Reminding the Fallen
by zenithar
Chapter 27
[reviews]
Author's Notes: Sorry for taking so long in updating anything. My muse had been... indisposed of and I couldn't quite write anything. But here it is, chapter 27 of Fallen. I think there's 4-5 chapters left before the end, so we are nearing it and not just going on forever. ^_^
Buffy's demonic smile was chilling and made the Gang eternally grateful she was still on their side. When she turned back to face the woods, the shadows had closed their circle but were still hiding their figures in the darkness. Buffy chuckled at what her vampiric eyes could see. "Hey, Will, shed some light," she said, licking her lips, "I can use my toy on these things."
Spike just shook his head. "She's right; they don't have blood."
Willow looked at the two strangely, but complied with Buffy's order. Lifting her arm up and turning her palm so it faced skyward, the witch muttered the Latin word, "Lumen." A ball of simple light grew in her hand to the size of a soft ball. It managed to illuminate the entire area where the Gang stood, plus a little of the surrounding woods.
Standing between the trees were countless reanimated skeletons. There was no skin or muscle holding the bones together. They were simply bound by dark magics. Covering their skeletal bodies was ancient Roman armor, tattered and rusted on some; others were missing pieces entirely. Each wielded some type of Romanesque weapon, be it a gladius, spear, or some other age-forgotten instrument. The fleshless skulls seemed to grin at the group and each slight movement caused their bones to slap and grind together. The obvious source of the sounds that had been following the Scoobies.
"Uh, B? Not to be a pessimist or anything," Faith started as she shifted from foot to foot, "but we're a bit out numbered." Keeping her eyes on the skeletons surrounding them, she tightened her grip on the two-handed claymore she carried.
"You shouldn't worry so much, F," Buffy responded calmly with a shrug, "They are only bones." And with that, she lunged at the closest group. Bringing her scythe around in a tight circle, she cut the closest five in half at the waist. They fell clattering to the ground in a heap of disconnected bones. Moving in a whirlwind of destruction, the undead Slayer started pressing the mass back.
Giles, directly behind his Slayer. moved to keep up, even if that was a hopeless desire. His long sword licked out with a grace that belied his age, cutting through any defense a skeleton could raise. He had the skill of a master swordsman and it showed. His strikes disabled opponents with ease by severing hands and cutting through legs. He weaved through the clacking mass of bones and armor working to keep up with Buffy and to help clear a path for those behind.
Anya followed, flanked by Dawn and Willow. The two witches worked to keep the bulk of foes at bay with their magics. Dawn drew upon the air to create solid walls, pushing outward to knock over or simply block the pressing bones. Willow threw spheres of fire at the animated dead, causing them to burst into flame. Having long since dropped her light sphere, the area was now bathed in glowing fire. The red and orange colored light made the Romanesque skeletons appear even more demonic in their age-rusted armor and weapons. Anya busied her short sword by slashing out at any skeleton lucky enough to avoid destruction by the two ahead and the two with her. She used the knowledge she had gained from a thousand years of living to wield her blade, easily rivaling the skill of three master swordsmen.
Following directly behind the three women was Xander. His battle axe worked well to smash through the armor and bones around him. He made up for his lack of training with a near berserk fury to defend his friends and himself. His axe cut through those that neared in as the Gang made their way through the woods.
Holding the rear were Spike and Faith. The vampire brandished his broadsword with the skill of a natural born killer. The broad sweeping arcs and hard thrusts worked well to parry and deflect assaults from the animated dead. Keeping back to back with Faith, they kept the rear of the Gang covered. The Slayer wielded her claymore with devastating effectiveness. If her blade failed to cut strait through the skeletons then they were swatted away by the sheer force of the blows. Often times, Faith just used the blade in one hand to increase the speed of her swings.
Meanwhile, Buffy's forward progress was being slowed. Every time her scythe reaped the dead before her, more just took their place. Slowly, they began making ground against her by interlocking their shields together, forming a solid wall, pressing in till they encircled her. Growling deep within her throat, Buffy glowered at the skinless beings before twirling in a circle cutting the skeletons down like wheat. The wall had already reformed in front, but behind her it was clear. Knowing that pressing on wouldn't do anything, she pulled back till she found Giles. He was currently in a contest of three on one, two in front, one behind. Sweeping over to the one behind the old man, she gracefully flicked her scythe out, cutting the skeleton in two from groin to head. Buffy paused a moment to let Giles take care of the other two. A swift decapitation and a crouched swing at the other's legs disabled both. Facing the vampire he asked, "Why did you pull back?"
"Road block," she replied dryly. "They made a wall with their shields."
Nodding his head and looking grimly in the direction Buffy had just come from, Giles commented, "Yes, I suppose it was only a matter of time before they began employing Roman tactics."
"How can we punch through? I mean each row I kill another takes its place," Buffy said in an exasperated tone.
"Well, common tactics used against shield walls were-" cutting off he turned to parry the gladius that came out of the burning shadows, allowing it to glance harmlessly off to his side. Then, with a small motion of his wrist his own blade cut through the air to sever the skull from its body. Picking right from where he left off, the librarian continued, "Hurling javelins or arrows at it to break it up enough for infantry to smash through it. Flanking was also effective, as was a heavy cavalry charge."
"Sorry to tell ya, Giles, but we don't really have any of that stuff or the chance of getting around to their side," the vampire said sarcastically as she casually flipped her scythe behind her, destroying an approaching skeleton.
"We can do it." Willow's voice reached them a moment before she herself did. Stepping out of the flickering shadows were the two witches and ex-vengeance demon. "Dawnie and I can make a path for everyone. It won't stay open that long, but it should be enough," Willow said as she moved closer to her lover, letting her eyes take in the Slayer's form in the light thrown by the burning forest. Everything about her looked beautiful, even her demonic face with its golden eyes and ridged brow. The vampire almost looked feral in the glowing light, like she was truly in her element amongst the natural fury.
Seeing her girl eyeing her, Buffy smirked, the fire around her giving her a demonic halo. "You two sure you can put a hole in them long enough for us to get through?" the vampire asked.
Willow nodded while Dawn spoke up. "Yeah, plus it's not like we really have a choice. Faith, Xan, and Spike are holding them off behind us, but they're getting pretty close." Glancing over her should at some muffled cursing she saw the three she just mentioned, approaching.
Each of them was breathing a little hard as they caught up to the rest of the group. "They're closing in on us from behind; it won't be long before they're on us," Xander said between breaths.
"Ok, that's our cue then," Willow said as she moved to stand at the front of the group with Dawn at her side. Looking at the taller Summers, Willow explained her plan — it was rather simple. "You go first, and I'll follow up."
Nodding, Dawn began focusing in the direction of the clearing. Holding her arms out in front of her she made it so her wrists were touching but her hands were apart. Bracing as in preparation of a hit, she shouted the word, "Flabraorum!"
Exploding from her hands was a powerful blast of wind. It howled as the air left her hands, carving a path through the undead legionnaires. Some were flung clear of the new path; others were smashed to pieces against the burning trees, while even more were crushed into the dirt. However, just like any other attack against them the skeletons quickly began to move back into the wind made path. That was when Willow acted.
Folding her hands together, she kept her first two fingers pointing up. Bowing her head, she began focusing inward. Creating the image of two walls of fire on either side of Dawn's path, she uttered the words, "Aduro Murus."
Two thin lines of fire appeared right above Willow's pointing fingers. For a moment, nothing else happened. Then in an instant, twin walls of fire stretched out from where the group stood to their destination. Their sudden creation created another rush of air but nothing close to Dawn's blast. The burning walls stood taller than the trees that surrounded them. They created a tunnel that looked like it had come straight from the underworld. Bounded by fire and littered with the ancient dead, it truly did look like hell on earth.
It was silent save for the pops and snaps the fire walls were giving off as everyone stared, slack-jawed, at the destruction the two girls caused. Both witches wobbled a bit after their exertions, but they made their feet move and started toward the clearing. "Come on you guys. The walls won't stay forever," Willow said over her shoulder.
The rest of the Gang just stood a moment longer in shock at the power the two just demonstrated. Buffy was the first to move by shaking her head. "That was... more than a little insane," she said as the gazed at the redhead with slightly dilated eyes.
'And more than little bit of a turn on,' her demon commented. Knowing that her lover could command such power was a bit of turn on for Buffy, but it was an even greater one for her demon.
The others agreed with Buffy's observation and slowly began to follow the two. At least, they started out moving slowly until they heard the sudden roar of bones clattering against themselves and the ancient armor covering them. Spike looked back toward the source of the clamor into the fiery darkness and caught sight of the undead hoard moving at a surprising speed at them. "Everyone, run!" he yelled out.
Breaking into a sprint, the Gang moved as fast as they could across the bone littered ground. Having to dodge the occasional upward pointing weapon with the poor sight offered from the fire made things slower than they would have liked. Finally, the clearing was but a hundred yards from them. Seeing an end to the ancient dead made everyone move faster, but they were called to a stop when a pain filled scream broke through the clamor of bones.
Anya clutched at the spear imbedded in her lower abdomen even as it protruded from her back. It was covered in her blood. The upper torso of a skeleton that stuck out from the ground had managed to pull its spear up just in time for the ex-demon to impale herself on it as she ran blindly towards the clearing. Her short sword slipped from numb fingers as she herself slid to the dirt floor. Xander moved with speed that amazed even the vampires to his wife's side. Dropping his axe, he cradled her, aware of the weapon sticking out from her. "Ahn? Ahn!?" he cried helplessly. "Oh, God, please don't die."
The bleach blond vampire moved to his side. "Xander, we have to move. Now," he claimed in a calm voice.
"No, I won't leave her," he said as tears spilled down his face. "We just need to get her to a doctor."
Faith was already coming back for them when Spike saw that the legionnaires were almost on top of them. Surprising the Slayer by grabbing her arm, he threw her bodily back toward the others and then turned to face the shambling bones. "Protect the bit, Faith. Buffy once entrusted her to me, now I'm giving that to you," he said stoically. "Well, what the hell are you all standing around for? You're on the clock, remember?" He pointed up at the sky.
Knowing he was right, but unwilling to leave anyone behind, the Gang slowly turned their backs on the three. As soon as they made it clear of the woods, Willow's fire walls went out. Looking back, they couldn't even see Spike standing above the two because of the rows of skeletons that had surrounded them.
"There's still a chance we can save them," Willow whispered into the silence. "We just need to kill the summoner before they die."
- - - - -
(Well, here I am, about to go down fighting by the side of a human I don't even like very much,) thought Spike, letting his face shift. (Who would have seen this coming, William the Bloody dieing with a pathetic human and an ex-demon.) He watched as Xander carefully placed Anya on the ground and stand up, his axe in one hand Anya's short sword in the other.
Back to back, Xander asked with a barely controlled rage, "You take that half and I take this. Sound good to you?"
"Fine with me, soldier boy." Was the only response.
Surrounded by a chorus of unholy bones, clacking against one anther, the vampire and human stood facing them, their own grim faces starring back at the grinning skulls. In the dieing light of the burning woods they watched as the undead Romans draw back their blades and lunge.
Author's Notes: Incase any are wondering, no I don't have a clue on how latin works. I simply used the definitions that I could find for the words I needed.
Lumen — light
Flabraorum — blast of air
Aduro — to set fire to
Murus — defensive walls
As to my update plans — I have One Last Reason's second chapter nearly done and it should be out by next week. After that I'll start working on Truth (for those that wander over to my ff page, you'll know what im talking about). That chapter looks like it will cause me some problems but it is my hope that it will done within two weeks. Again, sorry for the lack of updates.