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Angel dodged a sword and sliced the wielder open, before defending a blow and kicking the demon in the stomach. Raising his sword to block the blow, Angel brought the blade down to decapitate the demon. Gunn slammed his axe blade into a demon's stomach, then ripped it away, as blood and gore poured onto the sand. Stepping away from the body, Gunn then dodged a sword and brought his axe upwards, slicing the demon in complete halves. Wesley shot a demon in the face, taking him down, then swiftly reloaded his crossbow and shooting another demon in the throat. A Mahkesh demon charged at Wesley and raised his sword, but Wesley slammed the stock of the crossbow into his stomach, then smacked him to the ground, before stabbing a bolt through his head and shooting the same bolt a few seconds later
A fire demon was launching fireballs, incinerating the inhabitants. A few of the jungle trees caught ablaze, flames crowning across the treetops, as Zeke brought forth a pair of daggers from his forearms and launched them at Haborym. She burned the knives away, before heading towards Zeke. He was backing up, still throwing daggers, but they had no effect on the fire demons, as she closed the distance swiftly and breathed a molten jet of flames onto Zeke, incinerating him into sludge and ash. Angel impaled a demon through the stomach, before kicking another demon in the stomach and snapping its neck, then taking its Mahkesh sword
"Thanks"
Power flowed through Angel's body, as he clashed blades with another demon and sliced its stomach open, then decapitating another demon. Gunn was down by the surf, killing two Mahkesh demons and beheading another demon. A fourth lunged at Gunn, taking him down into the water, but Gun fought back, elbowing the demon in the face, before planting his axe blade into its chest. He groaned and heaved the blade out, whirling around to cut down another attacking demon
Wesley rammed his sword through a Mahkesh demon's chest, leaving the blade there and grabbing his crossbow, shooting a demon through the throat, before taking his Mahkesh axe. A third demon came at Wesley, but he managed to cut the demon down, finding himself fighting alongside one of the leaders of Questral
"You are doing quite well for yourself," the leader said
"Same for you," Wesley replied, "Look out!"
The leader whirled around as Haborym bored down on him. Before he could do anything, Haborym scorched him with her flames, setting him ablaze and killing him almost instantly. Wesley could only watch in horror, as Haborym turned to him, a wide grin appearing on her face as she raised her hands
"Wesley!"
Haborym whirled around as Angel slashed at her, the blade passing through her flames. He then punched her in the face, scorching his knuckles. Growling, Angel then impaled her through the mid-section, as Wesley raised his sword. Haborym smacked Wesley aside, before grabbing Angel by the shirt and tossing him through the air. He rolled several times, kicking a demon in the stomach, before rising up and snapping its neck, as Haborym came towards him. Angel waited until she got close, before grabbing her, ignoring the burning pain in his body, and wrestled her into the seawater. Haboyrm cried out, trying to burn Angel, but was only able to create steam bubbles, as Angel held her under the water, the majority of his burn injuries being reduced by the sea. The flames died down on Haborym's body, as Angel withdrew a dagger from his coat and impaled her through the chest
Looking around, Angel could see the carnage that spread all over the shoreline. Demons, both pureblood and half-breed, lay dead or dying, their blood staining the sand. He looked towards the trees, seeing that most of the flames had been dispersed, as a few demons tried to put out the rest of the flames, but he was glad to see that Axtius' forces hadn't made it to the village. Yet. Spying Axtius killing his way through the defences, Angel calmed himself down, resuming his human face, before grabbing a nearby Mahkesh sword and hurrying after the Brachen leader
"Axtius!"
"There you are, Angel. Come to me and die!"
Angel swung his sword, but Axtius blocked with the Pristagrix, before swinging at his stomach. Angel sucked his gut in, booting Axtius in the chest, then swinging the sword around. Axtius blocked and whirled around, slamming his mace against Angel's shoulder. Gritting his teeth, Angel dropped his sword and uppercutted Axtius on the jaw, ignoring the pain in his fist from the spikes. Leaving the sword in the sand, Angel dodged the Pristagrix and delivered two blows to Axtius' solar plexus
"You are trying to send yourself to an early grave?" Axtius asked, "Fighting against me without a weapon? Such foolishness"
"Doyle was a hero," Angel said, dodging two swings from Axtius, "He knew what he was doing. He sacrificed his life so others could live"
"You killed him!" Axtius roared, narrowly missing Angel
"I wanted it to be me. But he wouldn't allow it. He fought the good fight. And in the good fight, all give some. Doyle gave all. I fight on in his memory"
"Silence, vampire!" Axtius said, "You are no champion! You're the lowest of low"
"I'm sorry you had to bring yourself to this," Angel said, dodging another deadly swing, "I'm sorry for the loss of your son. But if Doyle was here, what would he say?"
"It doesn't matter!" Axtius cried, scoring a blow to the face, "You took him away"
"He fought the good fight and gave it all. A hero, Axtius. Your son was a hero"
Ducking under the Pristagrix, Angel aimed a kick at Axtius' kneecap, snapping it, bringing him down, before disarming him of the Pristagrix and taking it for himself
"I won't kill you, Axtius," Angel said, "I'm going to let you live"
"You will pay for this, Angel," Axtius growled, "You will pay!"
Angel swung the Pristagrix, smashing it into Axtius' face and knocking him out cold, before surveying the scene around him. Axtius' forces, whatever was left, were leaving after witnessing their general's defeat. Any pureblood that tried to continue to fight were killed. Soon, the battle was over, as the sun slowly started to rise. A few hours later, Wesley, Gunn and Angel were back on the boat, heading back to the mainland. Angel was hiding under a thick blanket, watching the thick smoke rise from the enormous funeral pyres and thinking about the last few hours
"So, what do you think they're gonna do with Axtius?" Gunn asked
"Apparently they're gonna keep him imprisoned," Wesley said, "Deep beneath the island, from where he cannot escape. I think we did good back there"
"That was one of the most exhilarating fights I've ever been in"
"Angel, you okay?" Wesley asked
"Yeah, I'm fine," Angel said, having been silent on the trip back, "Just thinking about home. Cordelia's gonna be worrying something chronic"
"She won't have to worry no more now we're back," Gunn said
They reached back at the mainland, as Wesley drove them to the Hyperion. Cordelia was on the phone, putting it down when she saw them arrive back
"Oh, you're alive," she cried, hugging Angel, "Well, not dust anyway"
"Where's Connor?" Angel asked after kissing Cordelia
"Connor"
Their son appeared, seeing his father and running over, as Angel scooped him up into his arms, wincing slightly in pain as he headed into the lobby
"So, who's on the phone?" Angel asked, sitting down on the couch
"It's Buffy"
"Come again?"
"She's alive. Willow brought her back. She wants to talk to you"
Angel put Connor down and headed over to the phone, raising it to his ear
"Buffy?"
"Angel? Oh, it's so good to hear your voice again"
"Same here. So, you're alive again. How are you doing?"
"Fine, so far. Listen, Angel, I need to see you"
"Well, I could come out to Sunnydale for a while, if it's fine with Cordy"
"No, not Sunnydale"
"Okay then, you can come to LA"
"No, not there either. How about somewhere in between"
"Hang on," Angel said, before turning to Cordelia, "She wants to see me"
"Fine with me," Cordelia replied, "Keep your hands to yourself though"
"Yeah, Buffy, I'll come out and see you," Angel said into the phone
"Okay, that'll be great. I'll see you soon then"
Angel and Buffy hung up at the same time. He headed over to Cordelia and kissed her, before grabbing his blanket and heading out the car
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