Darkstar One: Hybrid
Chapter one
In every generation there is a chosen
one she alone will stand against the Vampires the Demons and the forces
of darkness.....She is the slayer.
At first glance the town of Sunnydale
was like so many other small towns that made up the endless
suburban sprawl or Southern California:
it promised much but delivered very little.
There were no real neighbourhoods,
only differing amounts of distance from the nearest freeway.
Life went on at the other end of
the commute: at the office, the magnet school, hangouts based not
on proximity but on flash.
There were other things wrong with
Sunnydale in the light of which the worship
of stile over substance seemed the
tiniest of faults. Unlike the other towns that dotted the coast
of Southern California, Sunnydale
was cursed. Below the ground, the mouth of hell lay dormant, ready
to erupt at the appropriate provocation
and to disgorge the demons, monsters, and forces of darkness that
raged for the death of the world.
Evil was drawn to the Hellmouth as though it were a magnet, drawn to
Sunnydale, and it flourished there.
Sunnydale was the epicenter of the
dark forces that lurked in the shadows of the world, a constant threat
to humanity. it was evils very own ground zero.
In its way Sunnydale was the heart
of darkness
And if you want to destroy a thing,
you aim for its heart
Which was what had brought the Slayer, Buffy Summers, The chosen one to Sunnydale four years before, though she hadn't known it at the time. Forced to leave her old life in Los Angeles after her war against the darkness led her to burn down the high school gym, she and her mother had come to Sunnydale because Joyce Summers thought it was the perfect place to start over. The perfect place to run an art gallery the way she'd always wanted.
As always things did not go to plan....
Over the last month the number of vampires in Sunnydale had increased, in an effort to keep them under control Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles were patrol the entire town every night but still their numbers grew...
………………………………………….
There was a thud as Buffy landed
awkwardly on the ground, causing her to lose her bearings, but she quickly
regained them in time to avoid the boot of the huge vampire that had knocked
her down .
"Didn't your mother ever tell you
not to stamp on peoples heads?" Buffy said as she flipped back to her feet.
"No, but my mother used to bite
people, so I doubt if she would mind," said the vampire as he tried to
strike Buffy again. She blocked the attack, and knocked him to the ground
and was then distracted by Giles as he drove a stake through the heart
of the vampire who had Oz pinned down.
"Although your friend seems to be
a great conversationalist, isn't this about time you impaled him?" said
Giles, as he ducked away from the fist of another vampire.
"Come on, Giles. This is part of
our Vampire Outreach Program. A vamp's for life, not just for Christmas!"
Shouted Xander. As tonight was his turn with the crossbow he was having
quite an easy time of it.
"And, you know,… if we take the
time to kill them ,we should at least find out their names." Said Willow,
as she and Oz tackled a female vampire that had resorted to fisticuffs.
Oz nodded in agreement, staking
the vampire that had luckily fallen as he had picked up the stake and become
an easy target.
"You know, I'm sure that one used
to teach me math." said Oz calmly.
"How would you know? You were never
there." Laughed Willow.
"Hey, I'm college guy now. I need
to remember that stuff .I found out today that I can't take vampire slaying
as my major "Joked Oz.
Without realizing it, the team had
disposed of the pack of vampires that had approached them in the park .
Or so they thought....
Suddenly a vampire was launched
through the trees to land completely bewildered on the ground at Buffy's
feet .
"Why can't all the vamps just be
dropped off at my feet? It would make the job easier" said Buffy ,as without
looking , she drove the stake into the vampires heart ,causing it do combust
into a pile of ash.
"We should probably find out who
or what just sent that vampire flying." said Giles, stealthily looking
through a gap in the trees.
A tall figure stood in a clearing
just past the trees encircled by six vampires.
The figure was dressed in dark clothing,
with a long black leather jacket covering most of his body. His hair was
slicked back, and he had a very serious look on his face. Two of the vampires
made a run at the man from either side.
He held his arms out in front of
him, and flicked his wrists to expose two stakes, and then in a perfectly
timed movement, flung his arms side wards at shoulder level.
The stakes were propelled towards
the approaching vampires, hitting them both squarely in the heart.
The vamps turned to dust just as
they reached his outstretched hands waiting to retrieve the stakes to use
against the others.
He blocked an attack by one of the
remaining four vamps, but was unable to stop two others from attacking
from both sides. He was knocked to the floor with both his stakes out of
reach.
Just as Buffy was about to go and
help, the man raised his fisted hands in front of his chest and seemed
to tense his entire body.
The group of intrigued observers
jumped backwards, as the branches of the trees they were hiding behind
began to break off and fly towards the vampires, hitting them in the chest.
The branches struck three of the
vampires through the heart and they turned to dust, but the fourth had
escaped. He removed one of them from his lower ribs but didn't see the
one now being hurled towards him by the dark figure.
As the last vampire turned to dust,
the group looked at each other in amazement.
They ran around the trees to find
the man who had just slayed four vampires without even going within reach
of them, but he had already disappeared into the night, leaving the five
observers dumbstruck at what they had just witnessed.....
Chapter Two
Buffy slowly opened her eyes but
quickly closed them early afternoon light streamed through the window
"Honey are you awake?"
"What time is it" Mumbled Buffy
as she sat up in her bed
"It's Eleven forty-five, I guess
you had a busy night" said Joyce Stepping into Buffy's room and sitting
on the end of the bed
"We have a new grand total when
we added last nights fifteen vamps that makes 95 in the last month
but there not as spread out as they
have been" Buffy Said as she got up and walked over to her dresser "They
seem to be staying around the south side of town now"
"Well if it gets any worse I may
have to go on patrol with you guys just to even out the numbers"
Said Joyce as she passed Buffy a
note
"What's this" quizzed Buffy looking
at the scrap of paper
"Willow dropped it off this morning
she said to go over to Mr. Giles house when you
woke up" Said Joyce
"Well there goes my day I was planning
to fill my head with non-thoughts...or is that empty my head of thoughts"
Said Buffy picking up a brush and running it through her hair
"If you want I can make you something
to eat before you go" Said Joyce making Buffy's bed
"Thanks mum just give me five minutes
to get dressed" Said Buffy Getting some clothes out of her
closet
"Ok Hun see you in five" Joyce said
closing the door behind her
As Buffy walked over to Giles house she thought about the last month that night when a simple patrol turned into a dangerous encounter with eight vampires..if it hadn't been for Riley and the initiative she might not have made it out, since then things just got worse there were vampires everywhere working in groups which Giles said they disliked doing still there were groups of them all over town, that was when she stopped patrolling alone and that was when she stopped having a night off. As Buffy walked across the courtyard to Giles front door she opened up the piece of paper that Willow had dropped off it had three words written on it
Council
Identity
DARKSTAR
"Well this is great, When I'm not
in the mood for excessive thinking Willow and Giles go all cryptic
on me" Buffy said to her self as
she opened the door to Giles house and found Willow waiting on the couch
"Good afternoon nice of you to show
up" Joked Willow
"Buffy your here good, we think
we may know who our telekinetic friend from last night was, I contacted
Alice at the council and all she could find was a report of a decrease
in demonic activity in a city in England they sent someone out to investigate
and when he returned he said that there was a human fighting vampires in
that area according to the Watchers report the individual became unstable
after the death of his parents and should be left alone so they did, the
last they heard of him was a report of a battle with a demon they believe
was called
Nocoric" Said Giles
"Do we know anything about him is
there anything in the books that can help us find out if he's a
threat or not" Said Willow
"Well from what Alice has learned
he is human but he was not questioned in detail so we cant be sure
and he seems to have only been slaying
for about three years from the encounters on record he
seems to have started off much like
a slayer but the information is scratchy at best but weather he's on our
side or not he's not a man to be crossed" Said Giles
"Why do you say that" Said Buffy
"The demon Nocoric , Darkstar killed
him by tearing out his spine" Said Giles rubbing the bridge of his nose
"Is it possible he's a cursed vampire
like......"Willow stopped before finishing the sentence
"Don't worry you can say it Angel,
like Angel
Giles moved on from the awkward
subject of Angel
"Alice does not think so his battle
with Nocoric was in daylight all the information seem to point to him being
a slayer but the slayer has always been a female since the first slayer
recorded" Said Giles looking through another of his books
"Couldn't he could just be a normal
person who fights vampires" Said Buffy
"He was seen to have strength and
accuracy beyond that of any normal human, there is definitely something
supernatural behind him" Said Giles looking up from his book
"So we cant find anything out about
this Darkstar what about this guy that Norman was hunting"
Said Buffy getting up and walking
across to the kitchen
"I Take it you mean Nocoric" Said
Giles smiling
" Yeah, what did I say" Asked Buffy
looking at Giles
"Never mind Alice then put me on
to an old friend of her's in Russia and he looked into it and found only
one reference to the writings of Nocoric of a demon sent to hunt someone
called the Teour
"What does it mean" Said Buffy
"The word Teour is a word with routes
from many languages but none of them are human" Said Giles
"So it's demon-speak" Said Buffy
"That is exactly what it is although
Teour has many routes and derivatives there is only one language where
the exact word is used" Said Giles
"Enough with the suspense Giles
what does it mean" Said Buffy
"In this language the word Teour
translates into many English words Hunter, Fighter, Warrior, Guardian,
Soldier, Chosen" Said Giles "It also has a derivative in Romanian 'Te'toure'
"And what does Te'toure mean" Said
Buffy
"It means killer of dead things"
Said Giles looking at Buffy
"So basically Teour means Slayer
"It appears so, we do have some
more information Alice's friend manages to get a passage that he believes
is on the front of Nocoric's book...Willow and I have managed to translate
it" Said Giles looking away from Buffy
Willow nervously handed Buffy the
piece of paper with the passage written on it
Nocoric, sent from the demon realm
to hunt The Teour, the slayers trusted companion
For every slayer there is The Teour
he will join her in her battle against the undead
he will share her strength and skill
and the two will fight together in unison
Nocoric will hunt the 'Teour's'
until there comes a Teour who can destroy him
Once these events have come to pass
and Nocoric is destroyed, Nocoric will return to the demon realm to rise
again....and kill the Slayer.....
Chapter Three
Wales 1997
The night was cold, much colder than
usual.
Kellin was running, but it made
no difference, he was still chilled to the bone.
in the last week there had been
more vampires than he had ever encountered and he was having to go
further and further out of town,
which he didn't like and now he knew why...
"They must have been planning this
for weeks" Kellin said to himself
"They wanted to draw me further
and further away from the town away from the people, away from my family
and make me give in to Nocoric, I have to get there in time"
It had only been three months since
that night Zanen the one who told him about him being a slayer and
only two months since Zanen had
been turned himself, it had been the first time he had killed a vampire
who
he had known as a person but there
was no time to think about that now
As Kellin ran around the corner
onto his street his knees buckled and he fell to the ground as he saw the
horror before his eyes bodies lying on car bonnets, bodies of his friends,
people he knew, people he had known
all his life lying dead on the ground,
the swing in his neighbours garden was still moving with their youngest
son lying dead underneath it, this was the scene he had been having nightmares
about for months down to every detail, some of them would become vampires
he could tell that, he didn't know why or how he just sensed it but he
would also have to deal with that after.
"Please god don't let the rest of
my dream come true.....
As he entered his home he could
see that he was too late from the smears of blood all over the walls
the pain was unbearable he already
knew that his parents were dead.
As he got into the first room his
beliefs were confirmed his mother and father lay dead on the floor he
contained his urge to give in to
Nocoric and turned to look at the first moving figure in the room she
was a red skinned vampire and she
was in pain, he then looked to the second person and that explained the
vampires pain
the second person was a man about
thirty years old dressed in a suit, he was holding a crucifix towards
the vampire, Kellin struggled to
suppress his feelings and removed the stake clipped to his belt and
hurled it towards the vampire hitting
her straight in the heart she combusted as the man sighed in
relief.
Kellin's pain was beginning to increase
the only way he could keep calm was to increase his level of anger
"Who are you and what the hell do
you want" Said Kellin retrieving his slake from the pile of ash
"My name is Mr Wayne, Hector Wayne
I'm from the council, The watchers council I'm sorry about your
parents I arrived to late to stop
her" Said Mr Wayne
"You knew something was going to
happen tonight ,why else would you be here"? Said Kellin moving
closer to Mr Wayne
"We didn't know this was going to
happen I was sent because the vampire activity here had increased
and decreased sharply I arrived
in this street and found the vampires on there way here I followed them
and ended up here I was too late
to stop her"
"What do you want from me.. what
is the watchers council how do you know about vampires, is that
why Zanen came to me was he sent
by you" Said Kellin containing the tears as he pulled the tablecloth off
the table leaving the dished undisturbed and lay it over his parents bodies
"Did you say Zanen, My god I thought
he was dead" Said Mr Wayne
" Was he part of your watchers council"
Said Kellin
" Not exactly, I don't wish to seem
insensitive but will they rise again" Said Mr Wayne akwardly
That made Kellin crack he spun around
and punched the watcher square in the jaw causing him to
collapse to the floor out cold
"He didn't deserve that" Kellin
said to himself
Kellin picked up the man and carried
him over to the chair he could wait there while Kellin prepared
himself...
***************
Mr Wayne tried to lift his head and
failed but he succeeded the second time as he did he was shocked to
see what stood before him it appeared
to be Kellin but his appearance was much different than before
Mr Wayne looked at his watch as
far as he could tell he had been out for two hours
Kellin was now dressed in dark colours
and his hair was darkened by the gel slicking it back
close to his head
"Why have you changed into those
and more to the point why did you hit me" Said Mr Wayne now trying
to stand
"When I saw my parents tonight I
felt overwhelming pain but I don't have time to deal with that now so
I'm suppressing my pain my feelings
it gives me a new level of concentration I don't want to be the
person I was I learned today that
there are some really evil things in this world and its about time
I became one of them" Said Kellin
"I understand the pain you must
be feeling but you haven't had the time to comprehend what has happened
and with the fear of you hitting
me again I must say you seem to be losing your sanity" Said Wayne stepping
away
At that Kellin removed a stake holstered
to his right leg and flung it across the room and hit a vampire
through the back as it turned to
dust Kellin did not even look at it Mr Wayne now saw the strength that
Kellin had spoke of
"Now enough chat I want nothing
to do with your council I will do what I am destin to do kill vampires
they
will know the pain I felt and if
you're planning to come after me again tell your people not to look for
Kellin, he doesn't exist anymore
look for Darkstar........
Chapter four
A bright light shone from one of
Sunnydale's abandoned warehouses.
It cut through the darkness like
a sharp blade and the wind howled through the adjacent alleyways.
The light was coming from a vortex
that had opened inside the building. It seemed to grow in size as a person
came through it, and as he stepped away the vortex sealed behind him.
The man appeared to be human, he
was tall, dark haired and dressed in dark clothing. He looked around the
warehouse, seeming to become familiar with it instantly.
He walked over to a wall at the
far end of the building and hit it hard with his left hand. As he pulled
his hand away it had turned red, but the cause of this was not the blow
to the wall, in fact all of his skin had turned red. His face was different
too, his forehead was more pronounced, his eyes were yellow and fangs replaced
his teeth.
"Nocoric has returned and the Earth
will bow to my commands" said Nocoric
"Who the hell are you..and what
are you doing here. This is our lair" said the leader of a group of vampires
who had just entered the buildings.
"Ah, my first, Crusher you will
join me or die" said Nocoric
"How do you know me?" said Crusher
"That is irrelevant. Join me in
killing the Slayer" said Nocoric walking over to Crusher and putting his
hand on his forehead.
"What did you just do to me....
it burns?" Said Crusher
"You are being turned. You will
be stronger than you ever imagined" said Nocoric.
Crusher watched his hands as they
began to turn red, and slowly his whole body followed suit.
" I serve you , Lord Nacor from
now until my death" said Crusher
"Do the rest if you wish to join
my cause or shall I kill you and feed on your ashes" Said Nocoric
Four of the other vampires stepped
forward to be turned but the other two did not move.
"You do not wish to join my cause?"
said Nocoric
"We wish to remain as we are" Said
one of the vamps
"Unacceptable!" said Nocoric, reaching
out with his hand and beheading the two vampires.
"Let that be the punishment to any
who oppose me" said Nocoric touching the heads of the other vampires in
turn and watching them go through the transformation.
" When do we move on the slayer?"
asked Crusher.
"It must be done on the seventh
full moon of this year. I will consult the Harbingers of Evil for its date"
said Nocoric
"What do you wish us to do, Master?"
asked Crusher
"Go and feed , we must build up
our forces. The killing of the slayer will take many of our followers."
said Nocoric.
"What if we encounter the slayer?"
asked Crusher
"Fight...Learn but do not die" replied
Nocoric
There have been many vampires in
town over the last month. Should we convince them to join us?" asked Crusher
"Some vampires can sense my coming
before it happens. They come here to be either turned or fed upon. Leave
them be. They will occupy the slayer and let my plans unfold" answered
Nocoric
"What do you know of the slayer?"
asked Crusher
"Of this one, nothing, but they
are all the same. They stand alone. Work in secret. It is unlikely that
she will be prepared for our attack..........
Chapter five
It had been three hours since Giles
and Willow had started looking on the net for any information on Nocoric,
Buffy who was now in the other room with Oz and Xander filled them in on
what they had learned so far.
"From what they have found out on
the net we think for every slayer chosen there is a boy called The Teour
chosen
at the same time what is suppose
to happen is when a slayer is eighteen her Teour comes to find her he is
just like a slayer but except The
Teour is always a guy like the slayer is always a girl what's been happening
is this demon dude Nocoric was summoned
when the first Teour was born and he has been killing every
all of them, until he fought our
friend from last night he removed his spine then his body was
sent back to the demon realm what
this guy Darkstar didn't know is that its part of this prophesy that
when The Teour kills Nocoric he
returns from the demon realm to kill the slayer....." Said Buffy taking
a
deep breath
"So this guy from last night 'Darkstar'
is on our side and he killed the demon and now the demon wants to
kill you" Said Xander
"That about sums it up" Nodded Buffy
"Now see what I don't get is, if
he's on our side how come he didn't just come looking for you
and tell us all this" Said Oz calmly
"From what we know" Said Giles now
entering the room with Willow "If Darkstar is The Teour
he has had nothing to do with the
council so he probably doesn't know who you are" Said Giles
"Then why would he have come here"
Said Oz
"From what we have learned The Teour
and Slayer should be able to detect
eachother" Said Giles "Buffy have
you been having any kind of dreams about these events"
"No but I have felt something coming,
getting closer counting down that sort of thing..i just thought it was
Adam" Said Buffy
"That feeling is most probably in
your sub-conscious mind, I suppose because the Slayer and The Teour were
meant to know about each-other you should have known about this from the
begining and when you had these feelings you would have known what they
meant" Said Giles
"How come he did though, he came
here, he knew were to find me" Said Buffy
"We'll he would be more aware of
these thoughts and feelings because he has a special advantage" Said Giles
"We know how he did the flying stakes
thing last night, Alice's friend found out that whoever
killed Nocoric is given his greatest
power his telepathy and his telekinesis" Said Willow
looking at her watch
"Something wrong Will" Said Buffy
"I'm suppose to be helping with
a computer class down at the community center but I don't want to leave
in the middle of the research" Said Willow
"It's ok Willow you have done enough,
and besides if I need any more help Oz and Xander will be more that willing
to help" Said Giles
"Yeah we will...Wait we will" Said
Xander
"Yes I think you will Xander because
your at my house every day, you eat my food...and use my records as Frisbee's"
Said Giles running over to his record collection
"Well when you put it that way....we'll
help" Said Xander looking at the ground
"I'll come with you Will, I was
planning to make a sweep tonight anyway" Said Buffy
"That's a good idea although it
shouldn't be that busy tonight with the vampires we slayed and the six
that
Darkstar got we should have a pretty
laid back night" Said Giles picking up his tea
"Ok we'll see you soon" Said Buffy
picking up four stakes from Giles drawer
***************
As Buffy and Willow walked down the
sidewalk on the way to the community center Willow had a look on her face
like she wanted to say something
"Come on Will spit it out what's
on your mind" Said Buffy
"It's just.. another Slayer we haven't
had the best experience when there's more than one around here" Said Willow
"You mean Faith" Said Buffy
"Well yeah I mean what if something
like that happens again" Said Willow
"It wont" Said Buffy
"How do you know" Said Willow
"I'm not sure I just do" Said Buffy
As they came up to the entrance
to the community center a stake was flung across there path Buffy passed
Willow one of the stakes she had picked up at Giles as Willow pulled out
her own cross
"Role reversal....That's new" Said
Buffy approaching the origin of the stake and found Darkstar he was dressed
the same as the night before but was armed with a long stake sharpened
at either end
"Ladies I suggest you move on these
gentlemen aren't too friendly" Said Darkstar sweeping one of the vampires
legs and knocking him to the ground
"Maybe were here to help" Said Buffy
staking the vampire as he hit the floor
As Buffy came close to Darkstar
he seemed to get disorientated for a second but was back to normal soon
after
"You... You are what drew me here
who are you?? Said Darkstar
"We can do the introductions later
right now we have a problem" Said Buffy looking over Willows shoulder
As Willow turned round the three
saw 10 vampires cutting off the exit and another 15 coming from behind
a nearby building
"This is not good" Said Willow holding
her crucifix towards the vampires
"One of us needs to reach Giles
house we cant take all these on by ourselves" Said Buffy kicking one of
the vamps in the face
"I have an idea Put this on" Said
Darkstar tapping Willow on the shoulder and wrapping his jacket around
her
"What good will wearing this do??"
Said Willow as she was grabbed round the arms by a vampire that quickly
released her when his hands began to burn
"The coat has been blessed they
wont be able to touch you" Said Darkstar while running over to a large
bag and pulling out three glass bottles
As Willow made a run for Giles house
a female vampire followed her Darkstar tossed a bottle at the vampire and
it hit her smashing against her head and stopping her in her tracks as
the pain of the holy water burnt into her flesh
"Hey do you have a proper name or
do I just call you Darkstar" Said Buffy knocking one vamp into a group
of three others creating a domino effect
"You can call me Kellin, Darkstar
died a long time ago" Said Kellin flipping over a vampire causing him to
hit a tree in his path and one of its outstretched branches to be forced
into his chest
"And your name" Said Kellin moving
on to one of the other vampires
"Buffy, catch" Shouted Xander tossing
over the crossbow
"Buffy nice name" Said Kellin
Buffy caught it in one hand and
quickly flipped it round and fired it into the now depleted gang of vampires
"Hey someone toss me my bag" Said
Kellin as he put one of his hands on the back of a vampire's head and the
other over it's mouth and twisted quickly snapping it's neck causing him
to combust
"here" Said Oz the only one of the
group not shocked by what Kellin had just done
Kellin opened the bag and pulled
out a long sword and twisted it round to behead two vampires almost as
a reflex
"Someone help" Shouted Xander as
he was pinned by one of the three remaining vampires
"Didn't I kill you already" Said
Kellin grabbing the vamps left wrist and in one manoeuvre twisted and pulled
the vampires arm causing a deafening crunch that made the vampire flee
closely followed by the other two
As the group checked each-other
over Buffy and Kellin both looked up to the roof of a nearby building and
saw a strange looking man
"It cant be" Said Kellin
"What...Who is that" Said Buffy
looking at Kellin
"That's Nocoric I killed him over
a year ago or at least I thought I did" Said Kellin
That's Nocoric he is here allready"
Said Giles
"What do you mean allready you knew
he was coming back?" Said Kellin Approaching Giles
"It is prophesised on the front
of the writings of Nocoric that he was to return to kill Buffy...We have
to get her out of here" Said Giles Directing Buffy up the pavement
"Don't worry he wont attack now
it isn't time" Said Kellin
"Well if he is to weak to come to
me now then I will go to him" Said Buffy approaching the building
"There is no point you wont be able
to kill him not the way you need to anyway" Said Kellin following her
"What do you mean?" Said Buffy
"He can only be killed in his demon
form" Said Kellin
"I think we all need to go somewhere
and put together what we know if Buffy is the only one who can kill him
she will need all the information we can give her" Said Giles picking up
the stakes that were left on the floor
"Your right.... Whoever you are"
Said Kellin
"Is anyone else completely out of
the loop here" Said Xander
"Uh hu" Said Willow and Oz Collectively
"Ok just checking" Said Xander as
they all began to walk to Giles house
As they all walked away a strong
wind blew as Nocoric walked through what had been a battlefield only a
few minutes ago, Nocoric kneeled down and reached out towards a pile of
ash on the ground the ash began to glow and was then absorbed into him
and his face became red and vampire like but then returned to it's human
form as he turned round to face a man standing behind him
"Hi I'm suppose to be teaching a
computer class here tonight but I cant find any of the students have you
seen any of them" Said Max
"I'm sorry I just saw them leave"
Said Nocoric still in his human form
Damn I knew I was to late" Said
Max as he turned to leave
Do you know where I could get something
to eat?" Said Nocoric
"Sure there's lots of places what
are you after" Said Max
"I'm kind of in the mood for blood"
Said Nocoric as his face changed into its demon form and he sunk his teeth
into the Max's neck
Max fell to his knees but then got
back up and faced Nocoric when Max looked into Nocoric's eyes both there
faces turned into their demon form and the two walked away into the night.
Chapter six
Nocoric stood on a rooftop observing
the battle that had began down below moments before he had arrived
"This slayer does not fight alone
very strange I must adapt my plans" Said Nocoric
"The goal is still the same" Said
A voice behind Nocoric
"I understand Harbinger" Said Nocoric
"You must learn all you can from
the Slayers mind there may be other allies she will call upon you must
find out who they are and deal with them" Said the Harbinger
"I will" Said Nocoric
Nocoric closed his eyes and began
to probe Buffy's mind he saw all of her memories all of the people she
knew and all of the demons she had faced
"Her mind is strong but I have the
name the ally she will call" Said Nocoric
"Who is it" Said the Harbinger
"Angelus The vampire with a soul....the
lost child " Said Nocoric
"He cannot be killed send something
to capture him" Said the Harbinger
"Harbinger if he could be turned
he would be a powerful ally "Said Nocoric
" He will be turned in time for
now all we must do is keep him from the Slayer" Said The Harbinger
"He deals with unholy forces every
rotation he has great power" Said Nocoric
"That is true we must send someone
to get his attention" Said the Harbinger
"Angelus spent time in the demon
dimension why not recruit a demon he knew from there it would make him
more aware of the danger if he knew that our master was part of the plans
that are unfolding here" Said Nocoric
"I will make the necessary arrangements"
Said the Harbinger stepping back and fading into the dark
Nocoric looked down and saw that
the battle had finished and the Slayer and her comrades were looking up
at him and another he had not sensed before
"Kellin, I should have known he
would find her....I will take great pleasure in tearing of his head
Nocoric watched as the slayer and
her group walked away from the battle ground
"The more vampires she kills the
more of there remains I can absorb" Said Nocoric Jumping down off the building
and cracking the pavement below
Nocoric walked over to the closest
ashes and reached out towards them they began to glow as they were absorbed
into his body he turned to his demon form but quickly reverted as he sensed
a presence behind him
"Hi I'm suppose to be teaching a
computer class here tonight but I cant find any of the students have you
seen any of them" Said Max
"I'm sorry I just saw them leave"
Said Nocoric still in his human form
Damn I knew I was to late" Said
Max as he turned to leave
Do you know where I could get something
to eat?" Said Nocoric
"Sure there's lots of places what
are you after" Said Max
"I'm kind of in the mood for blood"
Said Nocoric as his face changed into its demon form and he sunk his teeth
into the Max's neck
Max fell to his knees but then got
back up and faced Nocoric when Max looked into Nocoric's eyes both there
faces turned into their demon form and the two walked away into the night.
Chapter seven
Wales 1997
"Your not so hard without the uber-vamps
are you?" said Darkstar, swinging a long handled axe at Nocoric.
"You will find that I am of sufficient
strength to crush you, like all the Teour's that have come before, " said
Nocoric, ducking away from the axe swing and punching Darkstar in the stomach.
"You may think you are different from the others, but they all thought that they were different too . You all possess too much humanity to do what is required, and that has been The Teour's greatest weakness" said Nocoric picking up the axe and snapping it in two.
"Humanity is a virtue I gave up when
you ordered the murder of my parents, Nocoric,
And its a good job that I did, or
I wouldn't be able to do this" said Darkstar.
He flipped over Nocoric and landed
behind him, stabbing the knife that had been tied to his belt into the
base of Nocoric's neck, and dragging it down his back.
"You see the symbol of your order
.I found out what it means. It's the symbol for separating mind from body
that's why nobody has been able to kill you. How could any human perform
such a monstrous act" said Darkstar forcing his hand into the newly carved
incision
"You are right. They couldn't bring
themselves to do it, and you won't be able to do it now." said Nocoric
"Guess again asshole" said Darkstar
as he pulled on Nocoric's spine and ripped it out.
Nocoric fell to his knees. As he
began to change back to his human form he turned to look at Darkstar, who
was still holding the demon spine.
"Well done. You are the first Teour
of them who has ever been able to do what was required.
You have performed your task well,
and now you shall have your reward. Hold on to that, I'll be back for it."
said Nocoric, attempting to stand.
"I don't think so" said Darkstar.
As he kicked Nocoric in the chest, he flew backward and was sucked into
a vortex that had opened up behind him.
As the vortex closed, Darkstar dropped
the knife, but as he went to drop the spine he saw that it was no longer
in his hand. All that was left was a mark on his hand. As he examined it
closer he saw that it was the symbol of Nocoric's order, and that it seemed
to be tattooed onto his palm.
As Darkstar turned to leave he went
to pick up the knife he had dropped earlier but before he could bend down
to reach it the knife was pulled up to his hand..........
Chapter eight
"This all began January 18th 1997
my 16 birthday I went out with a friend and on my way back home we ran
into what we thought were just a couple of drunks but as they came closer
we saw what they really were" Said Kellin sitting down in Giles living
room
" Let me guess vampires" Said Buffy
"Yeah there were two of them they
grabbed me and my friend then instinct took over it was all a blur but
I managed to stake both of them with my pool que luckily my friend had
passed out once he had come around and went home I sat there in the park
for a while running over what had just happened that's when he came" Said
Kellin drinking some water
"Who...Nocoric" Said Willow
"No the only name he gave me was
Zanen" Said Kellin
"Zanen!!! Are you sure" Said Giles
shooting up from his chair
"Yeah Zanen, Why, did you know him"
Said Kellin
"Zanen was the watcher of the last
slayer when she died he went into isolation for about a month then made
an appearance before the watchers council telling them something about
a great power he could not identify but was certain was something to do
with the slayer, The council rejected his application for a research team
because of a lack of facts about this great power and they were in no shape
to mount a full-scale research operation while they were stretched to the
limit trying to find the next slayer...Buffy" Said Giles Pulling a book
off his shelf
"So what happened to him after that"
Said Buffy
"He left the Watchers and went off
to research this great power himself it appears that is what led him to
you it's possible that the great power he was looking for was either you
or Nocoric" Said Giles looking through the book
" Zanen came to me and told me of
my destiny that I was born to kill vampires that I was a slayer we spent
every night for a month training at day patrolling at night just as I was
begining to realise my powers that's was when I met Nocoric" Said Kellin
looking away from everyone
"What happened then" Said Buffy
"Nocoric turned up on our patrol
route with about ten vampires they were unlike any vampires I had seen
before they seemed to be more demon than vampire there skin turned red
like Nocoric's I learned later that when Nocoric fed off humans he turned
them into complete demons the ones that he bit became his own personal
bodyguards... Anyway back to the point when Nocoric saw how strong Zanen
was he bit him and turned him into a demon I had to kill him he knew my
technique to well but killing him didn't help in the end because Nocoric
Gains the knowledge of the people he turns so all of the vampires and demons
Nocoric sent against me knew my routine I was barley keeping on top of
things over the next two months each night the vampires were striking further
and further away from town until Nocoric was strong enough to face me then
he sent me a message" Said Kellin who was begining to noticiby tense up
"What did he do" Said Xander
" He ordered a Group of Vampires
on a feeding spree on my home street killed most of my friends, Neighbours
and my parents" Said Kellin Taking off his coat still very tense
"I'm sorry" Said Buffy
"Its ok I dealt with it a long time
ago" Said Kellin forcing a smile
"What happened then" Said Oz
" I couldn't deal with my parents
death but I had to keep going so I suppressed all emotions except one,
anger I spent my nights not just killing vampires but causing them pain
the more pain I caused them the easier mine got to deal with"
"Its understandable a watcher from
the begining of this Century believed that slayers could deal with enormous
amounts of mental stress I imagine the case is the same with The Teour"
Said Giles
" He must be a laugh at parties"
Said Kellin quietly to Buffy
"He's not that bad on the two and
a half days a week when were not in mortal danger he actually resembles
a human" Said Buffy laughing but stopped when she saw Giles frown
"Getting Back to the point" Said
Giles
"I did nothing but patrol at night
and sleep in the day I only had one goal
"What was it" Said Xander
"As you probably noticed I took
on a new identity when my parents died and separated myself from everyone
I knew the one thing that was ringing through my mind was that the best
way to hunt a creature of the night was to become a creature of the night"
"Makes sense.... Be a little dull
for a life though" Said Willow
"At that time I didn't think about
my life all I thought about was the most painful was to kill a vampire"
Said Kellin
"Emerging in holy water" Said Giles
looking up from his book as everyone in the room looked at him
"Good one the best I found was making
them drink it" Said Kellin
"Hey look it's the homicide twins"
Said Xander
"I planned an attack on Nocoric's
base and took out most of his minions with fire bombs and crossbows my
plan was to get him mad enough to come after me alone and he did right
into my trap" Said Kellin
"What was your trap" Said Buffy
"I hid a stock of weapons in an
old part of the park hardly anyone went there because there were allot
of homeless drunks around there as I had already found out how to kill
him all I had to do was keep fighting long enough for him to tire" Said
Kellin
"A risky plan a pure demon wouldn't
tire very easily" Said Giles
"There's something about Nocoric
that isn't the same with other demon's he has to feed of the ash of dead
vampires I knew if I could keep him away from any for long enough he would
begin to weaken then I would get my chance" Said Kellin
"How did you kill him" Said Oz
I got the clue from the symbol on
the rings worn by his initiates it was a symbol used in Chinese mythology
it was one of the symbols used in a meditation circle it stood for separating
mind from body the link between Nocoric's mind and body is as it is with
most creatures was his spine to kill him I had to remove it" Said Kellin
"Of course, He was a metamorphic
demon removing his demon spine would cause him to revert to his Human form
and die" Said Giles getting out of his chair
"That's almost exactly how it happened
but when he reverted to his human form he didn't die he was pulled into
a portal" Said Kellin
Can you describe the portal size,
colour" Said Giles Picking up a book from the ever growing pile from his
table
"It was Greeny/yellow and as he
got pulled towards it there was like lightning coming from it to him it,
what was really weird was that I was only a few metres away from it and
it had no effect on me" Said Kellin
"That's just like the vortex that
sucked Angel into hell" Said Buffy
"Someone's in hell" Said Kellin
with a puzzled look on his face
"He was but he's back now" Said
Willow
"We should cover that another time"
Said Giles Stepping in as he could see Buffy becoming uncomfortable
"So your buddy went the same place
as Nocoric why dot we contact him he might know something about Nocoric
seeing as they went to hell the same time" Said Kellin
"How do you know when Angel went
to hell" Asked Buffy
"Well I didn't but you did you see
its hard for me to suppress my telepathy when I'm not concentrating at
it I accidentally read people's thoughts
"You were reading my mind" Said
Buffy
"Not all of it I can only probe
a persons mind when I'm concentrating when I'm relaxed I just hear your
active thoughts" Said Kellin drinking some more water
"It's ok I know what that's like
I was telepathic for a while" Said Buffy
"Just a minute Oz, Xander which
one of you lives in a basement?" Said Kellin With a frown
"That would be me " Said Xander
raising his hand
"Ahh just a hint if you don't mind
when someone tells you that they can read your mind don't think about the
thing you would least want them to know what you and your lady friend get
up to in your basement should be kept private" Said Kellin suppressing
a smile
"Xander's Having naughty thoughts"
Chanted Willow
"As much as I am amused by Xander's
shade of red we have more important and less repulsive things to talk about
than Xander and Anya's sex life
"Could not be more on your side
G" Said Xander
"Ok so you believe it may be worth
contacting Angel to see if he knows anything about the demon"
"It cant hurt and even if he doesn't
we could still use his help in the fight" said Kellin standing up
"I thought I was the only one who
could kill him" Said Buffy also standing up
"You are but his Super vamps are
fair game to whoever can hit them and there's gonna be allot to hit" Said
Kellin examining the crossbow on top of Giles Weapons chest
" Super vamps the ones that Nocoric
turns" Said Oz
"Yeah" Said Kellin
"But there's two of us now and the
rest of the gang don't you think we can take them" Said Buffy Trying to
avoid another meeting between Angel and Riley
"The first time they attacked me
I couldn't protect Zanen and he was only one man there's four other people
here, Buffy I know what the guilt is like when you lose a friend because
you couldn't protect them I just don't want you to go through it and if
your pal Angel spent some time in hell I'm guessing he can hold his own"
Said Kellin
"I think he's right the more people
we can get to help the better chance we have of beating Nocoric" Said Giles
"I suppose your right, about how
long do we have before these super vamps are out and about" Said Buffy
Grabbing a pile of Stakes from her bag
"Well the Vamps that we wasted tonight
were regular and Nocoric was in his human form so we could be looking at
about two days maybe three before there are enough for a pack" Said Kellin
"A pack how many is that" Said Oz
"Usually a minimum of twenty but
it could be more" Said Kellin
"We need to send someone to LA to
get Angel"
"I think I should go Nocoric wont
come up against you yet but he will want to get me out of the picture a
soon as possible so that I cant tell you what I know about him" Said Kellin
"Alright but take Oz with you it
might shock Angel for you to turn up and tell him all this a familiar face
would probably make this sound a lot less weird" Said Buffy
" Do you wanna do another sweep
tonight make it easier for you while were gone" Said Kellin
"Don't worry we can handle the vamps"
Said Buffy
"I don't doubt it but if Nocoric
does send a pack out while were gone then its standard procedure to send
vamps after your family if we take out as many vamps as we can then we
shouldn't have to worry about an attack" Said Kellin
"Ok then well do a quick sweep then
I have to go and meet Riley" Said Buffy
"Who's Riley ?" Said Kellin
Chapter nine
"ALPHA team this is HQ come in" Said
the voice on Agent Finn's Radio
"This is ALPHA team lilac responding
" Said Riley hiding in a bush in the Graveyard
"Is your team ready" Said the voice
on the Radio
"I've got teams hidden in eight
positions throughout the graveyard Were got a thermal and pheromone grid
in operation over the entire area nothing will get in or out without us
knowing about it" Said Riley watching the monitor of his thermal scanner
"Good we need to capture the Hostile
Adam and there isn't a demon in this town who doesn't have a bead on where
he's hiding" Said the voice on the Radio
"As soon as we track a Hostile we'll
bring it in to the lab, the sooner we do the sooner we get Adam" Said Riley
Gripping his Tazer
"HQ Out" Said the voice as the radio
powered down
"ALPHA 3 to ALPHA 1 Do you copy"
Said the Radio again as it sprung back to life
"This is ALPHA 1 Agent Finn responding
" Said Riley
"We have detected two blips on our
thermo-scope"
"Cold ones" Said Riley resting his
Tazer on his shoulder
"That's just it there warm human
but the area around them is above standard temp by almost 16% it's as if
something is charging the atmosphere" Said the Private on the Radio
"What's there position" Said Riley
readying his weapon
"They entered at Grid 2 Now crossing
over to grid 7
"ALPHA 1 to ALPHA 5 there are 2
blips coming in to your grid see if you can get a visual but be careful
they read as human but there's something odd about the heat field there
generating
"ALPHA 5 to ALPHA 1 we have a visual
it's the Slayer and an unknown companion" Said the voice of the Alpha 5
team leader
"Ok ALPHA 5 stand down I'm gonna
investigate send some men to cover my post" Said Riley as he left the bushes.
"So apart from Nocoric what other
big bads have you slayed" Said Buffy holding her stake
"You know the usual apocalypse cults,
Demonic possesion, Squirrel people" Said Kellin
"Did you just say Squirrel people"
Said Buffy laughing
" Some athlete round were I lived
did something with squirrel DNA like the Russians used to do with fishes
for there swimmers well he got some of the squirrels abilities like the
high jumping and the speed and the quick reflexes went out for a late night
run and met up with a member of the undead recruiting agency he got turned
and began spawning his own little squirrel vamps don't need to tell you
that they were hard to dust" Said Kellin
"We had something like that but
with our high school swim team but they started becoming fish-men not just
getting there skills" Said Buffy
"Ok you win you have a freakier
life than me" Said Kellin
"Finally I win at something....Hey"
Said Buffy smiling but becoming serious when she saw Kellin's face
"What's up" Said Buffy
"Were being watched 3 men over there
in that bush 5 in the one next to it and 7 in the one we just passed and
there's one coming towards us from the left" Said Kellin as he stretched
out his hand towards Riley and pulled his Tazer into his hand
"Well I'm impressed an AK-7510 Electro-static
discharge rifle fires a variable current electrical discharge at it's target
and I believe you can also defrost a chicken in less then 7 minutes with
one of these, were did you get it though the I'm a psycho shopping channel"
Said Kellin levitating the rifle above his hand and sending it crashing
into a nearby tree falling to pieces on impact
"It's ok Kellin I know him the guys
you sensed are from the army they hunt demons" Said Buffy
" Sorry bout the Tazer I can fix
it up for you if you want" Said Kellin levitating the larger fragments
back to Riley
" Don't worry I can get another
one I guess but first we need to talk.
Chapter ten
"On the darkest night of the seventh
new moon"
"Will come the time for the slayers
doom"
"And from her blood soon after will
rise"
"The evil one. My demon Lord"
The verse was spread across a array of computer screens set up in a warehouse on the outskirts of Sunnydale and it was read by a large number of vampires surrounding Nocoric
"You see that my children I spoke
those words 1200 years ago learn them well because that time comes soon
when I kill the slayer one of you will drink of her and become the vessel
of the demon lord and together we will rule this world.... fail me in this
task" Said Nocoric as he raised his hand towards an unsuspecting vampire
and telekinetically severed its head causing it to combust into ash
"And your fait will be much worse"
Said Nocoric as he went to his chamber
"Master The Teour is here and the
Slayer has friends they took out 25 of our family this very night are you
sure we shouldn't wait until our forces are stronger" Said Max whom Nocoric
had turned earlier
"You show promise my son but when
I give a command it will be followed do you understand" Said Nocoric raising
his hand
"Your wish master" Said Max
Answering your question anyway It
appears that the slayer and her "friends" seem to have enough on there
hands it goes by the name of Adam a demon/Human hybrid who is apparently
unstoppable it is most probable that the slayer and her friends will suffer
injuries or even death the best time to strike will be after he has been
defeated" Said Nocoric
"Master what if the slayer does
not win the conflict" Said One of the vampires
"If it looks like the slayer will
lose the conflict then we will engage the demons forces ourselves" Said
Nocoric
"Help the slayer?" Said one of the
vampires
"If the slayer does not die by my
hand then the ritual will not work whichever of you is the chosen one will
not become the embodiment of Racothlor and we will never rule this world
we will do whatever is necissery" Said Nocoric
"If this Slayer dies then we can
kill the next one" Said Another vampire
"When this Slayer dies another is
called and with her calling there will be another of The Teour called and
everything will be reset I must kill this slayer or the ritual will not
work until another of The Teour's can kill me.... I swear if any of you
fail me then I will make sure that the rest of your eternal lives will
be as a pile of ash now go and turn more humans to our cause we must be
ready for a new offensive in three days" Said Nocoric morphing into his
human form and leaving the building.......
Chapter eleven
"So let me get this straight, your
a slayer, and so is Buffy, and Faith? How many chosen one's are there?
Because when Buffy told me, I was under the impression that there would
be just one." said Riley, pacing the floor of Buffy's dorm.
"Pardon me, don't mean to interrupt
you're little rant, but I'm not a Slayer. Or if I am, I'm a damn ugly one!
The Slayer is always a female, and, big news flash…. I'm not" said Kellin,
becoming agitated at Riley's failure to understand
"Well if your not a Slayer, then
I shouldn't have any trouble putting you down for talking to me like that."
said Riley, taking up a fighting stance
"Trust me, you really can't." said
Kellin, as he raised his hand and telekinetically pinned Riley to the wall.
"Now, I could probably give you
a good beating without getting out of this chair, but that would be pointless,
now that Buffy trusts you. And I have no reason to doubt that yet. We don't
have time to fuck about with this, we have bigger problems to deal with."
said Kellin, releasing his hold on Riley.
"You mean Adam?" Riley sat down
heavily on Willows' bed.
"No, I mean Nocoric. He's here to
kill Buffy. And who's Adam?" asked Kellin.
"Adam's a demon/human hybrid, created
by the Army. It went nuts and started killing everything…… Who's Nocoric?"
replied Riley.
"He's a 1200 year old demon who
feeds on Dusted vampires. I killed him and now he's back to kill Buffy"
said Kellin.
"This couldn't have come at a worse
time. We have no idea how to stop Adam, and we dot have the manpower to
take on another all-powerful demon." said Riley.
"Well, I'm leaving with Oz for LA
to bring Angel back with us." said Kellin.
"ANGEL? Why do we need him? If it
comes to a choice between stretching our manpower a little further or having
Angel here, I choose to stretch!" said Riley starting to pace round the
room.
"What's your problem with Angel?
I thought he used to be part of the 'Scooby
gang' "
"What exactly do you know about
Angel?" questioned Riley, standing up.
"We didn't really discuss it, but
I kind of got the impression he was a friend of these guys when they were
in school. Somehow he got pulled through a vortex into hell, got pulled
back and now he's in LA. "said Kellin, examining the rat on Willow's table.
"I think I should fill you in on
the bits they missed out, "put in Riley." Angel wasn't a friend from school.
He was a 243 year old vampire, who got cursed by gypsies and wound up with
a soul!"
"A vampire with a soul? So where
do the Three Bears and the Beanstalk come in to this story?" laughed Kellin.
He tilted his head, and Amy the rat did the same.
"Yeah, it was a real Snoopy Christmas,
until Angel and Buffy got a bit too fleshy with each other and he turned
evil again." Riley positioned himself between Kellin and the rat to make
sure he had Kellin's full attention.
"Wow! I've known women do some great
thing's in bed, but removal of a soul….. now that sounds tricky." laughed
Kellin.
"That's not funny" said Riley frowning
at Kellin.
"Amy thought it was...What? Just
because she's a rat, you don't think she knows a good joke when she hears
one?"
"Will you concentrate for a minute?
I don't want Buffy to come in and hear us talking about Angel." said Riley
"Too late!" said Buffy who had entered
without either of the two realising.
"Kellin, can I talk to you later?"
asked Buffy, not taking her glare off Riley.
"Sure, I'll be at home, but you
don't know where that is yet, do you? It's No 17 Crawford Street, next
to the big spooky one." answered Kellin, moving towards the door.
"Yeah, I know it. " said Buffy,
remembering all two well the 'Funky looking mansion' on Crawford street.
"Ok! See you after." said Kellin,
leaving the room.
"What the hell do you think you're
doing?" said Buffy, still glaring at Riley.
"What?….. He didn't know everything
about Angel. I was just filling him in." said Riley, unconvincingly.
"That's the only reason? It has
nothing to do with you still being jealous of Angel?" asked Buffy.
"Do I have a reason to be jealous
of Angel?" replied Riley, trying to change the direction of the argument.
"Don't start that. Nothing happened
with Angel. I'm with you, although sometimes I wonder why." said Buffy,
opening the door to leave.
"Buffy, wait. We need to talk about
this. I didn't mean to..."
"I don't care what you meant. I
can't believe you're pulling this now. I have two 'all powerful' demons
who want to kill me, and take over the world, and you're more interested
in if me and Angel are having some secret affair. I have to go…. I'll speak
to you when I get the time." said Buffy, leaving the room.
"I'm not jealous, just concerned.
Amy you understand don't...God I'm talking to a rat... Hell, right now,
this rat's the only one who will listen to me!"
Amy tilted her head and looked at
Riley with her small beady eyes.
*************************
" So it all started eight months
ago when I punched out a guy for badmouthing Buffy....
**********************************
Chapter twelve
"Angel! To your left!" yelled Wesley,
after being flung to the floor by a large blue demon.
"Got it!" said Angel, swinging the
metal pipe he had been using as a weapon at the demon approaching him from
behind.
"Get up you Big British sissy."
said Cordelia, firing a crossbow from the corner of the room.
"It's all very well mocking me,
when all you have to do is point that thing and pull the trigger." Wesley
was too caught up in his argument with Cordelia to notice one of the demon's
coming up behind him.
"Wesley, look out!" shouted Cordelia,
pointing to the approaching demon with the crossbow and inadvertently firing
it.
"Mummy!" whimpered Wesley pathetically,
trying to get out of the way of the arrows.
In the end he gave up, and closed
his eyes awaiting the pain he knew would follow as the arrow went through
him. Instead he felt something brush past his head, and then the whoosh
of something travelling through the air at high speed.
"It's ok, you woman. You can open
your eyes now." Wesley recognised Cordelia's voice, and opened his eyes.
Angel and Cordelia were standing next to him ,all the demon's had been
taken care of, and the one who had prompted the whole arrow dodging fiasco
had a steel pipe piercing his chest.
"Thank you, Angel ,but I had the
task in hand!" Said Wesley, dusting himself off.
"You would have had it covered,
if you were making a Shish-K-Wes" answered Cordelia, with a disgusted look
on her face after seeing the freshly impaled demon up close
"Might I remind you, that if you
had kept your 'oh so witty' retort to yourself, I would have been prepared
for the...Angel?… what's wrong?" asked Wesley, looking towards Angel, who,
in turn, was looking towards the ceiling.
"We're not alone!" said Angel, reaching
for a sword out of his weapons bag.
"Ah, Wesley! Time to redeem yourself,
just do me a favour, don't fall on your ass this time!" said Cordelia.
"I'll do my best!" Wesley was concentrating
more on the creaking of the beams on the ceiling of the warehouse than
paying attention to Cordy.
"Get your weapons! Something's coming
through!" shouted Angel. Part of the ceiling crashed to the floor, and
what appeared to be a man fell through the gaping hole.
"Angelus! How have you been?" said
the man dusting himself off.
"Qualin! Last time I saw you was
in....."
"Hell! Yeah! Did it for a while
after you left, and then my break came." said Qualin.
"Which was?" asked Angel.
"It appears that the same Being
that brought you back, did the same for me, but I'm not here to atone for
my sins" sneered Qualin .
"Then why are you here?" said Angel.
"To kill you!" said Qualin, morphing
into his half demon form.
"You stayed in Hell too long, you're
looking a little red," said Angel lunging forward with his sword.
"My new master gives me great power.
In return I work for him, and he wants you dead!" said Qualin.
"Well, you know, a lot of people
do! So why don't you give me your masters name, so I can return the favour?"
Angel swung the sword at Qualin, who easily avoided it.
"His name is Nocoric! He wants you
dead so that he can take care of that slayer bitch you've been sniffing
around," said Qualin
"Do you think your going to enjoy
dying ,as much as I'm gonna enjoy killing you?"
Angel made an attempt to stab Qualin,
but the demon kicked the sword out of his hand.
"I don't think you will ever get
to make the comparison, because when I'm...."
Qualin was stopped by the pain of
having a large fragment of the ceiling beam rammed through his chest. As
the demon combusted, Angel saw Cordelia and Wesley holding on to the very
large stake.
"We have to warn Buffy." said Angel,
turning to leave.
"Hello? Do we even get a thank you?
Coz we just saved your life ,in case you didn't notice!" said Cordelia.
"It's no good, Cordelia, Buffy is
in danger, there's only one thing we can do now." said Wesley, picking
up the crossbow from the ground.
"What's that?" asked Cordelia, pulling
a dagger out of the chest of one of the demons.
"Pack our bags...were going to Sunnydale!"
Chapter thirteen
Kellin shot up awoken from his sleep
as he heard a knock at the door. He hadn't slept properly since he'd begun
having the dreams about Buffy and Sunnydale. Before he answered the door,
he picked up a knife, had become something of a habit since the night his
parents were killed.
"Vampires can't come in uninvited,
but there's' nothing stopping a demon storming the building...although
demon's rarely knock!" Kellin muttered to himself. He placed one hand on
the handle of the knife hooked through his belt, the other on the door
handle, and opened the door.
"Just a hint, it's no good hiding
the knife behind your back when you have a window in your door so big that
the person could see you picking the knife up in the first place!" said
Buffy, walking into the house.
"Old habit! You see, only two types
of people came to my door over the last two years. Those who wanted to
kill me, and those who wanted me to accept Jesus Christ as my personal
saviour. Turned out it was handy to have a knife for both types." said
Kellin throwing the knife into a target across the room.
"This is a nice place, how did you
afford it?" asked Buffy, looking around the room.
"My parents owned two businesses
when they died, and both of the companies were left to me. I had to sell
them, because I didn't have the time to run them. It looks like I'm gonna
be here for a while, so I thought I may as well be comfortable. How did
things go with Riley?" asked Kellin.
"They didn't! I don't know what
he told you about Angel, but you have to understand, he's not evil." said
Buffy, sitting down next to Kellin.
"I believe you! I've had my fair
share of encounters with non -evil demons. In fact, that's one of the things
I want to talk to you about."
"What do you mean?" asked Buffy.
"Have you ever had any dealing's
with 'The Circle'?"
"The Circle? A friend of Giles told
us that they had the writings of Nocoric, but all he could give us was
some prophecy about you, me, and Nocoric."
" The Circle is an order of demons
who have devoted themselves to the defence of the people of earth. To defend
them from anything that would threaten their way of life. It was founded
by a group of demons that had no desire to kill, they have members all
over the world. One of the members in LA has the writings of Nocoric."
said Kellin.
"How come we have never heard of
them? I mean, what Giles doesn't know about demons isn't worth knowing."
said Buffy.
"The Circle had to learn to be elusive
a long time ago, so that the watcher's council wouldn't try to wipe them
out again"
"What do you mean, wipe them out?"
asked Buffy.
"In 1902, the circle found out about
a group of demon's planning an attack on the watcher's council. The circle
sent someone to warn them, a good vampire incidentally, but the council
didn't listen" replied Kellin.
"What did they do?" asked Buffy.
"Because of the council's narrow
minded, 'all demon's are evil,' viewpoint, they decided to 'Stake the messenger!'
and proceeded to send the Slayer of that time after the rest of the circle.
In the end, only 10 survived, and they swore that they would never get
involved with the council or the slayer ever again...Giles doesn't know
about the Circle because as far as the Council knows it doesn't exist."
answered Kellin.
"So how do you know all this?" asked
Buffy.
"Zanen told me that if anything
ever happened to him that I had to contact a friend of his who was to be
a member of the Circle. He gave me instructions to perform a memory removal
spell on him, so that if Nocoric ever turned him, he would not expose the
circle's existence. When he was turned, I contacted the person and they
researched Nocoric for me, and told me how to kill him" replied Kellin.
"Something tells me there was a
price for their help!" said Buffy.
"Yeah, there was. You see, the circle
needs members with different skills. Combat, Witchcraft, Translators, Telepaths,
and more. They will give one of their member's permission to help a person
if that person has a skill that they can use. The price for the research
they did for me was my membership, which is not such a heavy price, because,
hell, I'm fighting demons anyway!" said Kellin
"If you're a member of the Circle,
how come you're helping me? I thought you said the circle wouldn't deal
with the slayer anymore" said Buffy.
"Once it became obvious to us, that
the destinies of the Slayer and the Teour were intertwined, they gave me
permission to come here and help you, and in return, if they needed something
dealt with in this area, you would assist me in dealing with it." said
Kellin.
"Fair enough! So how do you plan
to get the book?" asked Buffy.
"When me and Oz get to LA, I have
to perform an incantation and wait until the circle member arrives. He
will bring the book to me the next night" said Kellin.
" I have a question. Why didn't
these Circle guys read the book, and give the information to you, when
you were fighting Nocoric?"
" Well, you see, that's the interesting
thing. The book can only be opened by Nocoric and his master together,
or me and you together. Anyone apart from that would be vaporised," said
Kellin.
"Wow! That's one hell of a safety
lock! " Said Buffy
"Yeah, now me and Oz will have to
leave tomorrow so I can do the ritual the following night. I need the full
moon." said Kellin, reviewing the instructions for the incantation.
"FULL MOON ? damn! OZ IS A WEREWOLF!"
Buffy and Kellin both said in unison.
Sorry, active thought" Said Kellin
"Don't worry about it. We need to
think of someone else to go with you to LA" said Buffy.
"What about Riley?... He knows Angel
doesn't he?" asked Kellin.
"Angel + Riley = Paranormal death-match,
and we cant send Xander Coz of the same reason, only the death would be
much quicker" replied Buffy.
"And Giles and Willow should stay
here, we need Giles to research, and Willow is much more useful here in
case you need any spells" said Kellin, walking across to Buffy
"That's it, we're all scoobied out....
Unless... there may be one more person we could try. It's gonna mean some
major sucking up...And some 0- wouldn't hurt" said Buffy.
"You're gonna get a vampire to help
us?….How many good vampires do you have around here?" asked Kellin following
Buffy to the door.
"Spike is a lot of things, but good
is not one of them" she replied.
Chapter fourteen
Angel paced the office, while Cordelia and Wesley poured over the Internet demon database that had proven so useful to them.
"Find anything yet?" asked Angel
"The closest match to Nocoric is
a Nimchu" answered Wesley.
"Could that be him?" Angel began
to pace faster.
"It could be.... If you and Buffy
are wanted dead by a small fluffy demon who eats birds, and has a 3-week
life cycle, then it's a dead ringer" said Cordelia.
Angel frowned at her, which warned
her to get on with the search and say no more.
"Hang on! Here's one! Nacor :A red
skinned demon with vampire- like features." Said Wesley, looking up at
Angel.
"That sounds about right. Punch
up the details" said Angel, walking around the desk to read them for himself.
"That's strange.... I can't get
to the details! The system is asking for my circle password" said Wesley.
"Well, punch it in then," said Cordelia,
pouring coffee.
"I would have done that, Cordelia.
If I knew what the password was! " said Wesley.
"It would help if we knew who, or
what, the circle is…. or was… for that matter!"
"Cordy, get on the phone to Willow,
and find out how to crack the password" said Angel
"I'm on it!" She picked up the phone
and dialled Willows' number.
"Angel, Buffy has faced danger before
and has always come out on top. You need to remember that," said Wesley.
"Buffy has faced demon's, but the
power that brought me back is not a demon, it's evil ,and more powerful
than anything Buffy has ever faced before. Anything that is in league with
it could be capable of the same" Said Angel looking over to check Cordelia's
progress.
"If that were so, then why would
this Nocoric send a demon after you. He could just wipe you out, and do
the same to Buffy" said Wesley.
"Are you saying I shouldn't try
to help?" asked Angel
"No, of course you should, but until
we know some more facts, there is no point expecting the worst." replied
Wesley.
"I expect the worst because the
worst always happens" Said Angel moving towards Cordelia
"Wow! That bad?...so why don't me,
Angel and Wesley just come straight down tonight...?Huh!…...yeah...I see,
so who is coming with him?......SPIKE?????
I didn't see that one coming.....Ok,
well, we'll see you in a couple of days then.... Ok? see ya Will!" Cordelia
hung up the phone and turned to face Angel and Wesley who were trying to
follow the conversation with difficulty.
"Do you want to fill us in?" said
Angel.
"This Nocoric guy is a really nasty
demon. He wants to kill Buffy so he can raise his master, and there is
a new Slayer in Sunnydale. He's a guy, and he and Spike are coming down
here tonight, and then we are to go back with them after the guy slayer,
Kellin has talked to someone he knows here...! Oh, and Spike has a chip
in his head, so he can't bite people, or do anything else to them!" said
Cordelia finally taking a breath.
"So, what do we do until they arrive?"
asked Wesley.
"I guess we just wait, and handle
any more of those Demons that show up." said Angel.
"Did you get the password for the
computer?" asked Wesley.
"Kellin has it, but he can't give
it to us. If he did we would have to pledge our lives to the circle! I
figured we could wait." replied Cordy.
"Exactly what is this circle?" said
Wesley.
"He couldn't say, without us having
to pledge our lives to it!" answered Cordelia
"Hang on! Does he mean 'The Circle"
asked Angel.
Cordy turned to face him. "Yeah,
I think so..why? Have you heard of it?"
"Yeah, I've heard of it. In fact
I think I might be a member!" said Angel .
"What do you mean you think your
a member? You pledged your life to it, and then forgot?"
"I'm not actually sure if I'm a
member, but I know that Whistler is!"
"Who's Whistler?" Wesley and Cordelia
spoke together.
"He was the demon who helped me
after I got my soul back."
"Yeah, I remember now! He showed
up when you were evil, and told Buffy how to kill you." said Cordelia.
"He said once, that when the time
was right, I would join him in the Circle. I thought it was some kind of
weird metaphor thing." said Angel.
"You should get hold of him. From
what Willow said, the Circle can really kick ass."
"I'll give it a try...Do you know
when Spike and… 'Kellin,' is it?… are going to arrive?...
Chapter fifteen
"We've been on the road for two hours.
Can we possibly listen to something other than the Sex Pistols" moaned
Kellin, sitting in the passenger seat of Spike's car.
"Listen here mate! I got Booze,
Fags and Blood to take you to LA and back again.
I ain't been given anywhere near
enough to teeny bop the rest of the way there," said Spike, lighting another
cigarette.
"I don't care what we listen to,
just not this! And believe me, if it meant you would turn this off, I would
give you my own blood!" said Kellin
"If it weren't for this damn chip,
I'd drain you right here"
"You'd try, I'd kill you, and carry
on alone! That's a good plan. Pull over and we can implement it." Kellin
pulled a stake from his jacket pocket.
"Yeah, you're a slayer alright.
It really is a shame I can't do it, but I hope I'm there when somebody
takes you down."
"Spike, we can try and get on can't
we? You don't like me, and I don't like you, but we can at least try to
make some kind of conversation...we're both from England, we can talk about
that" Kellin levitating the stake back into his pocket.
" I want to talk about that....."
"What...?"
"That thing you do, with the floating
stakes, and reading peoples minds and stuff. I thought it was only demons
and witches who did that."
"The power was Nocoric's when I
killed him I got his power"
"Nocoric... do you mean Nacor?"
Spike looked round at Kellin,
"Nocoric was called Nacor when he
first came to earth, but that was 1500 years ago. How did you know about
that?" asked Kellin.
"Drusilla, my ex-pet, nearly got
killed by a mob in Prague. When we were looking for a way to restore her,
I heard about a demon called Nacor, who could do neat things to vampires,
but I could never find him" replied Spike.
"You should have tried my home town"
"Yeah, Rupert filled me in on the
whole story. I'd say I feel sorry for you, but I don't you know. Vampires
just ain't sympathetic people!"
"Spike? Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, gotta fill the time somehow,"
"As I understand it, there's not
much hope of you getting that chip out of your head. Why don't you just
go good? Help Buffy and the rest of them! It's gotta be better than trying
to be evil when you can't follow through." Said Kellin
"Because that's what I am. I'm a
Vampire, vampires do not turn 'Good', end of story!"
"Angel did! Twice, as I understand
it" put in Kellin.
"Angel was cursed. He didn't just
turn.... It took all the power of the black arts to turn him, and all it
took to break it was 15 minutes of action with Buffy!" returned Spike
"Why not get Willow to curse you?"
suggested Kellin.
"So I can be the tortured vampire?
I don't think so!"
"Well it's up to you, but the way
I see, being stuck between good and evil can't be any fun. And seeing as
you can't go back to evil, you can only go to good"
"What makes you think I'll be like
this forever?"
"I was just trying to help," said
Kellin. He settled back in the seat and closed his eyes, bored with the
conversation already.
"I've lived long enough to not have
to take help from a slayer" retorted Spike.
"If your gonna hang around through
this then a slayer may be the only person who can help you...
Chapter sixteen
Buffy was in the corner of a large
room. In the corner nearest to her was Kellin, and on the other side of
the room was a door.
" Where am I?" she murmured.
"That depends. Where did you fall
asleep?" She heard Kellin's voice as if from far away.
" Is this a dream?"
" More like a vision" the voice
came again, nearer now.
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm having one too...don't
ask me to explain it. All I know is that I fell asleep in Spike's car,
and now I'm here. " said Kellin
"But why are we here?" Buffy wondered.
" I don't know yet. I've had these
visions before, but I've never been aware that I was asleep" said Kellin.
"Same here"
" So, what do we do?"
"I guess we just sit it out!"
" You are here so that we can warn
you of the impending danger," said a demon that was just walking through
the door.
"Who are you?" asked Kellin
" My identity is irrelevant, all
you need to know is that I am of the Circle"
" This is giving me a Wiggins. Can
we get to the point so I can wake up?" said Buffy.
"Slayers all so different, but yet
all the same," muttered the demon.
"You're Gartouf, aren't you?" asked
Kellin.
"I underestimated you Kellin. Your
perceptions are correct. I am Gartouf"
"What do you have to tell us".
"Our informants at the Hellmouth
tell us that Nocoric's forces are massing faster than we anticipated. The
other members of your unit will be nullified in 2 moons time unless you
intervene," said Gartouf
"Huh?" said Buffy.
"That means Willow, Xander, Oz,
Giles and probably your mother, will be killed in 2 days time unless we
stop Nocoric," said Kellin.
"But, it's gonna take you three
days to get to LA, get the book and get back," replied Buffy. "There won't
be enough time"
"When you awake from this vision
you must head back to the Hellmouth, the book and your reinforcements are
already on-route" said Gartouf.
"I thought I needed to perform the
ritual?" Said Kellin
"The Circle has decided, that because
of the urgency of the matter, the book can be brought to you by someone
entrusted by us." said Gartouf
"Who...?
"The cursed vampire...he was trained
by a circle member. On the merits of that member we have granted Angel
clearance. He is on his way here, with two others who he has vouched for."
said Gartouf.
"That'll be Wesley and Cordelia,"
said Buffy.
"They will arrive tomorrow, before
sunrise!" Gartouf turned towards the door.
"Wait, we need to know more" Kellin
shouted after him.
"The spell that allows us to communicate
like this, taxes me both physically and mentally. I cannot maintain it
any longer," said Gartouf.
"We have to know more," said Buffy
"I cannot help you further. You
know all that I know. After I have left you will remain here for a few
minutes, then you will awaken," Gartouf vanished through the open door.
As it closed, the room disappeared, and Buffy and Kellin were left standing
in complete blackness.
"Are you still here?……Kellin? Where
are you? I can't see anything, what's going on?"
"I'm here, Buffy, it's OK, don't
worry, just stay still for a minute. The darkness will clear soon. Keep
talking to me so that I can feel where you are."
Buffy took a deep breath and began
telling Kellin some of what had happened while he'd been away.
"I went out on patrol as soon as
you left, and ran into Adam. He killed Forest, one of Riley's friends from
the initiative, and Riley didn't take it well. Me and the rest of the guys
had a big argument. We're not on speaking terms at the moment." Said Buffy
"What caused the argument?" said
Kellin.
"Things had been said, you know,
mostly not good things, by all of us…..about each other!" said Buffy
"How did you find out about what
the others had said?" asked Kellin.
"From Spike" Said Buffy
"Could it just be Spike playing
mind games?"
"It could be, but why?" said Buffy.
"Who would benefit from you being
separated from the others?" said Kellin.
"Nocoric" Said Buffy
"No. His only interest is you. The
others are irrelevant," said Kellin.
"What about Adam? He would benefit
from you being separated, but why would spike do his dirty work....?"
"THE CHIP! Adam can take out the
chip!" said Buffy
"That's what he meant. He said to
me, just before I fell asleep, that he wasn't going to be like this forever,"
said Kellin.
"That Bastard vampire! As soon as
you wake up, stake him."
"No I won't stake him. I'll just
tell him that we know that he's working for Adam, and unless he helps us
against Nocoric and tells us where Adam is, we'll do something much worse"
Said Kellin.
"What good will it do knowing where
Adam is? I don't think I can take him on yet" "While I was talking to Riley,
I got all the info on Adam out of his head.... It seems that the only way
to kill him is to remove his uranium core in his chest." said Kellin
"Yeah! But we can't get close enough
to remove it." said Buffy
" I don't have to get close. I can
levitate it out, without getting too close. If there were some people to
take him on like you Angel and Spike.".
"It sounds like a plan. I'll round
up the others and explain what Spike did and we can meet up with you when
you arrive"
"How do we let Angel in on the plan?"
" He will go to Giles house we'll
be there to meet him, and you, when you arrive," said Buffy
"We'll be there in an hour!" said
Kellin
"Let's get it done!" said Buffy
Just then there was a white flash
and Buffy and Kellin awoke
****************************
"Spike, you are one devious prick
you know" Said Kellin sitting up
"Thank you.... But what's your point?"
laughed Spike
" You're working for Adam! You caused
trouble between Buffy and the guys, and in return, Adam takes out the chip."
Said Kellin, floating a stake out of his jacket pocket.
"Hey, put that away! You wouldn't
dust a defenceless vampire, would you?"
"In a heartbeat! Any last requests?"
Kellin raised the stake.
" I can offer you information" Spike
was beginning to look a little worried.
"Let's make a deal. You turn this
car around and take me back to Sunnydale. Tell me where Adam is, and help
us fight Nocoric and his vampires, and I give you my word that no one will
dust you." said Kellin.
"Now come on, be fair"
" Have it your way!" Kellin brought
the stake down towards Spike's chest.
"WAIT.... Ok you have a deal," said
Spike, spinning the car around.
"Thank you! Now get us back to Sunnydale
before sunrise. We have a demon to kill...
******************************
Chapter seventeen
Buffy was nervous as she walked towards
Giles and the rest of the gang. She had asked them to meet her, so that
she could explain what had transpired with Spike.
"How's the head Giles?" Xander asked,
as they came together.
"I've had more blows to the head
than I can count, but this is much more painful." Said Giles looking the
worse for wear.
"Should be in the watchers handbook,"
said Oz.
"What should?" asked Xander.
"Never drink and Watch!"
"Will, who told you that me and
Xander were talking about you?" asked Buffy.
"Well...Spike..! But…." replied
Willow.
"And Xander, who told you that me,
Oz and Will said you'd be better off in the army?"
"Those weren't his exact words,"
replied Xander.
"Giles!" Said Buffy
"I'm a very stupid man." said Giles.
"Spike played us!" Said Buffy
"Ok, now we can get back to saving
the world" Said Xander
"Will…..? Any luck with the computer
disc?" Buffy asked. Willow looked up from the screen she was studying intently.
"Yeah, I decrypted it....Well, actually
it kind of decrypted itself! It must have been set on some kind of timer."
"What did it say?"
"It was information about a secret
lab in the Initiative, and the final stage of the 314 project" replied
Willow.
"What is the final stage?"
"Seems like Adam's going to put
together an army of demon/human hybrids"
" Do you think he's planning an
attack?" put in Giles. "You said yourself that your patrols have been fairly
fruitless. Could it be that Adam's massing his forces somewhere?"
"My patrols have been quiet, but
not the Initiative's. You heard Riley, their containment cells have been
full for days." answered Buffy.
"A Trojan horse!" Giles raised his
glasses and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
"It's all going down at the Initiative."
added Xander.
" This is too easy! A mysterious
computer disc that decrypts itself? Something's' not quite right here."
said Buffy.
"You think someone wanted you to
get this info?" asked Oz.
Makes sense! I mean, this all just
fell into our laps, and check this out. Who did I run into, creeping around
by Adam's lair?...Spike!" Said Buffy
"SPIKE'S WORKING FOR ADAM? No! I
can't even act surprised." said Xander.
"Buffy, why would Adam want you
there when this goes down?" asked Oz.
"Even up the kill ratio, I guess"
replied Buffy.
"Then Adam would have his pick of
the body parts....eww!" Said Willow
"How did you figure this out Buff?"
asked Xander.
"One of the Circle guys did some
sort of communication spell on me and Kellin. When he left, we talked it
over, and Kellin figured it out……… and a plan to take out Adam." Buffy
answered
"What's the plan?"
"Kellin is on his way back, with
Spike, and he's gonna use a little gentle persuasion! Spike will be helping
us, whether he likes it or not. Angel, Cordelia and Wesley are on their
way here, too."
"We'll have a small army. But how
does that help us against Adam? The initiative can't take him down, and
there's hundreds of them," commented Xander.
"We'll all go in through the elevator
shaft at Lowell House. Once we're in, Willow will get into their computer
system and find the lab. Then the rest of you will help the Initiative
with the other demons. Me, Angel, Spike and Kellin will go after Adam,
and while we occupy him, Kellin will use his powers to pull Adam's power
core out.
Then we'll come back and join you
…….simple!"
"When do we move in?" asked Oz.
"As soon as this 'Saved by the Bell
'moment is over, I guess." Kellin walked into the room at that moment.
"I filled them in on the plan."
Buffy turned to him, smiling.
"Good! Spike, Angel, the good looking
girl, and the stuffy guy are at Giles' house." Said Kellin.
"Then I guess it's time to move
out!" said Oz.
"I'm just gonna try and get hold
of Riley" said Buffy.
******************************
Chapter eighteen
"I knew you would come!" Adam turned
to the cavern entrance.
"And now I'm here!" said Riley.
"You have come to kill me, I suppose."
"That's what I had planned, yeah!"
"I thought you would. Mother made
preparations for such an occurrence!" Adam removed a disk from his chest
drive, and placed it in the computer. A file opened, with Riley's name
heading it.
"I don't care what professor Walsh
planned for me. This is between you and me" Said Riley, walking towards
Adam with a gun in his hand.
"Stop!" Adam held up his hand, and
as he did, Riley found himself unable to move.
"Back up!" said Adam, Riley complied,
with a confused look on his face.
"Sit!" Again, Riley was unable to
resist the command.
"What the hells going on? How are
you doing this....?"
"Stop talking." intoned Adam.
Riley tried to speak, but couldn't.
He was unable to do anything without Adam's say so.
"You have come to avenge the death
of Forest." said Adam.
Riley said nothing.
"Speak!" said Adam.
"I came here to kill you because
you need to be killed." said Riley.
"Forest was killed because it was
part of mother's plan for all of us. Now I must continue those plans, and
Forest will help me."
"What do you mean, Forest will help
you.., you killed him."
"He died, and I gave him new life."
replied Adam.
"What do you mean you gave him...
"Stop talking! It will be easier
to show you."
Adam walked Riley through the caverns
to a steel door. He punched a code into the keypad next to the door, and
it opened. A bright light shone through the entrance. Riley wanted to cover
his eyes, but without Adam's command, he could not.
"This is Mother's dream." said Adam.
"Where are we?" asked Riley.
"In the Initiative"
"I've never been here."
"A secret laboratory. Nobody knew
about it beyond those who needed to...Mother kept her secrets well." said
Adam, approaching an occupied table.
A man was lying on the table, two
doctors standing around him. As Riley got closer he saw who the doctors
were.
"Professor Walsh...Dr. Angleman"
Said Riley
"They can't hear you. For all intents
and purposes they are dead." said Adam.
Riley knew Adam was telling the
truth. Their eyes were white, and tubes were pumping blood around their
bodies.
"Is that what your gonna do to me?"
asked Riley, afraid of the response.
"No. They are just workers. They
will bring new life to the first of my followers." replied Adam.
Abruptly, the man on the table sat
up. It was Forest, or at least part of him. The face, and one arm, were
that of Riley's friend, but the rest of the body was that of a yellow skinned
demon.
"Forest?"
"What's the matter Finn? Don't you
recognise your old buddy?" said Forest.
"It's not you! It cant be." said
Riley
"But it is me. Adam made me almost
as bad as him. I can't wait to try out your girl. He's gonna do the same
to you, once he's got a few choice parts!" Forest gave an evil laugh.
" I'll kill you." Said Riley
"You? You can't even move without
his say so." He nodded towards Adam.
"I can try!" Said Riley, moving
closer to Forest.
"Stop!" commanded Adam.
"Well, until you're part of the
team, I guess you'll just have to stay here," sneered Forest.
"Sit down on that chair!" said Adam.
Riley was forced to do as he was instructed.
"How have you done this...taken
control of me?" questioned Riley.
"Professor Walsh implanted the behaviour
modifier."
"She really did it? She put a chip
in my head?"
"Here actually... tethered to your
central nervous system, through your thoracic nerve." Adam pointed to the
left of Riley's chest.
"Forest, watch him. I must go and
implement the next part of the plan."
Riley watched Adam leave the lab
and the door close behind him then turned to Forest.
"What's the next part of the plan?"
he asked Forest.
"Cut the power in the Initiative,
let them wipe each other out, and then pick up the parts Adam needs for
his army."
"That's insane!" said Riley
"I know! And with any luck your
girl will be right in the middle of it.......
Chapter nineteen
"Where are Spike and Angel?" asked
Buffy
"Buffy..your mom called. There are
some vamps at the house. Angel and Spike went to sort it out" answered
Cordelia.
"But it's day-time! How did they
get over there?" wondered Oz.
"I do believe they have blankets,"
replied Wesley.
"I've gotta get over there," said
Buffy running to the door. It opened just as she got there.
"Buffy….." said Joyce.
"Mom what happened?"
"There was a knock at the door.
I opened it, and a vampire reached in to grab me. I managed to shut the
door and lock it, then I rang Mr Giles house, and Angel and Spike came
to help me." answered Joyce
"How did the vamp reach inside the
house?" asked Oz.
"Vampires that Nocoric has turned
himself have been known to be able to momentarily break through the barrier
of an occupied home. If they manage to get their heads through, they can
invite themselves in." said Kellin.
"Do you think it was a signal? To
tell me he's ready?"
"How many vamps were there?" Kellin
turned to Angel.
"Two." Angel replied.
"I'd say this was to test our response
time. See how long it would take us to get there, and how many of us their
are." said Kellin.
"Mom, until this is over, you'd
better stay here. In fact, that goes for all of you." Said Buffy.
"Buffy, it's possible this house
is being watched. They will have already identified it as our base of operations."
Kellin put in.
"We'll take a look around in a minute."
Buffy answered him.
"No need for that" Kellin closed
his eyes and began to reach out with his mind. He saw images of the area
around Giles house, something was crouching in a hedge, covered over with
a large coat. As he used his minds' eye to look closer, he saw the face
of a red skinned vampire.
"Xander, pass me that crossbow,"
said Kellin
As Xander handed him the crossbow,
Kellin opened the window
"What is it Kellin?" asked Buffy.
"There's one vamp watching us, from
that hedge," Kellin pointed in the direction of the lurking vampire.
" Your gonna pick it off from here?"
Buffy sounded unconvinced.
"It will attract less attention
than staking it right outside."
Kellin aimed the crossbow. Using
his minds eye again he checked where the vamp was now, and where he would
have to hit, then fired. The vampire in the hedge reared up momentarily,
and then combusted.
"Good shot!" praised Buffy.
"Now we have the first of our unstoppable
demons to slay" said Kellin.
"I'm not comfortable leaving mom
here Kellin, if there's a chance they might be able to get in."
"Why don't I come with you then?"
said Joyce" There isn't anywhere safer than with you, Buffy."
"Mom, it's not safe there."
"It may not be any safer in here"
mused Giles.
"There may be a way to make it safe
here." replied Kellin
"How?" Xander asked him.
"We could cast a Gatekeeper Spell
.I could do it, but I would need Willow to assist"
"Gatekeeper Spell? I've never heard
of it," said Willow.
"All we need is a picture of the
house, and something of everyone's," said Kellin.
"How does it work?" Giles asked.
"Well, the picture of the house
sets up the perimeter of the spell and.....
"The items will be our key to the
gate!" Willow interrupted him.
"How did you know?" Kellin asked
her.
"It works on the same principle
as a Locking Spell. A picture of the item you want to lock, and something
to act as a key" replied Willow.
"Pretty much… That way the only
people who can enter the house are those who have an item included in the
spell," said Kellin.
"So mom could stay here?"
"Actually, she would have to! One
person needs to stay behind, and be the gatekeeper. The spell will only
work if there is one of us in the house at all times." said Kellin.
"I'm not sure if I'm all that comfortable,
depending on witchcraft for my safety," said Joyce
"Mrs Summers, the only people who
could come into the house would be all of us," said Kellin.
"I don't trust witchcraft!"
"To be blunt, the spell is as much
for Buffy's protection as it is for yours. When Nocoric is ready for Buffy
to face him, he'll send vampires out to kill you. It happened to my parents,
and it will happen to you, unless you let us stop it." Kellin looked grim.
"Kellin!…." warned Buffy.
"I'm sorry, Mrs Summers...I'll…
be outside" Kellin stumbled towards the door.
"My god! This demon killed his parents
just to get his attention?" asked Joyce.
"Yeah, his parents, and most of
the people on his street." Willow answered her.
"Mom, I know you don't like magic,
but it's saved all our lives, loads of times. Now, all you have to do is
sit here, and wait for us to get back." said Buffy.
"What if this spell doesn't hold
and the vampires get in? I have no chance of stopping them." said Joyce.
"They wont! The spell will hold.
But, if it will make you feel any better, Spike can stay here."
"Bloody fantastic!" said Spike.
"Listen to me! Kellin may have promised
not to stake you, but I'm sure he would forgive me if I 'Slipped'. So,
just do what I damn well say" Buffy told him. "Or else…"
"I'd listen to her Spike. She's
having a bitch of a day. It would probably do her good to kick your chipped
head in." Kellin grinned.
"It's ok! Suddenly I'd feel safer
if you took Spike with you." said Joyce.
"Flipping charming!" muttered Spike
looking aggrieved.
"Ok! Let's do it!" said Buffy
******************************
The ingredients of the spell were all laid out on Giles' table. Together with a picture of the house lay Buffy and Kellin's Stakes, side by side with Spike's jacket, Angel's Claddagh ring, Giles and Wesley's watches, Willows necklace, Oz' wallet, Xander's candy bar, Cordelia's handbag, and Joyce's earrings. Everyone was sitting in a circle around the table.
"We bind these items to form the
lock. Only the owners of these items may penetrate the gate." intoned Willow.
"To this place, we apply the gate.
The entrance may only be passed by those named" added Kellin.
"Buffy....
"Willow...
"Xander...
"Giles...
"Joyce...
"Angel..
"Spike...
"Cordelia....
"Wesley....
"Kellin...
"Oz....
Each of the group spoke their own
names as they lit a candle placed in front of them.
"The gate is locked. The field is
solid. Joyce, keeper of the gate, I assign control of the key of the gate
to you. Do you accept this key?"
"I accept the key!" Joyce looked
more than a little nervous, but thoughts of her previous encounters with
Norcoric's henchmen kept her sitting at the table.
There was a flash as the candles
flames began to burn brighter, first Joyce's, then the others. One by one,
they burned stronger, and then suddenly extinguished themselves. The spell
was done. The house was now a safe area.
"Now that's done, anyone wanna say
something before we leave?" asked Kellin.
"Saddle up...lock and load" said
Xander.
"Nice!" commented Oz.
"Had to say it!" said Xander.
Chapter Twenty
"You know how to get in?" Kellin
asked Buffy
"Yeah" she replied, walking up to
the mirror in Lowell house.
"You should have powdered you nose
before we left." laughed Kellin.
"Funny...this is the elevator entrance"
said Buffy, kicking the mirror and smashing it.
"Cool, very James Bond."
"So how do we get down?" Xander
asked her "Your clearance is no good anymore."
"Why not just jump down?" said Kellin.
Buffy and Angel nodded in agreement
but Xander, Giles, Willow, Cordelia and Wesley all looked shocked.
"Anyone not fond of the idea of
losing everything below their pelvis, take one of these ropes" said Giles,
reaching into his bag and pulling out some climbing equipment.
"Sorry, didn't think!" said Kellin.
"How about, we go down, check it's
clear, then you can follow us on the ropes." said Angel.
"Good plan, but don't go to far
ahead. We don't want to get split up" Said Giles
"We'll just take out any guards
in the first corridor." said Buffy
"Ok, see you at the bottom" Willow
sounded more confident than she felt!
"Now remember, nothing fancy in
the drop, but I may give extra points for a creative landing," quipped
Xander.
"Xander, why don't you go down with
them? I'm sure it won't kill you that much!" Said Cordelia.
"You know, I really haven't missed
you." Xander replied.
"See you at the bottom!" Said Kellin
jumping down the shaft.
"He's cute!" whispered Cordelia
to Willow.
"Thanks, and remember, whispering
is no good when your talking about a telepath!" said Kellin, telepathically,
to Cordelia
"Damn it! I forgot he was telepathic."
Said Cordelia.
"Cordelia Chase with her foot in
her mouth. And me without a camera!" Said Xander
"Come on Lets get down there" Said
Buffy as she and Angel jumped of the ledge
"Greetings campers," said Kellin,
as Buffy and Angel landed next to him.
"Any soldiers about?" asked Angel.
"I'll have a look" replied Buffy.
"No need! I can do it from here."
Kellin closed his eyes and swept the area with his mind.
"He's a handy guy to have around!"
Angel nodded towards Kellin.
"He is!" Buffy answered him, "Very
handy."
"So where's Finn? Is he working
from inside?" asked Angel.
"I haven't been able to get hold
of him. I'm starting to get worried."
"I'm sure he's ok," said Angel.
"I'm not, Adam killed one of his
friends and I haven't seen him since. The drugs the Initiative used on
him still effect him. He stops thinking rationally when things like this
happen."
"Your right to worry about him."
said Kellin.
"Why? What have you found out?"
Buffy turned to face him.
"There's about thirty troops in
the surrounding corridors, and I can sense Riley in a lab across the complex,
with Adam."
"We have to get to him," said Buffy.
"Get to who?" asked Willow, jumping
off the end of the rope.
"Riley, Adam has him." answered
Buffy.
"Oh my god! Where is he?" Willow
asked her.
"In a lab across the far side. But
there's a lot of troops between us and him" Kellin answered.
"Kellin, can you keep tabs on him?"
"I can, but I won't be able to track
the troops in the corridors if I do,"
"We'll have to take that chance.
Come on guys!"
"Hey! Can't we catch our breath
first?" Xander swung down beside them.
"Come on, you sissy" said Cordelia,
following the rest of the group.
"Angel, help me get this door open."
said Buffy
"Is he ok?" Angel nodded at Kellin,
who seemed to be in a trance.
"He's just keeping tabs on Riley.
Were gonna have to guide him through." replied Buffy. She forced the door
open, only to be confronted by the group of soldiers on the other side.
"I was under the impression that
your clearance was no longer valid Ms. Summers." Said one of the guards.
"We don't have time for this," said
Angel.
"You're right. We don't!" added
Kellin, awakening from his trance.
"Who are you?" demanded the guard.
"I'm the guy who's about to make
you and your friends run into that wall."
Kellin tensed his fists and the
Initiative troops were all lifted off their feet and flung into the wall,
knocking most of them out
"Can you teach me that some time?"
asked Xander
"It's simple. Find a telepathic
demon, pull out it's spine, and you to can have a power just like mine!"
"Kellin, which way now?" shouted
Buffy.
"The only access I can find is through
a door in the main chamber, number 314." replied Kellin.
"Once we get there, me, Kellin and
Angel will go ahead. You guys stay in around 314, and try to help the troops."
said Buffy as the power cut off.
"Kellin, can you see into the holding
area?" Giles asked him.
"Yeah, it's not good there, all
the cages are open." answered Kellin.
"Then we don't have much time. Come
on!" Buffy ran towards the main chamber, everyone else right behind her.
As they reached the main chamber
the smell was unbearable.
"Uhhh! What is that?" Willow wrinkled
her nose in disgust.
"Tazers at full power!" shouted
Kellin.
"Full power? You mean to kill?"
asked Willow.
"As in Tazers no longer set to stun.
If anyone of you gets hit it will kill you instantly".
"As soon as you're in there find
cover and....."
"Buffy? What is it?" asked Giles.
"See for yourself" answered Buffy,
looking out onto the massacre that was going on before them.
Demons were everywhere, pouncing
on troops and feeding off them. The few troops that managed to stand their
ground didn't last long, nor did the ones who ran in fear.
"There's the door for the 314 lab"
said Buffy.
"You guys stay by the entrance.
If things get heavy, you can fall back into the lab." Kellin instructed
them.
"On three" Said Buffy
One...
Two...
Three...!
The gang burst through the doors
and ran to the 314 lab. Giles hit a demon with his weapons bag, and Xander
shot it with the Tazer. A group of three, lizard- like demons ran towards
Kellin. He stopped in front of them, and telekinetically flung them into
the pit in the centre of the chamber. There was a demon in front of the
door, Buffy tossed her stake at it and hit it in the heart. It hit the
floor and the gang stepped over it, as Kellin closed the door of the 314
lab behind them.
"Change of plan." Buffy looked around
at the rest of the gang. "You guys stay in here, and take care of any demons
that get in.".
"Where's the door to the secret
lab?" asked Angel.
"I'll find out now." answered Kellin.
"Don't worry, I can find it, without
being telepathic!" Xander was busy feeling the wall.
"So can I. I'm gonna hazard a guess
that it's that part of the wall with hinges." said Willow.
"I knew that!" said Xander.
"Ok, I guess it's time to go" Buffy
opened the door and the others followed her through it.
Chapter Twenty-one
" Which way now?" Angel asked Kellin.
"As far as I can tell, it's down
that corridor, then down a ladder, and we're there!"
"Great! Only one corridor away from
our bloody and horrible deaths!" muttered Spike.
"Spike! Shut it or I break it."
said Kellin.
"Kellin, can you still sense Riley?"
Buffy asked.
"He's in the main chamber, the one
we're about to enter. There are three other people with him."
"Can you tell who they are?" said
Angel.
" I can't! But Riley probably can"
replied Kellin.
"Can you reach him telepathically?"
"I think I can, but I may have to
do a mind switch." said Kellin.
"A What????" said Buffy.
"I will hear, see and speak through
his body, and he will do the same through mine." Kellin told her.
"So he'll be able to tell us what's
going on in that room? Through your body? And you will be able to scope
out the room and come up with a battle plan from his?" Buffy sounded more
than a little disbelieving.
"That's how it should work, only..."
"Only what?"
"The effects of a mind Switch don't
wear of quickly. I've seen them last for up to five days" answered Kellin.
"You mean… you could be in Finn's
body for 5 days?" Said Angel.
"No! Once the mind switch is broken
off, we would be in control of our own bodies again, but the telepathic
link that maintained the mind switch would still be there. Simply put,
we would be able to read each others minds!" said Kellin.
"We'll have to risk it. We can't
go in there without knowing who those people are." said Buffy.
"Are there any other risks to you
or Riley?"
"The longer the link lasts, the
longer the residual effects will last. The one I saw last for five days
was only maintained for about 2 minutes." said Kellin.
"We should only need a few minutes"
said Buffy.
"Ok I'll get started. One last thing,
when your finished with Riley, you have to tell him to say 'Release.' It
will allow him to leave my body and re-enter his." said Kellin.
"Will do!" Buffy confirmed.
Kellin closed his eyes and chanted
in a language that Buffy did not recognise.
"I know that language" whispered
Angel.
"Me too!" added Spike.
"What is it?" Buffy asked them.
" It's an ancient vampyric language,
rarely used anymore." Angel told her.
"It was used for ancient Vampire
magic. I don't think either the language or the spells have been used in
at least 1000 years" Spike put in.
"Then, how do you two understand
it?" asked Buffy.
"It's like a genetic memory, passed
down from sire to sired and so on," replied Angel.
"I hate to interrupt, but what the
hell is going on?" It was Riley's voice, but it spoke to them now through
Kellin's body.
"Riley are you alright?" Buffy asked
him.
"I'm ok! A little confused, but
ok!" replied Riley.
"Kellin did a mind switch so that
you could talk to us through his body. We need to know who else is in that
room before we move in."
"Professor Walsh and Dr Angleman
are in there, but they're no threat! Adams remade them like drones, and
Forest… well, the new Forest! Complete with brand new demon parts!" said
Riley
"What about Adam?" asked Angel.
"He's in the caves watching everything
going on in the Initiative."
"Right then. Get ready to go back
to your own body, then we can begin the attack." said Buffy.
"Hang on. If I control Kellin's
body, does that mean I have his strength and mental powers as well?" Riley
asked.
" I don't know, and there isn't
time to try it out. We have to get this done soon" Buffy answered.
"It won't take long to find out"
said Riley. He focused on a small rock about a metre away from him and
levitated it towards him.
"Hey, Soldier boy! We need to get
on. Bugger off to your own body." said Spike.
"No way! I'm gonna take Adam out
now!" replied Riley.
"Riley! You can't. Switch bodies
back, and stop being an idiot."
"I need to do this Buffy"
"What if you end up getting killed.
It's not your body to take the risk with." Buffy begged him.
"I'm doing this! He killed Maggie,
Forest and he's about to kill everybody up in the Initiative. I'm gonna
stop him now!" said Riley.
"You're not going out there in that
body Finn." said Angel.
"You're not gonna be able to stop
me, vampire" said Riley, pinning Angel to the wall telekinetically.
"Riley! No!"
"Buffy, let me do this"
"Buffy, if he won't give Kellin's
body up, we're gonna have to let him do it." said Angel.
"Alright! were going in" replied
Buffy.
Chapter Twenty-two
" Do you think they're in there yet?"
Xander asked.
"I don't know, " replied Willow
"I think they must be!"
"Giles? How's it going out there?"
Said Wesley
"The soldiers are managing to hold
the demons off, but it's getting worse. The demons regenerate, the humans
don't." Giles was looking grim.
"Do you think we should go out there
and help?" Oz put in.
"We don't have the weapons that
the troops do, and with that amount of demons, any sort of hand to hand
combat wouldn't last that long." Replied Giles.
"We should concentrate on keeping
the demons from getting through here. Adam obviously has a great deal of
control over them. There is no telling what they will do to protect him,"
said Wesley.
"So what's with this other demon?
Nacor…. is it?" asked Cordelia.
"Kellin killed him, and he was sent
to the demon dimension to heal. Now he's back….To kill Buffy!" Giles told
her.
"Do you know why? Is there any greater
purpose behind it?" asked Wesley.
"It should all be in that book you
brought with you from LA." Said Giles irritably, " I suggest you read it
at some stage in the near future!"
"Cordelia? Are you Ok?" Willow ran
towards her in concern.
Cordy was holding her head…."Wesley!
……VISION!!!!!!!"
Images began to force themselves
into her head, images of Buffy, Angel, Spike and Kellin, but then Kellin
became someone else, then changed back….. and suddenly it was over.
"Cordelia? What did you see?" Wesley
held her tightly as she came slowly back to reality.
"It was Angel and Buffy. And the
others……. there's something wrong with Kellin!" she told him.
"What do you mean? What's wrong
with him?" asked Giles.
"In my vision he……. became someone
else"
"Who did he become? What did they
look like?" Willow questioned her.
"A guy. Our age, blonde hair, in
…..like…. Army clothes?"
"Riley! How peculiar!" said Giles
"What could be causing that, I wonder."
"It was weird. Like, they were in
the same body!" Cordelia shook her head, disbelieving her own vision.
"How could that be possible?" asked
Oz.
"Perhaps Kellin is trying to reach
Riley, telepathically! " Giles suggested.
"But why would the PTB's warn me
about that?" Cordelia wondered.
"PTB's?????…… Who are the PTB's?"
asked Xander
"The Powers that Be. They send the
visions to Cordelia." Wesley answered him.
"Wesley? What should we do? The
visions they send to me are for Angel! Could that mean he's in danger?"
"It is possible." Wesley looked
thoughtful. "If, somehow, Riley and Kellin have switched bodies, then Riley
would be able to use Kellin's powers. Which means that he could kill Angel
in a second."
" And we all know that Riley doesn't
like Angel all that much!" Said Willow
"Should we go after them?" Xander
asked.
"There isn't anything we can do.
For whatever reason this is happening, we have to let it happen," replied
Giles." For the time being, all we can do is wait, I'm afraid."
Chapter Twenty-three
"Finn? What's up with you?" Forest
demanded.
"I'm being held prisoner by a demon!
Forgive me if I'm not that chatty." replied Kellin, now in Riley's Body.
"No! There's somethin' not right
with you! You're not the same person,"
"What do you mean?" Kellin asked
him.
"You're somethin' else. You're not
Riley anymore." stated Forest, shaking his head.
"You're right….. I'm not!"
"Then who are you?" Forest backed
away, suddenly wary of him.
"He's me," Said Riley still in Kellin's
body
"What the hell?" Said Forest "What's
going on here?"
"Funny you should mention Hell.
You have a one-way ticket there, Forest!" Said Riley, telekinetically ripping
off Forests' head.
"Angel, take out those two." Said
Buffy, moving across towards Kellin.
"I leave my body for an instant,
and you change the plan? What's up with that?" asked Kellin.
"Riley won't give up your body.
He wants to use your powers to kill Adam himself." Buffy replied.
"Can you break the telepathic link?"
Angel asked Kellin.
"No! It was my telepathic powers
that initiated the link. They have to be the one's to break it off! You
have to get Riley to say 'Release', or we'll both die" Kellin answered
him.
"What do you mean, die?" asked Buffy.
"Remember I warned you that the
link becomes less temporary, the longer it lasts?"
Buffy nodded, this was more Willow's
market than hers. She suddenly felt powerless. "Well if it lasts too long,"
Kellin continued, " The link will break on it's own, but our minds wont
be returned to the right body…. or remain in the other! They will just
disappear!"
"I'm going to find Adam." Said Riley
"Riley! Stop!" yelled Buffy.
Riley stopped on the spot, unable
to move.
"I really didn't expect that to
work," said Buffy, totally amazed.
"The Initiative put a control chip
in Riley's chest. Adam activated it. It makes him unable to stop himself
following vocal commands." Said Kellin.
"If it's in his body, how come it's
affecting yours?" asked Angel.
"The link only transmits Riley's
brainwaves to my body, so the chip still works." Kellin replied "Quick!
Order him to say Release"
"Riley! Say Release!" Buffy commanded.
"Release!" Said Riley, obediently.
Kellin and Riley both closed their
eyes then opened them again, almost immediately. Both, momentarily, looked
dazed and confused.
Kellin walked up to Riley, now back
in his own body.
"Do you feel that Riley? My thoughts
in your head? That's all your little pissing contest has done. It's given
us a telepathic link." Said Kellin
"I'm sorry! I needed to do this.
To kill him myself" Riley looked at the ground, embarrassed.
"That's not good enough Riley!"
Said Buffy
"It's ok Buffy! I understand what
he means." Said Kellin
" He stole your body! How can you
forgive him so easily?" Buffy asked him.
"I can, because I know how he felt!
Because I have felt it too, and so have you, when Faith poisoned Angel.
It's like having blinkers on!" answered Kellin.
"We should talk about this later.
Right now, we still have a demon to kill!" Angel reminded them.
"Just one thing" cut in Spike.
"What's that?" asked Buffy
"Riley! Slap yourself!" Spike ordered.
Riley slapped himself.
"Spike! You asshole!" Said Riley,
angry with himself as much as with the vampire.
"Two can play that game" Said Kellin.
He turned to Spike and fixed him with a stony glare. Without warning, Spike
punched himself on the nose.
"Oooowww!" Said Spike
"Thanks man!" Riley nodded at Kellin
and they shook hands, reluctant friends.
"Riley, you're no good here, with
that chip controlling you! Go up that ladder and follow the passage until
you get to a door. You'll find the others waiting for you." Buffy told
him.
Riley turned to go.
"What! You're not gonna argue?"
"He can't you fool. He's got a chip
telling him to do whatever anyone tells him to...Bloody idiot" Said Spike.
"Oh...Right" Said Buffy.
"STAY WHERE YOU ARE, RILEY FINN!"
Adam walked into the room.
"So, I take it this is Adam?" Kellin
moved towards him "Well, he is a handsome fellow!"
"Who are you?" demanded Adam.
"Would you believe the Easter bunny?"
Kellin reached out with his left hand, and closed his eyes. A wave expanded
from his hand, hitting Adam, pushing him back and then pulling him forward.
"How are you doing this?" Adam was
disorientated, almost losing his balance.
"Telekinesis! Gotta love it!" Said
Kellin, as he fisted his hand and pulled it towards his chest.
Adam clutched at his chest. As the
stitching began to split, a small, glowing green ball came out and hovered,
just in front of Kellin.
"NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" cried Adam falling
to his knees in agony.
"Don't you hate it when they scream?"
Kellin mocked him.
"What do we do with that?" Angel
was looking at the uranium core still floating in front of Kellin.
"I was thinking about getting a
piece of string, and wearing it around my neck!" Kellin laughed, "What
do you think?"
"We better take it back with us,"
answered Buffy. "Between Giles, Willow and Wesley, they should be able
to find a spell to destroy it safely."
"What about Adam?" Said Angel.
"Hey! I can take care of him." Said
Kellin.
"How" Said Buffy
"Flammae Immanes Fiant Ut Corpus
Iste Incendatur" chanted Kellin, watching Adams Body as it burst into flames.
"Ok, so you're a Slayer! You're
telepathic, telekinetic, and you do magic? Is there anything you don't
do?" Spike wondered.
"I don't dance!" Said Kellin, levitating
the uranium core over to the door.
"Come, on lets go," laughed Buffy.
Angel, Spike and Kellin followed her, leaving Adams corpse to burn.
"Shit! Almost forgot" said Kellin..."Riley,
follow me."
Chapter Twenty Four
"Master" Said Max
"I thought I made it clear. No interruptions!"
Nocoric's eyes glowed a deep, fiery red.
"I thought you would want to know,
I tapped into the Military installations computer network. The video feed
is up and running in the main chamber."
"Have you located the Slayer?" Nocoric
asked him.
"I have reviewed the footage. The
Slayer, The Teour, and two vampires were seen entering an unmonitored section
of the Base. They have not been seen since, but a number of mortals who
entered the facility with them are still in camera range." answered Max.
"The Slayer will return to the humans..
She has emotional attachment to them. It is, and always has been, the Slayer's
greatest weakness. "
"How should we proceed?"
"That's none of your concern!" Nocoric
turned away, dismissing Max with a wave of his hand.
Max was angry. "While you sit in
here meditating, I'm the one who has to keep 150 vampires from tearing
this town apart. I've run out of things to keep them quiet. So I think
it IS some of my concern!"
"Nobody has ever spoken to me like
that....EVER!" Nocoric raised his hands, ready to use his telekinetic powers.
Max backed away. "All that computer
equipment I stole is password protected, by me. Kill me, and you'll never
find the slayer!"
"I'll find her the old fashioned
way." sneered Nocoric, as he began to use his powers on Max.
"Somehow, I expected this to hurt
a little more than its doing right now," said Max,
unaffected by Nocoric's power.
"You are immune to my power! How
is that possible?" wondered Nocoric.
"There's too much of you in me,"
replied Max.
"Of course. You are the Chosen!"
Said Nocoric
"How can you be sure" Max asked
him
"The Harbinger said that the Chosen
would be immune to my powers. This means that he would be immune to The
Teour's powers, also!"
"So, I guess now you can let me
in on the plan?" Said Max
"It's simple. As the Chosen, you're
physical strength and mental awareness should be almost equal to mine."
stated Nocoric
" I don't feel any stronger?" Max
replied, "Are you sure about this?"
"There is a simple way to ascertain
the truth," Nocoric attempted to punch Max in the face, but Max easily
caught his arm.
"Impressive!" Said Nocoric
"I feel something at the back of
my head, behind my eyes. It has power! More power than you!" Said Max
"You should not be aware of Racothlor
before he takes control of your body." said Nocoric
"Takes over my body! How little
you understand of this. You pledged your life in service to an entity that
you don't even understand!" Max taunted him.
"What do you mean by that?" asked
Nocoric
"Racothlor is not a being. It has
no consciousness. It is power! It will not take over my body, it will fuse
with it!" Max answered.
"How do you know so much about Racothlor?"
Nocoric looked shocked,
"I can feel it pushing through.
Attempting to penetrate the dimensional barrier" Max was feeling good,
getting stronger by the minute.
"I must consult the Harbingers there
is much I do not know about the events that are occurring" Said Nocoric
"You do that" Max sat down in Norcoric's
chair and leaned back, his hands behind his head. "And I'll take over things
here."
He laughed out loud as Nocoric walked
over to the door and pulled it so hard in his anger, that it came off its
hinges.
"Why so touchy, my little lackey?"
Said Max
"I will never be your lackey...Hybrid!"
Nocoric replied, his eyes burning even brighter in his fury.
"Hybrid...I like that" Said Max
*************
"I have discovered the Chosen!" Said
Nocoric
"So soon?...this was not expected.
Are you sure?" The Harbinger questioned him.
"He is aware of Racothlor...He can
feel it around him, inside him" Nocoric explained.
"What do you mean….. it?"
"The Chosen, Max, says that Racothlor
is not a being, it is a power! And that when the time comes, it will not
take over his body, it will fuse with it!"
"How is it possible for him to know
anything about Racothlor?" the Harbinger was disbelieving.
" Not even the Harbinger Triad knows
that much about him. The only full record of the rituals are contained
in the writings of Nocoric, which cannot be opened until Racothlor himself
has risen"
"That is what we have assumed" replied
Nocoric.
"Speak your mind Nacor,"
"We have worked towards this event
using what little information we have about Racothlor. But it seems to
make sense, that myself and Max should be able to read the book now." Said
Nocoric "Do you not agree, Harbinger?"
"How have you come to this conclusion?"
Said the Harbinger
"The Slayer and The Teour can read
the book together, but they need not go through any rituals. They would
be able to gain enough information to defeat us!" Nocoric answered.
"How so?" asked the Harbinger.
"Knowledge is, and always has been,
the greatest weapon. They would know everything about the rituals, whilst
we would know next to nothing. I believe that Max and I should read the
book now, before Racothlor is invoked." Said Nocoric
"If you are incorrect, and you make
the attempt anyway, the Chosen will be destroyed. Quite possibly you as
well." The Harbinger told him.
"There is one person who I believe
will know.," said Nocoric
"That's right my friends there is
one "person" who knows!" announced Max, from behind them.
"Who is this insolent hybrid?" asked
the Harbinger.
"That's an answer in itself, Harb!
Do you mind if I call you Harb?..Of course you don't. I'm your master;
I can call you whatever I want!
Well, anyway, back to the point.
That's who I am… Hybrid! Can't very well go on to rule this puny sphere
with a name like Max, can I?" Said Hybrid
"So…. You are the Chosen?" The Harbinger
looked at Max with ill-disguised contempt.
"That's me!" replied Hybrid, an
evil grin spreading over his face. "But let's not stand on formalities
here, you can call me Master or Sir...What the hell! Why not just call
me GOD?"
"Before you get ahead of yourself,
Vampire! You should remember that this world already has a God, and I believe
he is someone your kind is not on the best of terms with." The Harbinger
held out his hand, a crucifix appearing in it.
"How dare you raise a weapon to
your Master? And such a puny one at that! I thought you two would have
figured it out by now," said Hybrid as he grabbed The Harbingers arm and
twisted it, removing the crucifix from his hand.
"Why does the crucifix not burn
your flesh?" Nocoric asked him, beginning to look nervous for the first
time.
"Not in the least! I'm no longer
a vampire, well,…. Physically I am, but none of the old Vampyric law applies
to me anymore." Said Hybrid
"So, you are immortal!" Nocoric
stated.
"Not in the least, but the only
way I can be killed is if my spine is removed." Said Hybrid
"So, just like me then." Said Nocoric
"Like you, I have two spine's, but
unlike you, removal of one doesn't make me go all weak and pathetic!" Hybrid
sneered.
"So how does removing your spine
kill you?" asked Nocoric.
"My own spine is the weapon. How
it can be used to kill me, is as yet unclear, but that is the only thing
that can kill me." replied Hybrid.
"You truly are the Chosen," Said
the Harbinger.
"The slayer does not stand a chance......"
added Nocoric.
Chapter Twenty-five
"Buffy? Are you all right? Did you
get Adam?" Willow ran to meet them as they came through the door.
"Yeah, we got him! All thanks to
Kellin. All I had to do was stand there and look pretty," Buffy looked
at Kellin and grinned.
"And Riley? Is he ok?" asked Giles.
"Yeah, he's ok!" replied Buffy.
"And Kellin, is he all right too?"
Cordelia joined in.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Said Kellin,
stepping through the door into the 314 lab.
"Cordelia had a vision. That you
were in some kind of danger, that you were switching bodies with someone."
Wesley answered him.
"Yeah! I did a mind switch with
Riley, to find out who was in the lab with him." Kellin looked over at
Cordelia. "You saw all that? In a vision? Wow!"
"But other than that it all went
good" Said Oz
"Yeah, it went bloody fantastic...can
I go now?" Spike was edging towards the exit.
"No chance! We still have to help
the Initiative troops." said Buffy.
"How have they been holding up?"
asked Angel.
"Not so well. I think we should
get out there soon" replied Giles.
"What about Riley?" Said Kellin
"What about Riley? I thought you
said he was ok!" Said Willow
"He has a chip" Kellin informed
them.
"I knew it!" Said Xander.
"It's ok. It's not a bad chip, it
just gives him a bit of a problem." Said Buffy
"What kind of problem?" asked Giles.
"Oh you have to see it! Its neat.!
Riley, go give Giles a kiss." Said Spike, wickedly.
"Ahhh" Said Giles as Riley approached
him.
"Riley! Stop!" shouted Buffy, just
in time to avoid a very dodgy moment.
"I'm guessing it's some kind of
control chip then." Giles muttered to himself
"How do we get it out?" asked Willow.
"Kellin can do it" Said Riley.
"Hey, I'm no doctor, and the only
chips I have experience with are covered in salt and wrapped in paper"
Kellin replied.
"I don't mean surgically. You can
just pull it out...with your powers!" Riley told him.
"What makes you think I can just
pull that thing out of your chest?" asked Kellin
"Because I just saw you do it down
there" replied Riley.
"Yeah! Two minor differences! One,
he was a demon, and two, it killed him!" Said Kellin. " Did you forget
that bit?"
"You know you can do it! Please!
This is so humiliating....." Said a voice in Kellin's head
"I should have known you were gonna
make use of this telepathic link...ok I'll do it but it's gonna be painful"
Said Kellin over the telepathic link.
"Is it weirding anybody else out
that they have been staring at each other for about a minute?" asked Xander.
"They have a telepathic link." Said
Angel.
"You guys look away! I'm gonna take
out the chip" Kellin woke up from his trance.
"Is he gonna bleed? Because if your
gonna leave it to drip on the floor...." put in Spike.
"Spike, I've had just about enough
of your shit!" Kellin telekinetically picked Spike up off the ground, and
held him upside down.
"Oh bloody hell...I've gotta learn
to keep my mouth shut" Said Spike
"Wait Kellin you don't know what
damage you may cause if you just pull that thing out" Said Wesley
"I don't care this thing has to
come out now" Said Riley
"How about I just deactivate it"
Said Kellin
"What do you mean" Said Buffy
"I could stop the chip working but
not move it" Said Kellin
"Would that work" Said Willow
"It should if it does then Riley
will be good to go in about a minute and he can get the chip removed by
someone who knows what there doing" Said Kellin
"Sounds like a plan to me" Said
Xander
"Whatever we do we should do it
soon the troops are losing ground" Said Oz
"Lets go then" Said Kellin walking
towards the exit
"What about the chip Kel" Said Riley
"I've already took care of it" Said
Kellin
"Are you sure I don't feel any different"
Said Riley
"There's one way to find out...
Riley punch Spike" Said Xander
Spike tried to get away but because
he was still being held upside down above the ground by Kellin's powers
he was unable to protect himself from Riley's fist speeding towards his
face
"So it didn't work" Said Willow
"Yeah it worked" Said Kellin smiling
at Riley
"I'm sorry I couldn't help myself"
Said Riley
"We'll isn't that nice would you
let me down already" Said Spike
"Sure Spike I'll let you down right
now" Said Kellin
"I don't like the way you said that"
Said Spike as he plummeted towards the floor
"Nice one Kel" Said Riley
"Lets get this done" Said Buffy
As Buffy, Willow, Xander, Oz, Giles,
Wesley, Cordelia, Angel and Spike left the room Kellin stopped Riley infront
of the door
"Riley why do you keep calling me
Kel" Said Kellin
"Sorry it's just I have your memories
in my head and it feels natural to call you Kel that's what your friends
used to call you and I feel like one of your friends because I know so
much about you" Said Riley
"I don't wanna cause a problem but
I would really like it if you tried to leave my memories alone" Said Kellin
"It's too late I already know all
about Darkstar and everything" Said Riley
"Right then...But if you tell anyone
about it then I will cause a problem and you know I'm serious" Said Kellin
walking towards the door
"Why don't you want the others to
know you what happened wasn't your fault" Said Riley
"That's not for you to say whether
it was my fault or not I still let it happen" Said Kellin walking out of
the door
***************
The battle was long....Demons killing
soldiers, Slayer's killing vampires in the end there was no victor. Each
side withdrew when their numbers began to dwindle three hours after the
holding cells had been breached the initiative was left devoid of life,
smoke filled the air from the fires that had begun during the battle but
where now going out. The initiative lab had lost it's luster the facility
which had always been so clean, so ordered was now dark, damaged....littered
with equipment and corpses some were human some were not... but out of
the many that had fallen some had survived and with the aid of the Slayer's
and their friends they had escaped the world had been saved from the threat
of another demon but everyone knew that it would be under threat again........
Chapter twenty-six
England 1998
It had been a month since Kellin had transformed himself into Darkstar...a month since his parents had died.. a month since he had shed all but one of his emotions his anger had been the fuel for his slaying he had done it better in the last month than he had in the first three. Darkstar had proven to be the best move he could have made he was so much closer to killing Nocoric that he had been as the Teour, all things considered things had been going well, but now in the face of these two vampires it all began to fall apart and he became Kellin again......
"This isn't possible" Said Kellin
"Of course it is Kel" Said The Male
vampire
"You were dead I saw you" Said Kellin
"Yes you saw us but did you really
pay any attention to your other senses" Said The Female vampire
"I would have known if you had been
turned" Said Kellin
"But you didn't and we were" Said
The Male vampire
"How sad that you have all these
senses all these powers and you were unable to tell that your mum and dad
had been remade by your worst enemy" Said Kellin's Mother
"Mum, Dad I'm sorry I didn't know....I'm
so sorry" Said Kellin with a tear in his eye
"Sorry why would you be sorry Kel,
me and your father have such better lives now we are dead" Said Kellin's
Mum
"No you aren't my parents your demons,
my parent are dead" Said Kellin
"Don't talk to your mother like
that son" Said Kellin's Father
"You are not my parents" Said Kellin
"Then kill us then.. theirs only
two of us and the way you've been going over the last month you should
be able to dust us in a heartbeat" Said Kellin's Mother
"I'll do that" Said Kellin swinging
his stake in a downward motion bringing it to a stop millimetres from his
mothers chest
"What's the matter Teour if were
just demons why cant you kill them" Said Kellin's Mother
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry I didn't
sense it when I found your bodies.. I could have ended this before it began"
Said Kellin stepping back from his parents
"What your going to leave us here"
Said Kellin's Father
"We know you have been getting help
from an organisation.. we also know that you have a great deal information
on Nacor in that building and that there are people squatting in there"
Said Kellin's Mother pointing to the building behind Kellin "We will destroy
all your research and drain the humans if you leave us here"
Kellin walked away ignoring his
parents
"KELLIN listen to your Mother...
"KELLIN......
"KELLLLLLIIIINNNNNN............
Chapter Twenty-seven
"KELLIN listen to your Mother...
"KELLIN......
"KELLLLLLIIIINNNNNN............
Kellin and Riley both awoke from
their sleep at the same time, they had been sleeping on chairs on opposite
sides of Giles living room but something had awoken them both....
"What's wrong guys" Said Xander
"Nothing" Riley put in before Kellin
could speak "There must be a breeze in here"
"Well it's good your awake" Said
Giles who had just entered the room "Myself, Wesley and Willow have authenticated
the book you and Buffy should try to read it soon"
"Then lets get to it" Said Kellin
"Joyce had made some food you should
both try to eat while we have a chance" Said Giles
"The sooner we read the book the
sooner we can kill Nocoric then I'll eat" Said Kellin
***************
Buffy and Kellin were alone in the
living room the writings of Nocoric infront of them on the table
"So you wanna open it" Said Kellin
"Not really...But we have to" Said
Buffy
"I'm just don't like the idea of
finding out any more stuff about 'The destiny of the Teour' " Said Kellin
"All the prophecy stuff wiggs me
out as well but we gotta find out what's going on with Nocoric" Said Buffy
"Yeah I guess" Said Kellin opening
the book
"Well I guess you didn't have to
worry about learning anything new" Said Buffy looking at the blank pages
"There must be something in here....we'll....we
will....have....
"Kellin what wrong" Said Buffy alarmidly
"The book..... is giving of ......
telepathic energy were gonna.....get pulled into another.....another....
Buffy stopped hearing Kellin's voice
as a white light surrounded her ....
***************
"Kellin are you here" Said Buffy
trying to look around through the bright light
"I'm here...wherever here is" Said
Kellin walking to where Buffy's voice had come from
"Ahhh I was wandering when you would
arrive" Said a voice all around them
"Who are you" Said Buffy shielding
her eyes from the light" Said Buffy
"I am Nobody, Everybody, Nothing
but also everything I have lived everywhere for all time but live only
here and now I am Tec'Natour" Said Tec'Natour as the light dimmed out and
Tec'Natour approached the two
"We wish to know about Nocoric"
Said Kellin
"All in good time Teour but first
how many of you are there" Said Tec'Natour
"How many of who" Said Kellin
"The Teour's how many have been
created" Said Tec'Natour
"There's only me" Said Kellin
"What about her" Said Tec'Natour
pointing at Buffy
"She's Buffy she is the Slayer"
Said Kellin
"Slayer Teour they are both one
and the same" Said Tec'Natour
"I guess that's one way of looking
at it" Said Buffy
"It is the only way to look at it....
NOW HOW MANY OF YOU ARE THERE" Said Tec'Natour
"Well there's me, Buffy and Faith
is it... so that makes three" Said Kellin
"Only three.. why have you only
summoned three" Said Tec'Natour
"Were not in on the summoning...were
the summoned" Said Buffy
"But you have the power to bless
others as you have been blessed" Said Tec'Natour
"What are you talking about" Said
Kellin
"You know nothing of this do you"
Said Tec'Natour
"Nothing of what" Said Buffy
"How are you suppose to stop the
fusing if there are only three of you" Said Tec'Natour
"How many of us were you expecting"
Said Kellin
"There should be hundreds, the Teour's
were suppose to defend this world" Said Tec'Natour
"We do, we defend this world from
vampires demons stuff like that" Said Kellin
"How can you measly three defend
a whole planet" Said Tec'Natour
"Hey if you don't like the system
you should take it up with the chooser's, the powers whatever you want
to call them they decided how it was gonna be they decided it should be
like this" Said Buffy
"The Powers did not decide I did
and I decided that it would be much different that this" Said Tec'Natour
"What do you mean" Said Kellin
"I guess I should start at the beginning
it will be easier that way" Said Tec'Natour
"Go on" Said Kellin
"I trust you know the story of how
vampires came to be" Said Tec'Natour
"The last demon to leave the world
mixed his blood with a human to create vampires" Said Buffy
"The demon you speak of was called
Racothlor he was not the last to leave this world I was" Said Tec'Natour
"What do you mean" Said Buffy
"The story you know about the creation
of vampires misses out some of the most important details" Said Tec'Natour
"What details" Said Kellin
"Thousands of years ago demons and
humans shared the world but for some unknown reason demons began to leave
this plane, after most had gone only few remained I was one of the remaining
as was my brother Racothlor.. Racothlor had devoted his life to evil he
had planned to rule this world for eternity but had been unable to achieve
that goal with all the other demons trying to attain the same thing, needless
to say he was not happy to learn that he was going to die, while he had
been devoting his life to evil I had devoted mine to good I had defended
the humans became their friends and despite there limited capacity I liked
them and decided that if I was to die then I had to make sure I was the
last to go so that Racothlor could not harm them" Said Tec'Natour
"That was very noble of you" Said
Kellin
"I thought so but while I was only
thinking of protecting them from Racothlor he was planning to use them
for his rebirth" Said Tec'Natour
"What do you mean" Said Buffy
"This is the part that you know
Racothlor drank from a human and made him a vampire he planned to leave
them on this world as his legacy" Said Tec'Natour
"What did you do" Said Buffy
"When I learned what he had done
I went to the 'powers' I told them I would leave my power to them to control
but they must pour it into two vessels a human male and female who would
defend the world" Said Tec'Natour
"You created the Slayers" Said Buffy
"The Teour's Actually the word Slayer
is a human word that scarcely describes your power" Said Tec'Natour
"Carry on" Said Kellin
"I was able to remain on earth as
Racothlor was to see the beginnings of our creations and as I had planned
two Teour's were chosen they were more powerful than even I had imagined
and adaptive two as the Vampires grew in number so did the Teour's" Said
Tec'Natour
"You mean there were more that two
at a time" Said Kellin
"There was always met to be more
than two at a time I had planned that the Teour's could bless human's with
the same power" Said Tec'Natour
"We can turn people into Slayer's...I
mean Teour's" Said Buffy
"It was possible but I don't believe
it is now" Said Tec'Natour
"Why not" Said Kellin
"Do you realise that you only use
a fraction of the power that was bestowed on you" Said Tec'Natour
"What do you mean" Said Kellin
"The Teour's I created were ten
fifth-teen times as strong as you two are now that's why you can no longer
turn humans to Teour's you don't have the strength to" Said Tec'Natour
"Why don't we" Said Buffy
"I can only guess that when the
vampires became weaker so did the Teour's" Said Tec'Natour
"That can't be true" Said Buffy
"Why not" Said Kellin
"Because for all we know this is
part of Nocoric's plan" Said Buffy
"I cannot offer you any more proof
than my word, but now is not the time to discuss this you have come to
learn how to defeat Nacor" Said Tec'Natour
"Yeah that's what we came here for"
Said Kellin looking at Buffy who was obviously shaken by what she had just
learned
"By this time I would guess that
Nocoric had discovered his chosen" Said Tec'Natour
"His chosen who is that" Said Kellin
"The chosen is a vampire who will
hold Racothlor's essence" Said Tec'Natour
"His essence I thought this whole
thing was about Racothlor's rebirth" Said Buffy
"In a way, as I said before I left
my essence, the core of all my strength to the Powers Racothlor also left
his essence behind to be used by evil" Said Tec'Natour
"Who did he leave it with" Said
Kellin
"Racothlor's essence was left with
the harbingers of evil they were demons who phased in and out of your dimension
they serve evil the first evil" Said Tec'Natour
"Yeah I've seen them" Said Buffy
"You have!! can you describe them"
Said Tec'Natour
"Demon's with robes and no eye's"
Said Buffy
"They are the Bringer's the true
Harbingers are much more powerful" Said Tec'Natour
"So how is this all gonna go down"
Said Kellin
" Once Racothlor and myself had
left this world we could never come back only our essence can re-enter
this dimension the Chosen will become impervious to any usual methods stakes,
beheading there is only one way they can be killed" Said Tec'Natour
"How" Said Buffy
"Their spine is the only weapon
that can kill them" Said Tec'Natour
"How do we use their spine" Said
Buffy
"Once you have removed it you will
know how" Said Tec'Natour
"I want to know more about all of
this the Teour's" Said Buffy
"There is no time the battle is
about to begin" Said Tec'Natour
"What do you mean...Is Nocoric coming"
Said Kellin
"There is no time....NO TIME.....
****************
A high pitched noise rang through
Giles house awakening Buffy and Kellin from their trance and causing everyone
else to leave what they were doing and run to the source which was the
pile of personal items the group had used to create the gatekeeper spell
"What's going on" Shouted Oz over
the noise
"Something is trying to get through
the barrier" Said Kellin
"It's so loud cant you shut it off"
Said Joyce covering her ears
"Who is it" Said Xander
"Vampires of the red skinned variety"
Said Riley looking out of the window" There's ten that I can see"
"What do we do... can they get through
it" Said Buffy
"I believe the barrier it safe against
physical penetration but someone with the correct magical expertise could
create an opening in the barrier" Said Giles
"Would Nocoric have that expertise"
Said Willow
"It's possible I cant be sure" Said
Kellin
"If only Angel and Spike were here
we could take them" Said Buffy as it had been daylight when they had left
the initiative Spike and Angel had spent the day in the initiative caves
and as the sun had only set ten minutes ago they wouldn't be here for a
while
"Is there any way we can strengthen
the barrier" Said Willow picking up a magic book
" The key to the barriers perimeter
is the picture if we trim away the guardian and the sky above it that would
tighten the barrier make it more concentrated" Said Kellin
"But will we have to bring the barrier
down to change it like we did when we included Riley in it" Said Buffy
"No the barrier will stay up" Said
Kellin
" Well lets do it" Said Buffy
"Rupert here" Said Joyce as she
passed Giles a small pair of scissors from her bag
As Giles took a pair or scissors
to the picture the barrier could be seen glowing blue then retracting towards
the house the vampires taking it as a sign that the barrier had collapsed
charged towards the house only to smack into the barrier in it's new position
only centimetres from the wall
" Well that was easier that I expected"
Said Buffy
"Kel" Shouted a voice from outside
"God no" Said Kellin running to
the door
"Kellin what's wrong...what is it"
Said Buffy
"Was that who I think it was" Said
Riley following Kellin to the door
Kellin opened the door to reveal
his mother in vamp form standing just beyond the barrier
"You didn't think this was over
did you" Said Kellin's mother as she blew a green powder from her hand
into the house it spread through the rooms as it came into contact with
Kellin, Buffy and the others they all lost conciseness and fell to the
floor
"Entaru Klendessu Tracorum Enturdie"
Said Kellin's mother as the barrier came down and with a little effort
she was able to force herself into the house
"Come on in boys and Girls we want
everyone but Kel" Said Kellin's Mother
"This is it... Racothlor is finally
going to rise and Kel will finally be brought down to us" Said Kellin's
Father with Giles and Riley over his shoulders
"Yes he will...and Darkstar will
finally return......to us" Said Kellin's mother as she picked up Xander
and Willow and followed the others out of the door
Chapter twenty-eight
"Kellin...Kellin wake up!" Angel
knelt over Kellin, who was lying prostrate in the open doorway to Giles
house.
"Is he dead?" Spike stopped his
rummaging through Giles' fridge. "Cos if he's dead, then I can eat him."
"He's coming to." Angel told him.
"Wha...What happened?" asked Kellin
,struggling to rise.
"I was kind of hoping you could
tell me." Angel answered, helping Kellin to his feet." We just found you
like this."
"Where are the others?" Kellin looked
around the room, confused.
"I don't know." replied Angel.
"They must have taken them!" Said
Kellin
"Who? Nobody can get in. Because
of the spell!"
"My Pa...Some vampires came… they
blew a dust through the door… I think it was Trall powder" Said Kellin
"Trall powder? I've never heard
of that…What is it?" Angel asked him.
"It's a powerful airborne tranquilliser.
It must have knocked you all out" laughed Spike.
They used a spell to bring down
the barrier" Kellin shook his head. "Anyway, Trall powder is so fine, it
would have found its way in somehow, over the top, or through any tiny
chink"
"So, they knocked you all out with
the powder, but still… wouldn't the barrier protecting a home have stopped
them entering?" Asked Angel
"Nocoric's vampires can penetrate
that home barrier with a little effort
"Why didn't you stake them? You
were right by the door." Spike asked him.
"It's complicated" Kellin walked
over to the weapons chest.
"What do you mean, complicated?"
asked Angel, watching him, suddenly suspicious.
"It's complicated, because the vampire
who blew the powder in, was my mother!" Kellin looked Angel straight in
the eye.
"I thought Nocoric killed your parents"
Said Angel.
"I never told anybody this, but
I encountered my parents a month after they had 'died'. They wanted me
to kill them… said that if I didn't , they would go on to kill a family
of squatters in a nearby building." Kellin paced the room,
"I'm guessing that you didn't kill
them!" said Spike. "What with them being here, kidnapping people and all!"
" I couldn't kill them!… I just
couldn't do it at that time!…I mean… how do you kill your own parents?"
Angel looked at the floor.
" But I thought that I had, later,
when I attacked Nocoric's lair!" Kellin ran his hands through his hair,
distracted.
"They must have survived, somehow,
and come here, to find you!" said Angel. "Maybe they want you to finish
the job?"
"WHY THE F*** COULDN'T I JUST KILL
THEM WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE" yelled Kellin, punching a hole through the
wall of Giles' house.
"You couldn't be expected to kill
your own parents" Angel told him, unable to meet his eyes.
"Darkstar could have!" Said Kellin.
"Who's Darkstar?" Spike asked, suddenly
interested in the conversation.
"When my parent's were killed I
made myself into a different person. I severed all my attachments with
people. All I did was hunt and kill vampires." Kellin was pacing the room
again.
"That's not the answer." Said Angel,
quietly.
"Why not?" Kellin stopped his pacing
and turned on Angel.
" I did better when I was Darkstar
the last time, I might as well do it again!"
"Because, if you have no connections
with people, you stop caring about them, and after a while, if you don't
care about people, you have no reason to keep protecting them." Angel gripped
Kellins' shoulders, to emphasise his point. "And then you really will know
darkness!"
"How else can I kill them?" Kellin
shook himself free of Angels grasp.
"By remembering that you're not
killing them, you're killing the thing that killed them" Said Angel
" Easier to say than to do!" Said
Kellin.
"You know, it's not like they're
even… like… your parents anymore..." Spike couldn't resist joining in.
"Would you let your parents manipulate you like this…I mean…If they weren't….Vampires?"
"Well… no! But...."
"Hey! No 'buts'! You don't have
to kill your parents! You just have to kill the things that are sub-letting
their bodies!" Spike strutted over from the kitchen, obviously pleased
with his analysis of the situation.
"Thanks Spike! For once, you're
right" Kellin looked suddenly relieved.
"Apparently, he is!" Angel was trying
hard to hide his smile.
"Well! Don't sound so surprised,
Angelus. I can brood with the best of them!".
"Thanks Spike! I won't forget what
you've done here." Kellin walked over to him, ready to shake his hand.
"Well… if you feel that you owe
me in any way… I have this big old army chip in my head, that you could
sort for me?" Spike looked downwards, giving Kellin access to the top of
his head.
"Sorry Spike! If I did that, I would
have to kill you, and I don't like to kill people who've done favours for
me." Kellin was grinning now.
"Well! This is bloody priceless!
I get all mushy with you, and you can't even bring yourself to turn off
the chip in my head...! You sorted out 'Soldier Boys' chip, and all he
had to do was steal your body!" Said Spike, disgruntled.
"Spike, we're gonna go off now,
and fight and kill hundreds of demons. You know what that is?" Kellin asked
him.
"What?" Grunted Spike.
"A massacre" answered Kellin.
"Your right. It is!" Spike cheered
up, suddenly. "And that's the sort of fun I like having. Let's go kill
some demons....come on… let's go… Now!"
"Hello?… Xander....Giles....Scoobies?"
shouted Anya, walking through the front door of Giles house.
" What are you doing here?" Angel
walked towards her. "Who are you?"
"Oh it's Angel!.. Why is Angel here?
And why isn't Xander? He doesn't go anywhere else! If he's not in his pit,
then he's here! Where is he?" Rambled Anya.
"It's Ok!" Spike looked bored, "It's
little Xander's woman!" .
"Oh… He's not little! "replied Anya.
"I'd say… moderate!"
Angel and Kellin looked at each
other and frowned.
"So you're Anya!" Said Kellin, amused.
"Yeah! Now…Where's Xander?" Anya
stepped into the room, looking around.
"Xander? Oh yeah! Demon's got him!"
Spike stared at the ceiling, apparently unconcerned.
"What???? Why do demons always take
him? Why can't he just get hit on the head a lot… like Giles?" Anya looked
annoyed.
"They're all gone, actually." Angel
told her.
"We're gonna go get them!" reassured
Kellin.
"That's good! Who are you… by the
way?" Anya looked at Kellin for the first time.
"I'm Kellin! I'm a slayer!"
"Ahhh!… You are a very masculine
female!" Anya tilted her head and looked Kellin up and down.
"I'm a male slayer" Kellin looked
momentarily phased.
"Well… that's new!" Anya smiled
at him.
"Can we go now? We have a massacre
to go to!" Spike interrupted.
"Which demon has them?" Anya asked
them.
"Nocoric!" replied Kellin
"You're kidding?… Nacor?" Anya was
horrified.
"You know Nocoric? How?" Kellin
asked her.
"She was a demon!" stated Spike.
"Demon?" Angel was confused again.
"Was?" questioned Kellin.
"I was a Vengeance Demon...but I'm
not now!" Anya told them.
"Well ,that's new" Kellin laughed.
"What are you now? No, listen! Enough of that, what do you know about Nocoric?"
"I was in a small village in Germany.
This woman wanted me to make her husband eat himself! Ew! Well… Nocoric
was there… trying to kill a guy, and this guy did a spell, to make all
his vampires turn to dust, and…"
"Wait," Angel stopped her flow of
words. "Do you remember the spell?" he asked her.
"Tretarna calte martinera...
"Woah there!" Spike held up his
hands. " Lets not recite the ancient vampire dusting spell in front of
the vampires!"
"Don't worry, I only remember the
Latin. The rest was some other language." Said Anya.
"I'm gonna see if I can find it....we
could take care of the vamps without even going near them." Said Kellin
"So, I guess we hit the books" Angel
moved over to Giles' bookshelf.
"I guess so!" Kellin joined him."
"Has it occurred to any of you,
that if the spell was in those books, then Rupert would already know about
it?" put in Spike.
"Giles is barely competent!" Anya's
tone was scathing. "He only reads 5 Human languages"
"That may be so!" Angel found himself
agreeing with Spike for once. "But a spell that can dust vampires would
be pretty well known among watchers, and vampires."
"Ok! So how else are we gonna find
out about this spell?" asked Kellin.
"The powers may know, but I can't
reach them without the summoning chamber, and that's in LA!" Angel answered
him.
"I could try and contact the Circle."
Said Kellin.
"No need.... the circle is already
here" Said Whistler standing just outside Giles front door
"Whistler? What are you doing here?"
Said Angel
"I'm here to tell you what to do...actually,
more like what not to do"
"Do you know about the spell ?"
Kellin asked him.
"Forget about the spell, Teour.
It can't be cast anymore" replied Whistler.
"Why not?" asked Angel
"The man who performed that spell,
gave his life to the powers, so that they would give him the ability to
do it" Whistler told him.
"So it's a trade! You have to give
something to the powers, so that they will give you the spell in return."
Said Kellin.
"Even if you did give up your life
to the powers, that spell won't work again. It was a once only deal."
"But …they will trade something
else," Kellin continued. "Won't they?
"Whatever your thinking, there's
got to be another way to go about it without sacrificing yourself" Said
Angel
"I have no intention of sacrificing
myself!" Kellin answered. "I have something else to give them."
"What?" questioned Anya.
"Theres no time to go through all
this. Whistler, can you get me an audience with the powers?" Kellin asked.
"I can't get you that far up the
line, but I can get you to someone who will give you what you want!" replied
Whistler.
"Then lets do it"
"Ok" Said Whistler, putting his
hand on Kellin's forehead.
**************
Kellin closed his eyes. From somewhere
far away, he sensed that Angel had caught him as his legs gave way beneath
him, but he still felt as if he was falling, falling deeper and deeper
into a chasm… it seemed as if he would never stop falling…
With a thud he hit the marble floor
of a temple!
"If I'm not really here, then why
the hell did that hurt so much?" Kellin grimaced at the pain in his shoulder.
"Because the physical plane is not
the only one you walk in." A male voice came at him from, seemingly, nowhere.
"As you stopped feeling in the one,
you began to feel in this other" a female voice joined in.
"Who are you?" asked Kellin , struggling
to his feet with difficulty.
"We are the Oracles" the male voice
told him.
"Did you bring me a gift?" the female
asked.
"Was I supposed to?" Kellin looked
from one to the other, in confusion. "No one told me that bit…Sorry!"
"The vampire didn't either...the
first time. He should have warned you. The warriors of your world have
forgotten the code!"
"How about my coat?" Kellin began
taking off his leather jacket. " Will that do?… I don't have anything else
to offer you…"
"It will suffice, although I have
no need for it...I never leave here!" she whisked Kellins' coat from his
hand before he could change his mind.
"I'm here to offer you a trade."
Kellin informed them.
"We have no interest in barter"
The male oracle eyed him disdainfully.
"I know that you did trade with
a human, some years ago! His life, for a spell, to kill vampires? Surely
you remember that one!"
"Of course we remember, we know
everything! But I also remember that there were extenuating circumstances
on that particular occasion." The male oracle avoided looking Kellin straight
in the eye.
"What kind of circumstances" Kellin
asked him.
"If that being had not given his
life at that time, you would never have become a Teour, and Nacor would
have gone on killing your kind for another 1000 years." The female oracle
answered him.
"So you will use a barter system,
but only when it serves you, and the rest of the world?" Kellin was well
on his way towards losing his cool with these strange creatures.
"We chose to agree to the trade,
only because it would bring about the death of Nacor!" the male oracle
looked suddenly bored with the proceedings, and turned as if to walk away."
I am certain you have nothing as important as that on your agenda!"
"Ok if you were willing to take
a life, so that I would be the one to kill Nocoric, then Buffy must be
equally important" Kellin put in quickly, afraid of losing their attention.
"The Slayer? How so?" enquired the
female oracle.
"The Slayer and the Teour are of
the same bloodline. If I was the only one powerful enough to kill Nocoric,
doesn't that mean that Buffy's blood is the only blood that is powerful
enough to free Racothlor?" Kellin reasoned.
"That is so, but the Slayer is capable
of defending herself!" replied the female oracle.
"Not when she has seven mortals
to defend… and 100 plus vampires to face! Not to mention two semi-immortal
demons to kill!" Kellin continued.
"The Slayer will prevail!" the male
oracle folded his arms with a self-satisfied smile.
"And if she does not prevail, then
the world will be ruled by Racothlor! And all your warriors will be killed!"
argued Kellin.
"You present an interesting argument",
conceded the oracle "But even if we did agree, what would you offer by
way of penance?"
"I offer Nocoric's spine...when
I killed him it was absorbed into me." Kellin told them, "It holds all
his telepathic and telekinetic abilities"
"And what would you request in return?"
asked the female oracle.
"I request that you give me the
ability to bless others with the power of the Teour's" answered Kellin.
"The Teour's lost that ability,
through their own weakness, many years ago. It is not for us to give it
back"
"Just give me the ability for this
battle." Kellin begged. "Then, once it's over, you can take it back! Everyone
who I have blessed can be returned to normal. No-one need know anything
has changed!"
The oracles bent their heads together,
looking sideways at Kellin as they conferred, then the female turned towards
him,
"You have won your case, lower being.
We will grant you your request…This time! We hope not to see you again,
but if we do....bring a gift" She waved her hand and Kellin was thrown
back against the marble walls in a blaze of light. Seconds later he found
himself lying on the floor of Giles house.
**************
"Did you see the oracles?" Angel
hauled him up from the ground.
"Yeah, I saw them! " Kellin brushed
himself off. "It might have gone a bit smoother if you'd remembered to
tell me they like a bribe!"
Angel suddenly noticed Kellin was
no longer wearing his leather jacket.
"The coat…did you…? Yeah, I guess
you did! Sorry man, totally forgot about that part. Hey…you can have mine…I
mean…if your cold…Are you cold?" Angel didn't sound too convincing in his
offer.
Kellin grinned ruefully at him."
Its Ok, you can keep your coat! I'll live!"
"Did you get what you were after"
Said Spike
"I did" Kellin was walking over
to Anya.
"What...your staring at me! Why?"
Anya backed away from him, a worried frown on her face.
"You love Xander, don't you?" Kellin
asked her.
"No…Not really...maybe a little....I
LOVE HIM SO MUCH" Anya cried, tears forming in her eyes.
"You want to help save him, don't
you?"
"How can I? I'm mortal now, my arm's
are all feeble!"
"What if I could make you as strong
as me? As strong as Buffy?" Kellin continued.
"Yeah? I could help if I was as
strong as you, but how…how could you do that?" she asked him, eyes wide
with wonder.
"Like this" Kellin put his hand
on Anya's forehead.
"Wow!" exclaimed Anya, as she felt
a tingle all over her body.
I touch you so you can be blessed
The powers of the Teour will breath
within you
As my energy passes through you
You will be born again
Teour
As Kellin chanted the words, Anya
began to fall backwards, but quickly came back to her feet.
"Did it work?" asked Kellin.
"You bet it did!" She picked up
a dagger from Giles weapon chest and tossed it up in the air, catching
it neatly behind her back.
"How did you do that?" Spike stared
accusingly at Kellin.
"I've got the power to make Slayers!
At least, I have until Nocoric is dead" Kellin replied.
"Are you gonna do Xander too?" Anya
babbled. "please say you will…we can have so much fun…"
"So, what's the plan," Angel cut
in. "What happens now?"
"We go down there, and kill things."
Kellin answered him, " I wish there were a few more of us here, though.
If Finn was here…he…"
He stopped in mid-sentence as Riley
appeared in the doorway, almost as if he had summoned him up!
"Have I missed the battle…? I got
here as soon as I…..What's wrong, Kell, you look like you've seen a ghost?"
Kellin and Angel looked at each
other, not quite sure what to say.
"Hey, that's what I call timing!"
Kellin was first to recover his wits.
"How do you fancy being a 'Slayer
for a Day', Finn?"
"Is this a wind up?" Riley was instantly
suspicious. "What do you mean, Slayer for a Day? Is something going on
here that I don't know about?"
"Certainly is, soldier boy" Spike
sneered at him. "Our friend Kellin, here, has gone and bought himself a
whole box-full of new powers, and isn't that sweet, he wants to share them
with everybody…'except me, of course!" he was petulant "No one ever wants
to share their toys with me!"
Angel, Kellin and Riley all spoke
at the same time…
"SPIKE…SHUT UP!"
********
"But we don't know where they are"
bleated Anya.
"They're at the big factory building,
on the south side of town." Whistler spoke quietly, they had almost forgotten
he was there.
"How do you know?" Angel asked him.
"You know me. I just do" Whistler
turned, as if to leave.
"Whistler? Where are you going?"
Kellin stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Aren't you going to stay
and fight with us?"
"I've done my part. The rest is
up to you!" Whistler shook himself free of Kellins grasp and with a mock
bow, he slipped away, as silently as he had arrived.
"So! To the south side!!!" Anya
waved her dagger in the air, excitedly.
"I hope they're all Ok down there,"
Angel ducked out of the way of the dagger as Anya got a bit too carried
away with her battle moves.
"They are! I can feel them" Kellin
was grim in his reply.
"Can you feel your parents too?"
Angel asked him.
"My parents are dead! And in half
an hour, they're gonna die again!" Kellin told him. "And this time, they're
gonna STAY dead! Let's do it, guys!"
He started to move out of the door,
Angel, Riley, Spike and Anya close on his heels.
Chapter twenty-nine
"Wake up children!" Hybrid circled
his captives, who were all piled on the floor, surrounded by a ring of
light blue powder.
"Buffy wake up" whispered Willow,
nudging her.
"Don't worry, mortal girl! I won't
kill you just yet...we need one more guest before the party can start!"
Hybrid laughed evilly.
"Hybrid!" Nocoric entered the factory,
in his human form.
"Ah! Nacor! At last! Are the preparations
complete?"
"Our followers are all in position"
replied Nocoric " When you are ready, just say the word and the spell will
begin!"
******************
"Mom… you ok?" asked Buffy.
"I've just got a bit of a headache."
Joyce held her hand to her forehead.
" I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Why don't you let us out… so we
can kill you...cowards!" Buffy shouted towards the gang of vampires who
were lounging beyond the barrier.
" You seem to have the facts a little
mixed up, my dear girl!" said Nocoric.
" I am going to kill you!"
"And I'm gonna drink your blood!"
Hybrid leered at her.
"Not before I tear out your spines
and kill you with them!" Buffy told them, pushing angrily against the barrier.
"You can't effect anything outside
of your cage, Slayer!" laughed Hybrid.
"BUT WE'RE NOT IN THE CAGE!" Hybrid
swung round as Kellin appeared at the entrance to the factory, Anya, Angel
and Spike and Riley close behind him.
"Ah! At last! The second Teour!
Now the party can begin."
"Is it time!" intoned Nocoric.
"I believe it is." Hybrid raised
his hand and chanted " Intres transporte unas." A flash of blinding white
light surrounded everyone in the factory.
When it cleared, they found themselves
standing in a clearing, in Sunnydale Park, surrounded by over a hundred
red skinned vampires.
"Well… this is great...we're definitely
gonna die now!" moaned Xander.
"Xander… I won't let them hurt you!"
Anya cuddled up to him.
"What are you going to do, mortal?"
Hybrid sneered at her.
"I'm gonna hurt them!" yelled Anya,
driving a stake into the nearest, unsuspecting vampire.
"And I'm gonna help you!" Riley
yanked a long bladed knife from his pocket and neatly decapitated the two
vamps behind him.
Angel grabbed two more who were
moving in on Anya, he bashed their heads together, staking them as they
fell.
"Excuse me, vampires. That would
be your cue to MAIME AND KILL." Hybrid shouted to his followers.
The vampires began to move in, circling
closer and closer.
Kellin made a run at them, gaining
speed as he went, running faster than he had ever run before...faster than
anyone had ever run before. To everyone watching, he was just a blur. They
could only tell where he was when they could see a vampire turn to dust
then another...and another...and another. Anya and Riley were not moving
as fast as Kellin, but they were still taking out a lot of vampires, while
Angel and Spike were on the other side staking the vamps that approached
from there.
"Your Vampires got the wrong girl"
Hybrid hissed at Nocoric.
"No! The other girl... she has been
blessed!" Nocoric told him.
"I thought they couldn't do that
anymore?" Hybrid turned to him. "Can they?"
" Obviously, they can!" Nocoric
replied.
***************
"That's my girlfriend...my girlfriend's
a slayer" Xander was watching Anya, pride gleaming in his eyes.
"Very good Xander" Said Wesley
"Way to focus on the task" put in
Willow.
"Will? Can you get this barrier
down?" asked Buffy
"She cant... but I can" Kellin appeared
suddenly behind them. He put his hand on the barrier and closed his eyes;
a small hole opened just in front of his palm, and began to expand, until
finally the barrier had disappeared completely.
"Kellin… how did you do that?" Giles
stared at him in awe.
"I paid a visit to the Oracles!"
answered Kellin. "I agreed to give up Nocoric's spine, and all it's telepathic
/ telekinetic powers, if they would give me the power to bless people,
like the ancient Teours could. Just for today! To get us out of this!"
"What does it feel like?" Asked
Buffy.
"Honestly? Like I'm hooked up to
a car battery…I feel so powerful."
"It's pretty obvious you already
blessed Anya." Buffy laughed. "She looks like she's having a great time
out there, and… Riley too?"
"Yeah, he turned up just in time
for the ceremony. I must be honest, I was pretty glad to see him. I wasn't
too sure how much me and Angel could achieve with just a crazy lady and
a dodgy ex-vampire in tow." Kellin turned to Willow and Giles, who were
closest to him. " I'm gonna bless all of you." He laid his hands on their
foreheads, letting his powers flow into them, as he chanted the sacred
words.
"Yikes...." exclaimed Willow, as
she felt the power ripple through her.
"Bloody hell...!"Murmured Giles.
"I say! This is powerful stuff!"
"Ok! Now, get out there and kill
things, you two!" Kellin instructed them.
Buffy watched in amazement as Willow
and Giles ploughed into the battle, fighting the vampires in true Slayer
style.
"I will never forget what it looks
like to see Giles do an overhead kick!" Buffy muttered to herself, as she
ran over to help.
Kellin moved through the group touching
each of their foreheads as he went. As soon as he released them, they headed
off towards the scene of the battle.
Kellin scanned the clearing, assessing
the situation. It seemed to be all going to plan, the vampires were dying
like flies, less than a quarter of them still remained standing, and with
seven newly made slayers on the field, they wouldn't be standing for long!
He looked around for Buffy, she
was surrounded by a gang of five vampires, and from where he stood it looked
like she could use some help.
He glanced briefly at the ground,
hoping his weapons bag was handy, and froze suddenly as he felt a hand
on his shoulder. The girlish laugh which followed, was chillingly familiar.
Kellin felt his blood run cold.
His mother and father!
"Now you have another chance, boy!"
his father faced up to him." Lets see if you're as strong as you think
you are!"
"He won't kill us!" his mother taunted.
"He has too much Soul!"
Kellin felt his pockets for a stake,
realising in horror that he had let it fall as he was blessing the others.
"I guess that means we get to kill
him first then." Kellin was flung backward by a blow from his father's
fist. Before he had time to recover his balance, his mother leapt on top
of him, screaming maniacally, punching and kicking him with all her might.
"We don't have souls, you see, boy!"
his father towered over him, red eyes flashing. "We don't have a problem
with killing people, family or not! It's your fault we had to suffer, now
it's your turn."
Kellin gathered all his strength,
throwing his mother off him, and lunging at his father, but before he could
land more than a couple of punches, his mother had leapt onto his back,
gouging his face with her long red fingernails. Kellin grabbed her by the
hair, pulled her over his shoulder and flung her backward against a tree,
knocking her momentarily senseless.
Again Kellin hit the ground as his
father head-butted him, and as he struggled to get to his feet, he could
see in the distance that Buffy wasn't faring much better than he was. The
vamps had her pinned against a wall, and it looked like she was gonna be
in serious trouble pretty soon.
As he grabbed at a nearby branch
to haul himself to his feet, the branch snapped off, leaving a jagged edge.
With a huge effort he lunged at his father, plunging the sharp stick through
his heart. Kellin watched with relief as his father finally turned to dust
before his eyes.
His moment of satisfaction was short
lived, seconds later his brain felt as if it was exploding, as his mother
dealt him a vicious blow across the back of his head with a large tree
branch. He went down with a thud, blue lights dancing in front of his eyes.
Through the haze he was aware of his mother, leaning over him, ripping
his shirt at the collar, teeth bared for action.
All his senses suddenly zoned in.
No!.. This was not going to happen, he couldn't' die… not now … not like
this…Not when Buffy needed him.
He forced himself not to move until
the exact moment that he felt his mothers hair brush his skin, felt her
cold fingers caress his bare flesh, felt her relax her guard in the moment
of expectation…..
Summoning all his strength, he rolled
her over onto her back, pinning her to the ground as he sat astride her.
Closing his mind to what he was actually doing, Kellin slammed his fist
into her face, once… twice…ten times, until he was sure she wasn't about
to get up again. He stumbled over to the pile of ash that had once been
his father, retrieving the sharp branch from the centre of it.
Staggering back to where his mother
still lay, he looked down on the familiar face for the last time. " I'm
sorry, mum." He whispered softly.
"I never wanted things to end this
way!"
Suddenly the body at his feet leapt
up at him with a bloodcurdling scream, taking Kellin by surprise and knocking
him flat on his back.
He rolled quickly on to his side
as she fell on him, scrambling to his feet, the broken branch gripped tightly
in his fist.
Quick as a flash he vaulted on top
of her, held her down and drove the branch through her heart.
Kellin sat back on his heels as
his mother dissolved into ash.
He felt the tears prickle behind
his eyes, and brushed them away, angrily.
"Buffy…I must get to her…" Kellin
tried to get to his feet and failed, his head was fuzzy and his legs refused
to obey all commands. He screwed up his eyes and tried to focus on the
spot where Buffy was. Things had got worse, one of the vamps now had Buffy
by the throat, suspending her in mid-air, there were vamp re-enforcement's
heading towards them. Kellin shook his head to try to clear his vision.
He had to get up…get over there.
With a sudden flash of inspiration,
Kellin concentrated his thoughts. Riley…was it possible they still had
a mind connection? Screwing up his eyes he concentrated on Riley as hard
as he could, transmitting his SOS…praying all the time that the mind-link
was still working….
To the great surprise of the vamp
he had just been about to finish off, Riley froze suddenly, stake in mid-air,
listening to the voice in his head. Within seconds he was racing across
the clearing to help Buffy.
Coming up silently behind two of
the vamps, he staked one, and sliced off the others head, almost as one
movement.
Taking advantage of the momentary
hiatus, Buffy quickly dealt with two of the others, and came to stand beside
Riley, watching him as he rammed his stake through the heart of the fifth
vamp, a look of extreme satisfaction on his face.
"I could get to like this!" Riley
grinned down at Buffy. "Shame its only for a day."
"I see you got my message," Kellin
suddenly appeared beside them, looking more than a little worse for wear.
" Great moves there!" He slapped
Riley on the back. " I was a bit tied up myself, then I remembered we still
had a mind link, at least, I was hoping we still had one, seeing that I
agreed to give up my powers so that you could all be Slayers!"
"Sure do! You came through loud
and clear!" Riley laughed. "The vamp I was just about to dust, must have
thought it was his birthday!"
Still laughing, they turned back
to the battlefield, only to find Hybrid and Nocoric, with two of their
henchmen, blocking their path.
"You visited the powers, I take
it" Nocoric addressed Kellin, totally ignoring Buffy and Riley.
"Yeah, after I got a tip off from
Racothlor's brother." Kellin answered him.
" It seemed like the right thing
to do, don't you think so?"
"Tec'Natour is always getting in
my way." Nocoric replied. "It's time I dealt with him!"
"So, are we gonna fight? Or are
we just gonna stand here and have a nice cosy chat?" asked Buffy; out of
the corner of her eye, she watched as her mother and Cordelia made short
work of no less than three vamps, all in one go.
"Cos, I really do have more important
things on my mind, right now, so…"
Nocoric took a pace towards her,
his eyes burning angrily…
"I will not tolerate this insolence!
You…" Hybrid stepped in front of him as both Kellin and Riley moved to
strike the demon down.
"Nacor...don't damage the girl.
I may remake her, after I have drunk my fill from her. From what I've heard,
Slayers blood is particularly good." Hybrid taunted.
"You're not gonna get a chance to
drink from her." Kellin told him, angrily.
"Who's going to stop me?" Hybrid
laughed chillingly. "Surely you don't think you stand a chance against
me, Teour? Didn't they tell you who I am?"
"I don't think I do " Kellin caught
Hybrid on the chin with a left hook, then spun around and hit him again,
full in the face, with the back of his left hand. The two huge vampires
grabbed Riley from behind, pinning him to the ground. They were too strong
for him; he was unable to move.
"That's better," Buffy gave Nocoric
a well-aimed kick in the ribs. "This kind of chat, I can deal with!" As
she smashed her right elbow into his face, he began to revert to his demon
form.
"Well, look who's awake," said Buffy,
blocking a punch from Nocoric.
"Do you really think you can stop
me, Slayer?" Nocoric's red eyes blazed. "That's what I'm here for." Buffy
repeatedly punched him in the face, seemingly to no avail. In his demon
form he was easily as strong as she was.
On the other side of the field,
the battle was almost won. Angel and Anya found themselves suddenly redundant.
As they dusted the last couple of vamps in their area, Angel scanned the
area for Buffy. What he saw didn't please him,
It seemed like Nocoric and Hybrid
were beginning to gain the upper hand.
He spotted Kellin's weapons bag
lying in the dust, and made a grab for it.
"They'll need knives if their gonna
be taking out spines." He rummaged through the bag, searching for something
resembling a knife, pulling out a rusty handled blade, encrusted with dried
blood.
Anya fell to her knees beside him.
"We need two! There must be another, let me look." she scrabbled in the
bag.
"There's this!" Anya pulled out
the large end of a pool cue, carved at the end to make a wooden blade.
"Will this do?"
"It should! Let's go! They need
help." Angel shoved the knife into his pocket and began to run towards
Buffy and Kellin, Anya close behind him.
Nocoric swung round, sensing their
approach.
"STAY AWAY!" He flung out his arms,
Angel and Anya were catapulted backwards by his power.
"Buffy… Kellin… Catch!" Angel threw
the rusty knife towards Buffy. Anya tossed the wooden blade to Kellin.
Buffy caught the knife neatly in
mid-air. She lunged at Nocoric, who stepped back, evading her thrust, his
red eyes flashing menacingly.
Kellin faced up to a grinning Hybrid,
stake held low by his side.
"You will not win this battle, Teour!"
Hybrid stood his ground. "We have powers beyond your comprehension! Prepare
to die for your cause!"
He raised his arms above his head,
eyes glittering. As if from nowhere, a whining noise began, quiet at first,
then louder, gaining in its intensity until suddenly it became unbearable.
Kellin put his hands to his head
in agony. It seemed the noise was all around him… taking over his mind…
He struggled to focus his eyes…Buffy
was flat out on the ground, hands over her ears, trying to block out the
sound.
The demons nodded to each other,
satisfied with their results.
"Now!…The Net!" Nocoric commanded.
Hybrid concentrated his gaze on
somewhere beyond, chanting unintelligibly. A flash of lightening lit up
the sky.
Angel and Anya watched helplessly
from behind the invisible barrier Nocoric had created, as a red web descended
from the sky and wrapped itself around Buffy and Kellin, tangling them
together and rendering them powerless.
"I expected more from you Teours"
Nocoric surveyed the disorientated pair from a safe distance.
"Don't worry… you'll get it!" Kellin
was the first to recover. Pulling Buffy towards him, he put his hands on
her head. In a low voice so the demon couldn't hear him, he urged Buffy
to do the same to him.
Buffy felt the same falling sensation
kellin had felt before.
They began to see images of each
others past, of the past of the other Teours, going further and further
back in time until they saw an image of Tec'Natour
"The time has come my children!
You two are the ones to end it! Buffy, pull out Nocoric's spine, and you
will end him. Kellin you must remove the Chosen's spine, and it will become
the weapon that will end his life." Tec'Natour told them.
"Can we do it?" Said Buffy
"You are the only two who can."
answered Tec'Natour.
********
Buffy and Kellin stood up synchronously,
Nocorics web still binding them together. Now that they were both full
Teours, they could feel everything about each other, the blood that they
had both been blessed with pumping faster and faster through their veins...
"We are going to end you!" Buffy
and Kellin spoke in unison, the power of the ancient Teours surging through
them. Together they tore Nocoric's web to shreds, flinging it off as if
it were gossamer.
"Big talk!" Said Nocoric, taking
a step backwards, nevertheless.
"Bigger fists!" Kellin began showering
Hybrid with punches and kicks until Hybrid was backed up against a tree.
"You ok there, Buff?" yelled Kellin,
looking behind him while still punching Hybrid
"Never better!" Shouted Buffy as
she flew across to Nocoric and put both feet in for a kick to his stomach.
He fell to the floor, rolling onto his front as he tried to get up. Taking
advantage of her position, Buffy picked up her knife, driving it into Nocorics
back, slicing his flesh as she searched for his spine.
"You can't do it! I can feel the
humanity inside you." grunted Nocoric, struggling to free himself.
"Really.?.. Then I'll try and feel
it inside you!" Buffy plunged her hand into the wound she had just created.
Nocoric grabbed Buffy around the
shoulder, pulling her down towards him. He leaned in to bite her, but he
stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder seeing his spine in Buffy's
hand, above his head. Nocorics eyes glowed a fierce red, then died out.
He began to turn to ash and fall apart, as did his spine, still held in
Buffy's hand.
"I know what to do now." Buffy's
eyes glazed over as she held her hand over the pile of ash that had been
Nocoric, and began to chant…
With the remains of that which gave
you birth
I bring about your death
Ienxen Alartes Caburo
Teour
As Buffy finished chanting these
words, Nocoric's ashes travelled outwards in a ring, blowing across the
clearing towards the few vampires who were left standing. As the ashes
came into contact with the nearest vampires, they immediately turned to
dust.
"How did she do that?" Xander turned
to Giles, who had been fighting alongside him.
"She must have used a spell to kill
the vampires Nocoric turned!" Giles answered him, screwing up his eyes,
searching for Buffy.
Kellin was still beating Hybrid
who was having trouble keeping up with the speed of his punches, but still
holding his own. Finally managing to get the better of the Teour, Hybrid
shoved him to the ground and moved in for the kill. As Hybrid lunged towards
him, Kellin did a sweeping kick and knocked Hybrid to the floor. He jumped
up, and in one quick move, drove his blade into Hybrid's back, gouging
at the flesh until he could see the spine. With a final super-human effort,
he yanked out the spine and held it towards the sky.
"Buff? What do you reckon I do with
it now?" Kellin looked up at the spine in his hand.
"I guess you're just meant to stab
him with it!" answered Buffy.
As Kellin brought the spine down
to drive it into Hybrid, it began to transform in his hand… first a blade,
then a hilt. and then a handle emerged. Finally a sword remained, where
the spine had just been.
"Hey! Not fair! Mine just fell apart!"
Buffy laughed.
"As Kellin admired the sword, Hybrid
rolled over and looked up at him…
"It isn't over yet, Teour! I'm going
to....
Hybrids' words were cut off as Kellin
swung the sword, slicing off the demons' head. Instead of turning to dust
as was expected, Hybrid's body metamorphosised into a blinding white light,
which seemed to get brighter and brighter as it expanded… through the park…
through the block and through Sunnydale. When it finally died out and everyone
could see again, all of the remaining red skinned vampires had gone.
Only Spike and Angel remained standing,
the rest of the group lay unconscious on the ground.
Angel hurried over to Buffy, scooping
her up in his arms, holding her to him. "Buffy…Buffy, wake up…It's OK…you're
not…?"She stirred in his arms, coming round, slowly. Her eyes opened…she
looked up into Angel's eyes, seeing the concern in them, and smiled lazily
up at him.
"No, I'm not… I'm fine, don't worry!
What happened there?"
"I don't know…" Angel still held
her close, smoothing her hair back from her face. "But whatever it was,
it was pretty powerful!"
Riley came to his senses slowly,
just a few feet away from them. As he watched the tender exchange between
them, his heart did a double somersault, and hit the floor. So, it wasn't
over…Buffy still loved Angel.
He'd always known, deep down that
she did, but watching them together, caught off guard, now he knew for
sure. He closed his eyes again…he didn't want to see anymore.
Kellin lay next to him, beginning
to stir. Riley reached over and shook him roughly.
"Kell…are you with us? Wake up man…Kellin…"
Kellin sat up with a start. "What?…he
began to scramble to his feet.
"It's over!" Riley laid a hand on
his arm. "You did it, Nocoric and Hybrid are gone for good, and it looks
as though the rest of their crew have gone with them." He helped Kellin
to his feet; they dusted themselves off and moved over to help the rest
of the gang.
Spike watched as they went from
one to the other, trying to wake them.
"Are they dead?" he turned to Buffy
and Angel, who were now standing apart, close behind him.
"Cos… If they're dead, then I can…."
"SPIKE! THEY'RE NOT DEAD." shouted
Buffy, Kellin and Angel and Riley in unison.
Epilogue
It was the day after the battle.
Everyone had wound up sleeping at Giles house for the night, as everyone
was eager to swap 'Slayer stories.'
The tantalising smell of a freshly
cooked breakfast awoke them, and one by one they found their way to the
kitchen.
Kellin and Angel were cooking, while
Willow floated plates of food over to Anya, who put them on the table.
Spike leaned against the wall, drinking a mug of blood.
"Come on guys, eat it while it's
hot" Kellin dumped a huge platter of bacon and scrambled eggs on the table.
"Ok! I thought seeing my mother
killing a vampire was the one thing I never expected to see," Buffy said
to no-one in particular, "But Angel cooking breakfast is definitely top
of my list."
"I know! For someone who hasn't
eaten solid food in 200 years or so, he is a whiz with eggs." Cordelia
chipped in.
"And Will! Look at you! Supernatural
Service with a smile." Xander grinned at her.
"Occasionally I like to use my powers
for good!" replied Willow, smiling back at Xander.
"Have you two been up all night?"
asked Giles, digging in to his food
"Almost," replied Kellin. "Me and
Angel went out for supplies at about four this morning"
"Supplies...?" Wesley looked up
from his plate.
"You know egg's, bacon and stuff,"
Said Kellin "Anyway Anya and Willow were up when we got back."
"Ignore Wesley! When he hears the
word supplies, he immediately thinks Magic books!" Said Cordelia
"How can you not be exhausted? I
could personally sleep for a month." Said Xander
"I could join you," said Buffy.
"I mean, in the sleeping for a month… not join you sleeping!" she added
hurriedly.
"Good! Because I'm the only one
who can sleep with Xander...although we don't sleep all that much!" Anya
"Look everyone! One of Nocoric's
vampires survived!" Willow pointed at Xander, who was bright red from embarrassment.
"Something's coming to me," Kellin
turned suddenly to Xander. "Do I remember you saying you lived in your
parents basement?"
"Yeah! Until I get a job, and get
some money. Then I can get a place…"
"Where we can have louder sex" Anya
cut him off.
"Well, I don't know about the loud
sex.... well I do, but.... anyway, I have a room at my place, and it's
paid for, so that would make it rent free." Kellin told him.
"Are you serious?" asked Xander.
"Yeah! I could use the company anyway."
Kellin answered.
"Thanks man...I'll move in today…If
that's OK?" Xander had a wide grin on his face.
"No problem. Anytime you like."
Kellin went back to the kitchen for more food.
"What do you think Honey? A new
place!" Xander took hold of Anya's hands.
"Can we still have loud sex?" Anya
asked Kellin.
"That would really depend on you.
But I guess its Ok with me." replied Kellin.
"Ok! We'll move in" Anya was finally
satisfied.
"If you're giving away rooms, then
I could move out of my crypt! If you need company…" Spike put in.
"That's ok Spike! You stay where
you are." Kellin gave a wry grin. "I don't think I need company THAT bad!"
"Can anyone hear that?" Oz had his
head on one side, listening intently.
"Yeah! Like… a rattling noise?"
Joyce joined in "I thought I was hearing things."
"It's coming from the living room."
Giles rose from his chair, following the sound, which they could all hear
clearly now.
Everyone crowded in behind him.
They stared at the table. The book, which contained the writings of Nocoric,
lay shaking and rattling, wisps of smoke beginning to rise from the pages
as they watched, mesmerised.
"What's going on?" Buffy turned
to Giles. "Why is it doing that?"
"I have no idea!" Giles frowned.
"Perhaps it is a..."Wesley was cut
off before he could finish.
Suddenly, there was a blinding flash,
followed by a cloud of red smoke. As they watched in amazement, the book
disappeared, leaving behind only a pile of ash on the table.
"Oh dear!" Wesley peered over his
glasses. "Did we have to return that.........?"
The End
For Now