Buffy

"NNNOOO!" Percy shouted.

Rich dropped Annabeth to the ground, a look of amazement on his face. He backed away, leaning dangerously back. He gasped, somewhere between pain and ecstasy. And then be hagan to change.

His skin went from pale to blue, almost like a corpse that had been frozen too long. His limbs and torso stretched, almost like he was being pulled through a taffy puller. His jaw opened impossible wide, and he let loose a wail that shook everyone to the core.

He looked at us with solid black eyes.

Percy roared in defiance and charged, and the ground burst open as a sewer main flooded. Percy rode the wave and slashed down with his sword.

Rich jumped up, grabbed Percy by the wrist and slammed his fist into his gut. Percy gasped in pain and crumpled. Rich grabbed his arm and pulled him up too, looking hungry.

No. Not him too.

I felt the world go dark again. Rich's demon glowed purple beneath his skin, but this time a bit of golden fire was mixed in. it only made him more sinister. But most importantly, there was still some fire in Annabeth.

She was still alive.

SMASH. BURN.

I launched myself at him, my fist outstretched, with enough force to shatter solid granite.

He caught my fist as if it was nothing.

He kicked me in the stomach, sending me flying. I rolled and skidded across the asphalt, stopping just short of Ben and his ring of fire.

I recoiled away. The fire was blinding, but more than that, I was afraid.

Afraid of how completely alien it was.

NO! THEY TORE ME! THEY RIPPED ME FROM MY HOME! The voice in my head screamed.

I rolled back, and the world grew light again, the power retreating deeper into me. Weakness tugged at my muscles, making them feel like lead. I could barely stand. Angel was there in an instant, pulling me to my feet, pulling my arm over his shoulders to support me.

Rich looked at me, his solid black eyes hungry. I gulped. Burn behind me, or drained in the front.

Frank lay on the ground, coughing blood. Percy was weakly trying to claw his way to Annabeth. She lay still, her eyes still open, staring blankly at the sky.

Is this it? I thought, All my strength, all the pain I went through, and this is how it ends? Even Percy, who's been doing this since he was FUCKING 12?! AND THIS IS HOW IT ENDS?!

I screamed in my own head, at the indignity of it all. That I couldn't even stand up, let alone fight as he advanced on me.

And then a knife lodged itself into his neck.

He screamed as Jen launched herself at him, shooting her gun point blank three times in the chest. He stumbled back, but still grabbed her and threw her into a car. He started to advance on her, but Cordelia smashed a two by four into the back of his skull. He let loose another wail like roar and picked her up by the throat, one word getting past his lips.

"Die."

And then he screamed again, dropping Cordelia and looking at his thumb, bent completely the wrong way. Cordelia kicked hard, landing a solid strike right in his balls.

Good to see he still has some vulnerabilities.

Angel dropped me and charged, letting out a roar of his own. Rich pulled the knife neck, and slammed Angel into the same car as Jen. She rolled away just in time to avoid getting crushed. He stabbed the knife through his wrist into the hood of the car, pinning him. Rich ripped open the hood and bent the knife, trapping Angel.

"Later"

He turned to face Cordelia, but she was already running the other way. I had one chance.

Please, I begged, I need to save them.

And now you're starting to understand, a voice very much like my own, a whisper in the back of my mind, said back.

Energy flooded my muscles again, and I launched myself at him. I leaped and drove my elbow into the back of his neck.

We slammed to the ground, and I snaked my arm around his neck, and put him in a sleeper hold. He snapped his head back, smashing into my face. I saw stars, and my hold loosened just enough for him to reach behind and flip me over his shoulder.

I landed hard, but reacted fast. I used his arm as leverage, and twisted, wrapping my legs around his torso. I pulled on his arm and swung one leg over his shoulder, putting him in a triangle. I pulled even harder, and swung my other leg over his face, and put him in an armbar. I pulled back with all my strength.

I felt a satisfying pop as his arm broke at the elbow.

He screamed in pain, and his elongated arm smashed into my stomach. I gasped and let go, clutching my stomach. He grabbed me and threw me away.

I blinked away the darkness and looked at him. I doubted I could summon another burst of energy like the last one.

He stood to his full height and looked down on us.

I pulled myself up, swaying as my legs protested, and it felt like someone poured syrup in my brain. I couldn't really form a coherent thought, but I would be damned if he was going to kill me on my knees.

I made eye contact with Angel, who was desperately yanking on the knife, trying to free himself from it. He looked at me. We both looked at each other hungrily, trying to memorize each other's face before the end.

A flash of bright light. And it was over.

Ben

I looked at the jewel in my hand, still covered in the big guy's blood. I said, "So that's what it does."

I felt an old power brush against my mind, and a feeling of gratitude. Whatever creature wanted them, they appreciated it. I felt a little bit of strength returning. Good. I was going to need it for what happened next.

Rich shrunk back down to his normal size. His clothes were little more the torn and stretched out rags now, but he was in a towering fury, "THE HELL?!"

"They're gone, ain't they?" I said, on my knees breathing hard, feigning exhaustion. Wasn't much of a stretch. While pulling out the Fire did have a revitalizing effect on my energy, the mental stress of keeping it contained was exhausting. Imagine taking every final in one day while simultaneously herding cats.

"I WANT THEM DEAD!"

"Well they might be!" I shouted back, "Isn't that what you wanted?! What you paid me for?"

He just stood there, glowering, his eyes turning black again. And then he sniffed, "I got bigger fish to fry," he growled before turning away. He changed again, and ran off into the darkness.

The other vampire screamed and ripped his arm off the knife, nearly severing it in the process. He charged at me and lifted me up by the neck. It's now or never.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Gggtttt rrrr shhhlll."

"What's that?" his voice was scarily low and calm, "I want to hear you beg."

"Got your soul," I gasped and slammed my palms into his chest.

I was taking a huge gamble here. When a vampire is turned, contrary to popular belief, the soul doesn't just escape and hang out in the ether. Souls are fragile things, and wouldn't survive long without the body. What does escape, however, it the soul's… energy, for lack of a better term. It's the force that keeps the soul going, sort of like a never ending supply of food. In fact, an entire branch of magic, called White Magic, is devoted to it. Anyways, without that energy, the soul is left a weakened, empty husk of its former self.

Ripping a soul out of a body is a very, very dark thing to do. It destroys a thing utterly, leaving them without even an afterlife. That's why most things with even a trace of humanity don't do it.

Anyways, in addition to losing the soul's energy, vampires are flooded with demonic energy. Again, a soul is a very fragile thing. A demon soul isn't just hanging around for a vampire. No, the demon is already inside the person, just waiting to be fed. This is what gives them their strength and immortality. It's also the reason why things like physics don't necessarily work around vamps. The whole no reflection, burned by sunlight and holy items thing is the only resistance the weakened soul can offer. Precisely how the soul manages to do those things is anyone's guess, but I digress. It's also the reason why he even remembered doing those horrible things, because he was actually there, else it would just be the equivalent of watching a very scary movie. Traumatizing, but not something that will change your life.

See what happens when you use magic for more than just fancy lights?

I pushed my magic through his physical body and felt the swirling and battling energies of his two souls battling it out. Geez, no wonder he went insane for a few decades. Any longer here and I'd go crazy, and I was doing the equivalent of shoving my hands into murky water. I grabbed a piece of his White soul energy and spun, for lack of a better term. The rest, eager to join in, followed, like wool in a spindle. I pulled it into my hand and yanked.

I felt the enchantment, the curse, resist. But it was like a crude sewing job. It fell apart at the slightest bit of pressure.

The vampire dropped me and backed away, a look of amazement on his face. He was breathing hard, and smiled, a manic joy in his eyes, turning to see the other's, Harris and the girls, looking at him.

He looked at me and smiled, "Thanks, pal," he smiled, pure insanity in his eyes, "Well, if you don't mind me, I got some-"

"You go near them," I said threateningly, holding the ball of White Magic in my hand, "And I shove this soul back down your throat so hard, you wouldn't even be a whisper in his ear."

He scowled at me, and then smiled, "Okay," he laughed, "I'm in too good a mood for you to ruin this. I'll be back, kiddos," he promised them, and turned to me, "When Daddy isn't home."

I let the White Soul magic dissipate, but not before imbuing it with some of my own magic so I could call it back if I needed to.

I heard sirens in the distance as the vamp made himself scarce, and I turned to them. The Harris kid was helping one to her feet, and she looked like she was on the verge of passing out, the other had picked up her two by four and glared at me, daring me to come closer.

"It's up to you now," I said, "She might not come back, but you gotta fight them."

"What have you done?!" he shouted, "Who are you to tell me to fight evil?!"

"A guy," I panted, "Who's not telling you to do anything. You're getting what me and the Slayer never had."

"And what's that?" two by four demanded.

"A choice," I said, "They can ignore you. Hell, they probably will. You're a scary guy. But are you going to do it for others?"

"You slimy piece of-"

"Call me shit or a villain or anything you want," I said, "Never said I was better than you. I've made my bed, and I will lie in it. What are you going to do?"

He spit at me. I liked his answer. I hobbled away, and used the last bit of focus I had to cast a glamour to hide me as I made my way to Rich's crypt. I activated the wards I had set up earlier, and was passed out before my head hit the pillow.

Octavian

I hated rain.

And it was pouring. Even with the roof over my head, just the pure noise of the water slapping the rotting floorboards of the ruined house we were in was enough to drive me insane.

And then I felt a red light flash in my eye. I cracked a lid and shielded it from the flashlight in David's hand. Once he moved the light away from my face, I glared up at him. He didn't move from his perch on the roof. I scowled and rolled out of my hammock, donning my own poncho before climbing the stack of furniture we made to gain access to the roof.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Flash of light and a boom," he said, his voice monotone. Even in zero light, I didn't have to see him to know that his face would be covered in camo paint, even his teeth, "That way."

"Can't even see your arm," I pointed out, "And this storm has been going on for the past five hours. Thunder and lightning."

"Thunder and lightning don't happen inside a house," he must be tired. He said it in the same monotone, not even a hint of insubordination or disrespect. He's too tired to even be unpleasant, "Gnome city, 300 feet."

"How'd you get all that?" I asked. I just heard the faint rustle of his clothes as he turned to look at me, obviously having a disapproving look on his face. There was a reason we kept him around, and it most definitely wasn't his sterling personality, "Right."

"Orders?"

I sighed. I really didn't want to. Our ranging mission was almost done. We had identified, marked, watched, and recorded as the Ogygia had firebombed any monster nest anywhere near New Rome. We had been out for more than four days, and were less than five miles from the Caldecott Tunnel. We were all tired, sore, and in dire need of a hot shower. I really did not fucking want to go and check out a possible threat.

But I sighed and said, "Signal Paul and Chris, tell them to provide backup and overwatch."

He flashed his light twice at them across the street while I jumped down and packed away my hammock. By the time I got to the front door, David had wordlessly joined me.

The reason we kept David around was, simply put, he was not only a good scout,he was the best scout. Not only was he as silent as a church mouse (when he wasn't insulting everything you held dear), but he could also navigate terrain when near blind, as long as he'd been there before and had a decent look around. Which is why he led the way.

"Here," he said. I reached out and felt a wall to my right, but kept my left hand on his shoulder. We followed it until he felt the doorway. I tried not to think what monster ripped this off during the Invasion. Once inside, he flicked on his flashlight, illuminating the room with red light, and pulled out one of his golden scythes (completely non regulation, but considering how much of a stink his personality usually raised, they tended to be ignored).

In the living room were three bodies, and a girl, blonde hair, desperately pressing her jacket onto a dark haired boys gut, looking up at us, and begged, "Please, help."

Well, that's it for Wild Boy. I'm probably going to post a sequel. If you haven't noticed, I'm a very inconsistent poster, and there is no excuse, other than this is a hobby for that I pick up and set down kinda frequently. It usually depends on having the time and the environment that helps me write. But I want to thank everyone who's been with me this far, and give thanks in the future for those who will keep on going with me.

Until next time, Sirscreen