Gods And Monsters

Chapter Ninety-Eight:

Sprinting through the hallway, Hel avoided the fallen wreckage and the debris still falling from above as the floor continued to quake beneath her. She found the front entrance blocked, and headed upstairs. Upon climbing outside through a small window on the second floor, she was blinded by the sun's offensive rays. She launched herself across a short gap and onto the next building just in time, the high school exploding in a billowing cloud of dust directly behind her.

Racing along the flat rooftop of the shopping mall, Hel glanced down at the street below. The school bus, with everyone but herself packed inside, was speeding down the road, swerving around fragments of crumbling buildings and abandoned vehicles. She leapt from building to building, then finally vaulted toward the street, landing on the bus with a thud.

Not far behind the bus, the whole town was collapsing in on itself, being sucked back into the Earth. Once they were out of danger, the bus screeched to a halt with Hel still clinging onto the top. Principal Wood, who was driving in spite of his wounds, turned the ignition off and slumped in his seat with a weary sigh.

Hel jumped down onto the road. The emergency exit door at the back of the bus was flung wide open and Dawn hopped out to wrap her arms around Hel in an unexpected hug as everyone who was able filed off of the bus. Dawn released Hel, joining her sister's side.

Buffy took a few strides toward Sunnydale, which had been reduced to nothing but a vast cavern. The "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign still stood, perched precariously on the edge of the canyon. The sign teetered a little, before falling backwards into the pit that used to be its city.

Giles stared incredulously at the dusty remains of Sunnydale. "I don't understand. Who did this?"

"Spike." Hel announced, her voice surprisingly steady. No one saw the streaked tear stains on her cheeks. They didn't know how broken she was. Not that they'd care if they did, of course.

Xander approached Andrew as he got off the bus. "So, did you see?"

Andrew averted his eyes. "I—I was scared. I'm sorry."

"Did you see what happened? I mean, was she..." Xander trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

Finally, Andrew forced himself to meet Xander's gaze. "She was incredible. She died saving my life."

Resting his hand on Andrew's shoulder, Xander nodded wistfully. "That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing."

Andrew smiled a little, and Xander left him to stand with Buffy.

Faith joined the gathering in front of the canyon, as did Giles and Willow.

"Looks like the hellmouth is officially closed for business." Faith observed.

"There is another one in Cleveland." Giles announced. "Not to spoil the moment." He added apologetically, bending to pick up a rock and throw it into the canyon.

"We saved the world." Xander pronounced, vocalizing what everyone around him was thinking.

"We changed the world." Willow contributed, stepping closer to Buffy. "I can feel them, Buffy. All over. Slayers are awakening everywhere."

"We'll have to find them." Dawn declared.

"We will." Willow assured her.

Giles paced behind them. "Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow."

"We destroyed the mall?" Dawn exclaimed, aghast. "I fought on the wrong side."

"All those shops gone." Xander lamented. "The Gap, Starbucks, Toys "R" Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"

"We have a lot of work ahead of us." Giles interjected.

Faith glanced sidelong at Willow. "Can I push him in?"

"You've got my vote." Willow replied approvingly.

"I just want to sleep, yo, for like a week."

"I guess we all could, if we wanted to." Dawn agreed.

"Yeah." Said Willow, smiling. "The First is scrunched, so..." She looked to Buffy for guidance. "What do you think we should do, Buffy?"

"Yeah, you're not the one and only chosen anymore." Faith added smugly. "Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?"

"Yeah, Buffy." Dawn joined in, "What are we gonna do now?"

As the others chattered around her, Buffy just gazed straight ahead at the hole formerly known as Sunnydale. As she contemplated the future, she smiled.

Hel turned away from the group and began walking away woodenly. She started off down the road with her head down, feeling numb. No one noticed her absence. Lifting her head and rubbing at her damp, tired eyes, she noticed a tiny black dot on the horizon. Then, realizing that it was, in fact, a vehicle, she stepped onto the shoulder of the road and waited for it to pass by.

Only it didn't. Upon reaching her, the rubber tires squealed against the asphalt as the sleek, glossy black car came to an sharp stop a short distance away from her.

Three men exited the vehicle and approached her. They were all identically dressed in classic black suits and ties, with black sunglasses concealing their eyes and audio devices hooked onto their ears.

The shortest man, with cropped light brown hair, took the lead. "M'am, you need to come with us."

"Sorry, but—" Hel broke off mid-sentence, folding her arms across her chest as she paused briefly. "No, wait. I'm not sorry at all. Who the fuck are you?"

"Agent Phil Coulson, of S.H.I.E.L.D." He extended his hand, which she regarded with silent distaste until his hand returned to his side. "I must say, we weren't expecting to actually find you here. We thought it was a long shot at best."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you."

"Well, it's quite simple, really."

Suddenly, the tall, burly man poised beside her lunged forward and attempted to taser her. Of course, Hel had been expecting him to do that. She grabbed his arm with ease, twisting his wrist at an unnatural angle behind his back until he dropped his weapon. However, what she didn't expect was that Agent Coulson would step up and take advantage of her vulnerable side. Her eyes rolled back as the jolt of electricity paralyzed her, and her knees buckled. She collapsed, out cold.

Agent Coulson brought a hand to his earpiece, pressing the button. "Target Acquired, sir."