Chapter thirty-nine Loyalty coolness29/05/2006 08:31:00
Disclaimer: The song is by... you guessed it Radiohead and it's called Karma Police.
Chapter thirty-nine; Call in the troops.
Karma police
Arrest this man,
He talks in maths,
He buzzes like a fridge,
He's like a detuned radio.
Karma police
Arrest this girl,
Her Hitler hairdo
is making me feel ill
and we have crashed her party.
This is what you get,
This is what you get,
this is what you get,
When you mess with us.
Karma police
I've given all I can,
It's not enough,
I've given all I can
but we're still on the payroll.
This is what you get,
this is what you get,
this is what you get,
when you mess with us.
For a minute there
I lost myself, I lost myself.
Phew, for a minute there,
I lost myself, I lost myself.
For a minute there
I lost myself, I lost myself.
Phew, for a minute there,
I lost myself, I lost myself.
Darkness clawed its way over the room, a faint buzz of wind streamed through the open window, sending the sounds of traffic reverberating around the sticky hot bedroom. The faint slivers of curtains whispered and danced in the breeze, a flood of moonlight ricochet of them and streamed over the entangled, sweaty couple on the innocently white bed.
Lola's skin was milky to the touch, her sweet words furled around him like honey, she looked angelic almost perfect as she threw her head back in ecstasy. Spike soon followed her movements, grunting he slithered his arms around her small chest and hauled her up so she was sitting beneath him, her tender body pressed up against his.
The vampire looked down at the girl in front of him and he thought he had never seen a more pitiful sight but never a more alluring one. He had found her just now, naked with a burly man lying (also naked) in their bed. They had had a fight, the worst fight in the world and now he was shagging her. Buffy wasn't back from her 'rescue Dawn mission' so all they could do was wait for an order and until that came what else to do but make love?
"Spike?" Lola suddenly asked.
"Yeah luv," he replied weakly.
"You're not still angry with me are you?" She said meekly, and Spike could tell that she really and truly had been of her head when she picked that guy up at that seedy bar. He could tell that she was sorry; she would probably try to never do it again but he new she would.
"No pet I'm not," he finally replied. Lola stayed silent but sunk into his chest and sighed. The silver of the moon pooled her head in light, making the dark hair seem a dry grey. Spike heard the far of thump of the door, Buffy was home and they needed to get ready to receive their orders.
000
Harry felt spiders, he felt maggots and worms crawling in his ears, up his nose and eating his face in the dark solidarity of the night. In his fitful sleep he heard that spineless laugh that accompanied the sorting hats cryptic message, spoken to them all those long months ago. That spindly sound had plagued him for the whole damn year, his sleep was full of images he couldn't place and sounds he couldn't match, until that deeply hot night.
Harry shot up in bed, his brow soaked with sweat. He could hear that laugh, but this time it had a face. The bleary image of Bellatrix Lestrange swam before his eyes, her hallow face and sickening complexion. He gasped, if that laugh belonged to Bellatrix then that meant the sorting hat had not in fact said those words, they were Voldemorts words spoken threw a Deatheater and passed on through a hat. This meant that all those young slayers and...What was her name? Buffy? Weren't evil, they were in fact powerful allies.
"Fuck me," Harry breathed. He slid out of his sweat soaked bed, knowing that he had to see Dumbledore. The boy who lived was just about to become the boy who died. Harry threw a tee shirt and jeans over his boxers, his invisibility cloak over his shoulders and set of through the shadowed hallways.
0000
Buffy stood in front of the Scooby's with her head hung, tears stung at the corners of her eyes but she fought them back furiously, she could cry after the world ended. Xander had his arm placed comfortingly around her sagging shoulders; it felt like water in a desert.
"Buffy, luv what do you want us to do?" Spike asked tentatively.
Buffy licked her lip and inhaled deeply, "Ray said see you at the castle so that means he's planning to do the ritual tonight at Hogwarts and we're gonna be there just like he said."
"Buffy you don't know that he means that castle and if he does then he could be tricking us!" Giles tried to sway her.
"Giles I don't care!" Buffy shouted, "he has Dawn and I'm not gonna let anything happen to her, not again!" Giles shrugged defeated and slumped into a chair.
"This is the plan," Buffy said calmly, "Lola, Spike and Giles I want you to gather the slayers together, I'm guessing there's gonna be some kinda army. Xander, Willow and I are going to get Dawn, Faith and Angel you're our back up, if we're not back in fifteen minutes come in for us. If none of us are back in an hour or more then the rest of you and the slayers go to the castle grounds, they will probably take the fight there. Ok?"
"You got it chief," Faith answered.
"Right lets party," Buffy ordered, all nine of them grabbed their jackets and weapons and headed out the door.
0000
Ginny felt sleepy, her head was dowsed in lovely thoughts and her dreams were filled with pinks and yellows. She sighed slightly as she began to wake up; her eyelids flickered and she was suddenly very aware of a burning sensation in her stomach and on her wrists. Ginny's eyes snapped open; she took in her surroundings fearfully. She was not in fact lying in Draco's arms on smooth silk as she suspected, she was chained to a brick wall in a circular room that (judging from how dark it was) was underground.
The young witch whimpered her whole being throbbed with uncontained pain, as she craned her head to look around she saw another girl hanging from the wall. The girl had dark hair tumbling down slender shoulders; her green eyes were open and boring into Ginny's with malice at the same time as concern and confusion.
"Where are we?" Ginny croaked.
"I dunno," the other girl shrugged her eyes wet with tears, "what's your name?"
"Um Ginny...what's yours?" Ginny asked tentatively.
"Dawn, now shut up I think they're coming," Dawn barked. Sure enough heavy footsteps were coming from behind an unseen door. The softness of the candle light shimmered over the walls; making the whole room look like it was full of condensed dancing light that swallowed them whole.
The grating sound of stone being scraped over stone suddenly filled the room, as a mysterious door was pulled open with thrusting anxiety. Ginny almost fainted again when she saw who was being dragged limply through the small door. A man with white blond hair and a hard uncaring face was pulling the paper thin Kaiya by the neck of her wedding dress.
"I'm glad to see you're awake little Ginivra, so our Draco wore you out then huh?" The man mocked.
"What?" Ginny asked bemusedly, her head still felt thick with sleep and everything just felt completely unreal.
"Kaiya would you please explain to our beautiful young Ginny?" He asked, clearly enjoying how he could manipulate the three girls.
"Ginny I'm so sorry! Oh God we had to, you don't understand," Kaiya sobbed throwing herself at Ginny's feet.
"What the fuck are you talking about!" Ginny tried to shout but it just hurt her head.
"Ray over there, he's Dracos brother. I hooked up with him over the summer and he's been forcing me to help him with this ridicules plan ever since! He wants to steal You know Who's power tonight. For the ritual Ray needs a girl that only just lost her virginity and he needs the key, so he made Draco and I lure you into having sex with him. He made me Gin, he raped be and beat me and threatened to kill everyone else if I didn't!" Kaiya howled.
"Well lets not get over dramatic, yes I did do those things but there's no need to broadcast it to the whole fucking world!" Ray shouted grabbing Kaiya by the elbow and thrusting her up against the wall.
"What's gonna happen to me?" Ginny asked softly, sparkling tears streaming down her already soaked face.
"I have to bleed you and Dawn (she's the key) and that's it really, you never know you might not die. Wait actually you will die it's Dawn that might not but seeing as I'm so cold blooded I think I might kill her anyway but mean whilst I have the pleasure of tormenting you," Ray said all this with glee as he silently raped Kaiya against the cool wall.
Ginny looked at the sight, how Kaiyas bones pressed against Rays chest like spikes and how with each of Rays thrusts Kaiya whimpered and screamed, Ginny threw up on her black robes.
0000
Harry looked up the cascading moving staircase with trepidation. He had no idea why but for some reason he was dreading walking up those darkness drenched marble stairs. He breathed in deeply and jumped up them two at a time.
Harry didn't bother knocking when he arrived at Dumbledore's door, instead he burst through it with such force that a neat stack of papers on the oak desk fell gracefully to the floor. At first glance Harry thought he had gone mad; maggots, worms and cockroaches infested the usually sparkling room, dank decay coated it, mud, dust and a smell so profoundly rank it was making him gasp, then there in the centre of the room was Dumbledore, dead like everything else. Harry watched in shock as the room span and span twirling until it was nothing more than a spiral of dark mist.
Harry blinked; he was staring at a very bemused Dumbledore who was sitting at his perfectly clean desk in his perfectly normal room. The only thing that remained was the smell, infesting every pore of his being, spiralling up is nose and strangling his throat.
"Professor I have to talk to you," Harry chocked making his way over to Dumbledore.
"Please sit down Harry," Dumbledore said gesturing towards and empty seat. His voice sounded croaked and tired, it looked as if he was about to fall asleep.
"It's about…sorry Professor but what is that smell?" Harry said almost gagging.
"Oh it's a potion I had Snape brew me, I've been feeling a bit off lately, I'm an old man you know," he replied his head lolling.
"Oh, um are you alright you look, well uh really worn out?" What Harry wanted to say was he looked like he was about to plop his little clogs right there he looked weak.
"Yes Harry I'm fine, I just feel a little claustrophobic. Could we perhaps take this conversation into the castle I fancy a bit of a walk?" Dumbledore said attempting to rise from his regal like chair but slumping back down.
"Here let me help you," Harry said, hurriedly coming to Dumbledore's rescue.
000
Angel and Faith were standing in the forbidden forest, trying to stop from melting in the heat. Buffy, Xander and Willow had disappeared into the undergrowth ages ago, following one of Willows locator spells. Lola, Spike and Giles where in Cleveland rounding up the slayers, they where port keying back as soon as they where done.
Faith was feeling increasingly agitated around this castle, there was something in the air she could feel something was going to happen and she didn't like the feeling. The trees seemed to be whispering to each other as they swayed from side to side in the unseen and unfelt breeze. Everything was alive with magic, everything was connected all the pieces of this densely complicated puzzle were finally coming together and they were on the brink of an answer.
"Fucking hell they should be back by now!" Faith shouted to a near by oak tree.
"We have to wait for Giles and everyone before we go," Angel replied calmly.
"Screw waiting, I aint getting any older and standing in a crummy wet wood aint exactly how I wanna get my rocks of!"
"Is that what you see this as Faith? Just another way to 'get your rocks of'?" Angel asked casually.
"Fuck of, okay?" Faith said rolling her eyes. The woods stayed silent around them for what seemed like hours, even the trees had stopped whispering. Until a load rustling and raised voices broke the elusive stillness.
"Who's there?" Angel called.
"It's us you poof!" Spike replied as him, Lola, Giles and more than one hundred slayers emerged from the gnarled branches.
"Jesus did they all come with you?" Faith breathed as she looked at the host of girls ranging from the ages of sixteen to twenty-two.
"Yes, once they heard Dawn was in danger everyone wanted to help," Giles said smirking, "In fact we've relocated, I realised that Cleveland is not safe for them tonight. Voldemort must know where it is seeing as Charlie was working for him, so we took everyone with us."
"Well then where's everyone else, this isn't all of them?" Angel asked worriedly.
"Some of us are looking for another way in, Anderson's with them," Rona said, she wasn't how Faith remembered her; Rona's face didn't have the same gleam it used to and her eyes didn't sparkle, or maybe it was just the light.
"Where's Andrew?" Faith asked.
"Back at the house with about ten slayers, they'll alert us if anything happens with Charlie or they're attacked," Lola answered absentmindedly.
"Right well I'm glad you guys have it under control, me and Angel are going in don't wait for us," Faith said turning on her heel, her axe gleaming in the moon light. Angel just nodded to them and followed the dark slayer.
"Good luck!" Lola called after them, they would need it.