Chapter 7 – Rewards

*BOOM* The door thundered open, Buffy, Tzirk and Lin making an entrance through the settling dust.

The room was dimly lit, and smelled strongly of sandalwood and copper. Five witches cloaked in heavy shrouds held pivotal points in the room. All of them were chanting in Latin, their palms out facing upwards. Buffy could vaguely make out the closest one and noticed that blood was dripping slowly but steadily from both of her hands.

"I'm guessing you guys don't make with the nice mojo here. Conjuring bunnies from hats, restoring souls, that kind of thing. OK, I'll deal."

The nearest witch turned to address her. "We never wanted you, who are you to fight our war?"

Buffy turned to Lin, a smirk on her face. "Who am I, Linpuy? Why do I fight your war? She kinda has a point, maybe I should bail." She teased, ending her sentence with a sly wink. Lin blushed profusely before composing himself and striding forward past Buffy.

"We have brought a strong warrior who has passed your sadistic tests of sacrifice. She strengthens our clan merely with her presence, but also with her blood." He raised his right arm in a fist.

"You speak of sacrifice, but it has no merit, you pathetic fool. You have gained nothing from your endeavours. We have always controlled this war, we have won it thoroughly, time and time again. We keep you in our grasp as your efforts amuse us. We could end you like that." She finished her monologue with a snap of her fingers. She instantly collapsed and didn't return to her feet.

"Wow, that's a neat trick," Buffy quipped. "Can you all do that, or was she special?"

At that, a shorter frail witch turned to reply to Buffy's taunts.

"She has sacrificed her flesh to strengthen our lifeforce. This is how we grow in strength, not with glamours and false strength forged on the back of weak white magic. We are infinite and are not afraid of you." She said this last sentence slowly, punctuating each word with almost regal annunciation.

"You should be. I have sacrificed my whole world. I do so, willingly, over and over again, and though it may not end, it doesn't make my efforts useless. Cause in the end I have everything to show for it."

The small witch looked Buffy over before replying. "You have… everything? You live in your own personal hell. Your refusal to care has created a pit of self-loathing that you teeter over dangerously on a daily basis. Your friends in Sunnydale may even be dead, and you're wallowing away the hours in Sally's budget diner. Why the hell are you even here, you maggot." She shrieked. Before having a chance to continue her barrage, Buffy took the opportunity to talk over her.

"You do not talk to me like that, you pathetic cronie. Yes, I left my family, my friends. I thought they'd be better off if they carried no association to me. Being the slayer has cost me my true love; and my best friends." A single tear rolled jaggedly down her face as she remembered Kendra once again. "But shutting the world off and treating the ones you love with apathy makes you miserable, angry, hurt and most importantly, weak. It doesn't work. You shut away the world and it can crash on you when you least expect it. I know that now. My passion for life has replaced my frustration. I will protect and help those who deserve it." She smiled at Lin and Tzirk. "And I will share my power to no end." She paused to glare at the elder witch. "But then, there's you. You share your power by sacrificing your sisters for the cause. How many have you sacrificed? Is it worth it when I do this?" With that, she cartwheeled to one of the sisters who was still chanting, albeit rather distractedly, and elbowed her in the face.

The witch fell in a heap, instantly clutching her hands to her pummeled face. "She has attacked. Heal me sisters!" She demanded.

"Shut up, Dominique, when we're done we'll get you some ice." The older witch said to her fallen sister. She turned back to Buffy. "Listen, you self righteous whore, you want a fight, you've got one. But it's you against us, no demons allowed."

With a flick of her wrist, Tzirkos and Linpuy were forcefully expelled from the room, crashing hard against the door they originally entered. With a second twist, the door that had been bashed in repaired itself and magically hoisted itself back into the doorframe. She then made karate chop notions in quick succession, the result of which was a series of bolts and studs locking the door in place. It clearly wasn't going to be opened anytime soon.

The elder witch made a backhanded strike motion in Buffy's direction, at which Buffy careened across the room, crashing into the still-floored Dominique who winced in pain upon contact.

"Do you think you could mess this bitch up without getting me injured?" Dominique complained.

"Stop your whining, little girl, or I will have her stop you the hard way." At this, Buffy felt her right foot lift itself involuntarily and position itself over her neck.

Buffy tried moving her foot to no avail. It was firmly stuck in place. Instead, she twisted on the spot, and brought her other leg up into the air, the momentum reefing her foot from the witch's magical grasp.

"Haha, freewill 1, ugly old witch 0." Buffy noted aloud. That wasn't the only thing to be noted though. The other witches, excluding Dominique, had stopped chanting and were approaching the elder in the center of the room.

One witch seemed to be arguing with her in a foreign tongue while another was throwing what seemed to be a combination of herbs and powders over the elder as she drew nearer. The elder struggled against invisible bonds and within seconds was screaming in agony as her body was engulfed in flames.

After the elder was reduced to ash, the witch who had been arguing with her withdrew her cloak and approached Buffy slowly.

"Hello, Slayer. My name is Augustine and I am now the leader of this coven. My predecessor clutched to horribly primitive, vicious customs and prejudices. Prejudices we now vow to expel from our society."

Buffy's eyes grew wide in realization. "You mean, no more war? Yay Tzirk and Lin."

"I also noticed you when you defeated Xantie a short time ago," Augustine continued. "I could tell what was troubling you and knew it would impair your duties. Your strength does not come from the blackness of the Slayer's heart, as it has in the past. It comes from your ability to love and the sacrifices that you endure in this cause. The Powers That Be approached me shortly after your arrival in LA and revealed your destiny."

Buffy shot a skeptic glance at Augustine. "The Powers That Be are who, exactly?"

"Exactly what I said, nothing more, nothing less." Augustine replied.

"So, you don't really know either," Buffy said smugly.

Augustine blushed in embarrassment. "I am sure that one day, they will reveal my destiny. Until then, I will carry out their wishes, as is the coven's duty. More to the point, your sacrifice will now be rewarded. In Sunnydale, we were able to revive a lost comrade with the help of some local witches. Please return there, and claim your sacred birthright. You are well missed and… your friends may be in grave danger." She concluded.

"Danger, what danger? Augustine?" Buffy's eyes grew frantic as she watched Augustine and the remaining members of the coven disappear into thin air.

In their place, a huddled naked figure appeared. His masculine form was coated in glistening sweat, it was a cold sweat though, as he shivered uncontrollably on the floor.

Buffy slowly approached the figure, before whispering in hope and fear, "Angel?"

A/N – OK, I'm hoping that BA fans offset the cliffy with the reappearance of naked Angel. Yes, CAS, Kairos, Aireon, ba2006 and Taaroko; I mean you guys. Keep in mind that for all Buffy knows, her fallen comrade could be Giles, Xander, Willow, Faith, Oz or Kendra, so be prepared for shocks aplenty in this story's finale.