'Hey thanks to everyone that reviewed, I really like reading your feedback and I hope you're enjoying the fic as much as I am enjoying writing it.

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Alexandra the half-wolf

Chapter 23 – The Cult of the Antichrist

"So what's the apocalypse this time?" Buffy said breezily, moving to sit next to Giles.
 "Nothing to be so relaxed about," Giles retorted, clutching his book. "The Cult of the Antichrist has come to Sunnydale." His words hung in the air as if Giles had expected a big reaction but the only one who didn't look non-plussed was Anya.

 "Really?" she said unimpressed. "My friend Hallie went out with one of them once, I told her it was incredibly passé to date a vampire but you know, she thought she was in love." Everyone looked at her for a moment, and then turned back to Giles.
 "Care to share?" Buffy said to Giles, gesturing to his book.

 "The Cult of the Antichrist is made up of some of the oldest and fiercest vampires ever sired," Giles began. "It is thought that they originated from the first ever vampire. The Cult is made up of three levels, the highest being the chief vampires, the strongest, the most powerful, the next being made up of those who are competing for positions in the next layer and the bottom layer being the soldiers, the minions."
 "And the top vampires," Buffy asked. "When are they replaced?"
 "If they are killed," Giles said. "Which is rare. The only cases of it have been when a second level vampire has gathered enough strength to take on a top level one. But the top level is fiercely loyal to one another, they will defend one another til death, in which case the welcome the more worthy vampire to the fold."
 "Well I've fought vamps before," Buffy said, a little more alert than before.

"These are no ordinary vampires Buffy," Giles said gravely. "Many slayers have gone up against the Antichrist and not one has succeeded."
 "So what's the point of them?" Xander piped up. "I mean do they just sit around talking about how to be great vampires or something?"

 "They are creating an army," Giles said bluntly. "The point of the Cult is that they want to create a world in which vampires are in control. But they haven't been successful as yet. Not many people are aware of this, but the Catholic Church has a powerful demon fighting army. There is a lot of theory and speculation that the first vampire originated from the soul of Judas Iscariot. Hence the hatred of crosses. Therefore, the Church fights against vampires. For many years now there has been an ongoing war between the Catholic army and the Antichrist. The Antichrist continues to sire as many vampires as possible in the hope that one day the army will be big enough to take on that of the Church."

 "Why have we never heard about this?" Buffy asked in amazement. "And why haven't I ever received any assistance from the Church in what I do."
 "Because the Church does not consider the Slayer worthy of their assistance," Giles said coolly. "They have watched the Slayer fail enough times to have turned against them. And the Catholic Church keeps their actions in this sense very quiet. The occult is something that has troubled the Christian religion for a long time; the Catholics do not want to be seen acknowledging its existence. It's only through the Watchers Council I know about this and it's only because you have seen evidence of it that I am telling you. "
 "And the Antichrist has come to Sunnydale?" Anya asked a note of fear in her voice.
 "It appears so," Giles said. "They travel together, the top vampires being defended by an elite of warriors. I expect they've come to hellmouth for the mystical evil energy. It is special for a vampire to be part of the Antichrist, you have to be sired into it, so the special blood flows through your veins too."
 "So what do I have to do?" Buffy asked. "Go up against the army."

 "I don't know," Giles said wearily. "The only way to stop the Antichrist is to kill the top level, the five that are in charge. But no slayer has even succeeded in coming close."
 "Well I'm no ordinary slayer," Buffy said determinedly.
 "And then there's the added difficulty of the Catholic Army," Giles said. "They'll be here soon, I can guarantee it."

They spent the rest of night in research mode, trying to find something on the Antichrist and indeed something on the Catholic Army, which Giles anticipated having problems with also. It had been mostly unsuccessful, they had discovered that the top vampires in the antichrist could be killed in the usual ways but were incredibly strong, fast and powerful. From what Buffy had told Giles, she had gone up against one of the second level vampires and Sirius has taken out a newly sired third layer vampire.
They had researched who was in power at the top and had found two of the vampires, one a male vampire known simply as Samuel, a twisted vampire with a taste for torture. He had killed two slayers, after torturing them for weeks, and was close to five hundred years old. The other was a woman, or had been before she had been turned four hundred years ago. Alive she had been a noblewoman who exercised her power in hiring and brutally killing her servants. Turned, she was cold, collected and incredibly vicious. She was known as Mary.

The other three were a mystery, though Giles said he remembered something about one of them, the oldest, being the worst of all, having power over the other four. They had not found any information on him or her though.

As dawn broke, an exhausted Buffy and Sirius left Giles' to go to Buffy's home.
 "It's gonna be tough then?" Sirius said concernedly.
 "You bet," Buffy said wearily. "This Antichrist, I've never come up against anything like this before. I fought the master, but he wasn't a fighter, he was a mind controller. But Giles' says these five are fighters, amazing fighters. Plus I've got the second level to worry about, nearly as incredible. And they've killed so many slayers."
 "So let's leave," Sirius suggested. "Go back to England early, wait until they've left Sunnydale."
 "I wish," Buffy said with a sad smile. "But this is something I can't escape from. This is my town, and I've got to protect it. It'll be over one way or another by the time we're due to go back, whether I'm still around to go with you." Sirius looked at her gravely and brought up her hand to his mouth to kiss.
 "I just wish…" Buffy began, and then stopped. Sirius looked at her.

 "I know it's crazy but..." Buffy began. "…Well I kind of wish that Faith was still around y'know? I mean I know things didn't end well between us, on account of her trying to kill all my friends, family and me, and me putting her in a coma but if she was by my side…..Two slayers against this thing, maybe we'd have some hope. I just wish she wasn't in a coma anymore." Sirius squeezed her hand and they carried on walking.

What they didn't see was someone standing in the shadows that the early morning sun cast over Sunnydale. Someone who watched Buffy and Sirius walk down the street and listened to Buffy talk to Sirius. Someone that turned away as Buffy finished talking and whispered into the early morning.
 "Done." That someone rasped.

And across town a girl sat straight up in her bed and stared round in shock at the room she had slept so peacefully in for so long.

Oooh guess who?!

I hope this chapter is as much of a surprise for you as it was for me writing it. It's totally changed the direction I was gonna go in when I was writing it. I never plan stuff more than a chapter in advance so ideas are really sudden for me. But I think it's gonna be really good, so let me know what you think!!

Also I realise that religion is a touchy subject to be using but the idea came to me and I like it so im gonna stick with it. I'll try not to offend anyone, but if I do I apologize.