Scooby Gang vs. Asmodeus, the Demon Lord of Lust

Chapter 10-

Willow went back downstairs to the basement, where Spike and Angel had broken out the cards and were playing a card game.

"Go fish." Spike said, and Angel growled as he drew yet another card from the deck. "Aww, did Angel not get the card he needed?" He taunted, seeing Angel's scowl.

"Shut up. It's your turn."

"Got any Aces?"

Angel growled again as he tossed Spike his Ace.

"Got a deuce?"

Angel tossed him yet another card.

"A three?"

"Go fish." Spike drew a card from the deck, and laid down two fours, leaving him with only two cards left, versus Angel's nine cards.

"Got a King?"

"Go fish."

Ten cards for Angel.

"Got a three?" Spike asked again, and Angel handed him the card he'd just drawn.

"Okay, Spike, I've asked for everything from a two to an Ace from you. How do you still have a card?"

Spike chuckled as he turned the last card around in his hand, revealing a joker.

"Got a Joker?" Spike asked, and Angel sok his head.

"Go fish."

Spike drew the last card in the deck, the other Joker.

"I win anyway."

"You do realize you were supposed to take the Jokers out, right?"

"But then we wouldn't be playin' with a full deck." Spike protested.

"That's the way the game works."

"Bollocks! I bloomin' hate this soddin' game! These bloody Americans and their stupid card games! Whtever happened to real games like rugby and football?"

"We have football here in America." Willow said as she finally approached.

"Oh yeah, Red? I'm talkin' real football, not that rugby-knockoff for sissies you play here."

"Actually, I'm talking about about real football. We call it soccer here, though."

"Well, gotta say, I'm impressed. Seems not all Americans are void of culture. I like you, Red."

"Well, I did spend some time in England with Giles once."

"Oh yeah?"

"That's enough chitchat. Are you ready to cast the spell?" Angel asked Willow.

"Well, that's the thing, I had instructions on how to give you you soul back when I did it. I don't have any idea hw to actually remove a soul from a human."

"Why not just put the same curse on everyone as on Angel here? Then, next time someone goes to give 'em a happy, poof!" Spike said as he lit a cigarette. Willow looked at it and the cigarette turned to ash. "Bloody hell! That was my last one!"

"Because Angel didn't hve a soul already when he was cursed. The curse gives souls to those who don't have them, not takes them away from those who do."

"Well, looks like you've got that wrapped up with pink ribbons and cute little bows. Purple and white polka dots on the wrappin' paper, blue "thank you" note attached."

"Right... Well, you need to figure it out, Willow. Otherwise, Faith and Tara and countless others will be stuck in Asmodeus' grasp for eternity." Angel said solemly.

"Thank you, Mr. Cheerful." Spike said, rolling his eyes. "As if that wasn't obvious."

"I don't hear any words of wisdom escaping your brilliant lips, Mr. Poet."

"Hey! Said you wouldn't mention that!" Spike yelled.

"What?" Willow asked.

"How do yo think 'William the Bloody' got his nickname?"

"I always thought it was because he was a psychotic murderer." Willow replied.

"Yes! That's why! I was bloody insane!" Spike said defensively.

"Actually it was because he wrote 'bloody awful poetry'." Angel said in a mocking voice using a British accent.

"Spike the poet?" Willow asked with a slight smile.

"Oh, shove off, will you?" Spike growled.

"Yeah. Apparently, it's also how he got his preferred method of killing."

"What?"

"You know, the whole 'railroad spike through the head' thing. Which earned him his new name 'Spike'. Apparently, some poor sap said he'd rather have a railroad spike put through his head than listen to another poem from 'William the Bloody'."

"Come off it!" Spike was whining by now.

"Listen, we should get to work. I'm going to need help finding a ritual to extract everyone's souls." Willow said. "We might as well unchain everyone."

Spike and Angel unchained the gang, and they all headed upstairs. Luckily, the window blinds were drawn, so neither vampire was in any danger.

Everyone instantly began researching. Dawn walked in not thiry minutes after.

"Hey, guys." She said cautiously.

"Dawnie!" Willow said as she rushed over and hugged her. Everyone else sprang to their feet and welcomed Dawn back. Dawn, however, scrambled backwards, away from everyone and curled up in a corner.

Willow slowly walked over and knelt down to touch her.

"Don't touch me!" Dawn screamed. Willow flinched, then backed away.

"I think Dawn needs some space." Willow suggested as she returned to the group.

"Where's Buffy?" Oz asked. Dawn didn't answer, so everyone just sat down and continued researching.

Dawn stood up after about ten minutes, and walked over.

"She's at home. This is all too much for her." Dawn said monotonously. "She's locked up in her room. I can't get her to come out."

"Maybe we should..." Willow suggested.

"I think you're right." Giles agreed. " We're going to need Buffy for this. And we need her at the top of her game. Half-court won't work."

"Giles? What did we say about sports analogies?" Xander joked, and Giles cleaned his glasses.

"Well, we should probably go, then." Willow said, and everyone but Spike and Angel followed her out. Dawn stayed with them.

"Really? They're just gonna leave us here?" Spike said as the door closed.

"Buffy needs them right now, and we can't go outside."

"I bloody well know that, don't I! I'm just sayin', they could at least cover up the car with a tarp or something, give us a ride."

"Well, we're stuck here anyway." Angel said, and sat down.

"Whatever. I need to let off some steam."

"No way. You're not doing that in front of us."

"Oh, sod off! I'mnot talkin' 'bout that! I mean, I've got all this pent-up aggression, and I need to bloomin' let loose! I just need to beat somethin' to a bloody pulp!"

"You can fight me." Dawn said.

"Hah! There's a laugh! I could beat you black and blue and red all over! Not that I'd want to, o' course. Just sayin', if I were to actually try, you'd stand no chance."

"Buffy and Faith taught me a bit."

"Take more than 'a bit' for a little girlie like you to beat up a big, bad vampire like me. 'Specially one who don't even have the strength of a Slayer."

"Well, then you just gained yourself a punching bag." Dawn said as she started dragging Spike downstairs.

"I've got to see this." Angel said as he followed them downstairs.

"Just to satisfy my curiousity, why'd you freak out when Red tried to touch you?" Spike asked Dawn.

"I don't know. Something just told me to not let her touch me. It was just a gut feeling, like it wasn't really Willow."

"What do you mean?" Angel asked.

"Something just felt off about her. I mean, it was obviously Willow. It looked like her, talked like her, sounded like her, moved like her, and even smelled like her when she got close, but... I don't know. She just didn't feel right. I can usually feel this power emanating from her. It's either dark or good depending on what mood she's in, but the level of power is consistent. I guess it's like some kind of leftover ability from when I was nothing but energy, like I can sense energy or something, but I didn't feel anywhere near as much energy coming from Willow as I usually do.

"I thought that maybe she was just tired or something, but something told me that wasn't it. I guess I'm just going crazy or something after being in Hell for several months. Though, I guess only a day or two has passed here, right?"

"Right." Spike and Angel both said. But they were both worried. They'd been around the Scoobies long enough to know better than to doubt someone's instincts.

They bolted upstairs and threw jackets over their heads as they scrambled out into broad daylight.

"Hey, Buffy." Willow said as she finally got the door open with magic. Everyone slowly shuffled inside.

"Hello, Buffy." GIles said lovingly.

"Hey there, Buffster. Big Buffy. Slayer B. Miss Chosen One." Xander threw out every quip he could think of, earning him eye rolls from everyone else. Buffy, however, didn't respond to any of them.

"Hey. Slayer. Time to... buck up and... get off your ass so we can... save... some people." Anya tried to help, but Buffy simply laid there, unmoving, like a corpse. They couldn't even see her breathing.

Oz walked over, curiously, and rolled Buffy over. Her face was blue, a rope tied around her neck. She wasn't breathing.

On the nightstand was a note written in Buffy's handwriting:

I have a bad feeling about this. Somehow, I just know that we can't

get Faith back. Dawn and Willow are safe now, but I still feel empty.

I can't live without Faith, I realise that now. My life is meaningless.

I can only hope that Asmodeus gets tired of Faith after a while, and

that we'll meet again in the afterlife. I've died twice protecting everyone,

maybe that will cancel out the whole "suicide means no heaven for you"

rule. If not... Well, I've been in Hell before. I've lived in Hell ever since I

got pulled out of Heaven, except for when I was with Faith. Without Faith,

I'm in Hell again. If I can't get into Heaven, Hell can't be any worse

than here is, now. I'm sorry to all of my friends, and my sister. I love all of you,

but I can't go on without her. Goodbye.- Buffy

Xander removed the rope from around Buffy's neck and began pushing down on her chest. Every so often, he'd plug her nose and breathe into her mouth, then start again.

Finally, after five excruciating minutes, Buffy sat up and gasped for air.

When the color finally returned to her face, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and rushed in to hug her. Her tears began flowing again as she fought to escape, get to some means of relief, of escape from a world without Faith. Even the nightmares about Dawn's death hadn't affected her this much.

The gang managed to hold her down until she stopped struggling and gave in. Then, she remembered her stake, which was always concealed in her boot. She whipped it out and tried to stab herself with it before anyone noticed, but it went flying through the air to land in Willow's hand.

"No, Buffy. We're not going to let you kill yourself."

"Give me that Stake, Willow!" Buffy screamed as she lurched for it, but Xander punched her.

"OW!" He said, clutching his fist. "Sorry about that Buffy, but you are not going out like that. What would Faith say if she found out you tried to kill yourself?"

That seemed to do the trick. Buffy sat back and buried her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook as she began weeping again.

"She'd knock me out." Buffy replied, then chuckled at the thought.

"Buffy, we're going to get her back." Oz said, sitting on the edge of the bed and pulling her in for a hug.

Willow was the only one to not try to comfort her. Suddenly, everyone felt a rage coming from her, and the whole house shook. Her eyes went black, and her veins started showing.

"Will." Xander warned.

"How dare you?!" Willow screamed, and every window in the house shattered.

"Willow?" Giles asked, almost scared.

"How dare you?!" She screamed again, now levitating off the floor, and everyone noticed her attention on Buffy. "How dare you try and kill yourself because you can't stand the thought of being without Faith for a while?! How dare you give up on them so easily?! You're not the only one who has someone in Hell right now! You think I can stand to be without Tara?!"

Willow floated back down to the ground, and her veins disappeared. Tears replaced her black eyes.

"But I'm actually going to try to get them back. And I need you for that." She sobbed.

Angel and Spike burst into the room and tackled Willow. Xander, Oz and Giles struggled to pull them off of her.

"What the bloody hell are you two doing?!" Giles yelled.

"That's not Willow!" Angel exclaimed, and everyone looked confused, even Willow.

"What? Of course that's Willow!" Xander said.

"What do you mean I'm not me? I think I'm me. Unless I'm the me that thinks she's me, but really isn't me, like a doppleganger! Like what happened to Xander that one time!"

"Oh, you had to bring that up. That was confusing." Xander scratched the back of his head.

"The Little Bit said that she felt somethin' off about Red. Said she could sense energy, and that her's was off. Like it wasn't really her." Spike said.

"Wait, Dawn thinks I'm not really me? But... of course I'm me! Dawn can't sense energy, otherwise she'd be further along in her witchy-studies. Tara and I have been teaching her magic, and don't tell her I said this, but she's not very good at it."

"Wait, you mean Dawn lied?" Angel asked.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Anya said.

"But why would Dawn sic two vampires on me?" Willow asked no one in particular. Then, sudden realization hit them all, and everyone, including Buffy, rushed out the door again, to the Magic Box.

The portal opening spell went off without a hitch. Master Asmodeus had obtained his last victim, and was about to enter this world with his army. Whether he was going to destroy the world or rule it, he hadn't decided yet, but there would be time for that later, once he had it in the palm of his hand.

The trumpets blared, and Asmodeus stepped through the portal, in his full power at last. Before, when he'd entered this world, he'd always been at partial-power, only an astral projection, but now, he stood there completely, in all his glory. He waved his hand, and the portal closed. He stepped forward and touched Dawn on her shoulder.

"Thank you, Ms. Summers. You've been most helpful. You shall be rewarded tremendously for your service."

"Thank you, My Lord." Dawn bowed, then knelt and kissed the ground in front of his feet.

"Now, to bring forth my army." Asmodeus waved his hand, and another portal opened up to a different part of his dimension. Tens of thousands of people started walking through the portal into the Magic Box, then out into the streets.

As soon as they saw the hundreds of people leaving the Magic Box and destroying everything in sight, the gang knew that Asmodeus had come. They stood in the street, staring at the hopelessness of the situation in front of them.

"Hate to interrupt your train of thought, luv, but could we, perhaps, step inside? It's a bit warm out here for my taste." Said a smoking Spike from underneathe his jacket.

Everyone stepped into an alleyway, shaded by the two buildings around them.

"Okay, here's the plan." Buffy began.

"There she is!" Xander said with a smile. "She's back!"

"Anyway... Giles, Xander, Willow, Anya you three stay here and try to cast some kind of spell to separate Asmodeus from his power source. I don't care how, just do it. Oz, you go all wolfy right now, if you can, and fight back the army that's already left the building. Angel, Spike and I will go inside and try to hold the rest of the army and Asmodeus off until the spell is complete."

"Not sure I can take down an entire army." Oz said. "Not sure if I even want to. These are innocent people."

"Not anymore, they're not. Besides, these are just projections of them. They're separated from their bodies. Kill them, and they might wake up from their comas, so you might actually be setting them free. If not, then they'll probably just wake up once we beat Asmodeus." With that, Buffy grabbed Angel and Spike and ran off, into the building.

Oz sighed and stepped behind a dumpster, then stripped off his clothes. He morphed into his wolf form and took off towards the invading army.

"Well, we might as well do something." Willow said as she sat down. She brought a few birthday candles from her pocket. "What?" She asked when the rest of the gang looked at her.

"Why do you have birthday candles in your pocket? It's no one's birthday." Anya asked.

"You never know when you need to cast a spell. I always keep candles in my pocket, just in case." Willow closed her eyes, and the candles levitated around her in a circle, then lit themselves. Willow sat down and began meditating. Everyone else followed her example, and the candles surrounded them all.

"Aphrodite, Goddess of sexual desire, I call to you. We beg you, remove the sin of lust from the hearts of all who bear it. Leave not a soul uncleansed, we humbly plead. Separate the wicked Asmodeus from his source, save the souls of those he has ensnared, restore balance to the world, and right what has been wronged." Willow said, and Giles, Anya and Xander repeated, the three of them chanting it repeatedly.

Oz was biting and clawing like an animal. Well, technically, he was an animal, but he really went all out. The sleeping spell was still in effect, so he attacked anyone who moved. Every time he killed someone, they would flicker out like a light, proving that they weren't actually dying. With that knowledge, knowing that he was actually saving them all, he spared no one, not even the younger ones, the teenagers who had fallen prey to Asmodeus' evil.

Buffy, Spike and Angel burst into the Magic Box and started cutting down everyone around them, except each other. Everyone they killed, went out like a light, literally. They slowly but surely fought their way over to, and then down, the staircase leading to the basement. Finally, they saw Asmodeus.

He smiled, and waved his hand. The steady flow of slaves halted, and the portal closed, only leaving two more standing. But these two were different. One of them floated upstairs and rejoined with her body, then ran back down to join her master.

"I'm sorry aboot dis, Buffy. I am. But I can't refuse to do what Asmodeus says. I really can't" Kendra said as she got into a figting stance and charged the two vampires.

Buffy didn't move, though, and neither did the other slave. They just stood there, staring at each other.

"Dawn." Buffy said.

"Buffy." Dawn replied.

"I can't fight you, Dawn."

"Good, that makes my job easier, then." And Dawn charged her sister.

SHe swung her right fist around, and Buffy ducked under the punch. She whipped herself back uo and bent backwards to avoid a backspin kick that Dawn followed through with.

Buffy was impressed with her sister. She was much faster, and her movements were precise. Obviously, Asmodeus had had Dawn trained.

Even with Buffy's years of experience, and Dawn's still re-adjusting to her corporeal body, the two sisters seemed evenly matched. Of course, Buffy had handicap of her own. She coudn't hurt her sister. She was actually in her body, which meant any damage done to her woud be real. And the same went for Kendra.

Neither Spike nor Angel coud harm Kendra, because they would actually harm her. Instead, they settled for defending themselves. They simply continued to bide their time until Asmodeus could be killed.

[Return to Hell]

As soon as Asmodeus stepped through the portal, Faith took the opportunity to run. Without himt there to tell her to stop, she could do whatever she wanted to, and right now, she wanted to run. The guards in the doorway to the balcony tried to stop her, pinting long spears at her in warning.

She grabbed the spears by the shafts and used them as balance beams as she pushed herself up and flipped over the guards, bringing the spears with her, and the guards flipped over onto their backs.

She quickly thrust the spears through their chests, and ran. Any guard or slave, demon or not, who tried to stop her, ended up dead only a split second later.

Finally, she was outside the mansion, and into the destitute city she'd always pictured Hell to be. Everywhere she turned was some old homeless man or woman, people she geniunely wanted to help, but couldn't. She had a mission, and that mission was all that mattered. That mission was getting back to Earth. Back home. Back to Buffy.

Faith decided then that she would never let anyother day go by that she didn't let Buffy know exactly how much she loved her. Faith knew about Buffy's nightmares, every single detail. Especially the part wher Faith abandoned Buffy, leaving only a note saying "Thanks for the good times."

Faith had never mentioned to Buffy, nor even let on that she knew about that part. Instead, she had always set herself to proving to Buffy that that would never happen. But some part of her thought that she was doing it for her own benefit, like she was trying to convince herself that she'd never leave.

But now, Faith knew exactly what had to be done. There was no way she was ever leaving Buffy's side again. Not even death would ever separate them again.

[Return to the Magic Box]

"Hah!" Kendra grunted as she thrust her stake forward, and Spike tackled Angel to the ground out of the way. Both vampires had narrowly avoided their re-death.

"Watch your own back from now on, mate!" Spike chuckled. He may have a soul, and the chip may be gone, but he still reveled in the fight, the violence.

"Follow your own advice, William!" Angel, too, was enjoying this. It was just like in training. He had to try to kill Kendra, without trying to kill her. It was easy.

He slammed his palm down on the side of her stake, slamming it to the floor just in time to recieve a roundhouse kick to the face that would decapitate any mortal.

Spike came in and tackled Kendra, saving Angel again, but Kendraa had doused herself with Holy Water, and Spike began sizzling from the wetness. He quickly removed his trenchcoat and threw it aside.

"I liked that jacket, you bitch! When we save you, you owe me another one!" He shouted, then kicked down at her knees. She jumped into the air and spun midair, kicking Spike multiple times in the head. Spike went flying, and Buffy barely had time to move out of the way, lest he crash into her and knock them both down. Dawn would kill Buffy for sure.

Angel covered his fist with his jacket, and punched Kendra in the soft spot behind the head. The dark-skinned Slayer crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Angel helped Spike to his feet and the two of them took on Asmodeus together.

Dawn was gaining ground. Because of Buffy's hesitation to hurt her sister in any way, Dawn had found openings in Buffy's defense. She was limping now, Dawn having kicked her hard on her left ankle, and her right arm was numb and broken, due to a misplaced block when Dawn did a combination of crescent kick, snap kick, side kick, and roundhouse kick, which built up enough momentum to place her with a powerful wheel kick.

Dawn whipped out two knives and started slashing with them. If at all possible, she was even faster than Buffy. In less than three seconds, Dawn had cut Buffy on her right thigh, her left upperarm, and her forehead. Before Buffy knew it, Dawn was behind her, her left arm supporting buffy's head, her right hand holding a blade to Buffy's throat. She forced Buffy to watch Angel and Spike fighting Asmodeus. The demon did nothing, only stood and watched. The vampires couldn't even scratch him. They tried snapping his neck, and his head just rotated completely around, as if he had no neck bone at all.

They impaled him with their stakes, and he pulled them out like nothing more than splinters, and the wounds closed before their eyes.

They bit him all over, sinking their fangs into him, but nothing ever happened.

They used a sword lying around to cut his head off, but it passed through his neck like butter, and like water, it came together again.

"My turn." Asmodeus sneered. He snapped his fingers, and the vampires flew back against the walls, denting them.

Kendra had recovered, and went after Angel. Spike was unconscious.

"Sorry, sis." Buffy said, and she headbutted Dawn, knocking hersister back, then flipping her over onto her back. Buffy pressed two fingers into Dawn's templed and applied just enough pressure to make her pass out. She ran over to help Angel, but it was too late. Kendra's stake pierced his heart, and Angel looked at Buffy in agony. His skin turned grey, then fell away from his bones like dust. His bones disintgrated as well, and the last traces of Angel were blown away by the air conditioning.

Kendra went after Spike next, but Buffy tripped her. Kendra threw her stake at the vampire, and the tip sank into Spike's back, right in the middle. Right where his heart was. She hadn't missed.

Buffy couldn't watch another one of her friends die. She punched Kendra in the gut, then elbowed her in the face. Kendra would be out for a while.

Buffy saw the glint of something out of the corner of her eye, but she didn't look at it. She knew exactly where and what it was, and she couldn't let Asmodeus know that she was going for it until she was ready to go for it.

Just as Buffy was about to head for the Scythe, She heard Xander scream outside, but she had to ignore it for now. She'd find out what it was later. She had to focus.

She charged Asmodeus, delivering a roundhouse kick that knocked him into the back wall. He merely laughed it off, but it got him off-balance long enough for Buffy to get the Scythe.

She came at him again, and before he could right himself, the Scythe cut him in half, then again, and again. Buffy didn't let up, even when he started pulling himself together. She'd built up too much rage against this demon, and wasn't about to let him win. For every cut he healed, three more replaced it immediately.

Outside, Willow managed to completely the spell by herself. Xander, Anya and Giles had left the alley, chasing off a group of demons who figured out what was going on. Willow glowed, a brilliant white energy surrounding her,and her eyes went white, as did her hair. Her veins popped out again, but instead of being dark blue, like earlier, they were silvery. Even her clothes were white. No, wait...

Her clothes were gone. Her skin was white. Her skin was bathed in the same brilliant, blinding white light as the rest of her. She could barely make out her own sillouhette against the light, but she could tell that she was wearing nothing.

Suddenly, she was in the basement. She saw Kendra and Dawn unconscious, remnants of a pile of dust, and Spike with a stake in his back, dead center. Buffy was wielding the Scyther, and chopping Asmodeus up into hundreds of pieces, like Zeus had done to Cronus in Greek Mythology.

Willow set foot on the ground by Buffy, and comfortingly placed a hand on her shoulder.

Buffy stopped and stared. Even Asmodeus stopped putting himself back together to stare at Willow.

"Buffy. It's over." She said, and Buffy knew it was true. She couldn't sense any more of Asmodeus' slaves, and she could tell that Oz, Xander, Giles and Anya were coming.

Buffy looked at the staircase to see Giles and Oz carrying something heavy. It was covered with a burial shroud they'd found in the shop.

Xander... Buffy thought in disbelief. Could he really be dead? He'd had his eye poked out, yet he still lived! How could some measley, barely corporeal demon kill him? But then, Buffy's fears shifted as she saw a feminine hand slip out of the shroud as Xander came walking down the stairs carrying the other half of Anya. Tears were flowing freely from his eye. Tears of rage. He sat down on the stairs next to Anya's lower half, and hugged the two halves of Anya closely, weeping.

"Asmodeus, demon lord of lust, Sixth of the Seven Sins, I, Willow Rosenberg, imbued with the power of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and beauty, and sexual desire, banish you from this plane, and all planes of existence for all eternity. You will henceforth cease to exist." Willow said, and Asmodeus faded. Just like that, he was gone. Willow extended her glowing white hand, and a red portal opened. It was shaky.

"The gate to Asmodeus' dimension is open,Buffy. You have to go in and save everyone. Hell is collapsing with Asmodeus' death. I don't know how long I can keep it stable!" Willow yelled, and groaned as her life force was extracted to support the dimension.

Buffy didn't hesitate. She simply jumped in and started running as soon as her feet hit the ground.

Well, the next chapter will be the last of this story, though I will be writing a sequel. The next chapter will take place solely in Asmodeus' Hell dimension, and Buffy and Faith's escape. Don't forget, I'll be writing a sequel to this story. Look for a story called "Pride" on my profile every now and again after I post the final chapter of this story. Thank you to all my loyal readers!