Knights of the Intrepid

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The United Kingdom; London, England; Watchers' Council Headquarters; September 29th, 2016:

Andrew ran down the hall as quickly as possible, knowing full well that time was against him. He checked his watch quickly and found that he only have six minutes left. He would have more time, but, he'd had to avoid the Slayers on his way.

As he descended the stairs that led to Xander's private cell, he gripped his Glock tighter, knowing that now he would have to do something that he'd swore he'd never do again…take a life…two, even. He couldn't do this on his own, he needed help. And, as of that moment, no one on Earth, save one man, had more experience with Slayers. Andrew knew he was important, and one of the only people capable of solving this.

As he came to the doorway, he opened fire, catching the two Slayers off guard. His first shot landed home, striking one of the Slayers in her stomach, whilst his second missed completely, leaving the second Slayer unharmed. Before he could fire again, however, a hand snaked out and grabbed the girl's neck, pulling her into the door. Her air supply was cut off and, as she struggled, Andrew surged forward and blasted a round into her chest. The girl slumped forward, dead on impact.

"Andrew, what's happened," Xander asked from behind the door.

"Every Navy ship and military base on Earth's been destroyed, Xander," Andrew said while he fished for the keys, "Not just ours', but every countries'. Buffy sent Slayers with bombs on suicide runs."

"…How," Xander asked, "There's no way in Hell we could have had enough."

"Records have been showing spikes in Slayer activation every six months," Andrew said, "My guess is that a bunch got activated especially for this occasion."

"…How," he asked again, and Andrew stood with the keys in hand, "No one on Earth can control Slayer activation, not after Willow did that spell."

"She may have done it again," Andrew said as he unlocked the door and stepped aside to allow Xander out, "I don't know, nor do I care at the moment. We need to leave, ASAP."

"Right," Xander nodded in agreement, "Wait…the building's probably under lockdown right now. How're we going to get out?"

"In about," he looked at his watch, "One minute. For now…we run."

§◙§

International Waters; September 29th, 2016:

Gunnery Sergeant Cole Thompson grabbed onto the outstretched arm gratefully and felt himself pulled up with surprising ease as the girl set him down on the seaplane's pontoon.

"Here," the girl handed him a small cup filled with water, "Fresh water. Are you injured?"

"No, Ma'am," he replied, "…Thank you, Ma'am. I don't know what we would have done without you."

"Can you tell me what happened," the girl asked.

"…I was on the flight deck when it happened," he said, "Behind an F-15. That's the thing that saved me. None of the bomb's blast hit me, and the plane protected me from shrapnel. It did force me overboard, though. I didn't see how it happened, but, I did hear someone shout 'what are you doing here?' My guess is that has something to do with it."

"…Here," she handed him a piece of candy, "Get some energy back."

"Thank you, Ma'am," he took it gratefully.

§◙§

The United States; Los Angeles, California; The Hyperion Hotel; September 29th, 2016:

"International death tolls have breached the ten million mark, and is climbing by the minute. Our affiliates in Belgium have reported that Brussels, the country's capital and the center for the NATO Headquarters, has been destroyed by a nuclear device. Our worst fears have been realized…nuclear war by some unknown party has thrown the Earth into chaos, mass assassinations have claimed every member of all the world's governments, from the corrupt to the honorable.

"And, as of yet, no one has discovered who is responsible for these attacks-"

"The Slayers," Sondra said as she cut off the television, "It's the Slayers."

"…I don't believe it," Connor said, "Dad always looked up to them, believed in them."

"No," Illyria countered, "He believed in the one he called 'Buffy,' he dismissed all other Slayers, save Faith."

"Besides, it makes sense," Sondra continued, "It would explain why I couldn't see what their future held. They'd be able to keep their destinies from me, though I don't know how."

"I agree with Connor," Groo voiced, "The Slayers are warriors of goodness, honor, justice…they are not savages who kill without reason."

"I agree with him," Illyria said, "They did not kill without a reason."

"…They know about us," Jerome said.

"No, they don't," Connor disagreed, "We've never worked with them before. They can't know of us."

"But, they can," Illyria countered, "We have a reputation…they will have learned of us within the establishment of their bunker and, if not, Buffy knows of us."

"…We need to relocate," Deirdre stated, her voice dead of all emotion.

"Pylea," Sondra suggested, "There are only a few ways there, and no one aside from us and Oz knows about it."

"…I don't know, Sondra," Connor said, "I mean, we'd have to keep an eye on Earth…I mean, this didn't happen just because…there's a reason behind it."

"Isn't it obvious," Deirdre said, "They're trying to conquer the world."

An uneasy silence spread across the room as they all considered this.

§◙§

The United Kingdom; London, England; Watcher's Council Headquarters; September 29th, 2016:

Xander ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He was exhausted from his detainment, but, he knew he had to do this. A lot more than just his life depended on this. From what Andrew had told him, he was one of only three people on Earth who knew anything about what was going on.

"Take that corner," he advised and Andrew, who was a few feet ahead of him, turned down it, only to stop and turn back, "Slayers?"

"Yep," Andrew screamed, and Xander turned to follow him, only to stop again…there was a singular Slayer there, one they both knew very well.

"Well, look what we have here," Buffy said with a smirk, "Two jailbirds, trying to flee the cops."

"Great, a Slayer with a bad sense of humor," Xander muttered, "Wait…that's what you always were."

"Leave them, girls," they both turned around to find that three more Slayers had come up from their rear, "I'll deal with them."

"Andrew," Xander growled, "Give me that gun."

Andrew shook violently but, nodded, and moved the weapon over to his reach. Before Xander could grab it, however, Buffy had already begun moving, much faster than they could have prepared for. Then, something wonderful…and terrible happened.

Jesse jumped out of nowhere, latching onto Buffy's arm. She screamed in pain and rage and began to fight the dog off. She landed a solid punch against his skull, and he was sent flying into the wall. Xander heard it crack as his friend hit it and slid down, falling to the ground with a painful whimper.

"NO," he shouted and charged forward, firing the pistol off as he did so, but, it was too late…he and Andrew were lifted away and off to safety.