Oh man. I got the shivers.

Oh man. I got the shivers.

Heh. Thanks, all. Closing in on the end--definitely in the second half somewhere. But still weirdness to go.

And where's Anne W? It was her that called Doc, right?

Yes! 'Twas I! Can I feel all gloaty? Is that allowed?

Yes! 'Twas I! Can I feel all gloaty? Is that allowed?

Gloat away! Of course, it'll get even weirder, if I ever get five minutes again to write...

Part Nineteen: Bring On the Bad Guys

There’s some sort of rule that says these things have to happen at midnight. Ethan could explain it, if he was inclined, but he was otherwise engaged. His face was stony as he finger-painted symbols onto his bare chest. The night fell around him like rain. He could feel the way the wind shifted direction for no reason.

Amy awoke from a dream of cities, her skin clammy and drenched in sweat. Her throat was chalk. Speech was beyond her. She could feel the energies converging. It was familiar to her. It was …

“Oh my God,” she said, pulling the blanket to her chest as she sat upright. “I understand.”

Samantha Finn sat in Rupert Giles’ office, neither drunk from last night’s whiskey nor tired. She and Giles had watched the sunrise, two soldiers reduced to the role of fretting from the sidelines, although he had finally succumbed to dozing off. She, on the other hand, was far too tired to sleep. She was startled to hear the ring on her Blackberry. Rapidly, she pulled the machine from its belt holster and read the e-mail—the first she’d received at this address in weeks.

“Rupert,” she said, shaking the man awake. “We need to go. We need to get Buffy, and we need to go.”

And Connor ran. The streets seemed labyrinthine and unfamiliar, towering above him like mountains in the shadows. Like gods in the shadows. And when that thought hit him it struck like a thunderclap, stopping him in his tracks.

“Jasmine,” he said, the force of the name causing his teeth to quiver. “But it…”

A fist connected with his jaw, knocking him a full ten feet into the side of a building.

“Hey kid,” said Faith, sliding calmly toward him, like a cat. “First rule of running away? Don’t stop.”

“You,” said Connor, rising shakily to his feet. “I know you.”

“Aw, I don’t think so,” said Faith. “I’d remember a cutie like you.” She pounced, an ornate knife appearing in her hand, as if by magic. Connor had never seen anyone move that fast. Not even his father. He barely moved out of her way, but she was barely even disoriented. He rolled to the side, but she landed next to him, spinning to face him as she hit the ground. Moving faster than he could think, he spun and kicked, his foot connecting with her head and knocking her into the wall.

It wouldn’t stop her long. He turned and ran again, unsure exactly where to go. Oz’s team was in Hawthorne, too far to run. He’d never make it. He decided to worry about it later. Survive first. Run. A wall of flames ignited in front of him, bursting from the ground. He could feel his heart racing faster as he watched a silhouette step through the flames—a lithe woman in black, her skin so pale her veins showed through, her hair and eyes obsidian.

“I … I know you,” said Connor. “You’re Angel’s friend. Willow.”

“Ah,” said Willow. “I need to tip my publicist good this Christmas. Word of mouth is getting around.”

With a wave of her hand, Connor was propelled backward, landing at Faith’s feet.

“Gee, Morticia,” said Faith, smiling and rubbing the flat of her blade against her cheek. “I didn’t get you anything.”

Faith kicked Connor in the chin. Blood was beginning to cloud his vision. He was pretty sure that wasn’t a good thing.

“Now ladies,” said a voice. “Leave a piece of him for me.”

Connor looked up to see Xander Harris standing above him. At least, He thought it was Xander. He seemed younger, and the eye patch was missing. There was something different about the way he held himself. Those sudden moments of intensity he’d earlier displayed seemed to have manifested completely. There was something different in his aura. Something savage.

Connor clenched his hands into fists, and prepared himself to go down fighting. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and all of them turned to see its source.

Amy Madison stood at the end of the alleyway. Her hair unkempt, wearing hastily thrown on sweats—she looked as if she’d been dragged from bed. Flanking her on either side were Oz and Justine, who also looked (continued...)

( continues...) like they’d been awoken hastily.

A nexus of energy swirled around Amy’s hand.

“Step away from the kid,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

Humina humina humina ... this just keeps humming right along.

Nice work, Victor. Can't wait to read more.

Can't wait to read more.

Thanks. More coming soon.

It's really exciting.

Part Twenty: Everything That Rises Must Converge

“Oz,” said Willow, savoring the taste of the words. “Good to see you lover.”

“Will,” said Oz, panic spreading across his face. “We need to decelerate this, Will.”

“Why,” said Willow. “Don’t you wanna dance?”

“Enough of this,” said Amy. “This bitch and I have scores to settle.” With a wave of Amy’s hand, Willow was battered in a rain of trash cans and loose bricks, staggering her backward into the fire.

Justine moved next, leaping toward Faith. Their fists collided with each other’s faces brutal explosions.

“Not a full moon,” said Xander, his eyes fixed on Oz. “Kind of keeps you at the kids’ table, doesn’t it.”

Oz gulped as Xander pounced at him. Normally, he knew he could wipe the floor with Xander. If he wanted to—which, admittedly, wasn’t often. But something was different about him. He was stronger, bestial. He was …

“You’re possessed by a hyena spirit, aren’t you?”

Xander bared his teeth, his lips curling into a snarl. Oz kicked him in the face.

“You know,” said Oz, catching his breath. “I was really hoping not to do this.

Oz’s skin began to contort, his skin quivering as the muscles swelled. His bones bent and his teeth grew and sharpened into fangs.

Everything stopped for a moment, as the combatants were momentarily entranced by the transformation. Fully revealed, the wolf leapt toward Xander, the two locked in a feral embrace, clawing and scratching at one another.

“He’s a werewolf,” said Justine. “I’m sleeping with a werewolf.”

Faith pummeled her upside the head.

“Honey,” said Faith, “I think you’re the only one here who didn’t know.”

“Now that’s the guy I used to love,” said Willow, waving her hand and funneling the rampant flames toward Amy, who screamed in terror as she deflected them. “You people couldn’t beat us when we were nice. What makes you think you can take us now?

There was the bang of pistol fire, and a bullet tore through Willow’s shoulder. There was a light giggle in the air. Justine took the distraction to leap away from Faith, pouncing toward Willow and clocking her in the jaw.

“Team spirit,” said Justine. “That’s how we’ll win.”

Amy got the clue, and with a thought hurdled Xander into Faith, knocking the two of them off balance. Connor, who had forced himself to a stand, took advantage of the moment to land another punch on Faith.

“Keep them off balance!” shouted Justine, but Willow had gotten her bearings again. A blue, electrified mist seemed to rise up around Justine, freezing her in place. She turned to face Oz.

“Puppy” she shouted, her voice deliriously happy. “You’ve been a very bad dog.”

Oz could feel the wolf side of his personality reeling, looking to escape as Willow strode toward him, but then she stopped, and looked into a patch of empty air. Inside his head, the human side of Oz’s personality was screaming.

“I see invisible things,” said Willow, a bolt of energy crackling fro her fingertips. There was a thud—meat falling limp to the ground. Willow turned again toward Oz. “And now for you,” she said. “Lie down.” Oz felt his legs buckle, felt himself fall over. “Sleep.” And with that, he was out.

Amy gasped. She was running out of power, and there was only one source for her to siphon from. But if she didn’t try…

Madly, she leapt toward Willow, grabbing her head in her hands. There was a circuit of force running between them, but it was more than Amy had bargained for—it was overwhelming her.

As she screamed in pain, she felt Xander’s fist slam into the back of her head. Before she blacked out, the last thing she saw was his predatory leer.

Justine, her mobility returned, and Connor fell back to back as Willow, Xander and Faith converged on them.

Connor moved first, leaping at Faith, who didn’t even dodge. He flew straight into her fist, and then hit him again, and again, and again, until he was a bloody pulp.

Justine leapt toward Xander, knocking him down with a single blow. She weighed the odds, and (continued...)