Discovery

Chapter 44

Willow backed away from the Mayor, dragging Snyder along with her since the principal had frozen up. Behind the students, the parents panicked and began to scatter. Willow lost track of Booth in the chaos but if she was honest with herself, she was paying more attention to the giant snake in front of her.

"Flame units!" Buffy yelled from below and a group of students carrying flamethrowers aimed at the demon that was once the Mayor and jets of fire shot out of the weapons, scorching the demon's skin as it screamed in pain.

"First wave!" Xander yelled from where he stood. A group of students... Willow's group of students, Willow thought proudly, took aim with crossbows at the mayor.

"Fire!" Xander ordered and they all fired their crossbows. The Mayor howled in pain, swaying dangerously above the students.

"This is just unacceptable," Snyder yelled, having recovered from his shock. "This is not orderly. This is not discipline." Snyder glared up at the Mayor, actually shaking his fist at him. "You're on my campus, buddy!"

"Well said, sir," Willow said as the Mayor glared down at them.

"Thank you, Rosenberg," Snyder replied before looking back up at the Mayor. "And when I say I want quiet, I want..."

"Willow, jump!" Buffy screamed. Willow threw herself clear, just as the Mayor's giant head came down and swallowed Snyder. Willow felt her stomach churn as she watched on in horror, knowing that she could well have been eaten then too.

"Willow, run!" Buffy called and Willow scrambled to her feet as the Mayor lifted his head again. Willow jumped off the stage, stumbling and falling as she landed before rolling and getting back to her feet, grabbing her crossbow as she did so.

"Second wave!" she called out to her fellow crossbowmen (and women), having received Buffy's signal. "Fire!"

As second volley flew up, hitting the Mayor's large and serpentine body hard. The Mayor screamed in pain again, lunging down and eating a student in the front row. Willow glanced at Buffy, whose eyes were wide in horror. A few students shifted uneasily, obviously close to breaking. Three students broke away, running from the Mayor, only to come face to face with the army of vampires that were closing in on the back of the group.

"Xander," Oz called.

"Arm bowmen," Xander called and Oz and his group grabbed bows and arrows up from the ground, lighting the tips of the arrows on fire before taking aim at the oncoming mass of vampires.

"Fire!" Xander ordered and the archers let loose a volley that left several vampires as dust before hastily resetting themselves for the next wave of arrows. Xander looked around, wincing as a student was sent flying into another three, knocking them over.

"Fall back," Buffy ordered the students around her and they all backed away from the Mayor nervously. Willow joined that group, stowing her crossbow in the holder that hung from her belt as Xander ordered Oz and his group to fire again. More vampires were taken down but there were still far too many for Xander's liking. Still, it seemed that the vampires had been persuaded that the students meant business and many turned around, only to face Angel and his team of students, along with Wesley. Angel smirked as the two groups looked at one another before he led his group into a charge, attacking the vampires full on.

Willow began to move to the back of the crowd, ready for the next stage of the plan. The flamethrowers were going to fun out of fuel soon and then... they would have to be ready. She caught sight of Angel taking on two vampires at once, his skills, gained over centuries of experience, far exceeding those of any of the vampires he faces as he carved a path through the students, leaving a dusty trail in his wake.