Chapter 12
~ Heaven, Hell, and a Slayer ~
"We should see things clearing up over the lower California area tonight, without seeing much in the way of the wet stuff. The southerly winds will kick up and push this system off the coast up, and into Northern California and Lower Oregon.
"If we go to the Doppler Radar we see that there is very little rain coming out of the high level clouds covering the valley and most of the L.A. area. However, we do have this little spot of storms, right here, over Sunnydale. If you've followed the news tonight, you'll hear that this city was the one that experienced the riots in the evening hours tonight. Well this small thunderstorm that has popped up should send any stragglers inside, as well as help put out any fires.
"In fact, reports coming in say that witnesses are seeing flashes of lighting, hale, high winds, and even heavy downpours at times, so if you're in the Sunnydale area, you may want to go down into the basement, as storms like this have been known to produce tornadoes on occasion. So, watch out thereTurning to the Eastern Region"
***
"What is that?" Buffy yelled, covering her ears from the screams.
"This Hell's army!" Victoria tried to scream. Buffy never heard her voice.
The red light finally stopped growing, but something was darkening it. Like insects in the headlights from the distance, thousands and thousands of demons began flying straight up from the opening of the Hellmouth, and into the night air.
At the same time, thousands of Angels soared out through the blew opening from above, glowing brightly, like millions of lightning bugs shooting out of a hole. The two armies shot straight at each other, and mixed in, overwhelming each other. Mighty explosions thundered out, as dozens of different creatures fell to the ground, now lifeless.
"Buffy!" Giles yelled, running up to them and holding his ears. He leaned in close to her ear. "We have to close the Hellmouth! If we use the other key, We can suck the demons back into the other side!"
Buffy lifted her fist and took off running at Adonis. "She can't do it alone!" Victoria yelled.
"What?" Giles screamed.
"SHEALONE! EVEN WITH THE KEY, SHE'S NOT GOT ADONIS' STRENGTH!"
"But we can't touch her without getting the goo on us!" Giles replied.
"We can protect you!" Willow screamed, as her and Tara stumbled up to the two, covering their ears. "The spell is easy!"
"Okay! Free Xander and Anya, first! Then cover us! We're going to get whatever weapons we can find!"
Buffy charged straight at the Beast, who turned to her, audibly laughing in the air. More and more spikes grew across his body, and he seemed to be growing. He stood at least 9' tall, now, and his bat-like wings reached 32' across.
The Slayer, very resolved to dying, charged in and threw a powerful kick in at his gut. To his great surprise, the Demon actually fell back, shaking the ground as he fell.
"The bigger they are"Buffy whispered, but not hearing her own voice.
Demons and Angels began flying away from the pack, buzzing Buffy's head as they dodged and spun around each other, trying to outmaneuver the other. Great explosions continued to blow out, sending bodies flying. When either a Demon or Angel hit the ground, dead, their bodies disappeared, leaving no trace that they ever existed. Even now, Demons and Angels continued to pour out of their doorways. Bigger, slower creatures were beginning to pull up out of Hell, while larger, stronger Angels began to float out of the hole.
Adonis rolled around to his feet, moving with remarkable speed for his size. He turned and shot his wing out, the razor sharp edge slicing through Buffy's leather jacket, and knocking her at least 25 feet into the air, then slamming down. The Slayer brushed it off and stood up, unhurt.
Adonis roared, his voice unheard in all the noise outside, and charged straight at Buffy. A strange glow began to surround her, now, and her eyes began to shine brightly.
As the Demon shot across the ground with incredible speed, Buffy sidestepped him, and swung her fist around, slamming it into his mouth. She looked down at him as he rolled across the ground, shocked at her own speed.
The creature immediately shot up and darted at her. The two exchanged blows, knocking the other away with great force. Buffy dodged a punch, swung her feet around and took his feet out from under him. However, he used his wings to balance himself.
Buffy started to move towards him, but was suddenly hit from behind by a falling body. The body instantly disappeared, and Buffy rolled away before Adonis' foot slammed down on her. She used her arms and snapped her body back up to her feet and looked at her opponent. Like it or not, he was too strong for her. She was glowing brightly, now, looking just like the Angels flying above.
Something bright suddenly landed in front of her. It was a glowing chunk of rock. The rock smelled awful, very potent. Several more landed around her. She looked to the sky, and the embers were beginning to fall all around them, slamming into the ground.
"It's time" Adonis laughed. "The Earth will be destroyed, tonight."
Suddenly, the Demon screamed out as a glass shattered on his arm. The water inside poured over his shoulder, and sent smoke flying into the air. The black goo that now covered his body quickly covered the water, but the glass caught Adonis' attention.
Xander, now free of the goo, smiled and waved at Adonis. "Hey, Stinky Casper!"
The creature turned to him, but Buffy slammed her fist into his face two times. He tried to block the shots, but two arrows quickly lodged into this skin. Giles and Victoria stood with crossbows pointed, arming two more arrows.
Adonis shot his arm out, and the goo flowed through the air straight at them. When it came within two feet, the goo suddenly stopped and fell to the ground. A small but barely visible sphere surrounded the three. Adonis looked out at the school. Floating in the air, Willow and Tara had their eyes closed and continued mumbling something as they held hands. The wind seemed to come straight up from under them as they floated, and their spell protected the humans from his goo.
Buffy continued with the attacks as Xander continued throwing bottles of Holy water at him. Every few seconds another Arrow would lodge itself in the creature's skin.
Adonis howled in anger. He threw another punch at Buffy, but she would dodge away from the attack. When he tried to send his wing out to hit Xander, it would simply glance off the sphere around him. Anya was now throwing rocks at him from the other side.
Finally, Adonis screamed out and grabbed a hold of Buffy in one hand. He picked her up and hit her several times in the face, then flung her away like a rag doll. She was out cold.
Two very, very big arms came up from the Hellmouth, now surrounded by swarms of Demons and Angels fighting fiercely and slammed back down to the ground. A very big, very yellow head with 6 eyes poked its head out of the hole and looked around. Several big Angels charged at it, trying to drive it back into the hole.
The embers continued to fall all around the school. However, rain caused by the Angels, combined with the strong winds kept anything from catching fire.
Adonis turned to the other humans. He smiled. The Dark one turned and walked straight towards Willow and Tara.
"No! We have to stop him!" Victoria screamed.
Tara and Willow were unprotected, floating in a trance. They were an easy target. Adonis pulled his fist back and hit Willow hard, knocking her into the wall behind her. Tara instantly fell to the ground.
"NowI will kill you all," Adonis said.
He took one step forward, then was slammed into from his right side, carrying him across the field, and finally slamming into the ground.
Adonis looked up and saw what appeared to be an Angel.
The creature reached back and belted him several times, causing a great deal of pain to the beast. "You will neveranother beingAgain!" it yelled as it punched.
"Christopher?" Adonis asked wide eyed. Christopher reached back with his fist. He was shining brightly, now. His human traits could not be seen. His wings were now massive, reaching 29' long, and with every move, a great wind followed his movement.
Christopher brought his fist down, but, instead of hitting the Dark Angel, he snapped the key from his chest and flung it back to Xander. Adonis didn't change appearances, but as soon as the key left his neck, he shrunk back down to his 6' frame. Christopher, now towering over him, slammed his fist into the creature, digging him deeper into the ground.
Finally, Christopher picked up the Fallen Angel into the air, looked at him, then, with his hands on either shoulder, began spreading energy into Adonis. The Demon began to scream wildly. After a few seconds he glowed brighter than the Angel, and finally, he exploded. Nothing was left behind.
Christopher fell to his knees, and his own frame shrunk back down to his 6' form. He fell to the ground, and lost consciousness.
***
"Willow! Wake up!" Giles screamed, holding the key. "C'mon, wake up!"
Willow's head nodded back and forth, then she finally came around. "I'm so sick of being knocked out," she said, holding her eye, now very swollen.
Tara, Anya, Xander, and Victoria all gathered around Giles and Willow.
"We have can use the key to suck the demons back in!" Giles yelled. "Willow, just do the spell again, and wear the Key around your neck!"
Willow could barely stand up. "Tooweak! Can'tyou do it?"
"No, we can't! If we do it, it'll backfire. You have to do it, since you're technically the one who opened it!"
Willow stood up and grabbed Xander's hand. "Help me!" she yelled. The group all circled around and held hands. Xander put the key over Willow's head and then grabbed Anya's hand, joining the circle.
They all closed their eyes, and bowed their heads. Suddenly, all of them opened their eyes wide. Their eyes all glowed with the same gold color of the Angels. The group raised a foot off the ground as Willow began saying the words.
"Arethitus, Omagdum, Fuertesium nagothal!" Willow said, her voice carrying out throughout the whole area. Demons suddenly stopped in mid air to hold their ears in pain.
The embers stopped falling from the sky. The red light began to shrink slightly, and every demon, even the giant one not even fully out of Hell, yet began to feel a pulling motion, as great winds kicked up, pulling the dark forces back in the hole.
The Golden Angels floated in mid-air and watched with awe as their enemies were distorted, and sucked quickly back into the Hellmouth. The Red light that illuminated the sky quickly shrunk to a pinpoint. As the Hellmouth closed, what damage the school received from the battle also repaired itself. At least until it looked the way it did before Willow's spell opened the hole.
The winds finally calmed, and the group gently landed on the ground. They blinked suddenly, and as their hands separated, the glow left their eyes. Willow, now feeling better than ever, with all her wounds cleared up from the key, still had the glow. She smiled. "I'm all glowy, now!"
Buffy ran around the corner and hugged the first person she ran into, which happened to be Victoria. "Oh, GodAre you all okay? Is everything okay? Will, you okay?"
Buffy was no longer glowing, as the key was missing from her neck. She looked from person to person, but there wasn't a scratch on them, other than their torn clothes.
Giles looked down at his hands. "Remarkable," he laughed. "The key must have healed us."
"Buffy! I'm all glowy!" Willow smiled, hugging her friend.
"Aw, bloody hell! That hurt a lot," Spike said, staggering around the corner.
"Where have you been?" Xander asked.
Spike stopped and looked up, annoyed. "I've been knocked out, thank you. Not all of us can jus' up and storm back up at the big bads, now."
"Do you hear that?" Victoria asked.
"What?" Giles asked.
"Nothing," Victoria smiled. "I guess this is what they mean when they say the silence is deafening."
The group all started walking out. In the sky above, several Angels began to work their way back up into the opening in the clearing clouds, but many floated, looking down at the Scooby Gang.
Slowly, but gaining quickly, the Angels began to clap. First a few, then, before long, they all were clapping, as their wings fluttered in the air.
The Gang all looked at each other and laughed, not quite sure what to do. After an hour, the last of the Angels had disappeared through the mouth, and it closed up, leaving only a starry sky.
***
"Now, I need my key back, as well as the other," Christopher said, limping to the gang. He was no longer glowing, save for his blue eyes. "Then, I can get out of here, and leave you guys alone. I figure you all are pretty sick of me."
"Naw," Xander said. "We're not sick of youJust all the baggage you bring."
"Yeah, next time you come, leave The invisible turd' behind," Willow laughed.
Buffy grabbed the key from Willow and handed them both to Christopher. A smile spread across his lips. "How could something so little cause so much trouble. I'm never going to hear the end of this."
"What do you mean?" Anya asked.
"We sent you to get the key, and you start a war on Earth. Can't you do anything right, Christopher?" the Angel said, mocking his bosses.
"I don't suppose we couldborrow that for a little while longer?" Buffy asked. "We've had some problems lately with a God"
Christopher smiled. "Sorry, no go. This thing's done enough. Besides, you're going to need more than this to beat Glory, trust me."
"Can I ask you something?" Victoria asked. "I"
"Brimely, your Boyfriend?" Christopher asked. "Normally, I can't tell anyone, but I guess you've earned the right. Yes, he's fine. He's happier than any mortal should be on the other side," he said with a smile.
Tears began to fall down Victoria's cheek. She then started to openly weep.
"Oh, nonow I'm going to cry," Tara said. "No, no, no, no"
"Me, too," Xander said, wiping his eye. Anya looked up at him surprised. "Hey, even tough Demon-killing warriors like me have a soft spot."
"Do you want to come with me?' Christopher asked, surprising everyone. "You could see him, Victoria."
Victoria stepped forward, and looked back at Giles. "I uhI don't knowI uh"
"After today, I suspect we may decide to open a line of communication with the Council. We could use your help, and you could use ours. Information-wise, anyway. It'd be easier to start it off with someone who already knows a little about us."
Victoria smiled and kept looking back and forth from Giles to Christopher. "Areare you serious? I meanWe could do so much good from thisI just"
"I need to know, now. I have to go," Christopher said, looking up at the sky as the first rays of sunlight began to show over the horizon.
Victoria let up a small laugh. "Of course! Where do I sign up?"
Christopher extended his hand and took hers. He smiled. "You'll love the trip."
"Well, this is goodbye, then," Buffy said, a tear coming down. "I uhthanks. I hope to see you again."
Christopher laughed. "No you don't. If you see me, something big and bad is around. Just be happy with the invisible Angels around us. They certainly earned their money tonight with you guys."
A quick flicker of light, and several Angels appeared, then disappeared around them. The group laughed, looking around them.
"Good-bye, then," Christopher said, looking at each of them. "Don't worry about Victoria, she'll be back sooner than she'll want."
The group waved goodbye, and Christopher and Victoria vanished into thin air. The Key around Christopher's neck was the last thing they saw as it glowed brightly, then vanished.
"Sex?" Anya asked, looking up at Xander.
"Oh, I guessBut only because you asked."
"Oh my God!" Buffy yelled suddenly. The group jumped. "Willow! We have a paper due in 6 hours!"
Willow sighed. "We'll just have to go ask for an extension."
***
More to comeHave it out in the next 24 hours, promise.