Beth munched unhappily on her lunch, tasting a distinct sour flavor to every bite. Maybe it was just her, but everything felt off.
"What kind of title in 'the Great Destroyer' anyway?" Nadja asked. "Talk about self-absorbed. Seems a little pretentious to me."
"Not to mention arrogant," Zack added on. Noticing Beth's spaced-out look, he nudged her gently with his shoulder. "Got any idea about who it might be yet?"
She sighed, putting down her bag of chips. She hadn't told them much about its mention in her prophecy, and thought it best too, knowing they would only try to reassure her there was no way she was the 'Great Destroyer,' even though there was little proof suggesting such. If anything, the pretty arrow was pointed right at her.
"No," she replied, her tone bland. "My aunt and Watcher are endlessly searching though, and Willow's even contacting some old coven of hers to see if they might have picked up on some great apocalypse."
"And nothing?" Nadja said with a pout. "Fiddlesticks. So how are we going to prepare for this one if we don't know what's coming?"
She contemplated telling her friends. Of course, Nadja would stand by her side, loyal to a fault. Zack would go somewhere deep into denial, probably never to be found again. Besides, exactly how does one tell their friends that she is some huge part of this coming apocalypse? This wasn't like coming out to your friends or even admitting you had a thing for anime, this was coming out as evil. It was saying that no matter how many good things she did, no matter how many demons she slayed and lives she saved, some seer had seen the destruction she would wrought—be it accidental or not—and deemed her the Great Destroyer. There was no ice breaker invented for that.
She shrugged. "We do what we always do: brace for impact."
"And who says I'm letting you anywhere near an approaching apocalypse?" Zack asked, turning to Nadja. "Last time you were involved with anything close to the End of the World, you almost died."
"That was a rookie mistake," she pointedly reminded him, "one that shall not be committed again. Pinkie promise."
"I don't think either of you should be near any of it," Beth admitted, ignoring the hurt look on Nadja's face. Even Zack, who had said long ago he wanted no business in slaying, seemed put out. "This is big, whole, wide world stuff. Slayer stuff. No civilians allowed, hard hats needed, and all that rot."
"I thought we were supposed to be your partners in arms?" Nadja questioned, sounding petulant. "Isn't that why we train with you?"
"No, that's for the little stuff, like patrolling and small demons," Beth informed her. "This is World Endage. You guys helped break up a couple of middle-aged school teachers from opening up a Hellmouth here in Bellevue; that's not really end of the world, just majorly sucky."
"So we get to sit on the sidelines while you take on some behemoth?" Zack asked for clarification. "What's more appropriate, popcorn or pompoms?"
"This is serious," she snapped. "This could be a god or a Master of something, alright? Even those buggers create quite a problem. My mother has died facing these types of guys. And she's one of the best there's ever been. I have barely even started basic training."
"But you're stronger than any slayer that's ever existed," Nadja persisted.
"Strength does not equal skill," Beth reminded her. "And I'm talking about you two. If this Great Destroyer has as much destructive power as her name says, we're all going to be in trouble and two weak humans aren't going to stand much of a chance."
"Well," Zack responded. "Little Miss Full-of-Herself seems to have graced us with her presence. You know, it doesn't take a slayer to take on the likes of hell. For centuries there'd only ever been one of you, in one place, at one time, and yet the world kept on spinning. I promise you, apocalypses were attempted elsewhere."
"Yeah," Nadja agreed, "destruction was averted where the slayer wasn't. Somebody had to do that and my guess is that it was a couple of weak humans."
"Who do you think kept this town from being run over by demons?" Zack questioned. "Our family has played a huge role in keeping people safe here. I'll admit that the slayers can do it better, but that doesn't mean no one else can do it at all."
Beth leaned back, biting her lip. Both Zack and Nadja had incredibly determined looks on their faces, the kind that meant no funny business. They weren't going to give up. So that meant she'd just have to ditch them.
"It'll be dangerous," she tried one last time, though she allowed her tone to sound resigned. Had to make them think they won somehow, huh?
"Danger's my middle name," Nadja boasted with a confident smile. "Besides, I'm really good with a sword now!"
"You nearly took off Mr. Wells' left arm the last time you swung that thing," Zack reminded her.
"And do we care if I take off some demon's left arm? No? I rest my case then."
The bell rang then, signifying the end of lunch. Zack left them, heading back to his school. Nadja grinned at Beth as they swept up their trash.
"Ooh, I can't wait!" Nadja nearly squealed. "I get to fight some big ole' baddie, right next to one of the coolest slayers ever!"
"And Zack," she added.
Nadja snorted. "Forget Zack. Zack's not there. Not even a blip on my radar. Besides, he's likely to get himself injured. He doesn't even try to learn how to use a broadsword correctly."
"He's got magic," Beth reminded her. "His power is beyond the sword. Or he could probably summon some old timey knight to do it for him."
Beth chuckled, imagining Zack raising some undead army like the one in Lord of the Rings. She didn't know the full extent of his magic, but she did know he was powerful. Maybe not like her aunt Willow, but powerful enough to be a threat. And a good ally. Beth swallowed heavily as they walked into the school. She knew she had to do this herself. If she truly was something bad, she didn't want anyone to be near her when it happened. Zack and Nadja would feel betrayed that she left them behind, but she'd sacrifice their trust in her to keep them all safe.
As they neared their lockers, she noticed a small bit of paper sticking out of the corner. She entered in her combination, and as she swung the door open, a small scrap of paper floated to the floor. She snatched it up before Nadja could notice it and ask questions.
She already knew who it was from, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding as she stuffed it behind the cover of her textbook.
"See you after classes!" Nadja said, walking down the hall towards her next class. Beth offered her a strained smile and a tentative wave before heading in the opposite direction. She quickly took the paper out and unfolded it, reading the chicken scratch handwriting.
Got some news on a demon hole up north. Might be somethin to do with your Destroyer. Come after dark and i can give you some headway
She sighed, folding up the paper and tucking it into her jacket pocket. Well maybe this "Great Destroyer" was all some big hoax. Wouldn't be the first time some demon proclaimed himself to be the one who would destroy the world in a blaze of bloody, destructive glory, only to get his ass handed to him by a slayer. Maybe she wouldn't be the bad guy. But until she was sure, she'd keep this information to herself.
-.-
Getting out of the house was easier than she expected it to be. Both Andrew and Willow had run themselves into the ground looking for headway on this new Big Bad and its connection to Beth. So, when both her parents went out to patrol, leaving the two adults in charge, they wanted to do anything but be in the Summers' household. Aunt Willow, ever so responsible Willow, with Nadja's aunt Esmeralda, or "Esme" as Willow was now commonly referring to her as, left the house with a quick goodbye and a shout to Andrew about keeping an eye on Beth thrown over her shoulder. And Goddesses, wasn't that a terrible idea? Leave Andrew in charge of someone, let alone someone as volatile and manipulative as Beth herself? She had him down for the count in less than two hours. She'd worn him out with sparring, keeping him at it long past his breaking point. Next, she'd plied him with food and snacks, getting him into that sleepy, stuffed state. Finally, she settled him down to "relax" with Star Wars: A New Hope. Worn out and his brain allowed to check out for the night (since he could probably quote the entire movie in his sleep), he was asleep before Han Solo even made his first onscreen appearance, which was quite a shame. She really liked Han Solo after all.
With everyone taken care of, she snuck out of the house. Well, more like walked out, since she exited through the front door, locking it and everything. Sneaking usually suggested not waltzing past your snoring Watcher.
When she got to school grounds, she was surprised to see Charlie leaning against the school building, smoking a cigar. He might have gone out hunting that night even though it was still quite early.
"Been expectin' you," he greeted, blowing smoke right into her face. She coughed once before glaring at him, snatching the cigar out of his hand and throwing it behind her.
"Watch it! Cost me a good amount of cash an' it ain't gonna be good if ya catch the grass on fire," he warned.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though she was surprised at his concern for the grass. "Information. You said you had it."
"Blood. You said you'd bring it," he responded in a similarly clipped manner.
She yanked the blood packs out of her bag, handing them over with little fuss. If feeding him was the only way to get words out of him, she'd do it in a heartbeat.
He took the bags graciously, stuffing them into his jacket. "Caught wind of a big uproar," he began casually. "Yer mama hear anything' 'bout that?"
"What kind of uproar?" she asked. Her mom heard a lot of things and so did her dad. Demons were always up to something it seemed.
"Wanna overrun the slayer," he told her.
"Which slayer?"
He shrugged. "You. Her. Does it matter? They want you gone, outta town. Run you out or rip you up, they don't care. Don't want you messin' with their things no more."
"So?" she replied. "No demon wants a slayer around, except you, I guess. What makes you think this is somehow related to the 'Great Destroyer?'"
"Got an army goin'," he answered. "Hordes of demons bein' rounded up and brought in. Wanna take you out, like those demon attacks on you."
She considered the information. Her parents did mention being attacked by an overwhelming amount of demons the night the Fyarl attacked her. It was possible that a group of demons were deeming themselves a "Great Destroyer." Besides, she's gotten the term from a Fyarl demon, which weren't exactly well-known for their eloquent word choices.
"So you think they might be a force of great destruction?" she asked for clarification.
He shrugged again. "Overheard some demons talkin' 'bout how they were gonna destroy the greatest slayer who ever lived, s'posed that's your ma, ain't it? We demons are all 'bout destroyin' things anyway. Don't matter what it is, we just wanna see it burn."
"So where'd you say this was happening?"
"Some big cave up off of 202, near the Snoqualmie Falls," he informed her. "Pretty big tourist spot. Used to go up there mahself years back."
"Like back when you killed your prey?" she asked dryly.
He shook his head, a twisted grin on his face. "Naw, ain't never been like that. Even a lowly vampire like mahself has got rules. All a part of bein' a part of somethin', but you already know that."
Maybe she would, if she knew what he was talking about. He didn't seem to be a part of any clan, seeing as he was holed up in a school basement without even a paramour.
"Yeah, I know where that is," she finally said. "Hopefully I won't be up there too long."
As she turned to leave, he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Now hold on there a second, little lady. Where'd you think yer goin'?"
"To the location you just gave me?" she replied like he was stupid. "You said it was a bunch of demons. Can't imagine they're good at the making of the quiet."
"Yer goin'? By yerself?" he asked. "Did you miss the part where I said there was a whole mess of 'em?"
"I'm not going to fight them," she told him, rolling her eyes in that typical teen fashion. "I'm gonna go scout it out. Obviously, if it's an army, I'm not dumb enough to take them on by myself. I'm doing some recon. It's like a tactic thing." Besides, she had to make sure this either had nothing to do with the "Great Destroyer" or that she was only a target before she got anyone else involved.
"An' if you get hurt?" he asked.
"Wow, are you like actually concerned for my wellbeing?" she asked, eyebrows raised. She knew that vampires, to some capacity, could enjoy the presence of others and would thereby do things to ensure the continued existence of said enjoyable presence, but Charlie seemed more like the "Every Man for Himself" kind of guy, hardly interested in the wellbeing of another, let alone a slayer like herself.
He snorted, letting go of her arm. "Jus' don't wanna see you do anythin' stupid. Kid, you wanna live for a long time, don't ya?"
"I can handle a little sneaky-sneaky," she replied, walking off once more. "Don't wait up!"
He shook his head, watching as she biked down the road, off the check out the supposed demon hotspot. He pulled another cigar out of his pocket, lighting it up. Sure, he was a little concerned. The girl was interesting and helped supply him with food. And the information he had brought in left him feeling a little uneasy. He hadn't heard anything about a demon army until a day ago, and from the sounds of it, it was already pretty sizeable. So the question any sensible vampire like himself would ask is how had something so big gone unnoticed for so long? Getting demons to work together, especially of varying species, was a battle within itself. All this spelled up to some mighty large problems in his opinion.
Cursing, Charlie threw his cigar on the ground, stalking over to his "borrowed" car. He felt that something was up, something deep in his undead gut told him someone was setting up a game and he'd just played right into their hands. He drove to the location he'd given Beth, planning to sit in the shadows until she arrived. Maybe it'd all work out okay. Or maybe it wouldn't. He didn't really know, but he sure as hell cared. And wasn't that a bitch?
-,-
Beth wandered around the heavily wooded area, feeling a bit aimless. Charlie's directions were nothing if not vague and it was unlikely that this demon army were going to have signs up around, saying "We Want YOU! For the Great Destroyer's Army!" A girl could hope though.
Although, she was keenly aware of the dark feeling pressing down on her, she couldn't be sure if it was demonic or purely magical, but it did leave a gross feeling in her stomach. It almost made her turn back around to gather reinforcements before going in, but that feeling stopped when she remembered why she wanted to go by herself. If this army really had anything to do with her as the Great Destroyer, she needed to keep her family and friends far away. She really didn't know all that much about what it meant to be a vampire, but she already knew she had enough repressed rage and anger to fuel her torturing for eons. Besides, she was technically the descendant of a highly infamous vampire line, well known for its cruelty and destruction. She really didn't need the add-on from her bullies.
She shoved her way through another grove of bushes, stealth something long forgotten. She wasn't anywhere near one demon, let alone a whole pack of them. Charlie said something about a cave, but not one that she had yet seen. Not like she was familiar with this area at all. She'd never been past Lake Sammamish, unless one counted flying over it—but really, who would? She could at least hope she'd have something to show by the end of this little trek, besides angry parents when they realized she'd been out. She looked down at her watch. She still had about two hours before mom and dad came home from work and thereby two hours to not get caught. She'd have to make this super-duper quick because home was one hell of a bike ride away. Maybe she should just kiss her cellphone privileges goodbye now because she was sooo grounded.
She slid down a rocky decline, coming to a stop in the bed of a dried-up stream. Still no demons, though through the trees, she could see what looked like a warm glow. Maybe a house or maybe a demon-y get together? Getting into Sneaky Mode, she moved quietly through the brush, keeping to the darkest shadows as best as possible. Many demons, accustomed to living their lives during the night, tended to have better eyesight. And until she could confirm that the light was not in fact human-based, she wasn't going into game-face. Nuh-uh. Maybe they didn't know if she'd die by stake, but she wasn't looking forward to figuring that out now.
As she breached through the last line of trees, she could see that the light emitted from a torch stuck in the ground. Right outside the mouth of a cave. Huh. Didn't look like much really, beyond a skinny crack in the side of what could be described as a very small cliff. She didn't hear anything coming out of the cave either, not even a roar. But this had to be what Charlie had been referring to: there was a cave and people didn't just stick random torches in the ground. Guessing the gathering had already begun, she switched to game-face and adopted what she hoped looked like a confident gait. She sometimes used to imitate her father's walk when she was younger, thinking that despite the heartbeat and shanshuing, he still walked like a vampire. Of course, she wasn't very good at imitating and she was also pretty sure his whole "Big Bad" façade was just that: put on for show. But she held her head high and walked into the mouth of the cave, hoping that as long as no one there paid any close attention to her, she wouldn't come off as odd. She fit through the crack, though now it occurred to her it was way too small for many well-known fight-y type demons, like the two that had attacked her. Maybe an army of vampires? Not big, muscly, but lean vampires? She could take on a bunch of vampires who did Pilates (Just maybe not all at once).
Still in game face (the cave was kinda dark after all), she maneuvered her way deeper into the rock. She did her best to not slip on any wet patches of rock, but found herself sometimes having to grip the slimy wall to keep from falling. She could almost hear the sound of her mom muttering curses under her breath as she complained about the state of her designer boots. It never failed to confuse both Beth and her father as to why Buffy would ever wear nice boots while demon hunting. Of course, like mother like daughter, Beth let out a string of curses (some British, because hey, she got something from her father too) as she fell backward, getting god only knows what on the back of her jacket. The only sound that echoed off the cave walls was her own annoyed voice, the air devoid of any other sound. Weird, considering she was supposed to be making her way towards a demon army. Maybe she got their early, and wouldn't that be awkward? Being the first vampire at the meeting? She began to consider that maybe she should have hid outside the cave and waited to see if anyone showed up instead of prioritizing time. But it was too late now as she'd already gone partway down the cavern and didn't feel like trying to make her way up the slippery slope until after she got something useful.
A few minutes later and she began to notice that she was able to see more easily. Of course, with her super-enhanced vampire eyeballs she had better night vision than any human regardless, but now things started to look a bit more like sunset than twilight. Still not hearing a sound, she decided to revert out of game face. The cavern fell dark again, but no worse than the outdoors on a full moon.
The cavern finally opened up into a large antechamber, making her eyes widen dramatically. It was definitely the place for a large meetup and included a rock jutting out of the ground, which looked like a mini-version of Pride Rock. Torches lined the wall, giving the room a nice, warm glow. In front of the Pride Rock was a circle drawn with chalk, marked with symbols. It didn't look like the Seal of Danzalthar—definitely a sigh of relief—but it was all magic-y so she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture for her aunt. But besides all that, the antechamber was empty. Nothing else marked the room, not even a snack table. Maybe she had missed the big meet up and the army was already charging.
With a resigned sigh, she concluded that she had somehow missed whatever was happening here by a long shot. She jumped up on the large rock, trying to find something at all to make this trip not be a total bust. Well, she had the symbol snapshot, so hopefully that would lead to success rather than her parents yelling at her for doing something stupid.
"Liking the view, are you?" At the sound of the voice, Beth whipped around to see a man standing some few feet behind the rock. He looked inconspicuous as a middle-aged man, slightly balding, dressed in jeans and a dark green shirt. Totally harmless, except for maybe the evil gleam in his eyes. Probably not a 9-5 man with 2 kids and a mortgage. "I tend to find the height rather…empowering."
She narrowed her eyes at his sinister tone, her hand reaching for the ratchet she had tucked in the waistband of her pants.
"Now, now, must we immediately resort to violence?" he asked in a mockingly placating manner, raising his hands up, palm forward in the universal gesture of "I come in peace." She didn't think he would even know what peace meant. "I prefer to talk things out first," he added.
Fine. He wanted to play that villain? She only hoped he wouldn't monologue because boring. "Are you building an army?" she demanded, hand still poised to grab her weapon. He looked unarmed, but the amount of power radiating off of him was staggering. Once upon a time he had been purely human, but now magic had twisted and warped him into something bigger than that. More dangerous than that.
He chuckled. "An army? Is that what brought you here? An army? You must think very highly of yourself to come alone."
"I wasn't coming to fight it," she responded, adding on, "Not yet, at least."
"Well, as you can so plainly see, I have no army, only me," he said, gesturing to the surrounding area. She didn't necessarily believe him, seeing as he had popped out of nowhere so who knows if he could do that to an entire army as well.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, a slight smirk on his face. "Well, actually, if I think about it, I sort of do have an army. Maybe not in the conventional sense of thousands of men, brutally slaughtering others, but I do have something that would be the equivalent of that."
Here we go, she thought, falling into a fighting stance. Anything that equaled an army was bad news, so if she wanted to get out of here alive and get reinforcements, she was going to have to play defense long enough to get back to the entrance of the cave.
"So why don't you make yourself more comfortable in the mean time?" he asked with a disarming smile. With a flick of his wrist—before Beth could even bat an eye—she was thrown off the rock by a heavy force to her abdomen, knocking the breath clean out of her. She tumbled across the rock floor, undoubtedly acquiring a nice set of bruises and scrapes, before coming to a stop. She pushed herself up off the ground, growling at him as he strode over with a smile on his face. Maybe he was the army. Of course, she had a witch too, one who could no doubt knock the socks off of this guy. He seemed a bit more like the showy type anyway.
As he came closer, she took a step back, preparing to make a bolt towards the one exit she could see in the cave. She would need to distract him a bit though, long enough to reach the cavern. But when she took another step back, her back hit a wall that hadn't been there before. The man's smile widened. She spun around, expecting to see some rock he'd raised out of the ground, but instead was met with nothing. Well crap. She looked down, already pretty sure she knew where she was standing. She'd messed up the chalk a bit, but the force was still holding. She was standing in the middle of the chalk drawing and whatever it was, it was sealing her in.
"Now, I couldn't have the guest of honor leaving at such an important moment, could I?" he asked. "The Great Destroyer is among us." He said the last part as a breathy whisper, but with it echoing off the cave walls, it sounded like a scream in her ears.
"I'm not—" she began, cutting herself off when she didn't know what she wasn't. She knew she wasn't fully human. She knew she wasn't free from anger and destruction. She knew she wasn't a killer—or was she? She was both a vampire and a slayer. Two things highly skilled in the art of death. One was it and the other made it.
"Oh, but you are," he assured. "The prophecy foretold it! The coming of the exalted One, the Embodiment of Fire and Lightning, our Great Destroyer, primed to bring forth the end!"
Beth turned around to see the man now standing where she had been before, on the rock, his hands stretched above him. Even in her little seal, she could feel the air crackling with power. It felt like the night at the bonfire, with Zack and his cousins, the magic swirling in the air. She had felt such power and strength there, but here, she felt dirtiness and oppression. It made her feel sick.
"As our Great Father before us foretold, the Great Destroyer shall come and free those loyal to Her from the grasp of mortality, casting us into the Dark Light, and as her loyal servants, She will bring the Reign of Fire and Lightning unto this pitiful planet, bringing forth the New Age of Earth!"
Maybe it wasn't only the magic in the air that was making her sick. Hearing those words and feeling them bat around in her head, made her want to actually vomit. The words were staggeringly familiar to the prophecy. She had to know.
"What prophecy?" she finally asked, glad to hear her voice sounded stronger than she felt.
He finally looked down at her, his eyes gleaming. "The prophecy as told by our Great Father. Eons ago, in the Dark Ages, he found the Great Prophecy which foretold the coming of the Great Destroyer. Only he knew the true meaning and in fear of others finding it and averting it, he destroyed it, but spread the word himself and gained many devout followers. Today, we will finally fulfill the prophecy our Great Father worked so hard to protect!"
"Well, how exactly are you going to make me destroy anything?" she asked with as much false bravado as she could muster. "You can't make me destroy shite."
"We were told the Great Destroyer would come to us in mortal form," he went on, almost like he hadn't heard her. "And we prepared. We shall free you from your human cage! The audacity, to trap such rage and power in such a perishable casing!
"From the flesh and blood will come She who is stronger than man and more than demon, greater than any power on earth! An unstoppable force, unparalleled by any creature that walks this planet."
"Obviously you've never met a god," she responded, pounding at the force keeping her sealed. She tried rubbing away the chalk, but the seal didn't falter. And she only damaged her hatchet by taking it up against the seal. "And the more and more you use the word 'great,' the fuller of it you look."
He gave her a scathing look. "It matters not what you think. In the end, you will be grateful for what we, your loyal servants, have done for you and will grant us with your gift of immortality."
"Seriously? You think I'd want to spend forever with you in any form?" she asked, snorting. "I mean, if you're pissing me off now, think of how I'd feel about you when I'm running on a power high."
"Silence! We must prepare for your Coming! Raise the Great Destroyer out of the ashes of humanity!" he cried, a crazed look on his face. She tried not to panic, but it was hard not to.
-.-
Charlie had seen a lot of power-hungry psychos in all his years of vampirism, and even some in his human years. He remembered the slave driver on Colonel Brownstone's plantation who whipped many slaves into lameness with an evil gleam in his eyes. He better remembered his own sire, old and refined, who wanted an empire, even if he never said it. So yeah, he knew a lot about those guys. So, seeing the crazy man up on the rock, shouting a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about the end of the world, he knew exactly what he was dealing with. And with the littlest slayer currently locked in some invisible force field, he knew exactly who he was going to need. Hopefully, she wasn't too much of a slay first, ask questions later sort of gal.
He scrawled backward away from the cliff he'd gotten himself up on. He had seen Beth enter through the general entrance with a bad feeling crawling through his undead gut. It was too quiet for a demon army and even Beth seemed to sense that, despite going in anyway. So, with growing unease, he scouted out a separate, smaller entrance, which entailed him army-crawling into the antechamber, just in time to see Beth get thrown off the rock by some invisible force and for the crazy guy to start revealing all his secrets. So the kid was some prophesized Apocalyptic beastie, huh? Well, at least the vampire part of her, which Charlie had sensed early on, making him guess she descended from some old, powerful line of vampires. Hopefully that powerful vampire daddy had a soft spot for his kid and would go in, fangs bared, ready to save his child of both blood and body. He already knew mama bear would. Buffy Summers was no slayer to be messed with.
Once out of the cave and into the cool night air, Charlie raced to his car, knowing he didn't have a lot of time.
