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: Apologies for the… OMG! 11 year wait. My Buffy muse was hit over the head and tied up by my HP muse. I highly recommend re-reading the first 11 chapters if you have not recently… I know I did. You can all thank Red Jacobson for getting me back to writing this one.
~ The Past, Late 2009 ~
Faith held up a hand to call a halt, and motioned everyone to get down as she ducked behind a concrete divider. The other three in the squad took cover around her.
"What do you sense?" Hermione Granger asked.
Faith looked back at the younger Wand Witch, who was crouching behind a car a few feet to Faith's right. Hermione had been Tara's protégé for over two years now, even since that Tarakken ambush at her house. Even Xander had seen how well Tara responded to the presence of the younger woman and had encouraged their new student teacher relationship. Hermione had been a mess after the Tarakken incidents. She had only ever had two good friends; one had abandoned her years before and the other committed suicide. In Tara she had found a mentor, in Xander an older Brother, but in Faith she had found a friend. One with the bravery of Harry, the appetite (but not the table manners) of Ron and a confidence and competence that inspired Hermione to do better.
At the far end of the car crouched Carson, a fellow demon hunter who had joined the growing network of Witches, Demon Hunters and others who knew of that world's existence, that Xander had developed. To Faith's left, hunkered down behind another concrete divider was Richie, an Immortal who had almost lost his head to a demon eight moths before until Xander and Faith had intervened.
"Central, this is Sierra One." Faith said into her throat microphone. "Possible contact in sector Q. Any allied units in this sector?"
"Sierra One, Central. Not on our end. We are liaising with Coalition Command, but last update was negative." Central replied.
"Alright. Weapons ready." Faith ordered. "We're going into a hot zone."
The four began checking their weapons. All were dressed in combat fatigues with multi-pocketed vests and small backpacks, with there faces darkened by combat paint. Faith, Hermione and Richie all had Assault Rifles as their main weapon while Carson had a combat shotgun. It was in their secondary weapons that they varied vastly from normal soldiers. Richie had his Rapier, Faith had a pair of short swords, Carson had an axe with a half moon shaped blade and a balancing spike, and Hermione had her wand and a long dagger.
With a gesture, Faith got the team moving into the next sector of the ancient city, their firearms tracking as they slowly proceeded. The streets were narrow, often paved with cobble stones and occasional bursts of gunfire sounded in the distance as Coalition forces engaged with insurgents. Based on the information that Tara and Hermione had pieced together from numerous sources, including the libraries of both the Tarakkens and Voldemort, there were a powerful artefact located in this ancient city. While this artefact was powerful in its own right, its real value was in that it was the stepping stone to an even more powerful artefact… The Dragonartic Armour.
Apart from a pair of demons that were quickly dispatched, the team did not make contact with any enemy forces before they reached the entrance of the Catacombs. When they reached the concealed hatch, Carson lifted the lid and Faith checked the space, her assault rifle sweeping back and forth.
"Clear." She called.
Richie dropped down into the tunnels below, doing a full 360 sweep.
"Clear." He confirmed.
Carson, Hermione and Faith followed the immortal down into the tunnels.
"Mione, hurry up." Faith called over the sound of gunfire.
"Reloading." Richie advised.
The hoards of undead, zombie style undead not vampires, were trying to force their way through the doorway to get at the team. Faith, Carson and Richie were holding them off while Hermione was breaking the wards and retrieving the artefact, The Heart of the Dragon. The last of the current wave of undead went down under the concentrated fire. Faith and Carson also re-loaded, Faith noting that it was her last magazine.
"Got it," Hermione announced tiredly, rejoining the team and securing the Heart of the Dragon in Faith's backpack.
"Let's go." Faith ordered. "Richie, take to lead, Carson take up the rear."
They made their way through the narrow tunnels that seemed to stretch out forever until you came to a sudden 90 degree turn. There were also, apparently hidden doors in the walls of the tunnels. At least that was the only explanation that Faith could come up with when the calls came.
"Contact." Richie called in the middle, in a section of tunnel where Faith remembered that there were no turns for another few hundred meters.
"Same here." Carson added from the back of the group.
They had passed the last turn five minutes ago. Faith flicked her eyes to the rear and sighed softly. Both forces were large, so she could not engage one without being taken down from behind by the other. The corridors were narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side, so a small force could stand for a long time against a larger one, but again with two forces bearing down on them they could not hold out long.
Faith was debating what to do, with both forces still twenty feet away with both Richie and Carson just opening fire, when Hermione stepped up beside Richie, raised her Wand and cast an overpowered incendiary spell.
The fire moved down the narrow tunnel as if it was alive. It moved in a wall until it hit the first undead, setting it alight. Then the top of the fire raced along the tunnel's ceiling like a tsunami wave washing against a coastline, until it reached the end of the enemy formation then it whipped back down and began to encroach on the undead from their rear. Ten seconds after the spell was cast the flames died, but in those ten seconds the entire enemy force in front of the group was reduced to ash.
The instant the fire died out, Hermione collapsed to the floor, magically exhausted from the overpowered spell and the earlier, delicate and draining work of breaking the wards around the Heart of the Dragon. Faith immediately scooped Hermione up in her arms.
"We are leaving." Faith ordered.
"Go. You are almost out. I'll hold them here." Carson replied.
Faith looked at him for a second, as he calmly fired off his last shotgun shell, taking out four undead, then drew his battle axe and took a defensive stance.
"Good luck." She said, both of them knowing that the demon hunter was going to die, before nodding to Richie to take the lead.
After another minute of running, Faith heard a crackle in her ear that indicated that the radios, which had been useless in the tunnels, were starting to pick up signals again.
"Central, Sierra One. Repeat, Central, Sierra One. Over." She said into her radio.
"Se… O... C….." came the static laden reply.
"Central, this is Sierra One, Over." Faith tried again.
"Reading you, Sierra One." Came the reply from Central. "Report. Over."
"Mission Success. One Casualty. We will need extraction from reference Q254 by N336. Repeat Q254 by N336. ETA 7 minutes. Over." Faith reported.
"Confirmed, Q254 by N336 in 7 minutes. A convoy will be waiting. Central Out."
Faith and Richie kept running through the tunnels, Faith starting to breathe heavy from the additional burden of carrying Hermione. As they approached the end of the tunnels, Hermione began to stir, and nestled herself into Faith's arms. The team emerged out of the underground tunnels and saw a convoy of five humvees surrounded by American Military soldiers covering the approaches.
"Lieutenant Jones, US Army Rangers." The officer said.
"Faith, Sierra One. Thanks for the lift Lieutenant." Faith replied, placing the recovering Hermione on the back seat of on of the humvees and jumping in the other side while Richie took the front seat. "We need to get back to the safe zone, then we can make our own way from there."
"Alright." Jones said, as the perimeter of Rangers collapsed back to the convoy. "Let's move out."
"How did she go?" Tara asked quietly.
Faith, Xander and Tara were sitting in the dining room of the large estate they now called both home and headquarters. Faith had changed out of her combat gear, had a shower and into a pair of slightly loose tracksuit pants and a tank top. Tara was in her now usual long flowing dress while Xander was dressed in one of his business suits.
Tara was always both concerned and delighted about the performance of her Protégé.
"She did well." Faith replied. "She managed to take down the wards with no problem. She exhausted herself when she used a flame spell to take down about a hundred Zombies. Had to carry her out after that. We all would have died without her, as it was Carson sacrificed himself to let us get away from a second force as big."
For the next two hours, Xander and Tara debriefed Faith on the mission before letting her go. With a sigh, Faith wearily mad her way back to her own room. She was just about to enter when she heard a voice.
"Faith?" Hermione said, her voice small like a scared little child's. "Do you mind?"
Ever since her best friend, Harry, had hung himself about two years prior, Hermione had been having nightmares. For almost six months she had tried to deal with them herself, but became exhausted from lack of sleep. Eventually Faith had found her, huddled in the corner of her room, eyes wide in fear and soaked with tears. That night, Faith had guided Hermione from the corner to the Witch's bed, where the younger woman had clung to the Slayer until they both fell asleep. Since then, whenever Hermione had a nightmare, or she was on a mission where they lost someone, she would spend the night comforted in the strong, protective arms of Faith.
Faith waived Hermione in, lay down on the bed and relaxed. Hermione immediately curled up nestled at Faith's side and fell asleep.
~ The Present, 2015 ~
Faith was getting ready to go to bed when there was a scratch at her tent flap. She quickly threw her top back on before answering.
"Come in." she called.
The tent flap opened and Hermione entered.
"What are you doing here?" Faith asked. "We agreed…"
"No Faith." Hermione responded. "You decided. You're the one who thought we should not see each other. I, on the other hand, miss my Wife."
With that Hermione stepped in and kissed Faith passionately on the lips, eliciting a moan from the raven haired Slayer.
"Mione." Faith whispered, pulling her Wife closer.
Hermione melted into Faith's arms.
"I'm sorry, but I know I am going to die in this and…" Faith began.
"You're not going to be killed. You're my Warrior Goddess." Hermione responded.
"I don't mean in strait battle." Faith replied. "It's Xand and Tara. They are going to send everything they got against those two. We just can't them die, they're too important. Me on the other hand? It's what I can do for them."
"Is that why you shut me out?" Hermione asked. "I get it, really I do. I can stand the thought of loosing my Wife in battle, or even protecting others. What I can't stand is being so close to you every day and not touching you."
"I just though that it would hurt too much." Faith replied.
"I think I can stand the pain."
"Not you." The Slayer said. "I thought it would hurt me too much. And I was right. When I'm in your arms, I never want to leave."
The Witch silenced her Slayer with a kiss and led her off to the bedroom, intending to spend every last second she could with the love of her life.
TBC…