Chapter Twenty Two: The Far Side
Faith had brought amulets prepared by Willow in an effort to provide some protection against Jasmine's thrall. Faith was already wearing hers and Gwen happily put one around her neck. Connor did the same more reluctantly but Eve and Lilah both refused them.
Lilah explained that it would upset the Senior Partners if she started using white magic and Eve claimed it would interfere with the 'empowerment' she had already received from said Partners.
"OK then," said Faith who put the amulets down onto the nearby table. She then immediately turned back and hit both Lilah and Eve. Lilah was knocked unconscious exactly as Faith intended but although Eve staggered back she was not knocked unconscious or even knocked down.
Eve now showed that she was rather more than Lilah's PA and that her 'empowerment' endowed her with more than human strength and speed. In many ways she was comparable to a slayer in fighting ability.
Eve naturally reacted violently to Faith's attack and returned the blow with interest propelling Faith across the room and into a wall cabinet. Faith, with the resilience of a slayer bounced off the cabinet and immediately dodged Eve's follow up attack.
Connor watched with interest but saw no reason to get involved himself. Gwen stood aside but removed a glove in case she needed to use her electricity. Her sympathies were with Faith but Faith had started the fight so she decided to wait and see if Faith could finish it.
Gwen had been too busy herself that evening in LA to watch Faith in action so she decided to take advantage of seeing for herself just what was so special about a slayer. Like Faith, Gwen had not known that Eve was anything special although she did remember what Cordelia had told her about Eve trying to jump her. If this was payback from Faith it didn't really make sense because as far as she tell Faith and Cordelia didn't get on very well and anyway Cordelia hadn't really been bothered by the incident.
Meanwhile the fight continued. The combatants were evenly matched, even that is in strength and speed but far from even in experience. Faith was the survivor of many fights with demons and vampires as well as the occasional angry fellow slayer. In fact although it was Eve who worked for Wolfram and Hart it was Faith who had much more experience of fighting dirty.
The fight would have ended quite quickly had Faith been going for the kill but she was not. She was in fact handicapped by not knowing how much of her strength was required to subdue her opponent without killing her. Although she had started the fight believing that Eve was human she now had her doubts. However she had no intention of taking any chances and killing a human. Never again she thought.
Faith began backing away from Eve as if she'd taken one blow too many and was looking to get out of the fight. Anybody who knew anything about Faith would have been suspicious of this but Eve knew nothing about Faith and had the overconfidence of inexperience.
Thinking to finish the fight in her favour Eve stepped forward to deliver the winning hit only to have her feet swept out from under. She recovered quickly but not before Faith had achieved her purpose and slipped a chain with an amulet on it over Eve's head. She stood back as Eve fell back to the floor, writhing in agony and screaming.
The screaming and writhing did not last long however and Eve then lay quietly on her back looking up at the ceiling. She seemed to be stunned rather than unconscious but made no move to get up or remove the amulet. Faith meanwhile walked over to where Lilah was lying on the ground and slipped another amulet over her head.
"OK give," said Gwen fingering her own amulet. "These Amulets aren't what you said they were are they?" Connor was also looking suspiciously at the one around his neck.
"They're exactly what I said they were," said Faith. "Willow designed and powered them to give protection against losing your free will. I think Tara helped. Willow hopes they're powerful enough to protect against Jasmine."
"So what's the matter with her then?" said Connor walking over and looking down at Eve who continued to stare upwards into space.
"The amulet doesn't just protect from Jasmine," said Faith. "It protects against being under any sort of outside control."
"Wolfram and Hart?" asked Gwen.
"I suppose so," said Faith. "They certainly seem to have hyped her up physically. It stands to reason they did something mentally as well. I think she's now getting used to thinking for herself again."
"Do you think one of them would break Jasmine's hold on Angel and the others?" asked Connor.
"Maybe," said Faith. "But we don't have time to try it at the moment."
Lilah began showing signs of waking up and Eve also began to stir. The other three watched as Lilah came round and got unsteadily to her feet. Rather more slowly Eve also stood up.
Lilah rubbed her sore jaw and glared Faith. "I thought we were allies," she grumbled.
"Now we're allies," replied Faith. "Just as long as you both keep those amulets on."
Eve meanwhile was stretching and exercising. She went over to the table and lifted up one end with difficulty. "What have you done to me?" she said angrily to Faith. "It's gone."
Eve started to remove the amulet but Faith stepped forward and took hold of her arm to stop her. "Before you do that, think! Do you want to be a puppet again or do you want to live your own life?" she said. "Do you want to go back to being one of their pawns, one of their expendable pawns?"
"Yeah," said Eve walking away from the others. "I need to think." And the first thing I need to think about is how I got into all this thought Eve. At the moment she had no memory of how she had come to work for Wolfram and Hart.
At that moment Lilah's cellphone rang. She answered it and acknowledged the brief message. "If you're going to do anything you'd better do it now," she said. "My people have lost track of Jasmine. It looks like she's making a move."
"I thought you lost all your magic users" asked Gwen.
"Not all surveillance is based on magic," replied Lilah.
I bet she's got the hotel bugged again thought Connor. We'll have to do something about that once this is all over.
"Well anybody who's coming had better come," said Faith. "Now we'll find out whether Willow's magic's strong enough."
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"I was wondering when you'd get round to me," said Glory smiling. "You being the all powerful First Evil and me being well, evil."
"I've come to offer you a deal," said Ben/The First. "You kill the slayer and all her friends and you can have this world for yourself."
Glory turned to Buffy. "If this is the standard of evil you usually have to deal with, no wonder you're still standing," she said and turned back to The First. "You don't just look like Ben, you think like him as well. You don't get it do you? I don't want this world. If I did it would already be mine."
"He wants to become corporeal and take over the world for himself," said Buffy. "He doesn't want to give it to you, whatever he says."
"Gosh, what an evil plan," said Glory sarcastically to Buffy. "Do you really mean he might do something...evil like lie to me or double cross me?" She turned back to Ben/The First. "You know, you should get another name. Something like The First Really Nice Guy or The First Guy you can trust. You might get somewhere then but The First Evil, it does sort of give the game away."
Ben now morphed into a copy of Glory herself. "I don't see why I should bother to spend any more time on you," she said to Glory. "I don't actually need you. It's a pity, we would have made a great pair. Never mind, enjoy your new soul when you get it." With that The First disappeared.
"Oh yes, souls," said Glory quite unconcerned. "Thanks for giving Darla and Drusilla souls. I can understand what Drusilla says now, when she says anything at all. She's actually quite sane. But don't think of trying the same thing with me. It wouldn't work and I'd regard it as a very unfriendly act if you get my meaning. It wouldn't stop me killing all your little friends and a great many more."
"Don't you think you should be leaving?" asked Xander. "The First can pretend to be you. Who knows what it might be telling your people to do right now?"
Glory suddenly looked worried, as clearly she had not considered that possibility. "I'll be in touch," she said. "I'll allow your witch friends some time to sort out their problems but I'm not going to wait forever. You might be fond of this place but I'm not. If I have to hang about much longer I'm gonna make some changes." With that Glory rapidly left.
"Well, at least we've got a little time," said Xander. "But a sane Drusilla? I don't know if that's better or worse."
"Yes, she didn't seem bothered about Darla and Drusilla having souls," said Buffy.
"You shouldn't make the mistake of assuming that just having a soul equals being a good person," said Jenny. "Some of the worst monsters in history started out as humans with a soul."
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An orb appeared on a barren windswept hillside. Heavy clouds raced by overhead and waves crashed onto a nearby beach. The orb lights cleared to reveal Tara, Willow and Cordelia.
"You weren't kidding," said Cordelia to Tara, shouting to be heard above the noise of the high winds, the crashing waves and the cries of seabirds above. "Wet, windy and miserable. No wonder nobody lives here."
Tara led Willow and Cordelia inside the half ruined hut nearby. That it still had its roof on was a wonder if this weather was typical but there was no longer any glass in the windows. "I'll fetch the others," said Tara and disappeared.
"What did she call this place again?" asked Cordelia.
"Ile des Cochons," said Willow. "It's a French owned island. It means Pig's Island in English. We're in the Indian Ocean just about the opposite side of the world to San Francisco. I think this old hut used to be used by whalers. I don't think anybody ever comes here these days apart from the occasional scientific group."
Tara reappeared with Dawn, Anya and Amy. Like Willow and Cordelia they were all laden with bags and well wrapped up against the weather although this time Tara had managed to bring them directly inside the hut.
Cordelia sniffed and wrinkled her nose. "I can see, or rather smell, why they call it Pigs' Island," she said.
"Pigs' Island!" said Anya. "Oh great. Fred and Giles get to stay with the sisters while they do their magic in a nice house in San Francisco and we get...Pigs' Island. Somebody tell me again why we're here."
"This is about as close as we can get to the other side of the world to San Francisco without actually being in the ocean," said Tara. "With magic users all round the world joining in we need to have a second strong focus on the opposite side of the world to the Halliwells to give the spell the best chance of working."
Meanwhile Willow and Amy were emptying out the contents of the bags in preparation for the spell. "Come on," said Tara to the others, "we've got to clear out this rubbish to make room on the floor to draw the pentagram. We'll only be here for a few hours. We can block up the windows to keep the weather out and make this place a little more comfortable."
"We might only be here a few hours this time," said Amy. "But as I recall we might have to keep repeating this spell until we're sure it's worked."
"So we'll probably be smelling like pigs for weeks," said Cordelia. "Wonderful. Did I ask to be a witch?"
Willow felt cold and she too noticed the smell which she thought came from all the bird guano both inside and outside the hut, but she was happy. She exchanged smiles with Tara who was feeling the same. What more could she want, working with Tara again, trying to save the world together and even if they failed they'd surely be going to the same place together after this.
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In her short career as a slayer Kennedy had been in a few tight spots but facing two Turok-Han on her own was right up there with the tightest. She'd taken out two bringers with her axe immediately after entering the lounge but had then been in a fight for her life.
Kennedy's first thought had been to lead the Turok-Han away from the house and lose them before doubling back. In the meantime the potentials should hopefully have been able to deal with the Bringers on their own. However a glance outside at a group of 'ordinary' vampires who were unable to enter the house soon put paid to that idea. She'd be even more outnumbered if she left the house than she was at present.
Kennedy continued to play for time, reasoning that the longer she kept the Turok-Han away from the potentials the better. Sooner or later she'd have the chance to get rid of one of them and then it'd be one-on-one. Kennedy was confident that she would be able to take out any vampire one-on-one however ugly it was.
As the fight continued Kennedy realised that she had an advantage in the confined space of the lounge. Turok-Han were not team players. They were individual killing machines, each dedicated to getting to her with no thought of co-ordinating their attacks. In fact they kept getting in each other's way, a fault that Kennedy did all she could to encourage by the way she moved around the room.
Meanwhile upstairs the poor efforts of the outside vampires to set fire to the house had entirely failed and Rona's team had succeeded in dusting three vampires outside with crossbow bolts. There was plenty of fighting noise coming from downstairs so Rona decided to lend a hand down there.
Taking Elizabeth and Shannon with her Rona led a charge downstairs, just in time to kill a Bringer who was about to put a knife into Ingrid who was one of three potentials fighting in the large hallway.
The fighting at the back of the house consisted of Vi, Annabelle, Caridad and Mary holding off half a dozen Bringers. This was not a fight at close quarters as the four potentials were keeping the Bringers at a distance with crossbows, making sure that they all did not need to reload at the same time. Even so things would soon come to a head as there were now very few bolts left.
In the lounge Kennedy was delighted to see one of the Turok-Han stumble but immediately horrified to see that he had stumbled over the body of Lakshmi. Horror turned to fury when the Turok-Han paused to examine the body. Kennedy hoped that Lakshmi was only unconscious but she was not likely to live long in the hands of a Turok-Han.
Kennedy launched an attack, an attack that was nearly fatal, fatal to her that is because there was still a second Turok-Han in the room and it immediately took advantage to knock Kennedy across the room, stunning the slayer. The first Turok-Han, attracted by his colleague's success and not wishing to miss the kill left the body of the potential and also raced over to the stunned slayer.
This happenstance meant that both Turok-Han had their backs to the incoming orb of Jenny with Buffy and Xander. They were aware of something happening behind them however because they both stopped before reaching Kennedy and turned round. They were nowhere near fast enough however to avoid Buffy's swing of the Troll Hammer. One swing was sufficient to cannon both Turok-Han across the room, one with a crushed skull and the other also completely unconscious.
Buffy took no chances of a quick recovery by the Turok-Han and followed up by dusting one of them. She picked up a fallen axe and took its head off. Xander beat her to the other vampire by hammering a stake into its heart until it finally turned to dust. The day Xander Harris staked a Turok-Han thought Xander, oh yeah, just wait until I see Anya and Willow again.
Kennedy took a deep breath, relieved and worried at the same time. Jenny Calendar was bent over the body of Lakshmi and to Kennedy's great relief she began the glowing healing that Tara had previously made familiar. She'll be alright thought Kennedy, you can't heal the dead.
Molly came into the lounge. She had a cut on her forehead which was still bleeding. "They've gone, Vi and Rona and the rest have just driven away the last of the Bringers out the back," she said.
"That just leaves the other vampires out front," said Kennedy.
Buffy led the way out through the broken front windows. The sight of one slayer, 'The Slayer' as far as some of them were concerned, with her Troll Hammer together with Kennedy with her axe plus Xander and Molly close behind was too much for the remaining half dozen vampires who realised that the Turok-Han had failed. They turned and ran.
Buffy was furious at another attack on her home and the people she was protecting. She had no intention of letting any vampires escape if she could help it and managed to take down two of them before the rest disappeared into the street outside. A thrown stake from Kennedy accounted for the final casualty in the vampire army.
"Pity some of them got away," said Buffy. "But I don't think we should go far from the house tonight in case there's another attack."
"It's not always a bad thing to let a few get away," said Xander. "They can spread the word about how The First and his big uglies got their asses kicked."
"Yeah," said Kennedy. "It'll make it more difficult for him to find recruits. Most vamps don't want to commit suicide."
"Have we lost anybody?" asked Buffy quietly as they walked back up the drive towards the house.
"We've got a lot of wounded," said Molly, "but if Lakshmi's OK I don't think anybody died."
"I think Jenny can heal the wounded," said Buffy.
"What about all this damage?" asked Kennedy staring at the front of the house. "I hope you've got good insurance."
"It's OK," said Buffy smiling at Xander. "I know a good carpenter who's got years of experience in this sort of thing."
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In the end it was just Faith, Gwen and Connor who went into the hotel. Lilah claimed that she had to stay in charge outside and anyway she wasn't hero material. Eve just left without saying another word but without removing the amulet.
The magical barrier around the hotel was still in place but it had deteriorated considerably and just provided a weak resistance which Faith and Connor were able to push through. Gwen was stuck outside until Faith pulled her through. Quite clearly the barrier was long past the point when it would provide any sort of block to Jasmine getting out.
Deciding that surprise was probably impossible Faith had elected to go in through the front door. The three of them entered the foyer which was clearly empty. So was the office.
"It'll take all night to search the whole place," said Connor. "How about we split up?"
"Not a good idea," said Faith. "We might be able to take this Jasmine between the three of us but one-on-one? Maybe not. Anyway I don't think she's the type to cower in the basement. Take us to the number one suite. I'll bet that's where she hangs out."
But it wasn't where she was hanging out now. Quite clearly Jasmine had been using the Wedding Suite but she was no longer there. A search of the hotel from top to bottom didn't quite take all night but it did confirm that Jasmine was no longer in the building.
Faith, Connor and Gwen walked out of the hotel over to the Lilah's car where Lilah was waiting, poised to take off if Jasmine had been the first out of the hotel. On being informed of Jasmine's absence Lilah telephoned her observers who all insisted that they had not seen Jasmine leave.
"Well she's not here," said Faith. "That's for sure."
"Where would she go?" asked Gwen.
Lilah paled and suddenly looked very worried. "The TV station. She's been trying to get on the air for days. If she manages that she'll have the whole city, the whole world, working for her by the morning."
"Everybody get in!" ordered Faith opening the door of Lilah's car. "Take us there now, as quick as you can!"
But despite a frantic drive to the TV station and a mad rush through the corridors once they were there, there was still no sign of Jasmine. Whatever Jasmine was doing she had postponed her plans to broadcast her influence by TV and seemed to have completely disappeared.