Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay between updates. My only excuse is that I am being way too easily distracted these days. I'll try to be a little more prompt with updates in the future.

Thank you so so much for the reviews! I can not adequately express how much they mean to me. It makes me so happy that you guys are enjoying the story, and I really hope you continue to do so. Big love and hugs to you all.

A quick shout out to 'Nobody' who left a review asking if I'd considered bring Riley and the team into the story. Yes, I had planned to do so way back when I was planning this story. I actually had a whole story arc vaguely planned. But then I read an absolutely Incredible post-NFA big battle fanfic, and Riley and his troops came into the story there, and I just didn't want to do it because a) Mine would have been too similar and b) there was no way I could top that story. So, sorry, Riley won't be back...

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know if you do.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: DEFENSES

'Landok?'

'Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan? I hardly thought you would dare return to Pylea after the further disgrace you brought upon your family.'

Lorne shrugged. 'Trust me; I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to be.'

'And as for you, Angel the Drokken killer, not only have you returned, but you have brought a whole herd of cows with you?'

Faith stepped forward. 'Hey! Who are you calling 'cows', green-boy?'

Angel looked at the sword still threatening him and then at the demon who held it, thinking he'd prefer to gain an ally than an enemy out of this encounter, if he could. 'Hey, Landok. You wanna get that sword away from my throat?' he asked politely.

Landok lowered his weapon but regarded Angel warily for a moment.

'As I was passing the village of Klandon-mar, I was beset by hordes of panicked villagers, all claiming to have seen a strange wheel-ed demon go past, and that many of their men folk had gone off in pursuit. I followed to help slay the beast.'

'Well, as you can see Landok, no demons in need of slaying here,' Lorne told him. 'So, you know, good seeing you. Feel free not to mention seeing me to the rest of the family.'

'Lorne, wait. Landok might be able to help us,' Cordy suggested. She moved closer to the Pylean. 'Do you remember me?'

'You are the revered Princess of this dimension, cursed with the Sight and friend to Angel the Drokken killer and my less noble kinsman, Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan.'

Faith sniggered. 'Is that Cordy's full title now?'

Ignoring the Slayer, Cordelia gave Landok a small smile. 'Uh, yeah. Well, your Princess needs your help. We're looking for three books. Leather-bound, animals on the front covers. They would have been left behind, in this field, when we went back home three years ago.'

Landok considered this for a moment. Then he nodded. 'The books of which you speak were found by a villager.'

'What happened to them?' Angel asked.

'They were returned to the Palace of course.'

His tongue stuck out from between his teeth as Xander loosened another screw.

'You really think this is gonna work?' he asked his red-headed companion.

'Absolutely,' she replied with confidence she didn't quite feel. At his look, her smile faltered somewhat. 'Almost sixty percent certain.'

'Sixty percent,' he nodded. 'In this situation, I guess I'll take those odds.'

Willow finished grinding the powder she had been working on and started pouring it into the half dozen steel cylinders before her. 'It's bound to work, Xand. Its just… a little bigger than we've done it before.'

She handed him a cylinder and they both began to screw the tops back on.

'So, what's next?'

She considered for a moment. 'You know. I've been thinking about Andrew's idea.'

Xander looked confused for a moment. 'Getting an army of Elves coming to help us out?'

The witch rolled her eyes. 'No. His moat. It might be something worth trying… Our defenses are really weak.'

'It worries me that you think Andrew is capable of having a good idea.'

Willow smiled. 'Can you finish up here? I want to check something out.'

Willow made her way along the corridor from the kitchens, where she and Xander had been working, intent on finding Kennedy. As she rounded a corner, she heard something.

Standing still for a moment, she looked around. 'Hello?'

Nothing.

Shrugging and muttering, 'Pre-battle jitters' to herself, she continue on her way.

She was within sight of the lobby when two arms grabbed her from behind and pulled her into a disused room.

Buffy had doubled patrols of the area surrounding the hotel and sent a squad of Slayers to take over recon of the enemy camp. She had no intention of letting the demons sneak up on them.

Meanwhile, teams of Slayers were working on their defenses; building barricades with whatever materials they could lay their hands on. It was not how she normally liked to fight her battles. Usually, she was all about the attack. But on this point, Angel had made himself clear before he left for Pylea.

'Buffy, if you march into their camp, you'll be playing by their rules, on their turf. Who knows what kinds of magical shields or defenses the Wolfram and Hart building now has that we don't know about. Make them come to you. Be ready for them.'

She had a force of around three hundred - including their demon and human allies – at least two thirds of whom she knew were highly-trained and ready for this battle. But would it be enough?

The doubts which had assaulted her earlier now came back with a vengeance. Could she lead these girls, this army, as well as Faith could? Had she asked herself this question two years before, she would have had no doubt of the answer. Now? Now, she wasn't sure of anything.

The Palace looked just as Cordelia had remembered it. Standing proudly at one end of what passed for a town in Pylea. The town, however, was unnaturally quiet.

'Who's living in the Palace now?' she asked Landok.

'The Covenant of Trombli.'

'What happened to the Republic? The government of the people?'

The demon looked grave. 'After the Groosalug abdicated the throne and left this dimension, the Covenant grew strong again. They began to take back their former power. And they found great support in the Guardians of the Dark Fortress. The cows that held power within the new government were slaughtered.'

Cordelia felt another drop of guilt add itself to the pool within her soul. She had been the cause of Groo leaving Pylea. If he had not come to look for her, would this have happened?

'What happened to the Pyleans in the government?' Angel asked him.

'Those citizens were tried as traitors. I do not know what became of them.'

'Hasn't anyone done anything to stop them?' Cordy asked, outraged. 'You just let them take over and start killing people?'

'People have tried, Princess,' the demon replied. 'Many citizens have disappeared after uttering one word of defiance.'

'These Guardians of the Dark Fortress,' Angel asked. 'Know anything about them?'

'They are powerful. A great evil. None that have gone into the Fortress have ever returned.'

'Well, we're going in there. But first, we need to get into the Palace and find those books.'

'If is a foolhardy mission, Angel. You and your friends will surely perish.'

Angel considered the Palace before him. In theory, everything was quiet. They could probably get in and out without too much difficulty. But the Dark Fortress was a different matter entirely. They might need some help.

'Landok, Pylea is still a land of champions, right?'

The demon nodded. 'As a race, we give thanks to our Life-Giver by seeking justice and glory in the hunt.'

'Well how about helping us seek justice? Can you gather as many champions as you can find and meet us at the Fortress?'

Landok's eyes widened at the suggestion. 'I do not seek to stand against the darkness that resides in that Fortress.'

Lorne snorted. 'Good to see the family cowardice doesn't extend only to me,' he said sarcastically. 'This from the guy who accused me of cowardice for not taking part in a joust.'

'I am no coward, Krevlorneswath! But I do not seek to engage in politics and power struggles. My life has never changed no matter the power that ruled over this land. I seek only to protect my family, to honor my Life-Giver and to ensure myself a noble death.'

Cordelia touched his arm, making him look down at her. 'Landok, if the darkness from the Fortress spreads, your life will change. They are attacking LA right now, but soon they'll destroy everything here too. Your family, your way of life. It'll all be gone. The evil is spreading already. You can feel it. I know you can.'

Landok nodded reluctantly.

'Fighting them is the noble thing to do,' she continued. 'You would be helping to protect your family, your entire dimension.'

He said nothing, but inclined his head once more.

'So you'll help us?'

He seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. Then he looked her in the eyes. 'Yes, my Princess. I will assist you. I will gather all those I can find and meet you at the Dark Fortress before sunset.'

'Thank you.'

Willow left the room looking shell-shocked. After many years of fighting demons, practicing witch-craft, and everything else that she had experienced growing up on the Hellmouth and beyond, she supposed that not much should surprise her. But, every now and then, she was wrong…

She found Buffy talking to Kennedy in the lobby.

'It's not high enough,' the younger Slayer was saying. 'And I don't know if it's ever gonna be.'

'Problems?' Willow asked as she joined them.

'Our defenses,' Buffy replied, looking worried. 'They're still not strong enough and we're running out of time.'

'I have an idea about that. Don't worry,' the witch replied with a lot more confidence that she felt. 'Listen, Buff, I'll take care of this. There's someone… someone you need to talk to.'

'Will, I don't have time…'

'Please. Trust me on this. It's someone you really need to see. Don't worry about the defenses for now. Kennedy and me will look after them.'

Buffy still looked extremely dubious. 'Who do I really need to talk to?'

'You'll see. Just, go down that corridor,' Willow told her, pointing the way she had just come. 'First door on your right.'

Rolling her eyes, Buffy sighed and did as she was told. Willow then turned to her lover.

'Kennedy, we have a lot of work to do. We need maybe twenty Slayers and Rondell and some of his guys if this is going to work.'

Just then, Andrew ambled into the lobby. 'Hey. Need a hand?'

Willow smiled. 'Actually, yes, Andrew. Time to put your plan into action.'

Vi and Rona, along with four other slayers, watched over the enemy camp from their rooftop vantage point a few blocks away.

'This is insane,' Rona mumbled to Vi. 'There are thousands of them.'

'More insane than climbing down into the Hellmouth full of thousands of Turok-hans?' Vi asked wryly. 'We got out of that alright.'

'Some of us did,' Rona replied sadly. 'And some of us, only just.'

As ever, before a battle, Rona found herself remembering the one that started it all, her first battle as a fully-fledge Slayer. Despite the slayer-strength bestowed upon all of them that day, so many still hadn't made it out alive. And Rona firmly believed that, were it not for the woman sitting next to her now, she would have joined them in death.

The school bus hurtled down the road, barely staying ahead of the growing crater that seemed to be chasing them. The wounded lay all around her, moans of pain and of loss filling the air.

Rona could feel herself slipping away. Blood poured from her wounds, each drop pulling her closer and closer to death. Vi, blood flowing down her own face, was shaking her, screaming at her, telling her not to let go.

'Look at me! This is nothing! Stay awake! This is nothing!'

Rona could feel the darkness pulling her, but Vi wouldn't let her go.

She was stirred from her memories by movement below.

'What's going on?'

Vi leaned forward, her stomach turning over as she realized. This was it.

'They're gearing up. Forming ranks,' Vi turned to the rest of the group. 'Paula, Jane, run straight back to the hotel and tell them the enemy are getting ready to move out. We'll stay until they start moving.'

Still muttering to herself about bossy friends and wasting time, Buffy walked down the corridor and straight up to the first door on the right.

'This had better be good, Will,' she mumbled as she turned the handle and opened the door.

The first thought that entered her head was that she was unable to form a coherent thought.

The person standing opposite locked eyes with her, and she thought she saw a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

'Hello love.'

To Be Continued...

Author's Note - I am never again writing a story with so many characters in it. I was feeling bad for not having any development or mention of specific slayers, so I put in the scene with Rona and Vi, and now I've just realised that Giles, Connor and Dawn weren't mentioned once during this entire chapter. My head is melting. The next story I write will have two people in it! LOL.