FIC: TT&T (Chapter 21: Showdown)

["cilia" <cilia@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hey All!

It's here the final battle of my story and it will be followed by three
things, a wedding <g>, a funeral and a some interdimensional travel, all
that and load of epilogues

Enjoy!

Stefan Cilia

Through Thick and Thin
Cilia

Chapter 21: Showdown

- It all started ten minutes after midnight, the moon had turned red. Four
friends stood outside and watched as the onslaught of demons raced towards
them. In face of the hoard they stood fast and I'll never forget how they
fought that day. -

"Hold fast?!" Giles yelled as he gripped his sword harder in one hand and
the knife in the other.
There was a hail of arrows from the windows off the house, but they didn't
even distracted the herd that moved all around the house, like water around
the rock, to the point they guarded.
"They're not even noticing us?!" Joyce yelled over the noise of the
approaching herd.
"Good makes this all a lot easier." Al'x said in a calm voice, that oozed
confidence.
"Here they come?!" Angel shouted as he met an incoming blow with the
crystalline sword.
"You don't say." Giles spat as he cut twice, once with the knife across the
belly and then with the sword through the neck.
"Shut up and fight." Al'x stated as he slammed the gold crested shield into
the face of an approaching demon.

- Inside we waited the ones who'd stay besides Elisabeth ready to protect
her and the unborn child, that'd one day would become my wife June, no
matter what the cost. -

"Fire at anything that moves out there?!" Spike yelled as he stuck the
barrel of the shotgun through the window and fired.
"What you think we're doing?" Buffy yelled back as she loaded the crossbow,
while Willow and Luna rained fire upon the marching demons.
Stjar'a stood by the back window holding a longbow she took down vampires
with incredible accuracy
"Why didn't you teach me how to use one of those?" Cordy asked as she
arrived with more arrows.
"You didn't ask."
"Well I'm just glad Willow warded the house."

"Ten down, fifty to go." Joyce muttered as she felt herself pressed against
the others.
"Joyce swing in a wide arc." Al'x yelled.
With a cry as Joyce spun in complete circle sword extend and the men ducked.
The sword sliced through a row of vampire that had been attacking. Everybody
was up and on their feet with in a heartbeat and the battle raged on. Giles
didn't wince when something cut across his thigh, Angel just growled at
every cut, while nothing seemed to harm Al'x in his golden armor and Joyce,
well you had to get close to strike now didn't you. Then it all stopped and
the herd, now considerably smaller stood still.
"Giles, what's going on?" Joyce asked as she cut down a vampire that looked
like it was frozen in time.
"I'm not sure?" Giles said and cut down a demon he'd been fighting. Then the
throng parted like the sea before Moses.
"I take it that's the bad guy?" Joyce asked as she pointed a the red suited
man.
"The big scary guy with a bad dress sense usually is." Al'x said as they
watched as the man in a red suit walk towards them, flanked by two huge
demons.
"Then charge god damn it?!" Angel yelled, but as he tried to punch the man,
he felt something sink into his chest.
"Not a good idea." The man said as Angel stumbled backwards and fell to the
ground.
"Who are you?" Giles asked, holding out a hand to stop Joyce, somewhere they
heard a vampire go poof, then another as arrows came flying from the house.
"My name is." Something big came flying down from the roof of the house and
collided with the red suited man.
"I really don't care." Czar said as he spun sending the man flying, this
snapped the demons out their trance and the battle began again and Czar was
up to his neck in vampires, literally.
Joyce cut a path towards where the man had landed. While Giles and Al'x took
on the two largest demons, the throng turned it attention towards the house.
"In the Prince's name?!" Could be heard shouted in front of the house and
inside it Spike smiled.
"I always loved the sound of that." He said as he fired out the window.
"You were going to hurt my girl." Joyce said as she grabbed the man with one
hand and lifted him up.
"The child will not be allowed to life." The man said.
"What's you're name. Not that I care, but I want to know?"
"Death." He said with a smile, and then he fell to the ground.
Joyce looked down and saw knife sticking out of her stomach, she held up a
hand and stared at the blood, before falling to her knees.
"Burn!" She said through her teeth as she pointed the ring at the man.
Spike looked out the window, the number of demons where dwindling, then he
saw Joyce go down.
"Joyce!" He yelled as he jumped through the window without thinking, firing
both left and right as he landed and rolled.
"Mom!" Buffy yelled as she jumped after him.
Giles looked up from the fallen body of a demon to see Spike and Buffy come
running out of the house and the demons that still stood fell before them
like corn to the harvester. He turned around and saw Angel getting up.

The fire washed over the man, but nothing happened.
"Silly woman, you honestly don't think I'd protect my." The man stopped and
looked down, there was a blood stained crystal blade sticking out of his
chest and on the end of it a shattered talisman, he slowly turned around to
meet grinning face of Angel.
"This is my heart, this is my lung." Angel said pointing at his chest.
"Thanks." The man said.
Angel went flying and came to a stop against the willow tree.
"Now burn!" Joyce said, clutching her wound with one hand and pointed the
ring at him. The man had a looked pure horror on his face as the fire
engulfed him.

- Then it was all over and we gathered around our fallen friend. I remember
it still even though years have past. Him looking up at us as we rushed from
the house towards him. He smiled, one of those peaceful smiles, that come
with knowing you did the right thing. There was no dust, just his body lying
there with that peaceful smile on his face. Joyce recovered from her wounds
as did all those who stood under the willow tree that night. We shall never
forget what he did that night. -