chest,sending them both to the ground. She then pulled a stake from her jacket and turned to face Gonzo as the later rose to his feet and charged her. Angel ran forward,lowering his body as he did,and tackled two other vamps. The momentum he had gained even in his short run was enough to lift them in the air and throw them back against one of the steel pillars that supported the roof of the warehouse. One of the vampires hit it full force and had the wind knocked out of him when he fell at the fool of the pillar while the other sailed passed it and landed heavily a few feet behind. That later one quickly got up,grabbed a nearby two by four and came back at Angel with it.
Wesley and Xander both grabbed one end of the spear the later was holding and rammed three vampires with it,toppling them like so many bowling pins. Then Xander pulled the spear over his right shoulder and thrust it down in the chest of one of the downed vampires. The unfortunate sap never had time to move and turned into a pile of dust. His two companions got up and each went for one of the men. Wesley,in one swift move,unslung the axe he was carrying and swung it at his attacker. The wide blade caught the vamp just below the ear and neatly cleaved his head. He exploded into a cloud of ashes that sprayed all over the former watcher,much to his displeasure. Xander did not have time to regain his balance or bring his weapon to bear before the other vampire slammed into his body. He did have,however,have time to lift the spear's shaft up to the vampire's face and jam it into the fiend's mouth,thus preventing him from sinking his teeth into the boy's neck. The force of the assault send them both crashing on the floor,locked in a wrestle fest of life and death.
There was still a group of four vampires,three male and the only female of the bunch,that had stayed behind as reserve to lend assistance wherever needed. But their sights fell on the two young girls standing apart from the battle,holding hands as if they were afraid. The quator decided that their contribution to the fight would be to kill the girls and feast on their young,sweet blood. They started advancing toward their preys,licking their lips and leering evily. But Willow and Tara were more than ready for them. The young witches tightened their grip on each other's hand and lowered their heads a moment to gather their strenght. Then,they suddently raised their eyes to their would be executionners and a powerfull gust of eldritch wind blew into the building with the force of a small hurricane. The wind passed over the two witches and descended onto the vampires,lifting them in the air as if they were but dead leaves. The fiends screamed in surprise as they scrambled around helplessly and flew across the room to finaly crash violently in the back wall.
Xander was not doing well at all. The vampire had him pinned to the floor and was trying to rip open the young man's throat with its powerfull jaw. The boy had manages so far to keep the vamp at bay with the shaft of his spear but he was feeling himself weakening and the undead felt it as well.
"Hey,guys!!" he yelled in a half state of panic. "Some help would be nice here!"
"No on can help you now!' the vamp told him as he succeded in removing the shaft from between them. But before he could make good on his threat,Wesley appeared at their side.
"Tell me,lad. Have you ever heard of a game called cricket?" he asked the vampire,raising his axe behind him. As the vamp lifted his head to identify the newcomer was,Wesley made a golf-like swing motion with his weapon and struck the fiend across the face with the flat of his blade. The force of the blow lifted it off Xander and sent it sprawling to the floor a few feet away. The former watcher leaned over and helped the boy to his feet. Xander imediatly grabbed his spear and walked over to the vampire to impale him in the heart as he was getting up. Once this was accomplished,he turned to his savior.
"Cricket,eh? Is that usualy played with an axe?"
"No and nor is your opponent's head the usual target for the swing." Wesley admited. "But i felt the variation was apropriate to the situation."
"And i always thought that you brits were such a conservative bunch." retorted Xander.
"Live and learn,my boy,live and learn. Now let us educate these fiends as well!" Wesley declared as the two of them jumped back into the frey.
Gonzo was turning out to be quite a skilled fighter,much to Buffy's ill-fortune. She had hoped to kill him off quickly,as his death might have demoralized his troops but he was fighting defensively and was particularely carefull to avoid the stake she was holding. On two occasions,he even placed his arm between his chest and the tool of his destruction so that it would impale his limb instead. The Slayer was growing impatient with this fight,as it was holding her back from her real target and decided to end it now. She made a serie of quick attacks left and right,designed to get Gonzo to drop his guard and it paid off,as she was finaly given an opening.
But the young woman realized too late that she had just been baited. When she attempted to stake him,the vampire pivoted out of the way and wind up behind her. He grabbed the smaller girl by the waist and threw her halfway across the room where she landed on a wooden crate that shattered under her weight. Only through her unnatural stamina did she manage to remain conscious. She cursed herself under her breath for falling in so obvious a trap and rolled to her feet just in tim to avoid the vampire's attempt to stomp her skull into the floor. She quickly kicked him in the groin,drawing on his face a satisfying look of pain,followed by a powerfull uppercut that sent him reeling back. Before the vampire could regain his footing,Buffy landed a sidekick on his chest that projected him back in the air and right onto another vamp. The two undeads crumpled to the ground and remained motionless. The Slayer was about to go finish them off but another vampire attacked her from the side and she had to fend him off.
Near her,Angel's attacker had been trying to crush his skull with a wooden club for the last thirty seconds or so. But the older vampire kept dodging the blows,only to jab his opponent in the face every time he did. Finaly,Angel decided that the fight had gone on long enough. As the other vamp lifted the two by four over his head to deliver a crushing blow,Angel lowered himself and sprand out his arm-mounted stake right into the bloodsucker's chest. He disintegrated into dust and the club fell through the cloud of ashes to the floor. But before he could even crack a smile,Gonzo grabbed him from behind,lifted him over his chest,and threw him to the ground at his feet. Angel rolled with the impact however and was back up in barely a second,ready for the vamp leader.
Meanwhile,Cain was watching the battle unfold before him with no small amount of satisfaction.
These kids are good! Only two minutes and allready the vamps are down to half their original number. Not bad at all.
He fished out his crystal and noted that it was now pulsating brightly,covering much of the room with a red hue. He waved it around in front of him and saw by the glow that it was indicating a door,in the back of the room. He started walking towards it,avoiding getting close to any of the fights. Wesley was helping Xander restrain another vampire long enough for the boy to position his spear to kill him. When he looked up,he saw Cain walking to the back of the room,seemingly absorbed with his red glowing crystal. He also saw that two of the vampires that Willow and Tara had blowned back in the wall were now sneaking on him from the back. Cain did not appear to notice them and Wesley's widened when he realized this. If they managed to killed him,every human in the room would die in his place,as per his curse.
"Cain!" he yelled at the top of his lung. "Look out behind you!"
The bandana man turned his head to his back just as the vampires reached him. What followed was not quite clear to the former watcher. Moving with uncanny speed,Cain struck the first vamp twice in the face and caught him by the collar. He then made a quick twist of his torso,and the next thing Wesley knew,the vampire was airborne,traversing the room in less than a second and smashed right through the wall next to the entrance. Brigning his upper body back into alignement with his feet,he backfisted the other vampire as the later was about to sink his teeth into Cain's neck. The vamp fell on his back,knocked out cold by the blow and Cain resumed nonchalantly his trek to the far side of the warehouse.
When he got next to the door,the crystal in his hand was glowing brighter than aver before. Sliding it back in his pocket,he drew his knife and slid the door open. Behind it wa a stair way that led to a room beneath the warehouse. Confident that he had found Lilith's hiding place he turned to see how the others were faring. Wesley had gathered Xander and the witches and they were all heading toward him while Buffy and Angel were still fighting their respective foes. Most of the vampires had been dusted and only five,their leader included,were left. Gonzo was still battling Angel and the Slayer was engaged in combat with a female vamp. All the others were lying around,scatered about the place.
"Over here!" Cain yelled. "I found her!"
Angel and Buffy both heard him and stepped away from their opponents to come and stand back to back.
"Got any stakes left?" Buffy asked him
"Yeah!" he answered,flexing his left arm where the spring-mounted stakes still attached under his sleeve. "You?"
"Right here!" she said.
The two vampires were circling around them,and both were moving to keep them in sight.
"Remember that time on the school building with the two slime demons?" he asked under his breath.
'The doomed lover's move? You bet!" she answered softly. Then,they both turned to face one another and looked each other in the eyes.
"Oh,Angel! They're too strong for us. This hopeless." she said,trying to sound convincingly desperate and afraid. 'Please hold me one last time before we die!'
Angel stepped near her and placed his hand on her shoulders. The two vampires saw there the opportunity they were hoping for. Without wasting another moment,they rushed to attack the 'lovers' from behind. But just as Gonzo reached Buffy's back,Angel thrust his left arm forward as if he was about to hit Buffy in the stomac. But the Slayer jumped over him at the last moment and the stake that shot from his arm burried itself into Gonzo's chest instead. At the same time,Buffy plunged over Angel,landed on the floor behind him,executed a skillfull roll on the ground and staked the female vamp as she got up. The two vampires crumpled into dust and the fight was over.
"You kids have got some nice moves!" Cain commented. "Wouldn't have done it better myself."
"Thanks!" Buffy answered cheerfully. "So few people seem to appreciate it nowadays."
Welsey cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Hum…i hate to break up your mutual admiration reparte but…"
"Yes,of course.' admited Cain,throwing a wink at Buffy nevertheless,before turning to the door.
"She's down there,children. This is it. Remember what we talked about. Disperse,attack her from every angles and,most importantly,don't let her sink her teeth into you. You'd be dead before you know it. Best of luck to all of you and…do me proud."
Buffy turned back toward the room where the four remaining vampires were allready getting up.
"We will." she said. "But what about them."
Cain followed her gaze to the vampires that were gathering weapons and coming their way.
"Them? Don't worry about it,kiddo. I'll keep the galley entertained. Now go!"
Without another word,they went through the door and went down the stairs,with Buffy and Angel opening the march and Xander closing it. When the boy was through,Cain closed the door behind him and turned to face the vampires.
"Get out of the way,old man!" ordered one of them.
"Well well well…" Cain said,letting his duster fall off his shoulder. "The four of you against little old me? Thats much braver than you critters usually get!"
"I said get out of the way!' the vampire ordered again."
"Sorry but i'm afraid i can't accomodate you,son. You see,this whole sordid affair has gone on long enough and tonight,it comes to an end. Now,get lost…while you still can."
The vampire's face became distorted with rage and with a loud yell,he charged,followed by his cohorts. Cain punched the first vampire with enough force to throw him back several feet. He then kicked the second in the chest with the same result while grabbing the third by the throat. Using the vampire he was holding as an undead pole vault,he jumped over his shoulder and made a wide kick that downed the fourth attacking fiend. Cain completed his move by landing behind the third vamp and,shifting his hand from the throat to its jacket,twisted his torso and threw the undead all the way across the warehouse floor.
"Ah,come on,boys!" he taunted. "The least you could do is to make a little interesting here. I'm really getting bored out of my mind here!"
The first two vamps attacked him once more,both coming at him from opposite sides. But Cain was ready for them. Just as the vampires got near him,he sidestepped the one on his right and smacked him behind the head,propelling him forward even faster and right into his companion. The two crashed into one another and went rolling on the ground a few meters away. Just as he was about to crack another comment,Cain heard the rustling of cloths right behind him,and droped to his knee just in time to avoid the wooden club that was meant for his head. The backstabbing vamp brought his weapon to bear once more but before he could swing it again,Cain pivoted on his knee and punched him in the groin,making him squeel and bend forward. He followed by grabbing the vamp by the hair and sent it sliding on the floor head first into a nearby crate.
Cain rose to his feet and turned to the vampire he had thrown across the room and whom was now running back toward him. The bandana man lowered his head,smiled and began walking toward the vampire.
TO BE CONCLUDED…