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Angels and Demons by TalesofSpike
 
Chapter 7.21
 
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Note: Thanks to my beta t_geyer for her unending patience, perseverance and support. As always when I stray close to canon, I've stolen some of the best lines, in this case, from the inimitable JW himself...

SECTION 7 - LAKE OF FIRE

People cry, people moan.
Look for a dry place to call their home.
Try to find some place to rest their bones.
While the Angels and the Devils try to make THEM their own.

(Nirvana, Album - MTV Unplugged with thanks to Zanthinegirl for the suggestion)




Chapter 7.21
Friday, July 19th, 2002


Buffy watched as the last minibus pulled into its slot at the front of the building. In her head she went over the plan, trying to make sure that they hadn't forgotten anything. All the other cars and motorcycles had already been moved to the secondary rendezvous, Marie, Rosa and Rogue reluctantly going with the convoy and waiting out the battle there. Rupert, with that sixth sense that cats seemed to have for when they're about to be made to go somewhere they don't want to, had disappeared completely until the minibus had brought all the drivers and bikers back to the school. Then , he had complained most vocally at finding canned salmon in his breakfast bowl instead of fresh. She had even, finally, convinced Reverend Hamilton to evacuate the manse for one day, though that had also involved convincing four of his flock, who had still been in town, to have a day out. Now, he and the local priest were insisting on at least helping with any casualties. She'd talked them out of wielding weapons... just. Who'd a thunk that the clergy would play chicken with the apocalypse?

The slayers and the younger watchers waited only for her to lead them.

"I guess this is it," she announced for the benefit of Faith, James and Giles, who all waited in the library with her.

"It would appear so," Giles replied and pulled open the library door.

"Let's go kick some undead butt!" Faith agreed, the gaudy magical axe once more in her hands.

Buffy and James picked up the swords they had chosen from the table by the door and the slayer passed the last one to Giles.

The library door swung closed behind them, and as they left Buffy wondered if she... or any of them, would see this place again.








The caves were far under Sunnydale, hidden deep to keep their occupants safe from prying human eyes, their very remoteness part of what made them special. The distance, however, was of a purely physical variety. These caves were part of Sunnydale, and their fate depended on the battle that would soon begin, just as much as the fate of the town above.

For once, the way into the demons' home was unmanned, only the magical barrier designed to stun and disorient strangers so that they could be turned around and set on a different path protected the colony. Today, any such intruders could be of only little consequence. The high priest had called all to the meeting place. Today, every adult, adolescent and spawn was called to prayer.








Xander was one of the first off the Scoobies' minibus. "Welcome to the once and possibly future Sunnydale High! There's no running in the halls, no yelling, no gum-chewing... Anybody who wants a bathroom, the only ones where the plumbing works are the first set on the left once you go through the main doors. If you don't have to go to the bathroom, picture what you're about to face. Better to go now."

Buffy rolled her eyes and made her way to the building's top step, stepping into the shade of the entryway and Spike's embrace for a lingering and yet all too brief moment. She trailed one arm behind her so that her fingers ran down Spike's arm, then over the back of his hand and their fingertips brushed together until the instant she stepped back into the morning sunlight so that, with Faith at her side, she could address those who had answered their call to arms.

There were potentials... No, she corrected herself, they were slayers now. There were watchers, some like James, who were friends, and more who had arrived here with the 'human good, demon bad' mindset so deeply ingrained that Buffy didn't know whether all their training sessions and patrols with Spike and Ha Nath and her friends would be enough to sway them after the current truce was over, but however misguided they might be they were here and, for today, they were on their side. There were those demons who had chosen to help, Ha Nath, her friends, Bee, whose hand had never left Tara's since the two came down to breakfast this morning, the museum's curator, Lily and even the shy, timid, almost completely inoffensive Clem. There were the black-garbed clergymen. There was her family: Spike, Dawn, Tara, Giles, Wes, Xander, Anya, Oz and even the Michaels men, she supposed, at least until Dawn moved onto her next crush... and one cat, who, it appeared, wasn't about to let its mistress get involved in an apocalypse without him.

She looked at the sea of faces in front of her and smiled. "Someone," she began, her quick glance into the shadows leaving no doubt as to whom, "told me last night that there's a saying that evil prevails when good people fail to act. It feels kinda strange to find out there are this many good people willing to stand here, shoulder to shoulder with us... strange but good. We've never faced anything this dangerous before and we'll take all the help we can get.

We are going to win this, today. You all know me and Spike have got plans for tonight and tomorrow that we're not putting off for The First or a million Two Rock Hans or Lukes or Chewies, but even if this was a hopeless cause you guys would be here anyway and that makes me proud to have each and every one of you here with us.

You all have a part to play, and you all know what that is and where to go, so I guess I should quit the speechifying and let you all get on with it."

"Amen!" Faith added fervently from her position by Buffy's side. The brunette slayer was pulled to one side as everyone began to move, James bestowing one last good luck kiss.

Buffy didn't bother to ask whether her sister slayer was agreeing with the speech as a whole or just the part about Buffy shutting up. She simply tucked her shoulder under Spike's arm, wrapped her own arm around his waist and began the walk to the basement.

The Scoobies paused as they reached the point where they had to separate, letting the others move on ahead. The museum curator and the seven or eight watchers who were to help Giles and Clem with stretcher detail as well as the two dozen or so designated to act as reinforcements should any of their fellows' positions seem likely to be overwhelmed, made sure to mill slightly self-consciously at the opposite side of the entrance hall. Lily and the God squad had been forbidden to even enter the building. As non-combatants, they had been instructed to wait for the wounded to be brought out to the minibuses, where they and the watchers with most medical experience could perform triage, interim first aid or the last rites. Buffy, personally, found the idea of that last service less than comforting, but she knew that a number of the slayers had asked the priest for a blessing this morning. He had taken confession for what seemed like hours. Buffy would rather believe that they would all miraculously live, but if people were going to die, then at least some of them could die according to their beliefs.

Spike spared Clem, James, Wes and Giles a nod each before he turned to Xander and the Michaels. "One scratch on Bitlet or Demon Bint an' I'm holdin' the three of you responsible," he warned them.

Xander almost smiled. "We'll defend them to the death."

"Yes," Anya responded quickly, though she'd proven to be a more than able swordswoman, her deftness and agility equally as effective as her husband's greater strength. She ignored the fact that when they had faced Glory, she had been the one hit by falling rubble as she pushed the carpenter clear and all the others for levity's sake pretended that they had forgotten. "They'll defend us with their very lives."

"Remember, Bitlet," the vampire admonished, "short-sleeved dress tomorrow. No visible marks. Don't be afraid to use that boyfriend of yours as a human shield if you need to."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Check, Spike, I'll get right on that... just as soon as I spot you hiding behind Buffy."

"Dawn..." Buffy seemed to hesitate over what she should say.

"No," Dawn interrupted before her sister could think of the words. "Anything you say is going to sound like goodbye." Her gaze met Buffy's squarely, her determination equal of the slayer's own, as was the sisterly love that, for once, neither of them bothered to hide.

"So..." Buffy looked round at all her friends in turn. "Rehearsal dinner, six tonight, see you all there?"

"Ten thousand vampires couldn't stop us," Xander answered glibly.

"I may be a little tardy, if it turns out that I have to pick Lydia up," Giles said apologetically, "but I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Wes answered, while Oz gave the slightest of nods and Faith answered with a smile on her and James' behalf.

"We'll be there," Bee affirmed, her hand still holding Tara's and the feline Rupert weaving back and forth between the two.

"Sure thing," Clem added.

Buffy smiled and tried to convince herself that all their promises would be kept. There was little more to be said and with a nod she pulled Spike toward the basement stairwell.

"Good," she called over her shoulder. "And we're holding you all to that 'cause we're not starting looking for new attendants at this stage and we've paid for all the dinners."

Xander began to question Buffy over the menu as they headed off, checking that they weren't dining on blood sausage, or any other funky English supposed-to-be-food.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Spike moaned.

Giles watched them go their various ways with an indulgent smile. "The earth is definitely doomed," he said to himself.

Xander's construction plans had shown three ways out of the basement, other than the staircase that led straight to the seal. Wes had taken the corridor to the left. Oz and James had headed to the right. Xander, Anya, Dawn, Brandon and his father had followed a third corridor that led straight ahead, as had the slayers, Spike, Tara and Bee, though they had veered off almost immediately taking the stairs down to the basement.

Clem and Giles each positioned themselves where they could see a signal from at least two of the corridors and began the nail-biting wait.








"Okay," Buffy called, looking at the glowing seal with suspicion. About a third of the new slayers stood just outside its light, standing front to back so that they could fit. "If you've got them, cut them."

Spike grimaced as the last bagged blood in Sunnydale, animal or human, splattered onto the white metal, thinking that Angel had better bring a decent supply from LA or he was going to be very hungry by tomorrow night. The blood seemed to pool within the grooves of the casting in ways proscribed by gravity before being absorbed by the metal, leaving the surface completely clean in the glare of the light coming from it. Like watching a slow-motion film of a flower opening in reverse, the five points of the star folded upwards. They formed a tall five sided pyramid which then dropped into the star-shaped hole, turning as it descended, the evil version of the end titles of Camberwick Green, only this was no plasticine figure cheerily waving goodbye as it disappeared into a music box. This was a gateway to at least one hell, but where Buffy walked, he would follow.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled as he sensed several crossbows pointed at his back, Faith's command and the reserves all ready to do what they had to do if the seal possessed any of those who had activated it.

Buffy was the first to begin the descent, and Spike flung out an arm to prevent Kennedy from being second, taking his rightful place as next in line. Kennedy followed on as did the rest of the first group and then Bee, Rupert and Tara. Only when none of them showed any sign of being possessed by the seal's evil, did Faith and the remainder of the slayers follow them down.








Buffy gestured to the girls of her group, including Ha Nath and her friends, to form a circle around the crude staircase they had descended. Bee found a position with her back against one side of the staircase and sat down cross-legged to begin the meditation that would speed the crystal's activation. Rupert climbed into her lap and Tara kept watch over her, ready to use her magic to defend her new lover if the slayers' defences should fail.

Faith's group formed an inner circle. With the exception of the slayer herself, who still carried the magical axe, they had ranged weapons at the ready. Amanda led the third group, who formed a knot at the circle's centre, encompassing both the stairwell and the area where Tara and Bee were.

Faith, Buffy and Spike moved away from the group and, with a stealth born of practice, they stole to the edge of the plateau where they had found themselves. They looked down the steep cliff face, seeing for the first time the true extent of the enemy's army.

Buffy gulped, took a deep breath and waved the other two back away from the edge.

"I think we have enough to defend this whole... flat bit," she whispered.

"Makes sense," Spike agreed. "We might end up a bit more spaced out, and Faith's crew won't be able to fire past the others. We'll have to alternate them in between your lot instead, but the climb the bastards'll have to make should more than make up for that. Better'n them coming at us on the flat."

Faith shrugged her silent assent and soon, instead of three circles, there were two lines of slayers spaced out along the cliff top.

The shallowest slopes were at either end of the cliff and Spike and Buffy took the right end of the line, while Faith stood on the left. The former potentials shifted nervously as they watched the enemy multitudes mill around below.

"I'm not worried," Buffy told them, her tone of voice screaming her concern to the vampire at her side and probably several of the younger slayers.

"Really?" asked Rona sceptically as she looked down at the throng. "'Cause I'm flashing back to Xander's whole bathroom speech.

"Buffy..." the pink-haired slayer sounded petrified, her gaze locked on a single ubervamp, who was staring right back at her.

"I'm not worried as long as Bee can get that thing started doing whatever it is that it does before they-." Buffy froze as the ripple of awareness spread out through the multitude below.

Just for a second the Turok Han all seemed to gaze upward and then, with a howl of anticipation, the vampires began to push and shove each other out of the way in their eagerness to scale the cliff face, their speed and agility so astounding that even Spike took an involuntary step backward as the tide approached, though he quickly righted that as soon as he realised what he had done.

"See us," the slayer finished in little more than a whisper.
 
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