Wow. I'm almost done with this story. How sad.
One of the reviewers asked if it was going to have a sad or a happy ending. The truth is, it'll be both. I'm trying to think of the best way to put it, and it comes down to this: no matter how dark things get, they still have to battle through because there is still a good piece of the world. And it's definitely worth the fight. I know it's all Lord of the Ring-y, but hey. Honestly goodnessy truth here.
Dawn has been put through the ringer an awful lot. But she knows that her sister will never stop fighting to save her. And, hello, legions. Welcome to the fray.
There are only four chapters left. I will deduce that two will be strictly battle chapters. Nice, long sequences. And, like the previous story, the last two will tie in with the whole theme. And just because I really want this to have an ending so as to not add any more sequels or supplements or whatever, how about a nice little epilogue too. I am planning on creating a supplement to this story once I'm finished with this. Why? Because people have a right to know what's been going on behind closed doors. I'll also continue adding to Aude Sapere, with Faith and other Slayer stuff. I don't know. I just want to finish this story first.
I'm currently shipping off the second-to-last chapter to the Beta and will work on the final chapter tonight. I can promise you this: there is still a major character death in the works. I'm not talking about Anya or Warren. I'm talking about someone else. The crossover will tie in nicely, I hope. And I promise you, Joy will survive and be reunited with family. And Buffy will finally make her love's choice.
This chapter I had to lighten up a bit. I added a bit of humor and a few actual good and happy parts.
Wow, I rant a lot.
This is also a double-sized chapter with two swell, long battle scenes.
- - - - -
Chapter 28
Legions of Darkness
- - - - -
It was still dark when Draco opened his eyes. He didn't remember being dragged from this cage they called a prison, but he remembered being poked and prodded by hot spears. As he cried out in agony, he had a fleeting thought that this is what Dawn had endured for three years.
The thought brought forth the rage. And it also led to violence. Which landed him with another bump the size of an egg on his left temple and the taste of dried blood in the back of his mouth.
He stood up, pacing the small room, feeling trapped. His eyes sought out the one speck of light he could see and that was coming from underneath the door which locked him in this room. Like a rat trapped in his cage.
Now he knew what it felt like to be a house elf.
But underneath all of the anxieties and apprehension, he knew in his heart that Dawn was all right. She was still breathing and she wasn't in any pain. He could almost feel her anger though. And the hurt. It was the most overpowering of all emotions.
Closing his eyes, he turned back to the wall and leaned against it, falling helplessly back onto the cold floor.
Some how and some way, he'd get out of there. Alive.
- - - - -
Dawn was just starting to spread across the horizon. Scores of Slayers and Watchers soon joined Buffy and the others on the platform. Buffy still held Anya's glass access card in one hand, but her face wore a doubtful expression.
"What's the plan, B?" Faith asked quietly from her side. Buffy turned to regard her slowly before handing her the card.
"Our job is to find Dawn. It's our top priority. I want to make sure that Dawn, Joy and Draco get out alive. Take as many Slayers as you need to do yours."
Faith nodded and gazed at the approaching group, led, surprisingly, by Willow. "Wil?"
Buffy turned at the sound of her friend's name and stopped, too shocked to even form the word. Xander, meanwhile, stepped around her, his eyes ecstatic. "Now, who's the good little Witch!"
Willow grinned as she stepped into Xander's tight hug. She thanked whatever powers had brought her back to life just to be able to hear his voice. As Willow pulled back, she saw Buffy standing there, trying to quickly wipe her eyes before Xander noticed anything. Thankful that her best friend didn't mention how close she came to death, Willow smiled at her. Buffy smiled back, but it was quite the shaky smile. Moving forward, Buffy threw her arms around Willow, holding her tight.
"Thank God," Buffy whispered, finally pulling back. Willow blinked away her own tears and they both turned back to Xander.
"Oh, my God... we're all going to die, aren't we?" he asked, his voice suddenly full of anxiety.
"Not anymore," Buffy said, threading her arm through Willow's. "You sure you're up for a fight?"
"Oh, I'm fight happy," Willow replied, shrugging, "with the whole frisky and the getting down with my badness and okay, I suck at being undercover."
"Under... cover?" Xander echoed softly. "What's been going on, Willow?"
"Dawn's been reactivated as the Key," Buffy explained to him with a heavy sigh. "Anya told her to come here and basically she gets to open a portal and lots of demons come out, a new Hellmouth is born, Earth is doomed, and it's your basic run-of-the-mill apocalypse."
"Only worse," Harry replied from the group who now surrounded Buffy, Xander and Willow. "Your apocalypses... they really never dealt with our world before. Until now."
"Xander brought me an army!" Buffy said, her voice sounding ecstatic as she peered over the ledge to see the large approaching mass getting closer. "Isn't that sweet?"
"So, basically we're sitting on a mountain that has the potential to become yet another Hellmouth, banish an original thought, with an army of combined Slayer and Watcher strength and this new... army that the British Ministry has sent us?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, pretty much," Xander replied. "So, Buff... what are our orders?"
"I'm taking Harry with me," Buffy said quickly. "Our mission is to get Dawn and Draco out alive. Faith is going to take as many Slayers as she needs to get Joy out alive. Xander, I want you and the rest of the gang to spread out inside, take as many entrances as you can. I want these demons dead. I know there are potentially hundreds of thousands that could have risen in the past twenty four hours... so that doesn't give us much time if we don't want the world to be overrun." She paused a moment. "Spike, Angel... you know what I'm going to ask. All that I can hope for is that you can do it without getting staked. All right? Everyone clear? Let's do it."
The Witches and Wizards from the Ministry had arrived. There were several familiar faces in the group, as well as former classmates of Harry and Draco. Percy stood at the head of the column, although there were clearly others who outranked him and rather outsized him. A single figure stood out and Buffy turned her attention to him. It was a face she remembered from only three years before and a face that would be burned into her memory forever. Giving him a faint smile, she swept up Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny and moved to the door, where Faith was standing, sliding the card.
The heavy metallic door swung open.
Buffy stood back as hundreds of people rushed past her to get inside unnoticed. "Willow, are you sure you're up for fighting?"
"Irina did this," Willow said instead as Tara stopped next to the two women. "And if it's all the same, we want to help you get Dawn out."
Buffy nodded and the three retreated with the four Wizards down the long flight of stairs and into a long golden corridor. Using the surveillance maps and magical devices, not to mention the ever-helpful location chart on the walls, the hallway emptied quickly.
"We're in," Buffy said, crossing her arms. "We're actually in. I'll be damned."
- - - - -
"What is it going to do to me?" Dawn asked in a quiet voice. She was glancing at the knife in Lilah's hand and at the portal descending beneath her.
"Your energy will open it," Lilah said impatiently, taking Dawn's hand and cutting it quickly. "Now hold it there. No, to the left a little more. It has to be on the pentagram."
"This isn't the right thing to do," Dawn said through gritted teeth. She could feel herself becoming even more powerful as time went on.
"Isn't it high time that you had a chance?" Lilah asked, taunting her as she circled around her. "Always so close to the light and never being able to touch it? Isn't that what Xander told you all those years ago before you all risked your life to stop the First? And what did your experience at Hogwart's teach you? Nothing? This isn't about them, Dawnie. This is about you. This is your chance, your time to shine. You're the chosen one, now. And those Slayers that have always taken that light from you, well... in about two hours, I wouldn't worry about them anymore. They're here now. Inside the Ministry. Knowing that they're going sweep in and save the day? Unlikely. They know what they're about to face. Hundreds of people are going to die because you are too damn important to... no, wait. You're not important. They work for the Ministry. They work to save the world. If you're just a casualty, that doesn't phase them. You're not important enough for them to care about."
Dawn closed her eyes and glanced down, cursing under her breath. Blood was starting to drip onto the seal and small bits of green light began to shine from the other side.
"They abandoned you here, Dawnie. They left you here because they never cared enough to figure out where you were. You are just that important to them."
"Shut up," Dawn hissed. As Lilah continued to slam her, Dawn could feel the rage boiling.
"I'm not the one who doesn't have a voice," Lilah continued to taunt. "I'm not the one they've ignored because they have no business with you. As far as they're concerned... you really don't exist. You're just a Key. You were made with the blood of a Slayer because, let's face facts, they needed her to protect you. You were meant for one thing and one thing alone and that's destruction. You were meant to bleed universes. Chaos is in your blood. You thrive on death and darkness. Legions of darkness will answer that call and they will destroy the voices that have so clearly ignored yours for the past how many years. For the first time in your life, Dawn... your voice will be the only voice. You're the chosen one now. Deal with it. Or deal with the American Ministry. We've come so far in so much time to watch those morons fall."
The entire portal was now bathed in bright green light. It shimmered a moment before all sound faded. Then, with what sounded like an explosion, the light from the portal streamed upwards and separated. Dawn screamed, but found her feet rooted to the ground as the green light surrounded her.
One by one, the arms of light dissipated, leaving behind large, hideous beings.
The smile on Lilah's face grew as they all turned to Dawn, lifting large swords and snarling, wolf-like heads.
All Dawn could do was gasp. "What are these?"
"The legions of darkness," Lilah said, walking around them. "Not bad for an amateur. They are now prepared to answer to your whim and call. You control their destinies now. Long have you fought the forces of darkness, but does the world even care? Not here, not now. This world is yours, Dawn. Take it. Command these forces to destroy those who come to destroy us. Obliterate them so even their memory creates a cringe of dislike. Either you do this, or someone you love will die bloody. And it will be someone your heart cries out for, even though you are trapped in this obviously awkward position. I don't regret putting you here. My only regret is that I didn't come sooner."
Dawn turned her attention to the snarling creatures. The portal behind them continued to emit high levels of green in different directions. As the bodies continued to grow, Dawn found herself feeling even more powerful. While she longed to use her power to destroy these creatures, she knew she had no other choice. All she could hope for was that Buffy and the others could defeat them. And rescue her.
Because she knew that what Lilah had said was partially true. She had a very dim voice in the crowd. And it was now, in her greatest moment of danger that she needed her voice the most. It was there, but not in the capacity she'd hoped for. After glancing one last time into Lilah's cold, heartless eyes, she diverted her attention to the demons and announced in a clear voice. "Do it."
"You heard her," Lilah said, sounding impressed as the demons grew into a very long line and marched away from the portal. As the green light died, she saw the look of fear and hatred on Dawn's face. "Oh, don't worry, Dawnie. It'll all be over soon."
Dawn withdrew her shaking hand, falling to her knees. "What have I done?" she whispered. "What have I done?"
- - - - -
Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione swept into another large room. Muttering "Lumos", Harry pointed his wand around the perimeter while the others observed and checked for any movements. After concluding the room was empty, they stepped out.
"Nothing," Ginny said, shaking her head. "We checked every single room on this floor and there is nothing out of the ordinary."
"We have to try something else," Hermione said quickly, moving to the wall where another location chart. "I wish we could use something like the Marauder's Map. Just something to tell us if we're in any danger."
"We don't need that," Ron said, his voice shaking slightly.
"Why not?" Hermione asked, still peering at the map.
"Because of that," Ron said, pointing his wand down a corridor. Hermione screamed and backed into him, sending them both toppling into Harry and lastly Ginny. As the four struggled to get up from the floor, a strange red light began filling the corridor.
"We should find Buffy," Ginny said, the first to stand up. But no sooner had she spoke the words did a menacing growl come from behind them. As the others moved into a tight circle, wands out and at the ready, Ginny realized they were surrounded.
"Damn," Harry muttered under her breath.
"Combinatio," Hermione suddenly gasped. "Use the combinatio. It's the only way we'll ever get out of here."
"You always were the clever Witch," Ron panted.
Four wands rose in the air, their tips meeting at the center. As Hermione began the chant to combine the essence of their powers to overcome their enemies, Harry recalled the last time he'd used the spell. It was in the final defeat of Voldemort.
A single beam of pure blue lit up all four tips and each arm pulled away.
The red light was consuming them now, swirling all around them. And suddenly, a single foot fell into view.
It was the most hideous thing any of them had ever seen. It seemed to ooze either blood or else a really sickening red substance onto the polished white granite flooring. It was followed by an arm that seemed to be carved out of metal. While bits and chunks of bloody flesh were dripping away, it was emanating a sort of reddish smoke. The tip of its arm had been carved into a gorgeous, silvery blade, shaped as a cresent moon. As it stepped into full view of their own blue light, they could see it was enormous, much larger than that. By the time their eyes traveled across a broad, black chest to its other arm, they saw its head, towering eight feet off the ground. It was large and menacing, with two thick oxen horns that grew upwards. Its eyes were gold and emitting golden beams of light.
"Oh, my," Ginny whimpered as Hermione gasped behind her.
"Run!" Harry said and the four took off as the creature swiped at them with his blade. At the rear, Harry turned, struggling to run backwards. He shot off as many spells as he could think of, but they seemed to just deflect off this monster as it continued to advance towards him. He stopped, and before he could make another move, Hermione screamed directly behind him. He spun around and was pushed aside. He looked up and saw Ginny covering him, her hand on her arm, which had several large cuts on it. Her eyes were full of tears, but they weren't from pain. She was looking at something straight forward. Harry turned and gulped.
It was yet another monster, looking more like a skeleton on stilts. Easily ten feet tall, it was shooting bits of red from its bony arm, it's eyeless sockets full of mirth, if they could do such a thing. As it prepared to fire again, a blast of fire nearly over took it.
"It's a dragon, or something that looks quite like one," Hermione breathed as she and Ron ducked out of the room they'd found cover in to pull Harry and Ginny inside. Ginny screamed as the large blood monster swung its arm towards her again. It was then she noticed the other arm was a stinking, smoldering club. Spinning, Harry took her hand and pulled her inside.
As Ron and Hermione barricaded the door, Harry gently lit the end of his wand and glanced at Ginny's arm. Their powers must have been broken when Ginny had been injured.
"Are you all right?" he asked her gently.
She glanced up with terrified eyes. "This isn't what I expected it to be," she said as Harry tore off a bit from his long robes and gently wrapped and tied it around her wound.
Ron bent down next to his sister, watching Harry closely.
Hermione, meanwhile, stood watch by the door. She could hear the creatures fighting outside and knew it was only a matter of time before they realized the four people they'd nearly beat into submission were trapped inside a room the size of a laundry closet.
The walls rattled and there was a cry as one of the creatures was thrown into it. Hermione quickly moved to Ginny's side and started tugging at her. "We have to get out of here. We'll be dead in about three seconds if we don't go."
At that precise moment, the wall crumbled as a bloody head rolled inside. Ginny screamed, falling backwards, pulling Hermione down with her. As Ron and Harry helped both women to their feet, they watched as a zap of green electricity fell across the corridor.
"Those demons are going to rip this place apart!" Harry shouted over the sounds of demons hissing, crying and screeching. As the four ducked out the hole, they saw that all of them were involved in the art of mutilating each other and none paid any particular interest to the four trying to escape with their lives. "Run!"
One of the demons was suddenly thrown in their direction. Ginny screamed again, Harry pulling her away as the demon stopped just dead in front of them. It was also a different creature. This must be the dragon-like creature Hermione had seen. He glanced at Hermione and saw the terror and the disgust in her eyes before she turned to look at him. "We should get out of here."
Almost as if anything else could go wrong, something was thundering on the tiles above their head. But it was a different sound than a demon pounding another into submission. It was desperate, paced and... some sort of code, Harry figured. His eyes found Hermione's and she put up a hand. Ginny let out a tiny whimper as four pairs of eyes stared at the ceiling.
"Someone's up there," Ron whispered, taking the brave first step forward.
"We should get Buffy," Ginny said, her own voice laced with panic.
"No time," Hermione replied, pocketing her wand into her robes. "We have to get up to that room."
A sudden growl sounded behind them.
"Okay, plan later, run first," Harry said, grabbing Ginny's hand as the four broke into another run. When they reached the end of the hallway, all they saw was three cold gold walls.
"No, oh no, oh no," Ginny kept whimpering as she clung to Harry's hand. Closing her eyes, she noticed that Harry was sharing her same sentiments. Ron and Hermione were circling the end of the hallway, pressing on the walls. Finally, Ron stepped back. A hole had been blasted in front of him, leading to an even darker escape.
"We have to go," Hermione said as the sounds of demons fighting kept growing closer. "Ginny, you're smallest. You should probably go first."
"Right," Ginny said, releasing Harry's hand and moving to the hole and carefully stepping through it. Pulling out her wand, she muttered "Lumos" and lit up the entire shaft. "It looks like an elevator shaft," she announced.
"Is there anyway to climb upwards?" Ron asked from behind the golden wall.
Ginny nodded, feeling remotely stupid in the fact the gesture was ignored since they could hardly see her. "There's a ladder of sorts. I'm going to climb upwards."
"We'll be right behind you," Ron assured her from behind the wall.
Sticking her wand with its tip facing up in the front pocket of her shirt, Ginny reached for the ladder and began to make her way to the upper floor. She spotted Hermione climbing beneath her, but that was the extent to which the light from her wand reached. When she finally saw another golden wall, she paused, calling down, "There's another gold wall. I'm going to blast it."
"Do it," Harry said from somewhere beneath her.
Pulling out her wand with one hand while holding on tightly to the ladder with the other, she pointed the wand at the wall and muttered the curse. As the hole was blasted, Ginny climbed a bit further before jumping onto the ledge, wand in hand. As the others finally climbed to her location, Ginny stepped inside.
Unlike the floor below, this one wasn't littered with demonic body parts yet. But the sounds of distant battles were growing closer. Turning to see that the rest of her friends had made their way into the hallway, Ginny turned and led the way.
There were muffled thumps and shouts coming from one of the rooms on the left.
No sooner had they reached it when the ceiling above them began to crumble. Harry leapt back just as three viscious-looking lizard-like creatures spawned, hissing as they turned to Ron, Hermione and Ginny. "Hold them back!" he shouted.
Ginny, a look of fear in her eyes, understood what Harry was about to do. Turning, she spied a bit of cement from the ceiling and gathered it into her trembling hands. "Hey!" she shouted, lobbing it at the nearest demon. It turned to her, red eyes gleaming at the challenge of three new bits of prey.
"Running now," Ginny said as she, Hermione and Ron took off down the hall.
Harry was relieved when all three demons chose to pursue his girlfriend and his two best friends. Turning to the door, he aimed his hand.
The door blasted open, leaving an even smaller dark room than their barricaded safe haven downstairs. He was stunned to see that someone was bound and gagged on the floor, kicking the opposite wall with all their might in the hopes that someone, perhaps someone screaming a level below, would hear him.
"Draco?" Harry asked, trying to keep the ironic chortle from his throat. He quickly bent down and in only a short moment, Draco was free of the bindings.
"Ha-Harry?" Draco stuttered, his eyes narrowing as he peered at the other Wizard, who stood in the doorway framed by gold light. "Are you... dead?"
"No, you insidious moron," Harry said briskly, moving to help Draco to his feet. "I've come to rescue you and get you the hell out of--"
His words were cut off by a shrill scream down the hall. It was Hermione.
"Do you have a wand?" Harry asked, his voice more urgent.
"They kept it above the door you just destroyed," Draco replied, moving to the jamb and feeling along the edge until his fingers touched solid wood. Pulling his wand down, Draco turned expectantly to Harry. "What do I do with it?"
"Use it?" Harry suggested impatiently, moving back into the hallway. The ceiling above them had completely caved in, cutting him off from his friends. "We're cut off and we really have no way out of here except to climb up."
Draco was visibly pale and a thin stream of blood was still running from his open head wound.
"We need to get you out of here," Harry said, grabbing Draco's arm and half-dragging him down the hallway toward the end.
Draco suddenly seemed to come to as he dug in his heels, throwing Harry off balance and catapulting him into a wall. "I'm not going anywhere without Dawn or my daughter!" he said angrily.
"No," Harry said, wincing as he touched his own head, shaking it to clear the fogginess from the sharp impact. "We're going outside to get you the hell out of here. Being in here too long will do things to you. Like turn you into a delusional hero."
"Bloody hell," Draco groaned.
"What now?" Harry snarled. He was in no mood for anything other than good news. He had been separated from his friends and judging by the sounds of snarling demons at the far end of the corridor, they were either in terrible danger or quite possibly dead. He had no idea why he was standing here with Draco Malfoy, a person he'd spent most of his life loathing and avoiding at all possible. Why in hell was he still standing there? And Draco... why did he have that obnoxious grin on his face for?
Suddenly the ceiling above them opened and two more figures jumped down. Before either Harry or Draco could act, Hermione screamed again.
It was the vampires, Harry realized. As soon as they quickly asked the younger men if they were okay, they turned and bounded into the fallen debris to the rescue of his friends. Taking one last long, lingering look down the corridor, he turned to Draco. "Let's go."
Down the hall, Hermione, Ron and Ginny had kept running while Harry attempted the rescue. Their retreat was halted by the arrival of the most loathsome demon yet. Ron had stopped first, Ginny knocking into him, both of them gasping at the size and brutal might of this newcomer. Hermione stopped a short ways away. It was then the reptilian demons attacked. Using a chain that appeared to be on fire, they managed to use it as a lasso to pull Hermione's feet out from underneath her. As she screamed, Ron and Ginny both cried out. Then the large, two-headed demon that looked more like an ubervampire than any other, attacked.
Ron and Ginny both managed to dodge it as the three reptilian demons began to get slammed by Hermione's jinxes and hexes. As Ron ducked one monstrous fist, Ginny dived between the monster's legs, both emerging out behind the demon.
Except the fact that it had eyes in the back of his head. "Oh, crap," Ron muttered as they both backed away toward the spot where they'd first appeared on the floor.
Hermione suddenly screamed again. There were the sounds of slashing and the sounds of gushing. Ginny let out a disgusted whimper, but Ron dared not move. They just stood there, pinned by the giant two-headed monster.
Suddenly the debris behind Hermione burst open. In a matter of seconds, three dead lizard-like demons were flying across the shiny, newly waxed floor. The two-headed demon sensed the challenge and attacked. It was then that Ginny and Ron pulled Hermione to safety. Her eyes were open, but she appeared dazed, several long, bloody slashes appearing in the front of her robes. She whimpered as Ron pulled her into his arms and lifted her off her feet. Ginny held onto his arm as the two newcomers battled the disgusting demon.
"What's... happening...?" Hermione asked, as though drugged from the lacerations.
"Hold still," Ron whispered to her as they backed against the wall.
One of the figures leapt onto the creatures back, and a sword swung gaily in the air. As the sword sunk into the flesh of the creature, it bellowed, a great, resounding howl that sounded much like a large bell being rung with one standing beneath it.
As the creature fell at their feet, their two rescuers showed themselves.
Ginny gasped, paling. "You two!" she cried out as Spike and Angel fell into the light of Ron's trembling wand in Ginny's bloody hand.
"You're hurt," Spike said, stepping to Ginny and touching her with a cold hand. "So is she."
"We need to get you three out of here," Angel concurred at once. "We passed Harry and the blonde guy on the way in here. They're safe for now. But you have wounded."
"I'm okay," Ginny said shakily as Spike helped her back to her feet. "But Hermione... she's hurt badly."
"We'll get you out," Angel assured them as he took Hermione into his arms, leaving Ron free to move. "This is easier on you. I'm quite a bit stronger."
"Right," Ron said hesitantly, turning to help his sister as they climbed around the dead demons and moved through the caved in ceiling tiles. The other end of the hallway was empty, leading to an elevator which would bring them to their original location.
Once they stumbled out, they saw that the demons had also begun attacking the other American Ministry Witches and Wizards. Human body parts were lined into large clumps. Cupping a hand over her mouth, Ginny swayed, but with Spike's cold hand pushing her forward, they soon found themselves welcoming the cold Colorado sunlight. Angel passed Hermione back to Ron and nodded, as though satisfied with them.
"Take care of yourselves," Spike said as he and Angel retreated inside.
All three turned to see Harry and Draco approaching them.
Once Ginny was back in Harry's arms, nothing else mattered. She was safe. They all were.
But so many others were still trapped inside.
- - - - -
On their way to find Joy, Faith and her smaller group of Slayers ran into the same problem Harry and his friends had encountered on their own mission to rescue Draco.
In other words, the legions of darkness were spilling forth from the portal and seemed to take great joy in destroying one another and the workers running for their lives around them.
Faith glanced behind her at the group of Slayers. She was glad that Cho had joined them, her onyx eyes glittering at the thought of the challenge. Lifting the battle axe, her hands tightening over the cold metallic handle.
Melanie stood right behind Cho, her own blue eyes more apprehensive and full of a different kind of light. Faith could understand that feeling exactly. She herself felt the terror coursing through her.
There were an easy dozen Slayers behind them, each holding their own weapons, each holding onto their own fears and doubts. Faith turned back and spotted two demons that resembled overgrown bumble bees zooming toward them. Lifting her own weapon, the crossbow, she aimed and quickly took one down.
They had no choice. Joy's location had been provided by a Ministry worker who'd been too terrified to run for her life and had lain cowering at the base of a large statue of a goblin. When Faith had saved her life, she had gratefully spilled all information.
Joy was being held in a small nursery at the other end of a hallway full of demons ripping each other to part.
This was, after all, what they had trained for.
Faith used the last armed arrow and easily picked off the other demon. But there were countless others between them and the doorway. Turning, she pulled Cho to her and whispered something in her ear. Cho pulled back, and with a serious nod, pulled Melanie and four others with her. Faith gestured to the rest and in two small groups, attacked.
The first demon they encountered was no stranger. It was a typical Bringer, with its typical knife and thirty seconds later, had a large battle axe being removed from its midsection. Cho blanched inwardly when she saw the blood but had no time to think. Melanie yelled "Duck!" from behind her and Cho dropped to her knees just as a firey fist soared over her head, smashing into the wall with such force, she felt the wall crumbling around her. With an enraged cry, she seized her axe and ran from under his arm.
She stood suddenly when she realized there was a second arm. With a gasp of surprise, she managed to twist and leap her way away from the smoldering club. Now with her back pressed against the wall and her weapon firmly within her grasp, she waited until the hand swung to attack her again before releasing her own version of hell on the demon.
Across the room, Faith and her Slayers encountered a new breed of demons. They seemed to look more like spiders with six legs, but had teeth easily six inches long. Their heads were covered in tiny knobbly horns that shot out a thick, glutenous black fluid. Faith deduced it was most likely lethal and ordered her Slayers to get around the insect-like demons as fast as they could. Ducking to the left, she used an abandoned sword on the ground to stab her foe on the top of its head. Eight glittering black eyes followed her as its legs folded up beneath it.
She grunted as she withdrew the blade and turned to see two of her Slayers under attack by a second one of these repulsive creatures.
"Damn," she hissed, abandoning her crossbow and rushing to the defense of the Slayers. As she carefully removed leg from leg, the demon rolled over onto its side. From underneath, the two Slayers had a better view. When they saw its belly, they both let out shrill screams.
Thousands of demon spawn were hissing and spurting the thick black fluid at the two women.
Faith looked everywhere for something until her eyes fell on a wall sconce. A smile lit up her grim, dirty face. Grabbing the flaming torch, she turned to the two Slayers. "Move!" she shouted.
The creatures spawn seemed to move it to face her. Hissing, the creature shot out what little it could since its head was buried underneath the rubble. Dropping the torch on top of the spawn, the creature hissed and writhed in agony as the Slayers escaped.
Melanie had moved the farthest into the room. She had also encountered the darkest demon of all. It looked more like a bull standing on its hind legs. It was the exact creature with the crescent-moon shaped blade as one arm and as a menacing club for the other that Harry and his friends had escaped from across the Ministry.
Taking a deep breath, she found she had no choice but to fight it. It was blocking the entrance to the nursery, as though knowing how desperate she was to get inside. As it moved its club arm at her, she leapt in the air, landing on his rotting arm.
The stench was so foul it was almost intolerable. It continued to drip blood and flesh and didn't even notice as she scampered up the arm of the demon, who had to be at least twice as tall as she was. Once she reached the shoulder, it seemed to notice her. She had to leap in the air, grabbing onto one of the chandeliers dangling above her to dodge the blade as it narrowly missed the bottoms of her feet.
Below her, Faith and the others were attacking the demon. Melanie seized her opportunity and dropped from the swinging light onto one of the demon's horns. She easily straddled it while she pulled out her own sword and began hacking away at it. From her studies as a Slayer, this was a useful method to down an enemy with the lowest amount of blood possible.
Except that this monster seemed to be dripping his flesh away. It finally seemed to realize someone was on its head for its club-like paw was sweeping just above her head. She bent down low, her face pressed to the bloody horn. As soon as the club hand returned to Faith, who was shooting flaming arrows up at it, she continued to work on the horn.
Cho ran around the demon to attack it from the size when tiny troll-like creatures holding small knives came dashing out. There were exactly seven of them and they quickly assaulted another demon, some skeletal one. Cho watched in morbid interest as they hacked the skeleton to ash before turning their knives on her. "Crap," she muttered as she ran across the back of where Faith and the others were attacking the horned demon.
With a cry of triumph, Melanie grabbed onto the skull of the creature just as the horn tumbled, broken, and fell with a loud, cement-like thud on the ground below.
The creature howled. Melanie quickly reached up and pulled herself onto the chandelier. As the creature began to fall, Faith and the others jumped back. Cho was running underneath the demon, seven little elves toting some serious blades rushing behind her, sounding more like a group of drunken cowboys then hell demons. Melanie dropped onto the creature's shoulder and slid down to its club before falling all of six feet onto the ground below.
As the great beast fell, it took out the tiny troll things with it. Cho fell with the force of the larger demon's impact and sighed as Melanie fell next to her. "Ow," Mel moaned as she sat up. Cho helped her to rise and they both turned to Faith, who was eyeing the door with great interest.
"Let's get what we came for," she said, marching to the door and kicking it in.
The only problem was, it was abandoned.
- - - - -
Dawn was barely hanging onto her sense of humanity as Lilah continued to walk around her. Dawn could feel the demons in pain as they slashed and hacked each other, and the rest of the Ministry, to bits.
"Don't worry about them," Lilah said, although there was an apparent tremble to her voice. "This... this is what demons do. There'll be enough of them to wipe the Earth clean, that is for certain."
Dawn wasn't so sure. The powers of darkness couldn't be harnessed, could they? Not even her own goddess-like powers could bring them under her control. These demons were bred for one purpose and one purpose alone - the thirst to kill.
The only problem was, they would soon turn on both her and Lilah.
And Joy. Dawn could feel Joy. She was somewhere safe for the moment. But demons were closing on their location. Demons were everywhere, even spilling out into daylight.
Draco's heart was still beating strong and she could feel this the closest, since her own heart thumped painfully whenever she thought of her grey-eyed lover. Closing her eyes against the pain of losing him, she turned back to the seal. It was getting even harder to control these violent urges. She could feel the humanity slipping away.
"They're going after the warlocks," Lilah suddenly announced.
This held Dawn's interest a moment as she looked weakly at the other woman. "Let them destroy those bastards," she said with a cold smile. Lilah glanced up and for the first time, there was fear in the woman's eyes. "What more do we have to lose?"
"They're in the next room," Lilah announced.
A loud thumping sounded in the door behind them. Lilah gasped and moved over. "Look... the only way you're going to save us is to do your goddess thing. You have to give up your humanity."
"I... won't..." Dawn said, fighting the impulse. It was getting so damned hard.
"Just do it," Lilah said quickly as the door was thrown open. The legions of darkness were starting to spill inside. "Only you can harness this power. Bring them under your control." She glanced sideways and noted the reluctant look on Dawn's face. "I know you're scared, but if you don't do this, everyone is going to die. And the world will fall with it."
"It's poetic justice, don't you think?" Dawn asked, sounding more human.
She was a good fighter. Lilah had to give the girl some credit.
It was a sudden pull at her heart that made Dawn forget about fighting. Joy was in danger. She could feel Buffy. Buffy was in danger. All of the Slayers were in danger.
As the words melted into her mind, she could feel her body strengthening.
The demons grew closer, lifting their weapons, snarling.
And at long last, Dawn sacrificed her humanity. As her eyes faded and the green light started to filter in, her last thoughts were of Joy and Draco and the hundreds of people risking their lives to save her.
All at once, the illusion shattered.
Her head suddenly snapped up.
And the humanity, which once burned so brightly behind the eyes of a curiously mystical tool, was gone.
There stood only a Goddess.
- - - - -
Three chapters Left...