Chapter 17

Willow had spent all day sitting at her desk, reviewing the files of the slayers that had just been accepted into the American Academy of Slayers. The headmaster position was still unfilled, Faith had proven to be a hard sell on the idea. Sighing, she shifted in her seat and moved onto the next girl's file. They were all special, and they all had great potential, but they were all untrained and inexperienced. That needed to change.

It was nearly midnight in Nice. The stars were out, though they were a little difficult to see through the clouds, but Willow stared into them all the same. There was comfort in something so vast, she thought.

Grasping her head in sudden pain, she almost fell out of her chair when she felt a powerful push on her mind. She gasped as she opened the link between her and Buffy, something she had not done in many years. The pleading of her friend immediately made her rise.

Without having to think about what she was doing, she raised her hands and a wind rose around her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on where Buffy was and pushed. She pushed through the folds of space, forcing them to bend to her will. Space folded in on her and she felt herself suffocate for a moment as light and matter and all of creation flashed before her. Her head swam and her vision blurred as space itself shook.

With one final shove, time and space warped around her. The whole process had taken seconds to complete. Opening her eyes, she saw Buffy in front of her.

Angel, Dawn, Will, Wesley, Xander and Gunn were there too. By the looks of it, they had just arrived where ever it was they were. Angel explained the situation as they walked. Jogged, she corrected herself. They were headed into the middle of an open field, but she could feel what was concealed here.

Putting her hands straight in front of her, she called on powers she had been too afraid to use for a very long time. When the lives of her friend and her friends' child were at stake, though, she told herself her fears could not matter.

A shimmer of a wall appeared. Willow's hair was turned darker she pulled the fabric of the cloaking spell apart. Xander swallowed hard, stepping towards her, ready to stop this whole thing if he needed to. He didn't need to. They were inside whatever complex had been hidden before anyone had seen the complex appear. Willow's hair was back to normal and she was moving.

They were all very well armed. Other than Willow. It had taken them precious time Angel did not think they had to get to this place. Angel cocked his head to the side, hearing a cry he recognized immediately. He took off as fast as his legs would carry him. He felt the ground disappear from beneath his feet before he saw the ground end.

As he flipped in mid air he took stalk of the room, if it could be called that. It was circular and dug thirty feet in the ground. The diameter of the room was nearly fifty feet, and in the middle was an alter with a screaming Allyson on it. This was all imprinted on his mind in the few seconds it took for his body to fall to the ground.

He landed on his feet, the ground shaking a little bit. Running at full tilt, he leapt into the air and used his bare hands to rip off the head of the first follower he could get to. Reaching out with all the power he had in his arms and back, he drove his fist into the chest of another and ripped his heart out. The followers' broken ribs cut Angel's knuckles as he pulled his hand back.

Throwing all his weight into a flying kick, he decapitated a follower with his foot. Another one fell to a punch to his head, which Angel barely registered as collapsing his skull. He paid no attention to any hits that connected with him or the fact that the cut above his eye had opened again. There was nothing on his mind other than getting to the baby in the middle of the room.

Will looked down into the pit of a room and watched Angel for a second or two. He wasn't going to leave Buffy to help his friend. She had been the only one that could connect with Willow fast enough, and therefore had to come with them. That didn't mean Will was going to let her get into any fights.

Willow lifted them all into the air, carrying them a few feet forward and then down, setting them all on the ground. Wesley wasted no time in running towards where the fight was, Xander, Gunn and Dawn close on his heels.

Willow led the rest of them. She could feel where Fred was. The magics holding her hostage were strong, and were controlled by someone Willow could feel would not give up easily. His energy was radiating throughout this underground complex, and it was a little suffocating to Willow. She hadn't felt power that strong in some time.

She stopped short just before a wave of green light sent her flying ten feet back in the corridor. Will was moving forward before he could stop to think. His hands reached for the demon in front of him and were quickly deflected. Will looked up just in time to see him land on the ground a few feet beyond her. Standing, energy crackling around her, Willow started opening her mind to the power she kept stored within her.

Willow wasn't on the ground long. She levitated herself into the air and stayed there as she hit the warlock with a powerful energy. He didn't seem phased. Seeing this, she closed her eyes, tapping into energies she had long gone without using. She gasped as her head fell back and her chest lifted towards the ceiling. With a sudden and sharp intake of breathe, she was refocused.

Her hair was its normal color, but here eyes were jet black. The warlock in front of her was now throwing every spell he could think of at her, trying to force her back. The waves and blasts of energy rolled away from Willow like smoke. Lifting her hands a few inches, she released a slow breath.

The warlock screamed in pain as he slowly fell to the ground. He writhed in agony, his feet and legs turning into a puddle of discolored ooze. The magic Willow commanded climbed up his body until his screams were silenced. The only thing left of him was a shimmering gelatinous substance.

It took Willow a few moments to put herself back on the ground. The energy she commanded crackled around her, making her skin tingle. After composing herself, she moved forward again. His spell keeping Fred imprisoned would wear off in time, but she could feel Fred's pain, and knew they could not leave her locked away any longer than necessary.

Punching through an invisible wall, Willow used her hands to tear a hole large enough for Fred to escape through. Fred barely gave herself time to crawl all the way out of the hole Willow provided for her before she was off and running.

Will ran by her side, knowing Willow could take care of Buffy if need be. When they reached the sacrificing room, the fight looked like it had jut started. Fifty followers surrounded Angel, Wesley, Dawn and Xander. Before Will could reach the group, Angel had grabbed Allyson and jumped. He leapt over the heads of the blood thirsty followers, landing far enough away to give the others some breathing room.

Not having to worry about protecting the baby let them unleash their anger in full. Will was in the midst of the fight before Wesley had noticed he was in the room. Wesley was swinging a sword as if it were part of his own arm. Allowing all his rage, all his regrets to flow from his body, he barely saw any of the beings he was killing. If they were demon or human was of no matter to him. He was going to kill them all anyway.

Will's head hurt. His right temple was still throbbing, and he knew it had opened back up was bleeding. Glad to have a warm up before the main event, he thought. A battle axe was coming towards him, and he dodged at the last second, catching the very corner of the blade in his shoulder. An involuntary sound of pain escaped him, but he didn't let the pain stop him from ripping the arm holding the axe out of the shoulder of the person it belonged to. He hated being hit with axes.

Having one eye wasn't much of a problem most of time. At this moment, Xander was wishing he had a second one. He had taken a few good hits, but he had killed almost half a dozen followers. These people were worshippers, and had certainly been prepared to fight, but didn't have the experience to match their opponents. Xander doubted that all of these guys put together could match the battle time any one of his friends had seen. He knew experience would win out in this battle. He was confident of their victory until a sound from across the room shook him to the core of his being.

Dawn was having a good time. She was sore, her ribs were a little bruised, and a cut at the top of one thigh was throbbing. Despite her discomfort, the adrenaline pumping through her veins made her surge forward, taking the lives of as many as she could. She was sure they were going to get out of the fight relatively unharmed until she heard a blood curdling scream a few dozen feet away.

Gunn was swinging with all his might. The two short swords he was using were cutting a swath through these beings in silly looking robes, but he didn't think he was gaining much headway. They seemed to just keep coming. It had been a long time since he had been able to fight with all his might, though, so he was almost glad for the challenge. Those thoughts vanished when an agonized scream met his ears.

Angel had given Allie to her mom and was now standing in between them and a dozen followers. These guys just keep coming, he thought. He was trying to figure out where they kept appearing from as he broke the neck of one and drove his hand into the nose of another. He could only see one hallway, and he knew they were coming from there. His thoughts were interrupted as a scream pierced his ears.