TITLE:
Slayer's Knight 11 AUTHOR: STEPHEN HOWE
E-MAIL:
sh01@bigpond.com.au
FEEDBACK:
Sure.
DISTRIBUTION:
Ask and ye shall receive!
DISCLAIMER:
All characters belong to Joss! He created everything! Set in season.6.Some spoilers but mostly AU. Xander has
discovered his destiny only to have it ripped away from him. Dawn is still here
.Set just after the battle with Glory THE UNIVERCITY. Riley exclaims. " Damn! I hate this town!" He slips the radio from
his belt and it begins to glow with heat." Shit!" He drops it and they watch it
melt. Willow picks it up with a pair of tongs and places it on a bench then
cracks it open. She looks at Buffy. " The circuitry is fried just like the cop
cars." Riley calls Graham over." Tell the guys to stay frosty and keep
their eyes peeled...." He cocks his head then Angel tells him. " Gunfire from
the west." He turns."And now the east. They're boxing us in." Riley slams his hand
on the bench. " There are still over three thousand people left here that we
couldn't get out before dark." Graham shrugs and pats his gun. " Yeah but we
have the weapons and the men in place to protect them and the men are damned good!"
Cordy
snorts at him." Yeah and a minute ago we were in the 21st Century
and now we don't even have lights or power brainiac!" Graham bridles at her
insult. " Yeah well those guys out there seem to be handling the sitch pretty
damn well!" Buffy steps in
between them. " Just chill out you two! All we have to do is hold out till
daylight and then we can get these people out of here and then we take the
fight to the Wendol." A
state trooper runs up to the group and tells Riley. " There's fire in the east,
and it's a big one!" Usal
tells them. " And so it begins." He glares at Buffy. " I told you to tell the
Knights before it was too late but you had to let your hatred of them get in
the way!" He stands and looks at her with disgust. " And now the world may end
because of you!" THE KNIGHT'S HEADQUATERS. Faith is sitting up in bed rotating her
shoulder and trying to convince the Healers that she is fine as Beowulf strides
in. She looks up at him. " Would you tell these dweebs that I'm 5x5?" She pulls
on a tank top and gets out of bed." If I spend one more day cooped up in here I'll go ballistic!" Beowulf looks at the Healers and motions
them out of the room. " Faith the Hellmouth at Sunnydale has opened and the
council has lost all contact with their observers there." He places a hand on
her shoulder. " I know you had friends there and I thought you needed to know
as soon as I did." She looked at him and
had to fight the urge to tell him he had friends there also but she remembered
what the healers had told her about the effect it would have on him. The last
thing they needed now was for their best hope of closing the Hellmouth to freak
out and shut down!" We'll get them out and shut it down again Wolfie." He
smiles and runs his fingers down her cheek then the look he gets in his eyes
heats her very soul before he kisses her. As they break apart he tells her. " I
have wanted to do that, and more from the first day I saw you." She places her hand on
his lips and fights to control herself. * Just how long has it been? And would
B ever forgive me if I did what every fibre in my body longs to do? * She
thinks to herself. She moves away from him and he looks hurt." When we have won
my love, if you still feel the same I will do whatever your soul desires." She limps
over to her gear and begins to slip it on. " But for now we have a Hellmouth to
close and friends to save." He watches her dress and fights
to keep both sides of his body in control. The Hyena smells the odour of a mate
while his soldier side just wants to screw something before going into battle.
He growls and tells her. " I'll join you in the main hall." Faith
grins as she pulls on her trousers." Horny much?" SUNNYDALE -EARLY AM. Riley steps outside into the morning
light and moves up to one of his men. "Anything?" The soldier
shakes his head. " Nothing from the east since the firing stopped but it's been
pretty sporadic from the west. " The soldier glances sideways at him. " The
other guys will be all right won't they? I mean there's nothing these baby's
can't stop." He pats his modern day wonder and grins nervously. Riley tries to comfort
him. " Of course they are Jones. The reason they stopped shooting is because
there's nothing left alive to shoot at. We should be pissed at those guys for
cutting us out of the fun!" Buffy has just
finished feeding Joyce as he walks in. " So GI JOE what's really going
on?" Riley
shakes his head. " I have no idea Buffy. But as soon as there's enough light
I'm going to send out a search party while the rest escort the people out of
Sunnydale." He makes sure no one else can hear him then tells her. " Before we
left the council had convinced Washington that they had to place some kind of
magic shield around the Hellmouth that would stop anything from getting out.
The only problem with that is if we delay to long we'll be trapped inside the
shield along with these things." Buffy begins to become
angry. She looks up at the sky and says. " Just when are they supposed to be
doing this?" He places a hand on Joyce's head and smiles. " Not till tomorrow
Buff so don't worry about it. You'll be safe in some hotel by then. I have to
go and set things up we'll talk more later okay?" She nods and watches him walk
away. " Is it possible Giles? Can they create a shield around the Hellmouth and
if so why didn't they do it before now!" Joyce snuggles down into Buffy's chest and
promptly falls asleep. Giles rests his head in his hands then curses and stands
up. " As soon as it's light enough I'll check the books with Willow, Tara and
Cordy. Angel can stay here with you to help." ONE POLICE
PLAZA. -SAFE HOUSE 2. Riley
moves into the demolished building hot on the heels of his scouts to find the
remains of both his men and the people they were guarding piled in the centre.
One of his men begins throwing up in the corner as his second in command tells
him. " Some of the bodies have been gnawed on. It's the same scene at Safe
house 3, everyone dead with their heads missing." Riley nods then
tells them. " Yeah we had better get the hell out of Dodge before they seal
this place up!" He motions to his men. " Let's mount up and move this mobile
feast out of here!" After a twenty minute forced
march they come across the others camped just inside the town limits. He
angrily raises his arms. " What the fuck are you waiting for Graham an engraved
invitation?" He sees Buffy and the others talking in their own clique. " Get
these people out of the zone now!" Graham stops Riley from going any further and
picks up a large rock then throws it past the YOU ARE NOW LEAVING SUNNYDALE
sign. Riley jumps back as it explodes against an unseen barrier. " What the...
The Shield! " Riley kicks the sign. " Those assholes put it up to soon!" Giles tells him. " I don't think this is the councils doing
Mr.Finn.I'm inclined to think it's the Wendol spell." He walks away from his
group and over to Riley. " It's a bit of a coincidence that the power went
leaving the three camps vulnerable to night attack and now this don't you
think?" Riley
swears then checks his watch. " We better get back to the safe house and see
what we can do about defending it." One
of the troopers shouts out. " Defending it! Did you not see what those things
did to Police headquarters? That place was built like freaking fort Knox and
they still got them!" Riley holds his
hands up towards the angry crowd. " Now we only need to hold out for a little
while. Before we left we got word that the Council was sending in a crack squad
to deal with these things." He looks at Usal. " Apparently these guys kicked
their Asses out of one hell hole and sealed the breach so there's no reason to
doubt they wont do the same here." The crowd calmed down then they all
moved as fast as they could back to the secured area. When they arrived the
soldiers began, with the help of the civilians, to erect barricades and
fortifications to help defend their last hope. The Scooby's meanwhile were
trying to find a solution to their current dilemma when Tara stiffened. " She's
returned." The group looked into
the corner and moved towards the swirling vortex as a distorted apparition
appeared." Did you find him?" Willow asked. The spirit nodded." He is amongst the living but is barely on this
plain. " The spirit solidifies and Buffy fights to
hold back a scream. " MOM!" Joyce smiles at her. " Did you think death would separate my
love for you and your friends my dear? " Buffy can smell her mother's favourite
perfume and feels her hand brush against her hair. " I found him my dear but
his soul cries out for freedom." She turns to the others. " All he has left is
the spirits that possessed his mortal body. Spirit of the Hyena and of the
warrior now controls his mortal remains." Buffy feels like
her world is crashing down around her ears as Joyce continues. " He has no
memory of this place or of his friends. " She smiles at Buffy. " Or lovers. But
his soul is so very strong! " She begins to flicker. " I must hurry my time is
short. Know that he comes with men of old to battle evil even older than time
itself." She looks at Buffy then Dawn and lastly little Joyce cradled in its
mother's bosom. " Know also I will always look down upon you from above and be
so very proud of my children and grandchildren." Buffy begins weeping. " I love you mom... Mommy please stay." "
Hush my golden child. My time has passed and yours is yet to be but I will
return ... I will always return...As....Will..... Heeeeee...." The spirit fades and Buffy tries to claw at the mist as it
evaporates into the air. Cordy wipes a tear and then says. " We should prepare
Giles. I need to see you and the Wiccan warriors." Willow
watches as Angel and Dawn comfort Buffy as Cordelia tells them. " I had another
vision and this one was a three Tylenol alarmer. " She looks over at Buffy. "
We need to produce an antidote for a venom that the Wendol Mother
produces." Giles looks
bewildered. " How can we do that when we don't even know what beast it is?" Cordelia
looks back at Buffy. " Because unless we do in two days time Xander will die
from it's toxins and with him our last hope of defeating these creatures!" END
OF 11