Resurrection, Part 3
Resurrection, Part 3
Disclaimer: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and all characters from the
show are the property of Joss Whedon. The Cthulhu Mythos material
is loosely based on the "Call of Cthulhu" role-playing game
(copyright Chaosium Inc.) and the book "Encyclopedia Cthulhiana" by
Daniel Harms. SAVE is based on the organization in the Chill
Roleplaying game (copyright Mayfair Games Inc.) and the earlier
version of the game (copyright Pacesetter, Ltd.). The character
of Hector Gonzales is loosely based on a sample character in the
Mayfair version of Chill. The character of Melissa Johnson is my
own invention.
April 2: Sunnydale
Melissa and Willow entered the library. Giles, Wesley, and Buffy
were standing around one of the tables. Giles told her "We found
this stone on the table when we entered. It gave me what appeared to
be a mild shock when I tried to touch it."
Melissa glanced at the stone and suddenly reacted with shock. The
stone was flat and about the size of Melissa's palm. A figure of a
spearhead with a lightning bolt to each side was showing. She stood
speechless for a moment then began in a shaky voice "That is a
message stone of the Shatterers. The Shatterers are in town." She
composed herself and continued more calmly "Shatterers is a nickname
for the Spear of the Shatterer of Worlds. They are representatives
on Earth of N'Tse-Kaambl, as Chorazin is the representative of
Cthulhu. N'tse Kaambl is a fierce foe of Cthulhu and his kin and of
most of those we call demons, but from most accounts she has little
or no true concern for humanity. One of the minor powers of the
Shatterers is that they have message stones which can only be picked
up by the intended recipient. The Shatterers intervene rarely and
only against the greatest of threats. Massive destruction is usually
a side effect of their intervention."
Melissa reached out and picked up the stone. There was a message on
the reverse side:
Meeting
4:30 pm
Sunnydale Motel
117 3rd St
Room 105
Bring the Slayer
She wrote the message down and continued "That presumably means
they want to meet with Buffy and myself. We should probably have our
own meeting after that."
Melissa and Buffy arrived at the motel room a few minutes before
4:30. Melissa knocked on the door and a man let them in. Melissa
handed the message stone to him.
There were two men and a woman in the room. The man who let them in
began speaking in a monotone voice "Chorazin intends to raise Cthulhu
on Sunday night. We will invoke the Ritual of Fire to stop him
tomorrow night."
Melissa objected "The Ritual of Fire will kill everyone in
Sunnydale."
The woman asked "Do you have your own plans?"
Melissa answered hesitantly "We can cast the Twelfth Sathlatta."
The second man said "Even a day early, the Ritual of Fire will serve
as well for an Avatar of the Unspeakable One, as it will for the
Right Hand of the Lord of R'lyeh. We have warned the Slayer since we
both serve the same master. The rest of Sunnydale is of no
importance."
Buffy was about to argue but Melissa stopped her "We'd better get
back to the library. The others need to hear about this."
Once outside Buffy asked "What did he mean about me serving the same
master?"
Melissa replied "The Shatterers believe that N'Tse-Kaambl created
the Slayer to deal with minor problems while they deal with major
ones. I have no idea whether this is true."
By the time Melissa and Buffy returned to the library, Cordelia,
Hector, Oz, and Angel had joined the meeting. Melissa sent a puzzled
look towards Angel and he replied "There are ways for me to get here
during the daytime if I'm careful."
Melissa summarized the meeting "The Shatterers plan to cast something
called the Ritual of Fire tomorrow night because they expect
Chorazin to act on Sunday night. This Ritual will probably take care
of Chorazin. It will probably even take care of the Mayor's
Ascension. It will also destroy Sunnydale and kill everyone in it."
Willow said "We do have an alternative. The Twelfth Sathlatta."
Melissa looked at Willow for a moment. Finally she nodded.
"Willow discovered the spell yesterday. The Twelfth Sathlatta has a
primary caster and a secondary caster. Usually, there are also five
assistants. The two main casters stand in the center of a pentagon
and the five assistants stand at each point. Traditionally the two
main casters are close family or very close friends of each other.
Because of the prophecy, Willow will be the primary caster and Xander
the secondary caster. Ira means 'Watchful'. This makes Willow 'a
Watcher's daughter', loosely speaking, and Xander always been her
protector. His name even means 'protector'. They also fit the
traditional description of the casters."
Melissa paused and continued "The five assistants should be Cordelia,
Giles, Hector, Oz, and Wesley. Angel, Buffy, and myself will be
heading towards Chorazin's energy siphon. I need to close it just
before Willow's group casts the spell. There will probably be guards
and I will need most of my strength to close the siphon. The
Sathlatta itself is very dangerous. The primary caster calls down an
avatar of Hastur. The avatar possesses the caster and channels
Hastur's power to carry out a single task. Hopefully, the avatar
leaves once the task is performed. Because Hastur and Cthulhu are
mortal enemies the chances of this are probably improved."
Buffy asked "What happens if the avatar doesn't leave?"
Melissa glanced towards Buffy, hesitated and then continued. She
looked straight ahead, avoiding everyone's eyes. "If the avatar does
not leave and is not driven off, the Shatterers will invoke the
Ritual of Fire a day early. The avatar can be driven off by killing
the body it possesses. This also injures the avatar in some way.
The only person in a position to do this is the secondary caster."
There was a moment of stunned silence, broken by Xander "Are you
crazy!" he yelled. He took a step towards Melissa, his expression
furious.
Willow stepped in front of Xander "We don't have a choice! We have
to act tonight and we don't have anything else that has a hope of
working!"
Oz opened his mouth to say something but Willow glared at him "Stay
out of this, Oz. You too, Buffy. This is between Xander and me."
Willow confronted Xander again "Promise me that you will cast the
spell with me and that, if the avatar refuses to leave, that you will
kill my body."
Xander hesitated "Willow, I ..."
Willow continued "Xander, everyone in Sunnydale will die if you
don't. I know you. If you don't promise, you'll probably find an
excuse not to do it. But you've never broken a promise to me. You
have to promise. Now. You wouldn't be killing me. You'd be driving
off the creature that killed me."
They stared at each other for a long moment. Finally Xander conceded
"I promise."
Willow didn't relent "That ..."
Xander continued slowly, reluctance in every word "I promise that I
will cast the Twelfth Sathlatta with you and that if the avatar does
not leave after it destroys Chorazin, I will drive it off even if I
have to kill you." He sank into the nearest chair.
Willow remained standing "There are a few last-minute supplies I need
for the spell." She headed for the door.
Xander called out "I'm going with you" and stood up. He cast an
angry glance at Melissa as he left.
Oz and Buffy simultaneously added "Me too." and followed Willow and
Xander.
Melissa looked drained. She turned towards Giles "We really don't
have much choice."
Giles considered and finally responded "Perhaps. But if Willow dies,
I don't think any of them will ever forgive you." He paused a moment
"Sunday night?"
Melissa nodded "Magical resonances. We'd better get the Commentaries
so we can go over what everyone here needs to do."
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