Act 7
Fade In:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Continuous
The Empress Zorgy continued to stare down the witch.
“I’m waiting.” Willow told her calmly. “Whatcha got left in the borrowed magic tank?”
Suddenly, Rowena’s voice echoed in the ether around both women, sounding like it was coming from underwater.
“Sweetheart? Can you hear me?”
“Sure, sugar tits,” Zorgy said sarcastically. “Oh, sorry. That sweetheart was meant for you,” she added, pointing to Willow. “My bad.”
The witch ignored the remark and called back, “Yeah, Baby. What is it?”
“Ken did it. Her entire team is enroute. Also, Kadin says thanks.”
Zorgy seemed confused by the message as Willow smiled. Then she gave her full attention to the demon.
“Remember when you said we don’t have enough slayers?” Willow informed Zorgy with a grin. “Well, let’s just say we’ve got more than you think.”
The final word had a sharpness to it.
Flash To:
Int.
Guild of Independent Slayers – Tiffany Stewart’s Office – Day
One Week Prior
Public Square and the bustle of Downtown Cleveland spread out below Tiffany Stewart’s window. The Guild President herself sat behind her desk, her back to the window, listening impassively as Grace continued to speak.
“Y’know, Tiffany…you might not like what I did to find out, but I’m being serious, really bad things are coming. We’re going to need all the help we can get.”
The two women’s eyes met for a long moment, and then Tiffany said, “Sounds like it was a really bad time to piss off all the slayers, then.”
Grace closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and was quiet for a moment before she reopened her eyes and spoke.
“You lost your watcher. And I lost my slayer – one of my best friends in the world. She took the slayer serum, too – a Hail Mary pass for an incurable illness. She died not long after.”
“Casey,” was all Tiffany said.
Grace nodded and, although she didn’t cry, her eyes did shine in the light from the window.
“Don’t think for a moment that the deal I made with Tess Muller for info on Zorgy was easy. I fought every impulse for revenge. And I’m not lying when I say nothing would make me happier than watching that bitch burn. I knew the slayers who passed; I knew some of the lancers, too. But duty comes before retribution. It’s what my slayer would’ve wanted.”
“How do you know what she would have wanted?” Tiffany asked without malice.
Grace grinned slightly. “Knowing where she stood on things was never an issue. She shared her opinion with everyone. It didn’t matter if they wanted to hear it or not.” Grace shrugged. “And she was pretty into setting stuff, and well, enemies on fire when the cause was right…anyway, this new threat. Her name is Zorgrafilloraxtragor, or Zorgy for short. Not our nickname. She gave it to herself.”
“Zorgy? With a name like that, I’m sure the Council’s got it covered,” Tiffany replied.
Grace didn’t say anything immediately. “We don’t. Neither do any of your lancers or guild members for that matter. Together we’re stronger, and without each other Earth will fall.”
Tiffany shook her head. “If you want me to sell our members on the idea of helping you in this battle, you’ve got to give me something really big that they actually want, not just your dumb WatchR app you came here today to peddle. Sounds like you’re being melodramatic.”
Grace ignored the jab and continued, “Zorgy doesn’t want some ‘kneel before Zod’ moment. She doesn’t want to control or enslave us. She wants to destroy us. Every single person on this planet.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Tess.” Tiffany rolled her eyes at Grace’s admission, but the Chairwoman was undeterred. “And spies who have corroborated her claims. But the biggest tip off was when we thought we had captured and brought Zorgy to the Council.”
“So…you got her?”
Grace shook her head. “She played us. We thought we captured her but…after several chats with various Council members, she just walked out of there without a care in the world. She set us up, she was in control the entire time. It was…enlightening.” She gave a rueful smile. “We thought she was locked in there with us, but we were locked in there with her.”
“What’s the bitch claiming?”
“She’s a narcissist with an army of over a million waiting to breach the Hellmouth. Once the barrier between worlds falls, the end begins. If we can’t beat back this threat and close the barrier, Earth is lost. This…squabble between us…it’s gonna look really bloody silly in hindsight. The thing is…all melodrama aside, I don’t think either of us will survive for me to say ‘I told you so’.”
“Who else knows about this?” Tiffany asked, now suddenly interested.
“You and the chairs of each division in the Watcher’s Council Headquarters in Cleveland.”
“No one else?”
“No one else.”
“No other branches?”
“Not yet. I’m going to try to close Cleveland, too, order a full evacuation of the city. The city doesn’t know it yet, but they will.”
“How are you so sure they’ll agree?” Tiffany asked. Grace just smiled. Tiffany began to nod. “Because you’re the Watchers Council…the deep state.”
“Yes, the insidious deep state that’s saving humanity in the shadows on a daily basis for millennia. So what I’m offering you is not some silly app. It’s life. The chance to continue living. But we need to clear the city of civilians.”
“If you’re shutting things down, shouldn’t you be at City Hall and not here?”
“You’re my first stop.”
“Why me?”
“I need you and I trust you. We both love this world…we just don’t always see eye to eye on how to best protect it.”
Tiffany grinned. “That’s an understatement some days.”
“But I have faith today won’t be one of those days. Plus, I’m telling you because you’re not melodramatic and you’ll see this threat for what it is…the end of life as we know it.”
“When does this happen?”
“Zorgy hasn’t RSVP’ed, but soon. And all signs point to the Slayer Memorial as the place.”
“The Council got to Vor that way. I remember,” Tiffany replied.
“Here’s the thing…We can stop her, and by we I don’t mean the Council. I mean all of us. You live on earth – your members do, too – they have a stake in what happens here. They should have a say in how to defend Earth and if they want to take part. And between you and me, the Coven is looking to reactivate all the living deactivated slayers, yourself included, for a limited time.”
“Is that possible?” Tiffany asked skeptically.
“Yes,” Grace answered. “Well, we think so, anyway. Is it guaranteed? Well, honestly, no. All I’m asking is that you give those women that opportunity to fight for their world.”
Tiffany considered her words. “How about this? The Guild will support the Council, but only after the spell has worked. I don’t want Guild members or retired slayers dying for a lost cause. Agreed?”
She held out her hand as Grace grinned. She reached over and shook Tiffany’s hand. “Deal.”
Tiffany’s own grin widened. She held up her finger and pressed the call button on her desk phone. “Jamie, first, this afternoon, cancel all of this week’s meetings and tell them we’ll call to reschedule.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the voice called back.
“Second,” Tiffany said, “assemble all the board members in my office within the next thirty minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am. Anything else?”
“One second.” Tiffany turned to Grace. “What’d ya like to eat, Ms. Hatherley? Sushi, pizza, vegan, Chinese…?”
Grace smiled. “Ms. Stewart, I’ll eat rusty nails slathered in marinara sauce over a plate of thumb tacks if it means you’ll back this plan.”
Tiffany chuckled and hit the button again, “Let’s do pizza lunch, Jamie. Large meat, large veggie, cheesy bread and a bucket of rusty nails for Ms. Hatherley.”
“Ma’am?” the voice asked on the other side as Grace smiled.
“Inside joke,” Tiffany explained. “That’s all for now.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Tiffany rolled her shoulders and turned to Grace. “Before the pizza and the board get here…From the top…tell me everything.”
Grace nodded. “Here’s my idea…”
Flash To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Present Day
“So you have more slayers? Big whoop,” Zorgy taunted. “What is it with you guys always thinking the solution is more slayers. There used to be just one, as I hear it, and that mostly worked out pretty okay. You know, from your perspective. Look, you know as well as I do that a couple hundred slayers are not gonna matter.”
“You’re right,” Willow agreed. “But several thousand might.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Same Time
Tiffany held a metal sphere in her hands, waiting for the right moment. Then she squeezed it tight, crushing it easily. Next to her, two other women did the same. They all glanced at one another and smiled widely.
“I guess we’re on,” she said to the two women beside her. Behind them stood slayer after slayer stretching back along the street into the distance. When seen from above, it wasn’t just a single street. Fifteen streets leading toward the Slayer Memorial were entirely filled with Guild members.
“Forward march!” she yelled, raising her sword. She then turned to walk up the street, and the women behind her began to follow.
In her earpiece, she heard Grace’s voice. “I’ve got eyes on you.” The reactivated slayer looked up and saw the drones overhead. “Thank you, President Stewart,” Grace added sincerely.
Tiffany smiled and took a moment to appreciate the sword in her hand as she walked forward. “Thank you, Chairwoman Hatherley.”
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Grace said, in a tone that sounded as if she was smiling.
Tiffany beamed. “Oh, I intend to.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Same Time
Zorgy paused, computing the information in her mind. “Yeah, more slayers. So what? Either way, your secret is out now.”
Willow grinned. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
“You think you know, but you really don’t know.”
“I know that you know that…shut up!” Zorgy yelled in frustration as Willow continued to grin. “I’m gonna wipe that smile right off your dead face,” she threatened.
Willow simply continued to grin. “You haven’t succeeded yet, have you?”
Zorgy opened her mouth like she was going to reply, but then she suddenly stopped. She looked at the smile on Willow’s face as the witch just shrugged her shoulders in a maybe gesture.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial Grounds – Same Time
On top of the vehicle, Kadin continued to slash at the Fairy Queen. The queen continued to deflect. Before she could return a volley, Kadin got in so close to her personal space it was preventing the queen from striking. She tried to push her blue adversary away, but failed because of Kadin’s sheer power. When that didn’t work, she tried to roll to get to her feet.
That was what Kadin needed. As soon as the fairy’s back was exposed, Kadin swiped. Her large taloned hands laced with the iron knuckles sliced into the dark wing and she began to cut the appendage before she tightened her hold.
The Queen’s eyes went wide as Kadin pulled for all her worth, ripping a good chunk of the fairy’s wing away with a spray of blue blood and tossing it down in front of her, the wing’s purple glow already beginning to fade. Seeing part of her wing in front of her, the enraged Queen pushed up on Kadin with great force.
Since she was partially winged, her movement was off, and she couldn’t find her proper footing. Suddenly she felt her body turned around and came face to face with an angry Kadin. Unable to break free, she watched Kadin rear her arm back and drive her claws deep into her stomach.
Her eyes opened as wide as her mouth dropped open.
“You’ll never hurt my family again,” Kadin sneered. Then she quickly raised her arm, dragging her claws upward through the Queen’s abdomen, effectively gutting her.
Kadin stepped back and the Queen swayed for a moment, clutching her stomach, before she fell face first at Kadin’s feet.
Cut To:
Ext
Outside Slayer Spell Site – Cleveland Street
As the rest of their team of slayers finished off the set of demons they had been fighting, Kennedy and Faith both scanned the area. Sophie and Jake were also looking around, trying to find anything that was not destroyed. After a moment, Jake started to point.
“Over there!” he said excitedly, with a motion toward two police motorcycles lying on their side in the street nearby.
“Faith knows how to ride,” Kennedy said. “But I don’t. Or at least not well enough with all these obstacles around.”
“We do!” Jake and Sophie both said at the same time, pointing at one another.
Kennedy shook her head. “I don’t think your parents would approve of you–”
She was cut off by the sound of a large blast nearby. Jake didn’t wait. He ran over toward the motorcycles.
“Jake!” Kennedy called after him, but he kept moving.
“Desperate times, desperate measures,” Faith said, before the trio followed Jake. He was already inspecting the bike and speaking to himself when they arrived.
“Gotta be automatic start someplace,” he muttered. He continued to look over the bike while securing the helmet that he had found attached to the seat. Suddenly an optimistic expression came over his face and seconds later the cycle roared to life. “Ha!” He motioned to Kennedy behind him. “Hop on!”
Kennedy looked unsure. “Can your feet even touch the ground?” she asked.
“They don’t need to. Besides, that’s something you can do. Hold up the bike when we stop, and I’ll do the driving.”
Sophie sat on the other bike and reached for the handlebars, but Faith picked her up by her armpits and moved her back. Her excited expression fell into disappointment as Faith handed her a helmet.
“I got it, small fry,” Faith told her as she climbed aboard. She asked Jake, “Where’s the ignition?”
“It’s too big,” Sophie complained about the helmet to no one in particular as she tried to secure it.
“Here and here,” Jake pointed, showing Faith as Kennedy finally reluctantly climbed behind him. Faith followed his directions, and her bike came to life, too. The pair share a devious smile with each other.
“Number one rule,” Jake said to Kennedy. “Lean with me in the turn or otherwise we’ll topple over.”
“You heard that, right?” Faith said to Sophie.
“Duh,” the girl replied. She pointed toward Kennedy. “She’s the dead weight here.”
“Hey!” Kennedy complained. “I rode with my wife!”
Faith shook her head and tried not to laugh, while Jake just chuckled. He started his motorcycle and pulled out, with Faith following close behind him.
Cut To:
Ext
Slayer Memorial – Near Council Field Command – Night
Demons and slayers battled one another for dominance as Krog arrived to survey the current state of the battle. He jumped on a retaining wall around the Memorial Grounds to get a greater field of vision.
In the near distance, he saw a group of humans forming various circle patterns and other geometric shapes. He called to the demon a few feet from him on the ground and pointed in the direction of the humans. “Hioto! Nurow guuid!”
The demon nodded and then spoke to another of his compatriots, who then ran to spread the word.
“Compery Krog!” Slaygirl shouted, which made him turn toward her. She was standing on a nearby bench to try to grab his attention. “Isn’t that what your vermin called you earlier?”
Krog swung his sword to stretch his massive arm muscles. “Humans never learn,” he shouted to her above the battle. Then he hopped down from his perch and moved closer.
“You really do understand English,” she said in surprise.
“My empress says that it is important to be…multicultural,” he brought his sword in front of him and stared her down.
“Well, this culture is about to kill your ass,” Slaygirl said confidently.
Krog waved her off. “I have no time for word battles. The real one awaits.” He turned his back and began to walk toward the Council Field Command tent, with its cadre of watchers and Coven members, along with his squad of demon soldiers.
Slaygirl watched him walk away in disbelief. “You arrogant son of a bitch!”
Cut To:
Ext.
Elsewhere on Slayer Memorial Grounds – Same Time
Tiffany ran her sword through a demon. Around her, other slayers were in the midst of battle with their own opponents. When her sword was knocked out of her hand, she grabbed her attacker by their armor and threw them toward another slayer, who finished them off with a swift stabbing blow. Tiffany kicked the sword back into her hand and yelled, “Ha! Give me somebody!”
Seconds later, she was blindsided by a demon, taking her to the ground.
Cut To:
Int.
Watchers Council – Command Center – Same Time
Grace and Rowena, watching the drone feed, both saw Tiffany go down.
They looked at one another with concern, but it was short lived. Tiffany rose to her feet quickly and easily slashed through the enemies rushing toward her. Both watchers gave a sigh of relief.
Rowena spared a glance to the drone feed on the monitor to her right to see Kennedy and Faith leaving the city on motorcycles with her children, before she turned back to watch Tiffany.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial – Near Council Field Command/Vor Spell Site – Same Time
Charlotte raced toward the approaching Krog. Before she could make contact, he backhanded her with such force that she fell several feet away. The tall demon then reached down, grabbed Charlotte by the back of her collar and easily tossed her a couple dozen yards through the air. He casually started to close the distance. The light topsoil impacted under Charlotte’s palms as she scrambled backwards in the direction of the tree line. As she moved, she stifled moans between pained winces. These sounds gave way to dulled screams, the clanging of metal and cleaving of claws and body blows from the battle around them, but cutting through the din was the heavy, encroaching persistent thud of large boots, their bass reverberating between the earth and back up through her body. For his part, Krog coolly marched toward Charlotte in a single straight line that the demons and slayers that danced around him in combat seemed either to allow or ignore.
“A valiant attempt.” He held his head high, peering down his ashen nose, “…for one so…tiny. So infirm. This is a kindness, little one, truly. Your suffering on this plane ends today.”
He came to a stop above her. Then, he raised his hulking arms, the leather of his jacket creaking around his biceps.
Cut To:
Ext.
Nearby Treeline – Same Time
With a palpable clunk, the barrel of a mini-gun set into place, grasped by well-manicured hands. It began to spin and whirl. It stopped only for a moment to reveal SlayBae behind the barrel.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial – Near Council Field Command/Vor Spell Site – Same Time
Slowly, Krog’s large hands balled into fists. Charlotte screwed her eyes shut and flung her head to the side, her tears catching the crumpled blades of grass beneath her. She gasped.
Seconds later, a barrage of silver bullets ripped into the bodies of several nearby demons, sending them flying or writhing and felling them in equal measure. Some of the slayers in the area hit the deck, while others jumped into the tree line.
“Jesus,” Slaygirl shouted. “What the hell?! A little warning, huh?!”
Charlotte didn’t hear the bullets, but she saw the demons fall as if they were hit by projectiles, so she pressed her body as low to the ground as she could manage. For his part, Krog stepped back slightly and looked down in annoyance, rather than fear, as bullets ricocheted off his armor.
Cut To:
Ext.
Nearby Tree Line – Same Time
Without warning, the railgun stuck in place and stopped firing. SlayBae punched at the side of the weapon for a few seconds before throwing it to the ground in frustration. She then took a deep breath and regained her composure. She looked down at the weapon, then picked it up again, inspecting it.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial – Near Council Field Command/Vor Spell Site – Same Time
Slayers and demons alike began to rise back into their combat stances when no other gunfire followed. Seconds later, with his fists still held high, Krog readed himself for Charlotte’s death blow. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. When it didn’t come immediately, she opened them again to see that Krog was craning his neck to look behind himself. A metal hook now burst through his right wrist.
Purple blood sprayed across Charlotte’s face. She caught her breath and looked up, stunned, to see Krog bearing his canines in pain. Between blinks, she saw him wince. Then he was violently dragged backwards, off of his feet, at a surprising pace. Charlotte’s eyes bulged.
A snaking mechanical whine filled the night, along with the drag of Krog’s boots struggling to stay on the ground. With determination, Krog managed to get his weight under himself and turn around, his right wrist contorted. He reached for the metal cable behind the hook and gripped it.
As he did, the hook’s arms retracted and it shot out of Krog’s wrist, making him trip forward. The hook flew back into SlayGirl’s grapple gun and she threw down a small round canister at his feet. Hitting the ground with a chink, it exploded with a thick cloud of dust.
Coughing, Krog stumbled and threw out his arms to part the gray fog. As it began to dissipate, another noise bore down on him.
Palms, feet, palms, feet, palms, feet.
Bursting through the smoke, SlayBae vaulted from a handstand and landed her feet square into Krog’s chest, the resultant momentum sending him barrelling back into the thick trunk of a nearby tree.
SlayBae fell to the earth and effortlessly landed on both feet with all the grace of a gymnast. She smirked.
A flurry of leaves fell from the branches above. His senses gathered, Krog pushed himself off of the trunk, his eyes burning embers as bright as his fiery red beard. He shook his head, removing stuck leaves from his equally smoldering hair.
A crack. A snap. He looked up to see Maddie dropping from on high. She landed with a thud on his shoulders and immediately gripped his horns.
Krog threw his weight around and reached up to grab her, but Maddie pulled herself close into the middle of his back and pulled hard on his horns.
His panting tinged with increasing annoyance, his head arched back to meet the night’s sky. Maddie rammed her boot into the crook of his back, felling Krog to his knees.
“We weren’t done talking,” Slaygirl said, before she violently elbowed Krog several times in the nose. Something definitely cracked, and only then did she proceed to chokehold him.
With an almighty roar, Krog jumped back to his feet, grabbed Maddie’s leg and tore her off of him, throwing her like a ragdoll into the trees. He spun back toward Slaygirl, who thrust a stake into his shoulder. The wood splintered against his armor and the rock hard muscles underneath. Krog did not look pleased. With a cock of his head, he smirked and then, in one swift motion, ejected Slaygirl from the fray with a boot to her chest. As she quickly came to rest sprawled on the ground, she reached for her belt. Undeterred, he continued his approach as she quickly lit a handful of firecrackers and tossed them toward him as he approached.
As the small explosives went off, she moved to her feet and muttered, “For you, Lexi.”
Krog threw up his hands to protect his eyes from the light of the crackling and whizzing fireworks. He turned to see SlayGirl rush him, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks into him through the sparks, ducking and weaving between his swings. She cartwheeled backwards, landing a kick to his chin, but he caught her other leg and was about to throw her when…
“Hey, asshole.”
Krog furiously glanced back over his shoulder and was immediately met with a metal baseball bat to the face.
Crystal stepped forward, her eyes glinting in the nearby lamplight, revealing a furious spark. She rolled the bat with her wrist and smirked as she closed the gap. Shrugging off the hit, Krog stood and swung out at Crystal, who dug her heels into the dirt, bracing herself. His hand connected and gripped the bat, which audibly vibrated as it came to a sudden stop. She steeled herself, her eyes locked on his. He pushed forward, but she did not move. Through gritted teeth, Crystal managed to actually move Krog back, however slightly. Then her eyes shifted down briefly to his waist. His jacket rode upward, revealing a small piece of abdomen. She dropped one hand, quickly reached for a holstered knife on her belt and dug it deep into his stomach.
Krog released his grip on the bat and stumbled back, clutching his side, purple blood seeping from between his fingers. He roared in pain and anger.
Stepping forward, Crystal rested her baseball bat on her shoulder. Beside her was SlayGirl, who readied herself in a tight close quarter combat stance. Beside her, Anisha, her eyes steely ahead and head held high. At the front of the pack stood Maddie, who spat a mouthful of blood to the ground with a fierce glare, and SlayBae, who held her minigun, aimed directly at Krog.
“What is this?!” he seethed, his voice and face pained. “Children playing with their toys…”
“Oh, my toys are only suitable for ages eighteen and up, Buddy-boy,” SlayBae goaded him. “But you know, if you wanna taste…” She raised her minigun up in front of her crotch.
“Buddy? Boy?!” Krog managed to stand upright.
Shannon and a group of slayers emerged, limping, from the trees, their eyes wide at the bodies of countless dead demons fertilizing the earth and the team of five encircling Krog.
Crystal, who was closest, led the charge. As Krog swung out with a blood curdling roar, she dropped to the ground, her knees bending all the way back, and skidded straight through his legs. As she did, she punched upwards, into his undercarriage. As Krog stumbled forward, winded, color burgeoning on his pale cheeks, Maddie launched herself into the air and delivered a spinning roundhouse kick to his face before pirouetting out of the way, while SlayGirl threw a set of shuriken at him. Krog raised both arms in front of him to deflect the throwing stars. While most bounced off of his armor, some remained stuck in his flesh.
As he dropped his arms, SlayBae readied her minigun, but Krog kicked a demon’s corpse up into the air and launched it in her direction. It struck the gun, causing SlayBae and the weapon to fall to the ground. He charged forward and grabbed SlayGirl by the cape as she tried to evade him, tearing it from her shoulders. He turned and cast it in Maddie’s direction as she returned to rush him once more. She found herself caught in it, frantically flailing to get it off, and as she did, he punched her straight in the chest, sending her hurtling across the grounds.
Crystal doubled back for another assault, but Krog jumped into the air and then straight back onto the grass, making the ground shake as he landed. The quake caused her to lose her balance, stumbling forward into his open hand. He gripped her by the throat and raised her above his head. He was about to toss her to the ground when Shannon ran forward and swung the dropped bat against Krog’s nearest horn. She sheared a piece off to a blood curdling howl. He dropped Crystal, but SlayGirl came zipping through the air, grabbing Crystal under her arm. The pair darted off, scrambling to safety.
SlayBae picked up her minigun and took aim, but it refused to fire.
“Shit!” she yelled. As another demon approached her, she used her gun as a club and threw it at him with such force that it rammed him in the head and took him to the ground, where he lay, unmoving.
The piece of horn Shannon had broken off was plucked out of the air by a waiting hand. Anisha twirled the broken horn until she could wield it like a dagger. She leaped and drove it into Krog’s neck. He roared once again as she used it as a makeshift rock climbing grip to mount him, wrapping her legs around his neck and pulling him down to the ground.
Krog tried to move off of his back but the others rushed him, delivering kick after kick after kick into his writhing body. By his head stood SlayBae. She raised one leg up high into the air and gripped her thigh.
“Death Proof, fucker,” she snarled and let go of her thigh, slamming her heel hard down square in his face. There was a very loud pop and Krog immediately ceased all movement.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial / Vor Spell Site – Treeline – Same Time
Charlotte, now propped up against the base of a tree, watched, mouth agape, from a distance as Slaygirl raised a sword high above her head and brought it down on Krog’s neck.
“Oh, my God, Charlotte!” Shannon ran, falling to her knees beside her. She gripped her friend’s head, brushing her hair out of her eyes and checking for bleeding. She tried to turn her head toward her, but Charlotte gingerly raised a finger.
After a beat, Shannon followed the direction Charlotte was pointing. Then she blinked and shuffled back slightly as she watched Maddie, SlayBae, Crystal, Anisha and SlayGirl stride toward them, with the latter holding something in her hand.
“You want something done, you call the professionals,” Maddie said with nonchalant aplomb.
“After a few false starts,” Anisha pointed out.
“They don’t need to know that part.” Maddie shot her a withering look.
Breathing hard and with splatters of purple blood on her, Slaygirl held Krog’s severed head by a single horn. She tossed it to the ground.
The other slayers took up defensive positions in front of their own as Shannon asked, “Are you…” Her eyes darted between Krog’s corpse and the group. “…are you with us?”
“Today we are,” Slaygirl replied. Cocksure, she strode past the other slayers and extended her hand to Shannon. “Sorry we didn’t have time to gift wrap your present.”
Anisha cast her head to the side, taking in Charlotte’s cochlear implant. She bent down before her with a soft smile and began to sign, much to Charlotte’s surprise and glee in equal measure. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. You guys are wild.”
“I think you mean weird.”
They shared a laugh.
On her feet, Shannon brushed herself down and then reached out and took Charlotte under her arm. “We’re heading over to protect the spellcasters. You guys in?”
Slaygirl grinned and then said, “Lead the way.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Same Time
The slayer spellcasters were on their motorcycles making their way out of the city, with Jake escorting Kennedy and Faith chauffeuring Sophie. While not moving extremely fast, they didn’t waste any time. As quickly as possible, they drove around the debris and the melees breaking out along the route between slayers and demons.
Faith looked over and saw the sign for the Interstate and shouted over to Jake.
“We gotta go left,” she yelled as she also pointed in that direction. “Follow me!”
Jake nodded in the affirmative, and Faith took the lead. As they were nearing the street to take them to the onramp to safety, one of the large, razor-toothed creatures that had destroyed their getaway vehicle came running in their direction.
“Shit,” Faith swore. “Hang on!” she told Sophie. They swerved out of its way with only feet to spare.
Kennedy looked back from her seat as Jake and Faith kept their eyes on the road ahead of them. Sophie tried to look, but her helmet was too cumbersome. She had to hold the helmet with one hand to stop it from sliding. However, she did manage to turn her head. The two passengers gave each other concerned looks when they saw the demonic animal slide to a stop and then double back in their direction. Their eyes went wider when it started to gain on them.
“Must go faster! Must go faster!” Kennedy ordered Jake as he glanced in his rear mirror.
“You sound like Ian Malcolm!” he told her as he opened the throttle.
“Who?” Kennedy asked.
At the same time, Faith, Jake and Sophie all yelled, “Jurassic Park!”
Kennedy released her hold on Jake’s waist in an effort to cast a spell from her hand. The movement of the bike, however, required her to grab him to stay upright. She groaned in frustration.
Seeing the difficulty that Kennedy was having conjuring, Sophie’s eyebrows scrunched, like she was considering something. “Not everyone leaves,” she muttered. She began to look around the area. Then she saw it.
“Get to that tree-lined street!” She pointed. Jake looked over to see where she was gesturing and nodded.
“The highway is over there!” Faith yelled.
“Just do it!” Sophie screamed over the roar of the engines.
“Come on!” Jake motioned his head to Faith.
Faith still didn’t seem sure, but Jake had already turned in that direction, so she reluctantly followed. As the cycles raced along, Sophie closed her eyes, tightened her hold on Faith and began to chant something just under her breath. In the distance, dots of black began to fill the air on both sides of the street. The monster was closer than ever, now only feet away instead of yards as they raced through the vacant residential street.
As the monster opened its enormous mouth to bite the trailing motorcycle, suddenly a massive flock of birds swooped down – some from the sky and some from the trees – and began to attack the monster. Trying to avoid the avian onslaught, the monster gave up the chase and instead went into a defensive mode. Jake and Faith took advantage of the distraction to open their throttles. Once they were yards away, Jake looked over to see his sister still chanting. He glanced in his mirror and watched as two large trees on each side of the street swayed back and forth before they came crashing down across the road behind them, further blocking the beast’s pursuit. Once the trees fell, Sophie stopped the chants and opened her eyes.
“Did it work?!” she asked as she tried to look behind her. Her head turned, but her oversized helmet didn’t and it blocked her vision yet again.
“Yeah! How did you do that?!” Faith asked her.
“Ma says everything in nature is connected. You just gotta find the path!”
“Ha! You found it, girl!” Faith praised her.
Sophie grinned and looked over at her brother, who gave her a big smile and a quick thumbs-up before they continued down the road.
Cut To:
Ext.
Council Field Command Center – Same Time
Dawn shot up from her prone position on the ground and wheezed for a moment. She looked around quickly to see all the fighting surrounding them and Skye seated next to her.
“Did it…?” Dawn asked. As she raised her blackened arms in front of her, she watched as they began to return to normal, starting from her elbows and traveling toward her wrists.
Skye smiled as she held up the fairy sword. “Work? You betcha!”
Dawn looked around and saw the battle continuing, then asked, “Did I miss the spell?”
Skye shook her head as they watched Jeff jogging toward them.
“Dawn,” he began when he was close enough, “if you need to sit this one out–”
“Nuh uh,” Dawn insisted. “You know you can’t do this without my cosmic energy anchoring you and all those covens. You literally told me that less than twenty-four hours ago.”
“She has a cosmic energy vibe,” Skye agreed soberly.
“Twenty-four hours ago,” Jeff said, holding up a finger, “I didn’t know you’d look like a marshmallow held too long over the campfire.”
She showed him her arms and how the chars had now cleared all the way up to her knuckles. “Good as new in a few minutes, tops…Besides, I’m here to the end.”
Jeff smiled, and he and Skye helped Dawn to her feet.
Cut To:
Ext.
Slayer Memorial Grounds – Near Council Field Command Center – Same Time
Xander and Gunn held on to the large cannon-like weapon. The silver circular barrel shook slightly as the ground beneath them quaked. Slayers standing guard had to extend their arms or hold the large carriage to keep their balance. But just as soon as the quake had started, it was over. In front of them, in the far distance, hundreds of thousands of demons ran toward them, their mass ballooning to cover miles of space.
Xander hit his radio. “Jeff? Make with the Magics.”
Cut To:
Ext.
Council Field Command Center – Same Time
“Copy that,” Jeff called back over his radio. He walked into the center circle, surrounded by all the covens from Cleveland and the surrounding areas that had gathered in their own circles. From above, they looked like a cluster of bubbles, together forming a perfect circle.
Jeff took his spot with the Cleveland Coven, with Dawn on one side and Skye on the other.
“We got you,” Dawn reassured him. He grinned and tightened his grip on her hand.
“If this doesn’t work, I’m blaming you,” Skye said, giving him side eye as she did.
“Skye,” Dawn admonished.
“That’s fair,” Jeff replied, his tone deadpan. Skye then grinned and playfully bumped shoulders with him, which he returned in kind.
Cut To:
Ext.
Cleveland Street – Same Time
Zorgy grinned. “You’re not trying to stop me. You’re trying to delay me.”
Willow arched an eyebrow. “Is it working?”
Zorgy laughed. “You’re not the only one with secrets, you know.”
“Is that so?” Willow replied, sounding bored, as she casually leaned back against a concrete pillar.
Zorgy nodded. “You thought it was bad so far…I just opened the hellmouth, Baby.”
Willow smirked and, with a slight nod, said, “Thank you.”
Fade Out
End of Act Seven