One of the shape shifters that had morphed as Rupert raised an eyebrow at Ethan. "You really think you're a match for all of us?"
A Willow shape shifter morphed into Ethan and sent him back his own smirk, "Or defeat yourself?"
Soft growling came out of the darkness in the surrounding corridors and Ethan smiled at his opponents. "Do you think I wouldn't have sent for reinforcements?"
Willow turned toward the noise and stiffened when a pack of werewolves stepped out of the shadows. SHIT! Oz and Veruca were supposed to have been on the opposite side of town. What had Druscilla and the others found when they got there if not the weres?
Ethan smiled at Willow's reaction. "I see you recognize my pets even in their wolf form. Don't you find glamour spells useful especially against vampires?"
Before Rupert or Willow could answer there was a loud explosion on the opposite side of Ethan's compound. Rupert inwardly smiled at Wesley's perfect timing.
"Ripper, I'm quite impressed that you started using weapons instead of relying on your magick." Ethan turned toward Willow, "Must be your influence, he's always been a traditionalist. Unlike myself that uses any means necessary."
A clicking noise to Willow's left startled her and she spun to greet the latest threat from Ethan.
OHGODOHGODOHGODOHGODOHGOD. Her worst nightmare came walking toward her. As horrible as it was to see Oz mated with Veruca and being a part of Ethan's elite forces it didn't compare to seeing Warren among those that stepped out of the shadows.
She blinked rapidly and shook her head to clear her vision. God, please let this be a mind trick or an illusion or ANYTHING but Warren holding a gun.
"Love?"
Rupert turned sharply when he saw Willow's panic. His eyes roamed over the mercenaries but didn't see anything that should cause her frightened reaction. He knew about her girlfriend's death from gunshot but Willow hadn't seemed to be afraid of guns.
Ethan smirked when he saw Rupert's concern for the red head. Gotcha! Shape shifters may look like Ripper, act like Ripper, even have his magickal aura but none of the other Ruperts were as concerned for the witch.
Willow grabbed blindly for Rupert's hand, "The dark haired man near the middle wearing a blue shirt with a white stripe."
Rupert's eyes followed to where Willow described, "Is there a double in your world?"
"I-it's Warren."
Warren? WARREN. Shit just what they didn't need. Oz, Veruca and Ethan on one side with the face that still haunted Willow's nightmares on the other.
"Ah, love." Rupert whispered in Willow's mind, "You don't have to face this…"
Willow cut him off in her thoughts, "I HAVE to Rupert. I have to know that I can face Warren and not go all Darth Rosenberg."
"Right, then. You take Warren and his group, I'll take Ethan and the shifters can take the weres. Wes and the others should be here in a bit." Rupert turned his attention to the DSN to let them know the plans had changed a bit.
Ethan watched fascinated as all of the shifters morphed from their Rupert/Willow shape back into their natural shape. He didn't know what Rupert had planned next but he knew it would be a wild ride. Ethan always had good times with Ripper.
Willow straightened her spine and faced the mercenaries holding their guns at the ready. She knew she could defeat them without much drain on her magick it was the not going to the dark side part that she was having problems with. She hoped that Darla and Dru would keep their promise to kill her.
"Funny thing about bullets, certain ones inflict certain pains." A voice to Willow's left uttered.
The only betrayal of Willow's recognition of that voice was the clinching of her jaw. How could she not have noticed him? Her only excuse was that Warren had garnered all her attention and she didn't notice any of the others. Riley, Riley with a very long ragged scar down his cheek, raised his weapon to his shoulder and pointed it at Rupert's back.
"Some bullets are silver, quite deadly for the weres." Some of the soldiers pointed their weapons at some of the shifters that had become weres.
"Some have special ingredients in the gunpowder that render magick useless. Tsk, tsk the DSN might not be able to transform to anything." Some of the soldiers pointed their weapons at the DSN that were in their natural state.
"And some bullets are designed to do as much damage to the human body as possible." The rest of the soldiers aimed their weapons at Rupert and Willow, with a few turning theirs toward the other entrances. "Those are my favorite."
Alrighty, time to beat Riley with a shovel. Metaphorically speaking of course. Willow's eyes began to glaze over as she connected with the Earth's magick. An unexpected jolt filled her body. This was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. This was more than when she sucked the dark magicks from the books; this was more than the rush of the white magicks that Giles and the coven gave her.
The soldiers that had their eyes on the red headed witch only gave away their nervousness by the ticking of a muscle in their jaws and the slight tremor of their trigger finger. Her hair was billowing around her like the snake filled head of Medusa and her eyes were glowing an eerie white.
Lochlain, the Fey that had been turned inside out by Ethan, began screaming in horrific pain as the healing magick of Avalon flooded the room and his insides were turning back to their proper place.
Ethan's eyes widened as he felt the ancient magick the witch was calling on and not even realizing she was doing it. 'Oh yes, this one would make a fine addition to his side.' Just imagining the power of Avalon turned to the dark brought a dark smile to his lips. He'd done his research or rather his spies had done their research and found out about Willow's soulmate dieing recently by gunfire in her world. He'd planned for the mercenaries to be the first step for her delving into the dark magick.
Rupert didn't like the look on Ethan's face as he watched Willow. It was way too smug. Without wasting time and knowing Willow could fight her own battles he threw an energy bolt at Ethan.
The energy blast knocked the dark wizard into the far wall. He stood and cracked his neck side to side. "That wasn't very cricket, Ripper."
As soon as Rupert's energy bolt hit Ethan, Oz gave a loud roar and signaled his weres to attack. The DSN in their natural state bonded together into a large liquid mass that caused some of the younger weres to be trapped in their gelatinous grasp.
Some of the soldiers fired into the liquefied DSN causing areas to harden and crack off. The figures of the trapped werewolves continued their struggle against the mass.
At the sound of the first gunshot Willow's arms rose from her sides and a barrier was erected. Only a few bullets got through but the rest bounced harmlessly onto the floor.
Warren signaled for the others to begin firing. "She can't block us all."
The soldiers that were aimed at Rupert, Willow, and the shifters began to fire simultaneously. Willow's glowing eyes shone brighter and her hands moved into a semi-circle as if to erase the bullets.
Riley and his second in command watched in fascination as the bullets melted into nothingness as they hit the barrier. Riley yelled in shock as his gun turned into a hissing cobra in his hands.
A roar and a blast of heat brought Rupert's attention to the ceiling above him. His face drained of color as he saw Eyghon peering down at him. "What's the matter, Ripper? Cat got your tongue?"
His mind knew it was an illusion but his soul was afraid. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ethan advancing and it was that movement that brought Rupert out of his stupor. With a casual wave a vampire appeared next to Eyghon and the demons battled before both disappearing in ashes.
One of the soldiers keeping guard on the entrances fired into the hallway as Faith rounded the corner. Only her quick Slayer reflexes allowed her to miss being hit by the bullet as she rolled out of the way. Jesse laughed as Faith came up swinging and the soldier fell unconscious to the ground.
"Lesson one: Never piss off a Slayer." Jesse lobbed a teargas bomb over the prone body and into the room. "Lesson two: Expect the unexpected."
As soon as Jesse tossed the teargas Wesley placed a barrier so the gas would affect only the soldiers. A smile lit his face as he watched the mercenaries fight with an assortment of animals that had once been guns and the oncoming results of the gas.
Faith stood in the doorway with hands on her hips, "Damn, they started the party without us."