The Ravages Of Hell

FIC: The Ravages Of Hell (7/?)

“Xander!”

Willow’s spirits briefly rose at Xander’s arrival in the Watchers’ Keep only to plummet like a stone at the look in his eye. “Was it worth it?”

She took a nervous step back at the raw fury in Xander’s eye. “Was what worth it?”

“Was treating me like I need to have my hand held worth Amy’s life?”

Willow’s eyes watered. “Xan-.”

“You’re so out of line!”

Xander’s gaze snapped towards Kennedy. “Back off. This is family and you’re not.” His glare snapped back to her, making her shrivel inside. “Was going behind my back to guilt a promise out of Amy worth it?” Without waiting for an answer, her best friend turned on his heel and strode off.

“Xander!” Sobbing wildly, she collapsed into Kennedy’s waiting arms.

* * *

Giles grimaced as he concluded his phone call. “Very well Angel,” he sighed, swallowing the bitter taste in his mouth. “I’ll have a jet at your location as soon as possible.”

Just as he hung up the phone, the door to his inner office swung open. His scowl turned to a beaming smile as he recognised the entering duo. “Faith! Robin! Please,” he gestured towards the easy chairs at the other side of the desk, “sit down.” He watched with concern as Faith gingerly eased herself into one of the offered chairs, unable to prevent a pained grunt from escaping her rosebud lips. “And how are you my dear?”

Faith’s eyes widened at his concern before reverting to their customary nonchalance. “Getting better G,” the young woman replied. “Be good to go in a couple of days. Slaying healing kicks ass.”

“Excellent,” he smiled at the Bostonian beauty before returning to business. “You’re both to be commended for your efforts over the past two years.”

Faith smirked at the praise. “Why the call back G?”

“Ah,” he scowled. “It appears that we’re under attack.”

“The Council?” Wood queried.

“No,” he shook his head. “The world itself.”

* * *
Giles glanced around the briefing room, the portraits of legendary Council heads lining the walls, weighing down on him with their silent expectations. Forcing his trepidation down, he nodded towards Willow. “Willow, why don’t you begin?”

The Wicca took a breath. “Sure Giles.” After a second the red-head’s chair scraped backwards against the wood panelled floor. The world’s most powerful magic-user stood, her face pale whether from nerves or the after-effects of her visions he couldn’t tell. “Two days ago I had a series of visions – natural disasters on an unseen scale, hordes of demons rampaging over the world-.”

“Our own seers haven’t reported any such visions Miss Rosenberg, why have you had them?”

Giles hid a groan at Roger’s scoffing tone. Whyndham-Pryce Senior had been the most experienced Watcher to survive the original Council’s massacre and as such he’d been forced by the traditionalists to take Wesley’s father on as his second-in-command. He wasn’t overly concerned with the situation, Whyndham-Pryce was a vigorous man, but he was also over seventy. Roger and the other old guard would die out, to be replaced by the new breed – Willow, Xander, Robin, and their ilk. It was a cold blooded but necessary view. And a lot less cold-blooded than the way the Council had treated Slayers in the past. “Willow, please tell them.”

The Wicca looked at him, her eyes shocked. He nodded encouragingly. After a second the witch started to speak. “Slayers don’t get their powers from demons. They get them from Mother Nature.”

“But what about the Shadow-Men?” Buffy asked, her face confused.

“No,” Willow shook her head. “What you should be thinking about is the woman who gave you the Scythe. They knew the idea of imbuing a girl with the spirit of a demon was a bad idea, would turn her into something little better than the spirit-.”

“You want to see Buffy around the 12th of the month,” Dawn commented.

Buffy glared at Dawn. “Or Dawn at any time.”

Shaking her head, Willow continued. “But they also knew that the men wouldn’t listen -.”

“No surprise there then,” Faith put in.

“Oh wonderful,” Giles rolled his eyes. In a moment they’d all be burning their bras. “Please god no,” he muttered. At his time of life, his heart couldn’t take the excitement.

“Instead they appealed to Mother Nature for help. She agreed and when the Shadow-Men cast the spell, they hijacked it and placed Mother Nature’s power in the girl. Since then, Mother Nature has transferred her power from girl to girl. When I did the summonsing spell, I became as one with the earth and when the troubles started,” Willow swallowed, her eyes shadowing, “I found out first hand.”

There was a long silence. Then his second-in-command predictably exploded. “Why weren’t we informed!”

“Because of your reaction perhaps?” he dryly replied. Seeing the older man’s mouth open, he shook his head. “Now is not the time Roger,” he warned. Turning his attention back to the room in general. “Xander’s team-.”

Xander snorted. “That’s a joke.”

Wondering at his son’s attitude, Giles continued. “Xander’s team brought The Tomes of Talik,” Willow, Robin, and Roger all paled, the others looked puzzled, “back from Africa. Coupled with Willow’s visions, and some information Riley brought with him, I believe we are the end of days. Drazus’ return.”

“And for those who don’t have a clue what the hell you’re talking about?” Faith asked.

Giles smiled at the Bostonian Slayer, relieved to see that even in the two short days since her arrival she’d completely recovered from her injuries. “Hell’s hierarchy is complex. At the bottom are The Snarling Brethren, tens of millions of demons. Then there are the Nightbreed Legions, hell’s elite troops. Next come the Doom Dukes, the Legions’ leaders. Next come the Old Ones, and finally Drazus, Satan’s first lieutenant and the leader of his forces. They will conquer the world for him.”

“Doesn’t the Well holding the Old Ones have a guardian?”

Giles nodded at Wood’s question even as he wondered at Angel’s vaguely uncomfortable expression. “Yes. Drogyn has been contacted. But strangely has not replied.”

“He’s dead.”

Giles blinked at Angel’s flat declaration. “Oh really? And how can you be sure?”

“The Circle of Black Thorn,” Giles was shocked by the demon’s rare nervous expression. “I killed him to prove I was evil so they’d accept me. He was doomed anyway-.”

“You blithering idiot!” Giles roared, unable to believe the vampire’s utter stupidity. “Angelus on his worst day couldn’t match that! Why not just give the Old Ones the keys to the bloody place!”

“Giles,” Willow broke in, her eyes pleading. “The plan?”

“Yes,” Giles shot Angel a last angry look before nodding. “It appears our enemy has made their first moves,” Giles grimaced. “Not only have the Order targeted Buffy, Faith, and Angel, but it appears they’ve also been attacking the world’s major magical powers.”

“You mean the Devon Coven?”

He nodded at Dawn’s interjection. “Yes. But not only them. The Romany Witch women,” he flinched inwardly as he remembered Jenny’s soulful eyes and knowing smile, “were butchered. The Darkening Twilight in Haiti, the world’s most powerful Voodoo practioners massacred. The Unbroken Circle of Hoodoo practioners in the Congo annihilated. The Grand Covent of highland druids have all been killed as have the Shamen of the Native American tribes. Close to three hundred of the world’s most powerful mages and witches, all dead.”

After a second allowing the news to sink in, he continued. “As a consequence I alerted all Slayers three days ago and ordered them back to their respective home bases. At this point, here has sixty-one Slayers, Cleveland fifty-five, Rio fifty, Tokyo forty-six, and Cairo thirty-eight.”

Andrew looked up, his eyes flooding with alarm. “That’s only 250 Slayers, what about,” the young man looked through his notes, “the other ninety-six?”

Giles hid a wince at the youth’s question, the mantle of leadership pushing down on him. “Some of them are on their way in, but others haven’t responded to the call..” Seeing Willow’s mouth open, he discreetly shook his head, deciding the others didn’t need to know about the Slayer massacres just yet.

A long silence followed his pronouncement. “Screw this reacting bs,” Faith put in. “How about we start taking names and kicking some ass?”

Giles smiled wryly at the Bostonian’s enthusiasm. Ah to be that young again. “Yes, quite. It appears the prophecy works somewhat like a jigsaw puzzle. If one part of it fails to come true, the whole thing collapses.”

“Which are we fixing to stop G-Man?”

Giles looked towards Xander. “The Tome of Talik details The Three Tridents Of Tariq-.”

“Shit, that’s a bagful of Ts.”

He waited for the titters that followed Faith’s comment to die down before continuing. “Quite. The prophecy details that at the end of days, the rising of the Old Ones could be prevented by the placing of the Tridents in the Cauldron of Prometheus, re-sealing their tomb forever.”

A long pause followed his words. “So where are these tridents Giles?” Buffy asked.

“I know the locations of all three books containing the information leading to the Tridents. I’ll give the information to all three team leaders before I send them – you, Faith, and Angel.” He paused to look around the room, heart tightening with fear that it would be the same time he would see them all alive. Regaining his poise, he continued. “Buffy, you’ll take the Immortal, Michelle, and Sophia. Angel, your team will consist of Connor,” fascinating boy, “the Groosalug and Gwen.” The same could also be said about the demon’s other companions. He turned towards the east coast beauty. “Faith, your party will consist of Kennedy, Vi, and Rona.”

“And what will the rest of us be doing?” Robin demanded.

“Don’t worry,” he dryly replied. “We’ll all be busy. Thanks to Angel and Faith we have proof that the Order is behind the attempt on their and Buffy’s lives. I also suspect them of complicity in the murder of the magical groups. The Council has never dared to directly confront the Order, but then the Council has never had the power it does now.” He ignored his second in command’s fuming. “I intend to send a group under the joint command of Xander and Robin, and consisting of Oz and a dozen Slayers to snuff them out.”

“And the rest of us, oh mighty leader?”

He rolled his eyes at Andrew’s pretentious enquiry. “I’m putting Riley, Sam, and Graham in charge of security and training the Slayers and Operations troops. Roger,” he nodded towards the older Watcher, “will be put in charge of the Keep’s day to day running. Willow will research magic, while myself, Andrew, and Dawn will handle planning and -.”

“I want to -.”

“Please Dawn,” he stared at the pouting teen. How beautiful she’d become over the past two years. “Do me the great favour of pretending you’re not related to Buffy and just agree.”

“Hey!” Both sisters shouted in unison.