Chapter Forty Four: Being Hunted
The three Whitelighters had returned from the hell dimension with Lilah. Leo had then, at Lilah's request taken her to one of the European offices of Wolfram and Hart.
"I can make all the arrangements for our side from there and it'll be easier to stay out of the hands of the US military and security people," she explained. "I'll call you when I'm ready to move. I've got to line up mages and shamans and make sure they've got everything they need to do the job."
Before she had been returned to Earth, Lilah had told them about what Wolfram and Hart were trying to do on Kallistien. Or rather the story she gave them was what she claimed was going on. She said that the actions she had taken consisted of a plan by Wolfram and Hart to re-establish a demonic presence on the witch planet.
"For a long time now the witches there have been able to pretty well squash any sort of demonic activity," Lilah had explained. "We expect them to get rid of the Goa'uld but we're taking the chance to strengthen our position for when things get back to normal. Our local branch has been pretty ineffective up to now. It's all part of restoring the balance. Isn't that what we both want?"
"You know and we know that you don't want that sort of a balance," Leo had replied. "And nor do we. We work for different sides. A proper balance means people have free will and the opportunity to live their lives without being preyed upon by the likes of Wolfram and Hart and various sorts of demons. So let's just cut the crap shall we?"
"What about Wesley and Eve?" Tara had asked. "What happened to them?"
"I don't know," Lilah had claimed. "When you release a major power like that demon you must expect it to do its own thing. I expect it's eaten them or stashed them away somewhere for future consumption." But I hope it hasn't eaten Wesley she had thought. If it has I'm going to miss him. Eve can be replaced.
After the questioning was over and he had taken Lilah to the European office Leo had returned to talk to the other two Whitelighters privately.
"You guys have got to play for time," said Tara when Leo returned. "Give me a chance to get back to Kallistien and tell everybody what's really going on. We need to get them all back here before anything major happens."
"You mean you don't believe what she said either?" asked Jenny. "I don't believe a single word that woman said."
"I don't believe everything she said," replied Tara. "But I think the main outline of what's she's up to is pretty clear. She wants to make sure all our main champions are absent and stay absent when we need them most. If possible she wants them to be stuck where they are permanently. She must have known ahead of time that communications would go down. She was keeping everybody busy on Kallistien until it was too late to get back. That's the real reason for releasing that demon."
"So you're saying we're going to need everybody back here when we..." began Leo.
"What do you think?" asked Tara. "I don't think it's going to be a picnic. We're going to need our best people, otherwise all hell breaks loose. I bet that's just what Wolfram and Hart really want. They're always working towards some apocalypse or other, according to Cordy."
"But we can't stall for long," said Jenny. "You heard what the Elders said. The pressure's building up. That's why they agreed to all this. The longer we put it off the more chance there is of everything falling apart. We can't take the chance of this thing going off on its own."
"And how exactly are you going to get back to Kallistien anyway?" asked Leo. "You can't orb back and we don't have any witches strong enough to punch a portal through against all the resistance that's built up."
"I've got an idea," said Tara. "I thought of it when you took us to that hell dimension. You didn't have any trouble orbing there. I can orb back there and then switch through the various hell dimensions until I get to the one nearest to Kallistien. I should then be able to orb up to Kallistien."
"That's dangerous, very dangerous," said Leo. "I'm coming with you. I'm not letting you do that alone."
"But if you come with me you'll make it even more difficult," said Tara. "I can't fight my way through. I've got to be sneaky. It'll be harder for two to sneak through than it will be for one. Anyway I've got an idea that might help."
"You're one of the few strong witches we've got left," said Leo. "We don't just need the others back we need you here as well. If only one person goes it's got to be me."
"It might be witchcraft which makes the difference," said Tara. "It means I have a better chance than you of getting through. No, I've got to do it," she said.
Anyway she thought, if I leave Willow alone much longer who knows what she'll do. She must be as worried as I am. I wonder if that's part of the Wolfram and Hart plan. Separate me from Willow and then try to turn Willow dark again. They never have only one reason for what they do.
"You and Jenny have to spread the word to all our people who are still on Earth," said Tara. "Tell them what's happening."
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"Well the good news is the Kallistians have started to push back Apophis's forces in the north," said Kennedy as she came into the room. "The Jaffa stopped attacking a while back. They seem to have lost some of their magical backup. The bad news is the Stargates have stopped working, nobody knows why, not even the Stargate people up on the spaceship."
"Are the two things connected?" asked Cordelia. "Perhaps shutting down the Stargates has disrupted the Goa'uld plans in some way, made them weaker, blocked off reinforcements or something."
"It might have done but if it has it's probably accidental since it doesn't seem to be anything our people have done," said Giles. "It might be something to do with Dawn and the Key. Maybe the power of the Key, now that it's been activated somewhat, has disrupted the Stargates. I need to do more research about the Key."
"Either way there's nothing we can do about it at the moment," said Cordelia. "Do you think Angel and Drusilla are far enough away yet for us to do the spell to get rid of the demon? We don't want to risk putting them in the book as well."
"They should be fifty miles away by now," said Kennedy. "And getting further away every minute. I checked while I was upstairs. The train left on time alright and they were on it."
"That should be more than enough," said Giles. "If we knew the demon lord's name we could focus the spell properly. As it is we can do a general demon capture spell. We'd better get on and do it now. After that we need to search through the witch library to see if there is anything there about the Key."
A quick conference outside the witch HQ between the two groups which had met there had produced a number of decisions. By now Dawn no longer glowed but everybody had agreed that she should not make another attempt to enter the Witch HQ. As far as possible Dawn should be kept away from any use of magic power.
Angel and Drusilla had to be clear of the area before the demon binding spell was carried out to avoid being caught up in it. Angel, Drusilla and Connor together with Dawn were at present travelling south by train to an area that was still securely controlled by the Kallistians. This had the added advantage of separating Connor and Kennedy before any further conflict between them developed.
Everybody else stayed at the HQ. Kennedy and Gwen maintained contact with the Kallistians and kept the others informed about the progress of the war. Giles, Cordelia and Anya went to the basement library with the blank book in order to get ready to carry out the binding spell to recapture the demon lord who had been set free.
Sergeant Rees had joined the SGC team who were acting as a central communication unit elsewhere in the building. The SGC people were operating the military equipment brought though the Gate from Earth to help co-ordinate the fight against the Goa'uld. They kept in touch with the main fighting units and SG-1 up on the spaceship.
"Right, is everybody ready to do the spell now?" asked Giles. Kennedy had sat down in a chair by the door to watch the proceedings which involved Giles, Anya and Cordelia working together.
But Anya had been thinking through what had happened. "Just a minute," she said. "Before we do anything, let's get this straight. Dawn was attacked by Wolfram and Hart in Sunnydale. They left her only one way out, the Stargate. Dawn went through the Stargate and it stopped working."
"On Kallistien you guys got a book from Wolfram and Hart. Cordy did exactly what was expected and used her magic on it. That resulted in the release of a dangerous demon of some sort."
"Wesley tried to read the book, as Wolfram and Hart knew he would and he then disappeared along with Eve who was with him. Now you've got another book from Wolfram and Hart and once again you're doing exactly what Wolfram and Hart would expect you to do. Doesn't anybody else think this is a very bad idea? Isn't it about time we stopped doing what Wolfram and Hart want us to do?"
"What's the alternative?" asked Cordelia. "Let this big demon thingy run loose?"
"That's just it," said Anya. "That's the way these people operate. That's how I operated as a Vengeance Demon. You get people to make their own decisions but you arrange it so that every decision they make seems to be the only decision they can make. But every time they're doing just what you want them to do. They're making the decisions you want them to make. How do you know doing this spell won't allow this demon lord to appear right here inside the witch HQ and start killing the witches?"
"I see what you mean," said Giles. "So we can't risk doing this spell because it's likely they've got some sort of trap set up for when we do it."
"I said finding that book just when we needed it was suspicious," said Cordelia. "If we're going to do anything with a book I vote we get hold of another book, one that's got no connection to Wolfram and Hart."
"Either that or we need a completely different plan," said Giles. "Another way to get rid of this demon lord without taking the risk of playing into the hands of Wolfram and Hart. Anybody have any ideas?"
"Uh hum," came from behind Giles as Kennedy joined the discussion with a theatrical clearing of her throat. Giles turned to find Kennedy glaring straight at him.
"What we need is somebody who can hunt down demons and monsters, somebody who has special abilities and experience of killing them," she said. "Now just where would a Watcher find somebody like that? You'd have to find somebody who was specially Chosen and trained to fight the demons and vampires. Any suggestions?"
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"It's a beautiful country," said Dawn as she looked out of the train window. "It's a pity there's all this fighting going on." Because of the presence of Angel and Drusilla in the compartment the blinds were down but Dawn had taken a window seat and spent most of her time peeping past the blind at the passing countryside.
Connor was sitting in the seat facing Dawn. He shrugged. "Wherever you find people you'll find war and fighting, sooner or later," he said.
"Don't be so cynical," said Dawn. "These people have been attacked by the Goa'uld and by demons. What do you expect them to do? Lie down and die?"
"I'm just saying, appearances can be deceptive," said Connor. "Everybody thought Jasmine was beautiful and wonderful but she wasn't what they thought she was. Even the nicest people and the nicest places have a few nasty surprises for you."
"Don't you like anybody?" asked Dawn. "You can't go through life thinking the worst of everyone."
"That's not what I'm saying," replied Connor. "I'm just saying you have to be careful. I mean to look at you anyone would think you were harmless but..."
"But!" said Dawn sitting up and glaring at Connor, wondering just what Connor was implying.
"But you can take care of yourself," said Connor, make a swift change to what he had been about to say. I'd better not give the impression I blame her for what happened back at the Witch HQ he thought.
Drusilla had been dozing in the corner of the train compartment away from the window but now she suddenly sat up, attracting everybody's attention. "It's coming after us," she said. "It's coming after her," she added staring and pointing straight at Dawn.
"What's coming?" asked Angel. "Who's coming after us?"
"The demon," said Drusilla. "The big powerful demon. It can sense the power in her and it's coming to get it."
Connor pulled Dawn away from the window, much to her annoyance. "Hey, I'm a potential slayer. I've killed demons. I can take care of myself remember."
"How's it travelling?" Angel asked Drusilla. "How soon will it reach us?"
"I don't know how it'll reach us, but it's getting closer. I think it'll be with us soon after dark," said Drusilla.
"Well that'll be handy for you guys," said Dawn. "You won't have to worry about being out in the sunshine."
"We should get off the train," said Connor. "Now."
"While it's still daylight?" asked Angel. "I don't think so. Anyway the sooner we get off the train the sooner it'll catch up to us."
"We're vulnerable while we're on the train," said Connor. "If this thing's really powerful and it's catching us, then it can probably fly. We won't be able to outrun it. I expect it's powerful enough to destroy the engine and derail the train. It could kill us in a train wreck before we even see it. We've got to find a place where we can fight and where we can see it coming."
"It's a demon. Things like that are more comfortable after dark. It won't attack while it's still daylight even if it catches up before sunset," said Drusilla. "We've got a little time."
"Maybe it won't but what if it's not alone?" said Connor. "There are all those other demons about. They might not like it but if the demon lord tells them to attack us they'll attack us, even in broad daylight."
"We're coming into a station," interrupted Dawn who had slid back along the seat to her position by the window. "We can get off here. The station's got a roof. You guys should be safe enough."
Angel looked over Dawn's shoulder at the station just ahead down the line, being careful to stay out of the sunlight. "OK," he said. "We'll get off here and find somewhere suitable where we can fight, somewhere there are no innocent bystanders. Together we're strong enough to kill this thing, no matter how powerful it is. Everybody grab your stuff."
As everybody left the compartment Angel was already thinking about the coming fight. "Dru, what can you tell me about it? Did you get to see what it looks like?" he asked. "What sort of demon is it and how does it fight? Do you think it does have other demons with it?"
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The shaking had stopped. There were no more pulses passing through their small world, but that was because there was no longer a world to pass through. The destruction had continued to a point where the only things that remained were floating pieces of debris. Debris and two human beings; Wesley and Eve.
Wesley was still sat facing Eve and although he could see nothing beneath him he still felt as though he was sitting on a floor. He still had air to breathe and it still felt like there was a normal force of gravity pulling him down. But away from their little bubble of sanity everything else was chaos.
A lot of the things in the world had faded away but some things had simply broken up and now formed a mass of debris as far as the eye could see. A car floated by on its side over to Wesley's left, colliding with other pieces of junk before disappearing from view. On his right hand side, half of a bed fell downwards so fast it might have been dropped from a passing aircraft. It seemed to have been sliced neatly in two but there was no sign of the other half.
Many smaller items filled the atmosphere around them. There were many bricks and stones from buildings, including some large chunks of masonry and entire walls. Some things just floated nearby, others passed by, each on its own journey to who knows where.
As Wesley watched, a train of assorted objects flowed by as if in a stream of its own. A plastic dumpster led the way followed by what looked to be a complete, neatly cut front lawn. After a mass of assorted junk, bringing up the rear was a very agitated and still living chicken.
Wesley and Eve had stopped their spell chanting some time before. It might have had some effect to keep them and their little piece of reality together but there didn't seem to be much point in continuing with it now.
"What happens now?" asked Eve. "What caused all this and how do we get out of here? Do you even have any idea which way is up?"
"Well obviously something has broken up our little world," said Wesley. "Either that or the world wasn't strong enough to hold together any longer. It might simply have expanded too much and too quickly to stay together."
"Or maybe it doesn't respond well when somebody in the world starts to mess around with magic spells," said Eve. "Anyway, how come we're still breathing? If there's no more world why are we still alive?"
"A lot of the world's still here," said Wesley holding his hands out to the debris all around them. "It's simply in pieces. That must include the atmosphere."
"But that's not going to last is it?" said Eve. "If everything gradually floats away the air will thin out as well. How long do you think we've got? And where do you think this daylight's coming from?" Ever since the walls of the hotel had faded away the world had been lit by some sort of daylight. There was no obvious source for the light and no shadows. It was like a bright cloudy day but without any clouds to be seen.
Wesley shrugged. "Who knows," he replied. "I suppose some sort of rules apply to a place like this. All this stuff might just go on spinning around indefinitely. We might need food and water before we run out of air. If any more chickens pass by we'd better make a grab."
"I wonder what happened to all the other people in the world," said Eve. "I haven't seen anybody else, alive or dead, since this all started."
"Maybe they weren't real then," said Wesley. "Maybe they were only here as part of the background after all. They might have faded away along with so much else."
"Or maybe they're now safe and sound back on their own worlds and your stupid protection spell has meant we're stuck here," said Eve.
"And maybe they're all dead," responded Wesley, angry to be blamed for keeping the two of them alive. "And maybe they're in such small pieces that you don't recognise them as human. Instead of complaining, why don't you come up with an idea to get us out of here? Didn't you learn anything from Wolfram and Hart except how to be annoying?"