Vampire Slayers United
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters are copyright and Trademarks of WB, David Greenwalt, Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and Others. Please do not plagiarize or anything. LOVE YA
Chapter 47: Defeat
Ever since the Magic Store now titled Solarum Arcanum, I was keeping a close eye on the Hell Mouth. Back in Sunnydale, it was the High School, but here it was the college. I guess you could never really graduate from scary; demons who just want to kill you, huh? I walked through the center of town, wondering if in a few days this would be evacuated. Lately, the Hell Mouth had been a bit rumbly. The squad of vampires wasn't the only thing that had come from the bubbling Hell pit. Cale had been nonexistent since...and Kelly had been in study overdrive, while Doug had been trying different things in terms of power. Gemma had made herself useful in teaching the girls things from Slayer history. And Lestat...Lestat had been very instrumental in training when I wasn't able to. I had been Mr. Stake-Everybody. I found myself feeling cut off. I'm the leader of this squad, no mistaking that. I am the alpha male. This town had become a living war zone, half the town belonging to me, namely humans, and the other half belonging to Sinew, namely evil. There were demons and other creatures caught in the cross-fire. I started to wish I had been a Buffy decoy. Ah, it's probably for the best, I mean I'm African American and a guy, so it wouldn't have really worked out. Just as I got to the cemetery, an earthquake began.
"Ooooh, it's happening." I said, clutching a stake.
"What is?" Grahm asked, running to me.
"Hi." I said quickly, "Where in the Hell have you been? I was powerless!"
"Asia." He smiled.
"Right." I said, looking around, "What was with the earthquake?"
"I don't know, that's why I asked you." Grahm smiled.
I smiled at him too, but before another word could be said, a hand popped out of the ground and grabbed my leg and I kicked it, "Oh fu.."
Kelly walked into the Arcanum, determined to let out all her anger, anger that had, until a few minutes ago, been bottled up inside her petite shape. As Kelly looked around, she could smell the Lysol and see the cleanliness. Cale was very clean. He was immaculate. An immaculate bastard who could have gotten them all killed! What if Doug hadn't been able to cast that spell? And...the slayer, they could have been ripped apart.
"Hello." Cale called out, coming from around the corner. His neck was bandaged and his eye was black and swollen, "How can I-Kelly?!"
Kelly was silent for a minute. She brought her eyes from him and shifted nervously.
"Did you come here to...do you perceive me to be a threat?" Cale asked.
"No. I came here to tell you..." tears were slipping out. Angry ones, "...That you were wrong! You deceived us!. You took Austin's powers, and you made me feel like a complete idiot! Do you know what could have happened!?" Kelly shouted.
"I do. I do and I apologize to you and the slayers..."
"They have names." Kelly said angrily.
"Sorry." Cale said, "Don't you see, Slayers without Watchers are sitting ducks."
"You're delusional." She said.
"See, I know that's a mistake. That is why Giles sent me, he knows that I know slayers are people. That they just need what everyone needs." Cale explained.
"Hope?" Kelly asked, "I figure if I lead with that one I might be right."
"No. Friends. Family...love." Cale answered. Just then there was a rumble and Cale ran to Kelly and put his arms around her as the bookshelves fell! Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Kelly broke from his arms and walked to the window, looking up and down the street. Suddenly, she was caught by surprise when a zombie hit the window! She dropped to the floor and scooted backwards on her elbows. The zombie broke down the door but before he even touched the inside of the building, there was a TWACK! And off went his head!
At the house, Doug made dinner. Well, he watched as Gemma cooked a frozen chicken, which still wouldn't last. The girls were animals...demons, to be precise. But only half. Gemma had a knack for cooking and taking care of the slayers. Doug thought to himself, was she trying to show that she was a good wife? Cause he didn't want a good wife. He wanted a helpful girlfriend. He also wondered why he had to house Lestat. As if there wasn't enough danger, here comes the vampire, the soul-less vampire. He didn't even have the courtesy to have a soul! Good thing he went out at night...Doug thought about it. Was he going out to feed? And why was he helping us anyway? The slayers buzzed around the house, chirping and doing what girls their age did...be annoying. Doug had never been very mystical, but lately, he had connected with his inner Wiccan. It was amazing how much so little could do. By invoking a spirit here and there, he could minimize the chance of being dead. He could also help in more ways than he could before.
"Hey, tell the girls that it shouldn't be too long." Gemma barked from the kitchen.
"Sure, honey." Honey? Who was he kidding; he wasn't the type to say honey!
"Thanks." She shouted back.
Suddenly, there was an earthquake and the slayers screamed as he made his way to them. He stopped when he got to the living room, where most of them were. The shade was down and he saw the silhouettes walking slowly past the window. He immediately got everyone up and moved them to the basement. Suddenly, there was a crash and zombies loped through the living room! Gemma rushed to Doug, who was chanting, and pulled him downstairs with the rest of the house.
Grahm and I had begun to run through the cemetery, trying to escape the dead, but they just kept rising. Grahm had began to wear, but I was still running at full pace and I looked for a place to hide. I looked back when I heard a thud and saw that something had Grahm pinned to the ground. I ran to him and jumped, kicking the zombie in the head and making his head snap backwards, dangling on its back. I held out my hand and we continued to run until I ran smack dab into Lestat.
"What're you doing? You're supposed to be helping the girls!" I said quickly.
"I was, then I went for a stroll." He said looking past me, " G.I. Joe."
"Yeah, we got caught in the zombie parade." I said quickly.
"Why can't it ever just rain in this town?" Lestat asked, shaking his head.
"Welcome to..." I stopped, "Deja vu."
"Hate to interrupt this stimulating conversation, but we really need to get somewhere safe." Grahm said, looking at his watch, "It's getting late and It's only going to get worse."
"What is that?" Lestat asked, pointing to the fiery shroud over Vengeance University.
I sighed and closed my eyes, "That would be the Hell Mouth."
"Come on, I've got weapons." Lestat smirked, "You'll need them."
As we walked to the crypt, I felt as if I was being followed. I stopped and the guys kept walking. I looked around; trying to find whatever was following me. I looked up and saw something float down from behind a bushel of trees. As it got closer, I saw that it was a person, wearing a mask. The person bore the strange markings I had seen before.
I pulled out a stake, "What the..."I said, racing towards the figure and jumping in the air, attempting to punch the figure, but it hit me and knocked me across the cemetery, causing me to slam into a crypt! I got up as quickly as I could and jumped through the hole, I looked around, trying to see whoever it was. I saw nothing. As I was about to move away from the scene, something grabbed me and I kicked it and looked around to see and Reanimated American lying on the ground. I quickly snapped its neck and moved on.
"Tell me that it's not in the air." Sinew smiled, savoring the night's air, " The smell of defeat. Theirs, not ours." Sinew smiled as she watched Mr. and Mrs. Young chanting with a few other witches. She had become so bored with this dreary town. Everyone needed a little excitement. It wouldn't matter, because in a few weeks, Hell would be coming to Earth. Actually, she was planning on bringing an old friend back to Earth to help with that. Didn't matter that he was a vampire, just that'd he'd been dead for some time. But, not to ruin a plan...Let's say that the vampire had killed the slayer at the turn of the century.
"It takes concentration ma'am." One of the witches spoke up.
Sinew smiled, then with ease and quickness of nothing from this world, ripped the witch's head off, "Anybody else got anything bright to say? Guess she wasn't as powerful as she wanted us to believe. I'm not Glory; she had a real knack for being insane...not me. I'm just a little cynical." She smirked, "Now, hurry before the slayer comes, I want more demons...now!"
"Demons, or undead?" another witch asked.
Sinew cracked her knuckles, "Gonna be a long night, meat bags." She smiled.
As Kelly surveyed the damage, she sighed to herself. She could not believe she was stuck with the one person she didn't want to be stuck with. She could easily go outside and be eaten to death...wait...never mind that last part. What was she going to do?
"Tea?" Cale offered.
"Why does every British person think we want so dirty tea?! We threw it into the ocean and those poor Indians got blamed for throwing it over the harbor and now you're trying to give me your pilfered tea?!" Kelly shrieked.
"So, then, I'll take that as a no?" Cale sighed, "Look, we're stuck. Nobody else. So, let's talk."
"About what?" Kelly asked.
"I lied and it was an evil thing to do, but it was for our own good. I've been helping you and guiding you a lot since I got here." He smiled, "You're welcome."
"Why not just tell us?" Kelly asked, "That makes you untrustworthy."
"Giles suggested that, but I figured if a bloke just showed up, I wouldn't want him to be in my club. I'd never be a part of the group unless it was natural."
"So, you lied to be in the inner circle?" Kelly asked, "Hate to break it to you, but the true inner circle can't be broken into. It's the three of us, like it's always been."
"But it hasn't always been, has it?" Cale asked.
"What do you mean?" Kelly asked.
"Well, there was Dawn, Austin, Groosalugg, Connor, and Oz, am I right?" he smiled.
"Yes, but Dawn's super-sized...Groo's...well, none of us know, Connor's in Hell, and Oz is in Tokyo somewhere." Kelly said, "And we've all known each other a long time."
"True." Cale replied.
"See, there." Kelly said proudly, "Besides, it's not about the inner circle, it's about the slayer."
"What about everyone around him?" Cale asked, "What about the other slayers?"
"They won't have to go through what he goes through. Neither will we. He left Connor and the Scoobies, and let Oz and Groo leave. This is his calling. And basically, his job is to fight evil and die young." Kelly said, shivering a bit.
"You fear him dying?" Cale asked, "It's understandable, him being your best friend, but..."
"It's my biggest fear." Kelly said, "I've heard the stories and I don't want to watch my best friend die to save us. I don't want him..."
"It scares you that he IS going to die." Kelly stared at Cale, "He will, eventually."
"I know." Kelly said, "And honestly, I don't know if he's going to win. If we're going to win."
"So, you want to run?" Cale asked.
"No. I would follow him to Hell to fight." Kelly said seriously, "I already have."
Cale nodded and handed her the cooled cup of coffee that he, had presented to her as tea. He smiled at her with genuine pride. He had come to infiltrate their tight knit group, but it was no longer about the slayer. It was about her.
Doug and Gemma stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for the zombie to just give up and go away. They had been there for at least an hour and a half. Gemma had proposed that they round up the slayers and go fight the zombies until there were none left, but Doug knew better than that.
"Maybe we should go out there." Gemma said, listening to the pounding on the door.
"No. We need to find Austin." Doug said, "It's too dangerous."
"I do not think ve vill vind him in zere." One of the slayers said.
"Austin, Austin, Austin!" Gemma said angrily.
"What now?" he sighed.
"You always turn to your precious Austin. Why don't you just marry him?" Gemma sneered.
"I will if you don't stop talking." Doug growled.
"Umm, dis is illegal, no?" the slayer asked.
"Look, I know you can feel the power. It's at the college. We need to fight our way to the college." Gemma said, "What if he's in trouble?"
"You might be right." Doug said.
"I dhink you are vright." The slayer said, "Ve `ave trained for dis."
Doug looked from them to Gemma and nodded, "Right, Charge!" he said, as they all charged the basement door!
As we fought our way to the college, I noticed a strange light through the middle of campus and sped off closed, seeing women fighting monsters off. We ran faster, trying to help. I thought they were ours, but as soon as we got closer, I saw the woman in the middle of them.
"Charity?" I shouted, firing my crossbow to get a zombie right before it attacked her back, "What in the hell are you doing here?"
"Fightin the battle." She said, snapping a neck, "Seems like you've been hoggin all the fun."
"I can see, but..." I took the time to kick a zombie and spun to her, "...You're supposed to be away. With Faith, but I just saw her and you're not with her!"
"Right." Charity smiled, flashing her golden hair and ducking an attack, "I'm back."
I sighed and kicked another zombie, "Why?" I asked, getting kicked, "Never mind, I need to get inside."
"You mean, we?" Charity smirked.
I looked back to see zombies and slayers. More slayers had joined and Gemma and Doug ran out our side, with Cale and Kelly trailing them and Lestat and Grahm stopped fighting and moved to us.
"So, big evil in the school?" Doug asked, panting.
"Of course." I said, "I need to get in, but I have no clue what's going on with the entrance."
"Entrance?" Kelly asked.
I noticed that Cale and Kelly gave me a look that signaled me not to ask, "I have no Earthly idea what's going on in there."
"Oh." Kelly said.
"I would say that..."Cale began.
"Nobody cares." Doug snapped, "Look, I can only sense witches and a Goddess by the Hell Mouth...it's pulsating, though."
"I know." I said quickly, "Didn't know all that though."
"Charity?" Doug asked, "And Grahm, is this the Apocalypse?"
"I hope not." Charity said, "I just got my hair colored. I'm just back."
"No, she's not." I groaned, "She's taking these slayers back."
"These slayers know that with me, we're going to make the world ours...Buffy's got her own problems and the world's our problem now."
"That's not true." I argued.
"She's tracking some shape-changing vampires, took the entire base of her slayers." Charity said, " She's done her part, now it's time for new blood. She's getting pretty selfish in her old a..."
I punched her and she fell.
"You..." she spat, allowing blood to fall to the ground as she stood, "You and Buffy, so self-righteous, so wrapped up in yourselves to give a damn about anyone else."
"Bull!" I growled, "I'm not selfish, I risk my life everyday! But not you, you go off and find a cause, even though it means killing innocent girls and I'm selfish?! God, did Faith have no effect on you? Did you tell them everything? Did you tell them that you killed slayers for sport?"
"We don't have time." Doug shouted.
"We have time." I said, noticing the slayer crowd around.
"I know, I've done bad things, but I'm..."
"What? Redeeming yourself?! Is that it?!" I asked, "I told Faith that once a crazy bitch, always a crazy bitch!"
"You guys, we have to go and avert an Apocalypse." Kelly said quickly.
I nodded, "I'm going to save the world...again." I said, running toward the building. I sped through the halls, quickly stopping and listening. I heard feet and pressed my back against the wall. I listened as the walking stopped and blows were exchanged. I took off around the corner and jump kicked a demon, knocking him through a glass window! I looked to the ground and saw Charity. I sighed and rolled my eyes, "I think I attacked the wrong one."
"Ha ha. Funny." Charity said, getting to her feet, "Sorry if I passed the line."
"You did, but I'm over it." I said, looking around, "We need to get to the source, the Hell Mouth."
"Sure, let's go." Charity said as we sped off towards the basement.
"Can't you just feel it? The chaos...the destruction...the solid craftsmanship, who built this place? I need a new mansion." Sinew smirked, smelling the air. Her plan was going as well as she had set it up and now all she had to do was keep the Slayer away, but if he didn't, even better. She had smashed him before and she could do it again. It would be one less troublesome do-gooder she'd have to deal with. The day was near and being the obsessive bitch she is, had it all planned out. It was going to be perfect, " Snap to it, bitches. I want this to be fierce."
"Are you sure about this?" Mrs. Young asked.
"Of course, what kind of question is that?" she asked, turning to her.
"All that she means is that, this is bound to attract my grandson." Mr. Young said protectively.
Sinew smirked, "Awww, that's sweet, you're concerned...I think. Haven't ever really had human emotions. Can't be hurt, not by anything human." She smiled, "Besides, I'm a little out of practice, I could use another fight."
"I don't think it'll be that easy." I said confidently.
Sinew turned to us, " I didn't know this was a double date." She never seemed put off at all.
"I don't think we've met," Charity smiled, "I'm Charity and you're in my way."
"Charity." I warned.
"What, you can pun and I can't?" Charity asked.
"Duh." I said, "Plus, you have no idea what she's all about."
Sinew looked between us and smirked, "So, this relationship isn't quite friendly, is it? Dissention, Mmm, tasty." She said, licking her lips.
"Right. How about you take a bite." I smirked at her, "We're still gonna win."
"I wasn't sure you had made it from the house, but I'm glad. Now I can kick your ass." Sinew smiled.
"Tough words from a Prada Queen," Charity sighed, "We gonna fight now?"
TO BE CONTINUED
Thank you for reading. If you want another chapter, I'm really going to need more feedback.