Ezekiel
Disclaimer: Do not own Buffy.
A/N: This is the next to last chapter in Ezekiel. It's been one Hell of a ride. But, it doesn't have to end. If anyone wants to see this story go on, let me know. If anyone doesn't, let me know. And, if you just don't care, let me know. It's not interactive, just optional. Like, an opinion poll. Enjoy.
Ezekiel slept soundly, his dreams filled with thoughts of the night before.
Flashback:
"Holy shit," he said to himself as he, Edana, and Tara stared at the picture.
"Is that even possible," Tara asked, no one in particular.
"Oh, it is," both Warrior and elemental mage said as one, "You're just a bit sore in the morning."
"I don't even want to remember when I did that," the Warrior muttered, "It hurt a lot."
"Who did that to you, an elephant," Edana asked, wondering just who would be capable of hurting the Warrior like that.
"A Yoga freak," he answered.
"…OK, now that makes sense."
"That looks…interesting," the blonde witch stuttered.
"Why," Edana asked her girlfriend with a sly grin, "Do you want to try it?"
Instead of blushing and turning away, like she usually did, Tara simply responded by licking her lips seductively, causing both mage and Warrior to become extremely turned on.
"Oh, God," the mage whispered to herself as thoughts of what she could be doing tonight began to fill her head.
"Hey, whatever happened to our deal, Edana," Ezekiel found himself asking, more due to the beer than anything else.
"Whatever Tara wants," the mage said as she turned back and began to examine his body, "And it gets my vote. Tara?"
The white witch did not answer her. Instead, she leaned in and gripped the Warrior's earlobe with her mouth.
"I guess that's a 'yes,'" Edana said with a grin as she too reached up and began to nibble on Zeke's earlobe.
"Well," the Warrior struggled to find the right words for his current predicament and finally settled on, "What the Hell?"
End Flashback:
Ezekiel slept on through the events of the previous night, smiling as he did so. It had been one of the best nights of his young life, and that was saying something considering how many women he'd slept with.
His dreams kept getting wetter and wetter. That is, until the blood began to fall. He began to convulse and groan out as the dream turned rapidly violent. He could see thousands of people, running around the vast city, trying to get away from beings on horses, like some kind of horrifying Sleepy Hollow trip. People were dying left and right, crushed underneath the feet of others, or torn apart by snakes and the fangs of lions.
His vision became blurry as fire began to engulf the city, turning buildings of tall paramount into broken dreams in ash and soot. He turned his head skyward in his dream and saw four beings standing upon one of the skyscrapers, staring down upon the broken place with contempt. He felt a great hatred well up inside of him for these beings, though he did not know who they were.
Suddenly, everything became clear. In a flash of white light, everything shifted again. Now, he was in a mansion. Standing there were many demons, armed with swords, rifles, and crossbows. A boy with blonde hair and a girl with brown hair were there, tied up against the wall. He recognized them both. Lightning and thunder flashed around, a hideous festival of blood and death. And over all the cries, the bellows, and the clashing of swords, he could hear a lion's roar.
Finally, after what felt like a millennia, he came out of his vision and opened his eyes.
Tara and Edana had both been sleeping peacefully, their dreams filled with images of the previous night, but their slumber had been rudely interrupted by the thrashing in the bed. Both women awoke instantly and turned to see what the problem was. The problem happened to be Ezekiel, who was convulsing and panting in pain. It was as though he was having a seizure.
"Go get Tivona," Edana called out to her girlfriend.
The witch nodded and grabbed a blanket to wrap around her naked form, and she ran out of the room like a bat out of Hell. She ran down the stairs, trying very hard to not trip over the steps and her blanket, passed Whitney who, in turn, glared at her because of where she was coming from, and jumped the last few steps.
She went down the hall and down the stairs to the basement and, when she got to the cast iron door, began to pound on it with all her might. About three seconds later, Tivona was opening it up, dressed in only her negligee.
"What," she asked, "I just got back from checking on you guys."
"Ezekiel's havin' a seizure," Tara hastily explained and, without waiting for the woman's reaction, turned back and began to make her way up to his room.
The Warrioress stared after her for a half second before coming to her senses and charging up after her.
Edana sat beside the bed, dressed in one of the Warrior's large shirts, and held his hand as he convulsed. Blood was beginning to leak out from underneath his eyes and his ears, as though something were destroying him inside out. Perhaps something was. She looked up as she heard footsteps moving hurriedly up the stairs. Tara and Tivona entered the room quickly, both with a concerned look on their face.
"What's happening," the Warrioress asked as she took a seat on the bed next to him.
"I don't know," the mage answered, "He just started…shaking and panting, like he was having some kind of seizure. Then, he started bleeding, and…"
"Do you know what we should do," Tara asked as she took a seat next to her girlfriend.
"I don't," the huntress answered with a look of sadness upon her face, "I wish I did but, I don't."
"…I'll call Adil," Tara said as she stood up, "He'll want to know."
"What about Pam," Edana called after her girlfriend.
"She's at work," Tara said, "She called me and told me that she'd probably be working till morning."
"Why?"
"She didn't say."
Pamela MaClay sighed as she watched the security recording once again. There were several things that had her concerned at this moment, but, as of right now, the top one was of what was going on at the Reiben mansion. Those two kids who had set up that little party had been placed underneath special surveillance ever since, illegally, of course. At first, they had done nothing but try and get the lawsuits off of their asses. Then, about three days ago, a group of men had shown up at their house around midnight. They had walked inside and no one had walked out since. About the same time the next day, a large group of demons with a huge crate had entered the house. Then, yesterday night, or early this morning, a blonde man dressed in black leather and a woman with red hair in a green outfit had invaded the home, a few guns had gone off, and they had fled about thirty minutes later, dodging both bullets and arrows as they had done so.
Pam had no idea what was going on, but, she intended to find out.
"What's wrong," the young Yemenite asked as he and his girlfriend, Marcie, walked into the room.
"Ezekiel's having some kind of seizure," the Warrioress stated in a calm voice, though her eyes gave way to the fact that she was scared.
"Is he going to be alright," Marcie asked, scared for her savior's life.
"If he stops, he should be," Tara answered from her place beside Edana.
"How did this happen," Adil asked.
"We don't know," the mage insisted, "He just started shaking like this. Woke us up."
"You spent the night here," the invisible girl asked.
"…Sorta," both girls answered.
Adil said nothing but, in his mind, he was grinning like an idiot. Good going, Zeke. Too bad the morning after sucked. Sighing, the young man leaned against the wall and settled himself in for the long wait.
"I think I should call the ambulance," Marcie suggested.
"No," Tivona said with a confused look on her face, "I don't know why, but, don't call them."
"Look, no offense, but, you haven't really been here that long," Adil stated, "I know you're his sister, but, maybe we should."
"I don't know how I know but I know that wouldn't be a good idea," the Warrioress stated, "Please. Trust me."
Pam listened closely from her spot in the air ducts. When she had gotten word that Mancuso had called his secretary with a message for no one to disturb him, she knew that something was up. Ordinarily, in the short time she had been here and the short time he had been Commissioner, he had done nothing but talk to people in the office. Now, he wanted to be alone. First time for everything, but, in this city, first times might mean the last times for someone else.
He was currently sitting in his chair, drinking from a shot glass, his drink of choice being a whiskey and vodka mix. He was listening to nothing, waiting for the office he had on speaker phone to put him back on. At that moment, they had him on hold.
"Mayor Wilkins office," a bubble headed secretary on the other line said, "The Mayor's office of Sunnydale cannot take your call at this time. If you want, Commissioner, we can set up a phone conference?"
"I don't need to talk to him later, I need to talk to him now," the drunk man bellowed, "Tell him who it is and that it is top priority!"
"…Yes, Sir," the voice on the other end said haughtily.
After a few minutes, a man with a very…Andy Griffith voice came over the line.
"This is Mayor Richard Wilkins," he introduced himself, "Now, what is so important, Commissioner Mancuso, that I have to walk away from my meeting with a troop of boy scouts?"
Why would a guy like Mancuso be associating with a guy who has meetings with boy scouts, Pam asked herself.
"Sir, we have a slight problem," the drunk Commissioner said out loud, "That situation that I presented to you a few weeks ago, Sir? It's gotten worse. Euphrates has gotten everything ready and will be enacting their resources very soon. Days, maybe less. What should I do?"
"Do what you promised you would do, Commissioner," Wilkins answered, "Take care of it. And, if you can't, then get away from the city and come here. They can only strike one city. And, besides, if they get rid of all those people, that means there'll be less people I have to deal with to get to the top."
"…Yes, Mr. Mayor."
"Goodbye, Commissioner."
With that, the politician hung up, leaving Mancuso alone with his thoughts and his drink, the latter being what he had chosen to focus on at that time. The young detective sighed and began to make her way back to her desk.
Ezekiel sat up slowly, feeling the after effects of whatever it was that he had gone through. In his opinion, it was a very bad vision sent to him by God or some other force. Sighing, he shook his head and noticed something splatter onto his hands as he did so. He extended both his arms to examine what it was and saw that each hand was sticky with blood. He also noticed something running down his neck.
Fearing the worst, the Warrior of God reached to his face and rubbed underneath his eyes. He found them to be equally sticky. Sighing in amazement in the fact that he wasn't dead, he reached up to his ears and found that both his lobes held the same stickiness. So, he deduced, he had bled from both his eyes and ears. Signs of just how powerful the vision had been. Groaning, he turned his head to look around the room.
Edana and Tara were the nearest. They sat inside of one of the cushioned seats together, arms wrapped around each other. Adil was leaned up against the wall, his eyes closed, with Marcie sitting on the floor by his feet. Tivona sat in the other chair, on his left side opposite of Tara and Edana. Sighing, the hunter reached out and took his sister's hand.
"Tivona," he gently coaxed, "Wake up. Come on, Dawn. Wakey wakey."
Slowly, the Warrioress began to wake up from her slumber. She blinked her eyes to clear her vision and stared into his face. After a moment, she became alert enough to realize who it was.
"Alexander," she said with a smile, "You're awake."
"Yeah," the Warrior answered, "What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
"No, I mean, I know what I saw, but…what happened while I was seeing? Besides the blood coming out of my eyes and ears."
"You looked like you were having some kind of seizure. When Marcie tried to call the hospital, I stopped her. I still don't know why."
"I think I do. Come on, we got little time. Get everyone up while I go get the blood out my eyes."
The young woman nodded and stood up as Ezekiel climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom. The Warrioress went first to Adil and began to shake the young man. After a moment, he woke up.
"What," he asked, "What is it?"
"Ezekiel's awake," she answered him, "He's alright, he just needs to rest for a moment."
"How do you know he's alright," Marcie asked as she, too, woke up.
"Because, he would have told me if he wasn't," the Warrioress said, "Or, at least, I would have known."
With that, she walked over to the two mages and gently shook them out of their fatigue and worry induced slumber. They both awoke simultaneously and shook their heads to rid themselves of their tiredness.
"Tivona," the elemental mage asked as she stared up into her friend's face, "What's happened?"
"Where's Ezekiel," Tara questioned as she noticed that the bed was empty.
"In here," the Warrior called as he walked out of the bathroom, "Stop right there!"
His statement forced Tara, Edana, and Marcie to stop in their charge to hug him till his sides were sore, which they already were.
"No time for the tearful gathering," he said easily, "We got more important things to worry about."
"Like finding some pants," Adil said as he looked away.
The Warrior of God looked down at himself and realized that Adil's statement was right in many ways.
"Like finding some pants," he echoed.
Pam sat at her desk later on that day, pondering. Something was happening here, something important. If she didn't find out what, then what would she be able to do about it? Sighing, she decided to do what she should have done a long time ago. She reached into her desk and withdrew her service pistol, placed it in her holster, and walked out of the office.
"…People were running around, screaming," Ezekiel was saying to everyone as he explained what he had seen, "Everyone was panicked because of the lightning and the fire. People were dying left and right, and there was nothing I could do about it. I turned my head in my vision to look up at a skyscraper and I saw the four angels. I hated them.
"Then, everything changed again. It was like someone had shined a really bright flashlight into my face. When it cleared, I was in the Reiben mansion."
"Wait, hold on," Tivona stopped him, "Reiben mansion," she asked and, at his nod, said, "That's where Spike and I found the statue."
"Why didn't you tell us," the Warrior questioned.
"You were asleep and you three had had an…interesting night."
"I knew it," Adil said with a punch to the air, "I knew it! Way to go, Zeke!"
"Shut up, honey," Marcie said with a grin, "We need to know what else the nice Warrior saw."
"Hey, I'm not nice," Ezekiel countered before continuing, "Anyway, I could tell because they were both tied to the wall. Demons were all over the place, armed with a ton of things. Guns, swords, bows, and the like. There was a lot of crying, shouting, and fighting. But, I know I heard something roar."
"Roar," the Warrioress asked.
"Yeah. Like a lion."
"Do you think it was a gift from God," Tivona asked her older brother.
"I think it was. I also know that it's happening tonight."
He stood and walked over to the balcony.
"We have around twelve hours till midnight, which is when they'll most likely do it. Tivona, take that dagger I found to Gregory, get him to tell you if it can be of help to us. Marcie, when she comes back, I want you to take the one that can kill magic users."
"Why," the invisible girl asked, "I mean, not that I'm not flattered, but, why me?"
"They're using magical components to make it towards where the angels can destroy the world. From what she told us, that one will allow you to kill magic users. Sense you can turn yourself, and anything in your clutch, invisible…do you see where I'm going with this?"
"Yeah," the girl said, "Why don't I take it right now?"
"Yeah," Tivona agreed, "Gregory shouldn't need it."
"Fine," the Warrior acquiesced, "Tivona, can you remember any prophecies or texts involving a lion?"
"Not really," she answered sadly, "The only thing that I can think of is 'The Lion and the Unicorn,' but, that's part of some British coat of arms. I'm sure God would have informed you if it had something to do with the Brits."
"Good point. Ask Plover. Get going."
"Gone."
"Oh, wait," the Warrioress stopped as her brother called back, "When you get back, go and talk to Yvonne. Get her to that peaceful village, make sure she lets them know what's coming.'
"What about the British? And Nigel?"
"Don't tell them yet. If you tell Yvonne so she can get the village prepared, then that isn't opposing, that's preparing. We're going to be fighting."
"Right," she said and she took off.
"Adil," the Warrior said, turning to his Yemenite friend as he did so, "Go and get the vamps at the warehouse ready. Take a shotgun with you."
"Right, Zeke," the Yemenite said as he left the room after Tivona.
"Marcie," he said as he turned to the invisible girl, "Take that shiny new dagger of yours and go spy on the Reiben mansion. Don't engage, just watch, got it?"
"Yes, mom," she said and she attached her new blade's sheath to her belt and secured the weapon, then vanished, leaving only the sound of her footsteps as she moved.
"Tara, Edana," the Warrior walked into the bedroom and paused for a second.
"We're good, Zeke," Edana said with a smile.
Tara nodded in agreement with her love.
"It was a one-time deal," the mage continued, "So, don't try it again or else…I'll burn it off."
Ezekiel became white with fear. He nodded his head slowly, wondering if he had done a smart thing the previous night as he did so.
"Alright," he said slowly, "Ugh, Tara, I want you and Edana to work together and try to create some kind of a magic missile that'll give us an edge against the demons. Or…something. Work the magic end of this."
"Right, boss," they said as one.
"I'll see you guys in a bit," he said with a grin, "I'm going to talk to Angus. He might know something useful."
"Oh, Ezekiel," Tara called after him, "Before you go, there's something you should know."
"What," the Warrior asked, his patience beginning to wear thin.
"Pam knows."
Pamela walked into the Commissioner's silently, not wanting to give her presence away. She gripped her pistol with a steady hand and closed the door behind her, keeping her weapon against her back.
"Detective MaClay," Mancuso welcomed her inside with a disgusting leer, "What can I do for you?"
"What's your deal with Wilkins," she asked him coldly.
He paled inhumanely before he stuttered, "M-m…Mayor Wilki-i-i-ins? I d-don't know any W-Wilkins."
"Then, why did you call him 'Mayor?'"
He looked down at the floor, cursing himself in his head.
"You know what's going on," she said to the underling of a man, "You know what is happening and you're just going to let it happen?"
"I can't do anything, my hands are tied," the bastard stated.
"Bullshit," she said as she leveled her pistol against his temple, "You can do whatever the fucking Hell you want. Instead, you choose to let innocent people die. Well, hear this, you son of a bitch…If you don't send out an evacuation order for everyone in the city, then I'm going to send you straight to Hell. Got it?"
For emphasis, she pulled the hammer of her weapon back, loading a bullet into the chamber.
Adil slowly walked into the warehouse that held many vampires, most of which were high on drugs. They were their partners, unfortunately, for this time. They were only doing this in exchange for the large amount of drugs that Renaldo had hidden inside that vacant room. In the end, they were an asset due to their strength and would probably keep the rest of the demons and vampires occupied during the battle. They loved their drugs too much to watch their main makers die.
He moved his arm to adjust to the unfamiliar weight of the shotgun in his hands. He hadn't used weapons such as these all that often, but, there was no denying that they could come in handy. He also had his cross sword with him, attached by a sling to his back. If things got out of control, he would use it to get out of there.
"Lookie here," he heard a familiar British voice call, "Didn't know we called out for terrorists."
"Shut up, Spike," the native of Yemen shouted at the vampire, he wasn't too appreciative of the stereotype that all Middle-Easterners who carried weapons were those idiots who wanted to kill people like people kill animals, "I got a message for you."
"Oh, yeah," the Big Bad said as he walked out of the shadows to face the young man, "And what might that be?"
"It's happening tonight."
Instantly, the vampire's attitude went from insulting to concern.
"Are you sure," he asked, "Cause, if you're not sure, then-"
"Zeke got a vision from God," the Yemenite answered, "Have your vamps meet us at the Reiben mansion tonight, at least half an hour before midnight."
"Will do, mate," the vampire said as he turned and walked back into the shadows.
Adil shook his head and turned around to leave.
Marcie crept through the land around the Reiben mansion as silently as she could, feeling extremely appreciative of the fact that she was invisible as she did so. All around the area were demons armed with swords and rifles, along with humans as well. Apparently, the lust for destruction extended to all races. She turned her attention to the extravagant mansion and noticed that every window was blocked up by a heavy, black curtain. They were up so that the vampires inside could move freely.
Sighing to herself, she moved slowly around the mansion until she got to side and began to make her way to the front, hugging the wall as she did so. As she did so, she noticed a very interesting thing: on their land was a large tool shed that appeared as though it would give an excellent view around the perimeter.
Filing that fact away for later use, she continued on her way.
The Warrior paused on the street, his gaze caught on something.
Tivona knocked on the door to Gregory Plover's office slowly, not knowing what sort of an invitation she would receive. When the man opened the door and smiled at her, however, she knew that her fears were groundless.
"Tivona," he greeted her warmly, "Come inside, come inside. I've been waiting for you."
Somehow, that didn't surprise her. She sat down and crossed her legs and waited for the lawyer to go first.
"Tonight's the big night," he said with no smile whatsoever, "Tonight's when it happens. You feel up to it?"
"Can you tell me what this rune dagger does," she dodged the question easily and presented the red handled weapon to him.
"Certainly," he said with a smile, but didn't take the weapon, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. That rune dagger is very special."
"…What does it do?"
"It kills fallen angels. However, what with those Euphrates people using the gems of Amara like that, you'll need to first slay them with that dagger of magic before that dagger can be used. Oh, by the way, I was told to tell you that it will be Ezekiel who makes the kills with that weapon."
"Why," she asked, feeling left out.
"Because, this is a huge event. He has been fighting them from the beginning and it is only fitting for him to defeat them. Besides, it is part of his test. Yours has yet to be given. I know, that business with the dragons was particularly bad for you, but, it was not something that borders along the lines of the holy."
"Fine," she said in a huff, "What about the lion?"
"Don't know that one. Oh, but, I did ask Gabriel about the number of rune daggers in the world. Instead of answering me, he just started up a conversation with me about what kind of music we like. He said he loved a band called Sevendust. Odd, don't you think?"
I think everyone upstairs is a frigging lunatic.
Ezekiel walked into Surge quickly, for he only had ten hours left till what he knew was the time. He would have gotten here quicker if it weren't for the fact that there were huge pileups out on the road. Apparently, someone had decided to convince the good Commissioner to have the Mayor's office order a city-wide evacuation due to 'methane emissions from the sewers having caused extremely levels of deadly air in the city.' That was bullshit if ever he heard it but, by some grace of God, or maybe, by the grace of God, it had flown.
He walked up to the bar and sat down. Angus was there, but, he had his back turned away from him.
"Angus," he called out.
The black man stiffened and turned around, revealing his face. He was heavily bruised, as though a bunch of people had taken potshots at him. His lip was swollen horribly and he had a cut along his left eye. He was staring at the Warrior.
"Damn, man," the Warrior sympathized, "What happened to you?"
"Some vampire was looking for you," he answered, "Didn't tell him."
"Wow," the hunter was truly amazed at this, ordinarily, the snitch didn't do anything like that out of loyalty, "Well, thanks man."
"You can thank me by paying my hospital bills," the snitch said, "I owe them a lot."
"Hey, I'll do it for you," the Warrior offered, feeling guilty about having the snitch take such a beating for someone he didn't even like that much.
"No, it's alright," Angus amended, "I'll be fine. Anyway, I'm heading out in a few minutes. Had to close up shop before evacuating."
"You should do that," Ezekiel said, "Tonight's the night when we gotta deal with an apocalypse of epic proportions."
"Don't wanna know," the snitch said, "And I got no info, so, you can shove off."
"Alright, bye," the Warrior said as he stood up and made to go, but stopped as he noticed a familiar face coming his way.
"Eliza," he asked with a smile as he walked up to the Black Lady and embraced her, and he had to keep from twitching as she began to kiss his neck, "Whoa, no time right now. Got an apocalypse on my hands."
"I know," she said back to him, "That's why I'm here…to help."
She moved away from him and stared into his face, not his eyes. He moved his attention away from her and noticed that she had eleven other Ladies with her, seven of them being Red, and the other four being Black.
"They're here to help, too," she answered his unspoken question.
"Good," he said with a smile, "We need some help. You got my message?"
"And it's all along the demon grapevine," she answered with a sly grin.
Charles Gunn sat on a couch along with his friends George and Rondell, watching the TV. There was a news report on about Paradise.
"Local authorities have called out a city-wide evacuation of Paradise, Oregon," the blonde news reporter said, "The first in the anonymous city's history. A few religious groups are saying that the excuse of methane emissions is a lie and that it is because of the coming apocalypse. This reporter, however, can safely say that-"
Gunn reached over and turned the television off. He stood up and walked away, George and Rondell behind him.
"What's the deal, man," George asked, "Ain't that where we met that church guy? Ezekiel?"
"Yeah," Gunn said, "Something's going on up in Paradise. Get everyone together, we leave in an hour."
The two nodded and took off. Sighing, Charles Gunn walked off to his truck. He sat down in the cab and grabbed a stake off the side. He stood up in the truck and loaded it up into his 'gattling stake-gun.'
"We have six sniper rifles," Ezekiel said later that night to the Black and Red Ladies that were gathered inside the basement room where Tivona had left for Yvonne's house, "Twelve pistols, two twenty gauge shotguns, two AK-47's, and plenty of knives and swords, along with a few rifle crossbows. You all will be set up atop the tool shed, using all those weapons I just listed. Pick them out and move on out there."
"We shouldn't be noticed," Eliza said as she picked up one of the AK's, "It is after dark."
"Then, get going," Ezekiel said, "And don't make a move till you see them."
"Right," the Black Lady said.
The Warrior nodded and walked through the portal that led to Yvonne's house. She was there with Tivona, talking quietly.
"You ready," he asked her.
"Sure," the potential Slayer answered, "Can't wait till the upcoming apocalypse."
"You keep that village safe," the Warrior of God said sternly, "I have faith in you. After all, Tivona does."
"Thanks," the native of Louisiana said with a blush.
"We gotta get ready," Tivona said with a smile, "Not enough time for you, Zeke. Right?"
"I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it is insulting to young Ms. Badeau here," he stated.
"…You're queer, you know that, right," Yvonne said.
Ezekiel stared at her as both Yvonne and Tivona began to giggle like lunatics. He stared for a full five minutes before turning around and muttering about the indignity of women. As he walked back into Paradise, he bumped into someone.
"Hey, mate," the Big Bad known as Spike said as he stared over his shoulder, "Who's that bird on the other side?"
"Yvonne," he answered as he walked past, "Potential Slayer."
"Oh, bugger that," William the Bloody said and he turned around to follow Ezekiel, "A vampire and a Slayer. Twisted and evil, that is."
Ezekiel smiled slightly, considering whether or not he should inform the blonde vampire about his grandsire.
"Remind me again about my part," Spike asked, "I take the doped up blighters up the hill and storm the place, kill as many buggers as we can, and fight off the demons as best as we can."
"That's about it," the Warrior said, "If the angels come up, then you, me, and Tivona will be the ones to go up and fight them, along with Eliza if she can make it. Adil, Tara, and Edana are going to be working on the spell."
"Hope it works out, mate," the Master Vampire said, "Best of luck."
"You, too. You're leading the charge up for the vampires, but not for me or Tivona. We're going to be right there with you."
"Right. See you on the beach, then, you nasty blighter."
"Ezekiel," he heard his sister call out before he could respond to the vampire's insult, "I forgot to tell you. When I talked to Gregory today, he mentioned asking Gabriel about the number of rune daggers in the world."
"What did that angel say," the Warrior said, glaring after the Scourge of Europe as he did so.
"He said that his favorite band was Sevendust. What the Hell does that have to do with daggers?"
"It means there are seven of them," Ezekiel said, as if he were stating the obvious, "Think. Seven…seven daggers."
"Then, why not just say seven? Why say the name of the song?"
"…Sevendust," the Warrior muttered, "...stardust…stars…wait a minute, in the book of Revelation, it mentions 'He Who Holds the Seven Stars.' If there are seven stars…maybe those are the seven stars. The seven stars in the form of seven daggers."
"You think that the daggers are gifts from God," Tivona asked.
"Why would the Archangel pick that band, specifically?"
"…Point. New topic. You, me, and Spike are leading the charge?"
"Yep," he said as he pulled out his cell phone, "Someone's calling. It's Pam."
"Ezekiel, I don't like being kept out of the loop like that," the young detective was saying from the inside of Commissioner Mancuso's office.
"I'm sorry, Pam," the Warrior said to her over the line, "But, it was necessary. Besides, you did your part and you did it well. What information did you get off of that fucker?"
"Wilkins in Sunnydale is planning something with some huge demon called Olvikan," Pam said into the phone, "Don't have a clue what. Look, I don't care what you guys say, I'm going to be there."
"Pam, you're in the best place you can be. Go to the apartment and head down into the basement, you'll find Tivona's room. Stay there and say aloud 'There is a way to Louisiana in this room.' Go through and into the house."
"I'm not going to be some damn maid, do you hear me? If you think for one moment that I'm going to sit this one out to housesit for some prissy pants bitch, then you don't know me half as well as you think."
"…Fine. I'm sorry. It's just that I want you to keep those people in the village safe."
"Village? What village?"
"The one that keeps peaceful demons safe in Louisiana. Yvonne is a good potential Slayer, but, she's got nothing on the guns. And that may be what they need. Those guys are there trying to live happy lives and if even one of those horsemen comes through, then they'll slaughter the village. Please, Pam. Do this for me?"
"…Alright, Zeke. Only because this is pretty serious. Good luck."
"Thanks. Yvonne left a map in her bedroom, or so she said. Good luck to you."
Eliza stood atop the tool shed that night, hidden from all things in the world thanks to her kinds' powers. She held in her hands one of the AK-47's, ready to unload her entire clip into the herd of demons that were beginning to migrate out to the small hill along the Reiben estate. They could sense the force of vampires making their way up the slope.
Settling in for a long night, she prepped her weapon and took aim.
Ezekiel stood beside the other two, armed with his Blood Sword slung over his shoulder, hand in the grip ready for the time of its need. Spike stood next to him, armed with his powerful fists. To the Warrior's far left was his sister, Tivona, armed with her rapier and her rune dagger. His own rune dagger was safely tucked in his boot, waiting for the time of its need.
Around fifty vampire drug addicts walked behind the three fighters, each ready for a fight. They knew that a few of them weren't coming home but, as far as they were concerned, they would rather be dead than have to live forever in a world without drugs. In the end, they were on the same side, just for different reasons.
And in front of them were possibly seventy demons, vampires, and humans, each armed with swords, rifles, and knives. They didn't stand a chance in Hell.
"I hate this shit," Spike said to the Warrior and Warrioress, "Walking till we get to the center. Meetin' each other like we did back in medieval times. Just…bugger it."
"Do you wanna go ahead," Tivona asked, "Get it over with?"
"I'm game," Ezekiel said.
"Too bloody right," Spike said with a grin as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a flare gun.
He pulled back the hammer and fired it into the herd of beings. The flare lit several of them on fire, dusting a few vamps even, and lay burning on the field. Almost immediately, the air was filled with gunfire as the Ladies unloaded their arms against the force of demons, revealing themselves. A few of the demons and humans armed with rifles turned towards them and began to open fire.
"CHARGE," William the Bloody shouted.
Ezekiel brought his sword up and brought it downward onto a vampire, slicing it in half and causing it to dust. He used the momentum left to bring the blade around again and embed it into a man's skull, causing him to die in an instant.
Spike ran forward into the fray and launched his fist into the first human he saw, bringing him down to the ground, unconscious. He moved on and drove a bladed hand into a fellow vampire's gut, twisted sharply, and punched its neck. As a final blow, he snapped the poor bastard's neck, sending him to the ground in dust. He turned his head up and saw a fist coming his way, a fist that was intercepted by a feminine hand.
"Sorry," Tivona said, "You don't hit my friends."
She finished up by plunging her rune dagger into the vampire's neck, then twisting it around to completely snap it off.
"I'm your friend, Little Bit," Spike asked with a leer.
"Oh," she said as she realized who it was, "I thought it was Yvonne for a second. I forgot she wasn't in this fight."
"Well, ugh…"
Before Spike could finish, he felt a fist hit him in the back and fell to the ground. Tivona kicked the demon in the crotch and it fell to the ground, dead. Spike stared at the body in amazement.
"Ballact demons," Tivona explained, "Die when you kick 'em in the family jewels."
"…Bugger."
Adil held up his cross sword to keep the advancing vampires away then, as one of them came in reach without realizing it, he sliced its head off, sending it down. He brought his cross up again and waited.
"Tara," he called, "Edana! Hurry!"
The two beings of magic, however, did not answer. They were too busy focusing their energy on the ball of fire that Edana was creating out of the air.
Eliza hit another demon in the chest, sending it down to the ground. She pulled back the trigger and heard a click.
"Shit," she said to herself, "I'm out."
She reached into her robes and withdrew her pistol but, before she could begin to fire into the small throng of demons that remained, she heard a thunderous sound to her left and felt a brief moment of intense pain before she collapsed into darkness.
The Warrior of God slammed the Blood Sword into another demon's chest, forcing it down to the ground. It writhed in agony and shouted out against the hunter, cursing him in more ways than he had ever heard of.
"Fucking die," the Warrior growled as he decapitated it.
He sighed and turned his head up, only to see a blade come at it. He brought his sword up and parried the mortal blow, then thrust his weapon into the vampire's stomach. It disappeared in dust and ash. Sighing, he turned his attention to the battle. So far, most of the demons, humans, and vamps that had gone with Euphrates were dead, while they still had around thirty of theirs, along with Spike and Tivona, who were making their was up to the mansion.
"Good," he said, "You guys survived. Now, we just have to go inside."
"Right," Spike said, "Piece of cake."
At that moment, the doors to the back of the house opened to reveal around thirty vampires and demons, all armed with swords.
"I hate you, Spike," the Warrioress said.
"Hell," the Warrior said, "Let's just get this done with."
He ran forward, sword ready, and drove it into the first demon's neck, swung it straight through the cartilage and bone. He used the momentum to drive the blade into a vampire's back, and brought it back up for use. The Warrior ducked his head down as a bastard sword came his way and drove a heel into the demon's knee, then followed it up by slicing the demon in half. He swung the blade around complete circle and killed another two vampires.
Spike backed away from the Blood Sword as it came near him, when he was about to bent down and snap a demon's neck.
"Watch it," he called, only to be stopped in his shout by that demon kneeing him in the groin.
The vampire shouted out in agony and responded by throwing his fist into the demon's forehead, knocking it out. The Big Bad leapt on top of the bastard and began to pound the shit out of it.
Tivona drove her rapier into a vampire's neck, then twisted it around, turning it to dust. She sidestepped a strike from a demon and launched her left leg up into its face, then followed through with her dagger. She embedded it into the creature's eye, sending it to the ground, howling. She parried a few blows from a French vampire with her rapier, knocked its sword away, then decapitated it, before plunging her sword into the demon's heart, killing it.
"GIRLS," the Yemenite shouted as he swung his sword into the vampire's gut, causing it to bend over in pain, "When will it be done!"
Instead of actually responding, the two mages merely smiled.
Ezekiel felt a great force come up against his chest and flew backwards into the air. He hit the ground with an audible thud and shouted out against the pain. He felt a strong hand grip his shirt and pull him up, staring into yellow eyes.
"See you in Hell," the demon said.
Before it could start pounding, it felt an incredible force and flew forwards.
Tara and Edana focused what was left of their energies and directed them towards the mansion. The fire ball flew through the air and struck the great building in its heart, causing a massive explosion to echo throughout the area. Fire and debris flew into the air as what was left of the mansion after that huge blast fell apart and caved in on itself.
Ezekiel watched the mini-nuclear blast fly up in awe. Those two young women had that much power in them. Made him wonder just how powerful an angel was. He stood up and gripped his Blood Sword, then charged forward. He sliced off a demon's head as he ran and did not stop his pace.
"Ezekiel," he heard a British voice call out, "Wait up."
He didn't stop for Spike and continued his charge.
"Bro," he heard Tivona call, "We're right behind you. Keep going."
He smiled and ran up to the house, then pushed his shoulder forward and rammed his way through the crumpled building. He ignored the burning pain of the heated wood that he had made his way through and kept on moving. He saw, as he kept going, three vampires snarling at him. The Blood Sword took care of them easily.
Adil helped Edana and Tara to their feet in silence. That spell had taken quite a lot of power from them and the aftereffects were heavy to bare. He helped them remain standing and made sure that they were alright before stepping back.
"Did it work," Tara asked.
"I think it did," Adil said as he examined the damage, "Unless you didn't want it to blow the whole damn thing up."
"Good," Edana said with a smile, "Now the fun begins."
Tara grinned and pulled out her pistol.
"Hope it didn't kill anyone," the Yemenite stated.
"It didn't," Tara said as she walked forward, "We made sure it wouldn't."
The main office doors finally gave way against Ezekiel's kicks and the Warrior of God proceeded to enter the room where the dark energies felt the greatest, certain that that was where the statue could be found. He had not been in this room since he had encounter Devon Warl. That was a memory he wished he could take away. Sighing, he walked deeper into the dark room, Spike and Tivona behind him.
"It's a big desk," the vampire stated.
"My friends don't have desks this big," the Warrioress stated.
"Hey," the three turned their heads as one to see Adil, Edana, and Tara run up towards them, "Together again, huh," the elemental mage suggested.
"Yep," Adil agreed, "Together for the final battle. God, that is so movie like."
"Yep," the Warrior said with a grin, "Where the fucking Hell are they, anyway?"
"Where the desk is," a voice that sounded a lot like Marcie's said, "It's cloaked and camouflaged. You guys need to hurry, they've nearly finished."
Tara and Edana moved forward and began to channel their energies at where the invisible girl had directed, but stopped.
"Oh, God," Edana whispered.
"We're too late."
The desk began to rattle and shake, as did the room. A surge of light escaped from a force field around the desk, causing the illusion of a desk to evaporate into nothing. The myth gave way to reality, revealing four robed vampires with long, emerald and gold necklaces falling from their necks. They each had a sword through their heart, causing the blood to flow freely to the base of the statue.
The statue itself was pure black and upon it were four winged beings. They each had Romanesque faces, two female, two male, and a crown on their head. Two of the angels, one in the front and the one in the back, had their wings were folded downwards, while the others on the sides had them risen upwards. They each held a sword and were thrusting it forward. They wore gothic looking armor and light was coming from the center of it.
The light moved outwards and consumed the entire room, leaving all inside blinded.
The Great River Euphrates shook in cadence, as though some horrifying army were marching along the bottom. Two onlookers, tourists from Asia, watched this in trepidation and began to wonder if it was some kind of an Earthquake. Then, they saw them.
From the waters arose men upon horses. The men were demonic in visage, having claws and talons in place of hands and grotesque faces with long ridges extending from cheek to neck. Their eyes were red and bulging. They wore armor, some coded red, others blue, and some yellow. They held in their hands great spears, swords, and shields. But, that was not what was truly terrifying. It was their steeds.
They had the bodies of great, gigantic black horses with thick manes. Their heads, thought, were those of lions, with great mashing fangs that appeared to quiver at the thought of bloodshed. Their tails, usually bushy things of hair, held now vipers and cobras with venomous fangs that appeared as though they could rip through the armor of a tank without much difficulty. They each seemed to breath fire in and out of their nostrils, and they emitted the distinct odor of sulfur. For a moment, they did nothing but march out of the waters which had held them for so long. Then, the great beasts caught sight of the tourists.
Not even pieces of bone would be found in the future.