AN-You all are so kind with your comments! Thank you so much and enjoy an action-packed chapter.
Chapter Twenty Four-The Battle for Fischer Hall
"We are getting our butts kicked." Faith called out to her fellow Slayer. "We can't get close enough to the soldier boys with their laser guns to do any damage, and those hits hurt like hell."
The group had retreated to the edge of the trees for cover and to discuss options.
"The crossbow is working well. I've taken out three of them from here!" Anya exclaimed.
"Yes, Anya, but there are dozens of them and one crossbow isn't going to get us into that building and to the portal." Buffy said anxiously.
"Maybe we could scout around the back, see if the reinforcements are less." Xander proposed.
"It would take even fewer soldiers to cover the back entrance, and we would be totally exposed coming across the quad." Faith pointed out.
As they kneeled catching their breath and thinking, Tara suddenly stood up. "Did you hear that?" She asked the others.
Buffy looked at the blond witch. "Tara, get down. Hear what? Other than soldiers yelling and shooting at us, no."
Tara turned toward Fischer Hall and opened her magickal senses. "Isobel is there. She is in there right now! Oh, Goddess, he could take her through the portal to Khul at any moment."
The blond witch grabbed Buffy by the arm. "We have to get in there, now." She spoke broking no argument.
"Ok. Anya, you cover with the crossbow. Faith and I will lead with Tara and Xander behind. Dawn, you have rearguard. We need to make sure Tara can get in there and work her magick on Morton."
Buffy suspected this was a suicide mission. She only hoped she and Faith could carve a way through the soldiers enough to get the witch inside and hope for a miracle that she could get her daughter back from the warlock. "Let's go."
This time the Scoobies charged headlong out of the trees toward the main doors of the residence hall. The soldiers looked at the small group and a couple of them began to laugh. Then the band of warriors running across the grass realized the gaze of the Dark soldiers was drawn upward to the sky above them, and their eyes were wide with terror.
Buffy and Faith did not falter for a moment. Whatever was happening above them would happen. A few of the soldiers had the presence of mind to raise their weapons in preparation to fire, but most were gesturing wildly at the dark sky. Buffy knew at close range a hit from the laser weapons would be devastating, if not lethal, but she had no choice. This was not the final battle she had envisioned, but she was fighting evil to protect those she loved. A Slayer could ask for no more. She raised her sword and saw Faith raise an axe and they both cried out together.
Dawn was the first of the Scoobies to see what had the soldiers so frightened. As the rearguard, she had turned around to make sure no one had circled in behind the group. She almost dropped her weapon until she remembered her sister needed her to stay strong. If what she was seeing was part of the evil warlock's plan, Dawn knew they were doomed. But a small smile turned up one corner of her mouth as she thought, if that is for us, he is toast.
Just over the tree line the night sky had come alive. Towering clouds roiled and spun in hues of grey, black and red lit by the constant pulsations of electricity shooting through them. As they grew near, the clouds seemed to lower even further like a malevolent battering ram. Bolts of lightning gathered and shot out from the storm, striking the ground so hard that it quaked.
Like jagged lines of powerful anger, the lightning jarred the earth again and again. As the cloud line rode over the campus, a harsh driving rain sang out a staccato line of harmony to the bass booms of the thunder. Soon all the combatants were enveloped in the storm that raged over Sunnydale, sending the ordinary residents fleeing for cover.
The demon serpent of Proserpexa, filled with the dark magick of the Hellmouth, had grown and flourished. Its black scales grew to the size of shields and from its head a snout appeared, snorting out bursts of red fire. It was a dragon without wings, but fully capable of flight.
As the storm matured and moved out over the town, the serpent became like the foremast of a ship riding the first wave. This time the demon entwined with and carried not a carved image, but the most powerful witch in the world, the woman formerly known as Willow Rosenberg. As Dawn watched the dark witch and the serpent flew over the field of combat and targeted lashes of lightning whipped down from the demon's flanks on and around the dark soldiers.
Buffy was waiting for the powerful burst from the weapon of the dark soldier to strike her down as she charged. Instead, she felt the ground beneath her shudder with a simultaneous ringing in her ears from multiple claps of thunder. She realized the bolts were raining down all around them now and the soldiers were fleeing in fear, some into the hall, some towards the woods. Several were smoking piles of bone having failed to escape. A few stoically remained with weapons raised and the Slayer was close enough that she could see trigger fingers flexing, but the weapons were not firing.
Faith was seeing the same thing as they charged into the ranks of the remaining soldiers. Whatever had disabled the weapons was fine with her and she began to swing her axe and sword, striking several in the arms and legs before all of the soldiers were falling to their faces or knees with hands raised and calling out in the universal language of surrender. It was hard to reign in her instinct to kill, but Faith slowed her attack when she saw Buffy do likewise.
The older Slayer called out through the thunder and driving rain to her counterpart to secure the soldiers as prisoners and round up the strays as she continued towards the door with Tara in tow. The blond witch seemed oblivious to the chaos around them. The storm seemed to be increasing in intensity, but Tara strode through it, her blond hair whipping in the wind and rain, focused only on getting to the main doors of the residence hall.
When the two women arrived at the bottom step leading up to the entrance they could see into the lounge area through the open doors. Both of them saw Isobel in the arms of the warlock and heard her cry out, "Mama!" Before even Buffy with her preternatural speed could reach the doorway, the Slayer and the blond witch were blocked by a sight high on the bizarre scale even by Sunnydale standards.
The dark witch dismounted from the black serpent as it glided to a halt on the landing of Fischer Hall in front of the open doors. Red smoke curled from the snout of the beast as Willow gazed into its slit-like eyes. The dark witch touched the demon on the side of the head, almost as if she was stroking the face of a pet. "I feel how the storm rages within you. Let the fury continue until dawn. Then be at peace."
The serpent hissed and reared back its head before leaping into the sky. It rolled with the clouds, belching fire and sparking lightning from its scales. The dark witch watched for a moment before turning her attention back to the two blonds. "Morton must be stopped. I cannot use magick against him, but that does not mean I am helpless."
Buffy was again moving towards the doorway. "He has Isobel. We need to get to the portal, now."
"Yes." The dark witch replied as the trio entered the lounge area to find it empty. She turned towards Tara, "I will see Isobel returned to you, even if I have to follow Morton to Khul and bring her back."
The blond witch could only nod and the three women started down the hallway towards the dorm room that contained the portal.
With Xander, Anya and Dawn assisting, it took only a few minutes to disarm the remaining soldiers and lock them together with their own handcuffs and chain in the back of a military type transport vehicle. As they finished, Faith called to Xander and motioned towards the residence hall. "Let's go see if they need help. Dawn and Anya can watch these guys."
The dark haired man and woman had taken only a few steps when they heard the distinct sound of yelling, in a British accent.
"Bloody bloody hell! These tossers won't bugger off! A bit of help here!"
Faith and Xander turned to see a most unwelcome sight. Spike was staggering backward with a broken two by four in his hand, fighting and fleeing from the largest vampire either of them had ever seen. The monster was seven feet tall with two inch fangs glistening in the rain of the storm. Its chest and arms were covered with muscles that looked like plate armour and it moved with an almost feline like grace on legs like tree trunks.
Even more disturbing were the three dozen or so of the creatures loping down the street in groups of two or three behind Spike and the one he was fighting. Faith quickly evaluated that the vampire creatures were headed for the residence hall just as she had been. She knew they had to be stopped. Dealing with Morton was enough for Buffy and Tara, they would be helpless if trapped between the warlock and these vampires in the confines of the dorm.
Faith motioned for Xander and yelled for Anya to get her crossbow as she ran in a line to intercept the creatures in front of the main doors. By the time she got to the steps, Spike and the first vampire were almost there. The blond vampire was still swinging his oversized stake, but from the blood and bruises it was apparent he had taken several blows and his efforts were weakening.
"What are these things?" Faith called out.
"Turok-Han. Original vampires. Came out of the Hellmouth and moved through town. When the storm started they headed here." Spike tried to yell over the relentless thunder.
Vampires, Faith thought with a slight smile. I know what to do with those. As she hefted her axe Xander joined her on the landing with his own, and they waited for the first group to reach them.
Anya was watching the grassy area in front of the residence hall as she walked with her crossbow towards a low wall that could provide cover. In her long existence she had never seen such a surreal setting. First the soldiers with their advanced technology made impotent by a storm the likes of which she had never seen. Clearly magickal forces had combined with natural elements to create such a concentrated show of lightning. It still thundered down from the swirling clouds where she saw what appeared to be a dragon breathing fire into the night. Now an army of Turok-Han were making their way towards the group. She recognized the vampires from ancient stories and knew they would be hard to kill. When she saw a bolt of lightning strike and immolate one of the creatures she had hope that they might just survive this night yet.
As he embedded his axe into the chest of the first Turok-Han to reach the landing Xander heard Spike next to him growl. "Take off its head you wanker! That's the only thing that will kill it."
"Fine." Xander grunted as he pulled the axe back. Dropping under a wide swinging blow from the vampire the young man did just as instructed and was rewarded with a shower of dust than was immediately turned into wet ash in the hard rain.
Faith had engaged two of the vicious creatures who had tried to maneuver around her to reach the open doors of the dorm. She had landed several blows, but could not get to one for a kill without the other interfering. More of the vampires were closing in and she needed to clear these two out of the way. She landed a spinning kick to the chest of one causing it to stumble back far enough that she had a clear swing through the neck of the second.
As it turned to ash Faith found herself caught from behind. Huge arms crushed her around the chest and lifted her feet off the ground. She couldn't breathe and felt at least one rib snap when suddenly she was dropped to the ground in a shower of dust. When she looked up Anya was reloading the crossbow about six feet away.
"Tough skin, had to get close to get through the back and into the heart." With that the ex-demon winked at the Slayer and ran up the steps taking cover just inside the doors, aiming her weapon out towards the oncoming vampires.
Faith had enough time to realize the numbers of the creatures had diminished considerably since she had first seen them. Then she saw why as two more succumbed to sizzling bolts of lightning and the remainder veered away, trying to unsuccessfully dodge the enveloping storm.
The last dozen of the Turok-Han charged the landing together hoping to overwhelm the fighters and escape the deadly storm. Faith stood at the point of attack with Xander at her left flank and Spike at her right. The dark Slayer was hurting. The fight had left her breathing ragged and painful. Spike had been dragging when he arrived and they had all been fighting nearly non-stop for hours.
Faith glanced over at Spike and then Xander with her expression half in smile and half in sneer. When she turned back to the rushing demons she called out to the storm to bring down death and destruction on the vampires and leapt off of the steps, axe high over her head to do her part.
Elena was grateful to every son-of-a-bitch drill instructor that had ever made her run extra miles in full combat gear. By the time she got to Buffy's house, everyone was gone, along with all of the weapons. Night had fallen and as she made her way back towards the center of town to head to the university she was brought to her knees by a wave of darkness. Instantly she understood the power of the now open Hellmouth and why Morton wanted it. If that darkness was unleashed in Khul, her people would be destroyed.
As she got to her feet and began to run again, she knew she needed to be where the warlock would be tonight and that was the portal. The university was several miles away and she ran every step. As she approached the campus she felt as much as heard the storm behind her. The Light Witch was crossing the green spaces between campus buildings as she saw the clouds dip and sway between the buildings. Then she saw Willow lying sleek against the back of a serpent, her black hair and coat streaming out behind her. The witch who had been her friend flew through the night with the demon gathering the storm clouds to her as the serpent breathed fire.
Elena had never seen lightning or heard thunder. She wondered if it was purely magickal in nature and the dark witch was using it against Buffy and the others. As the storm enveloped her, she knew it was the most awesome display of dark magick she had ever seen. Despite her inner terror and the now drenching rain, she continued running until she spotted a line of military vehicles parked alongside the residence hall that contained the portal.
She approached cautiously, but did not see any guards near the trucks. Sliding under a tarp into the back of a supply truck, the Light Witch looked for anything that could be used to stop Morton. The volume of the storm covered her noise as she sorted through several trunks of weapons and other supplies until she came across a set of items that could provide just the assistance she was looking for.
Buffy had insisted on taking the lead down the hallway to the portal. Tara followed and the dark witch walked silently behind. When the three women neared the room with the portal, it was obvious some changes had taken place. The walls between several of the adjoining rooms were gone, as were the doors. The space had increased to accommodate the expanding maw of the portal. The dark vortex was now as tall as the ceiling and stretched across the full width of the original room dimensions. You could drive, if not a truck, at least a small car directly into the swirling depths.
As they hurried into the larger space all three women gasped slightly as they saw Morton. He was headed for the portal dragging an uncooperative child at his side.
"Stop kicking me!" The warlock growled at Isobel.
Buffy surged forward to cut off Morton's approach only to strike and be thrown back by a magickal barrier in front of the portal.
"You cannot stop me Slayer. I may not be taking everything I wanted, but I have the most important ones, the power of the Hellmouth and this child. Everything else will come in time." The warlock sneered.
"Isobel!" Tara cried out.
"Mama!" The small redheaded girl wrenched her hand away from the warlock and ran towards her mother, but could not pierce the shield.
Tara found herself frantically on her knees only inches from her daughter but unable to reach her. She touched the shield and was instantly repelled.
The blond witch looked up pleadingly at the dark witch still standing silently behind the other two women. "Do something!"
"I told you, I cannot fight Morton's magick." The dark witch replied without emotion.
"So the mother lives. What a disappointment my pupil. I had such high hopes. Now I find you were a traitor all along. I will relish the thought that you ultimately failed. I am taking the girl to Khul and you won't be able to protect her. And for what? You think your friends will accept you back filled with darkness? You think because you found a way to bring her back from death that your lover will open her arms after you murdered her? You could have achieved greatness. Now you will be a pariah." The warlock laughed as he picked up Isobel and threw her over his shoulder. "Good riddance."
Willow stood back and watched as Morton struggled to walk with the squirming child over his shoulder. Buffy and Tara were striking at the shield helplessly and calling out for the warlock to stop. The dark witch saw that she would have to wait until Morton had entered the portal and the shield had fallen and then follow him back to Khul. It would probably result in her capture and death, but she had to try. There was nothing for her here and she had committed to saving the girl.
Suddenly glass was shattering and Light Magick filled the room. Elena leapt through the remains of the dorm room window landing inches from the portal directly in front of Morton. Even before her feet hit the floor, the best soldier the Light had ever trained was pushing the warlock back from the opening of the vortex.
Morton fought back with streams of dark magick, but he was hindered by Isobel who continued to kick and yell. The Light Witch shielded herself and continued to put all her efforts in a concentrated push until she felt the warlock move through the barrier he had set and to the other side.
Buffy was on him immediately, pummeling and trying to pry Isobel from his grasp. But the warlock was not going to give up his prize without a fight. He flung the Slayer back with a direct shot of dark magick from his palm and she struck the far wall hard and slumped down to the floor. As she tried to rise up, Morton struck out again, but this time his blast fizzled in a shimmer of light and he turned to see the blond witch running towards him while keeping up her own shield.
Tara could not move as fast as the Slayer. When Morton had become vulnerable on this side of his barrier, she watched as Buffy attacked and was hurt. But now she was on the run, bearing down on the man who held her child captive with the fury only a mother could feel. Without conscious thought she set a shield between the warlock and Buffy and struck the man with a great blast of defensive magick which succeeded in a jolting separation of Isobel who flew through the air until she was caught in Willow's arms.
All eyes turned to the dark witch holding the child. Willow could read the varying emotions from each, anger and loathing from Morton, fear from Elena, and concern from Buffy. But she was filled with gratitude when she realized Tara felt nothing but relief that Isobel was in her arms.
Buffy stood to approach her. "Willow, just hand Isobel to me, Ok?" The Slayer wasn't angry, but clearly wasn't feeling very trusting at the moment, especially after hearing what Morton had just said about Tara dying.
The dark witch began to respond, but instead shot a bolt of dark red magick past the head of the Slayer into the hallway behind her. Buffy had ducked in disbelief that Willow would attack her and had turned on them after all. The Slayer rose up to do what had to be done to get Isobel away from Willow and struck out at her with her sword, only to be stopped by yet another shield.
"Buffy no." The shield was Tara's. The Slayer looked to where the blond witch was pointing and found a massive disfigured vampire slumped on the floor just behind where Buffy had been, a gaping hole in its chest.
"Sorry, the last one got past us." An axe came down and the vampire turned to dust. When the weapon hit the floor, the dark Slayer followed it, collapsing in a heap.
Willow didn't want Isobel and Tara here for one more second. Morton's eyes were scanning around, plotting his next move and she needed to get her family away from here in order to deal with him.
"Tara." The blond heard her name and stumbled quickly to the dark witch holding her daughter.
Tara held out her arms and Willow gently placed Isobel into her embrace. "You will be safe." Then she touched both mother and child and they were gone.
"Where did they go?" Buffy still looked a little stunned at the turn of events.
"Someplace safe." The Dark Witch replied just as her body was wracked with pain.
"No place in any dimension will be safe for you, little witch." Morton was still on the outside of his barrier, walking slowly toward Willow as he cast. "You will tell me where you sent the girl or I will make you suffer in new and inventive ways."
The dark witch was powerless against the warlock's magick. She felt every molecule of the magickal stream as it sent waves of pain into her. She felt like the agony would tear her apart from the inside.
Elena was guarding the portal. She needed to make sure no matter what that Morton did not return to Khul unless it was as her captive. She watched Willow save Buffy from the massive vampire and then saw the dark witch hand Isobel over to Tara and teleport them away. Hope flourished in her heart that she had been wrong about Willow and that there was still goodness in her. When Morton attacked the dark witch she knew there was an opportunity. The warlock was distracted by his rage and was completely focused on his infliction of pain. Elena called to Buffy and stepped to the edge of the barrier.
"You have to do this. Put these on Morton's arms, quickly." As she spoke, the Light Witch forced the set of magickal binders she had found in the supply truck through the barrier and into the Slayer's hands.
Buffy saw the warlock attack Willow. After everything the Slayer had seen that night she suspected Willow would die before she told Morton where she had sent Isobel and Tara. She understood her brainy friend had planned for this, to give them a chance to escape. After all the times Willow had saved her over the last year, it was time to pay her back. They would deal with the darkness later.
The Slayer had never seen the devices that Elena gave to her, but she knew immediately what they were. She had seen the scars on Willow's arms many times and had shuddered to imagine the pain that must have accompanied such a device.
She crept up quickly behind the warlock who was now standing directly over Willow, pouring every ounce of his hatred into a river of dark magick pain that flowed into the dark witch. She had fallen onto her hands and knees, sweat pouring off of her, and looked as if soon she would be face down on the floor.
Buffy stepped to the side of the warlock and clamped down the magickal binders as fast as she could put a stake in a vampire's heart. The stream of magick stopped and Morton looked up at her with astonishment. Then the warlock gave her an evil grin and started to shake off the binders only to find a pale veined hand had reached up to the lock between the binders needed to secure the device.
"Your turn." The dark witch whispered as she turned the lock on the binders.
Morton had never experienced much physical pain in his pampered life and lost consciousness quickly after a few moments of screaming.
"That was fast. Sort of a pity." The dark witch commented to the collapsed form of the warlock as she struggled to her feet.
Elena found Morton's barrier had dropped when the binders were locked in place. She strode over to where the Slayer was standing at alert over his body as if waiting for him to spring up and fight.
"It's over Buffy. His magick is bound while wearing the binders and he cannot undo the lock. He probably won't even regain consciousness for a few hours."
"What do you want to do?" The Slayer asked.
"I will take him back to Khul. He needs to stand trial for his crimes. He will be imprisoned for life and his magick bound." The Light Witch said with authority.
"What if his people still control the portal on the other side? Could he get away and come back?" Buffy didn't want to take any chances. She didn't want Morton here, but she needed to make sure he was secure in Khul.
"I will close the portal. After Elena takes him through I will close it, forever." The dark witch looked to her best friend from the other dimension and they both nodded.
"I didn't think you could do that Willow. You said before. . . "Buffy started but was interrupted.
"I couldn't before. Now I have the power of the Hellmouth. I have plenty of dark power to close this portal, or any other." The dark witch could feel the power rising in her as she spoke, begging to be used.
"With the portal closed, even if he gets free in Khul, he can never return to Sunnydale, and Isobel is safe." Elena said, mostly for the benefit of the Slayer who nodded her assent.
"Willow, can I talk to you?" The Light Witch motioned towards the far end of the room away from Buffy.
"Buffy, why don't you check on Faith and the others? We'll be fine here, just give us a minute."
The Slayer didn't look happy about it, but she did want to check on everyone, starting with the unconscious dark slayer in the hall.
Elena wasn't sure where to start. "I'm confident our message got through to my mother and they will be waiting for me on the other side of the portal. Even if things are in disarray, I can take care of Morton; at least make sure his magick is bound."
The dark witch waited but Elena did not continue.
"I know you can handle this. You are the best soldier the Light has ever had." Willow would not let the warlock live to leave Sunnydale if she didn't trust what the Light Witch had said.
"I may be a good soldier. But I'm not the best friend. I doubted you. I thought Morton had turned you. I didn't trust you could control the darkness." Elena's voice had gotten quieter. "I still worry that you can't."
"Elena Colonade, you are a wise woman. I cannot say what the future holds, only that the darkness will always be a part of me and that Tara holds the key." The dark witch touched the other woman lightly on the arm. "I am not the same woman I was, but I will do what I can and that includes closing the portal. I wish you well. In the future I will always imagine you have found a happy life."
"You know I have never wished anything else for you." The Light Magick witch found she had tears in her eyes.
"I know. Let's get this criminal to where he belongs. There is still great danger here as long as the Hellmouth remains open." Willow realized there was really nothing else to say. She helped get the warlock onto Elena's shoulder and walked them to the portal. "Goodbye my friend."
"Goodbye Willow." Four steps into the darkness Elena and Morton were gone.