Abandoned Brownstone,
Albany, New York.
Lyle had been called many things in his life, but patient was most definitely not one of them, which was why he was currently sitting in a darkened room with a pistol in his hand, waiting for Mr. Swallow to arrive.
While he had initially agreed to the plan that Broots had, surprisingly, thought up back at his ever-loving sister's place, it was now in Lyle's opinion far too long a time to wait to be rid of the thorn in everyone's side that was Mr. Swallow. He had only been around for a short time, but Mr. Swallow had been throwing his weight around from the moment he entered The Centre, and quite frankly making everyone's life, and more importantly his own life, a misery.
To that end, he had decided to... expedite matters and get rid of Mr. Swallow as soon as was possible. Lyle knew that Mr. Swallow was following the lead that Broots had manufactured, and also knew where that lead would take him, so he had planned on being there when the human behemoth arrived so he could put an end to this most recent nuisance personally.
Mr. Swallow may have the clout of the Triumvirate behind him, but Lyle was not worried by that, because he had no intention of letting anyone know he was the one that pulled the trigger. If, in the unlikely event that the finger of blame were pointed at him, Lyle had every intention of framing good old Jarod for the murder. After all, it was Jarod's lair that he would be found in.
There would, of course, be a couple of obstacles to overcome, but ultimately nothing he couldn't handle. His sister, Broots and Sydney would of course know otherwise, but they wouldn't be able to say anything about it, at least not without having to then explain how they knew. Having the team that were tasked with Jarod's capture fabricating leads on his whereabouts would not be well received by his father, or the Triumvirate, so he knew they wouldn't put their necks on the line.
Oh, Lyle knew that they would try to stop him if they knew what he was up to, which was why he had taken the unwelcome provision of flying to Albany using a commercial airline instead of one of The Centre's private jets. He flew first class of course, but it was still a distant second.
Jarod was obviously another obstacle, but in Lyle's eyes only a minor one. The erstwhile Pretender had himself previously shown that he was capable of taking another person's life, although under extreme circumstances, but it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that Mr. Swallow would put him under extreme circumstances. All Lyle would need to do was reiterate that the last thing Jarod wanted was to return to The Centre, and both his father, and the Triumvirate, would have no choice but to believe him.
"Sometimes I love my life," Lyle said quietly to himself with a smile as he continued his vigil, confident that he had thought of everything.
Xander's Warehouse,
Sunnydale, California.
"Sometimes I hate my life," Xander groaned softly to himself as he listened to the argument currently taking place between Buffy and Giles.
Faith wisely stayed well clear of the altercation, instead using the training equipment he had to burn off some excess energy from patrol.
The moment his dad had informed her that they were going to go after Kakistos, Buffy had immediately made her way over and pretty much demanded to know where he was so she could go and kick his ass. While Xander had no problem with her plan, he did have a problem with the way in which she wanted to implement it, as he had no intention of doing a 'Butch and Sundance' unless there was no other option, and there were plenty of other options available to them.
The trouble they had was making Buffy realise that. Buffy was still clouded by her anger over what happened to her mom which, while understandable, was going to get her killed if they didn't get her to see reason. Xander could tell that she was still in some way thinking rationally, as she hadn't just run off to find Kakistos on her own instead of trying to argue her position, but he could tell from her agitated movements, and by the way her voice was steadily rising in volume, that it wouldn't be long until she did just that.
That was something Xander couldn't allow to happen, so he knew he had to step in before either one of them said something they might later regret, or worse, wouldn't be alive long enough to regret it.
"Buffy," Xander said, drawing her attention immediately, "I know you want to rip the bastard to pieces because of what he did to your mom, and believe me I'm with you 100 on that, but what he's done to her now is nothing compared to what would happen to her if Joyce were to wake up in hospital and be told that her daughter was dead, because that is exactly what's going to happen if you don't calm down and listen to what Giles has been trying to tell you for the past ten minutes."
Xander knew that it wasn't the best way of putting things, but he had to draw her attention away from Giles, and realised that he didn't have the time to take a more subtle approach, but then again he found that Buffy didn't always get subtle, especially when she was acting the way she was at the moment.
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you looked at it, his plan certainly worked its purpose, as Buffy quickly forgot all about Giles and got right in Xander's face.
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" she demanded angrily, her emotions fuelling her anger.
Xander didn't react to her tone the way he used to, knowing how well that used to turn out, and instead maintained his calm. "I'm your friend, I care for you a helluvalot, and don't want you to die. We have a plan to take Kakistos out that minimises the chance of us dying, and I don't know about you, but I think that staying alive really should be a priority, don't you?"
Later on, if anyone were to ask, Buffy would say it was Xander's calm response that extinguished a lot of her ire, but in truth it had been his assertion that he cared for her a lot. She wasn't sure, but she thought she noted a change in his tone when he said that, which gave her hope that he still thought of her 'that way'.
In any event, Buffy quickly found that her anger dissipating, and in place of it tears began to form in her eyes. "I see her lying there, not moving an inch, and I keep thinking that if Mom had been closer to the door, or if Giles had been further away, I'd have... lost... her..."
Buffy trailed off as the sobs she had been trying to hold back broke forth, and Xander immediately pulled her to him, wrapped his arms around her and led her to the nearest couch.
"Shh, hey, everything's going to be fine," Xander told her soothingly as he gently rocked her back and forth, "you're mom's going to be fine, Kakistos is going to be dead, and everything will be right with the world once more."
"You promise?" Buffy asked softly as she got herself under control.
"Cross my heart," Xander vowed fervently as he reluctantly let her go, knowing that he would fight to his last breath to keep that promise. "Now, why don't you go play with the training gear I've got – something you've been wanting to do since you saw it – while Giles and I get everything ready, okay?" he suggested as he passed her a tissue.
Buffy took the tissue gratefully and wiped her eyes, before she nodded her acquiescence. "Alright," she replied, before she gave him another quick, but no less heartfelt, hug and joined Faith in the training area.
"Xander, I don't know how you always manage to get through to her, but by God, never stop doing it," Giles told him with a relieved sigh as he sat down next to the young man and watched while the two Slayers put Xander's equipment through its paces.
"Cross my heart," Xander vowed again fervently. "Okay, why don't you call Willow and Oz over while I continue working on the fire truck, and then ask Father Dowling to come and do his thing. We'll work out the finer points of the plan once Dad gets here, and then we'll get this party started."
"I do hope that we can keep both Buffy and Faith occupied between now and then," Giles commented, "otherwise we'll never get anything done."
"We heard that!" Faith called from the pommel horse, twirling around it in a way that would make an Olympic gymnast green with envy.
Xander laughed quietly to himself as he heard Giles grumble about the unfairness of it all before he made his way to the phone, and then went back to work on the fire truck.
The Centre,
Blue Cove, Delaware.
Broots was currently in one of The Centre's labs, waiting for the results of the DNA tests he'd run for Miss Parker. The only light in the room came from the VDU in front of him, but he had worked many a night in similar conditions so he was used to the gloom.
Since he'd left Sydney and Miss Parker in Jarod's old quarters, he had been replaying the conversation they'd had in his head, whilst trying to work out what must have happened for her sudden change in attitude.
Broots had long known that Miss Parker had more to her than the Iron Maiden persona, although it would take someone interacting with her as often as he, and Sydney, did to notice. He didn't blame her for the way she acted, as it was the only way to survive as long as she had in The Centre, and especially in her family. He'd always hoped that she would begin to distance herself from the rest of the Parker clan, and it looked like she was finally starting to do just that.
He'd caught the way she had referred to Mr. Parker not as Daddy, but as her father, which was the first time that had happened from what he could remember. It was when she spoke about Angelo, and that he might be her brother, that it really showed that she no longer had rose tinted glasses on when it came to her father, as she herself had pointed out that he wouldn't so much be outraged by what Raines had done to his son, but that it had been done without his permission.
Broots had long held the opinion that Mr. Parker would sell his own grandmother if he thought it would further his goals, an opinion that he knew was shared by both Sydney and Jarod, and while he was happy to see that it looked like Miss Parker also felt the same, he was also saddened by it, as Broots knew she had always held out hope that Mr. Parker would one day become the father she had so dearly longed for.
Despite that, it did mean that when the time came to bring The Centre down, the was a greater chance of ensuring that Miss Parker didn't go down with it.
The beep of the computer, which indicated that the test had been completed, brought Broots out of his inner musings, and as he printed out and read the results, his eyebrows went higher and higher up his forehead. He'd decided to be more thorough in his tests than Miss Parker had originally asked, as he hoped to give her some piece of mind in knowing just who she was and wasn't related to within The Centre, and he'd not only found the answer she was looking for, but several that she wasn't as well.
"God, she is going to flip when she sees this," Broots groaned, worried that this may well be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Knowing that he dare not waste any more time, Broots made sure to wipe all trace of the tests from the system, and then left the lab for Miss Parker's office, knowing that the next hour or so would not be fun. If he was lucky, he might see Sydney before Miss Parker and persuade him to give her the results in his stead, but with the way things had been going for him lately, Broots very much doubted it.
"Oh well, once more into the breech and all that jazz," he said to himself with a sigh before he left the lab.
Abandoned Brownstone,
Albany, New York.
Lyle was startled for a moment when he heard the front door open, and was glad that he'd left the safety on the pistol, otherwise he would have just had a nasty accident. It did make him realise, however, that he needed to relax if he had any chance of catching Mr. Swallow unaware, and made a visible effort to calm down as he heard footsteps on the stairs.
As a rule, Lyle tried to keep emotion out of the killing process, as it allowed him to prolong the event, and therefore left him with more memories of it. The only time he hadn't had been his first kill, but he had been young and foolish back then and had time to hone his skills.
He continued to listen avidly as the footsteps continued up that stairs and then towards the door, and a moment later the knob turned and the light from outside began to illuminate the room as the door opened. As soon as Lyle saw the unmistakable form of Mr. Swallow standing before him, he released the safety and emptied the full clip into him centre mass. It wasn't the most satisfying kill he'd done, but he didn't really have the time to follow his usual routine and had to make do.
Any satisfaction Lyle had felt soon disappeared when Mr. Swallow didn't fall down like he had expected, and he heard the sound of metal hitting the floor. At Mr. Swallow's feet, he could see the light glittering off the flattened bullets, and knew that he was in deep trouble.
"Do you like it?" Mr. Swallow asked as he continued into the room. "My bosses wanted to ensure that I wouldn't get caught out by any surprises, what you just tried being a prime example."
"The Triumvirate don't have access to anything like that," Lyle said in shock while he feverishly tried to think of some way to get out of his current predicament.
"I didn't say the Triumvirate," Mr. Swallow told him, "I said my bosses."
Before Lyle had a chance to react to his last statement, Mr. Swallow seemed to blur for a moment, and an instant later found himself lifted off the ground, Mr. Swallow's large hand clasped around his throat. Lyle tried to say something, and remove Mr. Swallow's vice-like grip, but found it nigh on impossible to do either, so he had little option but glare at him hatefully.
"You know, I had been given orders not to kill any of the major players within The Centre, at least not until Phase Two had begun," Mr. Swallow continued, his tone giving no indication that he was slowly choking Lyle to death, "but I think that they would understand that a little weeding was necessary in your case."
He leant in closer to Lyle, who by now had begun to turn blue from lack of oxygen. "I know about your side projects, Lyle, and from one monster to another, you do good work, so I look forward to finding out what you think about my own technique. You're going to get an up close and personal look at it."
The last thing Lyle saw before he finally blacked out was Mr. Swallow's sinister smile.
The Centre,
Blue Cove, Delaware.
"If this is your idea of a sick joke," Miss Parker growled at Broots as she read over the test results, "I swear I shall pull out what hair is left on your head one strand at a time."
Broots looked nervous, which was understandable as he knew it was never a good idea to get on Miss Parker's bad side, but his expression didn't falter, nor did he back down. "I checked the results twice just to be certain, Miss Parker; they came back the same way each time. As for this being a joke, well, I would have thought you knew by now that I wouldn't do something like that to you."
Reluctantly, Miss Parker had to admit that Broots was right; sometimes his humour passed her by completely, but it just wasn't his style to play with a person's emotions like that. Once she realised that, she tried to calm her ever increasing ire, and at the very least made an extra effort not to shoot the messenger.
"So, Angelo is my twin brother, not Lyle," she said after a moment. "That's actually good news, as the thought of being a direct relation to the thumbless wonder made my ulcer flare up, but the rest..."
"Believe me," Broots said when he saw that Miss Parker was still unable to vocalise what she'd just discovered, "if I'd had any idea this might have happened, I would have never run the other tests. I just wanted to give you irrefutable proof of who you were and weren't related to with The Centre, and only chose to put him in the mix because I had thought there was no way there would be a link between you."
"Raines is my father, Broots!" Miss Parker snapped. "You can't get any more of a link than that!"
"What the devil is going on in here?" Sydney asked in concern as he entered Miss Parker's office. "I could hear you from down the hall."
"You couldn't hear what I was saying, could you?" Miss Parker asked worriedly, the thought that she might have jeopardised her position in The Centre making her feel uncharacteristically nervous.
"No," Sydney assured her, "but I could tell you were angry about something. What's happened?"
"I just found out that I'm the ghouls daughter," Miss Parker said as she flopped down into her chair, suddenly feeling drained. "That oxygen carrying, living zombie Raines is my biological father."
"That's preposterous!" Sydney exclaimed. "It cannot be possible! Who told you such lies?"
"I did," Broots told him, "and it isn't a lie. As I went to test to see whether Angelo or Lyle was Miss Parker's brother, I decided to make doubly certain by also testing Mr. Parker's blood. I also decided to test the main players here at The Centre as well, just to be thorough, and that's what I found out."
"Angelo is my brother, and the man I have considered to be my father all of my life is in fact my uncle," Miss Parker informed him tonelessly. "Lyle actually is his son, from an affair I guess, so instead of being my annoying brother, he's actually my annoying cousin. However, it turns out that I'm not related to you, Broots or Jarod," she went on, her eyes indicating to Sydney just how glad she was about the last one given the situation, "but, given who I am related to, I'd prefer it if I were."
"I must say that I could not ask for a better daughter than you, Parker," Sydney told her sincerely.
"And I'd rather have you for a sibling than Brian any day of the week," Broots added.
"Thank you, both of you," Miss Parker said sincerely, "but nothing is going to lift my spirits much at the moment. I need to go home, drink myself unconscious and hope that, when I wake up tomorrow, I'll have forgotten this entire conversation."
With that said, Miss Parker got out of her seat and, a little unsteadily, left her office, leaving both Sydney and Broots looking at her retreating form in concern.
"Are you absolutely sure of your findings, Broots?" Sydney asked, knowing what the answer would be, but not allowing himself to fully accept it as yet.
"I'm afraid so, Sydney," Broots told him regretfully, "by God I wish that I weren't, but I am. You have to know that I wouldn't have even mentioned it if I thought for even a moment that..."
"Calm yourself, Broots, I know you wouldn't have said anything if you weren't certain," Sydney him, "I was just hoping that you were suffering from a momentary lapse of sanity."
"No, that happened when I said I'd work for The Centre," Broots replied with a tired grin.
"That is something a great many of us have in common, my friend. I do believe, however, that the time for conversation has passed, and that we should follow Miss Parker's lead and head home for the night," Sydney continued, "as I sincerely believe that we haven't seen the extent of Miss Parker's reaction yet, and we may need to act as a... buffer, to ensure that she doesn't ruffle too many feathers, especially as she has finally begun to see the light as it were."
"Yeah, the last thing we need is for Miss Parker to try and strangle Raines with his own oxygen tube, no matter how satisfying it would be to see," Broots said as a smile touched his lips at the thought.
Miss Parker strode through the car park like a woman on a mission, her face showing a fierce determination to leave the building as quickly as was possible.
She hoped that if she escaped fast enough, she might leave behind the most recent revelations about her family within the walls of The Centre, so that she might go at least one night without them plaguing her dreams. She knew it was a false hope, and that she could never escape what she knew geographically, but at the moment a false hope was better than no hope at all, and it was all Miss Parker could do to stop herself from becoming a sobbing mess on the floor.
"Hello, Sister," said a voice in the shadows beside her car, and Miss Parker span round, pistol in hand.
"Who's there?" she demanded, having been unable to recognise the voice due to her distracted state.
Miss Parker relaxed when she saw Angelo appear from the shadows, his eyes surprisingly clear and lucid, and his smile wide and genuine. An errant thought about how he got out of The Centre flashed briefly through her mind, but she knew Angelo only really stayed where he wanted to.
"Angelo," she breathed with a sigh of relief as she lowered her weapon, looking at him as a brother for the first time.
"Sister know now," he said to her, his tone also more collected than was usual.
"Yes, Angelo," she replied, "I know now. I am so..."
"No need to say sorry, Sister," Angelo interrupted, knowing what Miss Parker was about to say. "Father and Uncle to blame; Mother and Sister never hurt Angelo, never will."
Miss Parker could argue that point, at least when it came to her, but wisely stayed silent about it.
"Mother happy Sister knows the truth," Angelo went on. "Happy that you are moving your life away from The Centre."
"That's what I'm hoping for," Miss Parker agreed, "but I can't, not yet."
"Angelo knows why; Sister need Nephew. Nephew final piece; make Sister and Jarod complete, banish the darkness from The Centre. Family, Finality."
Miss Parker's eyes widened as she recognised those words from when Angelo had held the puzzle piece. She wanted to ask him more, but he began to walk back into the shadows, and she knew enough about him to know that trying to follow him or ask him to stay would be pointless.
Before he disappeared from view, Angelo's smile widened a little more as he looked a little to her left, and as Miss Parker turned to see what he was looking at, she heard him whisper one more time, "Family, Finality."
When she saw that there was no one else there, Miss Parker turned around to find Angelo had gone. Despite his brief visit, he had helped her feel better, something she had only a couple of minutes ago thought impossible.
"Thank you, Brother," she said softly with a smile, before she got into her car and drove away.
Xander's Warehouse,
Sunnydale, California.
"Thanks for the blessing, Father, and give my best to Steve," Xander told the Reverend with a smile as he escorted him tot he door.
"You are more then welcome, Xander, you know that," Father Dowling replied as he adorned his hat. "Steve would have loved to join me," he went on, "but you know how she is these days once it gets dark."
Xander's smile dimmed a little at that. "Yeah, I know."
Xander remembered the night he had met Father Dowling and Sister Steve as if it were yesterday; he had been walking home from a solo patrol during Buffy's 'sabbatical', and had been passing the local church, when he'd spotted two vamps attacking a woman.
When Xander got closer, he could see that the woman was actually a nun, and was only alive because the vamps seemed to want to play with their food before they feasted. That wasn't to say that she was unscathed, as he could see that she did have a nasty looking laceration down the right side of the face, and several other wounds that were all bleeding profusely.
The two vampires were so engrossed in terrorising their prey, that they didn't notice Xander approach them until he had already got close enough to stake them both simultaneously from behind, their dusty remains blowing in the breeze a moment later.
By that time, Father Dowling had appeared from the rectory, as he had been worried that Sister Steve hadn't returned yet, and rushed over to help. Knowing that any assistance they would receive from the Sunnydale emergency services would be too late to save her, the two men carried her to the priest's station wagon and made their way to the hospital themselves, Xander doing what he could to stem the flow of blood while Father Dowling drove.
Sister Steve recovered from her traumatic ordeal, but was left disfigured by the attack. She hadn't let that stop her from continuing on in her duties at he church, but was now deathly afraid of venturing outside once the sun had gone down, which was understandable given the circumstances.
"May the Lord protect you in your endeavours this morning to send another unholy beast back to the depths of Hell," Father Dowling said to him.
"Thanks, Father," Xander replied gratefully, "I think we're going to need it."
"Hey, Father, let me walk you to your car," Faith suggested, having always had a soft spot for men of the cloth, ever since one had protected her from her father one time when she was little.
Father Dowling was initially going to politely refuse the young woman's offer, but a subtle shake of the head from Xander made him change his mind. "Thank you, my child, that is very gracious of you."
Faith smiled and then thread her arm through Father Dowling's and led him outside to his car, leaving a bemused Xander and Giles in their wake.
"She is a very complex young woman," Giles remarked.
"That's probably why she fits in so well with the rest of us," Xander replied with a grin. "Don't forget, we've only known her for a couple of days, so it isn't surprising we don't know everything about her. Once everything has died down a little, that is something we'll hopefully be able to change."
"It's only been a few days?" Giles said in surprise. "So much has happened recently, it seems like longer. Oh well," he sighed, "that's just another incentive to despatch Kakistos from the Earth."
"I think we already have plenty of reasons to kill Camel Toe," Xander said dryly, "but one more never hurts I suppose."
Kakistos' Warehouse,
Sunnydale, California.
As the first rays of sunshine appeared off the horizon, Jarod put the fire truck in gear and gunned the engine, his intention to make a fire truck sized hole in the front wall of the warehouse. With a mighty crash, the vehicle careened through the front wall, rubble sent flying across the warehouse floor.
As soon as the truck was through, Buffy led the charge, her and Faith loaded for war, their primary target roaring at him minions to destroy the interlopers. Those vampires brave enough or stupid enough to get in the way of the Chosen duo met with quick ends, a far cry from the way both Slayers liked to prolong a slay a little.
While Buffy reached her destination and immediately began trading blows with the eons old vampire, Faith had been intercepted by the vampire who had beat her up a couple of days ago, Trick, and they, too, began to trade punches.
Xander was the next in and immediately jumped onto the truck and, with the assistance of his father, began to spray the oncoming vampires with the recently blessed water. Xander couldn't help but wince at the screams of agony that emitted from the vampires as they began to literally melt in front of his eyes, and it reminded him a little of the scene in Robocop where someone had been thrown into a vat of acid and what they looked like afterwards.
Giles, Willow and Oz brought up the rear, armed with the modified paintball guns and UV torches that Giles had found so effective on patrol, with their aim to keep the vampires as far away Buffy and Faith as possible so they were not distracted. The trio were also to prevent Kakistos' followers from escaping out of the hole in the wall that the fire truck had made, having decided that they would use them to send a message to the others that if any of their group were attacked, the retribution would be swift, decisive and without mercy. They didn't expect too many of the vampires to try that now that the sun moved higher into the sky, as it would be considered suicide for a vampire to even attempt it.
Xander had already set several charges in the sewers underneath the warehouse and in the surrounding area, and did so using remote control cars with cameras on to remove the risk involved in setting them personally. The only avenues of escape for the occupants of the warehouse were either swathed in daylight or set to explode.
Finally, they were to pick the vampires off one at a time when a shot presented itself. The group had the element of surprise on their side, and were using it to their advantage, but they needed every advantage they had as they were outnumbered at least three to one; it seemed that Kakistos had planned on making Sunnydale a part of his territory, and had been 'recruiting' since he had arrived in town to add to the entourage he had brought with him.
The battle, for there was no other way to describe it, was highly volatile but brief; while they had the larger number, the vampires simply had no means of defending themselves against the combination of high pressure holy water, high tech chemicals and sunlight, and soon the only vampires alive were the ones in a duel with Buffy and Faith at the far side of the warehouse.
Xander had made sure to keep the water away from the trio, not because he didn't want to burn Kakistos or Trick, but because he knew that the two Vampire Slayers needed every advantage, and fighting on a slipper floor whilst soaking wet would not be beneficial. Due to the close quarters the quartet were fighting in, the others were not able to get a clear shot of either vampire to assist them, and despite a strong urge to do so, Xander and the others held back and watched the dances of death unfurl before their eyes.
Faith and Trick were circling each other, both showing several wounds inflicted by the other. The raven haired Slayer risked a glance to see how Buffy was fairing, and Trick used her momentary lack of focus to his full advantage. He leapt forward and caught her across the abdomen, his talon like nails slicing through her skin like a hot knife through butter.
The injury brought Faith down to her knees in agony, and her hands instinctively went to her stomach to try and staunch the flow of blood, even as she knew it would be in vain. Trick again used her distraction to his advantage and backhanded her in the face, blood splattering from her nose, and her head cracked against the floor, which left her dazed for a moment.
"Faith, Faith, Faith," Trick chided as he circled the prone Slayer, "you should have known better than to try and take me on. I mean, didn't you see Passenger 57? Always bet on black."
"That movie sucked," Faith rasped out, spitting blood as she did so, "and so do you."
"Now that was original," Trick mocked. "You think that one up all by yourself?"
Faith didn't respond, as she was in too much pain to waste energy on speaking. Instead, she slowly removed a vial of EDTA Xander had given both her and Buffy in an emergency, as a compromise to them not wearing the bracers he'd made.
Neither Slayer had wanted to use them for this, as they felt it would have given them too much of an advantage, and no matter what Xander and Giles said to change their minds, they wouldn't budge on it. They had only agreed to carry the vials after Xander had almost begged them to, and could see how worried he was about them.
Now, as she felt her life slipping away from her, Faith wished they had listened to them, but at least she would have the satisfaction of taking this son of a bitch with her when she died.
Faith waited for Trick to lean in, and then with the last of her strength jabbed the vial into his right eye, which caused the vampire to rear back and scream out in agony. The liquid quickly began to flow through his system, and a few seconds later he exploded like an overfull water balloon, covering her in blood and ichor.
Faith managed to stay conscious long enough to see Trick's demise before she finally allowed the darkness to take her.
Buffy somersaulted backwards away from Kakistos as he swiped at her, and used her distance from the master vampire to check on the condition of her sister Slayer. She could see that both Jarod and Giles had rushed over to the fallen young woman, and were doing what they could to keep her alive, and while she would like nothing more than to go over and help, that would have to be enough for her at the moment, as she was trying to keep herself alive.
Kakistos looked like he would be slow and easy to defeat, but she should have realised by now that looks were deceiving. He had existed longer than Christianity, and nothing lives as long as that without learning a few things on survival. They both had several wounds, although she had to admit the ones he'd inflicted on her were worse than the ones she'd inflicted on him, and she was surprised that the ancient demon was showing no sign of slowing down.
As he watched his pitiful excuse for an opponent flip through the air, Kakistos decided to show her another thing he had learned. He travelled the distance between hem far faster than Buffy thought him capable, and was waiting to strike at the blonde the moment she landed. Buffy barely had time to put her arms up to defend herself when Kakistos caught her with a thunderous double-handed blow that sent her soaring through the air, where she crashed into, and then through, a wall.
Xander, taking advantage of the clear shot he now had, fired the hose at Kakistos, which caught him right in the chest. The spray only lasted a few seconds before it fizzled out, as the extra pressure Xander had gotten from the pump had the unfortunate downside of emptying the tank faster than anticipated. However, even those few short moments had done their damage, as while Kakistos had not been affected as badly as the other vampires that had been dowsed by the holy water cannon, his clothing had been ripped away from his chest by the force of the water, and his exposed skin was smoking and bubbling.
"You think a little water will stop the great Kakistos?" the ancient vampire growled arrogantly, although Xander noted that there was some panic in the vampire's voice. "You are nothing more than cattle to me, and certainly no match to the fury that will be wrought against you!"
Xander growled, his anger so great that words could not adequately express what he was feeling. Tossing the hose to one side, he reached to his left and pulled out custom made stake launcher from where he had stashed it on the fire truck, and aimed the weapon at the advancing Kakistos. He fired twice in quick succession, and the oversized stakes hit their target and sent the vampire back against the wall, pinned there by his shoulders as the staked embedded themselves into the wall.
"Fool!" Kakistos spat as he struggled to break free. "Are you so inept that you do not even know how to kill a vampire?!"
"Oh, I know how to kill you," Xander replied as he tossed the stake launcher to one side, "but killing you isn't in my job description."
"But it is in mine," Buffy said as she limped into view, her right arm tucked into herself, quite clearly broken, and her left holding the stake launcher Xander threw her way. "This is for everyone you have ever killed," she told him as she fired the final stake into his damaged chest and pierced his unbeating heart.
Kakistos roared one final time, a primal scream of rage and fear, before his body succumbed to the inevitable and turned to dust, although like The Master, his skeleton remained behind. A moment later, dozens of paintballs impacted against the skeleton, and the chemical cocktail within them dissolved the bones until there was nothing left. Xander and Buffy turned round to see both Willow and Oz standing there, their faces grim.
"Didn't want a repeat performance," Oz informed them, having been told by his girlfriend all about how the Master had almost been resurrected using his skeleton.
Buffy nodded her agreement before her eyes rolled up into her head and she passed out, Xander intercepting her just in time to prevent her from hitting the ground.
"Buffy!" Willow cried in fear, having already seen Faith's condition and now fearing for the well being of her friend.
"She'll be fine, Wills, don't worry," Xander assured her, his tone showing none of the fear he felt. "How's Faith?" he asked after a moment as he shifted Buffy into a better position to carry her.
"Not good; Giles and your dad rushed her outside to Oz' van and drove off towards the hospital," Willow replied.
That Giles acquiesced to taking her to hospital told Xander that Faith was at death's door, and hoped that she didn't intend on opening it any time soon. "Well, we better follow them, as Buffy will need to have her arm set at the very least."
"What about all this?" Willow asked, indicating the war zone that used to be a warehouse.
Xander looked around at the carnage for a moment before he replied. "I'll contact the fire department and give them some bullshit story about joyriders messing around with a fire truck around the area, when they come and see the mess, they'll think of something to explain it away," he replied with a shrug, not all that bothered about it at the moment. "Come on," he continued as he began to make his way outside, mindful of the slippery floor, "lets get the hell out of here."
Both Oz and Willow were more than happy to comply, and the trio, plus Buffy, left the warehouse.