REPRECUSSIONS
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Kelli, Amy, and Alyssa.
CHAPTER 32-OMEGA
Connor entered the school carefully. He stuck to the shadows as much as he could, hoping to conceal his presence to whomever and whatever was lurking around the hallways as long as possible. His men tried to do the same but they were not as skilled in the art of stealth as he was and several times Connor had to hold himself back from saying or doing something to the offending soldier. They moved in through the large hole in the side of the building, with Connor hoping that whatever it was that made the hole was long gone, and preferably dead. They swept through the cafeteria, taking note that none of the food appeared to have been eaten, with everything seemingly being left out to rot and spoil. Kneeling down Connor picked up a stray can of pop and cocked an eyebrow in confusion when he found that it was still cold.
"What is it sir," One of his soldiers asked with a tense and nervous look on his face as he knelt down beside Connor, but kept his gun level.
"It's still cold," Connor replied in a harsh whisper before a sporadic burst of gunfire interrupted his thoughts.
"And that means…," Another of the soldiers asked with a nervous and confused look on his face as he checked behind an overturned table.
"It means that up until a few minutes ago this can was refrigerated, someone or something was just here," Connor replied with a frustrated and anxious tone to his voice before he caught a disturbing scent on the soft breeze that wafted in through the shattered windows. "Here they come," Connor stated with a very easy going smile on his face, getting confused stares from his soldiers, before a cadre of vampires materialized out of the shadows. Seconds later Connor was elbow deep in dust as he vented his frustrations and fears on the unlucky undead in front of him.
"Angel…Angel," Molly very nearly screamed out over the comlink, hoping that someone, anyone, would answer her.
"M…Molly," Lorne weakly replied as he tried his best to push some of the bricks away from his face.
"Where are you, are you okay, where's Angel," Molly blurted out very quickly with a terrified and frantic expression on her face as she wished more than anything that she could jump up out of her wheelchair and join in the fight.
"Let's see…in a world of hurt, definitely not, and no clue," Lorne mumbled back with a pained smile on his face as he tried to sit up but could only do so after Angel shoved a chunk of the wall off of his back.
"I'm here Molly, did it work," Angel replied with a cold stare down towards a meagerly smiling Lorne before he stood up and did his best to shake the dust and dirt off.
"I think so, but the dust hasn't entirely cleared yet," Molly replied with a hopeful and optimistic tone to her voice as she rolled herself up to the edge of the building.
"I need to know Molly, if either of them lived then…," Angel asked with a skeptical and somewhat scathing scowl on his face as he started to make his way back towards the epicenter of the blast.
"Gimme a minute," Molly snapped back with a frustrated and irritated scowl on her face as she angrily brushed some stray hairs off of her face and back behind her ear. Taking it slow she pulled herself up onto the edge of the building and did her best to try to make out the resulting damage from the explosion.
"We don't really have a minute pumpkin, we're running on borrowed time here," Lorne joked back with a sly smirk on his face as he started to follow Angel back towards the epicenter before Angel turned back momentarily, only long enough to send the empath demon a shut up glare.
"Let's just get this over with, we still have to help Buffy and the others, we have to…," Angel started to say with a very anxious and concerned look on his face before he stepped into a bank of fog and was very abruptly stopped.
"That was…unwise," Adam stated with a slight air of disdain for Angel as he stepped calmly out of the fog bank, holding Angel off of the ground by one hand around the vampires throat.
"Wake up Rupert, we're almost there," Ethan said with a slight hint of mockery in his voice as he tapped Giles lightly on the top of his head.
"Why do I have to carry him," Lysette asked with an impatient and unhappy scowl on her face as she glared heavily down at Giles.
"Because the master said so stupid," Rhona shot back with a spiteful sneer on her face as she stared lazily out of the window for a bit before Caleb brought the car to a stop a block away from the school.
"Now Lysette dear, after you get our good friend Mr. Giles here to the Hellmouth you and Rhona are free to bring sister Kennedy into the fold, but be careful, don't mess this up and reveal our plans to anyone," Caleb offered with a calm and confident smile on his face as he shut the engine off and undid his seatbelt.
"In that case I think that I will help you out," Rhona added with an interested smile on her face before she leaned over and pulled the slightly older vampiress into a meaningful kiss.
"That's enough of that for now you two, you'll have plenty of time to play later with your new friend, but first things first…," Ethan stated with an almost annoyed tone to his voice as he began to slowly walk down the street towards the school.
"Alright ya damn perro," Lysette muttered with a great look of scorn on her face as she and Rhona reluctantly picked Giles up and started to carry him towards the school.
"Do we really need them," Caleb asked with a bored look on his face as he half looked back at Lysette and Rhona while trying to keep up with Ethan.
"For now…but once the ceremony has begun they'll be no more than dead weight to us, I guess that they could be used as cannon fodder if the need arises…," Ethan replied softly after thinking for a few moments as he walked underneath a tree and smiled up at the dead body hanging out of it.
"What a happy time that will be…," Caleb stated with an enthusiastic smile on his face as he clapped his hands together and followed after Ethan, only casually glancing back to make sure that Lysette and Rhona were bringing Giles.
"Yes…it will, but first we need to cleanse this area of a rather annoying pest, namely the son of the first vampire with a soul," Ethan continued with a rather smug grin on his face as he stepped into the school and caught sight of Connor and his men fighting at the far end of one of the hallways.
"What is he doing here…," Caleb questioned with an alarmed and angry sneer on his face as he rushed forward in front of Ethan.
"Trying to stop us I'd have to wager…bright boy, but a bit to gullible for his own good," Ethan replied with a carefree and almost bored look on his face before he turned on his heel and headed for the basement.
"Come on Buffy…quit hiding, I'm going to kill you no matter what you do," Glory shouted through the tunnels as she continued her pursuit of her prey.
"Doesn't she ever shut up," Spike mumbled harshly under his breath as he crept along down a tunnel some feet away with Buffy nearby and Riley checking their position.
"We're almost to the school," Riley stated with a very grim and serious look on his face as he walked back up to Spike and Buffy.
"Makes sense I guess, this all started with the Hellmouth and it looks like the first is going to end it all with the Hellmouth, unless we stop it," Buffy whispered back with a very serious look on her face as she peeked her head around a nearby corner.
"Little Peaches should be up there right," Spike asked with small traces of a grin skipping across his lips as Riley looked on with a confused expression on his face.
"Yes Spike, Connor should be up there…," Buffy replied, using the shadows of the tunnel to hide her smile before Spike interrupted her moment of mirth and grabbed her hand and started to pull.
"He's not alone…and I don't mean Angel's Wolfram and Hart goons either, he's in trouble," Spike stated with a very dry and matter of fact look on his face as he and Buffy started to make their way down the tunnel.
"How can you tell," Riley asked with a demanding look on his face as he hurried to keep up with the two lovers.
"One of the benefits of being undead, my sense of smell is far superior to that of human beings, speaking of which you should really think about getting a new cologne…," Spike said back with a sly smile on his face before Buffy squeezed his hand hard as she started to hear sounds of a battle coming from somewhere above them.
"We should get up there," Riley started to say with a very determined and nervous look on his face as he continued on down the tunnel before Glory's words halted him.
"Don't even think about trying to run away from me, it's almost time for the ceremony, and after that it won't matter what any of you little insignificant specks do…tonight is the First's coming out party," Glory shouted at almost the top of her lungs as she stepped into the far end of the tunnel that Spike, Buffy, and Riley were in.
"Guess we're just going to have to crash the party then…," Buffy whispered softly with a very determined and confidant look on her face before she pulled Spike up out of the tunnel and into the basement of the school.
"Where's Angel…Lorne where's Angel," Cordelia demanded with a very serious and almost threatening glare in her eyes as she grabbed the lapels of Lorne's shirt and pulled him closer, making sure that he didn't misunderstand any of her words.
"Easy Cordy…if you kill him to soon he won't be able to tell you where Angel is," Oz chimed in with a weak edge to his voice as he leaned up against a pile of debris while Wolfram and Hart medics tended to a rather large gash on the side of his head.
"Adam took him…," Molly interjected with a serious and worried look on her face as she wheeled up to the others, careful to avoid rolling her wheelchair into any pieces of the Mayor that had been blown all over the place by the force of the explosion.
"Okay…see we're getting somewhere, okay Molly…where the hell is Adam," Cordelia asked with a very impatient and anxious smile on her face as she let go of Lorne and walked over to Molly before she leaned over, rested a hand on both armrests, and stared straight into Molly's eyes.
"H…he…he's at the school," Molly stammered out before she swallowed hard and leaned back a bit, afraid that Cordelia was going to bite her head off if she didn't like the answer that she had been given.
"Then that's exactly where I'm going…," Cordelia replied with a very stern and certain look on her face before she stood fully, back up, grabbed her sword and started to walk off down the sidewalk.
"You going to walk the whole way there Cordy…or do you want a ride," Gunn asked with a calm and serious frown on his face as he stepped into view and out of the shadows with a nervous looking Fred behind.
"Whatever will get me there quickly enough to give Angel a piece of my mind…," Cordelia answered with a very determined and angry scowl on her face as she turned around on her heel and walked past Gunn back towards the hospital and the helicopters.
"I'll be right back Willow, I just have to find the bathroom in dis place," Kennedy stated with a bored look on her face as she got up from the table.
"Okay…just don't take to long, we only have half an hour before we leave for LA," Willow replied before yawning widely and smiling at her departing girlfriend.
"I won't be late," Kennedy said back with a warm grin on her face before she disappeared around the corner and shook her head. It took her a few moments to find the bathroom and after answering the call of nature she walked over and turned the faucet on.
"Will wonders never cease…you do actually wash your hands," A voice called out throughout the bathroom, causing Kennedy to freeze in place for a moment, before frantically checking the row of mirrors in front of her for the source of the voice. "And here I thought that you were just another one of those people who never washes their hands after using the bathroom," Lysette added with a pouty smile on her face as she opened up the door of one of the stalls and walked up to Kennedy, making sure to let her jeans slip down far enough over her hips so as to hopefully peak Kennedy's interest.
"Who are you…," Kennedy asked with an unsure look on her face as she tried to appear braver than she actually was while still trying not to look scared.
"Someone who thinks that you're on the wrong side," Lysette replied with a coy smile on her face as she continued her trek up towards Kennedy, and only stopped when she was close enough to feel Kennedy's hot breath on her lips.
"The wrong side of what," Kennedy asked with a fake look of annoyance on her face as a voice in the back of her mind was screaming for her to make a break for it while another voice in her head was starting to check off the physical qualities of the young woman standing ever so close to her, almost close enough to touch.
"The game of course…your team doesn't stand a chance against mine…so why not…," Lysette started to say softly at first before she switched to whispering the rest as she began to lean in closer and closer to Kennedy, whose breath became jittery as her heart began to beat faster.
"Whoa…wait a minute," Kennedy started to say with an alarmed look on her face as she took a step back and took a deep breath.
"What's wrong…was it something I said…," Lysette asked with a hurt pout on her face as she jutted out her bottom lip, slumped her shoulders forward a bit, and leaned back up against the wall right beside the hand dryer.
"N…no, it's…it's just dat I thought that everyone had cleared out of here and…," Kennedy mumbled out with a nervous feeling in the bottom of her stomach that only increased as she watched Lysette slide down the wall until she was seated on the floor with her chin resting on her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs, a tear sliding down her cheek.
"I got left behind…the night before everyone left we have a big party…I got so drunk that…," Lysette replied with a sad look on her face as she lifted her chin up enough to look up at Kennedy and to make sure that she was listening to her every word.
"Oh…sorry, but why haven't you left town yet, there's plenty of abandoned cars and…," Kennedy stammered out with a somewhat flustered smile on her face as she let out the deep breath that she had been holding in for some time and took a step closer to Lysette.
"I never learned how to drive; I always just let my friends take me where I wanted to go…I just…," Lysette started to say with another tear streaking down her cheek as she crossed her arms on top of her knees, reaching into a small pocket in her coat for the needle.
"Hey…it's going to be, everything's going to be okay, my friends and I are about to leave Sunnydale for LA where we'll all be safe, you can come with us, I'm sure that they wouldn't have a problem with one more…," Kennedy said with a concerned look on her face as she knelt down in front of Lysette and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Such a pity then, that you will have to miss that trip," Rhona chimed in with an almost bored frown on her face as she slowly opened the stalls door and stepped out into the bathroom, much to Kennedy's shock as the potential scrambled back up to her feet, followed suit closely by Lysette, who now had the needle hidden in the sleeve of her coat.
"Holy shit…Rhona…but you're…," Kennedy stammered out with a very surprised and nervous look on her face as she cast a quick look back at Lysette, who put on her best scared stupid look and pressed herself back up against the wall, hoping to look as if she were frozen in fear. Just like they had hoped Kennedy quickly positioned herself directly in between Lysette and Rhona, who did her best to act as if she was still human.
"Dead…no shit Sherlock, told you the black chick always gets it first…and this time it's all your fault," Rhona stated with a very clear and intended glare cast directly at Kennedy, who wilted a bit under the intensity of the glare at first before she straightened up and clenched her hands up into fists.
"I'm sorry that you're dead Rhona, but it was not my fault, you volunteered to go the school…you're as much to blame for this as I am…," Kennedy started to snap back with an angry glare of her own before she felt the sharp prick of a needle in the side of her neck, followed quickly by the sight of Rhona slipping her game face on. "What…," Kennedy mumbled out in addition before her entire body became like jelly and she flopped back into Lysette's waiting arms.
"You were right Rhona, she is one gullible bitch," Lysette joked with a sly smile on her face as she politely pushed Kennedy's head to one side. The last thing that the living Kennedy would ever see was a quick glimpse of Lysette slipping into her game face before two sets of fangs sank into her neck.
"Who are you," Connor demanded with an angry scowl on his face after he sliced off the head of an onrushing harbinger.
"Who I am doesn't matter young one, what matters is you…pretending to be something that you're not, you're not entirely human yet you're not entirely a demon…quite the quandary for such an innocent soul," Caleb replied with a smug but yet sincere smile on his face as he slowly walked down the hallway towards Connor and what remained of his soldiers.
"I get by," Connor mumbled back in reply with a carefree smile on his face and a shrug of his shoulders as he picked his sword back up and took a few steps forward towards Caleb.
"But you shouldn't just…get by…you should…," Caleb started to say, acting very calm while seeming to search for the right words before he was interrupted.
"Learn to listen when someone tells you to sod off…," An indignant Spike stated as he climbed up through a hole in the floor before turning and helping Buffy up.
"And take a hint when you try to kill someone repeatedly that they're not going to want to be your…special friend," Buffy added with an angry grin on her face as she positioned the scythe directly in front of her so that there would be no way that Caleb or anyone or anything else could not see and know what it was.
"So…you've made it this far…a pity Glory did not finish you off earlier," Caleb stated with a look of calm disappointment on his face as he took a few steps closer to them.
"Not for lack of trying though…but then again she did kill the Master for us so I guess that she's not entirely bad…," Riley chimed in with a somewhat smug grin on his face as he climbed out of the hole and glanced down into it to make sure that Glory was not right behind him.
"Who are you," Connor demanded with an irritated and slightly nervous frown on his face as he walked up and placed the point of his sword a mere inch from Buffy's throat. Instinctively Spike sprang forward, knocking away the point of Connor's sword from Buffy's throat and hovered the point of his warningly in front of Connor.
"Quite the bedside manner there junior, you learn that from Peaches," Spike snapped with a very confrontational, angry, and defensive scowl on his face as he got a steady footing and expected Connor to attack him.
"Easy Spike, Connor…this is no time to be fighting each other, we need to work together and stop Caleb and the First, not bicker amongst ourselves like this," Buffy stated with a very clear and threatening frown on her face before Spike nervously pulled the point of his sword back and took a step back until he stood shoulder to shoulder with Buffy as the two stared down Caleb.
"Oh please…don't mind me, fight amongst yourselves…it makes all of this much more enjoyable for me," Caleb taunted with an ecstatic smile on his face as he waited patiently for Buffy's response.
"Hate to disappoint you mate, but there's no joy in Sunnyhell tonight…at least not until we've kicked your sorry ass," Spike snickered out with an easily heard tone of sarcasm and daring in his voice as he stepped in front of Buffy and used his body language to dare Caleb to fight him.
"An odd choice of words…," Adam stated with a peculiar and slightly confused look on his face as he walked into view with an unconscious Angel slung over his shoulder.
Giles awoke to chaos around him. Everywhere that he looked a battle to the death was taking place. He almost instantly recognized his surroundings as the basement of the high school. He crawled to his right a few feet to try and find some cover from the onslaught of weapons and claws. He fumbled around inside of his coat in an attempt to find his glasses so that he could get a clearer prospective of what was transpiring around him.
In the center nearest to the hellmouth Riley and the remaining Wolfram and Hart soldiers that had been under Connors command battled through a sea of harbingers. Spike had singled out Caleb and the two were throwing each other into anything that either could find with a sharp edge while Buffy and Glory were busy trading blows near the exit. Angel was scrambling around trying to think of something to use against Adam, who seem to be a little perplexed as to why Angel would not face him head on.
"B…Buffy," Giles called out as loudly as he could before he was forced to cough to keep from inhaling the cloud of dust and dirt that had been kicked up in the cavern because of all of the fighting going on around him.
"Giles stay down," Buffy shot back with a very worried look on her face before she dodged a punch from Glory and tried to work her way closer to her watcher.
"Oh no you don't, you're not going to play hero and rescue the sacrifice this time," Glory exclaimed with a surge in her step as she dashed forward to keep Buffy far away from the Hellmouth. The once small room had been magically expanded tenfold, making it seem more like the final fight was occurring in a coliseum instead of a room in the high school basement.
"So sad…don't you think Rupert," Ethan stated with a mocking tone of concern in his voice as he stepped forward and slipped off his coat, revealing underneath his naked torso that was now covered in runes, with a very large one directly over his heart.
"Hardly…what is truly sad Ethan is your delusion that you have a chance of succeeding," Giles snapped back with a less than reverential tone of voice as he picked himself up off of the floor and shakily got to his feet, wearily wiping some blood out of his right eye.
"Stubborn as always eh Ripper, but your slayer can't save you this time, once the ceremony has begun and I drain the energies from my three acolytes I will become the human host for the First and wipe away the scourge of humanity, ushering forth a new age…where I will be a GOD," Ethan calmly replied back at first before as he spoke his fervor began to grow and he shouted out the last word with great exultation.
"So what am I here for, am I supposed to be your first subject…because if that's your plan than I swear to you that…," Giles started to question with a daring and angry glare on his face as he took a shaky step forward and clenched his hands into fists.
"Wrong again Rupert, you are here because to fully complete the ceremony I need a human sacrifice, and I thought who better than you, now tell me…won't this be fun," Ethan answered with an anxious look on his face that reminded Giles of the look on a child's face just before they went to bed on Christmas Eve.
"What will be fun…Ethan, is when I stop you and make you pay for what you did to that young girl, what you did to Alyssa," Giles stated with a very certain and forceful expression on his face as he stepped up and grabbed a hold of Ethan's throat. In reaction all that Ethan did was laugh, a laugh that began as a low chuckle before he was soon laughing hysterically.
"Okay…he's lost it," Spike shouted above the din with a zealous sneer on his face before Caleb flew forward and bull rushed him through the remains of one of the old stone walls.
"Spike," Buffy shouted with a look of fear and desperation on her face before Glory wrapped both of her hands around her throat and began to squeeze.
"Such a worthless adversary…the girl showed much more promise," Adam added with an unhappy frown on his face before he drove a snapped off beam through Angel's stomach, halting the attacking vampire in his tracks and sending him down in a quickly forming pool of blood.
"You see Rupert, your little band of merry men are of no use against me…and now if you have nothing else up your sleeve I really should get started," Ethan said with a smug grin on his face as he peeled off Giles' hands and then walked calmly over to the hellmouth and stood directly on top of it. For the next few seconds that seemed to spread into an eternity to Giles he watched as Ethan began to utter the phrases to an ancient and powerful spell. Fireballs of energy crackled and exploded all over the room, more than twice nearly consuming Angel and Spike, both of whom now had abandoned fighting and sought instead to simply survive, with Angel being only able to stagger and crawl because of his still bleeding wound. Caleb and Glory had retreated back towards the Hellmouth, stopping just behind Giles in an attempt to make sure that no one interrupted Ethan. Adam turned towards the Hellmouth and seemed to ponder the move there for a few seconds before he turned away and instead sought out Riley and the two remaining Initiative soldiers.
"It's almost time, I can already feel the power," Glory exclaimed with a very thrilled smile on her face as a great wind sprang up within the cavern, tossing very nearly everything around. Buffy was having a terrible time trying to keep her hair out of her face long enough to see where she was going.
"I call upon forces of evil most ancient, forces unheard of in this feeble world, I beg of you…accept this humble vessel as a portal to work your will, I…," Ethan started to shout with a very fervent look in his eyes before a black mist began to swirl up through the plate on the top of the hellmouth. The mist spun around slowly at first before it appeared to take on the guise of a small concentrated tornado as it consumed Ethan.
"I can feel the energy flowing into me," Caleb cried with an ecstatic smile on his face as he held his arms out wide and seemed to grow in size with each passing minute.
"Nothing can stop us now…nothing," Glory added with a very pleased laugh as she closed her eyes and threw back her head, an act that reminded Spike of his time at Woodstock.
"Oh really…," A very stern and seething voice called out through the crackling fireballs and ferocious wind, causing both Caleb and Glory to stop their reveling and peer through the destruction.
"Who dares to…," Glory demanded with a very angry sneer on her face as she took a step forward, only to be blasted back off of her feet and flying through the air until she slammed through the closest wall.
"You think you know power because the First loaned you some of its power…how foolish," The mystery voice added as Buffy thought that it sounded oddly familiar before the identity of the voice was unveiled. She flew through the air effortlessly, eyes blacker than coal, blood running down out of each nostril like a river, and the air around her crackling with energy.
"Willow…," Buffy whispered meagerly as the wind died down just enough for her to get a clear look at her former best friend.
"Red…," Spike asked with a confused and nervous smile on his face as he contemplated stepping into her path but almost instantly decided against it and stayed where he was.
"You will not stop…," Adam started to say in his unfeeling tone of voice as he charged up to Willow before his words caught in his throat as he was seemingly frozen in place, unable to move.
"What are you…an amalgamation of failed things, incomplete…worthless…," Willow stated with a carefree and almost bored edge to her voice before she slammed her fist through Adam's chest, pulling out his power core as if it were the prize in a box of cereal. Adam stared blankly at the power core for a few seconds before his body slumped to the floor. "Such a frail thing, far to frail for any real use…," Willow added with a slight shrug of her shoulders before the power core crumbled into a fine dust, similar to the dust that a vampire left after staking, and Willow let if waft through her fingers until the light breeze blew it away.
"You bitch," Glory started to shout with a very vindictive sneer on her face before the entire room shuddered violently underneath their feet and the Hellmouth itself spun around and opened up, with Ethan having to keep his feet as far apart as possible to keep from falling in.
"What…what…," Caleb stuttered out with a confused look on his face before a black feeler shot out of the Hellmouth and struck him directly in the middle of the back. Seconds later the former priest let out a horrendous scream before he was sucked dry of everything, with finally he shriveled, skin, tendons, muscles, and cartilage melting away like the almost final scene from Indiana Jones And The Final Crusade.
"No…," Glory shouted out as her eyes grew wide and she scrambled to get away, but another jet black feeler shot out of the Hellmouth and slammed into her back. Seconds later, as Glory frantically screamed and begged and pleaded for help Buffy sat in a stunned silence as she watched the former Hell-god go up in a ball of fire. Her clothes were first to go, being vaporized almost instantly before the fire cooked her alive until there was nothing left but a pile of ashes on the floor where she had once stood.
"What...what's happening," Ethan screamed out with a very scared and angry scowl on his face as the cloud of mist began to dissipate and the two jet black feelers retracted into the hellmouth.
"It's over Ethan, Alyssa will be your last victim," Willow stated with a very certain and confidant look on her face before Ethan began to spout off one threat after another at the red headed witch.
"You can't stop me I…," Ethan snapped back with a very bloodthirsty glare in his eyes before a bullet tore through his stomach from close range.
"Won't harm another soul…ever, I'm sorry Ethan, sorry that I ever let you live," Giles stated with a calm and deadly serious tone to his voice before he shot Ethan again with the gun that he had hidden under the leg of his pants, strapped to his calf.
After the second shot Ethan's knees quivered a bit before a gusher of blood gurgled out of his mouth. The runes slowly began to be stripped off of his body and then disappear into thin air. Spike shook his head and darted forward, grabbing the back of Giles' shirt, before he rather rudely hauled the old watcher back away from the Hellmouth. Before Giles could say anything the earth around the hellmouth started to crack open, something that only served to distract Ethan's attention from trying to stay balanced above the hellmouth with two bullets through his gut.
"And now you die," Willow whispered calmly with an easy going look on her face as she cocker her head to one side and crossed her arms while still hovering two feet off of the ground.
"Goodbye Ethan," Giles stated with a relieved look on his face as he shakily stood up and turned his back on his former friend, not bearing witness as one of the jet black feeler slithered up out of the Hellmouth and wrapped itself tightly around Ethan's body, squeezing the life out of him. In fact Giles stayed looking the other way when his former friend let out one last gasp and was dragged into the Hellmouth.
"Well I'm glad that's over…," Buffy said with a deep sigh as her shoulders slumped forward and she dropped down to a knee to try and catch her breath. No sooner had her knee hit the ground when the Hellmouth sealed itself back up again and then dissolved.
"What…," Riley started to ask with a confused look on his face before all went to hell in a hand basket. With the lack of the Hellmouth being the lynchpin in the coupling the very fabric of space and time seemingly began to rip itself apart. Soon the ceiling began to cave in while the room's floor split open like cracks in a windshield, radiating out from the central spot where the Hellmouth had been.
"Everybody run," Angel called out as loudly as he could as he hauled himself up against the far wall and held one hand clamped over his stomach in a desperate attempt to hold back the bleeding.
"Run where Angel, this place is a vault…," Spike shouted back with a nervous and slightly scared look on his face as he hurried to Buffy and helped her back to his feet only moments before the two lovers were knocked back off of their feet by a powerful shudder that ripped through the floor of the room.
"There has to be a way out somewhere, we just have to…," Angel started to reply with a frantic look of losing hope on his face before seemingly the entire ceiling of the room exploded above them.
END OF CHAPTER 32