DISCLAIMER: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Bayonetta.
Buffy lay in the hospital bed with Xander, Willow and Giles beside her. She had been injured by the woman, but her head had not been too badly damaged.
"Buffy, what you are describing fits with no known records of any demon. This woman's strength, the way Xander says she just vanished…"
The nurse stepped into the room, holding two X-rays. She moved over to Buffy, looking surprised.
"Now this is unbelievable. When you came in twelve hours ago, your head had a crack in it. Now, that crack is almost completely gone. I'd like to keep you in for observation, but the truth is you can go."
Buffy, Giles and Xander looked through the books in Giles' home. So far there were no demons that even resembled this woman.
Off to the side, Willow and Tara looked through records on Willow's laptop. In the corner sat Anya, looking like she had no idea what was happening.
Suddenly, Giles started. "Could it be?"
The rest of them leaned over to Giles, to see that his book was open to the section on werewolves.
"Uh, Giles... This woman wasn't furry."
Giles shook his head. "No. I reached the werewolf page, and remembered that werewolves change at the full moon. That somehow sent my mind to thinking about an ancient clan of dark witches, whose powers grew even stronger at the full moon."
Giles jumped up, heading to the shelf and pulling out a book that looked older than time itself. He opened it, skimming through until he found what he was looking for. "Here we are!"
The others gathered around to see the book, to discover it was written in an unreadable language.
Giles read quickly, before translating out loud.
"There once existed two great clans that served as overseers of the just passage of time for the Powers That Be: The Umbra Witches, dwellers of the darkness, and the Lumen Sages, rulers of light. The two clans payed each other great respect, and under their rule, the balance endured for centuries."
The others glared at Giles. "This woman didn't oversee anything, Giles. She just kicked."
Willow piped up. "And that woman wasn't a witch either. Witches don't use guns."
Giles shook his head. "Wait. There's more."
Giles read on. "One day, that balance was toppled. The two clans began to war with each other, throwing Europe into ruin. Despite the tremendous radiance of God shining upon them, the Lumen Sages proved too predictable to match the secretive dark witches, and years after the peace was shattered, the war ended in the favour of the Umbra Witches. However, humans began to condemn the remaining Umbra. They launched the witch hunts, rounding up the witches with little resistance. Human belief in the powers of God and the evils of witchcraft pushed the witch hunts further, and the Umbra Witches, keepers of the darkness, were extinguished from the Earth. All but one."
Giles lowered the book, looking up at the cynical young people that sat around him.
Buffy glared. "That sounds like a fairy tale. Who wrote that?"
Giles put the book down. "This was written by a man who didn't give a name, probably because he'd be condemned for writing it, but other things he wrote in this very book have been proven correct. This book is one of the few that references the two clans, as their records were expunged just as they were."
Xander suddenly said jovially, "So you think she's the one that got away, huh?"
Giles glared at Xander briefly. "The one who… got away… was called Jeanne, according to this."
Buffy shook her head briefly. "It doesn't matter what her name is. You said humans killed these witches in the witch hunts. That means she can be killed. Any advice on how?"
Giles shrugged slightly. "Well, the machines used to kill witches were horrific. Iron Maidens were among the worst. They filled the convicted witch with holes. If her kind were killed with devices like that, then she can die as a human can, but she is probably more capable of surviving physical damage."
Buffy narrowed her eyes, showing that he was speaking gibberish to her.
Giles rolled his eyes. "She will be hard to hurt, but it seems sharp weapons are the way to go."
Bayonetta stood in front of the swirl of demonic matter.
"The girls are badly hurt, and they won't be a problem for a while."
The swirl thickened, and several heads poked out. One of them spoke.
"The slayer is a threat, and the witch is worse! Why did you not kill them?"
Bayonetta tightened her jaw, regaining her composure. "They aren't any threat. They were weak."
One of the demons reached out and gripped Bayonetta by the throat, pulling her forward and glaring into her face. Bayonetta could have shoved him off, but to do so would risk the demons taking her to Hell on the spot. The demon tightened his grip, and Bayonetta ignored the pain, glaring back at him.
"You will kill both of them! Otherwise we will kill you! Now kill that damned slayer!"
The demon faded back to Inferno, his massive clawed hand vanishing from her neck. Bayonetta rubbed her neck briefly. "Well, I tried."
