Chapter Twenty Four: Scythe Matters
Buffy and Kennedy ran into the group of Bringers in front of them, concentrating on knocking them aside rather than stopping and fighting. Xander, following closely behind followed the same tactic. Even so a blow from a slayer was not something to be taken lightly and fully half of the eight Bringers present were either dead or unconscious and the others had fled by the time the three runners reached the far end of the wine cellar.
There was no problem finding the entrance to the lower level as the Bringers had already levered aside the slab covering the entrance and there was light coming up from below together with the sound of hammering.
Buffy was about to jump down the hole when Xander grabbed her arm. "We can't all go down there Buff. This might be the only way out. We don't wanna be trapped down there."
Buffy paused. "OK, you two stay up here, keep the exit open," she said. "I'll be as quick as I can. Shout if you need any help." Giving Kennedy and Xander no time to argue Buffy dropped down into the hole onto the floor below without using the ladder leading down to the lower level.
Down below was a much smaller space. The hammering was coming from two Bringers who were trying to knock free what could only be the Battle Scythe which was embedded in a large rock. Two other Bringers stood nearby.
Buffy's arrival sparked two of the Bringers into action, the bystanders attacking with their knives. Buffy side-stepped the rush of the first Bringer, knocked aside his knife hand and delivered a killing blow to his neck. She stepped away from the falling body and kicked the knife out of the hand of the second attacker. She then took him down with a second kick to the head.
The Bringers trying to hammer the Scythe out of the rock seemed oblivious to the combat as they continued hammering away. Wasting no more time Buffy went over to them and knocked them both out by banging their heads together. Buffy knew she should kill them as well but she had always found it difficult to kill unless she was under attack herself.
Now could she pull the weapon loose? Buffy took hold of the Scythe and pulled. To her surprise it came loose immediately with no resistance, so much so that she nearly fell over backwards. A little disappointed that nobody had seen her King Arthur moment she became aware that the scythe was more than just a weapon.
Buffy closed her eyes and felt the power coming from the weapon. It made her feel more powerful, more alive. It was so obviously a weapon made for The Slayer. There was something magical about it. With this she could fight anybody. Even Glory was likely to come off second best.
Gotta go thought Buffy, can't hang around here, but as she turned she heard a loud crump from above and behind her. She walked across the room, looked up and found that the slab was now back in place, blocking her exit. Something had clearly happened to Kennedy and Xander, something that had not given them time to call out to her. She needed to get out somehow and help them.
The exit was about ten feet above Buffy's head and the ladder which Buffy had not needed on the way down was now lying on the ground. It had been wedged in the open space now occupied by the slab but had been dislodged when the slab was replaced.
Buffy picked up the ladder ready to use it to push up the slab from below but before she could do anything she heard a great rumbling and crashing from above and then saw dust falling from the cracks around the slab. Quite obviously somebody, presumably Bringers, had just dumped a great weight on top of the slab to prevent her leaving. Probably a load of those wine barrels thought Buffy.
Buffy placed the ladder against the slab and pushed upwards but to no avail. There was a limit to what she could do, strong as she was and clearly she'd reached it. What to do? She needed to get out quickly. Xander and Kennedy must need help. She had to think of something else.
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Buffy had come back out of the hole empty handed and now led the way back through the wine cellar. "No scythe?" Xander had asked.
"Oh yeah," said Buffy. "I got it but...I'll explain when we're out of here. It's complicated. We've got to get out of here quick."
As the three of them gained sight of the far end of the cellar Buffy pointed ahead. "Up those stairs, it's bound to lead to a way out."
"Why don't we go out the way we came in?" asked Xander as he followed Buffy and Kennedy. As he spoke there was a loud rumbling and crashing noise behind him back at the far end of the cellar. Neither slayer stopped as they jogged towards the stairs and Xander continued to follow.
"Because The First saw us," replied Buffy. "It'd be suicide to squeeze up out of that window if it's got someone up there waiting for us."
As they reached the bottom of the stairs a number of Bringers came out of the shadows in the cellar behind them. "Get that door open," ordered Buffy indicating the door at the top of the stairs. "I'll hold them off."
Kennedy ran up the stairs and, not even bothering to find out if the door was locked, kicked it hard, knocking it open. Buffy and Xander watched the Bringers gathering below but they had no need to fight. The Bringers remained well back in the cellar, presumably waiting for reinforcements.
"Come on," yelled Kennedy from the doorway "It's open."
Buffy and Xander followed Kennedy through the door where all three stopped to orient themselves. They were in a hallway lit only by artificial lighting with no sunshine coming in from outside, something very convenient for the group of vampires gathering at the far end.
"Hold them off," ordered Buffy. "I'll guard your back from the Bringers." With that Buffy turned back to the stairwell and went back through the doorway.
'I'll guard your back' thought Xander. What the hell? That's not like Buffy. Xander was used to Buffy leading from the front and he had expected to see her charge straight at the vampires. Oh my god he thought. No wonder she was so quick coming back out of that hole.
"It's The First," Xander shouted to Kennedy who was just starting to engage with two vampires further down the corridor. "It's not Buffy, we left Buffy behind back there."
As Xander yelled this he received immediate confirmation as two Bringers burst out of the doorway at the top of the stairs, obviously not having been slowed down at all by 'Buffy'.
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Buffy held tightly to the Battle Scythe and concentrated. She could do this she told herself. She had seen Cordy do it and Cordy didn't even have a magic Scythe. Cordy however seemed to be capable of quite a few odd things these days so Buffy couldn't be sure it would work.
"Tara," called Buffy "Tara, I need you. Can you hear me?"
For nearly a minute Buffy kept this up until she was almost ready to stop and try to think of something else when she saw the now familiar lights of an incoming orb. Tara had heard and there she was. Buffy took no chances and immediately touched Tara to confirm this was not a trick by The First. Thankfully it was the real Tara.
"Buffy," asked Tara. "How did you do that? What's going on?"
"Explanations later," said Buffy. "I'm blocked off down here. Could you take me upstairs? Xander and Kennedy are up there and they need our help."
Tara took Buffy's hand and orbed up into the middle of the wine cellar. It took only a moment to decide which way to go as the unmistakable sounds of fighting came from the other end of the basement. Holding the Scythe ready for serious business Buffy ran off in that direction followed by Tara.
Upstairs in the corridor Kennedy had managed to dust one vampire and was benefiting from the confined space because it meant she only had to face two vampires at a time. 'Only' two vampires at a time she thought. Before she came to Sunnydale she normally only had to deal with one at a time. I didn't know when I was well off.
Behind Kennedy, Xander had managed to hold his own against the Bringers but only just. Like Kennedy, Xander benefited from the narrow corridor preventing any more than one or two Bringers getting near him at once. The trouble was there were probably a lot more Bringers and Vampires waiting their turn whilst Xander and eventually even Kennedy would begin to tire.
Xander now noticed the Bringers in front of him turning back to the doorway to the basement. He downed his immediate opponent with a punch and was about to hit one of the distracted Bringers when it lost its head. It literally lost its head as it was chopped off by a very sharp weapon. Xander jumped back to avoid being hit by the falling head and separate body.
Buffy had arrived, the real Buffy this time and she made short work of the remaining Bringers. Seeing Buffy suddenly appear like this was not just life saving but also a great relief for Xander. All the time he was fighting the Bringers he was feeling guilty about being deceived by The First into leaving Buffy behind and probably trapped.
Taking no time for chat whilst more fighting was needed Buffy went straight past Xander and joined Kennedy in the fight against the vampires. Once again the Scythe proved to be quite devastating, so much so that Kennedy stood back and gave Buffy room to use it to cut through the vampires in front of her. Soon the corridor was clear of enemies, the last two vampires deciding to run rather than commit suicide by staying to fight.
"Boy it's good to see you again," said Xander. "The real you this time. The First was pretending to be you. We didn't mean to leave you behind."
"You got it then," said Kennedy. "Looks like it's worth having."
"You have no idea," said Buffy. "But we'd better get out of here now before The First comes up with anything else."
"Would anybody like a lift?" asked Tara who had now arrived on the scene. "Or does anybody need healing before we go?"
Both Kennedy and Xander had minor wounds but nothing that wouldn't wait until they got home. Everybody took hold of Tara and she orbed them all away.
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Connor put the cellphone away and spoke to Gunn in the driver's seat alongside. "That was Wesley," he said. "Angel and the gang have moved to Sunnydale. Some friends of Tara's took them the quick way. They think this circus is headed towards the local high school. Wes says it's on a Hellmouth whatever that is."
"Well it don't sound good," replied Gunn.
"Angel and Wes will meet us there," said Connor. "Watch out for them when we get there."
They were approaching the outskirts of Sunnydale having followed Jasmine and her Wolfram and Hart army all the way from LA. For several miles now the road leading away from Sunnydale had been very busy. This wasn't just regular traffic but seemed to be a full scale exodus. Whole families were the norm together with whatever could be crammed into a car or a truck. There were even some people trekking on foot out of town laden with bags and cases.
"Do you think they know something we don't?" asked Connor. The outgoing traffic contrasted strongly with the traffic going into Sunnydale which consisted of Jasmine and her Wolfram and Hart people, Gunn and Connor following and as far as they could tell nobody else.
Gunn drove around a bend and had to brake sharply to a halt in order to avoid a collision. Two cars on the other side of the road had collided causing the front one to slew across the road partly blocking it. What were presumably the two angry drivers were out of their cars and had just started to fight. Further annoyed drivers were getting out of their cars and were walking forward yelling because of the hold up to the traffic. The situation had all the makings of a full scale riot.
Gunn would have kept going but he didn't have that option so he got out of his car and got into the driver's seat of the now empty car that was blocking his way. Whichever driver owned that particular car either didn't notice what Gunn was doing or didn't care as he carried on fighting.
Gunn drove the car back onto its own side of the road and up the road a few yards where there was room to park. As he walked back he could see fully a dozen men were now fighting, egged on by a number of women sitting in or standing by the stationary vehicles. From the words being exchanged by the onlookers, women as well as men, others would soon be joining in.
Gunn got back into his own car and started up the engine. He leant on the horn and then leaned out of his window and yelled in a loud voice. "Watch out, the cops." Most of the men stopped fighting and some turned back to their cars. Gunn drove off.
"Very slick," said Connor. "You surprised me. I didn't think you'd be able to get past without decking somebody."
"You wanna keep out of something like that if you can," said Gunn. "Don't matter how many you knock down there's always somebody else looking for you and you can't beat them all. We might have been there for hours. Those guys are crazy."
"Whatever's driving them out of town is probably what's driving them crazy," said Connor.
"So why aren't we affected?" asked Gunn.
"We're the ones following a gang of demons towards a Hellmouth," said Connor. "Do you think that makes us sane?"
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"That's...that's amazing," said Faith who opened her eyes and then handed the Scythe onto Kennedy.
Kennedy, taking hold of the Scythe took a deep breath, closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "Oh yeah," she said handing the Scythe back to Buffy. "Can we have one each?"
"Yeah," added Faith. "That's a slayer weapon. There are three slayers now. If we all had one of those we'd take a lot of stopping."
After her return to the house Buffy found that everybody had returned from San Francisco. Also present were Faith and Gwen back from LA. After being told of developments elsewhere Buffy had taken the others slayers aside to show them the Scythe.
Up to now Buffy had not told anybody else about her grandmother and the guardians. Now she made a decision to tell the other slayers. She told them of what her grandmother had said to her and Dawn.
"Can we contact your grandma?" asked Kennedy "See if she's got any more of these or if she can get hold of them."
"I don't think there are any more," said Buffy. "Up until recently there was only one slayer so only one Scythe. Anyway I'm not getting my grandmother involved in this again."
"There's another way," pointed out Faith. "It's pretty obvious somebody used magic in making that. Well we've got a few pretty strong magic users on our side at the moment. Couldn't they copy that for us, or perhaps do something similar to some of our other weapons?"
Faith's comment jogged a memory for Buffy. She had wondered whether there was any way to activate the potentials without waiting for another slayer to die. The magic users were now back and they were faced with the mother and father of all battles to close or destroy the Hellmouth. It would make their side so much stronger if all the potentials became slayers and they all had their own Scythe or something just as good.
Buffy explained her thoughts to Faith and Kennedy. "That's it," said Faith. "I bet that's why The First's been killing off the potentials. He knows we'll be able to make them all into slayers. The more he kills off before the big battle starts the better chance he's got."
"I'll get Willow, Tara and Giles onto it," said Buffy. "The Halliwell sisters might be able to help as well."
"Onto what?" asked Willow coming into the room with Tara. Buffy explained what the three slayers had been talking about and what she wanted Willow and the other magic users to do.
"OK," said Willow. "Your wish is our command. We'll get on it as soon as we've finished doing the anti-Jasmine protection amulets for everybody."
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Connor and Gunn followed Wesley into the stake out room on the third floor of a building over the road from Sunnydale High. Angel was already in the room as was another man who he introduced as Robin Wood the High School Principal.
"Wood here's been working with Buffy for a while," said Angel. "He's got experience of fighting vampires and demons."
"His mother was a slayer," said Wesley.
"So there are black slayers as well," said Gunn. "Nice to know. So does that make you stronger than the average bear?"
"Nope," said Wood. "No slayer powers. It doesn't work like that."
Connor had walked over to the window and looked at the school. By now all of Jasmine's people had left their vehicles and gone into the school. He looked closely. Yes, there were definitely guards on the front door and others watching from various windows.
Gunn walked over and joined Connor and Angel. "I hope you ain't got any students still inside," he said to Wood.
"We shut the place down three days ago," replied Wood. "By then most students and teachers had stopped coming anyway. They've probably all left town by now."
"So what's the plan," Gunn asked Angel. "I assume we're going in sometime."
"Maybe," said Angel. "But first we're going to Buffy's place to talk to everybody there."
"You want me to carry on watching the school?" asked Connor.
"You've been on the road all day," replied Angel. "You can come with us and get something to eat. Faith's bringing a team over in about an hour to take over surveillance. We'll leave then."
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"No, no, no, no, no," said Giles. "You can't do that. If you did you'd be responsible for so much evil."
"Exactly," said Wesley. "Who knows how many would be affected and none of them would be ready."
"But we need to do something like this. We're gonna need more slayers or nobody will survive," said Willow.
"I bet it's just what The First is afraid we'll do," said Faith.
"Do something like this yes," said Giles. "By all means activate the potentials that are here, if they agree to it. They know what they're in for. But you can't just activate all potentials everywhere. That would be a disaster."
"There are many reasons why a watcher always contacts a newly activated slayer," said Wesley. "Even if she's not previously been under training as a potential. One of the most important is the well being of the slayer herself."
"Somebody who became a slayer without anybody to explain what was going on could cause a great deal of damage to herself and others," said Giles.
"As well as becoming a target for dark forces," said Wesley. "Until now we always thought the Watchers Council were the only ones able to detect potential slayers. The First Evil has shown us that's no longer true but activated slayers have always been more visible."
"So what are you saying?" asked Buffy. "They might be attacked or recruited by the bad guys? We might be creating a lot of dark slayers?"
"Worse," said Giles. "The witches here should know how ordinary people can react if they feel threatened by those with special powers and abilities. Even without a single dark slayer you could make these new slayers and yourselves the targets of a modern witch hunt. None of these other new slayers would know of the need to keep their new powers a secret. Some of them would become very visible very quickly."
"Could you change the spell Will?" asked Buffy. "Make it apply only to the potentials that are here? We'll be just as strong when we attack the Hellmouth."
"The trouble is the Scythe seems to be linked to all slayers and all potentials," said Willow. "We might be able to do it but it'll have to be without the Scythe so it'll probably be only temporary. I'll get on it."