(A/n): The exciting ending to my three-part saga. Ohhhh! I've got chills
just thinking about it. Oh yeah, and Arael? Of course I knew that Spike
called Glory the Goddess of bad home perms." I decided to show just how
similar their wit is. And don't worry, Imzadi, I'll explain why Lindsey and
Chloe were making out. Sorry, I was too busy trying to keep up with a plot!
Lol!
Chapter 15: Man. Myth. Legend
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ah, Miss Bryce, Welcome." Drogyn greeted. "I see you've brought the Chosen One."
Virginia nodded but Becca scrunched up her nose in disgust and waved off the man's comment. "Please, that is so cliché. Call me Becca." Then she looked the man up and down.
"Who the hell are you?"
The older man seemed agitated but answered. "My name is Drogyn but I would appreciate it if you wouldn't ask me anymore questions."
Becca quirked an eyebrow and looked at Drogyn suspiciously. "Why?"
Drogyn narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "Because," Drogyn began between clenched teeth. "I cannot tell a lie."
Becca's eyebrows raised and she smirked. "Really? Wow." Suddenly a very devious thought came to her mind.
"Ya know, you look a lot like that guy who was in Dune. You know who I'm talking about. He played Paul Atriedes. Are you sure you're not him?"
Virginia tried to cover the chuckle that escaped her mouth by coughing but she managed a pretty lousy job.
Drogyn's eyes widened at least twice the size as normal as he pushed Virginia toward the landscape the hovered in the hole in the world.
"No I'm not, Annoying one. Let's go, we don't have time to waste."
When they reached the holding, Becca's mouth dropped. "Damn."
"I'm going to open a portal to the realm of the Fires of Resurrection. There you must find Fred's soul and escape back through a portal I'll open that will lead you both back to my house. Understand?"
Becca nodded.
"Good." Virginia closed her eyes, focusing all her energy on opening the portal. What looked like red lightning began to crackle all around them and then finally one large bolt ripped a portal into the center of the hole in the world. Becca looked down and almost threw up but Drogyn pulled her back. Instead she lost the last meal she had, which coincidentally was a burger, coke and fries from Double Meat Palace, all over Drogyn.
"Sorry." She replied and shrugged, still holding her stomach. "I don't like heights."
Virginia had to bite the inside of her lip to keep herself from laughing as Drogyn looked at his pants and shoes in disgust.
"I can see that." He replied wryly.
Becca took a huge breath and grinned. "Well, at least if I don't come back you'll have something to remember me by."
Effortlessly, Becca stood up on the railing, achieving amazing balance for someone with high-heeled boots one.
Becca looked back at Virginia. "If this is a hoax, my father will kill you."
"Oh, I know. Just remember if you don't make it back before my portal closes, your soul will be lost with Fred's, completely wiped out without a trace."
Becca nodded. "Well, here goes nothing." And with that Becca jumped off the railing, determined to walk through the Fire for her friend and the safety of the world. The fire didn't wait for her to fall all the way in but instead threw out one of it's many, long flames and wrapped itself around her body, pulling her in. Even if she did scream, she was so far away neither Virginia nor Drogyn could have heard it.
"Let us hope she's successful." Drogyn replied.
Virginia nodded. "She will be." Virginia glanced back at Drogyn. "You may wanna change your clothes."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Damn." Becca muttered when she finally came to. Gingerly, she stood up and groaned as she tried to shake off a wave of dizziness. She looked around as she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness but soon found out that she didn't have to when an endless corridor with florescent lights flickered on.
"Hmmm. How original." Becca deadpanned as she slowly began walking down the hallway. Every time she passed a light, it clicked off. Smirking, she thought of an idea. She slowly took a step back and chuckled when the light that had just went out came back to life. That was all the encouragement she needed. She hurriedly did about half of the electric slide to turn the lights on and off before clearing her throat and resuming her intense walk down the hall.
When she finally reached the end she saw a figure sitting at a table.
"What's up, mac?" Becca asked.
"You know, I used to think that the old adage was that 'The sins of the father shall be revisited on the sons' was true." With lightning quick speed the man in the chair got up and grabbed Becca by the throat.
"You prove that any bastard child can pay for their father's insolence!" Pavayne seethed as he threw the young woman through the cement wall behind him, revealing a prone Fred lying on an altar. The room wasn't unlike Virginia's basement except that the furnace on the other side of the room was lit, giving it a much more demonic feel. The flames them selves seemed to have a life of their own, lashing out at odd intervals and landing in the middle of the room.
With the same unnatural speed, Pavayne made his way over to Becca and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying all the way across the room and against the opposite wall.
"You're here to protect the girl. Just like him." Slowly he walked up to the furnace where a small table was and an array of weapons was displayed. They were facing the furnace in such a way so the blades were directly over the fire.
Pavayne picked up a long knife and quickly made his way toward the girl. Her back was still toward him as she struggled to get to her feet. With his other hand he picked Becca up by the hair and dug his knee into her back. Pavayne looked at her in disgust.
"Another filthy soul where it doesn't belong." He held up the glowing edge of the knife to Becca's throat.
"Let's see if we can cut it out." And with that, Pavayne slit Rebecca's throat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"She's in trouble! She's hurt!" A frantic Dru shouted as she busted through the door of Angel's office. She ran to Spike and began weeping uncontrollably. "He tried to take my Spike now he has her in his putrid clutches!" Dru spat.
Spike frowned until he suddenly realized whom Dru was talking about. "Dru? Where's Becca? What's happening to her?"
"I don't mean to sound unconcerned but Becca is more than capable of handling herself. Right now we have an ancient demon roaming the streets. That has to be our first concern." Wesley replied with what he hoped was a calm voice.
Spike glared. "I'm sorry Wesley but if I have to chose between saving my daughter who isn't dead and saving Fred who is, I'm saving my daughter!"
Before Wesley could reply, Harmony ran through the door. "Boss? We have a big problem. It seems that some demon who apparently had clearance walked into one of the rooms that usually closed off from the general public and..."
"Harmony!" Angel yelled. "Just tell me what happened!"
Harmony sighed. "Pavayne's dead."
The room went silent and Spike thought of the ramifications of what that meant. "That's whose after Becca, isn't it, Dru?"
Dru nodded and Spike lowered his head.
"Spike, we don't want anything to happen to Becca either but if Pavayne is after Becca then we have to accept the fact..."
Spike's head snapped up, his eye filled with tears and taking on an eerie golden glow. "That what?! That my daughter's dead?!"
Wesley sighed. "There isn't any other way he could get to her. All we can do for her now is pray for her soul."
Spike stalked out of the office, for the seconding time that day feeling helpless to save two people he cared for. Not really realizing where he was going he eventually found himself in Fred's old office. Bowing his head he began doing something he hadn't done in a while. He prayed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lawson ducked under the ubervamp's leg and performed a quick sweep kick, causing the ubervamp to fall on his back. He pulled out a stake from his jacket pocket and drove it into its chest. Lindsey was currently fighting off two ubervamps. He punched the one in front of him and kicked the other, buying him enough time to grab the double-sided scythe hanging on the wall. When the ubervamps attacked him he whirled around, bringing the scythe in the air with enough force that he beheaded both of them at the same time.
At the same time on the other side of the room, Chloe was holding her own against another ubervamp. With the knives Becca had given her, Chloe was dealing out an impressive amount of damage. Chloe lunged, but the ubervamp dodged it, moving behind her and kicking her into the wall in front of her. She turned around and ducked before the boot of the ubervamp's foot could collide with her head. Instead, she moved behind him and jumped on his back; crossing the blades across his throat and brining them together like a pair of scissors.
"Extremely impressive." Virginia commented as she stepped out of a portal and back into the living room. "You are definitely not the average mortal."
The blood lust from the previous fights still flowing, Lawson lunged over fifteen feet and landed in front of Virginia. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. "Where's Rebecca." He seethed, his game face still firmly planted.
Virginia pried Lawson's hand from her throat and with a wave of her hand sent him flying across the room with his other friends. Putting up a quick force field spell she began telling them the story from scratch.
"Rebecca is dead..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Fred awoke to the repugnant stench of burning flesh. She was still groggy and didn't force her eyes to focus until she heard distinctly female screams in the corner of the stifling room. Coming to, she recognized the figures of what looked like a man standing over a woman. Looking around at what looked like her own little private part of Hell, she sent a silent prayer for the young woman, not quite realizing yet that it was Becca.
"I don't understand how something so frail can hold so much power." Pavayne taunted as he stabbed Becca in the stomach with a hot poker. Becca tried to scream out but it sounded gurgled, the blood that was in her throat from when Pavayne slit it causing her to choke.
"I'd think this little experience would cause a sort of...euphoric feeling." Pavayne used the hook of the hot poker to smash Becca on the side of the face.
"This was your father's moniker. Used as a human pin cushion so many years ago." Pavayne kicked her in the face, reveling in the gurgling noises Becca made as she tried not to choke.
"Foolish girl." He chuckled. "Still thinking she is flesh. That she has a throat to choke on." He continued to laugh but was surprised when he heard the young woman's chuckles mingle in with his own.
"Ahhh, I see. Mind over matter, right?" Becca smiled up at Pavayne, blood plastered over her usually white teeth.
"And I'd think after thousands of years of maiming you would know better than to get too cocky." Unfortunately for the Reaper, the way he was standing over Becca enabled her to get one hell of a clear kick in the Reaper family jewels. Writhing in pain, Pavayne began to fall to his knees but Becca kicked him with her left leg, sending him flying into the wall to the right of her.
Before he could get up, Becca jumped up to her feet. "Why is it that every dumbass tells their opponent how they are going to beat them?"
Using her own abnormal burst of speed, she ran toward the table of weapons and took an axe. Its blade glowed in the darkness as she walked back toward her previous spot. She smirked as she watched the still sprawled out form of the Reaper as he gingerly got to his feet.
"You forget your place!" Pavayne seethed as he slowly got to his feet. "No matter." He sneered.
"We have an eternity for you to learn it." He reached out his hand and a sword from the table flew into it. "I've made a deal with some very important people. I take care of you, I get a pass out of Hell for all eternity."
Suddenly, Reaper was mere inches away from Becca. He frowned. "Somebody really hates you."
Becca shrugged. "Most people who fear me do." Becca elbowed the Reaper in the stomach then turned around and ran up the wall behind her just as Pavayne was about to stab her. Before he could turn around, Becca drove her axe into his spine causing him to scream in agony as he fell to the floor. Becca smirked.
"You will, too."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So you're telling us that Becca went into the Fires of Resurrection to save Fred?" Chloe asked trying to wrap her head around the sudden turn of events. It was hard to believe that her best friend was really gone. It was too surreal.
Lindsey and Lawson were sitting on the steps of Virginia's throne as they tried to cope with the recent change of events, while Chloe paced in front of them, biting her nails in anticipation.
Virginia stood in front of them, What Rebecca did was very brave. We can only hope that she'll be able to fulfill her destiny."
Lindsey's head snapped up, rage etched on his face. "And what destiny is that?! Let's say that she does bring Fred back, what happens to Illyria? Does she just slither back into the box she came from? How is that any better than what Angel was going to do? Won't innocent people still die if we try to return Llyris back to her tomb?"
Virginia sighed. "I'm afraid I didn't tell Beca the whole story."
Chloe stopped dead in her tracks. "You bitch. You let her give up her own life and you don't even tell her the whole truth?!" Chloe advanced slowly closer to Virginia until Lindsey grabbed her arm.
"What didn't you tell her?" Lawson asked quietly from his spot on the stairs.
"We can't get Illyria out of Fred's body but we can curse Illyria with a soul. Fred's soul."
Realization slowly dawned on their faces as Chloe, Lindsey and Lawson looked at each other.
"But I can't do it until Fred's soul is back in the ether."
"You're hoping that with Fred's soul, Illyria will use her power for the side of good. But why did it have to be Becca?" Lindsey reasoned.
Virginia smiled. "You would take Becca's place through the Fires, knowing that whatever tests she must overcome must be hellish if not Hell itself?"
Lindsey nodded. "In a heartbeat."
Virginia grinned. "Then you have just answered your own question." Virginia walked up to Lindsey and pushed back his shirt, revealing the tattoo of the bird.
"Earlier, I told you that you must give yourself to her but it seems that you already have. You protectiveness of her proves you loyalty."
Virginia walked away from Lindsey and approached a curtain.
(A/n: Once again, Que. the very dramatic music.)
Pulling the curtain down, Virginia revealed a large picture of a majestic orange and yellow bird. It's wings surrounding by flames but both were the same devastatingly bright color that it was hard to say where the wins stopped and the flames began
"Once every 500 to 1461 years a new Phoenix is born through the ashes of it's predecessors. Since the beginning of time this bird has lived and died, symbolizing the rising and setting of the sun. It represents immortality in its truest form."
Virginia traced her hand around part of the drawings bright red and orange plumage. "Thousand of years ago, the Phoenix manifested itself into human form to fight evil wherever it roamed. One of the many demons she was able to smite was Illyria. Every 500 years or so she would reduce herself to ashes so that she could be reborn, until a few years ago. When the Slayer was brought back, the Phoenix was prohibited to return also even though it was time for her much needed return. It was decided that both of their returns would tip the scale too much. No one knew that the First was planning a full scale attack and so the Phoenix was forced to stay in the Fires of Resurrection."
"What exactly did you send Rebecca to do?" Chloe asked, bewildered and slightly frightened of the answer.
"If Rebecca can come back, she will be endowed with the spirit of the Phoenix. And hopefully help save the world. And you all will help her do it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pavayne threw Becca against the wall but she was able to scale it, jumping off and executing a spin kicked that knocked the man off his feet. He tried to do a leg sweep but Becca jumped above it, grabbing hold of a pair of shackles in the room and grabbing his head with her legs. After a few moments, she heard the familiar 'snap' of his neck break as he fell to the ground.
Breathless, she ran toward Fred, pulling apart the shackles that tied her to the altar.
"Becca, I'm so sorry." Fred cried as she brought her hand up to the side of Becca's pulverized cheek. "Are you ok?"
Becca frowned. "Sure I am, Winnie. Don't worry about it. Just calm down. We're leaving now." Becca and Fred made their way to the door when they heard the unmistakable laughter of the Reaper. They turned around to see Pavayne getting up and walking toward them, his head completely twisted around in a 180 from where it should be. They watched as the back of his head advanced toward them, laughing. Pavayne grabbed his head and turned it back around to meet the girls.
"Good show, foolish one. But what praytell, will you do when death turns its eye on you and smiles?" The sadistic grin on Pavayne's face only angered Becca more. Concentrating, Becca reached out both of her hands and two swords flew from the table and into her hands.
"Death smiles at us all. All we can do is smile back." Inhaling, Becca gave Fred one of the swords.
"Ready?" Becca asked.
Fred nodded. "I got your back." And with that both women charged, determined to show the Reaper the old adage that 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You're too late. My army will rise once again." Illyria walked to the nave of the temple only to see her statue toppled over and her army dead.
"No."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"All we can do is wait. I'll pull them out when she nabs Fred." Virginia sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You foolish girls! Do you really think you can defeat me?!" Pavayne roared as he sliced one of Fred's arms with his sword. Becca was on the floor behind him thanks to a blinding punch he had just sent to her jaw. Pavayne backhanded Fred, sending her crashing into the altar she had just been released from. He brought the sword up over his head, intending to finish her off, when he suddenly stopped.
Fred watched in relieved horror as the top portion of his body fell to the floor, his legs falling to the other side. Behind his was, Becca panting as she held her vice-like grip on her sword. Fred stood up and beheaded the still moving upper body of the Reaper.
"Woohoo!" Becca shouted as she raised her arms in victory. "Representing the West Side!" Becca high-fived Fred and they made their way out of the room.
"Oh crap." Becca whispered.
"Holy shit!" Fred yelled as they were confronted with the flames and pits, all associated with the traditional picture of Hell.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Virginia was sitting on her throne when all of a sudden her head snapped up and her eyes became black.
"It's time."
Lindsey, Chloe and Lawson moved toward Virginia and away from the center of the room where little bolts of red electricity became larger and larger. Soon a portal was ripped into the living room and fire leaped out of the rift.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In the middle of the pit of hellfire, a portal appeared, quaking the world around them and causing the air to howl.
"Fred!" Becca yelled. "That's our way out of here!"
Fred looked at the younger woman with fear. "Are you sure? What if it's some portal to some other hell dimension even worst than this?"
Suddenly, Becca remembered Fred's experience with hell dimensions and shook her head. "You're just gonna have to trust me, Fred. I promise you'll be ok. And if not, I'll always be there to protect you."
Becca saw that Fred still seemed unconvinced so she tried a different angle. "Think about it Fred! This is your only chance to ever see Wes again. Are you willing to take it?!"
Fred looked at Becca at the mentioned of Wesley's named and realized she was right. Finally, she nodded.
Becca breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, now are you ready?!" Fred nodded but just before they were about to leap, the door they had just came from busted open and a large flame from the furnace wrapped itself around one of Becca's legs. The girls could hear the deranged laughing of the Reaper.
"I told you, you foolish girls! Did you really think they'd let you go so easily?!" The flame pulled Becca back toward the room but Fred grabbed Becca by her arms.
"Fred!" Becca shouted. "Don't worry about me! Just jump!" Fred was desperate, clinging on to the girl, determined not to leave her there but Becca head-butted her and threw her off the pit and into the portal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Look!" Chloe shouted as Fred flew out of the portal and skidded across the floor. Lawson and Chloe ran to her but were surprised when they discovered that she hadn't taken corporeal form.
Still keeping the portal open, Virginia held out her other hand and chanted, Fred's soul turning into a bit ball of energy and taking off in the direction of LA.
Lindsey's face betrayed his worry. "What's happening?!" He shouted over the whirl of the portal.
"I can't keep it open much longer!" Virginia shouted. Suddenly, Lindsey chest began to glow and he hissed in pain. The bird on his chest was burning him and moments later his head snapped up, his eyes became a deep, dark red.
He began chanting as if he were possessed, all of his attention on the portal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pavayne snickered. "You couldn't have possibly believed that this would end any other way could you?" The disembodied head of the Reaper taunted as Becca was pulled back into the room by the flames. They burned her legs and Becca screamed out in pain, trying to claw at anything that would stop her from going into the flames.
Suddenly, Becca's eyes became a dark, blood red and she grabbed the flame that currently wrapped around her leg. She let it travel up her arm, slowly and engulf her entire body. The Reaper watched on in wonder as the flames engulfed her, but she remained unscorched.
"No." Pavayne whispered in disbelief. "It can't be."
With all the energy she had, Becca broke off of the remaining fire and in flames ran out the door and jumped off of the edge of the pit.
"No!!!" The Reaper shouted as Becca fell into the portal feet first. Her whole body was covered in flames but they took the shape of a bird as she fell. The portal closed as soon as she fell in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lindsey and Virginia chanted and a burst of flames flew out of the portal. As the portal closed, the two collapsed in exhaustion as Chloe and Lawson watched on in wonder at the flamed falcon that flew around the room.
After what seemed like an eternity, the Phoenix finally landed in the middle of the room where the portal had been. Before it was so quick that you couldn't really noticed the body that was in the middle of the flames.
Still panting, Lindsey made it to one knee and slowly got to his feet. He approached the figure as the flames died down and the body of a woman could be seen. She was kneeling down on the floor on one knee with her head down, a curtain of ravaged, short brown hair with red and orange streaks covering her deathly pale face. She was dressed in a tight, red leather outfit, that was almost like Illyria's except the back was out, showing a large tattoo of the Phoenix that covered the whole back.
"Welcome back, my Goddess." Lindsey whispered. "Phoenix." Becca's head popped up at the mention of her name and a small smile graced her wine, red lips. Blood red eyes fixed themselves on her priest.
"Lindsey. "Becca's voice called, only her lips didn't move.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is that enough? Is that enough to live on? Illyria asked as she looked up at Wesley. All of a sudden she'll feel to her knees and cradled her head, convulsing in pain. Wesley rushed to her side, taking her in her arms, trying not to remember how he had been in this exact situation only hours before. Wesley still held her in his arms but moved her in front of him so that he could see her face.
"Illyria?" Wesley shouted. "What's wrong?" Wesley watched as a bright light shone in her eyes. The blue they had recently became, melted away, returning to their natural brown. Soon after, the bright light died down and those eyes focused on the man in front her.
"Wesley?" Fred's voice asked, with something almost akin to awe.
Wesley gasped and his eyes traced ver the face of his beloved before he kissed her passionately.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
R&R Please.
(A/n): *Grins like a ninny* I don't care if I never get reviewed, I'm so proud of how this turned out. Like to say a quick thanks to Imzadi, my friend who always reviews, no matter how crappy my stories. AraelMoonchild, who I first knew through my friend, coldrevenge. And of course, coldrevenge, who has to deal with my iffy updating concerning the story we co-write together. No this isn't the end of the story but I'm just so proud!
Chapter 15: Man. Myth. Legend
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ah, Miss Bryce, Welcome." Drogyn greeted. "I see you've brought the Chosen One."
Virginia nodded but Becca scrunched up her nose in disgust and waved off the man's comment. "Please, that is so cliché. Call me Becca." Then she looked the man up and down.
"Who the hell are you?"
The older man seemed agitated but answered. "My name is Drogyn but I would appreciate it if you wouldn't ask me anymore questions."
Becca quirked an eyebrow and looked at Drogyn suspiciously. "Why?"
Drogyn narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. "Because," Drogyn began between clenched teeth. "I cannot tell a lie."
Becca's eyebrows raised and she smirked. "Really? Wow." Suddenly a very devious thought came to her mind.
"Ya know, you look a lot like that guy who was in Dune. You know who I'm talking about. He played Paul Atriedes. Are you sure you're not him?"
Virginia tried to cover the chuckle that escaped her mouth by coughing but she managed a pretty lousy job.
Drogyn's eyes widened at least twice the size as normal as he pushed Virginia toward the landscape the hovered in the hole in the world.
"No I'm not, Annoying one. Let's go, we don't have time to waste."
When they reached the holding, Becca's mouth dropped. "Damn."
"I'm going to open a portal to the realm of the Fires of Resurrection. There you must find Fred's soul and escape back through a portal I'll open that will lead you both back to my house. Understand?"
Becca nodded.
"Good." Virginia closed her eyes, focusing all her energy on opening the portal. What looked like red lightning began to crackle all around them and then finally one large bolt ripped a portal into the center of the hole in the world. Becca looked down and almost threw up but Drogyn pulled her back. Instead she lost the last meal she had, which coincidentally was a burger, coke and fries from Double Meat Palace, all over Drogyn.
"Sorry." She replied and shrugged, still holding her stomach. "I don't like heights."
Virginia had to bite the inside of her lip to keep herself from laughing as Drogyn looked at his pants and shoes in disgust.
"I can see that." He replied wryly.
Becca took a huge breath and grinned. "Well, at least if I don't come back you'll have something to remember me by."
Effortlessly, Becca stood up on the railing, achieving amazing balance for someone with high-heeled boots one.
Becca looked back at Virginia. "If this is a hoax, my father will kill you."
"Oh, I know. Just remember if you don't make it back before my portal closes, your soul will be lost with Fred's, completely wiped out without a trace."
Becca nodded. "Well, here goes nothing." And with that Becca jumped off the railing, determined to walk through the Fire for her friend and the safety of the world. The fire didn't wait for her to fall all the way in but instead threw out one of it's many, long flames and wrapped itself around her body, pulling her in. Even if she did scream, she was so far away neither Virginia nor Drogyn could have heard it.
"Let us hope she's successful." Drogyn replied.
Virginia nodded. "She will be." Virginia glanced back at Drogyn. "You may wanna change your clothes."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Damn." Becca muttered when she finally came to. Gingerly, she stood up and groaned as she tried to shake off a wave of dizziness. She looked around as she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness but soon found out that she didn't have to when an endless corridor with florescent lights flickered on.
"Hmmm. How original." Becca deadpanned as she slowly began walking down the hallway. Every time she passed a light, it clicked off. Smirking, she thought of an idea. She slowly took a step back and chuckled when the light that had just went out came back to life. That was all the encouragement she needed. She hurriedly did about half of the electric slide to turn the lights on and off before clearing her throat and resuming her intense walk down the hall.
When she finally reached the end she saw a figure sitting at a table.
"What's up, mac?" Becca asked.
"You know, I used to think that the old adage was that 'The sins of the father shall be revisited on the sons' was true." With lightning quick speed the man in the chair got up and grabbed Becca by the throat.
"You prove that any bastard child can pay for their father's insolence!" Pavayne seethed as he threw the young woman through the cement wall behind him, revealing a prone Fred lying on an altar. The room wasn't unlike Virginia's basement except that the furnace on the other side of the room was lit, giving it a much more demonic feel. The flames them selves seemed to have a life of their own, lashing out at odd intervals and landing in the middle of the room.
With the same unnatural speed, Pavayne made his way over to Becca and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying all the way across the room and against the opposite wall.
"You're here to protect the girl. Just like him." Slowly he walked up to the furnace where a small table was and an array of weapons was displayed. They were facing the furnace in such a way so the blades were directly over the fire.
Pavayne picked up a long knife and quickly made his way toward the girl. Her back was still toward him as she struggled to get to her feet. With his other hand he picked Becca up by the hair and dug his knee into her back. Pavayne looked at her in disgust.
"Another filthy soul where it doesn't belong." He held up the glowing edge of the knife to Becca's throat.
"Let's see if we can cut it out." And with that, Pavayne slit Rebecca's throat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"She's in trouble! She's hurt!" A frantic Dru shouted as she busted through the door of Angel's office. She ran to Spike and began weeping uncontrollably. "He tried to take my Spike now he has her in his putrid clutches!" Dru spat.
Spike frowned until he suddenly realized whom Dru was talking about. "Dru? Where's Becca? What's happening to her?"
"I don't mean to sound unconcerned but Becca is more than capable of handling herself. Right now we have an ancient demon roaming the streets. That has to be our first concern." Wesley replied with what he hoped was a calm voice.
Spike glared. "I'm sorry Wesley but if I have to chose between saving my daughter who isn't dead and saving Fred who is, I'm saving my daughter!"
Before Wesley could reply, Harmony ran through the door. "Boss? We have a big problem. It seems that some demon who apparently had clearance walked into one of the rooms that usually closed off from the general public and..."
"Harmony!" Angel yelled. "Just tell me what happened!"
Harmony sighed. "Pavayne's dead."
The room went silent and Spike thought of the ramifications of what that meant. "That's whose after Becca, isn't it, Dru?"
Dru nodded and Spike lowered his head.
"Spike, we don't want anything to happen to Becca either but if Pavayne is after Becca then we have to accept the fact..."
Spike's head snapped up, his eye filled with tears and taking on an eerie golden glow. "That what?! That my daughter's dead?!"
Wesley sighed. "There isn't any other way he could get to her. All we can do for her now is pray for her soul."
Spike stalked out of the office, for the seconding time that day feeling helpless to save two people he cared for. Not really realizing where he was going he eventually found himself in Fred's old office. Bowing his head he began doing something he hadn't done in a while. He prayed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lawson ducked under the ubervamp's leg and performed a quick sweep kick, causing the ubervamp to fall on his back. He pulled out a stake from his jacket pocket and drove it into its chest. Lindsey was currently fighting off two ubervamps. He punched the one in front of him and kicked the other, buying him enough time to grab the double-sided scythe hanging on the wall. When the ubervamps attacked him he whirled around, bringing the scythe in the air with enough force that he beheaded both of them at the same time.
At the same time on the other side of the room, Chloe was holding her own against another ubervamp. With the knives Becca had given her, Chloe was dealing out an impressive amount of damage. Chloe lunged, but the ubervamp dodged it, moving behind her and kicking her into the wall in front of her. She turned around and ducked before the boot of the ubervamp's foot could collide with her head. Instead, she moved behind him and jumped on his back; crossing the blades across his throat and brining them together like a pair of scissors.
"Extremely impressive." Virginia commented as she stepped out of a portal and back into the living room. "You are definitely not the average mortal."
The blood lust from the previous fights still flowing, Lawson lunged over fifteen feet and landed in front of Virginia. He grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. "Where's Rebecca." He seethed, his game face still firmly planted.
Virginia pried Lawson's hand from her throat and with a wave of her hand sent him flying across the room with his other friends. Putting up a quick force field spell she began telling them the story from scratch.
"Rebecca is dead..."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Fred awoke to the repugnant stench of burning flesh. She was still groggy and didn't force her eyes to focus until she heard distinctly female screams in the corner of the stifling room. Coming to, she recognized the figures of what looked like a man standing over a woman. Looking around at what looked like her own little private part of Hell, she sent a silent prayer for the young woman, not quite realizing yet that it was Becca.
"I don't understand how something so frail can hold so much power." Pavayne taunted as he stabbed Becca in the stomach with a hot poker. Becca tried to scream out but it sounded gurgled, the blood that was in her throat from when Pavayne slit it causing her to choke.
"I'd think this little experience would cause a sort of...euphoric feeling." Pavayne used the hook of the hot poker to smash Becca on the side of the face.
"This was your father's moniker. Used as a human pin cushion so many years ago." Pavayne kicked her in the face, reveling in the gurgling noises Becca made as she tried not to choke.
"Foolish girl." He chuckled. "Still thinking she is flesh. That she has a throat to choke on." He continued to laugh but was surprised when he heard the young woman's chuckles mingle in with his own.
"Ahhh, I see. Mind over matter, right?" Becca smiled up at Pavayne, blood plastered over her usually white teeth.
"And I'd think after thousands of years of maiming you would know better than to get too cocky." Unfortunately for the Reaper, the way he was standing over Becca enabled her to get one hell of a clear kick in the Reaper family jewels. Writhing in pain, Pavayne began to fall to his knees but Becca kicked him with her left leg, sending him flying into the wall to the right of her.
Before he could get up, Becca jumped up to her feet. "Why is it that every dumbass tells their opponent how they are going to beat them?"
Using her own abnormal burst of speed, she ran toward the table of weapons and took an axe. Its blade glowed in the darkness as she walked back toward her previous spot. She smirked as she watched the still sprawled out form of the Reaper as he gingerly got to his feet.
"You forget your place!" Pavayne seethed as he slowly got to his feet. "No matter." He sneered.
"We have an eternity for you to learn it." He reached out his hand and a sword from the table flew into it. "I've made a deal with some very important people. I take care of you, I get a pass out of Hell for all eternity."
Suddenly, Reaper was mere inches away from Becca. He frowned. "Somebody really hates you."
Becca shrugged. "Most people who fear me do." Becca elbowed the Reaper in the stomach then turned around and ran up the wall behind her just as Pavayne was about to stab her. Before he could turn around, Becca drove her axe into his spine causing him to scream in agony as he fell to the floor. Becca smirked.
"You will, too."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So you're telling us that Becca went into the Fires of Resurrection to save Fred?" Chloe asked trying to wrap her head around the sudden turn of events. It was hard to believe that her best friend was really gone. It was too surreal.
Lindsey and Lawson were sitting on the steps of Virginia's throne as they tried to cope with the recent change of events, while Chloe paced in front of them, biting her nails in anticipation.
Virginia stood in front of them, What Rebecca did was very brave. We can only hope that she'll be able to fulfill her destiny."
Lindsey's head snapped up, rage etched on his face. "And what destiny is that?! Let's say that she does bring Fred back, what happens to Illyria? Does she just slither back into the box she came from? How is that any better than what Angel was going to do? Won't innocent people still die if we try to return Llyris back to her tomb?"
Virginia sighed. "I'm afraid I didn't tell Beca the whole story."
Chloe stopped dead in her tracks. "You bitch. You let her give up her own life and you don't even tell her the whole truth?!" Chloe advanced slowly closer to Virginia until Lindsey grabbed her arm.
"What didn't you tell her?" Lawson asked quietly from his spot on the stairs.
"We can't get Illyria out of Fred's body but we can curse Illyria with a soul. Fred's soul."
Realization slowly dawned on their faces as Chloe, Lindsey and Lawson looked at each other.
"But I can't do it until Fred's soul is back in the ether."
"You're hoping that with Fred's soul, Illyria will use her power for the side of good. But why did it have to be Becca?" Lindsey reasoned.
Virginia smiled. "You would take Becca's place through the Fires, knowing that whatever tests she must overcome must be hellish if not Hell itself?"
Lindsey nodded. "In a heartbeat."
Virginia grinned. "Then you have just answered your own question." Virginia walked up to Lindsey and pushed back his shirt, revealing the tattoo of the bird.
"Earlier, I told you that you must give yourself to her but it seems that you already have. You protectiveness of her proves you loyalty."
Virginia walked away from Lindsey and approached a curtain.
(A/n: Once again, Que. the very dramatic music.)
Pulling the curtain down, Virginia revealed a large picture of a majestic orange and yellow bird. It's wings surrounding by flames but both were the same devastatingly bright color that it was hard to say where the wins stopped and the flames began
"Once every 500 to 1461 years a new Phoenix is born through the ashes of it's predecessors. Since the beginning of time this bird has lived and died, symbolizing the rising and setting of the sun. It represents immortality in its truest form."
Virginia traced her hand around part of the drawings bright red and orange plumage. "Thousand of years ago, the Phoenix manifested itself into human form to fight evil wherever it roamed. One of the many demons she was able to smite was Illyria. Every 500 years or so she would reduce herself to ashes so that she could be reborn, until a few years ago. When the Slayer was brought back, the Phoenix was prohibited to return also even though it was time for her much needed return. It was decided that both of their returns would tip the scale too much. No one knew that the First was planning a full scale attack and so the Phoenix was forced to stay in the Fires of Resurrection."
"What exactly did you send Rebecca to do?" Chloe asked, bewildered and slightly frightened of the answer.
"If Rebecca can come back, she will be endowed with the spirit of the Phoenix. And hopefully help save the world. And you all will help her do it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pavayne threw Becca against the wall but she was able to scale it, jumping off and executing a spin kicked that knocked the man off his feet. He tried to do a leg sweep but Becca jumped above it, grabbing hold of a pair of shackles in the room and grabbing his head with her legs. After a few moments, she heard the familiar 'snap' of his neck break as he fell to the ground.
Breathless, she ran toward Fred, pulling apart the shackles that tied her to the altar.
"Becca, I'm so sorry." Fred cried as she brought her hand up to the side of Becca's pulverized cheek. "Are you ok?"
Becca frowned. "Sure I am, Winnie. Don't worry about it. Just calm down. We're leaving now." Becca and Fred made their way to the door when they heard the unmistakable laughter of the Reaper. They turned around to see Pavayne getting up and walking toward them, his head completely twisted around in a 180 from where it should be. They watched as the back of his head advanced toward them, laughing. Pavayne grabbed his head and turned it back around to meet the girls.
"Good show, foolish one. But what praytell, will you do when death turns its eye on you and smiles?" The sadistic grin on Pavayne's face only angered Becca more. Concentrating, Becca reached out both of her hands and two swords flew from the table and into her hands.
"Death smiles at us all. All we can do is smile back." Inhaling, Becca gave Fred one of the swords.
"Ready?" Becca asked.
Fred nodded. "I got your back." And with that both women charged, determined to show the Reaper the old adage that 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"You're too late. My army will rise once again." Illyria walked to the nave of the temple only to see her statue toppled over and her army dead.
"No."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"All we can do is wait. I'll pull them out when she nabs Fred." Virginia sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"You foolish girls! Do you really think you can defeat me?!" Pavayne roared as he sliced one of Fred's arms with his sword. Becca was on the floor behind him thanks to a blinding punch he had just sent to her jaw. Pavayne backhanded Fred, sending her crashing into the altar she had just been released from. He brought the sword up over his head, intending to finish her off, when he suddenly stopped.
Fred watched in relieved horror as the top portion of his body fell to the floor, his legs falling to the other side. Behind his was, Becca panting as she held her vice-like grip on her sword. Fred stood up and beheaded the still moving upper body of the Reaper.
"Woohoo!" Becca shouted as she raised her arms in victory. "Representing the West Side!" Becca high-fived Fred and they made their way out of the room.
"Oh crap." Becca whispered.
"Holy shit!" Fred yelled as they were confronted with the flames and pits, all associated with the traditional picture of Hell.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Virginia was sitting on her throne when all of a sudden her head snapped up and her eyes became black.
"It's time."
Lindsey, Chloe and Lawson moved toward Virginia and away from the center of the room where little bolts of red electricity became larger and larger. Soon a portal was ripped into the living room and fire leaped out of the rift.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In the middle of the pit of hellfire, a portal appeared, quaking the world around them and causing the air to howl.
"Fred!" Becca yelled. "That's our way out of here!"
Fred looked at the younger woman with fear. "Are you sure? What if it's some portal to some other hell dimension even worst than this?"
Suddenly, Becca remembered Fred's experience with hell dimensions and shook her head. "You're just gonna have to trust me, Fred. I promise you'll be ok. And if not, I'll always be there to protect you."
Becca saw that Fred still seemed unconvinced so she tried a different angle. "Think about it Fred! This is your only chance to ever see Wes again. Are you willing to take it?!"
Fred looked at Becca at the mentioned of Wesley's named and realized she was right. Finally, she nodded.
Becca breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, now are you ready?!" Fred nodded but just before they were about to leap, the door they had just came from busted open and a large flame from the furnace wrapped itself around one of Becca's legs. The girls could hear the deranged laughing of the Reaper.
"I told you, you foolish girls! Did you really think they'd let you go so easily?!" The flame pulled Becca back toward the room but Fred grabbed Becca by her arms.
"Fred!" Becca shouted. "Don't worry about me! Just jump!" Fred was desperate, clinging on to the girl, determined not to leave her there but Becca head-butted her and threw her off the pit and into the portal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Look!" Chloe shouted as Fred flew out of the portal and skidded across the floor. Lawson and Chloe ran to her but were surprised when they discovered that she hadn't taken corporeal form.
Still keeping the portal open, Virginia held out her other hand and chanted, Fred's soul turning into a bit ball of energy and taking off in the direction of LA.
Lindsey's face betrayed his worry. "What's happening?!" He shouted over the whirl of the portal.
"I can't keep it open much longer!" Virginia shouted. Suddenly, Lindsey chest began to glow and he hissed in pain. The bird on his chest was burning him and moments later his head snapped up, his eyes became a deep, dark red.
He began chanting as if he were possessed, all of his attention on the portal.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Pavayne snickered. "You couldn't have possibly believed that this would end any other way could you?" The disembodied head of the Reaper taunted as Becca was pulled back into the room by the flames. They burned her legs and Becca screamed out in pain, trying to claw at anything that would stop her from going into the flames.
Suddenly, Becca's eyes became a dark, blood red and she grabbed the flame that currently wrapped around her leg. She let it travel up her arm, slowly and engulf her entire body. The Reaper watched on in wonder as the flames engulfed her, but she remained unscorched.
"No." Pavayne whispered in disbelief. "It can't be."
With all the energy she had, Becca broke off of the remaining fire and in flames ran out the door and jumped off of the edge of the pit.
"No!!!" The Reaper shouted as Becca fell into the portal feet first. Her whole body was covered in flames but they took the shape of a bird as she fell. The portal closed as soon as she fell in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Lindsey and Virginia chanted and a burst of flames flew out of the portal. As the portal closed, the two collapsed in exhaustion as Chloe and Lawson watched on in wonder at the flamed falcon that flew around the room.
After what seemed like an eternity, the Phoenix finally landed in the middle of the room where the portal had been. Before it was so quick that you couldn't really noticed the body that was in the middle of the flames.
Still panting, Lindsey made it to one knee and slowly got to his feet. He approached the figure as the flames died down and the body of a woman could be seen. She was kneeling down on the floor on one knee with her head down, a curtain of ravaged, short brown hair with red and orange streaks covering her deathly pale face. She was dressed in a tight, red leather outfit, that was almost like Illyria's except the back was out, showing a large tattoo of the Phoenix that covered the whole back.
"Welcome back, my Goddess." Lindsey whispered. "Phoenix." Becca's head popped up at the mention of her name and a small smile graced her wine, red lips. Blood red eyes fixed themselves on her priest.
"Lindsey. "Becca's voice called, only her lips didn't move.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Is that enough? Is that enough to live on? Illyria asked as she looked up at Wesley. All of a sudden she'll feel to her knees and cradled her head, convulsing in pain. Wesley rushed to her side, taking her in her arms, trying not to remember how he had been in this exact situation only hours before. Wesley still held her in his arms but moved her in front of him so that he could see her face.
"Illyria?" Wesley shouted. "What's wrong?" Wesley watched as a bright light shone in her eyes. The blue they had recently became, melted away, returning to their natural brown. Soon after, the bright light died down and those eyes focused on the man in front her.
"Wesley?" Fred's voice asked, with something almost akin to awe.
Wesley gasped and his eyes traced ver the face of his beloved before he kissed her passionately.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
R&R Please.
(A/n): *Grins like a ninny* I don't care if I never get reviewed, I'm so proud of how this turned out. Like to say a quick thanks to Imzadi, my friend who always reviews, no matter how crappy my stories. AraelMoonchild, who I first knew through my friend, coldrevenge. And of course, coldrevenge, who has to deal with my iffy updating concerning the story we co-write together. No this isn't the end of the story but I'm just so proud!