While the battle surged around her, Buffy remained locked in combat with a
huge South African. He had an enormous height advantage over her, but this
advantage was only superficial as Buffy utilized it to avoid his crushing
blows. She would then strike back, lashing out at him with quick blows
from her fists and feet. He at first absorbed the pain but after several
cycles he grew tired and weaker by the minute. Nevertheless, he kept on
slicing and slashing with his twin blades, hoping to score a hit on the
wily slayer. But the petite blonde dodged his blows by ducking under his
frame or somersaulting in a marvelous display of her athletic ability.
"You can't win this infidel!" Gideon shouted in an effort to frighten his opponent. This pathetic insult barely deterred Buffy, having endured far worse from other foes. After all, he was only human despite his superhuman strength and fanatical will. She ducked another slash from one of his blades.
Buffy responded to his taunts, "You know, I've heard that about a thousand times before. And guess what? I'm still alive!" She blocked one of his blades with a dagger and dodged the second one in order to secure a swift uppercut to his face. She then completed her maneuver by lashing out savagely with her left foot, burying it into the giant's groin.
Gideon staggered backwards, doubling over in pain and dropping one of his curved swords. Buffy rushed over and picked it up. She hefted it while watching her foe writhe in pain.
"Not too shabby, I like it," she grinned as she balanced the blade in her right hand despite its 20 inch length. She titled her head to the side, cracking her neck while her outsmarted foe slowly rose to his feet in pain.
Gideon's brown eyes glared at Buffy's blue ones in anger, "I shall kill you for that, slayer!" He charged forward, swiping back and forth while Buffy backed off, always one step ahead of the swishing blade. He lunged out with his right fist and she knocked it aside with a kick and parried his blade with hers. She grunted, having to put all her strength into the parry. The petite blonde then jumped up, knocking aside Gideon's blade and burying her curved sword into his neck and quickly withdrawing it as she planted a kick right into his chest, sending the huge tan man slamming against the wall, flattening several fanatics milling around him.
The giant dropped his sword and clutched his neck as blood splattered from the deep wound. He tried to form words but only could manage a chocking gasp before he pitched forward, crashing down to the floor, his massive arms smashing into the carpet.
Buffy smiled, "now that's was divine justice."
She heard Angel's cries from behind her and Buffy whirled around to rejoin her friends. She fought through the crowds of fanatics, noting with sorrow the bodies of many of the potential slayers surrounded by the corpses of their fallen foes. She finally reached the rest of her comrades who had taken refuge in the lounge, almost tripping over the wall of bodies of fanatics that had piled up up in front of the door. Her smiling face met with the grave looks of Willow, Kennedy, Wesley, Xander and a couple potentials.
"Well their leader's taken care of at least," She grinned as she dispatched a fanatic trying to sneak up on her with a backwards kick that snapped his neck.
"La Morte's dead?" Wesley piped up, his face mixed with hope at the thought of the dreaded knight's demise.
"No, the other one," Buffy's response was met by dismay from the rest of the group. She stared at them with curiosity.
"Great, just great! We're doomed, because if you didn't watch what just happened, let me fill you in," Xander exclaimed in frustration. "Buffy, Angel's gone, he heard Connor screaming for his help. I don't know exactly but I guess La Morte's killed the others and Angel's probably dead if he dares fight him."
"What are you talking about?" Buffy snarled and lashed out at Xander. Xander just took the slow and winced as she slapped him across the face. When she tried to strike again he grabbed her thin arm with his considerably larger hand. She fought him but Xander continued holding on, his face expressionless.
Wesley and Kennedy rushed and broke up the fight, the redhead trying to reassure Buffy that Angel was still alive. Xander continued muttering that Angel was dead and that the fanatics were going to break down the door. He noted loudly that he only had a few shots left for his shotgun, which had been their savior besides Willow's spellcasting.
"Buffy, Angel's dead-" Xander was suddenly interrupted by the dark haired form of Angel, who had snuck around through the back.
"Angel!" Buffy rushed over to the tall vampire and hugged him. Yet he remained limp against her. "What's wrong?" Buffy asked as she stared into the angelic face of her former lover.
"Connor's dead. So are Gunn, Wood and Fred. La Morte killed them." He only managed broken sentences as Angel felt the dark sorrow flood his soul when he recalled the battles only minutes before. The black knight had robbed him of his friends and his son and Angel promised within his heart that he would make Sir Robert La Morte pay for his horrible crimes.
Wesley sat down on the couch and tried to restrain himself from breaking out into sobbing, but he failed and he burst into tears. He took off his classes and tried to dry his eyes, but the tears continued. Memories of better times flooded his mind as he recalled the comrades he had fought with during his tenure in Los Angeles. The people who took him in, who fought with him and shared experiences with were now dead, with the exception of Angel. He had never suffered such a terrible loss in his life, not in Sunnydale or England. It was as if he had been robbed of all resolve, all the will to fight. And he promised to extract vengeance upon the creature that had committed such a vile act.
Willow, Kennedy, even Xander were affected by Wesley's breakdown and Angel's remorse. The redheaded witch and the raven-haired potential slayer hugged each other and tried to console each other of their loss. They remembered fondly the principal who had fought with them and protected them till his very end. The comrade they met during Sunnydale's final days was gone, his life rudely terminated not by the vampires he was a sworn enemy against but by the hands of an abomination to humanity. Kennedy tried to prevent the darkness from enveloping Willow as she heard it had before, when Tara died but her attempts were of no avail. Willow's eyes once again were clouded over by a black haze of furor and a desire to inflict severe pain on the murderer who had slain Robin Wood. She brushed Kennedy aside and began walking towards the door while her voice muttered dark incantations as she prepared to unleash her power upon the fanatical hordes outside in the hotel lobby.
Xander and the potentials tried to restrain her while a grief-stricken Buffy, a remorseful Angel and a sobbing Wesley looked on.
The redhead only snarled at them with no trace of humanity within her voice, "Get out of my way." Xander raised his hands in a peaceful motion and motioned for the others to back off.
Willow stared at the door and ripped it off its hinges, flattening the fanatics outside that were pounding on the door. She sent blazing fireball after fireball into their ranks, incinerating those that did not flee. The smell of singing and burning flesh filled the lounge. Xander and the potentials rushed out to support Willow, while a cautious Buffy and Angel followed, Wesley was the last to leave, having retained his composure and with the same determined and ruthless expression on his face as Willow. He charged outside to the nearest group of fanatics and hacked away with his axe, slicing off limbs, killing and knocking aside any who dared oppose him. The remnants of the fanatics fled as Willow summoned her darkest spells against them, tearing off the flesh of some, incinerating others and killing those that stood in her way. Then, the fanatics parted as the tall, black-armored figure of Robert La Morte walked out from among the army. His cocky smile vanished as he saw the charred, mutilated corpses of his warriors and the dead corpse of Gideon.
"How dare you defy us!" He snarled, enraged at the sight before him. His voice resonated throughout the lobby but did not faze the defenders before him.
"You'll pay for what you did La Morte," Willow spoke emotionless and with complete hatred in her eyes. She shouted loudly in Latin and sent several fireballs hurling straight at La Morte. The black knight only stood there and stretched out his free hand. He murmured something and a wall of magic force surrounded him and absorbed the fireballs.
La Morte smiled, "You're not the only one who can do magic, witch." He spat out the last word with utter disdain for it, inspiring more rage within Willow.
"Die!" Willow screamed as she sent spell after spell at him, only to watch as he countered it with a counter spell or a spell of his own.
Even her limitless store of magic inside of her seemed to run out as they battled each other, while La Morte seemed to absorb the magic from the spell and use it against her. He refused to tire after withstanding the devastating power of the red-haired witch.
"Had enough?" He snickered and a chuckle resounded throughout the fanatics ranks as they realized that the powerful witch had just met her match.
"NEVER!" Willow screamed as she stepped towards him, her feet stamping against the carpet. "Now, I'm really going to kill you." Buffy grimaced as she remembered the last time Willow had done the same thing, endowing herself with superhuman strength so she could kill Andrew and Johnathan. Then, Willow was more than a match for even Buffy's superhuman strength, and she was even more powerful now then she was then. Buffy hoped that she could overpower La Morte and kill or at least weaken him so that her and the others could finish him off. With the leader out of the way, the rest of the fanatics would be a weak flock of sheep before the hardened warriors. But Buffy's optimism was soon dashed.
"You think you can stop me, Willow, oh how misguided you are," La Morte chuckled. He walked out to meet her, his claymore glowing purple. "My claymore glows because it possesses a power unlike any other sword. It has a power to banish souls to the darkest depths of hell or send demons or spirits back to where they came. It was bathed in the blood of the First Evil's corporeal body and banished its body to the netherworld. My power grows stronger by the minute while you grow weaker. Your magics are nothing against me."
He charged forward, running at full speed towards the red-haired witch. Willow didn't expect his attack and tried to block it with a magic shield. La Morte merely slashed at the shield with the claymore and the powerful magic dissipated against its blade. Willow snarled at him and tried to summon a fireball but her spell was interrupted as he plunged the claymore into her.
Buffy screamed as she watched La Morte run the blade through her best friend and its point exited her back bathed in the witch's blood. Xander gritted his teeth and was about to unload his shotgun before Angel restrained him.
"You'll kill both of them," Angel shouted to the shorter human. He forced Xander to loose his grip on the gun and Xander went flying against the floor. He burst into tears and lay their, crying loudly and repeating Willow's name in desperation.
But then, a miracle happened. La Morte smiled as he watched the strained face of the witch. He buried the blade deeper and enjoyed the soft cries of the witch as the sword robbed her of her mana. Willow's eyes reverted back to their old color as the black magic within her dissipated before the power of La Morte's sword. But then, she thrust her head against his ear and managed to whisper something inside of it. La Morte then froze, his smile vanished and he withdrew the blade but shot out his free hand to break Willow's fall and keep her by his side.
Then, he sheathed the claymore and looked up at Willow's friends while holding Willow's limp form. Buffy noticed what appeared to be tears forming in the man's eyes and was astonished at this bizarre change of behavior. But this was not the end of it, for La Morte began muttering something and his right hand began to glow a golden color. He placed the hand over Willow's heart and to the astonished eyes of the onlookers; Willow's wounds healed rapidly and she began coughing as life returned to her pallid flesh. The taller man let go of the redhead who staggered backwards and looked at herself. Her astounded expression turned to a smile as she stared at him as if he had redeemed himself and La Morte was no longer the ruthless killer he had been moments before.
A gasp went up from Buffy who ran over to Willow and stared at the wicca as if she had seen a ghost. Xander, Angel, Wesley and the others ran over to the blonde slayer and the red-haired witch. They were even more astonished when one of the fanatics snarled loudly "why didn't you kill her?" La Morte whirled around and sent him flying with a blow from the hilt of his sword. He glanced back, a sorrowful, depressed look on his face and then fled the hotel while both the fanatics and the scoobies watched.
The fanatics fell back, astounded by the sudden change of behavior of their champion. They began retreating from the hotel, hastily casting aside their weapons and fleeing the lobby.
"What the hell did you tell him?" Xander asked Willow with an amazed look on his face that was repeated by the others.
"I awakened his human side. The side which had been buried within the recesses of his mind for hundreds of years, imprisoned by the competing demon and angel halves of him. His soul must've burned with remorse far more intense than even Angel's. I guess he tried to apologize by reviving me," Willow spoke brightly, herself amazed at what she was able to wrought with only a few words.
"His saving you won't excuse what he's done," Angel replied, "Soul or no soul, I'll still kill him."
"You can't win this infidel!" Gideon shouted in an effort to frighten his opponent. This pathetic insult barely deterred Buffy, having endured far worse from other foes. After all, he was only human despite his superhuman strength and fanatical will. She ducked another slash from one of his blades.
Buffy responded to his taunts, "You know, I've heard that about a thousand times before. And guess what? I'm still alive!" She blocked one of his blades with a dagger and dodged the second one in order to secure a swift uppercut to his face. She then completed her maneuver by lashing out savagely with her left foot, burying it into the giant's groin.
Gideon staggered backwards, doubling over in pain and dropping one of his curved swords. Buffy rushed over and picked it up. She hefted it while watching her foe writhe in pain.
"Not too shabby, I like it," she grinned as she balanced the blade in her right hand despite its 20 inch length. She titled her head to the side, cracking her neck while her outsmarted foe slowly rose to his feet in pain.
Gideon's brown eyes glared at Buffy's blue ones in anger, "I shall kill you for that, slayer!" He charged forward, swiping back and forth while Buffy backed off, always one step ahead of the swishing blade. He lunged out with his right fist and she knocked it aside with a kick and parried his blade with hers. She grunted, having to put all her strength into the parry. The petite blonde then jumped up, knocking aside Gideon's blade and burying her curved sword into his neck and quickly withdrawing it as she planted a kick right into his chest, sending the huge tan man slamming against the wall, flattening several fanatics milling around him.
The giant dropped his sword and clutched his neck as blood splattered from the deep wound. He tried to form words but only could manage a chocking gasp before he pitched forward, crashing down to the floor, his massive arms smashing into the carpet.
Buffy smiled, "now that's was divine justice."
She heard Angel's cries from behind her and Buffy whirled around to rejoin her friends. She fought through the crowds of fanatics, noting with sorrow the bodies of many of the potential slayers surrounded by the corpses of their fallen foes. She finally reached the rest of her comrades who had taken refuge in the lounge, almost tripping over the wall of bodies of fanatics that had piled up up in front of the door. Her smiling face met with the grave looks of Willow, Kennedy, Wesley, Xander and a couple potentials.
"Well their leader's taken care of at least," She grinned as she dispatched a fanatic trying to sneak up on her with a backwards kick that snapped his neck.
"La Morte's dead?" Wesley piped up, his face mixed with hope at the thought of the dreaded knight's demise.
"No, the other one," Buffy's response was met by dismay from the rest of the group. She stared at them with curiosity.
"Great, just great! We're doomed, because if you didn't watch what just happened, let me fill you in," Xander exclaimed in frustration. "Buffy, Angel's gone, he heard Connor screaming for his help. I don't know exactly but I guess La Morte's killed the others and Angel's probably dead if he dares fight him."
"What are you talking about?" Buffy snarled and lashed out at Xander. Xander just took the slow and winced as she slapped him across the face. When she tried to strike again he grabbed her thin arm with his considerably larger hand. She fought him but Xander continued holding on, his face expressionless.
Wesley and Kennedy rushed and broke up the fight, the redhead trying to reassure Buffy that Angel was still alive. Xander continued muttering that Angel was dead and that the fanatics were going to break down the door. He noted loudly that he only had a few shots left for his shotgun, which had been their savior besides Willow's spellcasting.
"Buffy, Angel's dead-" Xander was suddenly interrupted by the dark haired form of Angel, who had snuck around through the back.
"Angel!" Buffy rushed over to the tall vampire and hugged him. Yet he remained limp against her. "What's wrong?" Buffy asked as she stared into the angelic face of her former lover.
"Connor's dead. So are Gunn, Wood and Fred. La Morte killed them." He only managed broken sentences as Angel felt the dark sorrow flood his soul when he recalled the battles only minutes before. The black knight had robbed him of his friends and his son and Angel promised within his heart that he would make Sir Robert La Morte pay for his horrible crimes.
Wesley sat down on the couch and tried to restrain himself from breaking out into sobbing, but he failed and he burst into tears. He took off his classes and tried to dry his eyes, but the tears continued. Memories of better times flooded his mind as he recalled the comrades he had fought with during his tenure in Los Angeles. The people who took him in, who fought with him and shared experiences with were now dead, with the exception of Angel. He had never suffered such a terrible loss in his life, not in Sunnydale or England. It was as if he had been robbed of all resolve, all the will to fight. And he promised to extract vengeance upon the creature that had committed such a vile act.
Willow, Kennedy, even Xander were affected by Wesley's breakdown and Angel's remorse. The redheaded witch and the raven-haired potential slayer hugged each other and tried to console each other of their loss. They remembered fondly the principal who had fought with them and protected them till his very end. The comrade they met during Sunnydale's final days was gone, his life rudely terminated not by the vampires he was a sworn enemy against but by the hands of an abomination to humanity. Kennedy tried to prevent the darkness from enveloping Willow as she heard it had before, when Tara died but her attempts were of no avail. Willow's eyes once again were clouded over by a black haze of furor and a desire to inflict severe pain on the murderer who had slain Robin Wood. She brushed Kennedy aside and began walking towards the door while her voice muttered dark incantations as she prepared to unleash her power upon the fanatical hordes outside in the hotel lobby.
Xander and the potentials tried to restrain her while a grief-stricken Buffy, a remorseful Angel and a sobbing Wesley looked on.
The redhead only snarled at them with no trace of humanity within her voice, "Get out of my way." Xander raised his hands in a peaceful motion and motioned for the others to back off.
Willow stared at the door and ripped it off its hinges, flattening the fanatics outside that were pounding on the door. She sent blazing fireball after fireball into their ranks, incinerating those that did not flee. The smell of singing and burning flesh filled the lounge. Xander and the potentials rushed out to support Willow, while a cautious Buffy and Angel followed, Wesley was the last to leave, having retained his composure and with the same determined and ruthless expression on his face as Willow. He charged outside to the nearest group of fanatics and hacked away with his axe, slicing off limbs, killing and knocking aside any who dared oppose him. The remnants of the fanatics fled as Willow summoned her darkest spells against them, tearing off the flesh of some, incinerating others and killing those that stood in her way. Then, the fanatics parted as the tall, black-armored figure of Robert La Morte walked out from among the army. His cocky smile vanished as he saw the charred, mutilated corpses of his warriors and the dead corpse of Gideon.
"How dare you defy us!" He snarled, enraged at the sight before him. His voice resonated throughout the lobby but did not faze the defenders before him.
"You'll pay for what you did La Morte," Willow spoke emotionless and with complete hatred in her eyes. She shouted loudly in Latin and sent several fireballs hurling straight at La Morte. The black knight only stood there and stretched out his free hand. He murmured something and a wall of magic force surrounded him and absorbed the fireballs.
La Morte smiled, "You're not the only one who can do magic, witch." He spat out the last word with utter disdain for it, inspiring more rage within Willow.
"Die!" Willow screamed as she sent spell after spell at him, only to watch as he countered it with a counter spell or a spell of his own.
Even her limitless store of magic inside of her seemed to run out as they battled each other, while La Morte seemed to absorb the magic from the spell and use it against her. He refused to tire after withstanding the devastating power of the red-haired witch.
"Had enough?" He snickered and a chuckle resounded throughout the fanatics ranks as they realized that the powerful witch had just met her match.
"NEVER!" Willow screamed as she stepped towards him, her feet stamping against the carpet. "Now, I'm really going to kill you." Buffy grimaced as she remembered the last time Willow had done the same thing, endowing herself with superhuman strength so she could kill Andrew and Johnathan. Then, Willow was more than a match for even Buffy's superhuman strength, and she was even more powerful now then she was then. Buffy hoped that she could overpower La Morte and kill or at least weaken him so that her and the others could finish him off. With the leader out of the way, the rest of the fanatics would be a weak flock of sheep before the hardened warriors. But Buffy's optimism was soon dashed.
"You think you can stop me, Willow, oh how misguided you are," La Morte chuckled. He walked out to meet her, his claymore glowing purple. "My claymore glows because it possesses a power unlike any other sword. It has a power to banish souls to the darkest depths of hell or send demons or spirits back to where they came. It was bathed in the blood of the First Evil's corporeal body and banished its body to the netherworld. My power grows stronger by the minute while you grow weaker. Your magics are nothing against me."
He charged forward, running at full speed towards the red-haired witch. Willow didn't expect his attack and tried to block it with a magic shield. La Morte merely slashed at the shield with the claymore and the powerful magic dissipated against its blade. Willow snarled at him and tried to summon a fireball but her spell was interrupted as he plunged the claymore into her.
Buffy screamed as she watched La Morte run the blade through her best friend and its point exited her back bathed in the witch's blood. Xander gritted his teeth and was about to unload his shotgun before Angel restrained him.
"You'll kill both of them," Angel shouted to the shorter human. He forced Xander to loose his grip on the gun and Xander went flying against the floor. He burst into tears and lay their, crying loudly and repeating Willow's name in desperation.
But then, a miracle happened. La Morte smiled as he watched the strained face of the witch. He buried the blade deeper and enjoyed the soft cries of the witch as the sword robbed her of her mana. Willow's eyes reverted back to their old color as the black magic within her dissipated before the power of La Morte's sword. But then, she thrust her head against his ear and managed to whisper something inside of it. La Morte then froze, his smile vanished and he withdrew the blade but shot out his free hand to break Willow's fall and keep her by his side.
Then, he sheathed the claymore and looked up at Willow's friends while holding Willow's limp form. Buffy noticed what appeared to be tears forming in the man's eyes and was astonished at this bizarre change of behavior. But this was not the end of it, for La Morte began muttering something and his right hand began to glow a golden color. He placed the hand over Willow's heart and to the astonished eyes of the onlookers; Willow's wounds healed rapidly and she began coughing as life returned to her pallid flesh. The taller man let go of the redhead who staggered backwards and looked at herself. Her astounded expression turned to a smile as she stared at him as if he had redeemed himself and La Morte was no longer the ruthless killer he had been moments before.
A gasp went up from Buffy who ran over to Willow and stared at the wicca as if she had seen a ghost. Xander, Angel, Wesley and the others ran over to the blonde slayer and the red-haired witch. They were even more astonished when one of the fanatics snarled loudly "why didn't you kill her?" La Morte whirled around and sent him flying with a blow from the hilt of his sword. He glanced back, a sorrowful, depressed look on his face and then fled the hotel while both the fanatics and the scoobies watched.
The fanatics fell back, astounded by the sudden change of behavior of their champion. They began retreating from the hotel, hastily casting aside their weapons and fleeing the lobby.
"What the hell did you tell him?" Xander asked Willow with an amazed look on his face that was repeated by the others.
"I awakened his human side. The side which had been buried within the recesses of his mind for hundreds of years, imprisoned by the competing demon and angel halves of him. His soul must've burned with remorse far more intense than even Angel's. I guess he tried to apologize by reviving me," Willow spoke brightly, herself amazed at what she was able to wrought with only a few words.
"His saving you won't excuse what he's done," Angel replied, "Soul or no soul, I'll still kill him."