Chapter Twenty
Everyone stood still for a moment, frozen. Then an unheard, unseen cue resounded amongst the cultists. They charged.
The Brotherhood and the Scoobies responded. Without a single order being shouted, Buffy, Spike and Mystique leaped to the forefront, allowing the wounded Xander and Toad to fall back. Magneto, Pyro and Avalanche formed a triangle about the witches, preparing to use their more long range skills.
"This is the most critical point in the casting!" Giles shouted. "We cannot allow them to be interrupted!"
In other words, thought Buffy as she parried a blow, the stakes are much higher this time around. Her attacker adjusted to her block by swinging his tails at her legs. She jumped like a girl skipping rope, bringing a leg up in a kick at its face. The demon staggered back, enabling Buffy to stab at its chest. Greenish pus spewed out. Buffy moved to finish it off, only to turn her blow into a block as yet another demon made an attack. Deciding the first one was out for the count, she focused her attention to the new threat.
As she fought, Buffy saw Spike take out two demons with one great swing of his double bladed axe. Unfortunately, another one behind him wrenched the blade away and brought it down to decapitate. Spike twisted out of the way and jumped on the creature's back, bringing his fangs down into its neck. He grimaced at the taste, but wounded it enough to regain his axe and disembowel the other demon. The ground beneath his feet was slick with blood and other fluids.
Buffy completed her kill. In the brief reprieve she experienced, she scanned the field of battle for Mystique. As chaotic as this was becoming, she didn't want to kill an ally instead of an enemy. But Mystique was nowhere to be seen. Buffy didn't have time to worry as another wave of demons hit her.
However, Mystique was quite well. She had hooked up with Marcie and the two slipped through the ranks of the cultists, one invisible and the other shape-shifted, making silent and quick attacks, leaving the scene before being noticed. Mystique had no intention of taking on five well- armed demons at once, like Buffy was, unless she had to. Leaving the Slayer to her battle, the mutant continued her silent assassinations.
***
The blood red crystal glowed between Willow and Tara. Their eyes shimmered, Willow's black as night; Tara's white as the moon. As one, they dipped their hands into the cauldron and drew them out, dripping with the potion.
Arcane gestures left faint tracings in the air.
"We deny you, demon. Blood is shed and Blood is spilled. Night to day and day to night. Dark cloud Of your making lies over this land. Let the sun rise and burn the fog away. We deny you, demon."
***
A cluster of cultists saw a weak spot in the defense and charged. The humans and the wounded Toad fired crossbows and some of them fell, but not enough. Giles and Xander readied their hand to hand weapons. Toad's tongue skipped in and out of his mouth as he prepared for the right moment.
Xander gripped his sword tightly. All of the more powerful allies were in the middle of life-or-death situations. Even if he shouted for help, it might not come in time. Years of Scoobiness and a Halloween night as a soldier had taught him how much a few seconds can change a battle.
One particularly gruesome specimen reached them first. With a snarl, he swung a fist four times the size of Xander's. Xander raised his blade to block, only to meet air.
A piercing melody filled the air. It sounded like flutes and pipes and wind and water; of whispered promises that will always be kept.
The cultists in the immediate area were in a daze. Xander looked about for the cause and saw - Melly? It had to be the siren, only the frumpy form was gone, replaced by a body models would kill for. The siren's full lips traced her words invitingly as she sang. Xander couldn't hear the words, he only heard a voice crooning, reminding him of some indefinable and distant memory.
Toad, the most practical fighter among the three, took a sword from one entranced demon and proceeded to decapitate it. He started to do the same thing to all the other cultists. With a grimace, Giles joined in, his innate pragmatism winning out over his honor. This was war.
When they were done, Melly gave them a wink and blew them a kiss before resuming her more familiar shape and walking away.
***
They were winning. Anya was rather surprised to see that, given how severely outnumbered they were. It was a bunch of mortals against of horde of demons, after all, regardless of what the mortals in question called themselves.
Buffy and Spike had crossed paths in their battles and now stood back to back, fighting side by side, twice as effective as a team. The ground beneath them squished with the fallen. Pyro manipulated flame with ease, preventing many demons from entering his sphere. However, those immune to fire crept closer to him. Recognizing this, Avalanche traded places with his fellow mutant, using his own skills to kill the survivors. And Magneto -
Magneto was a one man army.
No armored or armed demon was safe in his vicinity. Weapons attacked their owners, helmets wrenched and twisted off the heads they rested on, armor plating contracted and squeezed bodies like toothpaste. No marks marred him - no cultist had come close enough to hurt him. Crossbow bolts were turned away by invisible walls while he choked the life out of those who dared shoot.
Anya was very grateful he was on her side. The amount of multi tasking he was doing was frightening. Nothing happened in his zone that he didn't allow. Bodies of cultists piled up, and the Master of Magnetism was not even sweating from the effort.
As the demons wised up and began seeking other points of attack, they learned that Magneto only restricted himself to one area because he felt like it. If he decided to attack a demon on the other side of the clearing, he was fully capable of doing so without letting his shields down.
The cultists began to retreat, their numbers seriously depleted. They fell back, but still made a ring about the Brotherhood and the Scoobies. In response, Buffy and Spike pulled back to their own circle about the witches. She was panting and favoring one leg by now; he was bruised and sporting a lovely gash on his chest. If he had been alive and still pumping blood, it would have been fatal.
"How're we doing?" Buffy asked, turning her head to take a head count of her allies.
"Alive," Xander answered. He had sidled up to Anya and was leaning on her, his own body responding to the stress with aches and pains.
"Good enough." Nodding to Willow and Tara, caught up in their dance for power, she asked, "How long?"
"I can't say," Giles answered, daubing at a cut on his forehead.
"Not long. If Drinvksh has anything left to throw at us, it will be about now," Melly remarked. Unlike the rest, she looked as if she had stepped outside her house for a nice spot of fresh air.
As if the cultists had heard her, they grouped together as one and charged.
"FOR CHAOS!"
They turned to meet the charge, all the forces gathered in one spot.
***
"Crystal, purity of soul," intoned Tara.
"Blood, purity of heart," responded Willow.
Together, they chanted, "White and red, red and white. Drops falling on snow. Let the wound be healed, let the blood flow cease. Dark powers enter us, reach into forgotten corners of the mind. Light of good, light of fallen lives, enter us and bind the darkness."
Tara held up the siren hair bag. "Charms of thought, charms of destruction, be bound. That which distorts, enter here and be bound."
The shimmering crystal floated into the bag. The now glowing bag floated into Willow's hand. She pulled the string shut. The light inside the bag went out. "Charms of thought, charms of destruction, be bound. We forbid you your darkness. We forbid your distortion."
As she dropped the bag into the cauldron, the two in unison said, "Do not fight. Powers great aid us. The binding is done. So mote it be!"
The cauldron bubbled. Power surged. Lights flashed. Willow felt a rush not unlike that first soul-curse casting. It was incredible. In that instant, she could do anything. Then she collapsed on wobbly legs.
On the other side of the fire, Tara was in a similar state. She weakly gave her a thumbs up. Willow returned it.
***
Magneto stood his ground as he watched the charge of cultists. They knew by now they were outclassed, why did they continue attacking? He alone could take them down where they stood.
Cultists. By definition, fools willing to die for their cause. Magneto should know; he had cultivated a few in his time. No matter. If they were willing to die, he was happy to help.
He momentarily considered leaving a few alive for his allies to fight. No, they were too wounded. With a thought, Magneto reached out with his power and proceeded to crush the attackers.
As the demons fell, he felt a rush of some force behind him. Light exploded all around and his senses registered a power of some sort flooding the air.
The spell must have worked.
***
From Willow's vantage point on the ground, she saw Buffy approach the fire. "We win?" she asked in a tired voice.
Buffy's lips quirked up a moment. "We'll see," she answered, before leaning down to study the steadily burning flames.
"'Kay. Um, some help with standing, please."
Buffy didn't answer.
Tara's eyes widened and she struggled to move. Before she could say anything, Buffy kicked over the cauldron, causing it to spill on the flames and over the ground. The fire sputtered out. A rancid odor filled the air.
Buffy stood up and smiled. No, not smiled. Smirked.
"Buffy?" Willow asked, agape. What had just happened? "Buffy, what did you do?"
Buffy turned to face her. "I realized some very important things."
***
Buffy surveyed the battle field. "I think we won this one, guys." There were murmurs of assent. She turned around to check on her best friend. Spell casting had probably left Willow totally wiped.
Buffy stared. Someone who looked exactly like her was standing over the smoking remains of the spell.
"Shit," whispered Anya. "There goes all that magic."
"Huh?" Xander asked. "What's going on?"
The Brotherhood was in shock, too. They knew exactly where the mirror Buffy had come from. But why?
"Mystique? Why?"
The doppelBuffy smirked as she transformed into her natural form. The Scoobies exchanged looks of dismay. Since when was Mystique a shape shifter?
"What did this accomplish?" Giles wondered aloud.
"Once they put the ingredients together and said the words, the spell was cast," Anya explained. "But it won't stick until the fire burns out naturally."
The fire had obviously not burned out naturally.
Mystique coolly regarded them. "Magnus, did you really think you served our cause by siding with these humans? This demon could bring about exactly what we desire - the war with mutants as victors!"
"When the war comes, I wanted it to be on my terms!" he retorted. "Not as food for some other creature!"
The blue-skinned mutant shrugged. "Tell that to him when he arrives."
Mutant and Scooby both felt a surge of worry. They were going to face the Drinvksh himself, king of all Sl'kanith.
"I knew this was a bad idea," muttered Melly. "I just knew it."
Everyone stood still for a moment, frozen. Then an unheard, unseen cue resounded amongst the cultists. They charged.
The Brotherhood and the Scoobies responded. Without a single order being shouted, Buffy, Spike and Mystique leaped to the forefront, allowing the wounded Xander and Toad to fall back. Magneto, Pyro and Avalanche formed a triangle about the witches, preparing to use their more long range skills.
"This is the most critical point in the casting!" Giles shouted. "We cannot allow them to be interrupted!"
In other words, thought Buffy as she parried a blow, the stakes are much higher this time around. Her attacker adjusted to her block by swinging his tails at her legs. She jumped like a girl skipping rope, bringing a leg up in a kick at its face. The demon staggered back, enabling Buffy to stab at its chest. Greenish pus spewed out. Buffy moved to finish it off, only to turn her blow into a block as yet another demon made an attack. Deciding the first one was out for the count, she focused her attention to the new threat.
As she fought, Buffy saw Spike take out two demons with one great swing of his double bladed axe. Unfortunately, another one behind him wrenched the blade away and brought it down to decapitate. Spike twisted out of the way and jumped on the creature's back, bringing his fangs down into its neck. He grimaced at the taste, but wounded it enough to regain his axe and disembowel the other demon. The ground beneath his feet was slick with blood and other fluids.
Buffy completed her kill. In the brief reprieve she experienced, she scanned the field of battle for Mystique. As chaotic as this was becoming, she didn't want to kill an ally instead of an enemy. But Mystique was nowhere to be seen. Buffy didn't have time to worry as another wave of demons hit her.
However, Mystique was quite well. She had hooked up with Marcie and the two slipped through the ranks of the cultists, one invisible and the other shape-shifted, making silent and quick attacks, leaving the scene before being noticed. Mystique had no intention of taking on five well- armed demons at once, like Buffy was, unless she had to. Leaving the Slayer to her battle, the mutant continued her silent assassinations.
***
The blood red crystal glowed between Willow and Tara. Their eyes shimmered, Willow's black as night; Tara's white as the moon. As one, they dipped their hands into the cauldron and drew them out, dripping with the potion.
Arcane gestures left faint tracings in the air.
"We deny you, demon. Blood is shed and Blood is spilled. Night to day and day to night. Dark cloud Of your making lies over this land. Let the sun rise and burn the fog away. We deny you, demon."
***
A cluster of cultists saw a weak spot in the defense and charged. The humans and the wounded Toad fired crossbows and some of them fell, but not enough. Giles and Xander readied their hand to hand weapons. Toad's tongue skipped in and out of his mouth as he prepared for the right moment.
Xander gripped his sword tightly. All of the more powerful allies were in the middle of life-or-death situations. Even if he shouted for help, it might not come in time. Years of Scoobiness and a Halloween night as a soldier had taught him how much a few seconds can change a battle.
One particularly gruesome specimen reached them first. With a snarl, he swung a fist four times the size of Xander's. Xander raised his blade to block, only to meet air.
A piercing melody filled the air. It sounded like flutes and pipes and wind and water; of whispered promises that will always be kept.
The cultists in the immediate area were in a daze. Xander looked about for the cause and saw - Melly? It had to be the siren, only the frumpy form was gone, replaced by a body models would kill for. The siren's full lips traced her words invitingly as she sang. Xander couldn't hear the words, he only heard a voice crooning, reminding him of some indefinable and distant memory.
Toad, the most practical fighter among the three, took a sword from one entranced demon and proceeded to decapitate it. He started to do the same thing to all the other cultists. With a grimace, Giles joined in, his innate pragmatism winning out over his honor. This was war.
When they were done, Melly gave them a wink and blew them a kiss before resuming her more familiar shape and walking away.
***
They were winning. Anya was rather surprised to see that, given how severely outnumbered they were. It was a bunch of mortals against of horde of demons, after all, regardless of what the mortals in question called themselves.
Buffy and Spike had crossed paths in their battles and now stood back to back, fighting side by side, twice as effective as a team. The ground beneath them squished with the fallen. Pyro manipulated flame with ease, preventing many demons from entering his sphere. However, those immune to fire crept closer to him. Recognizing this, Avalanche traded places with his fellow mutant, using his own skills to kill the survivors. And Magneto -
Magneto was a one man army.
No armored or armed demon was safe in his vicinity. Weapons attacked their owners, helmets wrenched and twisted off the heads they rested on, armor plating contracted and squeezed bodies like toothpaste. No marks marred him - no cultist had come close enough to hurt him. Crossbow bolts were turned away by invisible walls while he choked the life out of those who dared shoot.
Anya was very grateful he was on her side. The amount of multi tasking he was doing was frightening. Nothing happened in his zone that he didn't allow. Bodies of cultists piled up, and the Master of Magnetism was not even sweating from the effort.
As the demons wised up and began seeking other points of attack, they learned that Magneto only restricted himself to one area because he felt like it. If he decided to attack a demon on the other side of the clearing, he was fully capable of doing so without letting his shields down.
The cultists began to retreat, their numbers seriously depleted. They fell back, but still made a ring about the Brotherhood and the Scoobies. In response, Buffy and Spike pulled back to their own circle about the witches. She was panting and favoring one leg by now; he was bruised and sporting a lovely gash on his chest. If he had been alive and still pumping blood, it would have been fatal.
"How're we doing?" Buffy asked, turning her head to take a head count of her allies.
"Alive," Xander answered. He had sidled up to Anya and was leaning on her, his own body responding to the stress with aches and pains.
"Good enough." Nodding to Willow and Tara, caught up in their dance for power, she asked, "How long?"
"I can't say," Giles answered, daubing at a cut on his forehead.
"Not long. If Drinvksh has anything left to throw at us, it will be about now," Melly remarked. Unlike the rest, she looked as if she had stepped outside her house for a nice spot of fresh air.
As if the cultists had heard her, they grouped together as one and charged.
"FOR CHAOS!"
They turned to meet the charge, all the forces gathered in one spot.
***
"Crystal, purity of soul," intoned Tara.
"Blood, purity of heart," responded Willow.
Together, they chanted, "White and red, red and white. Drops falling on snow. Let the wound be healed, let the blood flow cease. Dark powers enter us, reach into forgotten corners of the mind. Light of good, light of fallen lives, enter us and bind the darkness."
Tara held up the siren hair bag. "Charms of thought, charms of destruction, be bound. That which distorts, enter here and be bound."
The shimmering crystal floated into the bag. The now glowing bag floated into Willow's hand. She pulled the string shut. The light inside the bag went out. "Charms of thought, charms of destruction, be bound. We forbid you your darkness. We forbid your distortion."
As she dropped the bag into the cauldron, the two in unison said, "Do not fight. Powers great aid us. The binding is done. So mote it be!"
The cauldron bubbled. Power surged. Lights flashed. Willow felt a rush not unlike that first soul-curse casting. It was incredible. In that instant, she could do anything. Then she collapsed on wobbly legs.
On the other side of the fire, Tara was in a similar state. She weakly gave her a thumbs up. Willow returned it.
***
Magneto stood his ground as he watched the charge of cultists. They knew by now they were outclassed, why did they continue attacking? He alone could take them down where they stood.
Cultists. By definition, fools willing to die for their cause. Magneto should know; he had cultivated a few in his time. No matter. If they were willing to die, he was happy to help.
He momentarily considered leaving a few alive for his allies to fight. No, they were too wounded. With a thought, Magneto reached out with his power and proceeded to crush the attackers.
As the demons fell, he felt a rush of some force behind him. Light exploded all around and his senses registered a power of some sort flooding the air.
The spell must have worked.
***
From Willow's vantage point on the ground, she saw Buffy approach the fire. "We win?" she asked in a tired voice.
Buffy's lips quirked up a moment. "We'll see," she answered, before leaning down to study the steadily burning flames.
"'Kay. Um, some help with standing, please."
Buffy didn't answer.
Tara's eyes widened and she struggled to move. Before she could say anything, Buffy kicked over the cauldron, causing it to spill on the flames and over the ground. The fire sputtered out. A rancid odor filled the air.
Buffy stood up and smiled. No, not smiled. Smirked.
"Buffy?" Willow asked, agape. What had just happened? "Buffy, what did you do?"
Buffy turned to face her. "I realized some very important things."
***
Buffy surveyed the battle field. "I think we won this one, guys." There were murmurs of assent. She turned around to check on her best friend. Spell casting had probably left Willow totally wiped.
Buffy stared. Someone who looked exactly like her was standing over the smoking remains of the spell.
"Shit," whispered Anya. "There goes all that magic."
"Huh?" Xander asked. "What's going on?"
The Brotherhood was in shock, too. They knew exactly where the mirror Buffy had come from. But why?
"Mystique? Why?"
The doppelBuffy smirked as she transformed into her natural form. The Scoobies exchanged looks of dismay. Since when was Mystique a shape shifter?
"What did this accomplish?" Giles wondered aloud.
"Once they put the ingredients together and said the words, the spell was cast," Anya explained. "But it won't stick until the fire burns out naturally."
The fire had obviously not burned out naturally.
Mystique coolly regarded them. "Magnus, did you really think you served our cause by siding with these humans? This demon could bring about exactly what we desire - the war with mutants as victors!"
"When the war comes, I wanted it to be on my terms!" he retorted. "Not as food for some other creature!"
The blue-skinned mutant shrugged. "Tell that to him when he arrives."
Mutant and Scooby both felt a surge of worry. They were going to face the Drinvksh himself, king of all Sl'kanith.
"I knew this was a bad idea," muttered Melly. "I just knew it."