AN: Hi everyone here's Year's End, sorry I have been taken so long with updates I've been working on this research project for my uni work. So if any or you have five or ten minutes could you please fill out this survey just to lend me a hand so I can get back to writing this story soon. surveymonkey uk/r/7QFYSGP (the co part goes before the uk) I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much. Now here we go back with Buffy and the gang.
Five Years Ago – Westbury, England
"Good. Now hold it." Giles says as he circles Buffy, who was currently doing a handstand on the pommel horse.
He watches her for a moment before nodding in approval "Okay, dismount."
Buffy groans in relief before flipping off the pommel horse and landing on her feet opposite her long time Watcher.
Buffy turns to her Watcher as she stretches out her arms "I'm pretty much healed, Giles. I mean other than that nasty looking scar I'm good."
As Giles walks over to the wall lined with knives she turns to face him "You know, I love the healing and all that but you'd think that would prevent the nasty scar-age."
Giles chuckles before picking up a knife off the wall and turning to face Buffy "You may be the slayer but your body is still human. It still scars."
"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever."
It's then that Giles launches the knife at her, she quickly swings her leg out, kicking the blade away from her.
Buffy chuckles before turning to Giles as he prepares to launch a throwing star, she smiles sadly as she realises something "You know, this may be our last one on one session, old watcher of mine."
Giles pauses as the reality hits him, she was right, there were hundreds, possibly thousands of Slayers out there now and soon Slayers would be filling this mansion. This was extremely likely to be the last time he and his Slayer would be able to train together.
Starling City – Present Day
Buffy moves quickly as she wheels the elderly patient into the ER "Rose Sterling, 64, heart attack. She hit her head when she fell, may have internal bleeding in the brain, there is a swelling in her right eye."
The doctors nod before wheeling the unconscious woman away, Buffy sighs, she knew it was too late, if she had gotten there maybe five minutes before then she could have saved the woman but she knew in her heart it was too late. They wouldn't be able to save her.
Buffy sighs before moving back towards the ambulance, as she closes the doors and moves to climb inside a voice makes her pause "Hey princess."
Buffy shakes her head in amusement before turning to face Dean "Hi." She says giving him a quick kiss before smiling "So what can I do for you Dr?"
"I was wondering..." Dean says as he tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear "Do you have plans for Christmas Eve?"
Buffy freezes for a moment, she hadn't even realised it was Christmas, she hadn't even celebrated it since her mum had died, Dawn and she just hadn't felt up to.
"Actually um...not likely. Most likely gonna chill with Diggle."
Dean frowns "Not your roommates?"
"Willow's Jewish." Buffy explains "And Xander will be heading to his family, only to immediately come back Christmas morning after arguing with his family. Christmas day tends to be a let's just get drunk and forget our lives day."
Dean chuckles in amusement before asking the dreaded question "So you're not gonna see your family?"
"My mum is not around anymore and I can't exactly talk to my sister so a big no with that. Christmas just really isn't my thing."
"You crossed three names off your father's list this week alone." Diggle points out to Oliver as they continue to spar, he was obviously impressed by Oliver's sudden focus on the list but there was the hint of worry in his tone. Oliver had been off since the break up with Helena.
"Yeah." Oliver says as he blocks Diggle's arm "Well, some of these guys are just giving it up now. All I got to do is pay them a visit."
Diggle nods before raising his arm, which is immediately blocked by Oliver "Seems the vigilante's reputation is beginning to precede him. Uh, ah!" Diggle exclaims as Oliver's knife manages to cuts his skin.
As Diggle groans, Oliver merely grins enjoying the adrenalin "Another round?"
Diggle forces a smile on his face before letting it fall "No." He says sharply, Oliver was going to kill him at this rate.
Oliver chuckles before moving away and making his way to the computer.
As he does Diggle clutches his arm before making his way over "Gotta take my nephew to the mall so he can let Santa know what he wants for Christmas."
Oliver leans back in his chair and freezes momentarily stunned, it had completely slipped his mind "Christmas." He breaths "I didn't even realise."
Diggle scoffs "Great another one of you."
Oliver closes his eyes only to pause "Another one?"
"Yeah, Buffy." Diggle says offhandedly "I'm having to force the girl to come with me and my nephew, girl blocks out Christmas like she does me when I annoy her. Although her reason for not celebrating is different from yours."
Oliver can't help but find himself intrigued, the blonde was a complete mystery "Yeah why's that?"
"Her mum." Diggle tells him "She loved the holidays now that she's gone it always slips her mind."
Oliver nods interested only to freeze at Dig's next words "You probably just forgot because you've been logging in so many Hood hours ever since that thing with Helena."
Five Years Ago – Westbury, England
Buffy stands in front of the group of young Slayers nervously, they were all different ages ranging from 12-year-olds to 22-year-olds and they were all watching her. The Longest Living Slayer, they were waiting for her to give them the answers they all wanted; to explain what was happening to them.
She takes a deep breath before folding her arms and looking down at all of them. They were in the massive courtyard and as all the Slayers sat on the ground Buffy was stood on the balcony just above them all "You all know who I am. I am the Slayer, the chosen one, the one born to fight the forces of darkness...except now it's not one...it's many. I don't know what's coming next but I know in the end it's going to be us. You have a power within you. Each and every one of you. You're no longer potentials you are Slayers. You have a choice here. Something none of us has had before. You can choose. You can fight or you can go home. But you need to know what we are...what we do."
Buffy steps forward and flips off the balcony landing in front of the girls "Some of you don't know what you are meant to do with this power. I'm going to show you...but know this, there is only one thing on this earth more power than evil...and that's us."
At her words, Xander and Andrew appear dragging a clocked figure out into the courtyard with chains.
Buffy nods at them, as she does Xander rips off the bag over the man's head to reveal a vampire.
All the girls gasp in shock, Buffy sighs majority of these girls had never seen a vampire before, they had a long way to go.
"This is what we're up against." Buffy tells them as she yanks the chains off the vampire releasing him "This is just the beginning." She tells the girls before attacking the vampire.
Present Day – Starling City
"What are your thoughts, Oliver?" Malcolm Merlyn asks Oliver as they discuss the vigilante and the fall of violence in Starling City at the dinner party.
Oliver pauses trying to think of the best possible way to answer the question "I think the vigilante needs a better code name than The Hood or The hood guy."
Everyone at the table laughs in amusement at the joke making Oliver smile successfully.
Merlyn raises his glass towards Oliver "I agree. How about Green Arrow?"
Oliver shakes his head and frowns at the name "Lame."
Everyone's attention is quickly drawn to Walter as his phone begins ringing, Walter sighs and quickly grabs his phone only to sigh as he sees who is calling "I apologise, it's the office. Excuse me."
"I'm in the middle of a dinner party Ms Rosenberg, so I hope this is of some importance." Walter hisses clearly irritated.
Willow sighs as she continues to tap away at her laptop "I guess that depends on how you define important. See most people...for example me would think of important as finding a list of names in subsonic ultraviolet invisible ink important."
"But then I already know about that, don't I?"
Willow rolls her eyes, he may be her boss but he could be infuriating sometimes "How about the fact that the vigilante seems to be making his way through that specific list? Did you know that? Nope."
Walter sighs "But it is a rather long list, Willow, you can't be sure, I would expect there to be some overlap."
Willow sighs, he was driving her insane, why couldn't he just listen to her and take her word for it, she clicks open her next file "Like Doug Miller."
"Head of applied sciences at Queen Consolidated." Walter acknowledges "What of him"
Willow smiles, she had his attention now "Well looks like the festival of lights may go downhill for Mr Miller as he's going to be getting an arrow thrown at him. He's on the list. So important or not?"
"Charles Stevenson," Xander tells Buffy as she sits in his office during her lunch break. Xander places the file in front of her "It's taken me all week to get this Intel, The Triad are being more shifty about everything now that they know that some woman in red is after them."
Buffy sighs as she sips her coffee before reaching over and taking a glimpse at the file "My guess Wolfram and Hart don't want their little demon pets knowing who specifically is after them."
Xander nods he had thought about that, it was likely that very few of the demons knew that it was actually Buffy hunting them, Wolfram and Hart were shady and clever, they would lie to keep the business going.
Buffy sighs before leaning back in her chair "So what do we now?" She asks as she flips through the file.
"I've narrowed it down to this factory in The Glades." Xander says as he places security photos of the factory in front of Buffy, which she quickly picks up looking for possible ways to get in.
"I've got Willow keeping an eye on the security feed. We'll know the second he gets in close."
Buffy nods absorbing all this information before finishing her coffee and checking her watch "Damn. I got to get back to work."
As she stands Xander takes the file off her and quickly locks it back in his desk, "Training after work?" He asks as he walks her to the door."
"Will you wear the body puffy protection stuff?" Buffy asks with a grin making Xander groan, it may be protective gear but every time Buffy hit him he still couldn't move for several hours after their sessions "Fine." He moans.
"Mr Harris..." A voice says making both Buffy and Xander pause. It's then that Walter turns the corner and comes face to face with the two of them.
"Miss Summers." He says politely smiling at the young woman sweetly "It's lovely to see you again."
Buffy smiles at the man, he was always kind to her when she came in, she couldn't hate him he just seemed too nice "You too Mr Steele. I'd stay but I've got to get back to work."
Walter nods, stepping to the side allowing her to pass him "Can't stop you from saving lives now, can we? Good day."
Buffy smiles before waving at Xander "I'll see you at home."
"Bye Buffy." Xander says with a smile before turning back to Walter who was smiling at him.
"Lovely young woman." Walter tells him as he walks into the office before turning to Walter "Are the two of you..."
Xander's eyes widen at the insinuation before bursting out in laughter "Me and Buff? No, no, no." He chuckles for another moment before calming down and turning to Walter seriously "So what is it you needed to discuss."
"Who would kill Adam Hunt with an arrow?" Diggle asks still in shock from what Oliver had told him. There was a copy cat out there now and if they didn't find out who it was soon, then a lot of people were going to die. "I mean other than you."
Oliver glances over at him, glaring slightly before turning back to stare at the wall, he was in shock, this was his fault, this copycat wouldn't exist if it wasn't for him "Set up maybe."
"You mean someone looking to cover up Hunt by making it look like the work of The Hood?" Diggle asks curiously as he rubs his hands together trying to think of other possible explanations.
"Whoever he was he's good." Oliver admits "The grouping on Hunt's chest was tight. It's a compound bow most likely. The guy is a legitimate archer."
Diggle nods as he processes the information, slowly he leans forwards in his chair before looking over at Oliver "Someone who would be particular about his choice of arrows."
Oliver nods and glances over at his partner "We get an arrow, we get a beat on where he purchased them."
"So what are you going to do?"
Oliver sighs, trying to think of the right solution. After a beat, he nods "What anyone does when they need help: call a cop."
"I hate this suit." Xander moans as he groans in pain.
Buffy was beating him around the room easily, not even breaking a sweat, unlike Xander who was now covered head to toe in sweat.
"Buffy." He groans "Can't feel anything."
Buffy pauses in her assault and freezes, her eyes widen in panic and she immediately backs away "Oh! Puffy Xander. Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He says quietly "Just can't move."
Buffy looks at him guiltily "Do you wanna sit?"
Xander glances down at the puffy padded suit he was currently wearing before shaking his head "Don't think that's possible." He glances around the room for a second before an idea comes to him "I can lean." He says gesturing to the wall.
Buffy glances at the wall before nodding, wrapping her arms around Xander she lifts him slightly dragging him up to the wall before allowing him to lean against it.
"Better?" She asks.
Xander grins "Yeah. This leaning, that's the stuff."
Buffy grins before unwrapping her hands "Sorry bout pounding on you."
Xander nods, there was something up with her and he knew it, that's why she had had the sudden need to pumble something.
"Well Buff, as I have allowed you to beat me up will you tell me what's up?"
Buffy sighs, "It's Christmas." She says simply as she unwraps her hands and sits down next to him. "I hadn't even realised." She further explains, forcing memories to the surface "The last Christmas I remember is the one before my mum died. She died right after Christmas..."
Xander looks at his friend carefully, he hadn't even realised, with Willow being Jewish and him always trying to avoid his family during the holidays they had never really done anything at Christmas just the three of them.
"Buffy, you've been through a lot, it's understandable for you to not want to celebrate. What's brought this all up?"
Buffy sighs "Dean asked me to spend Christmas Eve with him. But also um...John wants me to go with him and his nephew to see Santa."
Xander smiles "Maybe it's time to start letting the little stuff back in."
Buffy smiles before hugging Xander, Xander freezes before smiling down at her "Now's the time you choose to hug me."
"So maybe now I can be the reason we have Christmas again." Oliver says hesitantly as he stands in the living room, Thea, Moira and Walter all watching him stunned by his words.
"I thought I would throw the Queen Christmas party." He finishes only to get a scoff out of his sister, who was watching him in amusement.
The idea of Oliver throwing a family-friendly party was just so absurd that she wanted to laugh "You?"
Oliver sighs and looks at his family members carefully "I know that I haven't been the son..." He glances over at Walter "...or the stepson, or the brother that all of you deserve, especially lately. But this feels like the right moment to start making up for lost time." Oliver turns to face his mother who was looking up at him, stunned, her expression was full of emotion and a smile was covering her lips "What do you say?"
Moira's smile brightens as she looks at her son "I say yes."
Five Years Ago – Westbury, England
"Nope." Buffy groans in annoyance as she falls back on Willow's bed, she covers her face with her arms before huffing.
Willow arches a brow at her best friend, she had strolled in huffing without saying a word.
"How was training?"
Buffy lifts her head up off the bed enough to look at her friend before flopping back down "Nope." She mumbles again.
Willow chuckles in amusement before standing and making her way over to the bed. She lies down next to her best friend and turns her head to look at her "Buffy, what is it? What's got you acting like one of the seven dwarfs?"
Buffy sighs and rubs her hands through her hair before turning to face her best friend "I'm not a teacher. I'm not a general. This isn't me. And I swear if I get called Ms Summers or ma'am again I'm going to snap."
Willow smiles slightly, she knew what this was about. Buffy had gone from being the only Slayer, the one that needed training to the person that everyone came to. Willow sighs, feeling worried, she knew Buffy would struggle slightly but having her only family gone and her mother dead meant that she was limited in people to turn to for advice.
"You'll be fine." Willow assures her speaking softly "You always find a way."
Buffy sighs "I wish my mum was here. And my annoying brat sister."
Willow laughs in amusement, as much as she protested it was obvious that she loved Dawn more than anything.
"Speaking of the brat...you talk to her lately?"
"Not much." Buffy tells her sighing slightly, it upset her that she didn't get to see her sister at all and talking to her was getting more difficult by the day "She's all with the Italy at the moment. Not time for big sis."
Starling City – Present Day
Oliver freezes as he spots his phone ringing, when he spots the number he can't help but smirk internally, it was Detective Lance calling for The Hood. Oliver knew that it would only be a matter of time before Lance turned to him, it's why he had made sure Lance had gotten the phone.
As he picks up the phone his face losses all signs of emotion and he activates the voice modulator "Don't bother trying to trace this back to me, you'll never make it through the encryption."
"There's a heating vent on the corner of O'Neil and Adams. You will find what you're after there."
Oliver hesitates for a second, he didn't trust Lance, it could be a trap "It would be a mistake to set a trap for me, detective." He warns.
Lance sighs "I'm trading away just about everything I believe in here because it's the only way I've got to get this bastard. Now you got till Christmas, then copycat or not I'm coming after you."
Willow was hacking into the Starling City police department files when something catches her eye. It was a new file one that hadn't been there the last time she checked. Her eyes narrow as she opens the file only for her jaw to drop as she sees the photo of the murder scene.
Her eyes widen even more as she reads the report, apparently, there was a serial killer out there, using black arrows.
Willow sighs, this wasn't good. She knew she had to get Buffy, Buffy may have been staying out of the Hood's way but once she finds out about this new archer that would change things.
As she continued to stare at the file intently she doesn't notice the male figure approach her desk "Hey." A voice says from above her making Willow gasp in shock as she looks up to spot Oliver standing in her office.
"Don't you knock?" She hisses annoyed before quickly closing down all the police files.
"Willow, this is the IT Department, it's not the ladies room." He points out only to have her glare at him.
"That's not amusing." She tells him before chuckling slightly "So what can I do for you?"
"My buddy Steve is really into archery. Apparently, it's all the rage right now."
Willow rolls her eyes "I just don't get it. Buffy use to do it when we lived in England and God did she look ridiculous." Willow freezes and looks up at him seriously "Never tell her I said that."
Oliver's jaw locked as he gave her a swift nod "Uh-huh. You're secret is safe with me." Although he was stunned at the news that Buffy herself was actually gifted in archery he continues with his lame story which was actually better than some of the other's he had come up with "Anyway it's Steve's birthday next weekend and I wanted to buy him some arrows." He says as he pulls out the dark archer's arrow to show it to Willow "Thing is he gets these special custom-made arrows. And I have no idea where he gets them."
Willow freezes at the sight of the arrow, it was the same one that she had been staring at just a moment ago in the police file. She groans slightly "I am so going to lose that bet." She mumbles not realising that she had spoken aloud.
Oliver frowns in confusion "I'm sorry."
Willow panics "Nothing. Carry on."
Oliver looks at her sceptically not quite believing her but he hands her the arrow anyway "I was hoping you could find out where this came from."
When she goes to take it Oliver cuts her off "Careful."
Willow offers him a small smile before taking the arrow.
As she examines it carefully she tries to absorb as much information as she can about it so that she can warn Buffy "The shaft's composite is patented."
Turning to her computer she quickly types in the number saving the file as she does without Oliver noticing "And that patent is registered to a company called Sagittarius. That's Latin for archer." She tells him as she hands out the arrow towards him.
Oliver nods interested before taking the arrow and putting it back in the container "Could you find out where and when this was purchased?"
Willow arches an eyebrow, he really was extremely obvious, but she needed this information anyway to track down this guy so she figured she might as well do it now. Smiling at him she quickly reads through files before finding what she was looking for "According to Sagittarius company records that particular arrow is part of a bundle shipment, 200 units sent to this address." She says as she again saves the page keeping the address for herself before writing down a copy for Oliver.
Oliver smiles as he takes the sheet of paper off her "Willow, you're remarkable."
"I know." She says with a grin before crossing her arms "If you want to make it up to me you could tell me if you have an attractive sister." She says with a smirk.
Oliver freezes as he gets her point before chuckling and standing "My sister is 16."
Willow sighs "Damn. Shame."
Oliver chuckles in amusement at the redhead before heading for the door, as he does he pauses and turns to her "Um Merry Christmas. To you and Buffy."
"I'm Jewish."
"Happy Hanukah to you then..." He pauses making Willow smile.
"I will let Buffy now."
He gives her a small smile before heading out the office.
The minute the door closes behind him Willow turns back to her computer and begins trying to gather as much information about the archer as she can.
"Aunt Buffy, come on." AJ Diggle moans as he drags Buffy by the hand through the mall towards where all the kids were lined up to meet Santa.
Buffy turns back to face John and glares at him "How did I let you talk me into this?"
John merely chuckles and continues to watch as his nephew drags the blonde over to the elves.
Once AJ was in line Buffy moves to stand by Dig before hitting him on the arm "You suck."
John chuckles "It's not my fault he likes his aunt Buffy."
Buffy rolls her eyes trying to force the smile threatening to break free.
John smiles in success "See you're having a good time."
Buffy again rolls her eyes before punching her friend's arm playfully, she smirks as he winces before turning back just as AJ goes up to Santa. She smiles at the young boy, the scene reminded her of when she was a kid and her and Dawn had gone to see Santa.
As she thinks of her sister Buffy can help but blink back tears, she missed her sister and her mum and not having them around this time of year sucked.
John looked over at his best friend and immediately frowns at the look on her face before throwing a comforting arm around her shoulder.
Buffy leans into Diggle for a moment before AJ runs over "Johnny, Buffy." The little boy says cheerfully as he shows them the toy car "Look what Santa got me."
Buffy chuckles before taking the boy's hand "Come on kid." She says before lifting him up off the ground.
Diggle ruffles his nephew's hair before walking along side Buffy "Sure you won't come to this party?"
Buffy arches a brow before chuckling in amusement "Yeah...no. Spending all night with the rich and pompous not my idea of a party."
Diggle laughs before nodding in agreement, it wasn't exactly his either, Buffy giggles before tapping John's shoulder in support, she then turns her focus on AJ "Poor Uncle Johnny gonna have to suffer alone."
Five Years Ago –Westbury, England
"What is it?" Buffy asks as she takes another bite of her sandwich staring at the large monitor in front of her.
Xander shrugs as he stares at the symbol on the screen "I don't know a moon?"
Buffy tilts her head as she stares at the image "I think it looks like a sad face."
Xander sighs before rubbing his head in frustration "I don't know but Willow told me it's something witchy. Apocalypse stuffy."
Buffy groans in annoyance "Great." She huffs sarcastically before flopping against her chair and sliding over to Xander.
"She just said it was in a book of prophecies. Something to do with the death of all vampires."
Buffy bursts out in laughter "Yeah like that's ever gonna happen." She says softly before tapping Xander's chest "No offence Xand, but you're a terrible Watcher."
Xander glares at her clearly not happy with the description "I told you not to call me that."
Starling City – Present Day
"The other archer moved to the next level. He's taken, hostages." Diggle tells Oliver as he leads Oliver into the study before switching on the news where a beaten woman was currently crying on screen.
"Happy Holidays, Starling City. For the past three months, Starling has been laid siege by a vigilante. But the police have been unable to bring him to justice because they lack the will to do what justice demands..."
"...I will kill one hostage every hour in the name of this vigilante until he surrenders himself to my authority."
Buffy crosses her arms as she stares at the TV, she takes a deep breath before switching off the TV and moving past Xander towards the cupboard to get her suit.
Xander stands confused "Buffy, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to find The Hood." She says as she grabs her suit and moves behind the screen to change.
Xander's eyes widen "Buffy!"
"He has hostages Xander!" She exclaims as she comes out from behind the screen now in her suit.
As she moves to grab her weapons the front door slams open and in runs Willow, Willow searches frantically around the room before running over to Buffy and handing her a file.
"What is this?" The blonde asks in confusion.
"The Dark Archer...that's what I'm calling him anyway." When Buffy frowns Willow carries on "Buffy, that's the person who kidnapped those people. Buffy, I found a police file, this guy is dangerous he kills his victims with a black bow. Perfect accuracy every time."
Buffy frowns before glancing down at the image of the arrow, her eyes widen at the sight of it, she hadn't seen an arrow like this in almost two years.
"Buffy, what is it?" Xander asks noticing the look on her face.
"I—" She hesitates "I know this arrow. I don't know his name but I know what he was called Al Sa-Her. It means the magician."
Willow frowns in confusion "How do you know that?"
Buffy freezes there were things that had happened in the past few years that she still hadn't told either of them, and this secret was one she wanted to take to the grave "I—"
Buffy breathes a sigh of relief as one of Willow's computers begins ringing loudly.
Willow spins her head around and quickly runs over to the computer only to gasp in shock "We have a problem. Charles Stevenson..."
Buffy frowns "What about him?"
"He's at the same address that I tracked the Dark Archer too."
Buffy's eyes widen before they go dark, grabbing the scythe she climbs onto the balcony before making her way up the fire escape and into the night.
Buffy crashes in through the window at the factory, rolling across the ground she comes to a stop by the door only to freeze as she spots the hostages inside.
She moves to go in only to be grabbed from behind and tossed towards the opposite end of the room.
She groans in pain and rolls onto her side only to gasp in shock as lying down opposite her in a pool of his own blood was Charles Stevenson.
"Told you I would be back soon." A familiar voice says approaching her making Buffy's blood run cold "Marcus..." She hisses just as she is kicked in the stomach and sent flying through the air.
Oliver crashes through the window at the factory and quickly unties all the victims "Where is he?" he asks as he unties the three of them.
The woman who had been on television earlier shakes her head before taking a shaky breath "I don't know."
"It's going to be Ok." He tells them before leading them out of the room not once noticing the loud crashing noise coming from the next room.
"Why kill your pet?" Buffy asks as she stands, spinning the scythe in her grasps before glaring at the well dressed Marcus.
Marcus readjusts his blazer before offering her a small smile "He was a talkative one. And I've heard about your torture methods. Impressive by the way removing one of my demon's ears."
Buffy glares at him for another moment before running at him, she swings the scythe at him but he dodges it easily. When he throws a punch at her she steps back before spinning around, kicking him square in the chest.
As he stumbles back Buffy grabs onto the metal pole next to her and uses it to spin her body around in the air before flipping onto the next level above them.
Oliver pauses at the end of the long hallway and turns only to spot the Dark Archer standing on the other end of the corridor "Thank you for coming." The Dark Archer says, his voice slightly distorted "After the warehouse, I knew I'd have to do something dramatic to get your attention."
Oliver glares at the other man furious "What do you want with me?"
"What any archer wants; to see who's better." He hisses before reaching for an arrow only to have Oliver beat him to it and fire one at The Dark Archer who easily dodges it.
The two exchange Arrow after arrow until chasing each other down the hall further into the factory.
As Marcus leaps onto the second floor Buffy leaps up sending a powerful kick to his chest. When he goes to hit her again she grabs onto the metal scaffolding and uses it to twist herself away from him.
He comes after her and throws out his first, she ducks under the blow coming up behind him and swings the scythe at him only from him to knock it from her grasp.
He tosses it to the ground out of her reach and swings hit fist at her again jabbing her in the face. When she stumbles he kicks her in the stomach sending her flying backwards.
The blonde ignores the pain and quickly recovers, flipping herself back up she raises her arms just in time to block Marcus from hitting her with the metal pole he had ripped from the wall.
She blocks the blow again only for him to shove her up against the scaffolding and knee her in the stomach.
As the arrow pierces his leg Oliver cries out in agony before letting go of the metal railing and dropping to the ground.
He quickly recovers and rolls out of the way as another arrow is sent flying his way.
He grabs his own bow and pulls out an arrow ready to take fire only to freeze as he finds The Dark Archer gone.
Oliver circles the room desperate to find the man only to suddenly find himself crying in agony once more as two arrows dig into his back.
Buffy backhands Marcus before twisting the metal pole out of his grasp knocking him painfully in the jaw as she spins out of his reach. She catches his arm as he goes to hit her and kicks him in the stomach before twisting his arm forcing it out of place.
Marcus shoves her away before staring at his now dislocated arm impressed "I must say you've got bigger balls than that vampire. Guess we know who wore the pants in that relationship."
Buffy growls at him and Marcus takes her distraction to slip one of her knives out of her holster and swing it at her. Buffy backs up just in time to avoid getting cut.
He pins her up against the scaffolding again and holds her arms tightly as he tries to force the knife towards her throat.
Buffy struggles, they were equally matched in strength but his size gave him the advantage at this point. When he yanks back her hair forcing her to tilt her head her eyes widen in panic as the knife gets closer and closer to her.
After a moment she ducks her head down and bites into his arm causing him to cry out in pain, using the distraction to her advantage she uses his arm as a base and flips around it before forcing him to crash head first into the metal scaffolding.
"I'm just gonna keep coming back." Marcus hisses as Buffy kicks the base of his spine paralysing him.
Buffy shrugs "Well I guess each time will just have to be more painful than the last." She says before grabbing the scythe off the ground and swinging it at him.
The scythe slices his skull in two and Buffy watches for a moment as his skull separates before falling in separate pieces on the ground.
Buffy sighs as she stares down at his body before she remembers the hostages, leaping down from the second level she runs over to the door and rips it off its hinges as she tries to get inside.
She freezes as she spots the hostages gone. She groans before spotting the camera still going quickly grabbing one of her knives she throws it at the camera destroying it.
"First hunt. Then Ravish. And now you."
Buffy freezes as she hears the words coming from a distorted voice, as she listens it's then she hears cries of pain. Her eyes widen and she quickly runs as fast as she can towards the voices.
The blonde runs into the large open space, filled with half destroyed wooden boxes, only to spots The Hood on the ground; two arrows in his back with The Dark Archer standing over him kicking him violently in the stomach.
Buffy quickly grabs one of her knives before tossing it at the Dark Archer watching as it buries itself in his left leg causing him to pause in his assault.
As the Archer drops Buffy runs at him, pressing her foot onto his knee she pushes herself up and wraps her other leg around his neck before twisting around him causing him to flip through the air while she landed gracefully on her feet.
Buffy then grabs the back of his head and tosses him across the room causing him to crash painfully into a metal pole.
Buffy quickly turns back to The Hood who was staring up at her in confusion, he could barely see properly. Everything was fuzzy.
Buffy frowns before moving to help him only to have an arrow fired at her.
"The man who authored the list wants you dead." The Dark Archer hisses at the Hood before turning to the blonde.
"Al-Qa-Til" He hisses as he clutches his now bleeding side.
Buffy glares at him, grabbing the scythe she runs at him, she swings the scythe at him but he manages to dodge it easily, making Buffy smirk. She headbutts him before spinning around and kicking him in the chest.
When he raises his bow in defence Buffy spins the scythe in her palm before slicing it in two.
She grabs the knife from her leg and stabs him in the side causing him to cry out in pain as her knife approaches his lung.
"Hello, Al Sa-Her. It's been a long time." She hisses before moving to grab his mask. Just as she prepared to rip it from his face to reveal his true identity a loud siren goes off outside.
She loosens her grip allowing The Dark Archer to twist out of her grip before leaping out of the window, still wounded badly.
"Dammit!" Buffy hisses however just as she was about to chase after him she freezes as she remembers The Hood.
She quickly runs back over and lifts him up so that he can stand, she wraps his arm over her shoulder, and places her arm on his waist hauling him towards the other window.
"I'm gonna feel this in the morning." She says before throwing herself and The Hood out of the window. She positions them as they fall so she can take the brunt of the drop.
As she lands on the ground with The Hood next to her she quickly gets to her feet crouching down next to him, "Do you have backup?" She hisses at the half dead man.
The Hood, who was barely coherent nods and reaches into his pocket pulling out a small communication device "Help." He mumbles into the device.
Buffy sighs before she lifts The Hood, throwing him over her shoulder and walks him into the alley, carefully she places him up against the wall.
She lifts up the back of his suit to see where the Arrow's were still buried in his back dangerously close to his spinal cord.
She groans knowing that she had to remove them now, not only would he bleed out if she didn't but he could end paralysed if they shifted anymore.
"This is gonna hurt." She tells him before quickly yanking the arrows out of his back and carefully ripping the vest under her suit so that she could use it to slow the bleeding.
At the point a vehicle approaches the two, Buffy's eyes widen and she quickly stands backing away from The Hood. She runs at the fire escape for the next building and quickly climbs up it, out of sight.
Oliver watches the mysterious figure that had saved him run off before he notices Diggle picking him up. After another breath, Oliver finally lets' darkness consume him with nothing more than the image of a red weapon filling his mind.
Oliver gasps in agony as he wakes in the hospital bed.
Diggle who was by his side quickly stands "Hey, relax, relax, relax, relax." He says as he places a hand on Oliver's shoulder to keep him from moving and risk hurting himself more than he already was. "You're safe. You're in the hospital." Diggle tells him as Oliver continues to shift unaware of his new surroundings.
After a moment Oliver takes a deep breath "What happened?" He manages to get out.
"I back-traced your CD..." He pauses, making Oliver frown "What Dig?"
"Someone fixed you up. Not the best job my bet they were in a rush, but whoever it was removed the arrows in your back and stopped the bleeding, they bandaged you up."
Oliver frowns in confusion as he tries to remember something while Diggle merely continues to tell him what was wrong.
"You have a pneumothorax three broken ribs, and a concussion. The doctors say you're going to be fine."
Oliver takes another deep breath before finally, he remembers, he had lost, someone in red had saved him. A woman.
"Dig...I lost. I should be dead."
"But you're not." Diggle tells him relieved.
Oliver shakes his head "Someone saved me. I remember a woman. I think she was a woman anyway. She was strong she took him down. I don't remember how but I remember something red. It might have been a weapon. An axe or something."
Diggle stands there stunned for a moment only to freeze as Oliver describes the weapon. He knew exactly the weapon he was talking about, he was just hoping that he was wrong. Shaking his head he sighs "We'll talk about this later. Right now there are some people here to see you."
Buffy climbs up into the living room, it was about 2 in the morning so lucky both Willow and Xander were in bed.
The blonde storms into her room and rips off her mask, this couldn't be happening. She thinks as she rubs her bruised side, there was too much going on for this to be happening.
First Marcus and Wolfram and Hart, then The Hood which she had just totally missed out the opportunity of finding out if she had won the bet or not. But now this, a member of the League of Assassins was here in Starling. Not just any member but Al Sa-Her, she had never seen him without his mask but she knew his fighting style. Him being here was not a good sign.
The Dark Archer makes his way through his hideout, limping slightly as he does. He looks down at the knife wound at his side and sighs Al-Qa-Til had always been ruthless. The Slayer being here was not good. It could put a dent in his plans. This was a problem that needed to be fixed.
He groans in annoyance before yanking off his mask. Malcolm Merlyn stares at his mask before growling. Things were not going to plan.
Diggle sits in the hospital and watches as Oliver uses the walking stick to make his way towards the window. Oliver stares out the window before sighing "You know Dig when I confront somebody on the list I tell them that they failed the city. But it tonight it was me who failed."
Diggle sighs, Oliver always found a way to blame himself for everything "Oliver, five hostages are home tonight with their families enjoying the holidays because of you."
Diggle stands and looks at his injured friend carefully "This guy, the other archer, he'll get his."
Oliver sighs "And the woman..."
Diggle freezes before groaning slightly "We'll find her."
Oliver nods before staying silent for another moment, he continues to stare at the window before finally taking a breath "We have another problem. The other archer told me that somebody compiled the list. I always assumed it was my father. But what it is wasn't?"
"What do you mean?"
"I think there is someone else out there; someone who's more of a danger than the archer. And I am going to take him down."
Buffy winces slightly as she touches her bruised side where Marcus had kicked her. She was making her way to bed only to sigh in frustration as the sound of the doorbell makes her pause.
She frowns looking at the clock, it was almost 3 in the morning, who the hell could be coming over at this time of day.
She grabs a knife from it's hidden place underneath the side table by the door and twists it in her palm before peeking through the eyepiece.
She sighs in relief as she spots Diggle, placing down the knife she opens the door only to freeze as she spots the look on her friend's face.
"We need to talk."