Title: Cry Havoc Once More
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: First four series of Buffy with some elements of five and six.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy. I would buy it but I am broke. I don't own any story or non original characters mentioned here.
Summary: The final battle is about to be joined and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Friends will become enemies and enemies will become friends. A look at the final battle and the path that lead to it. (Multi Crossovers)
AN: Generally I really like Buffy and I usually write B/X fics, but for this fic I have decided to incorporate and focus on one aspect of Buffy's personality that I usually overlook or tone down. Also no Glory or Dawn.
AN2: Admiral, no, "Wiccan Witchcraft" is not redundant, because there are different types of Witch; Wiccan, Hecatian, and Wand to name a few.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~The Past, Mid 2007~
"We need reinforcements." Faith declared.
They had secured the house and there had been a standoff with the Tarakkens for the last twenty-eight hours, however Tara would not be able to hold the barrier spell for much longer. They were seriously lacking in weaponry for when the barrier failed. Both Hermione and Harry had their wands, but in a fight Xander trusted Harry about as far as he could throw The Watchers Council's Castle. Xander still had his longsword and they had found a rake handle that would do for a staff for Tara. Unfortunately all the guns were empty and the best that could be found for Faith was an old wood axe from the basement and a few kitchen knives.
"I know a few who would help. They feel they owe you from when you rescued us." Hermione said.
"Alright, but make sure they are willing to kill the Tarakkens." Xander said.
"I'll adjust the barrier so that you can Apparate through it." Tara said.
"Wait a second." Harry said.
"I'll stand by in case any of the inbound tries anything." Faith added.
"WAIT A GODDAMED SECOND!!!" Harry screamed.
"What?" Xander said casually.
"We can't kill them?" Harry said, motioning out the window.
"Bullshit! They're here to kill Tara, Faith and myself. They'll kill you too because you're in the way."
"X-man's right. You go out there, and don't kill, you'll get one in the back ten seconds later." Faith added.
"I won't kill." Harry declared.
"Fine, then get the fuck out of here." Xander said. "This ain't a Sunday picnic."
"No!" Harry said, stepping up to Xander.
"Fine." Xander said, resigned.
Harry never saw the right cross that knocked him unconscious.
"Dump him in the basement." Xander said. "You got a problem with this?"
"No. I owe you guys, and by the sound of it, those bastards are worse than Voldermort ever was." Hermione replied.
"Good. When Tara's done, get going."
********
Xander looked over the thirty odd Wizards and Witches gathered in Hermione's house, ordering them to their positions. Hermione had the foresight to get everyone who was coming to bring any weapons, other than their wands, along as well, so now Tara had a proper Quarterstaff, Faith had two short swords and Xander had a proper axe as a secondary weapon. Several of the Witches and Wizards had swords, axes, staffs and crossbows. One Muggle loving Wizard had a MP5/10 assault rifle, but he would not let anyone else use it, so Xander had placed him at the front to cause as much initial damage as possible. Xander and Hermione were leading the attack that was going out the front door, with Tara and the gun wielding Wizard directly behind them, with thirteen other Witches and Wizards behind them. Faith would lead the other sixteen Witches and Wizards out the back door, to take out any Assassins out the back then circle around to help Xander's team.
"Do it." Xander ordered.
A few seconds later the barrier that surrounded the Granger residence glowed a bright purple and then disappeared with a slight rushing of air. This was immediately followed by the surging forward of the two teams from the house. Xander and Faith ran at a slight crouch as a stream of curses, crossbow bolts and bullets streaked from behind them. The Tarakkens saw that they would get annihilated if they stayed put, so they rushed in, trying to close the gap so that the hail of spells and bullets would be less effective. The first ranks of Tarakkens to reach each group were ripped apart by a pissed off Slayer, wielding the same type of weapons that had made her both famous and infamous in the Tournament, and a fallen White Knight enraged that they would try to harm the woman who held part of his Soul, literally. It was the fiercest battle that London had seen for hundreds of years. Fifty plus of the most deadly Assassins in the world, against thirty-four defenders.
Xander swung his longsword, gutting the Tarakken in front of him, then he had to duck a curse, which stuck an Assassin further along, stunning it long enough for the Witch it was fighting to burry her axe into his skull. Glancing around, Xander saw Tara holding off three Tarakkens with her quarterstaff, and Faith's depleted force hitting the Assassins from the rear. Caught between Xander's and Faith's forces, the remaining Tarakkens were quickly annihilated. As the last Assassin went down by Xander's blade, he turned to make sure that Tara was alright. When he found she was, he let out a wordless yell, joined in quickly be the other combatants. A yell to prove that they were still alive. There were only eleven Witches and Wizards left on the street, the rest were dead, scattered among the bodies of the Tarakkens. Hermione, limping from a wound in her leg, was supporting another Witch, who had a gash across her stomach and a broken arm.
"Let's get everyone inside and see to the wounded." Xander ordered.
********
~The Past, Late 2007~
"Alright. Everyone knows their jobs, let's get into position." Xander ordered as he surveyed his troops.
The hundred troops split up to their assigned positions. All of the Witches and Wizards who had survived the battle at Hermione's place that happened five months ago were here, along with others from the Wizarding community, a squad of soldiers that they had saved from demons two years ago, a few Wicca's, a few vampire hunting gangs and various other groups and individuals who either owed their lives or had vowed to help Xander, Tara and Faith. The troops moved quickly into position around a group of three seemingly mundane office buildings, which disguised the entrances to the Order of Tarakka Headquarters. Ordering the troops he would lead personally into final position with hand signals, Xander waited.
[Go! Go! Go!] Tara's thoughts came to Xander and Faith through the telepathic link she had set up for this raid.
Xander silently ordered his third of the troopers into the hideout as Tara and Faith did the same.
In their long and insidious history, dating back to the times of King Solomon, the Order of Tarakka had never been attacked on their own soil, and as such were completely unprepared for the brutal and efficient attack upon their headquarters. A few morbid individuals in the control centre, knowing that their deaths were at hand, watched with awe as the attack was lead by their three biggest bounties. Xander, Tara and Faith had multiple bounties consisting of, well over three billion Pound; four and a half billion US dollars; one and a half billion deutschmarks and four hundred and seventy five million Yen. One individual noted that while Xander and Faith lead from the front, Tara's group would often throw themselves between danger and the Wiccan. A mere twenty minutes after they had entered the headquarters, all the Tarakkens in residence were dead. Once the place was cleared, Xander had teams search all the rooms for any equipment or books that could be useful.
"I want a team on the computer system, get me lists of every single Tarakken Agent not at the compound." Xander ordered as he moved through the halls. "Get all weapons and artefacts catalogued and inventoried when we get back, and I want a full listing by tomorrow night."
"Xander! I think you ought to see this." Tara said, holding up a book from one of the libraries, "All the other volumes are being readied for transport, but look at this."
Xander scanned over the text, and then gave Tara a questioning glance.
"It's called the Dragonartic Armour. It's mystically enhanced with all kinds of spells and such, however it's most prominent feature does not directly relate to the wearer. Apparently it gives the wearer the ability to transfer a great source of energy into the living body of another, thereby giving the recipient total access to that power, and something about the denizens of the power. It's kind of vague, but what do you think?" Tara explained.
"We'll look into it." Xander said.
"Yo, X-man. Time to haul ass." Faith interjected, receiving a nod from Xander. "Listen up, ladies. Let's get the fuck outta here."
The ninety-six surviving members of the raiding party pulled out of the hidden base.
[Do it.] Xander said over the link.
Xander, Tara and Faith each dropped several Thermite-Plasma grenades down the access points to the base and ran like hell. Thirty seconds later the three buildings were in flames and the underground base had been reduced to molten slag. The most valuable of the recovered items, along with Xander and Tara, were Apparated back to the staging base for this operation by the Witches and Wizards. Faith accompanied the rest of the loot, being transported back by truck.
Xander and Tara were walking down one of the base's halls when they heard raised voices.
"I can't believe you went and did that!" Harry's voice came through a solid wooden door.
"Well, you know what? I don't care! It had to be done, it was done." Hermione replied.
"But you killed!"
"I can't believe you, Harry. It's perfectly fine for you to have to kill Voldermort for killing a few people over a bunch of years, but it's not ok for me to help take out the Tarakkens."
"That's different. Voldermort was a monster."
"These guys were worse. They have traded in death for hundreds of years. To be invited to join, you have to have killed at least a hundred people, and then you must kill your family as an initiation." Hermione tried to explain.
"IT'S STILL NOT THE SAME!!!!" Harry screamed.
"I feel sorry for you, Harry. Blinded by you own fame. When I return, I expect you to be gone, and if I never see you again, it'll be too soon."
The door opened and Hermione emerged, shaking her head. She nodded to Xander and Tara before heading off down the hallway.
Copies of the Tarakken files that revealed the dossiers and current locations of all its field agents were sent to law enforcement and Intelligence Agencies around the world, which resulted in hundreds of lighting raids resulting in arrest or the suspect being killed while resisting arrest.
Two days later the body of a young man was found hanging by a rope from the ceiling of a hotel room, a unique scar in the shape of a lightning bolt was on his forehead. The police investigation determined the cause of death as Suicide. The Daily Prophet ran a small article in the back of the paper, after the Quidditch results, entitled "Boy who lived, dead." All in all the death of the most famous young Wizard was a footnote, overshadowed by the headline "Ancient Assassin Guild Destroyed, Hermione Granger To Be Commended."
TBC.
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: First four series of Buffy with some elements of five and six.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy. I would buy it but I am broke. I don't own any story or non original characters mentioned here.
Summary: The final battle is about to be joined and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Friends will become enemies and enemies will become friends. A look at the final battle and the path that lead to it. (Multi Crossovers)
AN: Generally I really like Buffy and I usually write B/X fics, but for this fic I have decided to incorporate and focus on one aspect of Buffy's personality that I usually overlook or tone down. Also no Glory or Dawn.
AN2: Admiral, no, "Wiccan Witchcraft" is not redundant, because there are different types of Witch; Wiccan, Hecatian, and Wand to name a few.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~The Past, Mid 2007~
"We need reinforcements." Faith declared.
They had secured the house and there had been a standoff with the Tarakkens for the last twenty-eight hours, however Tara would not be able to hold the barrier spell for much longer. They were seriously lacking in weaponry for when the barrier failed. Both Hermione and Harry had their wands, but in a fight Xander trusted Harry about as far as he could throw The Watchers Council's Castle. Xander still had his longsword and they had found a rake handle that would do for a staff for Tara. Unfortunately all the guns were empty and the best that could be found for Faith was an old wood axe from the basement and a few kitchen knives.
"I know a few who would help. They feel they owe you from when you rescued us." Hermione said.
"Alright, but make sure they are willing to kill the Tarakkens." Xander said.
"I'll adjust the barrier so that you can Apparate through it." Tara said.
"Wait a second." Harry said.
"I'll stand by in case any of the inbound tries anything." Faith added.
"WAIT A GODDAMED SECOND!!!" Harry screamed.
"What?" Xander said casually.
"We can't kill them?" Harry said, motioning out the window.
"Bullshit! They're here to kill Tara, Faith and myself. They'll kill you too because you're in the way."
"X-man's right. You go out there, and don't kill, you'll get one in the back ten seconds later." Faith added.
"I won't kill." Harry declared.
"Fine, then get the fuck out of here." Xander said. "This ain't a Sunday picnic."
"No!" Harry said, stepping up to Xander.
"Fine." Xander said, resigned.
Harry never saw the right cross that knocked him unconscious.
"Dump him in the basement." Xander said. "You got a problem with this?"
"No. I owe you guys, and by the sound of it, those bastards are worse than Voldermort ever was." Hermione replied.
"Good. When Tara's done, get going."
********
Xander looked over the thirty odd Wizards and Witches gathered in Hermione's house, ordering them to their positions. Hermione had the foresight to get everyone who was coming to bring any weapons, other than their wands, along as well, so now Tara had a proper Quarterstaff, Faith had two short swords and Xander had a proper axe as a secondary weapon. Several of the Witches and Wizards had swords, axes, staffs and crossbows. One Muggle loving Wizard had a MP5/10 assault rifle, but he would not let anyone else use it, so Xander had placed him at the front to cause as much initial damage as possible. Xander and Hermione were leading the attack that was going out the front door, with Tara and the gun wielding Wizard directly behind them, with thirteen other Witches and Wizards behind them. Faith would lead the other sixteen Witches and Wizards out the back door, to take out any Assassins out the back then circle around to help Xander's team.
"Do it." Xander ordered.
A few seconds later the barrier that surrounded the Granger residence glowed a bright purple and then disappeared with a slight rushing of air. This was immediately followed by the surging forward of the two teams from the house. Xander and Faith ran at a slight crouch as a stream of curses, crossbow bolts and bullets streaked from behind them. The Tarakkens saw that they would get annihilated if they stayed put, so they rushed in, trying to close the gap so that the hail of spells and bullets would be less effective. The first ranks of Tarakkens to reach each group were ripped apart by a pissed off Slayer, wielding the same type of weapons that had made her both famous and infamous in the Tournament, and a fallen White Knight enraged that they would try to harm the woman who held part of his Soul, literally. It was the fiercest battle that London had seen for hundreds of years. Fifty plus of the most deadly Assassins in the world, against thirty-four defenders.
Xander swung his longsword, gutting the Tarakken in front of him, then he had to duck a curse, which stuck an Assassin further along, stunning it long enough for the Witch it was fighting to burry her axe into his skull. Glancing around, Xander saw Tara holding off three Tarakkens with her quarterstaff, and Faith's depleted force hitting the Assassins from the rear. Caught between Xander's and Faith's forces, the remaining Tarakkens were quickly annihilated. As the last Assassin went down by Xander's blade, he turned to make sure that Tara was alright. When he found she was, he let out a wordless yell, joined in quickly be the other combatants. A yell to prove that they were still alive. There were only eleven Witches and Wizards left on the street, the rest were dead, scattered among the bodies of the Tarakkens. Hermione, limping from a wound in her leg, was supporting another Witch, who had a gash across her stomach and a broken arm.
"Let's get everyone inside and see to the wounded." Xander ordered.
********
~The Past, Late 2007~
"Alright. Everyone knows their jobs, let's get into position." Xander ordered as he surveyed his troops.
The hundred troops split up to their assigned positions. All of the Witches and Wizards who had survived the battle at Hermione's place that happened five months ago were here, along with others from the Wizarding community, a squad of soldiers that they had saved from demons two years ago, a few Wicca's, a few vampire hunting gangs and various other groups and individuals who either owed their lives or had vowed to help Xander, Tara and Faith. The troops moved quickly into position around a group of three seemingly mundane office buildings, which disguised the entrances to the Order of Tarakka Headquarters. Ordering the troops he would lead personally into final position with hand signals, Xander waited.
[Go! Go! Go!] Tara's thoughts came to Xander and Faith through the telepathic link she had set up for this raid.
Xander silently ordered his third of the troopers into the hideout as Tara and Faith did the same.
In their long and insidious history, dating back to the times of King Solomon, the Order of Tarakka had never been attacked on their own soil, and as such were completely unprepared for the brutal and efficient attack upon their headquarters. A few morbid individuals in the control centre, knowing that their deaths were at hand, watched with awe as the attack was lead by their three biggest bounties. Xander, Tara and Faith had multiple bounties consisting of, well over three billion Pound; four and a half billion US dollars; one and a half billion deutschmarks and four hundred and seventy five million Yen. One individual noted that while Xander and Faith lead from the front, Tara's group would often throw themselves between danger and the Wiccan. A mere twenty minutes after they had entered the headquarters, all the Tarakkens in residence were dead. Once the place was cleared, Xander had teams search all the rooms for any equipment or books that could be useful.
"I want a team on the computer system, get me lists of every single Tarakken Agent not at the compound." Xander ordered as he moved through the halls. "Get all weapons and artefacts catalogued and inventoried when we get back, and I want a full listing by tomorrow night."
"Xander! I think you ought to see this." Tara said, holding up a book from one of the libraries, "All the other volumes are being readied for transport, but look at this."
Xander scanned over the text, and then gave Tara a questioning glance.
"It's called the Dragonartic Armour. It's mystically enhanced with all kinds of spells and such, however it's most prominent feature does not directly relate to the wearer. Apparently it gives the wearer the ability to transfer a great source of energy into the living body of another, thereby giving the recipient total access to that power, and something about the denizens of the power. It's kind of vague, but what do you think?" Tara explained.
"We'll look into it." Xander said.
"Yo, X-man. Time to haul ass." Faith interjected, receiving a nod from Xander. "Listen up, ladies. Let's get the fuck outta here."
The ninety-six surviving members of the raiding party pulled out of the hidden base.
[Do it.] Xander said over the link.
Xander, Tara and Faith each dropped several Thermite-Plasma grenades down the access points to the base and ran like hell. Thirty seconds later the three buildings were in flames and the underground base had been reduced to molten slag. The most valuable of the recovered items, along with Xander and Tara, were Apparated back to the staging base for this operation by the Witches and Wizards. Faith accompanied the rest of the loot, being transported back by truck.
Xander and Tara were walking down one of the base's halls when they heard raised voices.
"I can't believe you went and did that!" Harry's voice came through a solid wooden door.
"Well, you know what? I don't care! It had to be done, it was done." Hermione replied.
"But you killed!"
"I can't believe you, Harry. It's perfectly fine for you to have to kill Voldermort for killing a few people over a bunch of years, but it's not ok for me to help take out the Tarakkens."
"That's different. Voldermort was a monster."
"These guys were worse. They have traded in death for hundreds of years. To be invited to join, you have to have killed at least a hundred people, and then you must kill your family as an initiation." Hermione tried to explain.
"IT'S STILL NOT THE SAME!!!!" Harry screamed.
"I feel sorry for you, Harry. Blinded by you own fame. When I return, I expect you to be gone, and if I never see you again, it'll be too soon."
The door opened and Hermione emerged, shaking her head. She nodded to Xander and Tara before heading off down the hallway.
Copies of the Tarakken files that revealed the dossiers and current locations of all its field agents were sent to law enforcement and Intelligence Agencies around the world, which resulted in hundreds of lighting raids resulting in arrest or the suspect being killed while resisting arrest.
Two days later the body of a young man was found hanging by a rope from the ceiling of a hotel room, a unique scar in the shape of a lightning bolt was on his forehead. The police investigation determined the cause of death as Suicide. The Daily Prophet ran a small article in the back of the paper, after the Quidditch results, entitled "Boy who lived, dead." All in all the death of the most famous young Wizard was a footnote, overshadowed by the headline "Ancient Assassin Guild Destroyed, Hermione Granger To Be Commended."
TBC.