Chapter 10

Will couldn't help but notice that Giles and the kids in the library seemed somewhat practiced at dealing with injuries. They quickly cleared off the table and got John onto it.

"What happened?" Keri asked, turning from the door.

"He's been stabbed." Molly sobbed. Cordelia took her arm and pulled her away from the table just far enough to give Giles room.

Giles gave the stab wound a quick, but thorough look. "Right." he said. "We need to get him to the hospital."

"But that man is still out there?" Molly said, not quite calmed down yet.

"Who was that?" Will asked, though he feared he knew the answer.

"My brother." Keri answered. She noticed that no one seemed surprised. Later she'd have to have a talk with Giles about all this. Right now she was remembering how she hadn't been much safer at the hospital when Michael had come for her. Still, Giles was right. The wound on John's leg was serious.

"Will is your car still in the parking lot?" she asked.

As she only lived a block from the school, he had walked to her house that evening. When the phones had been cut at her home, they had come to the school to try their luck there.

"Yeah." he said uncertainly.

"Should we be letting this guy take point?" Faith whispered to Buffy. They were both following closely behind Ronnie as he searched the school for Mr. Curse of Ahroun.

"Just be ready to tackle him out of the way if Meyers gets up close and personal." Buffy whispered back.

Faith leered. "Not a problem at all."

"I'm married and you're underage." Ronnie said. "Your whispering could use some work."

Will, Giles and Keri escorted John and Molly towards the exit. It had been a hard decision leaving Xander and the others behind, but Giles had decided he'd rather have the 'primary targets' protected by someone who knew what they were doing than sending them off on their own. He'd wanted to leave Molly with them, but she wouldn't leave John's side.

He'd made sure the kids hid and armed themselves. The plan was for Keri and the others to get to the car, and head for the hospital, while he went back for the children.

It was a good enough plan. One that he was sure would somehow go horribly wrong. And possibly end with him getting hit over the head or something.

They were nearing the exit when a figure came around the corner ahead of them. Panicking, Will grabbed the gun from Keri and opened fire. Most of his shots went wild, but one must have hit because the figure collapsed.

"What the hell?" a furious female voice cried out.

Buffy and Faith charged out, weapons at the ready. It was probably lucky that the gun was empty.

Will stared in horror, as he saw who it was that was lying on the floor. Ronnie the security guard, with blood seeping from his scalp.

Faith snatched the gun away from Will and glowered at him.

Keri was near tears as she joined Buffy at Ronnie's side. Will just stammered.

"I thought, I thought..."

It was Giles who first saw the classroom door open behind the Guidance Counselor. But it was Faith who first reacted. Michael was only halfway out when the slayer's boot caught the door, slamming it shut on the silent man.

Faith had to admit that the lack of any sound from him was disconcerting. That kick should have at least cracked his ribs, but he didn't so much as grunt, though he staggered as if he were in pain. Faith didn't hesitate to follow up her attack. She seized Michael's wrist in one hand and the front of his jumpsuit in the other. Lifting him off the floor, she slammed him down with as much force as she could muster.

"Get out of here!" she shouted at the others. Giles had warned them that the curse made it's victims exceedingly brutal. Well that was just fine. She could do brutal.

Buffy scooped Ronnie up in her arms, ignoring the shocked looks of the others.

"Come on." she said. "He's alive." She led the way out of the building.

Faith didn't let up for one second. She knew she couldn't afford to give Michael a second to get his bearings. She pummeled him with her fists until he finally collapsed, falling limply to the floor.

Somewhere in the melee, Faith had lost her ax.

For all the grief some environmentalists may have given him about it, Will was very glad at that moment that he drove an SUV. He helped Buffy get Ronnie into the back seat, astonished at her strength. The moment the unconscious guard was safely in, Buffy turned towards the school.

"Where are you going?" he demanded. "That lunatic is still in there!"

"So's Faith." Buffy said. She had no time to get into the whole 'killing monsters was her job' bit.

Keri made sure that John and Molly were in the car, then she too looked to the school. Giles was already heading for the doors as well, no doubt to make sure the kids in the library were okay.

"Mom?" John said uncertainly. It had not escaped his notice that she had not joined them in the car.

"Will," Keri said after what felt like an eternity, "Get them to the hospital. Make sure they're okay."

"Keri what-"

"Mom!"

"I'll be right behind you." she assured them.

Her brother would not stop. She knew that now for certain now. And she had lived with this terror for too long. Even if they escaped tonight, she knew she couldn't go on this way.

Faith had no illusions about Meyers being down for the count. Blows that should have resulted in broken bones, had met with more resistance than was natural. But she judged that he would be down long enough for her to retrieve her ax Once she had that, she could finish the job.

No one had told her he could move as quickly, and as silently as he evidently could. When she had picked up her weapon and turned around, she found him right behind her, knife raised. With his free hand, he knocked the ax from her grasp, even as he brought his own weapon down in a deadly arc.

Only Faith's Slayer reflexes saved her from being killed on the spot. She twisted, and jerked back, avoiding the main thrust of the attack. The knife blade instead slashed down her chest, scraping against her ribs, tearing skin and flesh, but missing vital organs and major arteries.

Nevertheless, the pain was incredible. Faith gasped and fell back A second slash of the knife caught her hip, biting deep. Her right leg went completely numb, and she fell to the floor. Fury fought with physical agony for control. She refused to be cut down like some victim of a horror film. Rather than try to crawl away, Faith lashed out with her left leg. She caught Meyers in the hip, knocking him out of knife range.

"Michael!" Keri Tate's angry, and defiant yell cut through the air. The white masked man spun, his attention drawn from his current opponent.

"Michael!" Keri called again.

She stood in the hallway, Faith's ax clutched in her hand. Michael began to stalk towards her. He didn't have the element of surprise this time, nor was she the terrified little girl she had been last time they'd met. This time, she was an angry mother.

The moment he was in range, she swung the ax, embedding it in his shoulder. He barely flinched, raking his knife down her bicep. But she'd pulled away just in time and and wound was only a scratch. But she'd lost her grip on the ax. She scrambled away. Now that she had his attention, she needed a new weapon.

Michael ripped the ax from his body, and dropped it before following her.

Buffy had stopped briefly to make sure Faith was alright, only to have the injured Slayer snap at her that she was fine. Faith did not like to lose fights. Buffy figured if the girl had the energy to yell at her, she would be okay. At least long enough to finish this.

She caught up with Michael before he'd gotten far. He heard her coming and spun to meet her attack. Buffy swept her sword in a descending arc, slicing across Michael's chest. He staggered back, and she followed up with a kick that knocked him into a nearby classroom. Moving quickly, Buffy executed a leg sweep that knocked Michael from his feet, onto his back. Before he could recover, she stabbed down with the sword, with all her strength.

The blade slid all the way through the killer's body and deep into the floor, pinning him like an insect on display. Buffy stepped back to assess the situation. Michael was still moving, but pinned effectively. That was good. But she didn't have another weapon on hand to finish the job. And she had the sneaking suspicion that if she took her eyes off him for even a moment, she would regret it.

She jerked her leg back to avoid a swipe of Michael's knife. Hmm, that knife would do in a pinch. She didn't know they made kitchen knives that big. She carefully stepped on his wrist, holding the hand still so she could pry his fingers away from the handle.

It was when she leaned down to do just that, that he grabbed one of the desks with his free hand. It made for an effective, if awkward bludgeon. The desk smashed over her head and knocked her away. The instant she was down, Michael grabbed the sword with one hand and wrenched it from the floor, and his body.

One heavy boot pressed against Buffy's chest, pushing her down when she tried to rise. Michael flung the sword away and prepared to plunge his knife into her face.

A fire extinguisher also makes for a good bludgeon, as Keri now learned. The heavy thudding clang as it collided with her brother's head was very satisfying.

Buffy sprang to her feet. "Thanks Ms. Tate."

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." Buffy sniffed. "But I just know Snyder's gonna blame me for that desk."

Michael started to rise.

"Oh no you don't." Buffy scolded him. Grabbing his jumpsuit by the waist with one hand, and the neck with the other, she bent him backwards at the waist, throwing him off balance. She then took two steps, and heaved him into the air, and threw him out the window.

"Go get the ax!" she called back to Keri, following him. "I've got an idea!"

Keri did not like the idea of Buffy facing off against her brother alone. But then, she'd actually been a year younger than this girl when she'd gone through her ordeal. And Buffy certainly seemed to be able to handle herself appallingly well. So she did as the girl had suggested.

By the time she had retrieved the ax and climbed out the broken window, Buffy had driven Michael back to the stairs that led up to the second floor balcony overlooking the courtyard.

Buffy forced him up the stairs, praying this would work. As good as she was, she knew she couldn't keep up this pace forever. So far she'd been able to keep clear of Meyers' flashing blade, but eventually she would tire, and he'd get her. That was his true power, she decided. His relentlessness.

The deciding factor of course, would be whether or not Ms. Tate would get what Buffy was up to when the time came. Buffy was banking on her being as smart as she seemed.

She was working at a disadvantage here. Michael had the high ground and all it would take to screw up this plan was him falling forward instead of back. But she finally managed to get him to the top of the stairs. Then, with a devastating roundhouse kick, she sent him flying over the railing, and plummeting to the ground below.

"Now!" she shouted.

Keri had survived her first encounter with Michael because of her ability to improvise. And it wasn't hard to realize why Buffy had wanted her to get the ax Nor what Buffy meant now. When Michael Landed he would be down for just a moment. But a moment was all she would need.

She darted forward, the ax raised.

"Freeze! Drop the ax!"

Really? Buffy thought. Now the police actually show up?

Fortunately it didn't take long for the Police to figure out that Buffy and Keri were the good guys. Which was a relief. Buffy had only had bad experiences with the police in the past. Maybe having a responsible adult explain things helped.

The problem was, now how were they going to make sure Michael didn't get back up and start killing people again the moment their backs were turned?

The coroner had declared him dead, which was confusing. Had he taken the man's pulse or was he just assuming? Either way, they were in the process of loading his body into the van when Keri sidled up to Buffy.

"You know he's not dead." she muttered.

"I kinda had that feeling yeah." Buffy agreed. "But how do we-"

"No we." Keri insisted. "Not this time. He's my brother, I have to face him."

"But-"

"Just distract them Ms. Summers."

Buffy had a bad feeling about this.

Keri watched as Buffy went to the police and coroners and began pestering them with inane questions. She got the feeling the girl didn't do this very often. But it worked. No one was watching the van as Keri climbed into the driver's seat. The keys were in the ignition which was convenient. She didn't have to hot wire it. Keri had learned how to do that shortly after she faked her death, just in case she needed it to make a quick getaway.

Buffy sighed with relief when Ms. Tate gunned the engine. She could stop embarrassing herself now. Then she remembered that Ms. Tate was about to face her brother alone. And family matter or not, the Slayer was not about to let that happen.

With her superior strength and speed, Buffy was able to outdistance the police who ran after the van. But she couldn't quite run as fast as the van itself. When she finally caught up to it, it was stopped in the middle of the road, on the outskirts of town.

"Oh I don't like the looks of this." Buffy said. She circled the van warily, finally seeing Michael lying in the street. The windshield was smashed, but to her relief, Ms. Tate seemed to be fine. She was staring at the prone figure.

"Get up." Keri hissed. "C'mon, get up!"

Buffy sighed as Michael sat up, and seemed to take a moment to collect himself. He turned to look at the van before rising.

The moment he got to his feet, Keri slammed on the gas, running Michael down.

Buffy gasped as the van collided with Michael, and then swerved off the road, careening down a hill.

"Oh Jeeze!" she cried, scrambling down the hill after it. Her first thought was for Ms. Tate, though she was keeping herself ready in case Michael still wasn't dead. When she reached the driver's side door, she was relieved to see that Ms. Tate was okay. Well, maybe okay was overstating it.

Buffy opened the driver's side door and helped Ms. Tate out.

"You okay?" Buffy asked her.

"I'll live." Keri grunted. "Well I won't die from the crash anyway." It was hard to guarantee survival when there was a psychopath trying to kill you. With Buffy's assistance, she circled around to the front of the van.

Michael was caught between the front of the van, and a fallen tree. A broken branch had impaled him, further trapping him. He wasn't moving. He didn't look like he was even breathing. Then he twitched.

"Give me the ax." Keri said, almost sadly.

Wordlessly, Buffy did so.

"Michael."

The masked man had looking around like he wasn't sure what was happening. He even seemed to be surprised to find a mask on his face. When Keri called his name, he looked up at her, and reached out his hand.

At that moment, Buffy's blood froze. They'd been spending all this time trying to kill Michael, and somehow it had never occurred to them to try to break the curse. Had it been broken somehow? Now when it was probably too late? Like what had happened with Angel?

Keri hesitated, thinking along the same lines. Then she looked into his eyes. His black, empty eyes. And knew the truth. If ever she had truly had a brother named Michael, he had been gone since before she could remember. These were the same eyes she had stared into in the library. Whatever was living behind this man's eyes, it was purely, and simply, evil.

With a cry of anguish, rage, and primal triumph, Keri swung the ax, and cut off his head.

To be concluded...