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Part Ten
Giles read over the words on the page for the tenth time. Could it be that simple? He had to be sure.
So, he read it again.
As he did, a smile crept across his tired face. For the first time since the entire ordeal began, the Watcher felt as though there was a ray of sunshine peeking through the gray storm clouds. This was going to work!
“Your time is up, Watcher,” the Beastmaster stated, as he and his two henchdemons entered the room, “I hope, for your sake, you’ve figured out the spell.”
“I suppose you couldn’t grant me more time?” Giles asked. His gaze fell on the two large Hellhounds that circled him, snarling and hissing. When he saw no reaction, he added, “I guess not.”
“Do you know the spell, or don’t you?”
One of the demons held onto Willow with a tight grip. Giles winced, seeing her pain, and nodded, “Yes, I do. But, it’s rather complicated. The Witch who created the spell wanted to make sure that it would be difficult to cast.”
The Beastmaster loomed over Giles, “I don’t care how complicated it is...do it!”
Giles glance moved back and forth from Willow, to the Beastmaster, “Fine. I need a knife.”
“A what?”
“A knife,” Giles repeated, “it doesn’t have to be a large one, but it does have to be sharp.”
The tall demon looked at Giles incredulously, “What do you need a knife for?”
Giles took a deep breath and stated, “To create a containment circle.”
The Beastmaster circled around Giles and narrowed his eyes, “A containment circle? And what has the knife to do with it?”
Giles looked straight ahead, and answered, “The spell must be cast in a containment circle, keeping the magic inside. It helps to concentrate the magical energies, to create a stable spell. The knife is to....well, the circle must be of blood...our blood.” he noticed the demon hesitate, and quickly nudged, “You’re immortal....why should you be afraid of a tiny knife?”
“I’m not,” he insisted, “I just don’t like the idea of placing any kind of weapon in your hands. You did, after all, end my fun...last time.”
Willow noticed a pained look on Giles face, as the demon continued, “Yes that’s right...last time. I remember it well. All of the pain, and fear of the council members, still sing in my head. As I recall, one of them, meant something to you. What was her name, again? My hounds killed so many, it’s hard to keep track. But...what made her stand out in my mind, as my Hounds ripped into her flesh, was her stoic nature. She didn’t cry out, didn’t beg, when she knew she was going to die....she only called out your name.”
“Elizabeth,” Giles whispered, closing his eyes.
“Yes....Elizabeth,” the Beastmaster sneered.
For fifteen years he felt guilty for her death. It was he who told her his flat was a safe place to hide...that the hounds wouldn’t find her there. But he was wrong. And that error in judgment cost his dear friend her life.
Now, Willow’s life hung in the balance. He was not going to make the same mistake again! “Look...do you want me to cast the spell or not?!” Giles hissed.
“Oh yes,” the demon smiled, walking over to a pile of rubble and pulling out a sharp end of a pipe, “It’s not a knife...”
Giles took a deep breath, as he slide the pipe over the palm of his hand, “It’ll do.”
****** “What are we going to do?!” Cordelia shouted, as Wesley, Joyce, Amy and herself raced through the halls of the school, “We can’t out run these things!”
“She’s right,” Joyce agreed, as they turned another corner, “how are we going to lose them?!”
“We need weapons!” Wesley panted, pushing open the door to the cafeteria, “There must be utensils in there, right?”
“Oh, great,” Cordelia huffed, “we’ll spork them to death!”
“No,” Amy said, “the kitchen should have serrated knives, and cleavers....I’m sure of it!”
“Cordelia,” Wesley commanded, pulling a large table in front of the double doors, “go find us some knives.” The Hounds threw themselves against the doors, scratching, and hissing at the wood, “And please do it quickly.”
Joyce helped the Watcher construct the barricade, hoping that it would hold long enough for help to arrive. She cringed every time the Hounds pounded on the door. “Do you think that cleavers will stop them? I mean, the creatures that attacked Mr. Giles and I....they....well, they weren’t easy to fight.”
“I’m not planning on killing them,” Wesley said, bracing the doors, as they began to give way under the constant assault, “I just want to be able to defend ourselves long enough to cast the spell on Callisto.”
“But she doesn’t control the Hounds...does she?”
“No,” Wesley agreed, almost getting thrown backwards from the pressure, “but if we can eliminate the threat of Callisto...Buffy will be free to find and finish off the Beastmaster.”
Despite their efforts, the doors started to buckle, “Cordelia! Hurry please!” Wesley, shouted.
Cordelia and Amy ran out of the kitchen with several large knives and two butcher knives, “Are these good enough?” Cordy asked.
Grabbing one of the cleavers, Wesley nodded, “Yes, quite.” Then, turning to Amy, he asked, “Can you cast that spell?”
“I think so,” the Witch nodded, “I’m still a little wiped...but I think I might be able to...” she stopped in mid sentence.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, nervously.
Amy looked at him apologetically, “Oh, no. Time’s up. Sorry.”
With that, Amy the Witch, changed back into Amy the Rat.
“Oh great!” Cordelia sighed, “will the spell work if said in Rat-speak?”
The barricade jerked backwards, widening the gap between the doors, “Damnit!” Wesley cursed, “This is no good! We have to get out of here...right now! Cordelia, gather up Amy, if you would, and head toward the back windows.”
“Pick up Amy?” Cordelia turned her nose up, “There is *no* way I’m going to pick up a rat! I don’t care if she was a...”
“Cordelia!” Wesley snapped.
“Okay, okay...” she sighed, scooping up the rodent, who gave a small squeak, “but I’m going to have to shower for a week!”
She tucked Amy into her pocket and raced toward the high windows. Climbing up on a table, she slide open the glass and looked out. Not a single Hellhound in sight! She turned to convey that to her companions and watched in horror as the doors continued to buckle.
“Mrs. Summers,” Wesley instructed, swinging the cleaver at the invading limbs, “get to the windows, it’s our only way out!”
“What about you?!” she asked, viciously slicing at a clawed paw with her knife.
“I’ll go, when I know you’re outside,” he pleaded, “Now go...before the doors completely disintegrate!”
Joyce ran to the window and climbed up onto the table. With Cordelia’s help, she squeezed out of the narrow opening. She turned around and looked back in the room. Wesley was struggling with the doors, trying to keep the Hounds at bay, while the women escaped, but all of his efforts were beginning to fail. If he didn’t leave now, he wasn’t going to make it at all.
“Wesley, come on!” Cordelia shouted after him, in near panic.
“Hurry!” Joyce added, holding her hand out to the young Watcher as he sprinted toward the windows.
He quickly climbed onto the table and reached for Joyce’s hand, when the table and doors came crashing in. Wesley scrambled up the wall and out the window, just as the Hounds leaped for him, missing him by mere inches. The Hounds continued to leap up at the window, snapping and growling, but were unable to follow. This gave the three humans, and one rat, the chance they needed to escape...for the time being.
****** Buffy and Callisto remained locked together for several terrifying moments. Then suddenly the tiny hands, that were wrapped around Buffy’s throat, fell to the demon’s sides. A frightened expression played on the little girl’s face, as she struggled to stand.
“W-what happened?” she said, unable to stop shaking, “Edgar....Edgar?”
Angel and Faith kept their distance, unsure if this was yet another ploy by the pint sized demon. “Buffy,” Angel asked, trying to study the face of his former lover, “Buffy, are you okay?”
Buffy rose to her feet and nodded, “Yeah,” then a smile crept over her face that sent a chill down Angel’s spine, “I feel great.”
“B?” Faith squinted her eyes, and tightened her grip on her stake.
Angel backed up and shook his head, staring into the dark sinister eyes, that were once the Slayer’s, “That’s not Buffy.”
****** Wesley, Joyce and Cordelia raced across campus, trying to find a place to hide. The Watcher could hear the cries of the Hounds, as the beasts crashed through the first floor windows of the main building to resume their chase. He cursed himself for not thinking to bring an ax, or sword, or any of the many weapons Giles kept stored in the Library. With only two cleavers, and a couple of knives, they didn’t stand much of a chance against the five Hounds that closed in behind them.
Suddenly, the radio cracked to life.
“Wesley!” Angel’s panicked voice called over the airways, “We could really use that spell now!”
Wesley grabbed the walkie talkie, as they sprinted to the gymnasium, “I would love to help you,” he panted, “but we’re in a bit of a bind right now!”
Cordelia took the radio from Wesley, almost as thought they were running a relay, “Angel, there are Demon Doggies everywhere! Can’t Buffy just slay Callisto, or something?! I mean...that is what she does.”
****** Angel ducked behind a door, trying to avoid the flying debris, “Well, you see...”
Duck
“...we have a problem there...”
Crash
“...Buffy is Callisto!”
****** Wesley ushered the two women into the Gym, and shuddered, “Oh my.”
****** “What did they say?!” Faith asked, dodging a flying chair.
Angel hedged a bit, while trying to think of a plan to free Buffy from Callisto’s grip, “Well....they’re having problems casting it.”
“Why?”
CRASH
“Being chased by Hellhounds.”
SMASH
“Great,” Faith sighed, backing up, “So, what do we do now?”
Angel looked at Faith, “Try not to die.”
BANG
“What’s the matter, Angelus?” Buffy/Callisto sneered, “You don’t like my new home? I think it suits me nicely.”
CRASH
“This is so much better than being in a corpse,” Buffy/Callisto continued, “I mean...all this power and talent, wrapped up in a nice warm,” she looked down at her form, “great looking body....I could stay here forever.”
“You’re not going to get that chance!” Angel growled, racing out from behind the door and knocking her down to the ground.
Callisto laughed, sending Angel flying backwards into far wall, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“No, he isn’t,” Faith said, kicking her in the midsection. Angel had given her the distraction she needed to be the second wave of attack, and Faith was itching to take it.
“Okay,” Callisto snarled, giving a viscous round house to her opponent’s face, “here’s a news flash for you, you’re not just fighting me. Go on...keep attacking. You kill me, you kill your precious Buffy. How’s them apples?”
“So, not Buffy!” Faith bit back, sweeping Callisto’s legs from under her, “ ‘How’s them apples’?” Faith, punched, “man...you are a demon!”
“And you’re,” Callisto retorted, tossing Faith into a large grandfather clock, “so dead!”
****** “Giles, no! Don’t do it!” Willow cried out, struggling against her captors, as the Watcher began the incantation.
Giles tried to drown out the pleas of the young witch, concentrating only on the words he was reciting and hoping that his plan would work. His palm was throbbing from the cut he made to make the containment circle, and had yet to stop bleeding. But he was content with the knowledge that the Beastmaster had suffered a similar pain.
As he continued to chant, he looked down at the bloodied pipe that laid at his feet. The demon was so intent on being released, he hadn’t noticed that the Watcher now had a weapon in arm’s reach. Not that the demon really cared. The Beastmaster was immortal...and very soon, he would be free.
“ ‘Out of the shadows of the abyss’,” Giles chanted, “ ‘I command thee to release your binds, and set this spirit free! Allow this being to walk freely among the living’!”
****** Buffy/Callisto stalked her prey, like a lioness ready for the pounce, when suddenly she stopped. Something was wrong. Something was desperately wrong!
“What’s...happening?” she growled, feeling a pull at her soul, “What’s....”
Then...she knew!
“He’s betrayed me!” she hissed, as objects exploded in every direction.
Angel, Faith, Emily, and Edgar ducked to avoid her deadly rage.
“Nobody betrays me!” Callisto spit, stomping to the door, “And lives to do it again!” she disappeared out into the night, leaving a very stunned group behind.
“What the HELL just happened?!” Faith said, shaking her head, and tossing away debris, “Who betrayed her?”
“The Beastmaster,” Edgar groaned, climbing out of the rubble.
“You mean,” Faith asked, “the demon she summoned? What did he do, go off on his own, and send a psychic message through the nasty hotline?”
“He must have broken free,” Edgar said, “severed their link.”
“Then Willow and Giles must gave cast the spell,” Angel shuddered.
“And Callisto is going over to kick his ass,” Faith added, “In Buffy’s body.”
“Damn!” Angel cursed. Then turning to Edgar he asked, “Where is she going? Where is the Beastmaster’s lair?”
Edgar, gathered up a frightened Emily and pulled her close to him, “Do you know the abandoned Cannery, by the docks?”
“The one on Columbus street?” Angel nodded, “It’s a prime area for vampire and demon activity...other than cemeteries. Most of the buildings there are abandoned.”
“Well,” Faith said, dusting herself off, “I ain’t waiting for an invite. Let’s go!”
****** “Where are we going?” Xander asked Oz, as they entered the abandoned building.
“Trail ends here,” was all he said. He reached into a large satchel he had the forethought to bring with him, and pulled out an ax. Then several stakes...holy water...and a very large knife.
“Whoa!” Xander stepped back, “you’re starting to scare me. Either you’ve been hanging with Buffy for too long, or you’ve been watching way too many action movies.”
“It’s always good to come prepared.”
“For, what? An army?”
Oz just quietly entered the building, hoping that they weren’t too late.
****** Giles continued to chant, dimly aware of the danger that surrounded him. Willow was being held by the henchdemons, the two Hellhounds continued to circle him, and he stood but three inches from the very demon, who would most likely kill him. But, the Watcher didn’t care....he had to finish the spell, and end this once and for all.
“Blood to blood, life to life...” Giles chanted, “Go to thee and set you free!”
A loud humming noise filled the room, and a cold wind kicked in, swirling around the two standing in the circle. As he spoke the words Giles could sense the spell taking hold. The blood that was both his and the Beastmaster’s began to glow and shimmer around the containment circle.
“Yesssss....” the Beastmaster hissed, soaking in the glow of the spell, “I can feel it working! I can feel the bonds of my prison falling away! It feels wonderful!”
Giles winced in pain. He could feel a sharp tug coming deep from within him. At first it was dull, almost unnoticeable. But as the spell continued, the pain grew until it was almost unbearable. He desperately wanted to stop...or to cry out...but if he did, then the Beastmaster would realize what was about to happen. And all of this would have been for nothing.
So, Giles bit back the agony he felt and continued.
Then, the blood that made up the containment circled moved in closer to the Beastmaster, and merged with him, causing both of them to cry out....
Then it was over.
Giles bowed his head, panting softly from the pain. He felt weakened....drained of his life energy.
The Beastmaster felt the exact opposite, “I’m free!” he cried out, raising his hands to the air, “At long last...I am free!”
Giles slowly bent down, and carefully picked up the metal pipe, “Yes you are,” he agreed, “And you’re something else as well.”
The Beastmaster stopped and looked at Giles curiously, “What?”
“Mortal!” he said, driving the pipe into the Beatmaster’s gut.
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