Wow, I knew this chapters were going to be long, but sheesh! I hope you enjoy them none the less and anything you recognise belongs to their rightful owners and not me :(

Chapter Twelve

Scythe

After the battle in the vineyard, Hermione had gotten out of Caleb's grasp by way of the First allowing her to go. With Buffy's guidance she had been able to take down her first Uber-Vamp and save the remaining Potentials.

Things at the house were looking slightly grim, so Anya and Andrew had gone to the hospital for supplies. While they were out, Hermione had gone to the graveyard where Buffy had told her she had seen a Pyramid not long before she died.

Buffy had said that she had seen a symbol which was on the rock they had prised the axe from on the tomb. So Hermione was on her way to check it out and see if there was any link.

"So, where is this place?" Hermione asked after a moment.

"Do you really have to ask?" Buffy pointed out, gesturing to Hermione's right.

Hermione saw the huge pyramid and ducked her head in embarrassment. "Oh, yeah."
"Are you getting blind in your old age?" Buffy teased.

"Ah, shut up. You're older than me anyway." Hermione waved off the Slayer's teasing.

Buffy stuck her tongue out and the witch shook her head before running over to the entrance.

She pushed the door. "It's shut."
"Then kick it open." Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Hey! I'm still not used to all this Slayer strength and stuff." Hermione defended, kicking the door in.

She entered the pyramid and looked around. It was dimly lit by some flaming torches on the wall. "Wow, look at this. What do you think it is?" She asked Buffy.

A voice from behind a curtain put the two on edge. "I'd forgotten. I'd forgotten how young you would be. Comes from the waiting. The mind plays tricks."

The curtain opened and an elderly woman, still beautiful, stepped out. She looked at the scythe with a smile. "I see you found our weapon." She said.

Buffy exchanged a look with Hermione. "Who's she?"

Hermione shrugged. "Who are you?" She asked.

"One of many. Well… time was. Now I'm alone in the

world." The woman replied.

"Wow, cryptic much." Buffy remarked sarcastically. Hermione shot her a glare.

"So what are you? Some kind of ghost? I really don't need another one of them on my hands." Hermione asked.

"No, I'm as real as you are. Just… well, let me put it this way: I look good for my age. I've been waiting." The woman held her hands out for the Scythe and Hermione handed it over. "You pulled it out of the rock. I was one of those who put it in there."

Hermione's eyes widened and she looked over at Buffy. "She really wasn't kidding. She's really old!" Buffy gasped.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to the matter at hand. "If you don't mind me asking, what is it?" She asked the old woman, her voice full of respect.

"A weapon. A scythe. Forged in secrecy for one like you who— I'm sorry. What's your name?" The woman smiled kindly.

"Hermione." Hermione replied.

"Ah, an ancient name for an ancient warrior. It's better than those modern names, like Buffy. What kind of a name is that?" The woman told the young girl.

Hermione suppressed a laugh and glanced at the ghost who was looking rather insulted.

"We forged it in secrecy and kept it hidden from the Shadow Men who-" The woman began.

"Yeah, met those guys. Didn't really care too much for 'em. They forced the Slayer into existence." Buffy huffed.

"I see you are in contact with your predecessor. In that case she has told you about these men, no?" The woman smiled.

"Yeah, just now." Hermione agreed.

"Ah, yes. Then you know. And they became the Watchers and the Watchers watched the Slayers… but we were watching them." The woman explained.

"Oh, so you're like a god." Hermione realised.

"Huh?" Buffy asked.

"Not quite. I am one of the Guardians. Women who want to help and protect you. We forged this centuries ago, halfway around the world." The woman corrected.

"Hence the Luxor Casino theme." Buffy quipped.

"Forged there, it was put to use right here… to kill the last pure demon that walked upon the earth. The rest were already driven under. And then there were men here, and then there were monks. And then there was a town… and now there is you. And the scythe remained hidden." The woman continued.

Buffy frowned. "How come Giles didn't know any of this."

Hermione too was puzzled. "I don't understand. How come no one knew of this?"

"We hid, too. We had to until now. We're the last surprise." The woman handed the Scythe back over to Hermione.

"Does that mean we can win?" Buffy asked.

"This is a powerful weapon." The woman began.

"Yeah." Hermione agreed quietly.

"Got that right." Buffy said at the same time.

"But you already have weapons. Use it wisely and perhaps you can beat back the rising dark. One way or another, it can only mean an end is truly near." The woman finished.

Hands suddenly appeared out from the curtains and snapped the woman's neck. The Last Guardian fell to the floor, dead.

Hermione and Buffy watched in horror as Caleb stepped out from the curtains. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part on account of her neck snappin' and all. Did she say the end is near… or here?"

Hermione ducked as Caleb punched her, his fist slamming into the stone pillar behind her and creating a hole.

She pivoted and tried to hit him with the scythe, but each time missed as he moved impossibly fast for a human.

"You're not slipping out of this fight, girl. Can't you see? You can't stop me. I can just keep going back for more. It's like being re-born." Caleb taunted.

Hermione grit her teeth. "I know someone who was really reborn. He was still able to be killed!" She snarled before launching the blade at Caleb's unshielded head.

Caleb grabbed the blade and kicked Hermione. She flew in the wall and dropped the scythe on impact. She saw Caleb move towards the scythe and scrambled to intercept. But was too slow.

Caleb picked up the scythe and twirled it around with a triumphant grin on his face. Hermione's hand flew to her pocket and she smiled with her own triumph as she found her wand.

Standing up, Hermione pointed her wand at Caleb. "Accio Scythe!" She called. The scythe flew from Caleb's hands into her own.

Caleb growled and lunched at her.

"Protego!" Hermione cried.

Caleb richoeted off the charm and landed flat on his back. "Get him with the stake end!" Buffy shouted.

Hermione deftly spun the scythe ran and went to stab Caleb in the neck with stake end of the scythe.

Caleb caught it mere inches from his face and glared at the Slayer. He used it to send Hermione to the floor.

When she struggled to her feet once more, Caleb punched in the face. He hit her again and again. Each time pain lanced through Hermione and she could feel herself slipping.

"You know, I gave you ample warning. I told you not to interfere. And you chose not to heed." Caleb taunted.

Not wanting to give up, Hermione charged once more. But Caleb caught her and threw her into a stone pillar. The force sent Hermione's head reeling and she nearly lapsed into unconsciousness. She vaguely registered Caleb picking up the scythe.

"I was kinda hopin' it'd go this way." Caleb sneered. He lifted the scythe up and readied it for the killing blow.

But a voice behind him stopped him. "Hey."

The mystery man punched Caleb in the face and he went flying into a wall, dropping the scythe.

"Angel." Buffy breathed.

Angel reached down to help Hermione up. "I was never much for preachers." He quipped.

"Thanks." Hermione smiled weakly.

"Are you alright?" Angel asked.

"Fine. Timely entrance by the way." Hermione commented.

"Thanks. Who are you? Where's Buffy?" Angel looked around the pyramid for the dead Slayer. "I heard she needed a hand."

Caleb got to his feet, his anger showing clearly in his face. Angel moved himself to defend the stranger.

"I'll tell you later. But for now…" Hermione began.

"Ah. This one of those things you have to finish yourself?" Angel nodded in realisation.

"Afraid so." Hermione nodded.

Caleb and Hermione leapt into the fray while Angel leant casually on a pillar to watch, Buffy at his side and staring at him with great sadness in her eyes. She missed him so much.

"You are so gonna lose." Angel muttered as he watched Hermione pick up the scythe fight.

"Got that right." Buffy grinned.

After a few minutes of vicious fighting, Hermione swung the scythe round and embedded it in the priest's side.

He fell to the floor, his eyes staring unseeingly at the ceiling. Hermione staggered away, tired from the fight.

"See, all good." She smiled.

Angel supported her. "So, where's Buffy?"

"Well, I'm here replacement. Caleb, that guy, killed her a few days ago. I'm sorry." Hermione explained gently.

Angel shook his head. "Oh, god. Buffy."

"Ask him what he is doing here?" Buffy called.

"Uh, so what are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"I got wind of what was happening here. It's The First, right? The First Evil." Angel explained.

"Yeah and it's raising an army." Hermione sighed.

"Well, I'm here to tell you…" Angel began. He didn't finished as Caleb leapt up and hit him in the head with a wooden idol.

Caleb's eyes were pitch black and he had black liquid rolling out of his eyes and mouth. "Are you ready to finish this, bitch?"

Hermione swung the scythe up to block a hit from the idol. The two danced around again. "How many times do I have to kill this guy?" She called to Buffy.

Buffy shrugged.

"You understand nothing." Caleb sneered.

The two began to properly fight and Caleb slammed Hermione repeatedly against the ceiling. Hermione wheezed at the lack of air.

Buffy could only watch on helpless as Caleb picked Hermione up by her neck, strangling her.

"You think you have power over me?" Caleb snarled.

Hermione found her wand and used a wordless spell to knock Caleb away from her. She regained the axe and spun to see Caleb back on his feet once more.

"Stupid girl. You'll never stop me. You don't have the ba-" Caleb stopped as Hermione swung the axe up, as told to by Buffy, and buried it between Caleb's legs.

"Who does nowadays? All the bad guys I have met haven't. And now, you're no different." Hermione sneered.

Caleb's mouth was a perfect O shape. Using all her strength, and bravery, Hermione pulled the blade up cutting him in two.

Angel leapt to his feet once more. "Okay, now I'm pissed. Where is he?" Then he noticed the parts on the floor.

"He had to split." Buffy's ghost joked.

Hermione barely held in the laughter before she went on to introduce herself properly to Angel.

After a while, Hermione was heading back to the house with no Angel as, per Buffy's insistence, she had sent him back to L.A, and a folder and a amulet. She was to give the Folder to Giles and keep the amulet safe. All they knew was that it was important.

Buffy placed a hand on the quiet girl's shoulder. "Uh, well done today. I don't think I could have done it better myself." She praised the young witch with a smile.

"Thanks. It means a lot. Now maybe, with this information, we might have a chance at winning this." Hermione sighed.

Please Read and Review. Only 2 reviews :( Okay, I know it's not the best story but it is nearly over. Only 4 more chapters. Next Chapter: A memorial is held before battle.