Chapter 8
Flesh and Stone
“We need to get to them!” Giles exclaimed hurrying out of the temple to the street.
“Right! We need wheels!” Spike replied. Flagging down a car he hunkered down to the drivers side window, game face in place.
“Hi! I need your car,” he said cheerily. Inside, an old Jewish screeched in fear and shrieking in Hebrew she tore a strange ornament hanging from the rearview mirror and shouting at the top of her lungs pressed it to Spike’s deformed forehead. There was a hiss of sizzling flesh and a scream of pain from Spike as the holy symbol seared his flesh. The car screeched away in a blast of scorched rubber as Spike hopped up and down in pain cradling his brow, spitting out a steady stream of obscenities. He straightened to confront a concerned Giles.
The Star of David had been seared into his forehead. Giles snickered,
“Mazel Tov!” Giles quipped.
“I hate ethnic neighborhoods! I hate ‘em! I hate ‘em! I hate ‘em!” He ranted, “Bloody sodding Hell!!” Nursing his wounds and his pride, he glared darkly at Giles who casually walked over to a parked car and picking up a rock from the street dashed it into the driver-side window, showering the street with glass.
“Subtle,” Spike commented bitterly. Opening the door, Giles crouched down by the steering column and peered intently at it.
“Spike. Come here and rip this off,” Giles instructed.
“With pleasure,” the vampire snarled and stalking over to the car, knelt and plunged his fingers into the steering column, savagely tearing it apart in an explosion of plastic shards and sparks. Giles took his glasses off and pinched the skin of his nose sighing,
“Just the steering column covering, Spike not all of the bloody ignition circuitry!” Giles sighed.
Spike nodded, “Yes well…tell a bloke these things, they are important,” he replied. Giles sighed again and dug his hands into the ignition circuitry, twisting a few together in rapid succession. There was a grinding sound followed by a roar of life as the engine turned over and caught.
Spike whistled, impressed, “Where in the Watcher curriculum do they teach that?”
“I served 18 months for first offense grand theft auto,” Giles turned to regard Spike, “That and playing the computer game a lot,” Giles leveled a deadly look at Spike as he got into the car, “You tell anyone, I promise you you’ll be harmed,”
Spike held up his hands in defense, “No worries mate. A man’s time in the slammer is his own business,”
“No. I meant about the computer game,” Giles corrected, shaking his head.
“Oh.”
Spike closed the door behind him as Giles brought the phone up to his ear,
“Xander where are you now?”
There was a crackle of static then,
“Oh, we’re around,”
The golem, a huge stone creature that moved more like a gorilla, propelling itself on its massive stone hands, moved far too fast for something that huge but it continued to head right up first avenue, knocking cars aside like they were toys, sending them (and their occupants) screaming into buildings to blast through storefronts, reducing whole buildings to rubble,
“Someone call Rand McNally, I think they’re tour guide is going to need a quick rewrite,” Xander quipped, stunned by the devastation the creature was able to wreak.
“Hear hear,” Alec quipped from the backseat of the van. Alec looked down at his useless legs, they had had to carry him into the van, and he cursed his inability to be out there to fight the golem.
“So, do we have something resembling a plan?” Buffy asked, having nearly healed all of her wounds and eager to get back in the game.
“We need to get it away from all these people!” Alec yelled so he could be heard over the sounds of destruction outside.
The group had been resting in the gypsy lair when they got word of the golem’s rampage via a panicked newscaster they heard over Dawn’s portable radio. Eager to be out doing something, ANYTHING, other than sitting around waiting, the group, sans Anya, Dawn, Faith and a still recovering Angel, decided to head out and see if it was really as bad as it all sounded.
It was, in fact, worse.
“We need a distraction!” Buffy replied
“BRAKES!” the entire group howled. Xander slammed on the brakes just in time as the golem had picked up a car and flung it away carelessly where it collided with another car and both ruined vehicles had passed across not two feet from the front of the van to collide into a building and burst into flames.
“Go! Go! Go!” Willow screamed. Xander floored it and the van lurched away from the ruined cars just as their gas tanks ignited and erupted in a ball of flame. Alec turned around to see weakly struggling forms within the burning cars and had to look away, feeling sick.
“This thing has to be stopped,”
“Great, as soon as someone can figure out how to get its attention, I’m all ears,” Xander countered.
Without warning Willow lunged from the backseat and stuck her head and arms out the window,
“Willow!” Alec cried out, trying to get to her, his partially crippled form getting in the way.
“Askteriath Malar!” she cried out and a green bolt of light shot from her hand, catching the golem square in the forehead. It roared, a cold, hollow sound and stumbled backwards a massive hand over its forehead,
“Did that do it?” Xander asked. The creature lowered its hands from its faced and turned its massive stone head to regard the van. Its eyes flashed red,
“I’m thinking ‘no’,” Buffy replied.
And with a roar, the golem smashed aside a car and charged them, lurching like a crazed gorilla,
“Go! go! go! go! go! go!” Alec screamed as the massive stone golem attacked them. Xander threw the car into reverse and peeled out as fast as he could as the golem kept advancing.
“Good news! It’s distracted!” Willow commented.
“Bad news! It’s distracted by an overwhelming urge to kill us all!” Alec countered.
“Heads down please!” Xander yelled. Willow grabbed Alec’s head and pulled it down and out of the way into her lap so Xander could continue to drive frantically backwards.
“Gee honey, is this really the time?” Alec quipped lightly, his cheek resting against her thigh.
“Drive now be a pervert later!” Buffy yelled.
“There, go around that corner!” Willow gestured frantically.
Xander cut the wheel hard and the van lurched around the corner, up onto the sidewalk, backing up into a store window,
“Sorry!” Xander called out before he floored the pedal causing the van to lurch out and away from the storefront, around a building and barreling up Eighth Avenue. Just in time to see a car soar over their van and collide like a bomb into the storefront they had just backed into, annihilating it.
“Nevermind!” Xander added then frowned, “Should I leave a note?” the boy asked.
“Xander, if you for any reason, slow down this car, you won’t have to worry about the golem tearing you apart, I’ll do it!” Buffy screamed at him.
“Do you think we lost him?” Willow asked. They all turned to peer behind them. The golem had yet to come around the corner of the building which served as the entrance to Eighth Street.
“I don’t know,” Buffy squinted peering down the street.
Just in time to see the golem smash THROUGH the building entirely and charge after them.
“Uh-uh,” Alec answered. Xander grimaced and floored the accelerator, pushing it down even further to the floor and weaving through the obstacles in the road, thanking whatever gods would listen that it was a late night and very few people were out.
Of course, the rampaging engine of death directly behind them may have had something to do with that too.
“Hey, this is St. Mark’s place. I wanted to come here for a tattoo,” Alec commented.
“Great, you’ll make a beautiful corpse,” Willow replied. Alec grinned,
“You think so?”
“Down boy.”
Xander spared a glance into the rear view mirror. The saying, ‘Objects may be closer than they appear’ taking a very grim meaning. The golem behind them opened its stone maw, roared and lurched and suddenly in a squeal of shattered glass and twisted metal, the rear view mirror was torn from the car.
“Well that’s not good,” Alec commented. Suddenly the whole car lurched up and everyone in the car was nearly brained by the van roof.
“What the hell was that?” Buffy asked before turning around to face front, “Oh.”
“Good news everyone! We’ve run out of road here at 8th street and Fourth Avenue, we are currently on sidewalk. If you’ll look left you’ll see a piece of modern art commissioned by I Have No Idea, entitled “Big giant metal cube,” Xander gave a running commentary,
“How is that good news, Farnsworth?” Alec asked.
“This is called Astor Place, skateboarders hang out around here, we must be near Lafayette,” Willow added.
“Incoming!” Buffy cried out. Xander accelerated and lurched forward just in time to avoid being crushed by the aforementioned gigantic metal cube which the enraged golem had turned into a missile.
“He’s trashing precious landmarks of the East Village!” Willow cried out.
“I’ll send an angry letter to my congressman!” Alec retorted just as the golem charged after them swatting the massive steel cube away where it flew in the air and annihilated the third floor of an apartment complex.
“We need a plan,” Buffy commented, looking a little ill at how relentlessly the monstrosity behind pursued them.
“We could introduce him to a really attractive pile of rubble?” Xander quipped,
“Xander if we don’t come up with a better plan, we are going to BE a pile of rubble!” Buffy yelled then cringed as she looked behind her to see the creature throw a bus at them.
“Brakes!” Everyone yelled. Xander slammed the brakes on as the bus sailed overhead and smashed directly in front of them, length wise, blocking the way.
“Detour!” Xander cried out and cut the wheel hard to the right. The van leapt off the sidewalk and barreled through the large window of a Barnes and Noble bookstore.
“Hey, you’re trashing my favorite store!” Willow lamented.
“The bookworms of the east village will truly rue this day,” Alec commented dryly.
“We have company!” Buffy yelled. The golem had followed them through the bookstore and was currently annihilating the place in its frenzied pursuit.
“Hang on!” Xander smashed through the book store, in and out of the coffee bar section and out the other side barreling down Broadway.
“Trashed a coffee bar and destroyed a piece of art, I know I’ve heard that some place before,” Alec mused.
“Two birds with one stone…sir,” Buffy quipped, “The first rule of Project Mayhem is-”
“Stop quipping!” Willow yelled, clearly the act of being pursued by a killer statue was wearing on her.
And with a crack and roar, the whole building came down on the golem. The Scoobies hit the brakes and turned to look as the dust cloud rose from the ruins of the Barnes and Noble.
“Did that do it?” Willow asked, a little shakily.
In answer, the rubble began to shift and a huge hand burst from the gravel,
“No…” Willow whispered brokenly.
“I think we’re going to need a bigger boat, chief,” Alec commented dryly.
“Of course!” Xander cried out. Flooring the accelerator, cutting the wheel, everyone was thrown to the side as Xander pulled a 180 and headed towards the emerging golem,
“Hey you! Your mother was a tapped out quarry…and your father smelled of elderberries!” Xander taunted the beast as he drove past its remerging form. Buffy sighed in resignation and turned to Alec,
“Remind me that I owe Spike money.”
Alec frowned, puzzled “What do you mean?”
The golem roared and clawed its way out of the rubble and took off after them,
“Because I always thought you were going to be the first one out of all of us here to lose your mind,” she finished.
Alec actually laughed, “Thanks for the vote of confidence, sis.”
“I got myself a plan!” Xander cried out joyfully.
“This better be one heck of a plan,” Willow commented darkly. Xander grabbed the phone.
“G-Man, you there?”
Giles and Spike drove slowly up the ruined avenue, completely agog.
“Figures that Buffy would have all the fun the one time I’m not around,” Spike commented forlornly.
“The city is going to be rebuilding for years,” Giles observed grimly.
“New York, what a town!” Spike grinned. The cell phone crackled to life,
“G-Man, you there?” Xander’s voice blasted through. Spike took the phone,
“We’re here, just admiring your friend’s handiwork,” Spike commented grinning,
“Well, he’s behind us, he’s pissed and we’re running out of gas, we need you guys to run interference and lure him away while I get something set up and then lure him back to somewhere else.
“Oh well, is that all?” Spike commented dryly.
“Put Giles on the phone,” Xander directed. Spike shrugged and handed it over to Giles. Giles took it and sighed,
“You know I’ve always hated people who drove while talking on their cell phone,”
“War makes beasts out of all of us,” Spike commented completely straight-faced. Giles shot him a look as he brought the phone to his ear,
“Xander, what is it you have in mind?”
“Giles call Anya and ask her about someone she knows in the demon realm who can help with this thing, then find the fastest thing you can and get on it. Oh! And make sure she brings that black bag we got from the cops. Tell her that’s crucial!” Xander added.
“Acknowledged,” Giles hung up the phone and began dialing Anya,
“What’s the plan?” Spike asked,
“I’m not sure yet,” Giles put his ear to the receiver and listened to it ring.
“What?” A terse voice replied.
“Anya, this is Giles. We have a rampaging-“
“-Stone golem, yeah I heard about it on the radio. Now, why are you calling me?” She demanded.
“We need to know how to lure it away and how to kill it,”
“No problem. On its forehead is the world “Emet” which means ‘truth. Destroy the first letter in it and it becomes ‘met’ meaning ‘death’, which will kill it,” Anya explained,
“And how are we supposed to do that?” Giles asked impatiently.
“My suggestion? Crush the head,” Anya answered.
“Yes, well, that should be terribly simple. Which reminds me, Xander wants you to come meet us and bring the black bag from the police station, says he needs something from it.”
A sigh over the phone then, “Fine! Fine! Where can I meet you?”
“Just follow the trail of devastation,” Giles replied and hung up.
Anya hung up the phone and glanced at Angel, Faith and Dawn.
“Well, come on, we have to go help out. Apparently without me, there are totally helpless, as I thought,”
“Loving the humility there, A,” Faith commented dryly getting up.
“What’s the situation?” Angel asked quietly, getting up slowly. Faith placed a hand on his chest, steadying up.
“Whoa hold up there, babe. Are you sure you should be going anywhere?”
“Don’t have much of a choice, we’re needed,” Angel replied. Dawn got to her feet,
“I’m going too.” Angel turned to face her,
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea Dawn-” he began.
Dawn brushed him off, “Three things: one, a lot of people I love are out there and I need to help them, two: leaving me here when we’re not certain whether or not gypsy boy will kill us all falls under the ‘blindingly stupid’ section of thoughts…” Dawn squared off against the tall vampire,
“…And three, if those reasons aren’t good enough for you, then I don’t give a damn WHAT you think,” she turned to Anya and Faith, “Let’s go!”
Dawn left behind three very stunned adults.
“She’s B’s sister all right,” Faith observed.
“No kidding,” Angel replied before heading of after her. Faith and Anya followed, Anya snatching the black bag before leaving.
“For the last time, ‘If you can’t find ‘em, grind ‘em is NOT something they teach in Driver’s Ed!” Faith yelled at Anya who was struggling with the manual transmission on the car they had procured heading away from the gypsy hideout.
“I never took Driver’s Ed!” Anya yelled back, red faced in frustration as the horrible grinding sounds continued as she struggled with the stick.
“I did. Can I drive?” Dawn asked.
“NO!” Faith and Anya both yelled at her. Dawn stuck her chin out,
“Look, I have more experience driving than An-”
“Look out!” Angel yelled. They turned just in time to see a large black car plow into them head on at full speed.
They had time to scream once before the world turned black.
“So what’s this plan?” Buffy asked. Xander jerked a thumb back to Alec,
“He gave me the idea,”
Alec frowned at Xander, “What idea?”
“A bigger building!” Xander replied triumphantly then turned to observe nothing but confusion on the faces behind them, “Just trust me,” he insisted.
“Fair enough,” Alec agreed.
“Umm…hey guys?” Willow put forth.
“Yeah, how far behind us is Stoneface?” Xander asked hurriedly.
“That’s…the thing,” she put forth hesitantly. Xander frowned and started to look at his side view mirror then caught himself in exasperation when he saw and remembered that it was no longer there. He turned,
The golem was gone.
“Uh…where did it go?” Buffy asked.
“That’s just it. It was chasing us, then it stopped and looked like it was listening to something, then it took off another direction,” Willow told them.
“Which direction?” Alec asked.
An explosion in the distance echoed down the street, black smoke curled lazily up against the night sky,
“I’d say that direction,” Buffy replied.
Giles’s phone rang; he picked it up on the second ring.
“Yes?” he asked.
“It’s Anya; I found what you need to lure the beast,”
Giles nodded, “All right, I’m listening,”
“According to this, all you need to do is read certain passages of the Torah pertaining to the ‘enemies of Israel’,” Anya told them. Giles frowned and turned to Spike,
“Spike, would you mind opening the glove compartment and handing me the book inside?” Giles asked. Spike frowned,
“Yeah, sure no problem mate,” he opened the glove compartment and reached in. And then promptly screamed as something in there seared his skin,
“What the hell?!” he roared. Giles leaned over and removed a now-smoking copy of the Torah from the glove compartment as Spike cradled his injured hand and glared daggers at the other man,
“You have to appreciate ethnic neighborhoods,” Giles quipped.
“Piss off, all right?” Spike snarled. Giles brought his ear back to the phone,
“We have it,” Giles spoke into the mouth piece. There was a long silence.
“Hello?” Giles said frowning.
“Sorry, I’m here,” Anya replied. Her voice sounded very strange,
“Are you all right?” Giles asked.
“I’m fine,” Anya said, strained, “Where is everyone meeting you?” There was a small beep over the line indicating an incoming call
“Hold on Anya, I may have the answer for that right now,” Giles told her, pushing a button, “Yes?”
“G-Man, the big pile of rocks took off up towards Sixth Ave and West 20th, go get it and have it follow you to this address, we’ll meet you there with a big surprise,” Xander recited an address, Giles nodded,
“Understood, but Xander what’s-”
The line went dead. Giles sighed and switched back over to Anya,
“Hello Anya?”
“Yes?!” Anya fairly screamed. Giles frowned, she didn’t seem all right but perhaps that was simply stress. Waving away his concerns, “The golem is heading up Sixth Avenue on West 20th. Xander wants us to meet up at this address,” Giles gave her the address, “Please get there as soon as possible,”
“Okay,” Anya replied and hung up.
Anya put down the phone and regarded the knife to her throat,
“Well?” DeGanon casually asked her, twisting the knife gently under her skin, making sure the other gypsies had crossbows leveled against Angel, Faith and Dawn. It wasn’t difficult to ambush them especially after hitting them head on with a car.
“They said that the golem is going to Sixth Avenue and West 20th street,” she told them.
“That’s the club!” One of the gypsies called out.
“Imagine that,” Angel commented darkly.
“Silence!” DeGanon commanded. Angel regarded the gypsy,
“You know DeGanon, I told my friends once that since we had been accepted by the tribe, you’re people would never betray us. I hate looking like a jackass,” Angel growled. One of the gypsies raised the crossbow a little higher towards the vampire,
“What I do now I do in service of my lord and for the good of my tribe, sacrifices must be made,” DeGanon replied curtly,
“Catch up on your history, DeGanon, doing screwed up things just gets things more screwed up,” Faith spit out
“Silence! When your hands are clean of blood, murderer, then we may discuss morality, until then…” DeGanon turned and dug the knife tip a little deeper in Anya’s throat,
“We have a date to keep,” he leaned in, practically eye to eye with the young girl,
“Where are they going?”
“This is your big plan?” Buffy asked askance.
“It’s a great plan, so long as Anya and crew show up with the bag of goodies, we’ll be in the clear,”
“Okay, the suspense is killing me. What’s in that black bag?” Alec asked.
Xander told them.
“Wow,” Alec muttered.
“I second your ‘wow’ and add a ‘yikes!’” Buffy added.
“Are we going to go to jail for this?”
“Probably. I hear the government frowns on this kind of stuff,” Xander replied.
“I’ll be sure to ask Riley in my next e-mail,” Buffy replied,
“Did I mention ‘wow’?” Alec repeated.
They were parked in front of where Xander wanted to golem to be lead to.
A huge, seven-story, parking garage.
“Good God,” Giles breathed when he reached the golems destination.
“Bloody hell,” Spike breathed in agreement.
The golem had found the club, Nocturnal Sacrament and had proceeded to dismantle the place, collapsing the pseudo-cathedral and was currently hammering away at the ground, pounding cement into dust and clawing at the dry soil beneath.
“What’s he going to do, bury a school bus?” Spike asked. Giles shook his head,
“He is under someone’s control. Clearly he has been commanded to do this by whatever force is directing his actions,” the older man explained.
Spike nodded, “So what’s the plan?” Giles opened the book and frowned.
“Well, first we need something faster than this car as transportation. Once the incantation is read, the golem will pursue the reader with the intent of destroying him,”
“Sounds like fun,” Spike replied. Opening the car door, he headed out into the rubble, completely ignored by the golem who was single-mindedly clawing and digging at the earth. Spike snorted,
“Like a bloody hound it is,” he scoffed then found what he was looking for: what was left of a motorcycle from what was left of the parking lot of the club. He hauled it up with a grunt and inspected it. The mirrors were toast and the seat cushion was torn to hell, but other than that it looked serviceable. He mounted the bike and kick-started it. It coughed a few times, then revved to life.
“Yeah baby!” Spike growled grinning. He checked to see if the golem had noticed the noise but, of course, it was still ignoring him. He wheeled it over to the car where Giles wait.
“Question: what are the odds of survival being bait?” Spike asked. Giles shook his head,
“It’s terribly risky but it must be done,”
“And it’ll, what? Follow whoever says the words?”
Giles shook his head, “Uh, no actually it will follow whoever possesses the book in which the words are read from,” Spike nodded as Giles began to read the selected passage,
“ ‘Ata Bra Golem Devuk Hakhomer VeTigzar Zedim Chevel Torfe Yisroel’!” Giles called out.
For a moment there was nothing, then the book began to glow blue, matched by a glowing light emanating from the golem’s forehead. It turned slowly, almost against its will to face them,
“Yes, well I believe that’s got it. Spike we need to get-” Giles never saw the blow coming as Spike knocked him senseless.
“Sorry mate, but if I let something happen to you, Buffy and Alec would never forgive me,” Spike reached down and snatched up the glowing blue book, grimacing in pain as the holy item seared his flesh. The golem began advancing, first slowly but then gaining enormous momentum.
“All right you beauty! Have a go if you think you’re hard enough!” Spike called out then turned around and revving the bike so hard it sprang up on one wheel sped away, the golem hot on his heels as it casually knocked aside Giles’s car sending it spinning. The impact jarred the man from unconsciousness, he looked around and comprehension arrived quickly,
“Spike, you fool!” Giles cursed before dialing the phone, “Xander, it’s me,”
“We’re on our way.”
“Got it!” Xander hung up the phone and turned to Buffy, “Okay they’re on their way,” Xander told them all. Buffy nodded and got out of the car.
“Well let’s go scope things out,” she stated. Willow turned to Alec,
“You sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” she asked. Alec shook his head,
“They may need your magic tricks love, besides one of us should be useful,” he looked down at himself with disgust. Willow took his chin in her hands and kissed him soundly,
“I love you,” she told him simply. He smiled,
“I love you too, princess. Now get going.” Willow smiled bravely at him and turned to leave. Alec caught her hand, she turned,
“Be careful…and good luck,” he whispered to her. She smiled, brought his hand to her lips, kissing it before heading out towards the garage.
Leaving Alec alone to think and curse. It didn’t long to start up again.
“Alec, let me help you,”
Alec brought his knuckles up to his ears wedging his eyes shut trying to block out the voice.
“You’re not real,” Alec whispered hoarsely. He was rewarded by a cold chuckle,
“I’m as real as you are boy,” the voice replied. “And right now, I want to help you,”
Alec grabbed fistfuls of his hair, white knuckled, “I don’t’ want your help,” he snarled.
“Oh, you’d rather remain here? Crippled. Paralyzed,” Alec could almost feel the voice smile, “Useless?” the voice chuckled again.
“What do you want?” Alec asked.
“I want what you want, Alec; to kill them, to kill them all. Vampire after vampire, demon after demon, monster after monster,” the voice promised.
“How?” Alec asked.
“I can help you become strong again, Alec; stronger than you were. And back on the front lines where we belong,”
“We?” Alec asked.
“Yes, Alec, You and I, together, fighting to rid this world of these supernatural abominations,” the voice became imploring, “And I want so little in return,”
“And in exchange, I can fight again?” Alec asked.
“Yes, Alec. Your lover and sister need your help,” the voice paused for effect, “And she will be here soon as well Alec. I sense a force of great evil, lurking. Hunting your friends and promising slaughter,”
“What?” Alec lurched forward in alarm, “What is out there?” the young man demanded.
“Someone that you will need my help to defeat,” the voice confirmed. “I give you the opportunity to protect your family, your women and regain your dignity as a warrior; the chance to become a warrior again. Your answer?”
Alec sighed, his broken body crumpling within the chair. He really didn’t have a choice.
“I accept.”
A surge of power tore through Alec’s crippled frame, he screamed once and then the darkness took him.
“Okay, we’re going to need to buy some time when Stoney shows up,” Xander turned to Willow,
“Got anything that can slow him down?” Willow thought for a moment then nodded,
“I have the Temporal Distortion spell I used in the bar earlier. Instead of speeding things up it could slow something down, but it would take a lot out of me. I could use someone watching my back,”
“That’d be me,” Buffy put in, wrapping an arm around Willow, “I’ve got your covered, Wills, as always,” Willow smiled and patted Buffy’s hand affectionately.
“All right then. Willow, get it ready,” Xander instructed then turned and looked around.
“Now, where to put the toys…”
Spike weaved up and down the street, the motorcycle, designed for racing was more than up to the task of maneuvering down side streets and avenues, leaping over cars and making excellent time. Cars would come crashing down around him, behind him, in front of him as the enraged golem followed close behind,
“Is that all you got? Huh? Come on you bloody bastard!” Spike roared, loving every minute of it, the yelling keeping his mind off the burning wounds on his forehead and hands from his close encounters with religious objects. He had stashed the enchanted book in his duster; even now he could feel the itching heat of it pressing against his leg, through his duster whenever it rested against his leg. Fortunately, high speeds kept the jacket billowing like a cape and kept the book away from his body.
Spike turned down a street, the golem keeping up reasonably well, destroying cars, plowing through buildings and behaving like a psychotic freight train pulled off the tracks.
And straight after him.
“Yeah…” Spike growled grinning and hunkered down lower in the saddle becoming a vampire rocket as he led the golem to his doom.
Or so the vampire hoped.
“Where’s Anya?” Buffy asked. Xander sighed and shook his head,
“I don’t know, I really wanted her to be here before the golem got here so we could set up,” Xander replied nervously.
“She hasn’t let us down yet, Xand. She’ll be here,” Buffy assured him. Xander nodded but still looked worried. The slayer headed over to Willow,
“Will, how we doing?” she asked. Willow nodded,
“We’re ready. Just don’t forget all my attention is going to be focused on the spell, so make sure you have my back,”
“Consider your back property of the Slayer,” Buffy proclaimed, then blanched, “Okay yeah that was a little prison movie wasn’t it?”
“Just a little,” Willow replied.
“Hey does anyone else hear that?” Xander asked. Buffy frowned listening
“What does it sound like?” Willow asked. Buffy’s eyes got wide,
“Like a psychopath on a motorcycle! Get down!” Buffy cried out. They dove to the pavement just in time to avoid being decapitated by a flying motorcycle with a howling blond vampire on it which came out of nowhere flew up and over the curb and sailed over their bodies. Spike dove from the bike and landed hard next to Buffy as his bike continued like a rocket and slammed into a concrete support, exploding into metal fragments and flame. Spike covered Buffy with his body as the shrapnel sprayed both of them.
“Nice entrance,” Buffy commented, looking up at her lover,
“Well, anyone can use a door,” Spike offered cockily as his defense,
“Anyone but you sweetie,” Buffy replied kissing him.
“We have company!”
The group looked up to see the massive golem bearing down on them quickly,
“Willow, now!”
Willow removed a watch from her pocket,
“Goddess Hecate, light of path, invoke now time’s cruel wrath. Temporis Languis!” Willow finished the spell and hurled the watch at the creature. It struck the stone goliath and with a burst of light, crackles of yellow energy crawled over its body.
The golem slowed down to barely a crawl.
Xander shouted in triumph, “You got him, Wills! You got him!” he laughed, Willow nodded, her hands glowing yellow as her muscles strained to keep the beast slowed down. Xander chuckled and went back to examining a pillar,
‘Tell me Wills, how come magic has to rhyme? I mean isn’t it a little Harry Potter?” He asked absentmindedly.
And without warning his arms were jerked back behind himself.’
“Yes,” an inhuman voice whispered into the boys’ ear, “It is,” And grabbing a hold of his arms, Viisq pulled and began to stretch Xander. Bones began to separate as Xander screamed in agony. Buffy turned,
“Xander!” She charged the pair. Viisq spun around and threw Xander at her…but not before he laid his hands upon the boys arm and squeezed.
And with the sound of tearing flesh and sinew, the bones in Xander’s arms swelled then exploded. Xander screamed long and high in agony as he clutched at the ruins of his arm, he collapsed into Buffy, unconscious. Buffy lowered her wounded friend to the pavement and regarded the monster before her.
“You…” she whispered lethally finally meeting the creature that had paralyzed and tortured her brother, had had Angel shot to pieces and now had maimed her best friend.
“Me.” Viisq replied evenly, “Are you going to abandon your little witch while she keeps my golem at bay?” it asked the enraged slayer. Buffy gritted her teeth in frustration; she wanted nothing more than to annihilate this….freak, but Willow needed protection,
“Buffy?” the slayer turned to face Willow. The young witch was now nearly glowing yellow and gritting her teeth with the exertion of grinding down the massive stone golems attempts to break free and kill them all. Willow tore her head away from the spectacle of the ensorcelled automaton to regard her friend with a burning intensity,
“Kick his malformed ass,” Willow rasped. Viisq had time to look surprised briefly before Buffy plowed into it with the speed of a freight train. Buffy snarled slamming a fist into the creatures face, “That’s for Angel,” she spun Viisq around and slammed a booted hell into its spine, “That’s for my brother,” She grabbed the creature again and taking a grip on its arm, braced it against a stone cement support, bent then broke it, “And that’s for Xander,” she finished before beginning to rain blow after blow upon the alien monstrosity. Viisq reeled under the onslaught of slayer-strength blows. Its bones were being demolished faster than it could recreate them. Buffy drew back a fist,
“And this, is for me,” she threw the punch and was brought to a jarring halt as the Dahaka got a hand up, reshaped into a massive, pseudopod, requiring no bones.
“And this is for fun,” The Dahaka hissed at her. Concentrating, he called to the young girls flesh and the skin of Buffy’s hand began to ripple grotesquely as her bones started to separate. Buffy drew back another hand in desperation when suddenly a piece of metal flew from nowhere and sliced Viisq’s tentacle free from its body. Buffy fell backwards, cradling her wounded hand.
“Get your filthy hands off my girl you damn dirty freak,” Spike snarled, getting to his feet and readying another piece of motorcycle shrapnel. Viisq screeched at the vampire and leapt up into the air, his tentacles growing claws and gaping maws intent on consuming Spike.
And with a roar, his game face in place, Spike lunged up with the sharp metal. The Dahaka’s skin split as the makeshift weapon sliced up into its groin, through its ribcage and out the top of its head. The creature landed behind Spike, who rolled away to get away from the now-bifurcated monstrosity. Viisq collapsed upon the concrete floor on the parking garage and desperately tried to reform. Spike rushed over to Buffy,
“Are you all right luv?” he asked worriedly. Buffy smiled weakly and cradled Spike’s vampire face with her uninjured hand,
“Your timing is really great,” she whispered. Spike smiled and kissed her hand,
“Nobody touches my girl,” he whispered back fiercely. Buffy smiled, then froze as she peered past Spike. Viisq had gotten to its feet, its body realigned and heeled. Spike turned his head to face the creature and with a roar of vampiric rage charged head on as Buffy moved towards the wounded Xander, cradling him.
“Get the line right you wanker. ‘This is my rifle!’” Spike slammed the sharp piece of metal into the creatures gut, cutting it open deeply, causing it to wail in pain, ““this is my gun!’” Spike brought the blade up cleaving off Viisq’s arm that had been reaching for him, “’This is for fighting!’” Spike slashed the wildly-flailing monstrosity across the throat, the creatures head lolled back crazily, dangling and held to its collar by a few threads of putrid flesh. “And THIS is for fun!” Spike brought his boot up hard right between the creatures legs sending now pureed monster up into the air to land hard on the top of car,
“Any questions?” Spike quipped casually tossing his makeshift weapon aside.
“One,” Viisqu hissed. Without warning, gutted monstrosity lashed out a tentacle catching Spike around the throat, entangling him and dragging him towards itself. Spike scrambled with his hands, catching hold of his discarded weapons as he was dragged towards the beast
“Spike!” Buffy cried out in terror as Viisq sprouted a set of hands from its own torso and placed them lightly on the struggling vampires face,
“What will you look like without your face?” Viisq asked. Spike readied himself to strike as the creature summoned its unnatural powers, calling to Spike’s flesh.
Nothing happened.
Viisq frowned and tried again, but Spike’s flesh would not answer his call. Spike grinned,
“Imagine that,” Spike quipped, “Dead flesh doesn’t shape nicely…” Spike grinned as Viisq looked horrified, and then promptly drove the metal shiv deeply through the top of the beasts head. Viisq wailed in pain, a huge maw erupting from its chain to echo the screeching howl of agony,
“…or maybe I’m just special!” Spike finished. Snatching up another piece of metal, he advanced on the incapacitated monster.
“And now, I’m going to take your head off,” Spike promised. He advanced to finish the job when a crossbow bolt embedded in his shoulder, spinning him around like a top and dropping him to the floor near Buffy, sending his new weapon spinning away.
“No!” Buffy cried out in shock and fear for her lover.
“I’m afraid that cannot be permitted,” a deep voice said, dripping with a familiar accent.
DeGanon stepped across and away from the car, reloading his crossbow. Spike rolled onto his back, his face changing back into human form,
“You filthy ponce I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Spike gritted out as Buffy pulled him to her.
“That was your mistake,” DeGanon replied, he gestured to the other gypsies in the car who brought out Dawn, Anya, Angel and Faith and kept them at crossbow point.
“Dawnie!” Buffy cried out. Dawn tried to go to her but was held at bay by one of the gypsy’s weapons. Buffy turned her gaze to DeGanon
“Why?” Buffy asked.
“Oh yes, tell them DeGanon,” Viisq commented, pulling the shiv out of his skull and reforming, “Tell them all about it, won’t you…father?”
“Father?” Buffy gasped turning to DeGanon.
“Nikolas! That is enough!” DeGanon roared.
“It’s ‘Viisq’ now father. Remember when you and the elders put me and the others in the earth to absorb its power so we could protect your worthless hides?” Viisq smiled sickly, “Do you like what you’ve created?”
“What choice did we have, Nikloas?” DeGanon screamed, “The Turks were at our very borders, they had filled our forests, our masters’ lands-!”
“YOUR masters’ lands! Not mine! NEVER mine! You are free to spend the rest of eternity supping at his wrist to extend your wretched existence, I will not!”
“Traitor!” DeGanon howled in hatred.
“I hate to break up this touching and really sick family reunion but there is something out there that weighs ten tons and is really pissed off and my friend is the only one holding it at bay,” Buffy yelled. Spike turned to look at Willow, her face was pale and drawn.
“She’s right,” Angel informed them coolly, “Sooner or later Willow’s enchantment is going to wear off and when it does, it’s going to kill us all,”
“No, it will kill all of you. Those of you who have heard secrets you were not meant to hear,” DeGanon replied, “I have been forced to slay my own people, vampire. To protect them, to protect this secret,”
“Spoken like a true hypocrite,” Viisq sneered, “Killing off the sheep to protect them…and yourself of course,”
“I was not the one who betrayed our people by renouncing my heritage! My responsibilities!” DeGanon roared, “Enough of this!” The gypsy chieftain brought the crossbow up for a final time,
“Our secrets shall remain where they started: buried in the earth,” He took aim at Willow, too busy keeping the golem at bay to defend herself, and fired.
“No!” Buffy cried out in terror. The bolt raced forward…and came to a jerking stop as a tendril of darkness wrapped around it.
“Change of plans,” a voice called out from above. Everyone one who could, looked up and gaped,
Alec descended down from the vastness of the garage, six tendrils of darkness protruding from his body that writhed and gripped the stone around him, his useless legs now suspended by his new form of transportation,
“Alec!” Buffy cried out in joy…and in a little bit of fear at the awesome sight. Alec lowered himself to the ground floor, two tendrils supporting him a full six feet off the ground, the other four hissing and snapping, purple energy coursing through them. Alec held his hand out and a blade appeared through his palm. One of the tendrils gripped the blade, as naturally as a third hand and removed a complete sword from his arm before deftly placing it, hilt first in his hand. Alec readied the sword as the tentacle that held the crossbow bolt brought it up before his eyes,
“You have betrayed us for the last time, DeGanon,” Alec whispered darkly. The tentacle flexed once and the crossbow bolt shattered.
“My God!” One of the gypsies whispered in shock, crossing himself. An ear-splitting screech broke into their dread reverie. Viisq, paralyzed by whatever passed for fear in its alien mind at the sight of Alec, began to convulse wildly as its body changed shape. One of Alec’s tentacles lashed out and knocked the shapeshifting creature aside and out of the way,
“I’ll deal with you later,” Alec promised, “First…”
With a scream, DeGanon frantically reloaded the crossbow. Angel took advantage of Alec’s diversion, snatching one of the gypsies by the head and dashing him into the roof of the car. Faith followed suit sending a vicious backhand to the other one who held Anya and Dawn captive, knocking his crossbow out of his hand with a snarl and kicking him once in the head. Anya grabbed Dawn and pulled her out of harm’s way. As Anya hit the dirt, movement caught her eye, she focused then gasped when she saw Xander, arm missing trying to crawl towards them,
“Xander!” Anya cried out and without another word she charged past the golem, towards Viisq, Alec and DeGanon,
DeGanon had finished reloading his crossbow and brought up to bear against Alec who was advancing at a terrifying pace. He fired then cried out in dismay as one of Alec’s tentacles knocked came up from behind the boy’s back and knocked it away with a simply flick. The Alec was on him. He brought his sword down, shattering DeGanon’s crossbow and knocking him back. Then two tentacles wrapped around the gypsies arms and hurled him away into the windshield of his own car. Two more tentacles pressed the other two gypsies through the backseat doors and into the car. Then with a grunt, Alec took hold of the entire car with his tentacles and with a screech of tortured metal sent car and gypsy airborne and away, nearly decapitating Anya who ducked just in the nick of time and raced to Xander’s side,
“It’s okay” she whispered, “I’ve got you,” Anya bent down and kissed her wounded lovers forehead as he brought his one hand up to squeeze hers,
“The…bag?” he asked weakly. Anya nodded and took it off, opening it for him to see. He reached in and carefully removed the objects he had stolen from the EOD van:
Several C-4 charges and a detonator.
Giles had just enough time to see the flying car coming at him,
“Oh good lord,” he lamented before hitting the brakes and cutting the wheel tightly skidding out of the way as the car crashed down and skidded away on its roof in a shower of sparks away into the dark. Giles floored it and arrived at the scene of the battle, taking in the paralyzed golem and the prone Angel and Dawn. Hurriedly he parked and ran to them, leaving the car running
“What happened?” Giles yelled. Angel looked back and smiled slightly,
“Your son just threw a car,” he replied matter-of-factly. Giles turned and peered, then his jaw sagged open at the sight,
“My God,” Giles whispered at the sight of his son.
Alec propelled himself towards his father, lowering to eye level,
“Hi dad,’ Alec quipped. Giles just stared agog at his son’s transformation,
“What have you done to yourself, son?” Giles whispered. Alec frowned,
“What I had to do to dad,” the younger Giles replied.
“ALEC GILES!!!!” an inhuman voice roared. They turned; Viisq had recovered from his shapeshifting seizure and now appeared as a eight foot goliath, heavily muscled with bones protruding from its body. “Come die!”
“Dad, get Buffy, Spike and Xander out of there and protect Willow. She’s the only thing holding that golem at bay and she has to be weakening,” Giles nodded as Alec rose up from the ground and readied for war,
“Yeessssss!” Viisq hissed as Alec approached.
“Time to die, monster,” Alec promised. And with a roar, the transformed Viisq attacked, massive spiked fists hammering. Alec scuttled out of the way and slashed with his sword, cutting a deep gash into the creature. Viisq hissed in pain and looked down at the wound in contempt,
“The puppy has teeth,” it commented darkly. Then the wound healed over, “But I am a master of flesh, wounds mean nothing to me,” It roared and charged Alec again.
Giles helped Buffy to her feet, “Are you all right?” he asked worriedly.
Buffy nodded, “Flesh-boy just nearly gave me a case of terminal arthritis,” she quipped, helping Spike to his feet, “Xander’s hurt badly though and we need to help Alec,”
“I don’t think Doc Ock over there really needs our help luv,” Spike observed dryly and indeed Alec seemed to be holding his own, his tentacles helping him move faster than Viisq could attack.
“Help Xander,” Buffy told Giles. The older man nodded and started to make his way across the battlefield as Buffy led her lover away,
“I could have taken him,” Spike muttered.
“I know,” Buffy replied.
“You cannot run forever weakling!” Viisq bellowed, picking up a car and hurling it at the boy. Alec’s tentacles lashed up, grabbing the ceiling and lifted him out of harm’s way as the car crashed down and exploded, the fire giving the place a hellish glow. Alec whipped across the ceiling appeared behind Viisq and lashed out with two tentacles which wrapped about the monster and hurled him hard into a wall,
“I don’t intend to,” Alec replied as Viisq picked itself up from the rubble.
Giles crawled over to Anya and Xander attempting to stay clear of the two combatants,
“We need to get out of here,” Giles told them and trying not to stare and the bloody ruin of Xander’s right arm,
“Wait…” Xander rasped, “The plan…bombs on support pillars…bring golem in,” And just like that, it clicked in Giles’s brain,
“Of course!” Giles reached into the bag removing the thick grey bricks of C-4 from the satchel. “How do I arm them?” he asked.
“Peel white paper off the back…sticky underneath,” Xander rasped, “Press the bombs onto the pillar, flip switch to ‘remote detonator’…and then push the red button twice to arm,” Xander lay weakly against Anya, who kissed him gently and tried to shield him from the battle. Giles nodded and began to work,
Viisq roared and charged Alec leveling a savage blow to his head. Alec brought two tentacles up, locking them together to deflect the blow. Two more tentacles wrapped around Viisq’s head, holding him in place as Alec slashed across the creatures eyes with his sword, Viisq yowled in agony as Alec hurled the monster away.
“Nice!” Spike yelled out in encouragement then winced as Buffy snapped off the crossbow bolt still lodged in his shoulder and pulled it out,
“Quit being a baby,” Buffy admonished.
“Is he going to be okay?” Dawn asked. Buffy nodded,
“Yeah, he’s a toughie,” the slayer replied, punching Spike in the arm playfully,
“Ow!” Spike yelped.
“Sorry.”
Dawn turned to view Alec and Viisq, “Alec’s going to need help,” the young girl whispered before reaching a decision and heading away from Buffy, Angel and Spike who were too wrapped up in what they were doing to notice.
Viisq regained its footing and grabbing a piece of flaming debris hurled it not at Alec but at Willow who looked ready to die any moment, her whole body aglow with yellow, her skin drawn tight and beaded with the exertion of keeping the golem at bay,
“Willow!” Alec yelled and dove to intercept the wreckage. Viisq saw his opening; he charged the distracted man. Alec knocked aside the wreckage away from her lover but was not able to avoid the mammoth Viisq who collided into Alec like a linebacker sending him flying across the garage and smashing into the concrete wall, showering dust and rubble upon him.
Alec inhaled frantically, trying to regain his breath; one of his ribs felt broken the others simply felt like they had vacated the premises. He coughed a gob of blood out, spitting it onto the ruined gravel floor and grimaced as he felt his inhuman healing factor kick in, first setting the broken ribs with a series of audible “crunches” then healing them.
But they would not be able to heal him before Viisq was upon him.
“And now,” Viisq hissed, picking Alec up by the head, “You die,” Viisq began to squeeze and Alec felt the bones in his skull began to separate. Blinding light filled his vision and Alec knew his was going to die.
Viisq turned as the blinding lights came towards them both. It squinted hard trying to discern this new threat. It became a set of headlights racing towards them both. Viisq hissed in dismay which gave Alec a chance to slash up with his sword, severing the claws that engulfed his head. Viisq screeched in rage and pain and stumbled away, dropping Alec who rolled out of the way as the car collided with Viisq hard, plowing him into a concrete support with a crunch of metal and bone.
Giles finished setting the last bomb as directed by Xander who was drifting in and out of semi-consciousness from the pain and blood loss of his injury.
“That’s the last one,” Giles confirmed. Xander nodded to the other man weakly as Anya looked up worriedly,
“Xander’s turning white and he isn’t breathing too well, we need to get him out of here,” Anya cried out. Giles nodded as Xander reached over into the bag and removed a small remote, handing it to Giles,
“After we get everyone out, push this and the whole place will come down,” Giles nodded and examined the remote. His face went pale,
“Xander, the antenna for the remote is gone,” Giles displayed the tiny metal stub that was once the detonators antenna. Xander groaned in dismay,
“Without that antenna the effective remote detonation range is about three feet,” Xander informed them wearily.
“So what do we do?” Anya cried out. Xander looked into Giles’s eyes, sending him a look of weariness, pain and determination that said it all. Both of them looked at Anya,
“I love you Anya” Xander whispered as Giles moved off to the side,
“Aw…that’s sweet Xander, I love you to-” Anya crumpled in mid-sentence as Giles struck her in the back of the head, dropping her into unconsciousness. Giles picked her up and handed the remote to the wounded Xander,
“Make sure everyone gets out of here,” Xander instructed the older man before he turned his gaze to Anya, “Make sure Anya is okay…and that she knows why I did this and that-” Xander couldn’t go on, too overcome with emotion. Giles took the other man’s hand and squeezed tightly,
“I will tell her,” Giles promised. Xander nodded and sagged against the concrete support, holding the remote tightly and fixating on the small grey and red package across from him. Giles stopped and turned,
“I’m very proud of you Xander,” Giles told him quietly, his own emotions threatening to silence him. Xander smiled weakly and gave the other man a thumbs up,
“Can’t be the Zeppo forever,” the wounded boy smiled, “Now get out of here G-man,”
Giles, blinking back tears of his own, took the unconscious Anya away from Xander as the other man prepared to do what he had to do.
Dawn ran out of the car, bleeding from a cut on her forehead where her head had hit the steering wheel upon crashing into Viisq. She skidded to a stop next to the prone Alec,
“Are you all right?” she whispered. He opened his eyes and smiled at her,
“Yeah,” he rasped, taking her hand in his and her placing her tiny hand over his,
“You fought really well…Doctor Octopus,” she teased gently. Alec smiled back and coughed, weary and battered.
“Thanks petite. You drive a mean SUV,” Alec returned. Dawn smiled.
And like a nightmare, the car was tossed away and Viisq, gory and scorched came maurading out of the wreckage,
“What a touching scene….” The creature rasped. Its own body was nearly broken but it was animated by sheer hate and bloodlust. The parking garage was a scene of ruin, cars annihilated, cement dug up all the way down to the dirt and cracks in every surface.
Dawn pushed Alec behind her,
“You’re not touching him,” the dimunitive girl promised the advancing monstrosity her hands braced in the earthen floor that had been exposed by the battle. Dawn was oddly acutely aware of every detail of the soil underneath her fingers, down to the last piece of grit that rubbed between her fingertips. Viisq threw its malformed head back and laughed.
“Dawn!” Buffy cried out and tried to dash into the garage, Faith threw an arm around her, stopping her,
“Hold up B!” Faith cried out.
“Let go of me, that’s my sister she needs my help!” Buffy screamed.
“Let her do this, Buffy,” Faith said quietly. Buffy stopped and turned on her, “Just this once, let Dawn fight for something she loves,” Faith finished.
“So, little girl, you wish to die along side him? You are more than welcome to, I shall enjoy soaking the earth with your blood,” Viisq hissed and swung a massive claw at them both
“Dawn!!” Alec screamed out and lashed desperately with one of his tentacles, knocking the razor sharp tip of the claw aside but not enough so that Dawn could avoid the blow completely. The tiny girl was knocked to the ground, she exhaled hard bringing up a cloud of dust as her lungs deflated, her cheek resting against the earth. Tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her face to mix with blood from her forehead all of which pooled upon the earth,
“Ah so the puppy still has a little fight left in him,” Viisq sneered bringing both its massive fists over its head to crush them both.
Dawn looked up, “STOP!” she cried out.
The fists came down
Suddenly, the young girl felt a power race through her body, through her blood and tears, through her hand into the earth.
And the earth answered.
An explosion of soil and stone, Viisq was sent hurling backwards. Dawn cried out and shielded Alec’s body with her own. The scent of pine filled the room and a confused voice called out,
“All right, what am I doing here?” it asked. Dawn blinked back tears and wiped the blood from her eyes and stared and then gaped in wonder.
A tree had sprouted up, no slim reed, but a mammoth oak with a trunk easily eight feet in diameter in the spot where Dawn had been in contact with the earth.
“Who said that?” Dawn asked very confused. The tree rustled and then twisted on its own trunk to reveal a large, heavily muscled male torso head and arms all in wood and leaves regard her. Dawn stared,
“Who…what?” she stammered. The head nodded,
“A little of both actually, Hi, I’m Pan,” the tree-man told her, “And you are?”
“In trouble!” Dawn yelled and pointed behind Pan. Pan swivled on its trunk and saw Viisq,
“Whoa, ugly!” Pan cried out in dismay at the scarred and bloody goliath.
“Foolish creature; I shall smash you into splinters and then butcher both the girl and her lover,” Viisq spat out.
“Well you’re really quite unpleasant,” Pan observed candidly.
“Help us!” Dawn cried out.
“Right-o!” Pan replied raising a branch and smiling. And with a creak of wood the branch split off into two points, then four, then sixteen all in a span of a heartbeat. Viisq didn’t even have time to scream as he was impaled by dozens of oaken shafts.
“Hi-ya get along there…whatever the hell you are,” Pan quipped, pulling his arm back and sending the impaled monster to collide hard flush against a support… but not hard enough to dislodge the small gray and red package attached to the other side.
“Sit. Stay. Good dog.” Pan laughed as the pieces of wood in Viisq’s body began to writhe and wrap around the creature fastening it to the pillar. Within moments Viisq was imprisoned in a cocoon of vine and wood that he could not hope to move within, let along escape.
“Yes, well, I think that’s gone rather well,” Pan smiled, very satisfied with himself.
And with a cry of exhaustion and pain, Willow slumped forward into agonized unconsciousness, the yellow glow faded from her body.
And the stone golem charged forward no longer held at bay by the witch’s spell. Pan swiveled to face as it charged forward towards him,
“Oh…nuts,” Pan lamented before the golem lashed out with a massive stone fist and shattered Pan blasting him into splinters and earth,
“Pan!” Dawn cried out in dismay. The stone golem its massive head slowly to regard the two people at its feet. Alec turned to look at Viisq…and caught a gleam of triumph shine from those inhuman eyes as they peeked out from its wooden prison,
“No!” Alec cried out as the golem lunged towards them…and was knocked aside with a roar of rage. Alec couldn’t believe what he was seeing: something huge with wings was battering at the stone golem with its bare hands and howling in…
…Hebrew?
“Get out! Get out now!” Ashmedai screamed as he hammered the stone golem with his fists and wings.
“What about you?” Alec called out.
“I shall return to Abraham! And I shall take this monstrosity with me! Go now!” Ashmedai screamed. Alec wasted no time; he wrapped his tentacles around Dawn and thrust her out and away from the battle and towards Buffy and the others outside the garage,
“Alec!” she cried out reaching out to touch him. Their fingertips brushed against one another for a heartbeat as their eyes met and then Dawn was outside,
“Alec!” the young girl cried out again.
“Dawnie!” Buffy said, wrapping her arms around her sister.
“We have to help Alec!” Dawn screamed. Buffy shook her head,
“Alec’s coming I promise! We need to help Xander, he’s still in there!”
“Xander…does not want out help,” Giles said quietly. Buffy whirled on him…and then suddenly comprehension dawned in her eyes.
“NO!” she screamed out.
Xander was dying, he knew it. He’d lost too much blood and with that crazy gargoyle rassling with the golem there’d be no way he could get out and away.
Then again, that wasn’t his plan.
Coughing, Xander looked over and saw Alec making his way out, Willow carried over his shoulder
“Hey Alec! You have a way out of here?” Xander called out. Alec turned and nodded,
“Good!” Xander gestured to Willow, “Take care of her and yourself and everyone else.” Xander finished.
Alec frowned, puzzled at the wounded boy. Xander could have laughed at the look, remember how fierce and confident Alec usually looked.
It was as good a sentiment as any to go out on.
Xander smiled once…
... And pushed the button.
There was a flash of light and Xander, for some reason saw Buffy and Willow and Dawn and everyone and they were smiling and happy. Xander smiled back at them feeling like what he had always wanted to be:
A hero.
The garage came down, the explosives chopping the supports off at the base and with a groan of stone on stone, all ten floors of stone, cement and automobiles came down in a deafening crash. Everyone ducked beneath the car as the shockwave washed over them, pelting them with shards of stone and dust.
There was a long groan of stone and metal and then nothing.
Everything was quiet.
Slowly, Buffy peeked her head over the car and stared at the rubble and the rising dust cloud.
“XANDER!!!” she screamed out long and loud that ended in a choked sob at the death of her friend. Others got to their feet, slowly unsteadily in shock at the devastation and at the death of the young man.
“Oh no, oh man,” Faith whispered in dread.
“Xander…” Dawn whispered, tears spilling over her cheeks. Suddenly something grabbed her heart and squeezed,
“ALEC?! Where’s Alec?!” She screamed. Everyone jolted out of their grief looked around frantically.
Willow’s body slumped to the ground. Everyone turned; Alec was standing there, suspended there by his tentacles wrapped in darkness that was slowly disipating around him,
“So did everyone just forget that I can shadow-port?” he asked plainly. He was covered in dust and bloody but alive.
“Alec!” Dawn cried out and raced to him wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him tightly, crying freely, “Xander he was…”
A groan of pain caught Dawn’s attention; she looked over and gasped,
Xander was wrapped in darkness, being held by two of Alec’s tentacles. He too looked the worse for wear but he was alive.
“Xander!” Buffy cried out and ran to him looking up at her weary brother, “Is he…?”
“…Dumber than I ever thought and more heroic than I ever gave him credit for, but he’ll live to fight another day,” Alec confirmed. Buffy wrapped her arms around her brother, squeezing in beside Dawn,
“Thank you for saving him,” Buffy whispered. Alec smiled, feeling happy for the first time since his crippling,
“What are big brothers for?” Alec replied back, smiling. Giles walked over to his son,
“Son…what you did was…amazing,” Giles told him. The girls made room as father and soon embraced.
“Oh for God’ sake this gets anymore Hallmark I’m going to wretch!” Spike yelled, “Someone please stake me!”
Angel handed him the broken shaft of crossbow, “Now shut up,” Angel told the other vampire. Spike waved him away and walked towards Alec,
“Nice moves mate,” Spike told his friend, extending his hand. Alec nodded and slapped his friends hand,
“You too,” Alec replied.
“We need to get Xander’s arm fixed up, he has lost a lot of blood,” Buffy whispered gravely.
“I can help with that,” a voice called out from beneath them. Everyone frowned and looked around puzzled,
“Down here you idiots!” The voice called out. Dawn saw it first and gasped.
A single rose had sprung up and from its blossom, a familiar personage,
“‘By any other name’ right?” Pan quipped. Dawn frowned as she knelt down,
“But you were killed!” She gaped.
“You carbon based life-forms are so three-dimensional in your thinking, its terribly limiting,” the talking rose leveled a leaf at the young girl chastising, “From you though I expected better,”
Dawn frowned, “From me what do you mean?”
“All will be explained, come to my workshop. Bring your mangled friend, I think I have something here that can help him,” and with that the rose wilted, died and was blown away by the wind. Dawn blinked a few times in confusion and then walked over join the others who were helping Willow, Xander and Alec rest,
“Okay a talking rose named Pan said we need to go to his workshop so he can tell us stuff and help Xander,” Dawn informed them plainly. Spike frowned,
“Excuse me Nibblet but when did you go insane and how did I fail to notice?” he replied. Buffy waved it away as she finished fastening a tourniquet to Xander’s stump.
“It’s a long story dear, let’s just get going,” Buffy replied. Everyone piled into the van which was dusty but none the worse for wear.
“Hey…” a groggy voice called out. Everyone turned to stare as Anya regained consciousness, “Did I miss anything?” she asked. Then she caught a look at the ruins of the garage, “Oh.” Anya looked up at Giles, “Hey, did you hit me in the head?”
“Yes,” Giles replied as he got into the car.
“It’s something we’ve all been wanting to do for a while, luv,” Spike added.
Giles cleared this throat, “Well you see Anya…” he explained.
A few moments passed.
“HE DID WHAT?!?” Could be heard being screamed by a very angry woman as the group drove away.
As the dust cloud rose up into the night, the sounds of sirens could be heard approaching. Stone shifted, metal creaked.
And a single massive hand emerged from beneath the wreckage, clawing up for the freedom promised by the sight of the night sky which lay above.
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