Chapter 63:
She ran her tongue over her new fangs, and felt her forehead with her hands, her nails were so long and sharp that she felt like she could claw someone's eye out with one wrong move and this made her laugh. She could smell the fear and chaos around her and it made her smile with intent as she walked, cat-like through the streets to find her prey.
"Tertium genus" She repeated as she let go of Saffron's hand and watched her fall into the dark pit.
The light stopped and she saw them all drop to the ground as if they were dead weight. A tissue, a tissue, We all fall down…
She felt a fine powder-like substance start to fall on top of her. It started out as a sprinkle but more and more started to cover her entire body. She could smell damp earth as she thrashed in a panic at the fact she couldn't get up.
She was spun forwards, a sickening thud as her body contacted something hard. A searing pain in all her joints. As if each limb was being torn from her body. She screamed, warm liquid pouring around her, her vision lost to the pain. Everything went white as she lay against the hard surface. Every inch of her was burning in agony.
She screamed, but it became muffled as she was buried alive, slowly sinking further. Her whole body seemed to be made up of sand as she slipped into the earth, her screams no longer heard by anyone. Not even herself.
She collapsed; her strength may be promising but she had just tried to inflict unimaginable pain on a Hell-God. Something she would have to feel as well. No human pain tolerance could live up to that of a God. Could it?
Buffy started to launch herself towards the edge, an earth-shattering scream rang out from the top of the structure as Saffron started to drop shortly after her. Buffy braced herself as she fell towards the portal, but something in the corner of her eye made her glance to her left. Saff.
She felt rough, a hangover and a couple of rounds in a boxing ring didn't begin to cover it. She felt as if she was dying. This thought sent her suddenly falling to the ground, knocking herself out cold.
Her final breath wasn't a peaceful one, but it was never going to be. Her shadow-self had won, she was no more. She felt the essence leave her body, making the man next to her stronger. Then all that was left was her limp body.
"Well, that was a not-so-subtle nudge in the direction of death" she muttered as she woke up abruptly. She had just died in any imaginable way in her dream and so had to be excused for not waking up with a spring in her step. At least this one came headache-free she shrugged. Some she was aware she had died in and others she didn't recognise, she didn't know how many other people got to forget how they had died, either in a vision or otherwise.
As she woke up, she couldn't ignore this suffocating feeling that this was the end of something. The words she was supposed to recite soured in her mouth. The plan she had come up with appeared juvenile and pathetic.
She walked into the bathroom, stopping and staring into the mirror above the sink. It was her face, her eyes. The same eyes that had seen so much. She didn't feel like a hero. She didn't even feel like a person anymore. Everything appeared to be crumbling around her.
She turned the tap on, letting the water run cold. She watched it for a moment before cupping her hands and splashing water on her face. She had seen enough movies to know that this was supposed to do something for her. But when she looked back up at the mirror she wasn't staring back. It was Oleander. His face, his reflection instead of hers matching her own expression.
Their eyes met and she shivered, her fist raised and slammed forward. She punched the mirror, shattering the image before her. His face now multiplied before her own reflection returned to her. The shards fell into the basin. What was left of her hope collected there, amongst the shards.
It was today.
She pushed off from the sink, leaving the mess there. As she looked down, she caught sight of her hands. Hands that had seemed to be someone else's ever since she returned from LA. Her chipped nail varnish hadn't been repainted in a long while. She almost choked when she noticed the black that didn't match the purple of the rest of her nails still there.
Spike.
She shook her head, test or not she had to come to terms with the fact she probably wouldn't see him again. And it devastated her.
She tried not to cry as she walked down the stairs. She held back tears as she called everyone up to come over for a Scooby meeting. She choked on a sob as she saw her friends gathering around the room for what felt to her as the last time she would see them.
She spoke briefly, what had once been a battle cry had turned to a goodbye speech. And everyone felt it as she finished, "I love you all, but I have to do this on my own. Forget the half-baked plan. I know what I need to do"
"Did you, ah, have a vision, Saffron?" Giles asked softly. Saffron was about to agree, to choose the easier option and lie to them. But something told her not to. She didn't want the last words she said to them to be a lie.
"No. I just know."
"B-but the plan! I'm a fan of the plan. I'm the plan's biggest fan!" Willow insisted, the panic rising as it appeared that Saff was giving up. Her demeanour was putting the entire room on edge. It was as if something had shifted, she appeared apathetic. Prepared to walk into her own death and thank the man that bestowed it upon her.
"Forget it, Will. You can't use magic. I was stupid to suggest it"
"You asked her to use magic!?" Tara's outburst came as a shock to the others, but not to Saff.
"I was desperate. I'm not anymore. I can see the end. Almost taste it – sort of bitter, like old coffee grounds and it's also a little metallic…" She stared into the distance, a ghost of a smile on her face. The same kind of smile Oleander might have at the thought of the taste, "But, uh, thought of a way to do it alone. Best not to tell you though, in case he hears your thoughts"
She looked around at her friends, people she had gone through so much with. She didn't want them to hurt again because of her. Anya was bored, she was of course worried about Saff but she was so bored of the same conversation over and over. Tara was annoyed, shaking her head at both Willow and Saff. She then turned to Willow who didn't regret anything, she was determined ready to fight Lee who almost took her girlfriend from her. Xander was staring at Anya, upset and confused about his feelings and ready to fight something to try and get over it. Giles was focused, reading and not allowing himself to think further than the facts. Dawn and Buffy were worried. Anxiety wrapping around Saff's mind until it mixed with her own.
But the one thing they all had in common, was that they believed Saff would succeed. That she would prevail over Oleander. She smiled at the room, at their belief in her. At their trust in her words. She wished she had that. Faith. Of any kind. In herself, in a higher being even. All she knew now was that she had very little left to lose. It was her fate, her life and her opportunity to do something right in what felt like a sea of bad choices she had made up until now.
"We're by your side"
"This is my fight. Let me do this" she said, sounding the most defeated they had ever seen her. She didn't sound as if she was ready to fight, she sounded as if she was ready to give up.
"We'll discuss it later. There's still time before nightfall" Giles insisted. There was always a way. There was always a choice to make. A fight to be won.
"I'll go for a smoke, then you can start the Catherine wheel of misery over again" She said, not even attempting to crack a smile. Nobody thought anything more of it, she only took her cigarettes and her lighter. She even left her jacket. How were they supposed to know that she had a scrap of paper in her pocket and a spell in her head, her only protection against her fate.
Oleander sat, his eyes watering slightly. He quickly wiped a stray tear and shook his head at himself. He could feel something so strong it had reduced him to tears, it was exhaustion and pain. The kind that he usually savoured. But today, it had soured in his mouth. And on the day of his big party too. How annoying.
This was exactly what he wanted, what he aimed. He was succeeding. So, why did it hurt so much? Seeing and hearing from her was so fascinating to him. Why couldn't be just enjoy her entire life crumbling around her?
He hid his reaction from his followers, except the two members that had taken the body from his chambers after he first felt the emotions growing inside. Even killing hadn't stifled what he could feel from the other side of Sunnydale. It didn't help that the man that had just been dragged out, lifeless, by his ankles had informed him of a slight mistranslation of some certain texts.
Translations that told him he was the True Sight. Translations that had started to allow doubt to creep in.
He looked around, he had built so much. An entire religion, a huge following in his honour. How many could say they had done that? She certainly couldn't.
So, why did he feel so alone? So hollow inside?
Why did he feel such misery in those moments where he was by himself in this way. Not the good kind of misery, either, this was his own after all. It was only enjoyable when it was somebody else's. Why, when there was nobody to tell him how wonderful he was did he feel so disgusting? Why did he need to be told how much he meant to them, how they would die to merely be in his presence?
xoxoxo
She stared up at the vast blue skies, feeling no beauty in them, "So here I am, out naked on the roads, as the books say, and stricken by the injustice of the skies for punishment" she recited the final line of the poem, feeling it intimately.
Saff had always known it was going to be a lonely road. But she had faced this battle with very little triumph in any recent memory. It felt as though she had lost a big part of herself since she had scrabbled her way out of that coffin. She hadn't had chance to just exist. She had been battered and bruised by everything life and he had thrown at her.
She had survived, sure. But at what cost? She had lost Angelina, Spike and nearly her cousin. Even if he hadn't had a hand in everything that had happened, he had helped it on its way. Or made the environment around her so fragmented that she couldn't keep her eye on everything at once. As ironic as that may be, given that she was in the running for the true eye pageant. In fact, she was sure she was going to place. First runner up.
As embarrassed as she was to rely on a man (or anyone for that matter), she felt lost without Spike. Wholly cast into the wilderness without so much as a compass or an X to mark the spot. She recited the words she wrote to him. They spun around her mind as she tried to calm herself down. The goodbye they would never have…
Dearest Spike,
Nothing I write can change what I said. But I need you to read this whenever you return because I'm not sure that I will. The words I spoke were unforgiveable, I only said it in anger, I saw you and Anya fucking on the big screen linked to the Magic Box. It was him manipulating us and I fell for it. Harder than I fell for you and that's my biggest regret. I can feel myself slipping into death's grip as I write this, I don't think I have the strength to go against him. Not without you. Losing you has only confirmed to me that we are stronger together. I love you with all of my heart and I always will. Beyond my last breath.
I hope you can finally rest in peace, I'm sorry it ended like this.
My love always,
Your Honeysuckle
She handed the sealed envelope to Clem, her cheeks already stained with tears and her eyes threatening to spill more water if she didn't stop them. She bit back the tears and Clem moved in to hug her. She patted his back and she whispered something close to a goodbye as she left the crypt, for what she knew was probably her last time. Her eyes filled with tears but she refused to let them roll down her cheeks as she bit back the aching behind her eyes and walked forwards. Not looking back.
Meanwhile, Buffy walked into the kitchen, expecting to see Saff shrouded in a cloud of smoke. Instead, the garden was empty and she was greeted by the incoming storm. Buffy saw something, directing her gaze from the window, at what had been left on the table. It was a red apple, the red apple she had insisted she didn't care enough to leave Buffy. Thanking her for teaching her all she could. It told her that Saff cared.
Buffy knew instantly that she had gone. This was her goodbye. She had tried to keep them all away. Buffy didn't know what to say to the others. She could be in the middle of an apocalypse by now for all they knew.
xoxoxo
She entered the hall, one she knew well by this point. It was evening and there was a large banner fixed to the back wall that read, 'Oleander's full moon extravaganza!' and the usual dim lighting had been replaced with glittering disco balls tonight.
Pop music was playing, it was to neither of their tastes. Saff paused as she moved to stand in front of Oleander who was stood in the middle of the dancefloor. Was that… Britney she could hear on the speakers?
The sugary pop song echoed around the room, with many of the order apparently enjoying themselves. Both Saff and Ollie could feel that they were eagerly anticipating the ritual that would be held within the hour. White berets were bobbing along to the music and apparently they had been allowed to open the ritual wine. Both of the empaths in the room could feel the buzz from the people around them.
"Can I offer you a drink… oh, perhaps not, darling, wouldn't want you to fall off the wagon now would we?" Oleander smiled in mock concern. They both knew he was trying to get in her head. Both figuratively and literally.
"No classical music today Ollie? I am disappointed"
"It's a party, I'm not that cruel. My followers should be allowed to enjoy the world finally coming to its knees as you lose your head" He chuckled, before adding, "Well, eyes, but who's counting right darling?"
"Cheesy pop it is then. You taking requests? Mind playing some backstreet boys later?"
"Never pegged the punk princess as a boyband fan… is it because it feels so wrong it's right?"
"No, I just wanted to hear them one last time" she replied. He frowned, she was being serious. In all honesty, it was something that Hayley used to play in their shared room. If she was going to die having told all of her friends to stay behind, she wanted to feel close to at least one person. She really did miss Hayley.
"So, where exactly is lover boy?" He sneered, knowing exactly where that love-sick vampire was, but she didn't need to know that. He continued by asking, "No Wicca's in the drain pipe?" with a cruel smile. She felt alone. She felt defeated… and he had chosen to revel in it.
"I can feel your emotions better than you can, darling"
They began using their intentions against the other, a battle of wills one that Saffron soon felt herself losing. She had one shot, one scraped together plan that she had absolutely no faith in. She was tired and if she had thought more deeply into it realised she was ready to leave this life. This pain and devastation.
But, true to her prophecy, she couldn't leave without at least trying. The vision she had seen of the future, of the desolate streets and unimaginable agony that the world would face made her at least try.
She took the scrap of paper from her back pocket, shakily as her concentration was set on him. On trying not to sink under the weight of his torment. She recited the words clearly, as the whole party had their eyes trained on her. A few gasps and mutters as they knew what this was supposed to do.
"Only one… only one… only- this isn't happening is it?" she muttered, rolling her eyes before tearing the paper into pieces. The words had left her mouth empty, desperate intentions and half-baked hopes and prayers weren't enough.
"I told you, I'm the real deal baby" He chuckled as the sound of applause erupted around them. Her last scrap of hope fell in pieces onto the floor and she soon followed. His will was stronger than hers, after that last blow.
Saff fell to the floor, on her knees as his mind tortured her into the foetal position. Her weakened condition making it too easy for him. He was almost bored. He had been waiting on this for years and she was making it too easy. Anger rose up, this wasn't how he had pictured it.
"It's really not the human condition" she gritted her teeth and looked up at him.
"Oh are we skipping down good-cheer lane one last time…? Just for the memories, of course darling"
"No, I mean it-"
"O Leander! O Leander!" They wailed, cutting Saff off as she groaned in pain.
"-most people are not just good or bad. It's not the side I'm fighting for. It's so much more complex. It's a balance. You can't be that stupid can you?!"
"And yet here I am on the side of the light… have you ever hear of the good side being flooded with an ugly purple glow? Anyone?" He looked around as if waiting for people to say they had seen it, "No? Didn't recall that either"
"O Leander! O Leander!"
"Will you lot knock it off!?" she screamed out at them, clutching her head to try and pause the spinning.
"Why should I have to feel what they feel! It's not fair! The false optimism, the hope, the annoying little glimmer of anticipation. The distractions, the pretence! All they do is mask the bad, put a brave face on it! At least those that numb their emotions with pain, or alcohol or sex don't pretend like they enjoy the world. They escape.
Why can I not show the rest the truth? Why would you not wish them to feel it like we do? The hopelessness. The pain… fear…" he said slowly, enjoying the taste of her emotions as he narrated them. When she didn't move or acknowledge his word he exploded furiously, "why should I have to fucking feel it… Darling!?"
He added the last part, trying to maintain some composure. It made her feel bad for him. It humanised him because she recognised that so much. The devastation only grew. The pain and the anger. It doubled by the day. But so did the good. Those that wanted to make a difference. Heal pain. Bring hope.
She started to say something, but she was cut off as the Order members start to chant again. Oh bite me, stupid no-good son-of-a-bitch cult.
"Oh Bite me! Oh Bite me!" They chanted and all looked around at themselves, confused. Had she done that? Had they been influenced by someone other than their saviour? At least it shut them up for a moment. It had given them time to reflect on the conversation, allowing Oleander to redirect all his frustration back onto his shadow-self.
"Do you not get bored of tha-?" she started to mutter but he cut her off, shocking her by grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling her head back to look up at him from her place on the floor.
"Drink"
He put the glass to her lips and didn't give her the option to refuse. He poured it down her throat, she had been concerned it was alcohol but upon consuming the liquid she realised it was much worse. As it slides down throat it burns as if she were swallowing fire. White-hot fire.
Shit. Fucking hell. It's happening.
Saff woke up with her head rattling, she was now shackled in a familiar spot against the wall at the front. The pain was worse than when she had died and to add insult to injury, Things can only get better by D:Ream was playing from the speakers above her head.
"This is starting to be my fashion essential. Can't leave the house without shackles, I find it completes the outfit" she moves her wrists around, trying to find a comfortable position (note: there is no comfortable position shackled for long periods of time to the wall).
"The limited bravado of a woman who knows her last breath is near… why carry on the act?"
"It isn't making me feel any worse" She offered with a little shrug.
"Ah, we have almost come to the ocular removal portion of the evening"
"Well, all the best parties have them" She quipped. But she was scared. Really scared and he felt it. He looked at her, almost… feeling like he should comfort her. No. This is a trick.
"You know, kitty, some of the best composers were blind. Both Bach and Handel made some of their best compositions after they lost their sight. You can still make beautiful music, all you gotta do is scream" He grinned.
He explained exactly what it was he had to do, using a blunt knife to gouge out her eyes and collect the blood that flows. It would be then used to draw an eye with her blood that, when the light of the full-moon would hit it, the Hellmouth would open everywhere on earth. In the event that she didn't bleed out, he promised to narrate the end of the world for her.
If they wouldn't feel the emotional pain, he would make sure they all felt the physical pain from whatever slithered out of the Hellmouth. Oleander's disciples were excitedly lining the walls, their hands over their eyes in silent prayer. They then moved their hands, light spreading into the room, all reaching a point in the middle where it was brightest.
"O Leander! O Leander!
The world shall fall, remove the blindfold for all!
Let the bearer of the True Sight create hell on earth, as has been clear since birth!
Then let us then rejoice in our hatred with laughter and great mirth!"
Oleander smirked as the floor started to rumble, the power of the light evident as thick lines were prominent in the concrete floor. The room appeared to be spinning but they were all stood stationery, not moving with it.
He smirked further as he felt her resignation to her fate. Oleander moved to the implements, cleaning a few with a cloth and organising them in size order. The followers continued to chant, the same recitation over and over.
The roof of the hall, which was all glass, revealed the full moon above them. Oleander checked his watch and then turned back to Saffron, they had twenty minutes before the moon was high enough in the sky for the ritual.
Light shall surround. Great. This is it.
"Any last requests?"
"Actually, would you mind lighting me a fag? Sort of a last meal, if you will" She gestures at her pocket, ignoring the blood dripping from her face as he weighed up his options. He could tell it was an innocent request. He reached in and took the pack out, along with her silver lighter. The 'R' Xander had written now almost completely scratched off with ware.
"Disgusting things, but I can't deny a dying wish"
xoxoxo
"Hit it" Oleander shouted, pointing at his most recent second in command who was controlling the music. Backstreet's back by the Backstreet Boys was playing and Saff nodded her thanks.
"Time to die, darling, I need to get this show on the road"
"Break a fucking leg" She muttered.
At that very moment, she saw some members pull their hoods down revealing some familiar faces. The scoobies were there, including Dawn and Giles. They had been part of the crowd but were now shrugging off their robes and brandishing weapons. Saffron's face lit up at their appearance. Buffy smiled, she had blocked the group's emotions from him allowing them to attend the party unnoticed.
"You have to be joking! The kids brigade, you here to kill me with kindness? Ruin me with retribution? Fight me with friendship?" He scoffed, rolling his eyes. As far as he was concerned, he had already won.
"You would think a Slayer would want an evil, blood-sucking bitch to be stopped. Funny how all the bets are off when it's family." He said pointedly, with a humour in his eyes, "Although I suppose a girl who gets her kicks with a little blood-letting might see the fun in keeping the nipper around" He cackled.
Saff squinted at Buffy's expression, trying to feel her emotions but they had been blocked for her too. She didn't understand. But Buffy did. She knew if Saff heard about this now, the battle was lost. Saffron would never see anything redeemable about herself. So Buffy instead launched herself at Oleander, punching him successively to shut him up.
As the fight broke out, Tara pulled Dawn behind an upturned table to cover them both. The older woman was muttering something continuously under her breath, a protection incantation. While she was distracted, Dawn peaked from behind the table, Tara tried to reach to pull her back down but she shimmied out of her grip. There was a glint in her eye.
She saw something. A symbol of hope.
"Angie!" Dawn cried, relieved. The cat weaved between the melee towards her. Dawn scooped the kitten up and hugged her into her chest before crawling back to her hiding spot beside Tara. Tara was preparing for the worst, chanting and worrying about Willow.
Tara reached for Dawn and squeezed the younger girl's hand for support. The fight was going on around them and all they could do was hope and keep the faith they had in Saffron.
Giles, Xander, Anya and Buffy had been fighting off order members to distract them from the ritual and thin the crowd. Whatever had been human was now gone long ago, their souls had been fed into Oleander's power source.
They were pawns, used only for his protection. For his ego. He didn't care how many of them died. They were disposable disciples. And the saddest part, Buffy and Saff found, was that they were going down with this hate still in their heart. With his words or 'teachings' the only thoughts in their minds.
As the fight was waging on, Willow had made her way onto the platform and released Saff from her cuffs.
Bind us. Light and dark. Light and dark. Only one. Only one.
Willow muttered these words, making Saff frown. Suddenly, she saw a purple glow, so faint anyone else would miss it. But it was coming from her friends. It was their belief in her, in good. In saving the world from this pain. They were all connected. They were strong – together.
Saff ran over to the middle of the circle, where Oleander was, fighting was happening in a circle all around them. But it was now just her and him in the centre of the room. Her strength boosted by the incantation as they traded fierce blows under the full moon.
The fight was brutal, interrupted every so often as members of the Order threw themselves in her path to help him. They were quickly pulled out of the way by Buffy and thrown across the room. They were equally matched, nobody could tell if there was a winner with the pace they were fighting. It was as though each of them had predicted the others moves several steps ahead. Their fight was getting more heated, fuelled by the chaos that surrounded them.
"You know, I've lost everything before. Even before I met you I managed to wreck my life on my own, several times over. But…" She paused, landing another blow against his jaw, "You know what? I still managed to build my life back up again. I've done bad things, hurt people made stupid goddamn ugly choices. But I learned from them, I woke up and tried against fucking everything to be a better person. It wasn't always easy and hey, at the end of the day to some people I might always be seen as a shitty person or the villain of the piece."
"Is-is this going anywhere?" He snapped, breathing heavily as he flipped her over his head, making her land awkwardly on the floor. Still, he was the one left grimacing as he felt her confidence shining in every corner of the room. She was standing up, a smile on her face. A sudden burst of what could only be described as true sight rang through the room.
Others began to feel it to, just a tingle not the same as Oleander could feel it. Saff felt it all, for the first time she had a full perspective on her own life. As though she was an outsider looking in on the lives of those around her. It was a revelation, one she spoke aloud to the room.
"You know it is. My point, dear half, is hatred and anger and all these nasty emotions you're so hellbent on claiming as the human's true nature are all there – nobody's denying it, but you can't allow yourself to shut yourself off from all of the good. Sure, it can be few and far between sometimes. But it is there. You just have to look.
You must see how hard it is to maintain, this little persona you have going on. You've wallowed in the light so long that it blinded you. In all of your torture and your killing and your bullshit, you can still show an occasional kindness. It's you, so it's twisted and you fight it but it's there. I didn't see it until just now but it's so obvious!
Like today, you've thrown this party and what for? To give your followers some sense of joy. You could have done anything but you gave them something to celebrate. You haven't influenced them the entire time I've been here. That anger, that rage, have you sensed it this evening?"
"No" he said this softly, something that surprised everyone in the room. This admittance rippled through the room. A question to their faith they had never had to face. He was catching his breath on the floor, holding his head. Disgusted by it. Weakened by it.
"It- it's blinding! You-ou're naivety!" He muttered, the belief in his own thoughts now dwindling. Some Order members began to flee the fight at his words.
"Okay, broken record, that ones old now"
"Where are you going!?" He screamed, as if in pain as he watched the Order members fleeing. Their own lives suddenly became more important than him. Something that they hadn't felt in an age. When he turned back to her, she seemed stronger than before. As if she was feeding off the loss of faith in him, where he fed on the opposite.
"It's weird, it's like I just blinked and suddenly it all fell into place. I don't need to fight you because if I die or if I live doesn't change a thing. I'm the True Sight, and you? You're so, completely fucked" she grinned for what felt like the first time in a very, very long time.
The clarity of her words hit him like a punch to the gut and she felt it with him. It brought him back to his childhood, to his parents. His teachers, his bullies. He was always made to feel so small. To hear that he was wrong in any way cut deeper than a knife. And to be presented with a question to his entire destiny, to his very world-view. Well, it just wouldn't do. She had nothing and everything all at once.
"So, you were wrong." She shrugged, "Get over it. Life is hard, but there is so much good in it when you let yourself feel it. Still craving approval. Being bullied and watching your parents die doesn't excuse being a psychopath"
"You're a s-stupid naïve bitch!" He roared, the sound ringing around the hall. All the anger and venom now on the surface, but she only smiled. Because she was right. He knew it, with no influence nor force on her part.
She was ready to die again if she had to. To sacrifice herself with the knowledge and faith that Buffy and the others would save the day – even if they couldn't save her. She was right and she wasn't afraid or weakened by him. She couldn't be. She had it, she had been gifted the true sight. And now, they both knew that.
She didn't know if it was the faith of the others, the moon in the right place or her own strength coming back to her but there was a surge of power buzzing through her, like electricity. But Oleander wasn't ready to give up just yet, he lunged forwards the rusty knife plunged into her flesh.
She swore at him, kicking at him to get him away. But he didn't move away, he grasped at her, pulling the knife out and going again, this time straight for her eyes. She struggled, holding his wrist and trying to keep him away from her. The blade was getting closer, so close that when she blinked she swore her eyelashes touched the blade.
Just as the blade moved into her line of vision, Oleander was knocked back. Willow had hit him over the head with a foldaway chair. The kind that they used for sermons in the hall.
Time stopped.
Everyone in the room stood still, pausing the fight and turning them all into impressive statues. Everything had been put on pause. For everyone except Saff, Oleander (and Will who had her eyes closed, concentrating so deeply on the spell all she could do was breathe in and out heavily). The crowd had been thinned, her friends fighting hard. Though, the souls of his believers had gone long ago.
"What are you without them?" She asked, as she took the blade out of her shoulder where he left it as Willow threw him back. He noted a bloodstain on his all-white outfit and muttered trying to wipe it down as he got to his feet. Oleander moved back to a fighting stance than Saff started to copy.
"Oh, wait a second…" she muttered, leaving him bemused as she realised the music has stopped along with everyone else. She goes over to it, trying to find a tape she liked and clicked it in. She frowned, kicking it a couple times. Until a punk song Spike used to play for her came on. She needed him with her in some way.
She ran at Oleander, throwing punches and trying to block his attack. They traded blow for blow, lips splitting and bruises already forming. She took his legs from under him, grabbing his shirt and pulling him to her so that she could punch him hard. He twisted her away from him, leaning back to use his legs to kick her in the chest, leaving her stumbling back.
The purple aura surrounding them, becoming more and more bright. The coloured light was so bright it started to blur their vision. Both were now bloodied and heaving, Oleander hadn't yet managed to get up from the ground. He was tired, bleeding and wasn't sure if he could get up.
"Any last requests?" She mocked his earlier question, "If you don't have any, can I ask you one thing?"
"Go on, Honey darling, let me hear the last rites. Something profound perhaps? A merciful plea for me to change my ways that will let me stay alive?"
"Oh no, you're done. I was just wondering: The Corrupted - is there a patent on that? It's such a good name for a band!" Oleander pursed his lips, still not able to admit to himself that was the role he was playing. Saffron shrugged.
"Light and light; Dark and-" she paused, "Sod it" she shrugged, she had forgotten half the words anyway. It didn't matter what she said. She didn't need some convoluted rhyme that someone made up the second before she found it. It was the intention. It was the belief she held so deeply in her heart, despite everything, and those she cherished that surrounded her. To do the right thing. No matter how you get there, to have the right intentions. To fight for what you believe in. Hope and all that bollocks.
She knelt in front of him, looking in his eyes, everything that needed to be said had already passed between them. She wished, even now, a flicker of understanding could be seen in his grey eyes. Focus. Instead, she walked towards him with purpose, strengthened further as she felt the people she cared for in the room. Their love, care and strength channelled through her as well as her own feelings. For the first time in a long time, she felt her own emotions before any others. She channelled this towards him.
A slight crackle. Her ring heated up on her finger, she cupped his cheek and he winces at the white-hot heat. Purple light gets even brighter and then just as suddenly, she is the purple light. Her intention, her strength was so strong that her eyes began to change colour, purple glow shoots out of the room. Knocks most of the remaining order members out, leaving only around seven of the believers standing.
Flashes of his life played out before their eyes. Then hers. She felt some part of herself dying with him. Whether that was right or wrong, she didn't know. For some reason, that she couldn't put her finger on, she was devastated. Saff's tears began to flow and when she focuses her vision to truly look him in the eyes, he is too. Crying. Crimson tears ran down his cheeks.
His skin hardened beneath her touch, his skin turning ashen. He was set in place, in this time forever, the image of him crying and staring up at the sky as if pleading with Powers immortalised. The stone began to encapsulate his body, turning him to a statue.
All of this had happened wordlessly, until she couldn't help it, despite everything she whispered in his ear, "I'm sorry"
She let go of his cheek and watched him turn completely to stone. She felt it as he was encased fully in the stone. His essence ripped apart and catapulted into the ether. She stood, making sure she felt every second of the pain. As a reminder for herself.
She could feel people surround her, those that had willed her to survive. Fish-features. The high-priestess. Her mother and Father. Hayley. They were all standing there, holding hands as they looked on, smiling at her. She had the strength they knew she had.
The faith they had in her, as cliché and lame as she thought it sounded, she was sure that it was only with them and her friends that allowed her to do this. To keep the world she wanted to be in, the world she loved to hate. Hated that she loved. She felt everyone around her. Only with them was she able to make any difference. To take strength from community. Mutual values. Love.
The only way was to work together. To support and nurture each of her loved one's individual traits. Hatred was not the truth. Hatred would never be the truth.
A pained scream snapped her out of staring at the stone figure before her. Willow. Shit. Saffron turned to see her hunched over, the tips of her hair turning to black.
She wrapped her arms around the witch, whispering her encouragement. After some insistence and the power of her touch, time started again. Will began to convulse, her eyes completely black. She looked unwell. Saff's eyes were still purple but she didn't notice, she was too focused on feeling the room's reaction to the scene. She knew before they opened their mouths that they would have to run.
"We will avenge him! It will not survive!" The remaining believers all spoke together, "O Leander! O Leander! May your Eye see us through! May your presence guide us against evil. For thine is the power and the sight. Rid us of thee Honeysuckle blight!"
They started to round on the pair who had harmed their leader. The anger was potent and would have knocked Saffron out if she hadn't been wearing her ring. Shit, they had turned him into more of a God-like figure. A martyr. What now?
"Go! Get out! We'll hold them off!" Buffy screamed.
Saffron pulled Willow away with her and they ran. As far away as they could get.