Chapter 36: Morgana Part 1
Wild Wood, Britain, January 30th, 2017
"The Heartstone?" Merlin sounded as confused about Jim's exclamation as Buffy Summers felt herself. Was this a troll thing she hadn't heard about yet?
"The Heartstone of Trollmarket. Of Heartstone Trollmarket," Jim explained.
It was a troll thing.
"That's the full name," Toby added.
"It illuminates Trollmarket."
"You mean… they moved the entire crystal formation?" Merlin said. "From here to America?"
"Yes."
"Hell and Damnation! Why would they do this?"
"The trolls need a Heartstone," Jim told him. "It provides them with light in the caverns, and it provides them with magic."
"And healing if they need it," Toby said. "The first Heartstone rotted, and Gunmar was born. So, they took this one with them to let it grow in Trollmarket."
"Grow?" Buffy asked. Crystals didn't grow, did they? She dimly remembered hearing something in school about that.
"The crystals absorb and contain magic and will grow if left undisturbed," Merlin said. "But I sealed this one. It should not have grown at all - its magic should have been spent on keeping Morgana imprisoned."
"Uh." Jim looked up at the ceiling above them, then around. "The Heartstone is far bigger than this cavern."
"I am aware of that," Merlin snapped. "If I had realised that it was the same formation…" He scoffed. "If it grew so much, then Morgana's prison must have been weakened as a result."
"But your seals are still unbroken, right?" Willow asked.
"They remain undisturbed as of yet. But without the magic of the crystal reinforcing and strengthening them, they will not be as hard to break as they should be. A sorceress like Morgana would not be stymied by such a task - she should be able to break them far more easily than I predicted."
"Claire must be holding her back!" Jim blurted out.
Merlin looked at him as if he was an idiot. "Or, far more likely, Morgana has been working on something else."
"Like what?" Buffy asked.
"Gathering allies. Even weakened, my seals will take both time and her full concentration to break, lest my traps and curses will do her in. So, she cannot risk being disturbed. Which means she cannot count on sneaking into Trollmarket to clandestinely free her body." Merlin clenched his teeth.
"Uh…" Toby frowned. "She could just open a portal close to the Heartstone."
"Which will be under guard," Merlin said.
"Yes." Jim nodded. "We warned Vendel when we passed through to get to the Gyre. They won't trust her."
"And Morgana will be aware of that," Merlin said. "No, she will not risk sneaking into the troll village."
"Then what will she do? She knows where her body is imprisoned, right?" Toby asked.
"She will gather her allies and attempt to conquer the village," Merlin explained.
"The Order of Janus," Jim gasped.
"Exactly." Merlin shook his head. "And thanks to her observing us through your friend's eyes, she is aware that I was not told that her prison had been moved. Which means she will have been able to anticipate this detour - and plan accordingly."
Buffy clenched her teeth. "She'll have called the entire Order."
"Yes. My mistake has granted her the time to recall all of the changelings for this task. They will even have time to find excuses for their sudden travel plans," Merlin spat.
"But… will they follow her orders?" Jim asked. "They don't know her, and they work for Gunmar, not Morgana."
"All she has to do is to tell them to contact Gunmar, and he'll verify her claims," Merlin said.
"So, let's hurry back," Buffy said. "And get ready to fight an army of changelings."
"We've got an army of our own," Xander said. "Right in place."
"The trolls won't like humans entering Trollmarket," Jim said.
"They'll hate it!" Toby agreed.
"It's better than losing the village, isn't it?" Dawn asked. "And they already know there's a troll village below Arcadia Oaks."
"But not where it is," Jim said. "And how could the soldiers tell good trolls from changelings?"
That was a good point. "They'll shoot every troll," Buffy agreed.
"And what are the odds that the army forces have a changeling amongst them?" Willow shook her head. "What if they are waiting for this?"
"The Initiative survivors should have protocols to safeguard against such infiltrations," Xander replied. "But the army base troops? It depends on what exactly they have been doing there."
"Great. So, we're on our own and, worse, we actually need to hope that they were doing illegal experiments with demons and other creatures and so were ready to spot a changeling infiltration or we'll have to deal with the army as well…" Buffy sighed. What a damn mess!
"Ironic?" Xander asked with a grimace.
"Wasting time," Merlin said. "We need to make haste back to the Gyre."
"To Camelot," Jim said. "We need Blinky for this. It's his home."
"Fetching the troll would cost us hours. Hours we cannot afford to waste. And the sun is up - how do you propose we move a troll to the forest? Or a vampire?" Merlin retorted. "No. We are right next to the troll settlement. We need to move to your home at once if we wish to have a sliver of hope to defeat Morgana and save the trolls."
Buffy nodded, even though she was sure that the wizard had just named his priorities in order. "Yes. Let's go save the trolls."
"And save Claire," Jim added.
"Both of which depend on killing Morgana." Merlin turned and strode towards the stairs.
Gyre Tracks, East of California, January 30th, 2017
Blinky should be with them. James Lake Jr couldn't help feeling that they should have gone back to Camelot to get Blinky. Sure, it would have taken them a few hours to reach the castle, and more to get back, and they would have had to find a way to safely block the sun, but… rushing to defend Trollmarket, Blinky's home, without him just felt wrong.
And if Blinky were with them, Jim wouldn't have to steer the damn Gyre. It was bad enough as a passenger. As the pilot? Damn it.
He clenched his teeth as the cart took another far too tight and far too fast turn, and he had to grip the controls hard to keep the Gyre from derailing. Even so, they jumped a few yards - or so it felt - and the whole cart jerked when they returned to the tracks.
"Careful, Jimbo!"
"I'm doing what I can!" Jim snapped, then pressed his lips together. This wasn't Toby's fault. None of this was. They should have taken the time to get Blinky. But what if Morgana destroyed Trollmarket in the meantime? And if she freed her body, what would happen to Claire?
"How much longer?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know," Jim said. He hadn't really paid attention on the other trips - he had had his eyes closed, actually, for big parts of it.
"You don't know? You're driving this!" Buffy protested.
"Yes. And we're on tracks. I can't miss Trollmarket!" Jim told her.
"I'm not as much worried about missing the station than about crashing into it!"
"We won't!"
"I think so," Toby added.
Jim rolled his eyes. He was doing his best!
Another turn followed that wouldn't have been out of place on a rollercoaster.
"I wish we had a signal down here," Dawn piped from behind Buffy.
"You don't need to check your Instagram!" Buffy told her.
"I know. I want to know what the Army's doing."
"The Major got our message. They know about the Changelings," Buffy said.
"But we left before they could answer us!"
"We could not take the time to wait until the officer finally answered us," Merlin commented. "How often do I have to remind you that time is of the essence?"
"We know," Willow cut in. "But it's not as if we can do anything else but worry. And it would be helpful to know what the Army is doing. We won't have a signal in Trollmarket, either."
And the trolls wouldn't want them to open the entrance to Arcadia Oaks, not with both Morgana and the Army in town, Jim knew. Even though Morgana could enter Trollmarket whenever and wherever she pleased thanks to her staff and having seen through Claire's eyes. Sometimes, Vendel was rather foolish.
But Jim and his friends would save Vendel and the others anyway. Unless it was too late already, a voice in his mind whispered.
He shook his head. It wasn't too late. Gathering the changelings would take time. They couldn't take the Gyre. And even Morgana wouldn't be able to use portals to take them to Arcadia Oaks from halfway across the world. If she was powerful enough for that, she would've already wiped out Jim and his friends.
Jim held on to that thought as they took another turn.
"This looks familiar," Toby said next to him.
"What?" Jim asked.
"Already past it!" Toby replied.
"Eyes on the road!" Buffy yelled from behind.
"We're on tracks!" Jim yelled back - but when he turned to look ahead, he saw the Trollmarket station quickly growing closer. "Oh, shit…" he muttered - and pulled on the brakes with all his strength.
The cart almost jumped off the tracks again, and everyone was slammed forward - Jim heard the exclamations and groans behind him - but he managed to bring the cart to a stop inside the station. Mostly. Jim had to climb over the backrest to get out.
"We've arrived," he said, gesturing to the stairs ahead.
"We should've taken Blinky," Dawn muttered. "We almost got killed before we arrived."
Jim opened his mouth to protest - he hadn't been that bad a pilot - but Toby spoke up. "Jimbo! Shouldn't there be guards here?"
Yes, there should be guards. Jim looked around. No one was at the station. "This is…"
"...highly suspect. We should proceed with caution," Merlin said. He strode down the stairs and then towards the gate into Trollmarket proper. It was closed, but a wave of his staff made it open.
Buffy sped ahead, taking two steps at a tie, stopping at the gate. "There's some rubble on the stairs."
Rubble? Jim gasped and quickly joined her. Yes. Small rocks covered part of the stairs. Enough of them to… He knelt down and grabbed one of the rocks, turning it around. Then he hissed as he held it up, showing the others the buckle made of stone on its side. "We've found the guards."
"Damn," Buffy cursed. She cocked her head, then blinked. "I hear a battle! Come on!"
And she was sprinting up the stairs, Jim hot on her heels.
Soon, the noise of a battle became obvious. Trolls screamed and roared, metal clashed on metal, and things - masonry broke and crumbled. Jim hoped they weren't trolls.
Then they reached the top of the stairs, and he could see more dead trolls on the ground, as well as people fighting in the streets.
"Where is the Heartstone?" Buffy asked without turning to face him.
Jim pointed ahead to the big crystal formation.
"Oh, that's it?" Buffy shook her head. "Let's go!"
"But we have to help them!"
"How can you tell one from the other?" she yelled over her shoulder as she dashed into the next alley.
"I know them!" Jim saw a huge troll attacking another outside a shop selling socks. He didn't know the name of the defending troll, but he recognised the face - and he didn't know the other troll. Gritting his teeth, he charged. The troll didn't see him coming until Eclipse cut into him from behind, and he broke into pieces before he hit the ground.
"Trollhunter!" the other troll gasped. "You've returned! We're under attack by changelings!"
"We know," Jim told him. "Get somewhere safe! We have to stop Morgana."
"Nothing is safe!" the troll wailed. "They came through portals!."
As expected. "Go to your neighbours! Or hide inside!" Jim told him. He looked around. Buffy was at the mouth of the alley, ahead of them. Behind him, Toby arrived, followed by Merlin and the others.
"We need to stop Morgana," Merlin - predictably - said.
"Then let's go to the Heartstone!" Buffy yelled. "I can see it from here!"
You could see it from anywhere in Trollmarket. "We can't just abandon the trolls," Jim said as he ran to Buffy. The changelings were attacking everyone all over the place!
"We cannot effectively help them as long as Morgana lives and commands her staff," Merlin complained again. "Taking her out is the key to victory. Anything else merely draws out the killing - as long as Morgana is in control of the Shadow Staff, she can easily outmanoeuvre you."
"I know!" Jim snapped. He did - and he hated it. Buffy dashed past another group of trolls fighting, breaking the weapon of a burly one trying to hit her with a blow from her scythe. But Jim knew two of those trolls as well. He laid into the two trolls attacking them, cutting one down before it could turn, while Toby smashed the other's head in with the trollhammer.
Despite how quickly this had ended, the others had already passed them, and Jim and Toby had to hurry after them - past broken stalls and smashed doors. The changelings were going all-out. Jim turned when a shadow moved across a storefront. What the…? He gasped and looked up. A Stalkling was sweeping down at them. "Watch out!" Jim yelled, brandishing Eclipse. Then his eyes widened. Was that Strickler? Had he somehow managed to reach Trollmarket from Camelot? Was he still linked to Mom? Jim couldn't hurt him!
His shock almost cost him his life - the troll bore down on him before Jim realised it wasn't Strickler, but Tobes stepped up and met his charge with his hammer. The Stalkling's leg broke with a crack, and he veered off to crash into a pillar of stone. "Jimbo!"
"Sorry… thought he was…" Jim cut the troll down before he could recover, twisting the blade in his guts until he turned to stone.
"Oh."
"Let's go." Jim clenched his teeth. He couldn't afford such lapses.
They hurried after the others.
Trollmarket, January 30th, 2017
This was too confusing! Trolls were attacking each other, and Buffy Summers had no idea who the good guys were. Everyone looked the same, even to her. And she hated it.
Ahead of her, halfway to the Heartstone's base, a bunch of trolls were fighting. "Can't they wear a uniform?" she muttered. How was she supposed to know who to slay?
Then she saw a little troll stumble and try to crawl away from a big one hefting a sword coming at him. And heard him cry out for his mom. Yelling, she dashed forward. The wannabe-child killer froze for a moment, then turned to face her just in time to get her scythe through his guts. "Dusted!" she yelled as he started to crumble.
"More like rocked!" Xander said behind her. "Or stoned?" He fired his shotgun at another troll but barely dented the thick stony skin. But it distracted the brute, and Buffy made short work of the troll and of his friend.
"Rocked!" Buffy told him. Much better than 'stoned'. Where was…? Ah, there came Jim and Toby.
"Get inside and hide!" Jim told the other trolls.
"Trollhunter!"
"Save us!"
"We're doing our best!" Buffy told them. Not that they were listening to her. They were even ignoring Merlin.
One of the trolls tried to grab Jim's arm, but the kid dodged. "We have to stop Morgana, or she'll keep sending more changelings here! Go hide!" he told them.
Buffy shook her head. This was such a mess. "How many changelings did she gather?"
"Too many," Willow replied.
They passed a burning shop with tell-tale 'rubble' in front of it. Two dead trolls, Buffy estimated. Damn.
Then they rounded another corner and found a line of trolls blocking their path.
Buffy almost attacked them before she recognised the troll mayor in the middle.
"Vendel!" Jim yelled.
"Trollhunter!" The mayor troll took a step forwards. "You have finally arrived!"
She saw Jim flinch. "We came as fast as we could," he said.
"And where is Blinkous?"
"He's safe," Jim said. "There was no time to get him."
"And there is no time to waste exchanging useless information," Merlin snapped. "We need to destroy Morgana once and for all, and for that, we need access to your 'Heartstone'."
"What?" the troll mayor frowned. "Why do you need access to the Heartstone? Is that why the changelings attempt to drive us from it?"
"Morgana's body was hidden inside a crystal formation which apparently you took with you when you left your home," Merlin explained. "Now, let us pass so we can end this."
But the troll stepped into the wizard's way. "What are you planning to do with the Heartstone?"
For a moment, it looked to Buffy as if Merlin was about to raise his staff and do something to the troll. But the wizard shook his head. "I am not going to do anything to your crystal other than extracting Morgana's body from it."
"The Heartstone is of crucial importance for Trollmarket. Without it, we…"
"Yes, yes, without it, you will have to find another one." Merlin rolled his eyes. "It did not break when I hid Morgana inside it; it will not break when I take her out. Now, move aside; my patience has reached its limits."
"Please, Vendel," Jim added. "We need to stop Morgana; as long as she's alive and controlling Claire, she can open portals everywhere in Trollmarket."
The troll mayor hesitated for a second but finally moved aside. "Let the Trollhunter through."
Buffy clenched her teeth. The jerk was blaming all of this on Jim, even though this was clearly Merlin's fault and work. But they had more important things to worry about than troll-human relations.
Although in some ways, this was about troll-human relations, she amended as they passed through the line of trolls and started going down a winding set of stairs made out of softly glowing crystals or stones.
"Why doesn't Morgana open a portal directly to the Heartstone's base?" Dawn asked as they went down.
"Claire was never there," Jim answered. "We weren't allowed to go there."
"In hindsight, that was a fortunate precaution," Merlin commented. "Albeit a questionable one, given the expectations they have of you."
Jim pressed his lips together, Buffy saw. Merlin was a jerk but he was probably not completely wrong.
"What about Morgana?" she asked. "She was there - is there, right?"
"Her prison does not allow her to see the world around her."
Harsh. But probably deserved.
They reached the end of the stairs, and a hulking figure stepped into their way. "Who goes there?"
"It's me," Jim told him. "Vendel let us through so we can deal with Morgana."
"He didn't tell me!"
"Oh, for the love of magic!" Merlin stepped forward. "I tire of this pointless posturing. Move aside, lest you be moved."
For a change, the troll did step aside without further grumbling. Although Vendel should really have told the other guards down here that they were coming - or sent someone with them. Unless this was a changeling who had sneaked past the guards…
Buffy kept her eyes on the roll as they walked past, but he didn't try anything. And Jim seemed to know him.
And then they were in front of the giant glowing crystal - well, in front of its base. She had to crane her neck to look up and only saw bits of the ceiling around it.
"Whoa!" Willow gasped. "How do we get Morgana's body out of this?"
"And where is Morgana's body?" Toby asked. "I don't see it."
"Of course you cannot see the body; I said that I hid it. A hiding place would not be of any use if it were visible to everyone."
"Well, there's hiding in plain sight," Buffy told him with a grin.
He scowled at her, then turned to face the crystal.
"D-d-do you need m-m-more magic?" Tara asked.
"Not for this:" He pointed his staff at the crystal with a wide, sweeping motion and spoke a few more magic words. Green light flared and hit the crystal, which then started to kind of melt, but without flowing away or down.
"Why do I feel like a fly about to enter amber?" Xander whispered behind her.
"Flies didn't enter amber," Willow whispered. "They were caught in resin which hardened and turned into amber."
Buffy tried to ignore them and focused on the crystal. Was something moving inside it? She couldn't tell; the crystal was glowing and not very transparent. But… yes. Something was moving. Was Merlin liquefying the entire crystal? That would probably be bad, what with the huge size of the thing.
But then, a piece of crystal started to emerge from the giant one. A smaller crystal, but still larger than Buffy herself. As large as a coffin - and completely opaque.
"Morgana," Jim whispered next to her.
"Indeed," Merlin said. "Both protected and held by my seals, which I now have to dismantle. This will not take long, so be on your guard. We cannot afford to let her escape."
"But she doesn't have her… Oh. She can switch back and forth - once she can see where we are, she can take a look and then get here with Claire's body through a portal!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Precisely. I shall lift the spell hiding her from sight last."
"Good. How long…" Buffy trailed off. Above them, the troll mayor was yelling. The troll guards were under attack!
"They're attacking the trolls above!"
James Lake Jr jerked at Buffy's yell and whirled. The changelings were attacking Vendel!
Buffy was already sprinting up the stairs. "Keep the others safe!" Jim snapped at Toby as he followed her.
"But… Right."
Jim didn't have to look back to know that Toby wasn't happy. But his friend would still do it. He was the only other one in armour, not counting Merlin, who would be busy doing magic.
Jim still felt slightly guilty as he raced up the stairs.
Buffy was just too fast. And she'd had a head start. When he reached the top, she was already in the middle of a melee, cutting down a slender but tall troll with her scythe.
Vendel was in the back, behind a line of guards, commanding. Not in immediate danger, then.
Jim dashed forward to the frontlines. A hulking troll - same size and appearance as AAARRRGGHH!, he noted, clenching his teeth - was beating down a guard. The guard had lost his spear and was trying to hide behind his shield, which was being battered with every blow.
Jim slipped past the staggering guard and slashed with Eclipse. The other troll managed to jump back, though, narrowly avoiding the blade's edge.
"Trollhunter!" he snarled.
"Yes!" Jim spat, lunging.
Once again, the troll, far too nimble for his size, dodged.
"And Slayer!" Buffy yelled from the side. "Don't forget me!"
The changeling - probably; Jim couldn't tell right now - hissed and charged at Jim, hefting a huge hammer over his head.
Jim stepped forward to meet the charge, moving inside the troll's each, lifting Eclipse for a sideways slash that would cut straight through… The troll's leg smashed into him, propelling him back, and Jim had to roll to the side to avoid the follow-up blow from the hammer.
Damn. This troll knew very well how to fight. That meant taking him out would help a lot. Not that Jim had a choice. He jumped up and attacked with a series of crisscrossing slashes. His enemy gave ground, taking a few swipes with his hammer mainly to keep Jim at bay - and was slowly driven towards a dead troll on the ground.
Jim gritted his teeth and lunged, forcing the troll to jump back - and to stumble as his feet slipped on the rubble. The huge troll fell down with a curse, and Jim jumped, clearing a last wild swipe with the hammer, to bring Eclipse down on the troll's head…
...only to miss as the troll shrank at the last moment, turning into a stodgy human. Jim's eyes widened. So the troll was a changeling! He ripped Eclipse out of the stone it got stuck in and whirled, staring at the man who was scrambling back on all fours.
He looked exactly like a human.
But Jim's hesitation cost him. The changeling turned into a troll again, surprising Jim, and threw a chunk of rubble - of dead troll - at him. Jim managed to side-step and deflect it with his shield but staggered under the impact anyway.
That allowed the troll to recover his hammer. Growling, he started swinging it like a madman. Jim fell back, trying to find an opening, but the troll was too fast now. This was going to…
He grinned as he jumped over more rubble, glancing at the stone pillar behind his enemy. Yes, that would work! Jim moved forward, sending his short blades whirling at the troll and lunging with Eclipse.
The troll managed to dodge the flying blades and parry Eclipse with his hammer, roaring in triumph.
Then the blades returned, striking him in the back. As he stumbled, Jim circled to the side and slashed at his legs. The troll collapsed, his leg cut, and Jim finished him off with another blow to the head.
He looked around. Buffy was killing two trolls at once, and the guard line had shrunk but was still holding. Jim moved in, quickly killing two more changelings attacking Vendel's spot before they broke and ran.
He took a few deep breaths and watched the last of the surviving changelings disappear in the village. They had done it. They had defended the Heartstone.
"Whew." Buffy wiped an arm across her face. "I worked up a sweat."
"I got a really good fighter," Jim told her. "Took me a while to kill him."
"Hate it when that happens," Buffy replied. She looked around. "You good?" she asked Vendel.
"We'll manage, Slayer," Vendel replied with a brief nod. He looked grim - and with good reason, of course; the troll guards had lost half a dozen.
And they were staring at Jim and Buffy with… fear? Jim frowned. They had just saved them.
"Shh!" Buffy raised her hand and cocked her head.
Jim held his breath. Did anyone…?
"They're arguing below. Everything's fine," Buffy said with a smile.
Jim sighed with relief. "Good."
Vendel snorted. "I would not call our situation good, Trollhunter."
"It could be worse," Buffy said, baring her teeth. Then she blinked. "Oh, damn…"
Jim blinked. Huh?
"Ah. It probably didn't count," Buffy told him with a grin. "I didn't say it couldn't get worse."
Then a portal appeared behind Vendel - at the top of the stairs.
"Watch out!" Buffy cursed whatever powers had been waiting for this - and her own stupidity for provoking this - as she rushed ahead, bumping a troll who didn't get out of the way fast enough to the side.
"Claire? If you can hear me, hold on!" Jim yelled behind her. "Fight her!"
The first evil troll was coming out of the portal just as she reached it. He carried a shield as tall as himself. And a halberd, which he wielded one-handed. She snarled and struck with her scythe, but the troll took the blow on his shield, then tried to cleave her in half with the halberd's blade.
She jumped back, baring her teeth. Jim was circling around, trying to flank the troll - good thing trolls were so huge, Buffy and Jim could double-team them in this narrow staircase while the trolls couldn't fight next to each other. If they could hold the troll here, the enemy wouldn't be able to move more of…
The portal vanished behind the troll. What the…? She parried another blow and counter-attacked, cutting off a part of the shield.
"No!" Jim yelled, attacking the troll from his open side, slashing at the halberd. "The portal's moved downstairs!"
"What?" But Morgana had never been down there! Buffy struck at the troll's shield again, cutting it in half now.
Behind it, halfway down the winding stairs, she saw something flicker, and flicker again, further down. The sorceress was walking the portals down! "She's looking through the portals to place the next!" Buffy yelled, lunging. With Jim cutting the halberd into two and the shield gone, the scythe sank into the troll's stomach before he could react. Buffy twisted the blade, then pulled, ripping the troll's chest open.
The troll collapsed, turning to stone in a puddle of blood, but Buffy was already rushing down the stairs, Jim following close behind. "Watch out! Portal incoming!" she screamed as she took three troll-sized steps at a time.
But it was too late - she heard roaring and yelling from below before she cleared the last corner. Dawn! Then shots rang out.
"No!" Jim screamed behind her.
A dozen trolls were already in the crystal room, trying to kill her friends. Toby whirled the trollhammer around, fending off three of them while protecting Merlin, Willow and Tara. Xander was firing his shotgun, but it had no effect on the trolls. The troll guard was down already. And Dawn… Dawn was running from two trolls trying to grab her.
Not her sister! Buffy charged into the room, roaring incoherently. A troll moved to block her, but she was too fast, darting inside his reach before he finished turning towards her, then slashed his chest and face. Howling, he staggered back, holding his head, and she jumped at the next.
He ducked behind his shield, but that was OK - she hit the shield feet-first, stepped on it, then pushed off its rim to jump over the troll. "Dawn!"
She landed and whirled, slashing at the legs of the troll behind her, then rolled forward, under an axe blow from another troll - whose axe she cut in passing - and came up behind one of the trolls after her sister.
Clenching her teeth and howling, she drove the scythe into his back, twisting it as he screamed, then kicked the dying troll off the blade. One down, one to…
"Buffy!"
The other troll had managed to grab ahold of Dawn's ankle, and she was dangling from his massive hand. "Drop the blade!" he roared. "Or she dies!"
Buffy drew a sharp breath. "Think again!" she spat. The troll held Dawn in front of him as a living shield. Unfair. But not impossible to work around. She just had to…
A shot rang out, and the troll screamed as buckshot hit his head - and all four eyes of him. Xander!
Buffy rushed forward, sliding around the flailing Dawn, scythe lashing out at the troll's arm.
Another scream, and the troll stumbled back, blood pouring out of his stump.
"Ah!"
Buffy turned but was too slow to catch Dawn before she hit the ground.
"Dawn!"
Her sister rolled to the side, rubbing her face. Buffy was about to help her up when she heard Xander cry out. She looked up just in time to see Xander fly through the air and hit the ground, hard, sliding into a corner of the room.
Jim was fighting three trolls, Toby was struggling with two, and Willow and Tara were literally holding back the rest with magic. But more trolls were entering through the portal in the corner.
Buffy dashed towards them, glancing at Merlin as she passed. Morgana's casket thingie was still intact but floating in front of him. "I cannot set it down, or Morgana will have it fall into a portal and remove it!" he yelled.
Great. Another thing to worry about. Snarling, Buffy rushed the two trolls at the portal. She cut the first one down with a swipe of her scythe while sliding past his spear thrust, then turned on the other. She parried two strikes of his sword, then managed to slip her blade past his guard, into his groin.
The troll screamed like a banshee as he fell down, which left the portal, which would be leading to Morgana…
The portal disappeared and reappeared in the other corner.
Damn! Buffy hated fighting smart enemies!
James Lake Jr clenched his teeth as he whipped around, and Eclipse bit into the side of the lanky troll - changeling - fighting him. He kept turning, drawing the blade through the troll's body, and two halves fell down to the ground, shattering upon impact.
One of the two trolls left fighting him howled in rage and tried to grab him with both hands. Jim ducked, twisted and cut the troll from neck to navel as he flew over Jim. That left one, who… was running away towards the portal in the other corner.
The portal that would lead to Morgana! Jim snarled as he cut down a troll stumbling around with his hands holding his head and went after the fleeing troll.
"She's moving the portals!" Buffy yelled.
That was to be expected. But she couldn't move them too much - she had to be in the vicinity to see them. And she couldn't trap the portal's exit as long as trolls stepped through. That meant if Jim timed this correctly….
"Jimbo!"
Jim slashed, cutting open the back of the fleeing troll a few steps before the portal, and whirled. Toby was mobbed by half a dozen trolls. They were focusing on him to get at Merlin! Jim's friend smashed one troll's arm with the hammer, dodged a blow from another, but was caught by a spear thrust from a third that sent him stumbling back a few more steps.
"Tobes!" Jim charged towards his friend. Two trolls tried to block him, but he smashed his shield into the first, driving the enemy away, then slashed at the second before he could react. As the troll spun away, blood spewing from a slashed throat for a moment before he turned to stone, Jim barrelled into the trolls going after Toby. Eclipse cut through the leg of one, sending the slender troll down to the ground screaming, then Jim engaged the next, making short work of the axe-wielder. A spear - wielded by the same troll who had gotten a hit on Tobes - stabbed at him, but his armour deflected the blow, and Jim first cut off the spear's head and then the troll's. "Tobes!"
"I'm OK!" Toby yelled back, fending off two trolls using hammers to try and smash him into the stone floor while he tried to get up. "Armour stopped it!"
Jim twirled Eclipse, driving back two trolls trying to rally, then jumped on top of the back of the troll to the left who was fighting Toby. The changeling overbalanced and fell down, Jim driving his boots into the troll's back, then Eclipse through his neck.
That allowed Toby to get up. With the second troll glancing at Jim, Toby slipped past his hammer and smashed the troll's face in. "There are too many of them!" Toby yelled.
"We need to get through the portal," Jim hissed as he stood next to his friend, facing another half a dozen trolls charging at them. "When someone's coming through!"
He met the leader of the charge with his shield, weathering a blow from a maul that sent him staggering two steps back, then slashed at the one fighting Toby, crippling the troll's leg before following up with a strike to the first troll's face. Eclipse sliced open half the troll's cheek, but the changeling managed to fall back despite the wound, and Jim had to block and parry like a madman under the assault of the next two trolls.
Once more, he was driven back - until Toby smashed his hammer into the one on his side, sending the troll stumbling into those attacking Jim. Three quick strikes later, all were dead and rubble on the floor.
But this was pointless - they had to stop Morgana and save Claire. "Cover me!" Jim yelled - and charged ahead towards the portal. No troll was coming out of it, and was that a flicker? A trap?
He drew up short, then stepped to the side - just in time to avoid a yellowish spell that flew through the portal. "Fight her, Claire! I'm coming!" he yelled.
And jumped through the portal just as it flickered again.
"Wait for me!"
"What?" As Jim passed through the portal, he turned his head and saw Dawn jumping after him.
"Dawn! No! Stop! Dawn!" Buffy screamed.
Then Jim was through the portal and crashed to the ground - at the feet of Claire's body. "Claire! We're here!" he yelled as he jumped up. Dawn fell down to the ground next to him.
"You maggot! I had a trap prepared! Kill him! Get the girl!" Morgana spat in Claire's voice.
Jim was about to attack her when he noticed the two dozen changelings surrounding him and Dawn.
Then a shotgun bellowed, and Morgana took a step back. Snarling, she waved her staff, and the portal vanished.
"We need to get at Morgana," Dawn hissed as she took up a position behind Jim, cocking the shotgun.
But before Jim could say anything, half a dozen trolls charged him while the others pelted them with knives and rocks.
Where were the others? Where was Buffy? She wouldn't abandon Dawn!
"She's closed the portal to our friends," Dawn hissed. "So, all we need to do is take her out, and we've won. Easy!"
Jim chuckled. Then he caught a glancing blow from a rock on his helmet, and the changelings reached them. He beheaded one who had stumbled while charging, then whirled, driving the others back from Dawn with a wild slash before looking at Morgana.
"Claire! Fight her! Fight her!" he yelled again.
But Morgana pointed her staff at him, and a bolt of crackling, glowing energy shot at Jim.
