Willow was frantically trying to rein in the magick that was currently flowing through her body uncontrolled. The current sensation felt like the first time she saw a vampire and realized they were real. Her heart was pounding, her palms were sweaty and her skin felt clammy. The power coursing inside her was ancient and powerful. Willow feared it was too much too soon. The only reason she wasn't as scared as she might have been was that it wasn't dark. The only other time she'd felt this pure white magick was when she'd sucked the magick out of Giles that the coven in England had given him. But unlike then this was no rush.
Peripherally, she knew that the fighting was continuing around her. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Rupert was battling his own demons both real and imaginary. The teargas that Jesse lobbed into the room and the fighting that ensued also penetrated her consciousness but to Willow, her world was telescoping down to her internal battle.
Ethan and Rupert both stumbled to their knees as they felt the effects of the powerful magick that now permeated their section of the room. Rupert swiftly turned his head to look at Willow as he dimly heard Jesse call Willow's name.
Faith, Jesse, and Wesley battled the soldiers frantically trying to keep the mercenaries' attention away from Willow and what was happening on the other side of the barrier. They knew something was wrong when the snakes the soldiers were fighting suddenly turned back into their guns.
Wesley could marginally feel the potent power that was emanating from behind the barrier. His eyes widened as he saw both Ethan and Rupert brought down to their knees. He knew that if the magick was that powerful, he and the others would not be able to function.
"Keep fighting. We must stick to the plan." Wesley shouted to Faith and Jesse. They had to keep fighting the warriors and let the high wizards fight their own battle.
Jesse noticed two of the soldiers stopped fighting and turned toward the barrier and Willow. The brunette soldier reached inside his pocket and pulled out a grenade. With a maniacal smile he pulled the pin and tossed it toward Wesley's force field.
Jesse instinctively shouted Willow's name as he saw the grenade fly toward her.
"SHIT! RUN!" Faith yelled as she tried to pull Jesse and Wesley toward some cover.
Rupert watched helplessly as Willow's body rose in the air and her muscles tensed. Her arms were flung ramrod straight out from her body while a white beam shot out of her eyes. The light engulfed the room a millisecond before the grenade exploded.
The blast from the grenade knocked Jesse, Faith and Wesley to the ground behind the makeshift wall that Faith had made. Faith shook her head to clear the ringing in her ears. "You okay?" She asked Wesley as he wiped debris off his head.
"Fine. Jesse?"
Before Faith could answer, Jesse groggily sat up and rubbed the trickle of blood from a small cut on the side of his head. "Oh, just peachy."
None of them had time to evaluate injuries as mass confusion seemed to dominate the room. Faith could hear the soldiers yelling for everyone to fan out. Their leader seemed to be frantically looking for someone or something but she didn't hear what. She dismissed them as a threat as some of them left. She knew that the second wave of Tara, Amy and others of the Wizarding Council would be there to capture them. Out of the corner of her eye, Faith caught movement and she turned to investigate. She watched as the weres that had survived their battle with the DSN shifted back into their human bodies. It wasn't until then that it registered that she hadn't seen any of the shifters since the blast. Her eyes glanced over to where she had last seen the shape shifters and only saw some remaining soldiers milling about keeping watch on the weres. It wasn't until one of them winked at her that she realized they were the shifters disguised as mercenaries.
Jesse drew a sharp intake of breath when his eyes scanned the room and he saw that Rupert, Ethan and Willow were nowhere to be found. A feral growl erupted from his lips as he ran toward the weres and Oz. He avoided Faith who reached for him as he neatly dodged her hands and continued toward his target.
"Where is she?" Jesse shouted as he ignored the soldiers and grasped a bloodied Oz by the throat.
A small smirk flitted across Oz's face as he stared into Jesse's eyes. "Dead."
Jesse's grip grew tighter and he watched in satisfaction as the smirk slowly faded from Oz's face.
"Jesse! NO!" Faith yelled as she used her Slayer strength to peel his hands away from the werewolf's throat. "He's not worth it." Faith sighed in relief as she felt Jesse's fingers slowly relax under her grip.
One of the shifters approached Jesse. "The wolf lies. I don't know where Ethan or your friends are but they aren't dead. I think they may have teleported out. Just before the weapon exploded a blinding white light filled the room and the three of them faded from sight."
~~~
Rupert blinked rapidly as his vision slowly cleared. One minute he watched in horror as Willow's body rose in the air and the next they found themselves not in Ethan's lair but in a wooded glen. His eyes scanned the area, frantically searching for Willow. His heart leapt into his throat when he couldn't find her. Rupert's eyes narrowed as he saw Ethan slowly starting to rise.
A snarl escaped his lips as he tackled Ethan to the ground. Rupert's fist landed a solid blow against his jaw. "Where is she?"
Ethan's head snapped to the side from the force of Rupert's blow. He laughed hollowly as he wiped the small trail of blood from the side of his lips. "You know as much as I do, old mate."
Rupert clinched his teeth in anger and punctuated each word with a kick to Ethan's stomach. "Where… is… she?"
A drop of blood fell on the ground as Ethan coughed. "I told you. I don't bloody know." He raised his hand as if to ward off another blow but instead he threw an energy beam at Rupert knocking him off his feet.
Ethan cautiously rose while he kept a wary eye on Rupert. He chanced a glance around the wooded area hoping to glean his exact location. Unlike Rupert, he didn't give a rat's ass where the lovely Willow was; he was more concerned with himself and his survival.
Rupert stood and threw an energy blast at Ethan's back knocking him into a tree. A small smile flitted across his lips as he watched Ethan slump to the ground.
"Irretite." He watched in satisfaction as the vines along the forest floor began to move and twine their way around Ethan's body tightly securing him to the tree.
"Ripper, wha…" Ethan's voice was suddenly cut off as the thick vegetation that encircled his head sent a tendril to cover his mouth.
"Shut it. You've caused quite enough chaos, Ethan."
"We quite agree, Knight."
Rupert spun at the sound of the feminine voice.
Nimue, Merlin and two others that Rupert didn't recognize appeared in front of him.
"Only
four times in the eons of keeping stability between Light and Dark, have we had
to make an alliance in order to maintain the delicate balance." Nimue turned
unfathomable eyes toward Ethan. "For too long you have been allowed to cause
havoc in this mortal realm. The balance
was tipped and we sought to rectify it."
Merlin smiled at Rupert. "You need not be concerned with your lady. She is safe and resting."
Rupert slightly relaxed. Merlin hadn't said that he would see Willow again… just that she was safe. As much as he wished he could be noble and say that as long as Willow was safe he was happy, it would be a lie. He was selfish enough to admit he wanted to be with her. Wherever she was.
Ethan listened in horror as a high pitched keening sound echoed through the woods. It was the sound of the Banshee and it caused shivers to shoot down his spine. For the first time since the vines had ensnared him, he was grateful the vine hid his screams.
The two cloaked figures that had appeared with Nimue and Merlin waved their hands, which caused a dark fog to envelope Ethan.
A cool mask fell across Rupert's face as he watched his old friend become engulfed in the Dark fog. He hoped the last thing that Ethan saw on this earth was his uncaring face. Rupert waited until the Dark Ones and Ethan were gone before turning his back on the empty space.
"Willow? Can you take me to her?"
Nimue laid a soft hand on Rupert's shoulder. "You have earned your request, Knight. Your lady waits."
The same bright white light that had enveloped Ethan's lair now filled the forest as Nimue and Merlin escorted Rupert to Avalon.