Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - REALIZATION
"You agree then?"
He looked into her eyes one last time, filled as they were with fear, with strength, with love. After well over two centuries walking this earth, there was still plenty he didn't know. But in that moment, there was one thing that he was sure of.
He couldn't let her die.
"Yes."
A flash of bright, white light, her voice crying his name and then… nothingness.
The deal was struck.
Xander and Dawn left the haven of the Hotel for the chaos of the battlefield. And chaos it most certainly was. From their vantage point, it was hard to tell which side was winning and which was not. Bodies were strewn about, human and demon alike. Charred chunks of flesh, vaguely resembling Dragon parts, were scattered here and there. Chaos.
Taking a deep breath, they launched themselves back into the heart of it once more.
Xander didn't see the first demon coming. Blindsiding the one-eyed man, it knocked him several meters through the air before he went crashing to the ground.
"Xander!" Dawn yelled, raising her axe and positioning herself square on to the demon.
It snarled and swiped a set of razor-sharp talons at her, not remotely intimidated by the little girl with the axe.
Crouching low, and snarling one more time, it sprang at her.
Skip's hand tightened around her throat and he crushed her body against the wall.
"Do you think you're clever, Seer?" he sneered at her. "If you can see the future, don't you realize you have no choice in this?"
Cordelia gasped for breath. "There's—always—a choice."
"Here's a choice for you. We have both of your boys," he told her, increasing the pressure. "If you want them to live, you'd better agree to our terms."
She felt herself start to go limp, as all the fight left her body with the oxygen she was being deprived of. She allowed herself to go boneless, hoping the demon would loosen his grip. He didn't.
"I can't wait to get my hands on your boyfriend," Skip said, his voice a low threat in her ear. "I think I'll rip his heart out with my bare hand."
Her heart lurched. Without thinking, she felt a surge of energy through her body. A flash of light and Skip howled out in pain, dropping her to the ground.
She massaged her neck, feeling the circulation returning. That would leave a bruise. But, she had more pressing things to worry about right now.
"You're awful keen for me to agree to your terms," she remarked, putting the pieces together. "Big, powerful demon like you. The Senior Partners. Seems a bit strange that you can't kill me without my permission."
The demon looked surprised. Then he smirked. "Clever girl."
Dawn braced her weapon for an impact that never came. A taser blast came out of nowhere, knocking the demon backwards.
"You alright, Dawn?" Andrew asked, running to her.
"Sure," she replied. "Just peachy. Thanks."
Turning to Xander, she extended a hand and helped the dazed man back onto his feet. She was about to suggest they move back towards the front when she heard the snarling once more.
"Andrew! Watch out!"
The demon had gotten over the taser blast a lot quicker than any of them had anticipated. Leaping through the air, it took Andrew down, snapping at his throat. A yelp, like a wounded dog, then it shuddered and went still.
Dawn and Xander ran to pull the demon off the would-be-watcher. The sword Andrew had carried had run through the demon upon impact. The beast was dead.
And so was Andrew.
"The prophesy was a trap, wasn't it?"
Cordy got to her feet, her stance defiant. She wasn't going to let some lackey demon intimidate her. Skip said nothing, still rubbing at the hand she had burned.
"The part about the three of us being needed to stop the Senior Partners was pure crap, wasn't it," she pressed on. "The Partners needed something from us. Something they could only take if we agreed."
"Quite the little Nancy Drew, aren't you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Please. It's all becoming painfully obvious. The Partners orchestrated this whole thing to get us here. I just want to know why."
He chuckled. "You think they just orchestrated this? Try everything. Everything from you coming to LA and hooking up with Angel in the first place, to him knocking up Darla. Your ascension. Jasmine. Angel defeating the Circle of the Black Thorn. Everything."
She shook her head. "No. They couldn't have controlled all of that."
He laughed, long and derisively. "Who do you think you're dealing with? Some backstreet demon with high ambitions? We're talking the supreme evil in the universe. They guys that started it all."
Things were starting to become a little too clear. "The First Evil?"
"Older," Skip replied. "The Partners created Evil. Sent it into the world to do their bidding. Only, it was like them. Unable to take corporeal form in any dimension save their own. And so the First had to use lackeys. Lackeys who unfortunately proved to be six kinds of useless. And so that little mission was a failure."
"The Partners were the ones that wanted the Slayers wiped out?"
"Yeah. But we're making it work anyway. And very soon, the Slayers won't be a problem any more. And neither will you."
"Just one problem with that," Cordy replied. "You need me to willingly give up my life or my demon powers, or whatever it is you want from me. And now I've figured out your little plan, that's hardly likely to happen, is it?"
"I have to admit, Cordelia, you're a lot smarter than you look," the demon replied sarcastically. "But you put the pieces together just a little late."
She snorted. "Hardly. I haven't agreed to anything, have I?"
"No." Skip smiled. "But they have."
She frowned. "They who?"
"Batman and the Boy Wonder," he replied. "They just couldn't wait to give up. And now? You're all alone."
The front lines of the battle were getting hairy and, try as she might, Willow still couldn't master the new powers she hoped she possessed.
Relying on her old ones, she threw fireball after fireball, taking out demon after demon. But there were plenty more to go around and she knew she couldn't keep this up for ever. Her energy supplies, though strong, would tire out eventually.
A huge, armor-platted demon stepped into her field of vision, heading straight for her. Concentrating, she created a large ball of energy out of nothing and flung it at him.
The energy ball didn't have the desired effect. Instead, it deflected off the demon's armor and headed back towards her, exploding barely a few feet from where she stood.
The blast knocked her clean off her feet and she flew back several meters before landing with a thud, banging her head. She lay there for a moment, trying to stop the world from spinning.
When she opened her eyes again, she realized that she hadn't been entirely successful. She was no longer on the battle field. Instead she lay on a bridge, in the middle of a park, on a beautiful sunny day. And before her stood an even more beautiful vision.
Tara.
TO BE CONTINUED...