Part Four
'Are you OK?' Cordelia deposited Connor back on his playmat and then went over to where Kali was sitting on the round sofa - quiet and frightened.
The demon woman took a deep breath and pushed her cerise hair away from her face. 'I'm just … I just … I hate this.'
Cordelia sat down beside her and put a comforting hand on her arm - she looked across at Fred, giving the other woman a significant glance and a nod of her head. Fred nodded and scurried off to behind the counter. 'This stuff - it takes a lot of getting used to,' Cordelia said, gently, 'it's always weird, it's often frightening … sometimes it's just gross. But the thing is - this life - it chooses people, people The Powers know can handle it.'
'Well - I don't wanna be chosen,' Kali retorted, 'I just wanna go home.'
'To the motel? I don't think you'll be any safer there.'
'No! Not the motel. Home. my real home.' She buried her head in her hands - but then looked up when she became aware that someone was standing right by her. Fred hovered above her, 'hey - I made you some herbal tea,' she said, handing Kali the mug, 'it might help … soothe.'
Kali took it, nodding her thanks. 'Where is home?' Cordelia asked her.
'Okefenokee - the Florida side,' Kali said.
'Oh,' Cordelia said, frowning, having never heard of it. 'Sounds … nice.'
That made Kali smile. 'It's just swamp land. Miles and miles of nothing but conifers and herons and alligators. My people … we've been there a long time. Since before the English settlers came. It's quiet. Deadly dull and - the craziest thing is that - before I got here, I would have given anything to come to a place like L.A. Heck, I'd have settled for Kissimmee. I just wanted something more than … the whole lot of nothing the swamp had to offer. But then I got kidnapped … and then that green guy discovered I had this big, dangerous destiny and … I just wanna go back and have my mom cook me some cajun otter.'
'Otter?'
'They're easier to kill and cook than alligator.'
'Well, listen,' Cordelia patted her arm once again, 'the guys are absolutely gonna stop this apocalypse. I guarantee it. Destiny doesn't have to be written in stone. They kill the beastie, your whole future opens up. You can be back in the swamp, wrestling alligators, before you know it.'
'We don't actually wrestle the alligators, you know.'
'Well,' she gave the demon woman her brightest smile, 'whatever you do with them - that's what you'll be doing. Soon.'
But Kali shook her head, 'you didn't see that thing,' she told Cordelia, 'that Beast … if it hadn't got bored of us, we'd be dead in that alley. I really don't think the guys can kill it.'
'And I promise you that they can.'
Angel charged at The Beast, his sword raised high. He swung the blade with all his might - a decisive blow that would chop most demons in half. It had no effect. When the metal made contact with the rock like skin of The Beast, there was a pinging noise - and the sword simply glanced off - as harmless as if it were made of rubber.
Undeterred, Angel turned and swung again. And again. And again. He whipped the blade through the air, slashing at the Beast with all his strength. But nothing made a difference. The sword could not penetrate the stony hide of The Beast - and eventually The Beast got bored of letting him try. It plucked the blade straight from Angel's hand and discarded it, throwing it aside, carelessly. Then, just as easily, it threw Angel across the room. Angel collided with the wall and smashed down to the floor. The wall cracked and crumbled where he hit it - raining down chunks of plaster on top of him.
The Groosalug had followed Angel straight into the fray. But just as had happened out in the alley, he was sent flying. He hit the opposite wall to Angel and tumbled to the ground.
Gunn hurled his hubcap axe at The Beast's head. But The Beast snatched it out of midair, bent the axe out of shape and then threw it back at the street fighter. The force with which the mangled axe hit Gunn knocked him off his feet.
Groo grabbed his sword, from where it had fallen out of his hand, and charged again at the demon. But once more, he was carelessly flung aside and this time - when he hit the wall and landed, heavily, he did not get back up.
Doyle raised his sword and began to circle The Beast, as Wes and Lorne fired their crossbows. The arrows flew straight at the monstrous creature - but once more, it deflected. It raised a massive forearm and and the arrows simply bounced off - their trajectory changed so they now hit Angel, who was struggling back to his feet. The vampire doubled over in pain, as one hit him straight in the gut and the other impaled his shoulder.
The Beast stared at them all - making Doyle jump back a couple of paces, his sword still raised. Wesley and Lorne were busy reloading their crossbows. It picked up Angel and hurled him at the two of them. Once more, the vampire crashed to the floor - and Wes and Lorne were knocked off balance, their crossbows falling from their hands.
Gunn was back up and - with a sword of his own - ran straight at The Beast, aiming his blade at its head. Doyle followed the younger man - rushing forward, his sword held in readiness. But The Beast grabbed Gunn by the neck and flung him across the room and, when it turned to face Doyle, the Irishman hit the deck; rolling out of the way just as The Beast's massive paw swung into the space where Doyle's head had been just a moment before.
Wesley reached inside his jacket with both hands and pulled out two automatic handguns. He shot them both at the same time over and over; into The Beast's head; into it's chest … but it had no effect and eventually the bullets were spent. The Beast began to move towards him, but Wesley stood his ground. He dropped the now defunct handguns and took out a shot gun and fired it straight into The Beast's chest.
The Beast flinched - but the bullet did not damage it, ricocheting off its stony chest. Wesley aimed again - this time for the face. This shot downed The Beast. It fell to the floor, landing on its knees - the whole floor quaked under the force. Wesley aimed the shot gun right at The Beast's head - at very close range. But The Beast only smiled. It yanked the gun out of Wesley's grip, as he had done with Angel's weapons, and then threw it across the room. Raising a massive paw, it then backhanded Wesley - and the watcher flew through the air - following the trajectory of his own gun.
The Beast began to laugh - a low, loud, rumbling laugh that sounded like it came from the depths of the earth, itself.
'You might wanna hold the gloat, chuckles,' Angel said, getting back to his feet and pulling the arrow out of his shoulder. 'We're just getting started.'
'This is bad,' Cordelia was now pacing up and down the lobby, pushing her hair back from her face in frustration. 'They should be back by now.' She looked across at where Fred and Kali were still sat on the round sofa, 'don't you think they should be back by now?' Too much had time had passed - and her complete confidence in the men's ability to get the job done had slowly ebbed away, leaving her nervous and fretful.
'I would feel a lot better if they just walked through that door,' Fred admitted, twisting to glance at the front door, hopefully. It remained closed. No sign of the guys. 'But surely this thing can't be any worse than anything else they've faced. I mean, combined? They're all together… they can take …'
'It's worse,' Kali said, her voice small.
'You can't know that,' Fred told her, 'you don't know what they've been up against in the past.'
'I know what I saw.'
'Tell us about it,' Cordelia said to her, quitting her pacing to face the demon woman, 'what was it like?'
'He's like … walking rock,' Kali said, 'the size of a mountain. His skin is hard and stony and underneath … it's like there's lava flowing beneath the surface. It's like - like a volcano was turned into a living creature … but lost none of its destructive force. And it has hooves and these horns… giant, curved horns. He came out from - just burst out from the ground - like the devil himself. And when he fought … he sent the Groosalug flying through the air, caused him more damage than I think even he realised he could sustain. He was bleeding heavily. He goes out and patrols most nights - I've never seen him come back injured, before. Not like that. And Doyle … it lifted him clean off the ground, one handed - held him by the throat. And where its fingers had touched him - his skin was red, like he'd been burned by its touch. I… I don't think there's anything they can do to stop it.'
Silence reigned over the lobby for a time, after she had finished speaking, whilst the other women took this information in. Digested it. 'Right!' Cordelia said after a long pause, her voice loud and forceful, 'I can't take just sitting here doing nothing. I'm going online and researching this thing - there must be something out there. Fred - you hit the books. If this dude is as badass as Kali says, then hopefully the guys will have the sense to retreat - before it smooshes them into a sticky paste. And when they get back here, we'll have found its weak spot for them.'
She headed to her computer and Fred went to go get some books - though she was unsure as to which of the books were likely to help her. Kali watched them for a while, 'can I help?' she asked eventually. Fred handed her one of the books, 'sure - two sets of eyes are always quicker than one, when it comes to going through these dusty ol' things.'
'Thanks,' Kali smiled, taking the book from her, 'it feels good to help. I just feel so…'
'Helpless?' Cordelia guessed, looking over from her computer. The demon woman nodded - and sighed - 'this is just all my fault,' she said, 'the guys are out - probably getting themselves killed - and it's all because of me. I can't stand this.'
Fred and Cordy exchanged a worried glance, 'Kali, sweetie,' Cordy said, trying to keep her voice soothing, 'I know this Beast guy scared you - but it is not your fault he's here.'
'He's here because of me, he rose up in the place I met Doyle,' Kali argued, 'this is what Lorne saw when he read me.'
'No! … well, maybe … but Kali, just because this is all wrapped up in your destiny does not make what is happening your fault. You didn't summon him forth. You're not making him go out and kill people … are you?' Cordelia frowned, as the possibility struck her. But Kali shook her head, vehemently. Of course she wasn't controlling this guy - and she didn't know how he had got here or what he was here to do. But she knew, in her heart, that he was inextricably linked to her. And that made what was happening all her fault.
Angel launched himself at The Beast - throwing fast and furious punches at every bit of the creature's monstrous body. But The Beast returned the blows in kind - and his fists of stone were more effective than Angel's. It struck him straight in the face and sent him flying back through the air. The vampire twisted - backflipping midair - and then landed on his feet on a canvas awning. He was in full vamp face now - and jumped down, landing right in front of his attacker.
Again, they traded blows, hard punches that caused each of them to stagger back and regain their footing. But eventually Angel, stronger and faster in his vampire features, managed to move quickly, tripping The Beast and forcing it to the floor. He then pulled a dagger out of his ankle holster and aimed it straight at The Beast's yellow eyes.
Instinctively, The Beast reached out and caught Angel's arm, before he could plunge the blade home. The dagger remained just an inch from the yellow eye of The Beast, but Angel could not move his arm against its vice like grip. Slowly, The Beast forced the dagger backwards, away from its eye. To Angel it felt like his arm was being crushed under the mighty grip of the demon, and he could not struggle or strain against it. As it pushed backwards, The Beast twisted the dagger, so the blade now pointed at Angel - and then rammed it home into his shoulder.
Angel dropped to his knees, gasping in pain. His vampire features melted from his face and blood dribbled from his mouth.
Doyle, seeing the fight over the dagger, ran forward - his sword raised. But the Beast turned to stare at him - their eyes meeting, and Doyle faltered to a stop. The Beast began to chuckle again - and then turned back to Angel, who was still groaning in agony. It began to chuckle again that deep, thunderous laugh that rumbled on and on like an earthquake. 'Do you really think you're the hero to stop all this?' he asked the vampire, his voice sounded as ancient and powerful as the earth itself - as if it came straight from the core.
Then, it got to its feet; lifted the injured vampire above its head and threw him - hurling him out into the city. Angel flew over the railing, well beyond the edge of the building, and then plummeted down to the ground.
Gunn struggled back to his feet and ran to the edge, hoping to see his boss, 'no!' … but the ground was too far away, and the night too dark, there was no sign of Angel. The street fighter turned back, headed for the Beast. Groo had woken up and was, like Gunn, stalking towards the creature, sword raised. Doyle and Lorne looked on, panicked, as the two larger men closed in on the gigantic demon. But The Beast ignored them all.
It knelt back down and punched a massive fist right in the centre of the square of dead bodies it had created. Fire shot out across the floor, licking round the bodies and forming the shape of the eye of fire. A shock wave emanated out from the centre of the symbol, knocking the band of heroes off their feet. Lorne was thrown backwards and landed on the skylight, crashing through onto the floor below. Gunn, Wes and Groo were all knocked onto their backs. The Groosalug flipped himself round and crawled across to the skylight on his belly, peering down to see if his fellow Pylean was OK. Only Doyle had managed to keep his feet; though he staggered, like a drunkard, as the force hit him - and he was forced to clutch onto the barrier at the edge of the roof to stay upright. He stared at The Beast; green eyes meeting yellow. As he stared, the fire grew taller - the flames leaping higher.
Wesley struggled to sit up just in time to see The Beast leap straight upwards into the air. The creature rode a column of orange fire right up into the sky, disappearing from view. There was a dull, distant sound - like a muffled explosion - and then the fire that had been raging upward began to cascade down. Burning flecks of orange rained from the dark night sky - like the ashes of Vesuvius smothering Pompeii. Ducking for cover, Wesley grabbed the unconscious Gunn and began to carry him away from the flames.
Angel lay on the ground - the road cracked beneath him, from the impact of his fall. He rolled over - wincing in pain and bleeding profusely from his fight - and his fall. He reached over and pulled the dagger from his shoulder; crying out in agony, as he did. Then he stared at the sky - at the flecks of flames floating their way down to earth. Unable to move - he just stared upward, unbelieving.
Kali stood at the glass doors that led out to the courtyard, staring up. 'Kali, come away from there,' Cordelia called to her, but the demon woman ignored her - just staring up at the burning sky in horror. This was her fault. Her doing. But she didn't know how to fix it - or stop it.
'Do you think they're OK?' she heard Fred whisper to Cordy, the Texan woman's voice was scared and small.
'I'm sure of it.' Cordy tried to make her own voice confident, 'they'll be back soon.'
'This is it, isn't it? The end ... the apocalypse.'
'Yeah,' Cordy breathed.
'Is it Wolfram and Hart?' Kali heard Fred ask, 'is this their apocalypse?'
'Lilah said no.'
'And you trust Lilah Morgan?'
'Never.'
Lorne had woken up. He had landed in an office, beneath the sky bar, and - even before he opened his eyes, he was aware of the glare of orange behind his eyelids. Now upright, once more, he was standing at the office window - staring out at the fireballs - his expression frozen and horrified. He heard a thumping sound behind him - and turned to see the Groosalug land in the office - having jumped through the skylight. 'Are you well, Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan? You are not hurt?'
Lorne didn't answer - he just turned back to the window and stared outward. Groo joined him, there, putting a hand on his shoulder as they stood and watched the flames together.
Fred was on her cell phone, trying to reach Gunn. It went to his answer machine. She hung up and went to go and stand beside Kali.
Wesley had picked up Gunn's limp body and carried him to a sheltered part of the club. From under the awning, Wes stared out at the sky.
Lilah stood at the large plate glass window in her fifth storey office and stared out across the city. She could see it spread out beneath her - for miles - the lights twinkling like fallen stars. And she could see how far the rain of fire reached. She wrapped her arms around herself, tightly, rubbing her upper arms with her hands - as if for warmth and comfort - and stared out at the burning sky and the helpless city. Worrying.
Cordy had joined Fred and Kali at the window now. The three women watched in silence, their arms wrapped around each other, as the fire rained down.
Angel sat in the street. The flecks of fire that landed on him scorched his skin - but he stayed still. In pain - and utterly defeated - he just sat in the road and watched the world burn.
Doyle stared up at the sky - at the place where The Beast had disappeared from view. Wherever it was now - this rain of fire was just the beginning, and it boded ill for Angel and his friends. They would have to find The Beast again. But defeated so completely, already, they would be ill prepared to fight it once more. This really was it. The end. Or - the beginning of it, anyway. Angel couldn't stop this. Not even with all his friends behind him. This was something bigger than the vampire had ever faced. And Angel just did not have the power.
Doyle stood for a long time on the top of the building, staring up at the cascading rain of flames. He didn't even flinch as some of them landed on is skin. He didn't seem to notice. He just stared upward; thinking about Angel, and The Beast, and Kali - and what would come next.
It was a long time before he shook himself out of his reverie and turned and left the sky bar, following the others.
A/N and thankfully nobody ever had sex with their surrogate son. The end. Next episode is 'Habeas Corpses'.
