Title: Dimension Hopping for the Modern Minion
Author: Xander03
Rating: R (language)
Summary: "Please take your seats. Faith and I will be discussing the possible end of the world for a few moments, don't mind us."
Author's Notes: Spoilers through the ends of Season 4 Angel and Season 7 Buffy. Thanks to K, verucawerewolf, spifarific, and h0taru. And R for some "beta-testing." I have a big welcoming party in my inbox for feedback and constructive criticism, swing by and enjoy the cake (of various flavors, and with ice cream!).
Three weeks passed without incident or word of Elizabeth. Giles flew to meet her parents, starting a new policy of sending the Council's leading Guardian to share the bad news. The Coven called while he was away to inform the Council a new Slayer had been called, and signs indicated it was a result of the death of a current Slayer.
Life started to return to normal, or as normal as it is when you're facing demons everyday. Classes resumed at the Academy, and the young Slayers learned to deal with their first lost. They knew it would be one of many, but now also knew that their line had been strengthened and renewed, and the world would not face a shortage of Champions again.
Faith woke one night feeling a strange sensation at the back of her neck. Finally deciding that Nysa must be feeling some strong emotion, she set out to look for the girl around the hotel. Nysa was gone, along with Kennedy.
"Where the hell could they have gone?" Faith was pacing Robin's office.
"God only knows," Robin said.
Wesley calmly sat down. "We're talking about a well-trained Slayer and a demon that's pretty much immune to attack. I don't think we should worry until the morning."
"We're talking about a very irresponsible Slayer and a demon that enjoys burglary. We should have been worried yesterday," Faith said.
"What exactly are we going to do when they get back?" Robin asked. "I don't think we have procedures for students running off in the middle of the night."
"I'll kick her ass," Faith said.
"Kennedy's?" Wesley asked. "I think that her punishment should be left to Robin here, since she's part of the school. I'd be more worried about what to do with Nysa."
"Or were you just going to lay all the blame on Kennedy?" Robin asked. Faith didn't answer. "If they don't have a good reason for being gone, I'm going to assign Kennedy several additional duties like cleaning. Nysa can join her, if you'd like."
"I don't think that's going to be very motivating," Wesley said. "Keep in mind she doesn't need to sleep all that often and doesn't have many hobbies. You're just giving her something to do. It'll just be another exercise in meditation." Wesley had been guiding Nysa, helping to develop her control with magic, and meditation was a tool he was using.
"Exercise?" Robin asked.
"No good there, either," Faith said. "She never gets tired, even when I'm kicking the crap out of her in practice."
The phone rang. One of the Wolfram and Hart guards reported the girls had returned. "I wouldn't have seen them if you hadn't warned us," he told Robin. "They were pretty stealthy."
"I'll go get them," Faith said, rising from her chair.
"Try not to kill Kennedy until after I've talked to her, okay?" Robin asked, as Faith left the room.
Faith walked upstairs, passing Nysa in the hallway outside Kennedy's room. "Where are you going?" she asked, not giving away she knew.
"I'm going to study, uh, some stuff." She looked guilty. That must have been what Faith was feeling when she woke.
"And where have you been?"
Ridges appeared all over Nysa's neck. Faith had learned that was the half-breed's method of blushing, inherited from her father. "Out."
"She followed me," Kennedy said, coming out of her room. "I heard your voice, figured you knew."
"You're right. What exactly were you doing out?" Faith checked her anger.
"I got restless, being in here all the time after Elizabeth was taken. I went hunting."
"By yourself?"
"Listen, I don't answer to you. I'll go talk to Robin. I'm just telling you that Nysa only followed me." Kennedy started walking down the hall.
"The hell you don't answer to me. You could have gotten killed out there. You're irresponsible. How am I supposed to count on you to have my back if I can't even trust you to stay here during the night?" Faith asked, following.
Kennedy sped up. "Robin is in charge, remember? You told me that."
"You answer to your fellow Slayers too. Or maybe you don't, now that you've lost one."
Kennedy stopped suddenly, swinging and hitting Faith, knocking her back. "Fuck you."
Wesley and Robin came out of the office after hearing the yelling from upstairs. They could see the Slayers face off right behind the railing.
Faith laughed and entered a fighting stance. "Time to clear this up once and for-"
She was cut off by Nysa running down the hall and tackling Kennedy, sending both through the railing and crashing on the floor below.
"Fuck!" Faith yelled, and bolted down the stairs.
"If at first you don't succeed," Robin muttered.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kennedy started, facing an enraged demon. "Oh, wait, I get it. Master protection thing."
Nysa circled, hands in fists in front of her face. "Fuck off."
"You forgot one thing though, in your big minion plan," Kennedy said, sliding beneath Nysa and kicking out her feet. "You don't know how to fight!"
Nysa rolled and was back on her feet by the time Faith made it down the stairs. Faith started toward Kennedy, determined to stop the fight. Wesley stepped out and stopped her.
"Are you insane?" she yelled. "Kennedy is going to kill her."
Nysa lunged at Kennedy, and the Slayer easily threw her to the side.
"Maybe your student should learn her limits," Wesley suggested.
Faith shook her head at Wesley, but stood where she was.
Nysa was back up and swinging, putting to use what limited combat training she'd picked up since moving to the Hyperion at Faith's instruction.
"You're crazy," Kennedy told Nysa, as she stepped to the side, grabbed the demon's arm, and snapped it back. "One group of people in the whole world that can hurt you, and you take one of them on."
Nysa didn't cry out, instead she swung her legs around and tripped the Slayer. Both women were on the floor.
Kennedy grabbed at Nysa, eventually gaining the upper hand and pinning the demon to the ground. "You really need to pick your fights better," she said. "You can't defend Faith for everything. She was evil once, you know."
Faith moved forward, but Wesley put his arm out and stopped her once more. Robin's kept looking between the Slayer and the senior Guardian and the battle on the floor before him.
"What are you going to do when someone says really nasty things about her?" Nysa struggled under Kennedy, muttering curses at her. Kennedy just kept going, laughing at the demon. "She's a murderer, you know."
Faith broke free from Wesley and headed toward the fight. Nysa let out a horrible scream and suddenly Kennedy was flying backwards through the air, crashing through the doors of the Hyperion.
"Holy shit," Faith said, coming to a halt.
"Fight is over," Wesley said, calmly walking toward the remains of the front door, helping Kennedy to her feet.
Without looking at Faith or Nysa, Kennedy limped upstairs. Nysa stood, arm broken, head bowed.
"Nysa," Faith started, unsure of what to do, "go. Go, uh."
"Meditate," Wesley offered. Faith nodded, and Nysa scurried off.
Faith wheeled on Wesley. "You bastard, you knew that would happen, didn't you!"
"She's been holding back in our sessions. I knew she had a lot more power there, but I couldn't get it out," he answered.
"So you just waited until she got in a fight with someone to see what she'd do? Why didn't you tell me?"
"I figured that someone would be you," he said. "So it would have defeated the purpose." Wesley walked back into the office, Robin following. Faith was left alone in the lobby, wondering what to do next.
***
"The portal is closed. How is this possible?"
"Master, I believe someone has eliminated all portals to and from the facility I used in order to get here."
"You will have to return by yourself and set up the gateway for me to pass through again. It will not be easy this time. The Powers are watching, even if the Licnuoc are busy here. I will inform the Senior Partners to prepare for your arrival."
"Yes, Master."
"Do not fail me, Ethan."
***
Wesley, Gunn, Robin, and Faith sat in the office, watching Angel pace. "They were going back over the original search area from a few weeks ago," he said, stopping and then starting to pace again. "There's been no activity there at all for weeks."
"How many?" Wesley asked, taking notes at his desk.
"Ten men. Eight were the main assault team, one was an experienced warlock, and the other was the tech-specialist." He stopped again, this time sitting down. "How could one vampire take out an entire assault team? They hadn't even fired a round. How could one vampire surprise all of them?"
"You're sure it was just one?" Faith asked.
"Fred did some sort of analysis of the neck wounds," Angel said. "They were all the same size and had matching DNA markers, whatever the hell that means."
They were quiet for a few minutes, and then Wesley spoke. "The vampire must have had a great deal of knowledge about how an assault team from Wolfram and Hart works. It must have known they would be there. And, it would either have to be a Master Vampire of great experience-"
"None of those are around here anymore," Angel said. "I'd know about it."
"- Or it would have to be unusually strong and smart."
"Like a Slayer," Gunn said.
"Double the watch," Wesley told Robin.
By the next day, two more assault teams had been slaughtered. Giles arrived with Buffy, Willow, Andrew, and Dawn in tow. "I suppose there has to be a first time for everything," Giles said, before starting the task of hunting down a Slayer turned vampire.
Upon seeing Faith, Andrew immediately asked, "Can I talk to your demon? I want to determine her ability scores."
Faith just scowled at the Guardian before walking off, nearly running over Kennedy in the process. The two hadn't spoken since Nysa had thrown her through the door, and Faith's anger was renewed due to Kennedy's charge being taken and made into a vampire.
Five assault teams, twenty strong each, roamed the sewers and underground tunnels during the day and into the evening. The guard set upon the Academy was strengthened, and none of the student-slayers went anywhere in the building by themselves. The ten most experienced students went on patrols in groups of five, led by Faith and Buffy. They were all wearing radio equipment so that they were constantly monitored. All the searchers were equipped with tracking devices.
Willow, the Guardians, and the remainder of the Slayers stayed in the Hyperion. Willow argued she would best serve the search by being with Buffy or Faith, but both Giles and Wesley agreed they needed her strength protecting the Hyperion. She set up the strongest wards she could around the perimeter, and then joined the rest in waiting. Nysa had also wanted to go with the teams, but Faith ordered her to remain with Angel. Andrew and Dawn monitored the locations of the search team members, and Wolfram and Hart set up their command post in the lobby.
"I don't like this managing gig," Angel said, looking over Dawn's shoulder at a computer screen.
"You may get to fight," Dawn said.
"Only if everyone else fails and she decides she needs to kill the computer people," Andrew said, shrinking when everyone glared at him.
"Have everyone report," Angel told the radio operator. Giles wandered by, followed a few seconds later by Wesley. Neither man spoke, but nodded to Angel. Everyone was tense, and all the Slayers crowded around the lobby to hear the radio traffic.
The teams all reported. They were spread out around the initial attack site, with the two Slayer teams actively patrolling and the assault teams staying mostly still and scanning.
"Do you think she'll take the bait?" Andrew asked to no one.
Nysa answered, "If she didn't want us to notice her, she would have picked different victims to begin with." Nysa fidgeted in her seat. She'd realized everyone was afraid she'd do something rash and put lives in danger if she joined the teams. She also still was a novice at fighting, so she had no skills to offer. Nysa just hoped she could contribute.
"She's going to want to prove she can beat us, even when we're ready for her," Angel said.
"Sir, Echo team is reporting activity on their scanner."
"Send Buffy's team that way," Angel said.
"Alpha team is also reporting activity," the radio operator said after he'd relayed the coordinates to Buffy.
"Send Faith's team."
Dots on Dawn's computer screen started moving around, and both Slayer teams quickly closed the distance to the assault teams.
"Slayer Team One has encountered vampires." The sounds of battle came over the radio. A separate channel played similar sounds from Faith's group. For several minutes, the command center was filled with the sounds of Slayers killing vampires.
Over the commotion, the radio operator yelled, "Sir!" Angel whirled away from the monitors to face him. "Bravo team isn't responding. There was a yell for help, and then they went silent."
"Send Charlie and Delta team to that location immediately!" Angel yelled.
"This is an organized attack. She has an army," Giles said. "We're not hunting just her anymore."
"Have Alpha and Echo move to there as well, as soon as they are able. Tell Buffy and Faith to converge on that point when they are done with the vampires," Angel told the radioman.
The Hyperion fell quiet as everyone waited for a report. "Command, this is Charlie, we're approaching the site. The scanner isn't picking up anything."
"Roger, Charlie team."
"Command, they're all dead."
"Charlie, this is Delta, we're approaching your location."
"Roger."
"This is Alpha and Echo, we're about eight minutes away. The Slayer teams are cleaning up."
Angel paced between the radio and the computers. "Ask Buffy to confirm Kennedy's location," Dawn said suddenly.
"What?" Angel asked.
The radioman was already on it. "Command to Buffy, check Kennedy's transmitter."
"Buffy to Com- Where did…she's not here!"
"They're disappearing off my screen!" Dawn yelled. Nysa and Andrew furiously typed commands to the system, diverting more satellites to the area.
"We're losing the signals," Andrew said.
"They've all disappeared," Dawn said.
"Barriers," Nysa said, looking around frantically. "Somebody is using magic to screw up our gear."
The front door slammed shut, and the group turned in time to see the red of Willow's hair as she ran into the night. They turned just in time to see Nysa's neck ridges flare as she bolted through the back door.
***
Alarms sounded. Heavily armed men filled every hallway, mages woke and started their castings, scanner teams began searching the building, and the patients were locked in their wing of the facility. Steel barred doors closed between each section, the ventilation system shut down and little doors fell over each vent in the building. Nothing could get in or out of the facility.
After the "all clear" alarm had sounded, the commander of the Wolfram and Hart unit in South America, responsible for the care taking of the previously brainwashed Slayers breathed a sigh of relief. This hadn't been a drill, but had turned out to be a false alarm. Reports of no injuries and no damage came flooding in to his office. Every single part of the facility reported nothing out of the ordinary.
It was not until the next day, when doctors and nurses went to visit the Slayers, did they realize every single girl was gone.
***
"Kennedy to Command, I think I fell through the floor into another area." No response. Kennedy took off her earpiece and tried to see if it had been flipped off in the fall. It seemed to be working, or at least had the green light on. She reached down to her belt and found the "panic" button on her transmitter and pressed it.
"It won't help." A voice from the darkness. "There are spells up to keep those gadgets from working."
"Elizabeth?"
"That's me. Or how you know me. My real name is Lydia."
"Real name? What the hell are you talking about?" Kennedy looked around for the vampire, but it was completely dark.
"I was the first Slayer Roger found. You all had to go and catch my Watcher, so I decided to go ahead with our plan on my own. To please the master."
Kennedy tried to remember the briefing about the other Council. They talked about a master too, but nobody knew whom that was. What was the other name? "Is this master named Ethan?"
Lydia laughed. "No, he serves the master too." A pause. "You can as well."
"I can do what?" Kennedy searched the ground around her for her stake, not finding it. She stood and tried to determine the vampire's location based on sound.
"I know you've not been happy with your Council," Lydia said. "Join us, and you will be spared."
Kennedy looked up once again at the small hole she'd come through. She was at least thirty feet down, and nobody seemed to be coming to her rescue. Time to stall. "What exactly do I do, let you turn me?"
"No, you need not be turned," Lydia said. "You are trained and strong and don't need the added benefits that death can give you."
"Right," Kennedy tried to sound agreeable. "I need to know more about this master, I think, before I make up my mind."
"All you need to know is that he will bring peace and prosperity to the Earth. He is more powerful than us, any of us. Or all the Slayers combined. He is more powerful than the Powers."
"And what would I be doing in this group?"
"You're trying to stall, Kennedy. You're not very good at lying," Lydia said. "Your friends aren't coming for you. They can't find you. You need to decide now. I can promise you though, if you join with us, Faith will never bother you again."
"She is a bitch," Kennedy agreed. Gunfire erupted above, and the ceiling filled with bullet holes before falling all around her. Faith's team came over the edges and into the hole, screaming like banshees.
"But, she's a bitch that takes care of her own." The assault team above aimed their flashlights down, and Kennedy could see Lydia was just a few feet away, staring up at the falling Slayers. Some of the assault team members were preparing to rappel down.
Kennedy leaped at Lydia, sending both to the floor. "You bitch!" Lydia screamed as she got up, turning to run.
Faith stepped in her way, and shot out her arm to clothesline Lydia. "Should've known that Ken's girlfriend would've been pissed," Faith told her, moving to advance on the vampire as she rolled away.
Buffy's team was not far behind, and now jumped into the area. Buffy landed mere inches away from Lydia, and staked her before she could rise.
The dust settled and the assault teams cleared the area. Any vampires that had survived the initial attack scattered in the sewers.
"What happened?" Kennedy asked.
"She, or someone else, had the whole area hidden from the tracking systems. Red showed up and knocked the magic down, Dawn let us know where you were, and the boys with the guns made us a hole."
Nysa came barreling over the side of the cliff, narrowly missing landing on Kennedy. "Faith! Are you okay?"
Faith stared at the demon. "Won't you know if I get injured? Like, feel it or something?"
Nysa blushed. "Uh. Yeah. I guess so. I just thought I'd check." She looked at Kennedy. "I'm glad you're not dead."
"Great," Kennedy said before looking up. Willow was at the edge of the hole, waving and smiling. She waved back and turned to face Faith. "Hey, thanks."
"No problem. Let's get out of here."
***
"It is so good to be home again," Dawn said, walking up to the Council's warehouse. Buffy and Willow had gone back to South America from L.A., and the Guardians had returned to London.
Giles smiled. "When did this become home?"
"Home is where the tomes are," Dawn laughed. Andrew ran to catch up.
The three were almost to the door when Giles stopped suddenly, grabbing Dawn and Andrew. "Wait. Something's wrong."
Dawn and Andrew stepped back, letting Giles take the lead. "Ethan," he said, opening up the door and walking in. He closed his eyes for a few moments, and then said, "He's been here."
The office was destroyed. Giles' computer monitor was in several pieces on the floor, and the tower had what appeared to be a burn mark on the side where a hole extended through the case and past the blackened circuitry. The fax machine now consisted only of melted plastic, causing the room to smell.
"He's not here anymore," Giles said to Dawn and Andrew. "It's safe to come in."
Andrew and Dawn surveyed the damage in the office quickly, and then moved to the main floor of the warehouse. There was very little burn damage there, but instead of items being on organized tables, there was just a huge pile in the center of the room.
"Oh my God," Dawn muttered.
"Why would he do this?" Andrew asked. "Do you think he wanted to destroy all our stuff?"
"No," Giles answered, looking at the mountain of Council belongings stacked before him. "If he'd wanted it destroyed, it wouldn't be here anymore."
Dawn walked up and grabbed a piece of paper attached prominently at the front of the heap. She read it, and then handed it to Giles.
Giles read, "It is so nice to see you've been busy. Sorry about the mess, I needed a few things. I wanted to let you know I'll be in De Aar, South Africa tomorrow night. Bring Faith's new little demon friend with you, or the Slayers you rescued from my associate will die. Ta ta."
"Find a phone," Giles ordered Dawn. "Call Wesley. I'll try to contact Buffy and Willow."
***
"What do you mean the building has been locked down?" Angel flung the door open and stormed out of his office, Fred following. Employees scattered at his approach.
"The building," she said, gasping for breath and trying to keep up with Angel as he took the stairs, "has an emergency security system. Nothing goes in or out when it is deployed. It activated. We're stuck."
"The hell we are!" Angel kicked the door to the first floor in, sending it flying across the hall, barely missing an intern. He walked to the front doors, slamming against the solid steal cage that had fallen from the ceiling. The metal structure shook and rebounded off the ward it was next to.
"There will be magical and physical barriers at all exits," Fred offered, catching up.
Growling, Angel grabbed the lobby security guard, lifting him up by his shirt. "Who activated the system?"
"I-I-uh, I don't know," the guard managed to spit out. Angel shook him violently, and tossed him against a nearby wall. The guard covered his face with his hands and curled up. "Ms. Morgan left just before it happened," he said softly. "Please don't kill me."
Angel grabbed the nearest chair and tossed it at the steel frame in front of the door, screaming.
"We're stuck," Fred said.
***
"And where is it you think the planes went?" Wesley asked the helpless employee at the Wolfram and Hart hangar desk.
"I don't know, sir. All I know is that Ms. Morgan arrived a few hours ago, and that all but one of the planes left with her."
***
A large fire could be seen ahead of them. Suddenly, the five jeeps braked, sliding across the sand until they came to a stop. "Guess we're walking," Faith said, hopping out of the jeep she'd been driving. Nysa got out of the same jeep, scanning for enemies. Giles and Wesley got out of their jeep, as well as Robin and Kennedy, Xander and Buffy, and Willow, Andrew, and Dawn. Gunn had stayed with the other students in L.A., and Angel hadn't been able to escape his building.
"Still dizzy?" Xander asked Buffy. Willow had transported them from South America to Africa when they'd realized they were needed but that all the planes in the local area had been sent elsewhere.
"Not so dizzy I won't be up for some serious ass kicking," Buffy said. She held her sword up to examine in the moonlight. Robin had brought along extra weapons from L.A., which had been good since Willow had lost hers somewhere in transport.
"We're right on it," Giles said, drawing nearer to the fire. He'd done a quick spell in the city to determine where the strongest concentration of energy was, and they'd headed out. Ethan was sure to be using serious magic, whatever he was planning to do.
Ethan appeared from thin air in front of them, along with Lilah. "Hello, Ripper."
Lilah looked said, "I'm just here for the show." Pulling out a nail file, she sat on a nearby rock.
"Ethan," Giles said. "What are you doing?"
"It would spoil the surprise if I told you," Ethan replied, peeling off his shirt to reveal a series of recent wounds, several scars, and a marking.
"You bear the symbol of Nukpana," Nysa said, coming even with Giles. The rest of the group fanned out and formed a semi-circle around Ethan, silently deciding he was the larger danger and mostly ignoring Lilah. Nysa explained, "He was to be killed for crimes against both the Natit and the Nacluv before I departed. But he escaped."
"A smart girl," Ethan said. "I can see he was right about you. When he arrives, you'll join him. You'll see. With your power helping him, mankind will fall to its knees, and he'll have the army he needs to overthrow Tnacsuroc, and a new era of peace will fall upon the Earth. I'll be in charge," he said, winking at Giles, "and I'll make sure you all are well cared for."
"I'm not going to believe that," Giles said.
Nysa said, "You don't need to. He's either lying or he's been lied to. Nukpana would never share power."
"Where are the Slayers?" Giles demanded.
"The Slayers? Oh, they've made their contribution to this little ritual." The ground shook as Ethan spoke. "That would be the fire consuming their flesh and the dirt accepting their blood."
Giles lunged angrily at Ethan, only to be knocked back by a fiery bolt from Ethan's hand. "The Master has taught me so much, Ripper. You all do not stand a chance." Wesley loosed a bolt at Ethan from his crossbow, watching as it fell to the ground after failing to penetrate flesh. Willow started to unleash her own spells, but was cut off when Ethan encased her in a barrier field. Angered, Buffy and Kennedy both charged him, and were flung to the side by some invisible force. Faith and Robin were next, ending up in a pile to the side.
Ethan looked expectantly back at the fire. "The gateway is open, master, come!"
The fire exploded, sending a shockwave all around, knocking down anyone who had managed to get back up. Nothing came from the flames, however, and Nysa lifted her sword. "Your master does not answer to you, fool."
Ethan sent a fireball at Nysa. She tried to dodge, but failed. Surprisingly, the bolt did nothing but scar her clothing. "His power is leaving you," she said to Ethan. "I think he set you up."
Ethan's face showed panic for a moment, but he recovered. "Perhaps it needs more blood," he said. From Ethan's hand a large scimitar appeared. He swung at the approaching demon, but she was too fast. She ducked under his blade and rolled.
"Someone's been teaching you a few things," he said. He circled around Nysa so he was no longer surrounded. Again he charged. Ducking under the blade again, this time she dropped to a knee and drove her sword forward, impaling Ethan at the center. Withdrawing the sword, she stood and backed away. He turned toward the fire one last time on his way down, still looking expectant. Nysa shuddered with the sudden influx of some of Ethan's power.
"What happened?" Faith asked, trying to get up.
"There can be only one!" Andrew exclaimed.
Nysa was about to agree when lightening struck out from the fire, striking everyone except Lilah and sending them backwards and onto the ground once again.
A dark figure, covered in shadows, emerged from the flame. "This is where it gets interesting," Lilah said, still comfortably perched on her rock.
"I am Nukpana," the demon said. He was huge, making the humans around him look tiny and weak.
"On behalf of the Senior Partners," Lilah said, rising, "I would like to welcome you to Earth." Nukpana nodded, and Lilah looked at Wesley, "Sorry. Just doing my job. You all have fun." A portal appeared above Lilah, swirling and glowing in the empty night. She looked up and it took her, disappearing into the sky.
Nysa was first on her feet, sword in hand, charging Nukpana. "So young," he calmly said, extending his hand and flinging her backwards thirty feet. "So impatient."
"Why allow Ethan to be killed?" Giles asked, attempting to rise, but encountering a force that prevented it.
Nukpana laughed. "Nysa needed his energy. It makes her stronger, to have a human soul within her. A strong one at that." He looked at Faith. "I'd like to thank you, Slayer, for completing the rituals with her. Otherwise she'd be powerless, and useless to me."
Nysa stood again. "So this was all a set up? You and the Senior Partners just wanted my powers?"
"With you as my queen, men will willingly follow me to Tnacsuroc. You are unique, Nysa, and that is why you are feared in Tnacsuroc. Your powers are greater than the sum of your parents'. When I am done, the Senior Partners will be welcome there, and the Licnuoc and Powers will be destroyed."
"And do you think I'll just willingly go along with that plan?" Nysa asked, bringing her sword to the ready.
"It is foretold. You will bring an end to the current regime on Tnacsuroc. You have no choice. You will bend to my will." Nukpana focused intently on Nysa. The others couldn't get past whatever force was holding them down, and watched helplessly as Nysa slowly lost the contest of spirit. Nukpana laughed again. "The young are so easily subdued."
"You bastard," Faith said as loudly as she could manage. "You leave her alone."
Nukpana glanced at the Slayer.
"You don't want to piss off a Slayer," Kennedy agreed.
Another glance from Nukpana.
"You do not want to fuck with me, little man," Faith growled, pulling herself up.
Nukpana hit Faith squarely in the chest with another lightening bolt, sending her toppling backwards. There was no pause before she sat up.
"You WILL stay down!" Another lightening bolt.
She sat up again, drawing her feet under her. "Isn't this why they sent her here? So Champions could challenge her power? I think we can take you, too."
Nukpana seemed to grow with anger. He released his hold of Nysa, and devoted the energy to another lightening bolt. Faith screamed and bounced across the ground. By the time the demon turned his attention back to Nysa, she was on him, sword slashing through his dark robes.
His attention faltered, and Kennedy took the opening, standing up. Buffy joined her, and when Nukpana had tossed Nysa aside to join her master on the ground, he found himself under the assault of two Slayers.
Willow and Giles were starting to chant in Latin now. Dawn and Andrew began an incantation as well. Buffy and Kennedy stepped up the assault to draw his focus, allowing the others to regain strength. Nukpana could defeat their physical attacks easily enough, but couldn't concentrate on holding the others. As one Slayer fell, one of the other two would rise to take her place.
Giles and Willow finished the incantation, and Nukpana spun to face Nysa when he felt the magical energy splice the air between the Guardians and the Slayers. From Dawn and Andrew came what they would later call a restoration spell to Nysa, giving her for a brief time the power she would have at full maturity and training.
The three Slayers continued their onslaught now, not falling when he struck them. Nysa sent ball after ball of red energy at Nukpana, each one draining his energy a little more.
"Magic missiles," Andrew whispered to Dawn.
Blow after blow, the Slayers remained standing, and Nukpana continued to block their attacks. Focusing all his attention on the Slayers and maintaining his energy, the force holding the others down lifted.
"Finally," Willow said as she started to throw her own bolts of magic at the demon. The others joined the fray, with Giles and Wesley joining the casters with their own magic, adding to Nukpana's confusion.
"This isn't possible!" he screamed, following a slash to his abdomen from Faith.
"Yeah, well neither is a human becoming a master for Nysa," she said, drawing
her sword above her head. "Rules
change." She brought the sword down
into the side of his neck, sending him to the ground with a thud that shook the
Earth. A shockwave once again hit the
group, this one less powerful than before, and they all remained standing.
Sweating, bleeding, and out of breath, everyone watched silently as he died, disappearing into the air, leaving nothing but his robes. The shared energy, no longer needed, swept out of the Slayers and Nysa, leaving them all on the ground exhausted. Giles looked at the body of Ethan and the remains of Nukpana, finally nodding to Wesley and Willow, an unspoken command to close the portal passing between them.
There was a bright flash next to the fire, blinding all and teleporting two more people. Angel looked around. "What'd we miss?"
Fred looked around, vomited, and then fainted.
***
"No word from Lilah, then?" Wesley asked in the Hyperion lobby. The Academy was having its first party. Originally it had been called a dance, but once everyone realized there weren't any boys to go around, the name had been changed.
"No," Angel replied. "Apparently she's not coming back. Some of the employees left with her."
"Think you've got all the bad eggs out?"
"Not hardly," Angel admitted. "But at least now we're looking."
Across the floor, Kennedy, Willow, and Buffy were dancing with Xander. "Cleveland, huh?" Willow asked.
"Where else for a newly graduated Slayer to go but a Hellmouth?" Xander joked.
"Don't forget the newly Council-certified, board approved Guardian that's going with," Kennedy said.
"Giles asked me if Willow and I would want to go with you," Buffy said, "but I told him that you could handle it."
"You did?" Xander and Kennedy said in unison. Willow just glared.
"Yeah. But I suppose we could visit and help you move in."
Robin and Faith watched from the corner. "What happens to Nysa now?" he asked.
"Stays with me, I guess. She's not done with all the rituals yet, and she's a good fighter to have around."
Giles joined them. "Any idea on how to get two people to stop kissing?"
"Do I want to know who?" Robin asked.
Faith didn't bother, she quickly scanned the room to see who was missing. She knew Gunn and Wesley were in the office talking to Nysa about an Angel Investigations case they'd recruited her for. Realizing who the missing parties were, she just laughed. "No, Giles, it's cute."
In Nysa's room, on loan for the evening, Andrew and Dawn kissed, completely oblivious to the party or Giles' interruption.
