Gods And Monsters

Chapter Sixty:

The sun dipped below the horizon and night fell upon Sunnydale.

Hel woke up shortly afterward, and, as per her routine every week or so, immediately began her ritual of granting the souls of the recently passed away eternal rest. It was her duty, after all.

She locked herself in Buffy's bedroom, not wishing to be disturbed, and sat cross-legged in the centre of the bed. She shut her eyes. An aura of the purest white surrounded her as she repeated an incantation over and over in her mind, summoning the spirits to her. Her moonstone skin glowed, as if ignited from within.

Flickers of pale light began to manifest, hovering passively in the air. They drew nearer to her with every passing second, and, one by one, each spirit was absorbed into her body. She was merely the vessel for their journey home.

Her eyes flew open as she inhaled a sharp, ragged breath. Her irises and the whites of her eyes were pitch black. Her lips moved, almost imperceptibly, as Hel began to softly murmur the incantation.

The volume of her voice gradually increased, her internal temperature skyrocketed, and her flushed skin broke into a sweat.

The light seeping from her body intensified as her ritual drew steadily to a close. Her aura became blinding as the spirits were expelled from her, exploding upwards in a shimmer of stardust. They shot through the ceiling and roof, unimpeded by the corporeal world as they journeyed to her home realm of Helheim.

Drifting back down to earth, Hel closed her eyes with a relieved sigh. Sensation returned to her physical body soon enough, and she wriggled her fingers to test for mobility. When her eyes reopened, the black had vanished.

Alerted to a commotion downstairs, she slowly slid off of the bed. She took special care walking down the stairs, as her limbs were still weak and tingling. Her legs felt like jelly.

Buffy stood by the front door, preparing to leave by the looks of it. Her eyes locked onto Hel. "One of the Potentials made a run for it. I'm going after her. Can I count on your help?"

"Of course." Hel replied confidently, not skipping a beat.

Together, they headed out in pursuit of Annabelle. It didn't take too long for them to arrive at an industrial manufacturing complex near the outskirts of town, under the guidance of Hel's tracking skills.

However, by the time they got there, it was too late. Her broken body lay motionless on the pavement, discarded carelessly behind a dumpster.

Buffy appeared visibly upset over the loss, taking a moment to contemplate the situation.

Hel was seemingly unaffected. "Shame." She remarked offhandedly.

All of a sudden, Buffy was attacked from behind and knocked to the ground. Instinctively, she crawled away and took cover, crouching beside the dumpster.

The Turok-Han responsible for slaughtering Annabelle shifted its attention to Hel.

Hel grinned. "Hello." She aimed a swift in the direction of his grotesque face, but he ducked. She swung a punch, but he blocked her blow. He struck her across the cheek, then landed a hard punch to her stomach with enough force to throw her to the asphalt face-first.

The Uber Vamp bent down, grasping her by the throat and lifting her off the ground. Her airway was constricted. Her adrenaline-laced blood was thrumming in her veins. She spat blood in his face, glowering defiantly. Started, he dropped its guard, which gave her just enough time to escape. 

Buffy leapt to her feet and came to Hel's aid, helping her to her feet.

They both broke into as much of a sprint as was possible while limping, heading into the nearby factory. Frantically, they searched the premises for somewhere to lay low. Making their way further into the industrial building, they took cover in the shadows cast by the metal pipes and beams overhead.

Mere moments later, the Turok-Han passed by their hiding spot.

Buffy armed herself with a hefty steel pipe from the cement floor. After a few seconds, they emerged from the dense veil of darkness. Buffy swung the pipe in a wide arc, smacking it against the Uber Vamp's head.

Completely unaffected, he lunged towards her. A savage battle to the death was initiated. The pipe was wrestled out of her hands and discarded. The Turok-Han's hits were brutal, inflicting severe damage to Buffy while he remained uninjured.

The unforgiving kick her delivered to her ribs sent her colliding into metal support beam. He came at her again, and she dropped to the ground to avoid his fist.

Hel intervened, throwing herself between them, but her reflexes not nearly quick enough to prevent the blows he delivered. After yet another punch to the head, she hit the ground. He picked her up with ease, backhanding her across the face and striking her with enough power to launch her across the room.

Her shoulder and hip hit the pavement first. With a strangled, rasping gasp for air, she propped herself up onto her elbows. Her arms quivered as she struggled to sit upright, wincing at the protests of her unwilling body. She attempted to regain her footing and failed miserably.

Buffy dragged herself to her feet, and noticed a pulley hoisting a pallet of metal beam above her.

The Uber Vamp spun around, just in time to watch her kick the pulley lever and send the beams crashing on top of him.

Hel staggered upright, stumbling over to join Buffy as they attempted to make their getaway.  Alerted by the sound of scraping metal, they both pause and turn around. Their eyes widened. The Turok-Han was rising from beneath the stack of beam, seemingly unhurt.

"Holy shit." Hel cursed under her breath.

He leapt out of the rubble and sprinted towards Hel and Buffy. In no time at all, he caught up to them. Grabbing onto Hel from behind, he threw her into a concrete wall.

Her head spinning, she leaned against the wall and watched with a sense of detachment as Buffy fought him. The pain was crippling, unrelenting. Blinking black and white spots freckled her blurry vision.

The Turok-Han grabbed Buffy by the arm and hurled her through the concrete block supporting wall of small, nearby building. The wall crumbled down on top of her and the roof caved in. The Uber Vamp sauntered off, ignoring Hel. She wasn't any of his concern; his task —to mortally wound the Slayer— had been completed.

Hel's knees buckled, her legs giving out from underneath her, and she crumpled to the ground. Her vision went black.