WARNING! ATTENTION, PLEASE READ THIS FIRST BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER!
Okay folks for this story I made Gudis sicker and more demented than I ever thought even I would. There is some seriously messed up stuff in this tale. If you are offended by material of a sick, morbid, disturbing, ultraviolent or sexual nature then stop now and read no further, you have been warned. Granted I don't know what posting this story will result in. If the admins and mods read this and decide that I have gone too far I ask for leniency and that I simply receive a warning and the story deleted rather than me being banned if at all possible. I'm not trying to piss anyone off or offend anybody, but if such does happen then I do apologize.
Now with that out of the way...
GUDIS: FALL OF THE CHOSEN
Within an ancient temple lost to the ages and forgotten by time an old warlock dressed in a dark colored hooded robe speaks a magical incantation in Latin, his voice growing in volume as the enchanted syllables roll off of his tongue. Upon the floor are assorted mystic totems and various other items needed to bind the spell and make it work in conjunction with the words.
When he finally finishes there is a sudden blinding flash of light…
And standing in the center of the room…is Gudis.
“What the Hell?” He stutters looking around himself in confusion.
“Welcome Gudis.” The warlock announces with his arms outstretched as the monster’s head snaps in his direction, "I had to wait until you assumed human size before bringing you here, it would've proven problematic otherwise."
“Who are you, are you responsible for my apparent abduction?”
“Yes.”
Without wasting anymore words Gudis flies across the room and thrusts his right arm into the warlock…only to have it pass through as if he wasn’t even there.
“I’m sorry Gudis, but I’m afraid attempting to attack or kill me will do you no good.”
“Incorporeal eh?”
“Yes, my name is Tomak, and I am a warlock.”
“Magic? Bah, never did like magic.”
“Of course not, it is one of the only types of energy that you cannot assimilate.”
“Do you have a point to make I shall I just leave?”
“Why of course. I am in need of your services.”
“Services? What do I look like a 2 dollar hooker? Cuz you sure as Hell ain’t dressed like no pimp. What is it that you want and more importantly, why should I care?”
“The job will suit you, it involves the slaughter of hundreds.”
“Indeed?”
“Oh yes.”
“And who are these hundreds that you want dead if I may ask?”
“The slayers.”
“The who?”
“Slayers, chosen by the powers that be to fight the good fight? Into each generation a girl is born, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill needed to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness, stopping the swell of their numbers and the spread of their evil. She is the slayer.”
“Ah yeeeees, the pubescent vampire killers.” Gudis susses out with a nod.
“Exactly, I want you to wipe out the entire slayer line.”
“I thought there was only supposed to be one?”
“At one time their was, but during a climactic battle with the first evil a witch performed a powerful spell that activated every potential slayer on the planet, now there are hundreds.”
“And what is stopping you from doing this yourself?”
“The witch I just spoke of is protecting them, her power far exceeds my own.”
“And what is my incentive for assisting you?”
“What if I told you I could give you immunity to Gaia?”
“Bah, I’m supposed to believe that a puny human warlock such as you could do such a thing?”
“Yes, I can, and with this…” Tomak claims as he pulls out a large glowing orb about the size of a grapefruit.
“What is that?”
“The crystal of Arkarandar, a source of incredible mystical power, enough power for me to give you the power that I speak of.”
Gudis however still appeared skeptical.
“Come now Gudis why decline my generous offer? You cannot tell me that the idea of dismembering countless innocent girls doesn’t appeal to you, I know how you think. And after I will make you completely invincible. Sounds like a win/win situation to me.”
Gudis ponders this for a few moments.
“Very well…we have a deal.”
“Excellent, now if you would please outstretch your hand?” Tomak asks as a tiny flask filled with blood suddenly materializes in Gudis’ palm.
“Blood? Thanks, but I’m not really feeling like a nightcap right now and besides it’s always better fresh out of the jugular.”
“This is slayer blood. If you absorb this you will become connected to them and be able to track every one of them down no matter where they are.”
Gudis pours the contents of the flask onto his hand as the blood absorbs into him.
“This is Buffy Summers’ blood. Just how did you manage this?”
“Let’s just say that we have met before and the results of that confrontation led me to my current course of action.”
“So your saying that she kicked your buttocks.” Gudis quips with a grin.
“Her witch had a part to play in that fiasco. And speaking of which, here.” Tomak says as he suddenly speaks another incantation resulting in a brief flutter of golden particles misting over Gudis.
“And what pray tell was that?”
“A protection spell that renders you immune to any magical attack, it will protect you against the witch.”
“So where you failed you want me to succeed. Very well, I will annihilate your little girl scout troop for you.”
“Excellent.”
Sometime later…
Rome, Italy.
Buffy Summers walks down a busy sidewalk in Rome as she strides toward the Vatican Library, the oldest library in all of Europe which had stood for untold centuries, its sublime architecture though damaged had survived through the ages, withstanding the tests of time, nature, wars and vandals. But Buffy is too lost in thought and worry to care about any of that.
532.
That’s how many slayers were dead as of right now.
They were being hunted, picked off like flies.
And whatever was killing them was extremely powerful…and sick.
One girl was found with every bone in her body broken, another without her skin, a third had been hung by her family’s intestines. But not all of the murders had been in your face attacks, for others there were demented booby traps. Poisoned lip gloss tainted with Kokoi frog toxin, the most poisonous animal in the known world and more than sufficient to kill a slayer. A jerry-rigged shower that poured Oxygen/Argon Plasma the most corrosive compound in existence. One poor girl’s vibrator had a miniature explosive comprised of Octanitrocubane which is 100 times more powerful than TNT.
And the list went on, Buffy shudders pushing the thoughts out of her mind, she doesn’t like thinking about them. She enters the library at last and proceeds to one of the reading tables, but as she sits down a shadowy figure steps out from behind some bookshelves and moves toward her. As the individual moves ever closer their hand reaches inside a trench coat they are wearing to pull out an unseen item as Buffy remains oblivious, she is so distracted she doesn’t even realize who is approaching.
Buffy almost jumps out of her seat when a folder file is slapped down on the table in front of her.
“Damn it Giles!”
“Oh, I’m sorry Buffy I didn’t mean to startle you.” The watcher apologies rather sheepishly.
“No, it’s okay,” Buffy says with a sigh, “So what do you have?”
“12 more.” He answers sadly.
“What? Just since the last time we talked?”
“This killer is moving swiftly and wasting little time in his mission, that’s why we have gathered what we believe are the last remaining slayers and are bringing them here…if they all make it here that is.”
“What?”
“Several planes have made it here alright but five others carrying slayers have already been brought down I’m afraid.”
“Who in the Hell would go to so much trouble to take out a newly activated untrained slayer that they would kill a passenger plane full of people?!”
“Someone without mercy or conscience…or that just doesn’t care.”
“Almost the entire slayer line has been wiped out and we don’t even know who or what it is yet that’s killing us.”
“We do now.” Giles informs her as he motions for her to open the file he had thrown down in front of her.
“Its name…is Gudis…”
****
Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
Kennedy stands by patiently waiting with her arms crossed in front of her, with her are two other slayers whose flight managed to land safely over an hour ago, they are now waiting for what is supposed to be the final jet carrying the last of the slayers on Earth.
“You have no idea how glad I am to be on the ground, especially after hearing about what happened to some of the other planes!” One girl says.
“But we’re still not safe, this thing that’s hunting us could come for us at any time, what will we do if it does?”
“We’ll deal with it.” Kennedy interjects.
“But this thing has killed hundreds of us, what chance do we have?”
“What it has killed are a allot of untrained, unskilled newly activated slayers that never even saw what was coming…we will train you and protect you.” Kennedy tells them.
Nightmarish flashbacks run through Kennedy’s head. Memories of when she and all the other potentials first came to Sunnydale during the time when the first evil was trying to wipe them out.
And now they were dealing with something far worse by comparison.
A few moments of awkward silence pass until one of the two girls decides to speak up again.
“When is the last plane supposed to arrive?”
“It should be any minute now, barring any delays.” Kennedy explains as she looks at the time on her cell phone.
Meanwhile 5 minutes away at 35,000 feet a Boeing 747 cruises along as 4 extremely worried passengers discuss the nature of their trip. They sit huddled together as a stewardess pushes a food cart up alongside where they are seated.
“Cynthia just try to relax we’re almost there now.”
“No, I can’t, that thing is gonna get us, I’m telling you.”
“It got 5 out of 13 planes, the odds are in our favor.” A third girl adds.
“Has anyone heard anything about what this thing is that’s trying to get us, or why?” The fourth asks.
“No, but I heard that it’s some kind of terrible monster.” The third speaks.
“Oh, I’m not so bad…”, A deep demonic voice suddenly says as the stewardess turns to face them with glowing red eyes, “Once you get to know me.” Gudis finishes as the girls faces go pale with utter horror.
Just then the intercom from the cockpit comes on…
“Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking, and here very shortly we are going to experience some major turbulence and then uh…explode. Now this is the part where I’m supposed to advise you to remain calm, stay seated and do not panic, but hey, what fun would that be? Thank you for flying Gudis airways and remember folks, gravity sucks!” The Gudis possessed pilot laughs hysterically.
In the cockpit the co-pilot is already dead, his head having been forcibly shoved up his own anus breaking his spine in the process.
Back at the airport…
“Hey, isn’t that the plane up there?” One of the girls asks as they all look up just in time to see it explode in mid air as the burning remains nosedive toward the landing strip!
“Oh my God!” Kennedy stutters while the other two girls look on frozen with fear.
With another horrendous explosion the 900,000 pound plus plane crashes down, there is no way anyone could’ve survived. Kennedy then makes a desperate call on her cell phone as Giles picks up on the other end.
“Yes Kennedy?”
“Giles the last plane just crashed right in front of us, everyone’s dead!”
“What?! Alright just get yourself and the two girls with you out of there and get back here this instant is that understood?!”
“Giles, something’s walking out of the wreckage.”
Gudis himself in a human sized version of his kaiju form lumbers forward out of the inferno dragging behind him a charred corpse as he moves toward Kennedy‘s position.
“I said get out of there!” Giles bellows.
“Got it.” Kennedy says as she closes her phone, “You two, run, now!”
“But mister Giles said-”
“Now, or you won’t have to worry about that thing killing you!” Kennedy yells threateningly as she turns toward them.
They quickly depart as fast as their legs can carry them as Kennedy turns back around to face the beast that was rapidly approaching, she needed to buy the girls some time.
As Gudis finally reaches her he holds up the corpse only to reveal that the victim in question is actually still alive! It is poor terrified Cynthia, burned almost beyond recognition as Gudis holds her up by the back of her head.
“Ppp-please…he-help mmee…” She manages to barely whimper as she is overwhelmed by suffering.
Kennedy actually takes a step back from the gory display.
“Ah, such sweet, sweet misery. Tis what I live for…and what they die for.” Gudis growls with a devilish smile.
“Let her go!”
“Say please.”
“What?!”
“C’mon, say it.”
“…..please.”
“Ummmm, nope!” Gudis snaps abruptly squeezing and obliterating Cynthia’s skull as bone, blood and gray matter burst in his hand, which he proceeds to lick off his fingers after dropping the girl’s headless body to the pavement.
“You son of a $%#&!” Kennedy stammers as she rushes Gudis drawing a sword…which shatters upon impact against Gudis’ hide.
“Wow, that was pointless.” Gudis says bluntly as he suddenly thrusts out his other hand around her throat, probing her mind as he does so.
“Lezbo huh? And even better, you’re the witch’s girlfriend. Oh, that will make things soooo much sweeter.”
Kennedy punches and kicks with everything she’s got while still in Gudis’ grip but it is to no avail.
“Now…it’s playtime.” Gudis hisses as he pulls Kennedy in close…
****
It’s late when Willow Rosenberg finally returns home from a meeting with the coven, having finished a information gathering session on Gudis. When she gets in the front door of her condo she is pleasantly surprised by the sound of soft music and the smell of fragrant Heliotrope flowers. On a table nearby is a note that she picks up and opens, it is a naughty invite from Kennedy to join her in the upstairs bedroom. With a warm but also mischievous grin she puts down the note and proceeds to head upstairs. When she reaches the bedroom she sees someone hiding underneath the sheets as she walks up to the bed.
“Kennedy, this usually ain’t your style, you usually tackle me when I come in the door.” Willow says as she throws the covers back…only to reveal Cynthia’s burnt headless corpse.
Staggering back in startled shock from the grisly sight Willow suddenly takes notice of something out of the corner of her eye as she turns her head. There before her, crucified upon the wall naked…is Kennedy. She had a dildo pierced through each wrist and one in her mouth shoved through the back of her skull.
“Ke-Kennedy?” Willow stutters in disbelief.
“Two dead lesbian lovers within two years…” Gudis says suddenly off to the side making Willow jump as her head spins in his direction, “Maybe you should give up fish and stick with sausage, hmmm?”
“Gudis!” Willow blurts out.
“I’ll give her credit, she didn’t scream, not even once. Wait a minute no I won’t, I hate it when they don’t scream!”
“You did this!” Willow boils with a sorrow filled rage.
“Oh yeah baby…and you’re next.” He forebodes.
“I don’t think so.” Willow counters as her eyes go completely black.
“Now I have just one question for you…are you a good witch…or a bad witch?” Gudis jibes right before blasts of black lightning stream out of Willow’s hands…only to deflect off of Gudis and come back at her striking her dead on as she goes into the wall hard!
Before Willow can clear the cobwebs Gudis is already upon her as he grabs her by her hair and lifts her up. She tries to summon another blast but for some reason it will not come to her.
“Oh yeah, you should know that while I’m in physical contact with you, you can’t use any magic, a little mystical failsafe that I had installed for your information.”
“I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!”
“Not today you won’t…and you never will…”
****
Buffy had received a message from Willow to meet her at a closed down museum a block from her home, Buffy had no idea what was going on but intended to find out. Buffy arrives to find the lock broken and the door cracked open as she steps inside.
“Willow?!” Buffy calls out as she enters the main hall waiting for a reply.
“Willow?!” She calls again, but still nothing.
“I’m afraid she cannot hear you my dear.” Gudis’ voice echoes throughout the room.
“Who are you?” Buffy asks looking all around her trying to pinpoint the exact position of the voice.
Gudis lets out a deep bellowing laugh before he begins to recite a chilling poem.
“I AM GUDIS, HABRINGER OF SORROW
NOTHING WILL REMAIN, WHEN COMES THE MORROW
YOU PRAY FOR DEATH, WITH A LABORED BREATH
AS CITIES CRUMBLE AND WORLDS TREMBLE
THE UNIVERSE CRIES AS ALL HOPE DIES
FOR GOOD OR EVIL IT MATTERS NOT
ALL THAT LIVES WILL KNOW THE MISERY I HAVE WROUGHT
WHEN I COME FOR YOU, YOU WILL KNOW THE END IS NEAR
I COME TO LAY WASTE TO ALL YOU HOLD DEAR
BODIES FLOATING IN RIVERS OF BLOOD
DESTROYER OF GALAXES, I HAVE THUSLY BEEN DUBBED
I AM UNSTOPPABLE, I AM INVINCIBLE
MY POWER WITHOUT QUESTION IS UNFATHOMABLE
I HAVE DOMINATED ALL FROM THE DAWN OF TIME
MY VIRUS INFESTS YOU, YOUR SOUL WILL BE MINE
NOTHING THAT EXISTS CAN WITHSTAND MY MIGHT
YOUR HEART WILL QUAKE AND QUIVER WITH FRIGHT
I AM THE ALPHA
I AM THE OMEGA
I AM GUDIS!” He finishes as he finally steps out of the shadows.
“And here we finally have the legendary Buffy Summers.” Gudis growls.
“Gudis.” Buffy states with disgust.
“The one and only.” He smiles back.
“You will pay for what you’ve done…and I will kill you.” She commands with a bold determination.
“Is that so little one?”
“Yes, if I can take down the first evil I can take you down too.”
“First Evil, hah! You think you know what evil is child? Do you think you know what power is? There are far worse things in the whole of the universe than the first evil.”
“Like what?”
“Like me.” Gudis boasts as he suddenly forces a torrent of terrible images into Buffy’s mind as she sees how Gudis murdered every single slayer.
In a combination of revulsion and anger Buffy takes a few more steps when suddenly the floor gives out beneath her as she falls into some kind of pit. She looks around and realizes that it is full of blood and body parts as she begins to freak out. Just then the head of a slayer that Buffy knew bobs up and down in front of her causing her to scream.
“Tell me little girl, how does it feel to finally be reunited with your fellow slayers hmmm? Well,…parts of them anyway.” Gudis asks with a perverted sneer as he then pulls a lever that releases a torrent of blood and bile from above along with more dismembered slayers right on top of Buffy burying her alive within the pit. Buffy manages to dig her way out and vomits when she reaches the pit’s edge. Suddenly another body drops down upon the floor in front of her…Willow‘s.
Buffy shrinks back mortified at what she sees.
“Wi-Willow?” She mutters faintly.
“Ding dong…the witch is dead.” Gudis teases cruelly.
Willow lie there before her with a broomstick shoved up her rectum and out her mouth, her head twisted all the way around in a Linda Blair ‘The Exorcist‘ fashion. Not since Buffy came across her mother’s body three years ago has she felt anything like what she is feeling right now. Suddenly Gudis is right behind her.
“I could kill you right now if I wanted to…but I wont. Oh no little one…I’m saving you for last.” He taunts her as he slips his hands around her head from behind as they caress her cheeks, “What you have seen here is only the beginning, the best…is yet to come.” He finishes over her shoulder as he unfolds his wings bolting up through the ceiling of the museum leaving a gaping hole.
Buffy falls to her knees as emotions finally overwhelm her. She hugs Willow’s body to hers and begins to cry. Later when she finally composes herself enough to step back outside she takes notice of two rows of burning torches lining the street off in the distance.
“Aren’t the lights pretty, oh so pretty?” Gudis speaks telepathically inside Buffy’s mind as she walks toward them. It is then that she realizes what they are as she takes a closer look…as well as finally hearing the moans and wails.
Each torch is actually a pike, and impaled on each one…is a slayer…all burning alive as they hang there. It was a method used by the ancient Romans back during the glory days of the Roman Empire that served the dual purpose of lighting the many roadways of Rome traversed at night as well as making an example of enemies that dared to cross them.
"Ah, the Romans had such flare for torture, I would know, I'm the one who showed them how..." Gudis confesses.
****
After discovering what had become of both Kennedy and Willow everyone gathered at Giles’ place to try and formulate a plan of action. Buffy was trying to be strong but hadn’t been able to stop crying since she found Willow’s body, likewise Xander and Dawn were also distraught along with the slayers that she had befriended since Sunnydale. It was the sickest and most disturbing thing that Buffy had ever seen in her life, and to her best friend no less, a woman she loved like a sister.
“Alright everyone lets gets settled and start working on a strategy.” Giles called out trying very hard to hold back his own tears.
“Strategy!?! We kill the SOB that’s what we do!” Xander roars angrily as he holds a still sobbing Dawn in his arms.
“I wish it were that simple.” Giles replies somberly.
“How can we even hope to stop this thing if it could take out all of us and Willow too!” One of the girls asks on the verge of panic.
“Faith and the slayers that went with her are on their way back from L'Aquila right now, when they get here we’ll come up with a plan. Listen, I know things look bad but the last we can afford to do right now is fall into despair.” Giles announces.
Then suddenly coming down through the ceiling is Gudis as he lands on top of Giles with such force that his body bends backwards and breaks in half outward spilling his insides all over and spraying everyone in the room with his blood!
“Please by all means despair, I find that very entertaining!” He cackles as he proceeds to tear through the terrified girls like a bull in a china shop, “582, 583, 584 and a half…” Gudis counts out loud as he eviscerates one slayer after another.
“Giles!” Buffy screams as Xander charges toward Gudis with a sword in hand.
“Buffy get everyone out of here!” He yells to her right before Gudis grabs him and hoists him up off the ground.
“And here we have the one and only Xander Harris, the poor useless dope that has been with this rag tag band from the beginning. Well lookie there, you’re missing an eye, this simply won’t do at all. Here let me help you.”, Gudis says as he abruptly reaches up and rips out Xander’s remaining good eye as he shrieks in pain!
“There, now you have a matching set.” Gudis taunts as he twists his neck snapping the vertebrae and then tosses him aside.
“NO!” Buffy cries out!
“Your turn Summers.” Gudis grunts as he looks toward her.
Buffy starts to move in but realizes that she has to get Dawn to safety first as she reluctantly starts to back away as Gudis continues rending the remaining girls limb from limb.
“Buffy?” Dawn whines.
But just then members of the Esercito Italiano of the Italian armed forces suddenly storm the place with guns trained on Gudis as all action in the house grinds to a halt.
“Alright Gudis, freeze!” One of them yells.
“I have a better suggestion, burn!” He commands as he unloads with his breath and eye beams in all directions!
“We’ve got to get out of here, I gotta get you someplace safe!” Buffy yells to Dawn over the chaos.
“What?! No! That thing just killed Giles and Xander! We can’t just run away and let it get away with that!”
“If we don’t we’ll both die!” Buffy argues.
“No, let go of me!”
“Dawn!”
“NO!”
Dawn’s protests are ended with a sharp blow to the head from Buffy knocking her out cold as she slings her over her shoulder and makes a run for it. She is running by the Roman Coliseum when she hears an explosion and turns to see Giles’ house go up in a plume of fire and smoke. Shortly after Gudis can be seen flying up out of the flames with his wings unfolded as he zeroes in Buffy.
“I see you.” Gudis sings inside of Buffy’s head as she takes off running once again.
Like a hawk closing in on its prey Gudis soars down towards the slayer quickly closing the distance when-BLAM! Gudis is suddenly knocked out of the sky by a shell from a Dardo IFV tank as he spirals out of control and crashes into the Coliseum, apparently the Esercito Italiano were not finished with Gudis just yet. Gudis smashes his way out the Coliseum and shreds right through the Dardo IFV that shot him down as others move into position along with more troops and NH90 Helicopters flying in overhead. Gudis ponders the situation for a moment. He could just go on a Hulk style rampage or…he could just do things the old fashioned way, as he suddenly grows to his max kaiju size of 100 meters!
As Buffy keeps running she can hear the screams of the soldiers and the sounds of explosions in the distance behind her, knowing that for the moment Gudis is distracted Buffy places Dawn within the shadow of the gateway to the Colle Oppio gardens and doubles back. About the time that she makes it back to what remained of Giles house she takes notice of the fact that the battle between Gudis and the Italian military has apparently stopped. Digging through the wreckage and bodies she finds her mystical scythe and a bazooka and turns just in time to see Gudis stepping redundantly through the demolished doorway back at his 7 foot size.
“Hello honey, miss me?” He asks as Buffy lifts the bazooka and fires as the shell detonates upon him.
But Gudis walks through the explosion and takes a wild swing at Buffy who ducks and then swings the scythe up into Gudis’ chin, then through his left arm and finally spinning around bringing it into his legs as it goes through him like a warm knife through butter! But as he goes down his tail swings out wildly catching Buffy off guard as it sends her crashing back outside. Buffy gets back up with the scythe at the ready when a mini-bus suddenly screeches to a halt behind her, Buffy turns to see Faith and the remaining slayers pour out of it.
“Okay B we’re here to help, where is this sicko?!” Faith asks.
“Inside, but we have to get out of here, he’s too powerful to fight head on!”
“Screw that I ain’t runnin from this freak!”
“Everyone else is dead Faith, we’re all that’s left! Get everyone back on the bus now!”
Just then Gudis explodes out of what remained of the house as everyone does as Buffy asks rushing back into the bus. Faith hits the gas and doesn’t look back, but Gudis however gives chase as he flies overhead trailing behind them. He comes down right in front of the bus as if daring Faith to hit him…which she has absolutely no problem with.
WHAM!
Gudis is now plastered on the front of the bus as he actually climbs up on the hood punching his fist through the windshield and getting a grip on Faith’s face! Buffy though quickly lops the arm off at the elbow with the scythe as it falls to the floor. Gudis then fires off a breath blast through the windshield that the girls barely duck, but one in the back isn’t so lucky as her head is taken clean off! Faith then veers the bus hard off the street and into side of a brick building crashing hard as all the girls hit the floor. Quickly recovering Faith lunges through the broken windshield with sword in hand at the temporarily pinned Gudis as she shoves the sword right through his left eye! The angered mutation grasps the sword and breaks the blade before backhanding Faith away as she goes high and lands on the back of the bus before rolling off the back of it. Buffy gets everyone out of the bus and helps Faith up as another slayer ignites a road flare and tosses it at the wrecked bus as it spews gasoline everywhere. KABOOM!
The girls start running and don’t stop for anything.
“So what’s the plan B?” Faith asks worriedly.
“I don’t know!” Buffy answers as suddenly Gudis erupts up through the pavement in front of them simultaneously grabbing a slayer at the front of the group and ripping her head and spinal cord clear out of her torso in one swift fluid motion!
They all freeze in place, unsure of what to do next as they all look over at Buffy.
“End of the road ladies, now it‘s time to find what little girls are really made of.” Gudis threatens as he regenerates all the damage done to him thus far.
“B?” Faith says as they all slowly start to back away from the advancing monstrosity.
Buffy knew that they couldn’t outrun this thing, not forever.
“Buffy?!” Faith asks again.
“If we’re going to die…then lets die fighting as slayers, not running like scared little girls.” Buffy thinks to herself.
“Attack!” Buffy screams!
With that every manner of throwing weapon imaginable suddenly hurtles toward Gudis but the assault proves ineffective. Others however preferred more modern weaponry as one slayer unloads with a General Electric XM214 Minigun just like the one Jessie Ventura used in the film Predator. The weapon was simply too heavy and cumbersome to ever be used in real life combat, but to a slayer with enhanced slayer strength it was the ultimate gun! Gudis however pays it no heed as he walks toward the girl taking the brunt of the 166 shot per second .223 NATO shells like they are nothing. Finally he reaches her and grabs the spining barrel stopping it dead as he then breaks it off in mid fire causing the weapon to explode as the girl flies backward and lands hard. Gudis then lumbers up and grabs hold of her wrenching her off the ground.
“Is this the part where you say you ain’t got time to bleed?” Gudis says right before punching the broken barrel clean through her and out her back, “Cuz it looks to me like you got plenty.” He finshes as the other slayers all rush him at once.
One by one they all fall before him, one girl gets the front of her face ripped off, another is ripped in half from neck to crotch, a third is crushed to death as her internal organs and intestines are forced through her mouth. As he slaughters them all he sings Rob Zombie’s ‘Living Dead Girl’ in an almost jovial tone that signifies that he’s enjoying what he’s doing far too much. Eventually there is only Buffy and Faith remaining. They both charge at Gudis trying to hit him with some tandem offense as they attempt to connect with a series of well timed punches and kicks, but Gudis proves to be savvy himself in the fighting arts as he blocks and deflects each strike. He then performs a low sweeping tail swing sweep kick combo that knocks them both off their feet after which he lets off another energy shockwave as both slayers go flying.
Buffy groans as she tries to shrug her rough landing off, Faith meanwhile is already up and has scooped up Buffy’s scythe running toward Gudis as she hurls the weapon at him. It twirls through the air and strikes Gudis right between the eyes as the blade buries itself deep in his cranium! As he reaches up to struggle with it Faith darts in and kicks Gudis squarely in the crotch, then follows it up with a standing crane kick, rips the scythe back out spinning with it as she slices open his belly spilling his guts, swings again spinning around one more time taking off the top of his head and then shoves the spear hilt right through his neck! Finally Gudis falls.
“Now stay dead sicko!” Faith curses before spitting on him.
“Faith?!” Buffy yells to her as she walks toward her, “You okay?”
“Five by five B.” She answers as she turns in her direction.
But as she does so she does not see the snakelike apppendage rising up behind her.
“Faith look out!” Buffy warns as Gudis’ tail suddenly impails her from behind and comes out her stomach as she coughs up a geyser of blood!
“Faith no!”
Gudis’ tail then lifts her up and turns her toward him as he regenerates his skull, it is at that moment that Faith angrily slams the scythe down into Gudis’ chest, to which he responds with a blast of his eye beams completely obliterating the top half of her torso. He then slings what remains of her aside as she slides off his tail and lands with a wet sickening thud nearby. After this he slowly rises back up none the worse for wear.
“And then…there was one.” He snarls as he rips the scythe out of his chest and tosses it aside.
Buffy knows that she is facing her own death, for a third time no less, but she stands her ground.
“Buffy, can you hear us?” A sudden chorus of voices vocalise in unison inside her mind.
“Who is this?”
“We are the members of Willow’s coven, we have a plan to help you defeat this demon. Gudis has been rendered immune to magic but that doesn’t stop us from using it on you.”
“Your point being?”
“We are going to use our magic to augment your slayer strength and durability.”
“And you couldn’t think to do this before Gudis killed everyone because?!” Buffy bites back with anger.
“Because this is a desperation tactic of last resort, if we do this to you…you won’t live long after…”
“How long?”
“A few months at the most…a few weeks at the least, the strain that the power we will give you upon your lifeforce will simply be too much.”
“Do it!” Buffy states bluntly as she suddenly surgres with energy resulting in a brief glow right before Gudis reaches her.
“What was that supposed to be? You going super saiyan or something?” Gudis wisecracks as he takes a swing at her which Buffy abruptly blocks with her left forearm.
“Close enough.” She says as she plants an uppercut kick right into Gudis’ chin that sends him flying back and crashing down on top of a parked car! But he quickly sits up.
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to scream it’s over 9,000!” Gudis jokes.
He then goes into a roll coming off the front of the car while scooping it up at the same time as he hurls it at her. But Buffy ducks and rolls coming back up as she plants a missile dropkick into Gudis slamming him into the side of a building. Gudis comes back out of a hole made in the wall by his body when it crashed through.
“Gotten some kind of power boost I see, well then…bring it little girl, the hall has been rented mademoiselle, it's time to see if you can dance.” Gudis taunts waving with his fingers for Buffy to come at him which she is all too happy to oblige.
When they finally do reach each other a unbelievable clinic of moves begins to unfold between them as they begin to pummel each other with jarring punches that snap their heads from one side to the other. But Buffy scores with a roundhouse right spinning into a back left elbow followed by a front spinning tornado kick from her right leg. After this she headbutts him, gives him a throat jab and then unloads a back spinning crescent kick that sends Gudis flying once more. But Gudis flips completely backwards landing on his feet as he charges back at Buffy making a series of wild swings that she ducks and dodges. At one point she side steps a right arm thrust and grabs Gudis’ arm judo throwing him as she follows closely behind his rolling body. He lunges back up only to catch a solid flying karate kick square to the chest putting him through the front window of a café demolishing tables as shards of glass and splintered wood go everywhere. Buffy barges in after him trying to connect with a jumping sissorkick only to have Gudis catch her leg in midair and smash her down through the bar. He tries to land a downward punch onto her face but she rolls out at the last second and hits him with a nip up kick as she springs back to her feet. Before Gudis can even fully turn back around from the kick Buffy leaps up wrapping her legs around his neck and shoulders as she flips him into a hurracanrana/frankensteiner drilling his head into the floor causing him to bounce recoiling from the impact. She pounces again but Gudis rips up an entire section of the floor stopping her cold as she slams into it and falls to the floor and then has to roll again to avoid having the chunk of floor smashed down on top of her as she goes forward between Gudis‘ legs. She comes up behind him bringing the bridge of her foot up hard into the back of his head as he spins around trying to catch her with a backhand that misses as she somersaults over him. Suddenly her arms wrap around his waist as she gives him a release German suplex that sends Gudis smashing clean through the opposite café wall and back outside.
But when she goes out after him she barely manages to dodge a flying car that he throws at her that smashes into the wall as she rips loose a lamp post and lays into him with repeated swings until the post is bent and dented into an irregular shape. But Gudis catches the post on one swing and then sends a surge of energy through it shocking the slayer and catching her off guard just long enough for Gudis to land a punch that sends her crashing back into the car he had just thrown. Buffy is stunned but still has enough presence of mind to jump out of harm’s way as Gudis sends a blast of his breath at the car blowing it to smithereens. But Buffy is dazed by the explosion as her reaction time is thrown off which results in her being nailed by a nasty clothesline from Gudis as she flips head over heels. He then grabs her and picks her up into a power bomb cracking the pavement as her spine hits hard! He then grabs her by her hair and throws her clean through a parked double decker bus as she hits the wall of an adjacent building cracking the brick and mortar on impact.
Gudis rips through the bus after her as she tries for a roundhouse right but Gudis blocks it and gives her a hard punch to the gut followed by an uppercut that puts her back into the wall again as she falls back into Gudis’ waiting tail as it plows into her sending her up high and landing hard in the street. As she struggles to clear her senses he walks up to her and lifts her up by her throat off the ground slowly choking the life out of her.
“You play a good game girl…but the game is now over…you lose.” Gudis proclaims as he tightens his grip.
Meanwhile from their location the coven monitors the battle and use their power to assist Buffy as the scythe lying where Gudis had tossed it begins to vibrate and teeter as it suddenly flies off the pavement and towards the slayer’s current location and right into Buffy’s hand as she brings it down into the arm that is strangling her cleaving it clean off. A startled Gudis barely has time to react as she brings the weapon down slicing him clean in two directly down the middle! He falls into two pieces as he collapses. Continuing to lend an unseen hand the coven then starts up a cement mixer parked at a nearby construction site as it backs up and then dumps a load of cement upon Gudis before he can finish regenerating. Using more of their magic they then quick dry the cement as it solidifies almost instantly.
“Is…is it over?” Buffy asks aloud.
“No.” A voice suddenly says behind her as an ethereal image of Tomak uses a telekinetic punch to send Buffy flying and then turns to the cement using his magic to shatter it as Gudis finally regenerates. Buffy is still getting back up when Gudis slams into her head on as they go flying up high into the sky. Gudis pushes her into the upper stratosphere before they arc around plummeting back down as Gudis drills Buffy down into the top of St. Peter's Basilica dome and into the floor with ungodly force! Gudis stands up within the crater they have made looking down at the unconscious slayer, she is beaten. He then yanks her up by the front of her shirt.
“Thank you, that will be quite enough.” Tomak says appearing in his transparent form next to Gudis.
“What?”
“I wish to speak with her before she is killed, I will bring you both back to my sanctum.” Tomak tells him as with a sudden blaze of light that is exactly where they go.
Gudis tosses her to the floor as Tomak uses his magic to cancel out the coven’s empowerment and bring the slayer around as she slowly comes to.
“So, we meet again slayer.”
“Wait a minute, I remember you, you’re one of the elders, the original mystics who created the first slayer.”
“Yes, back when there was balance and order, an order that you have thrown into chaos with your meddling!”
“Meddling?!”
“You violated sacred laws of magic by empowering all of the potentials on Earth, it should never have happened!”
“The first evil was breathing down our necks, what were we supposed to do?”
“The first evil managed to arise again only because of your ressurection, which also should never have happened! But things shall be set right again, Gudis has seen to the extermination of all the activated slayers except for you, and after you die I will recreate the spell that ordained the first slayer starting the cycle anew, and there shall again be order!”
“Your need for order is how you justify the murder of hundreds of innocent girls?!”
“Their blood is on your hands slayer, if you and your witch had not activated them there would have been no need for their deaths in the first place, the balance must be restored.”
“Your insane!”
“Kill her Gudis, finish this once and for all.”
“Wait a minute, are you saying that you’re one of the good guys? That I just helped you in your mission to restore order?” Gudis grumbles.
“Indeed you have, now finish her!”
“….no.”
“What?”
“You heard me. You used me as a pawn to inadvertently serve the powers that be, that is not something that I take lightly! Give me the power you promised and I shall let you live, you can kill the slayer yourself.”
“Don’t be a fool!” Tomak laughs, “You are as much an abomination as she is upon this Earth, you are correct though, I will kill her myself now that you have softened her up, but first things first…” Tomak says as he suddenly fires a blast of magical energy out of his hand that opens a swirling vortex behind Gudis that starts to pull him in as he digs his claws into the floor.
Buffy clings to a steel girder for dear life hoping what little strength she has left doesn’t give out. But just then Gudis speaks an incantation that catches Tomak off guard as he suddenly becomes corporeal! Now truly physically in the room with them the vortex pulls him as well as he flies toward Gudis who catches him with a hand clinched around his neck!
“Looks like you’re coming with me, hope you packed a toothbrush!” Gudis snickers as Tomak quickly breaks off the vortex spell.
“But how?!” Tomak stutters.
“A little something I picked up from entering the witch’s mind before I killed her.”
Gudis can now probe the elder’s thoughts as he learns the truth at last, he then reaches into Tomak’s robe and pulls out the Arkarandar crystal.
“No!” Tomak squeals desperately.
“This object isn’t the key to my power, but it is the key to your presence here old man.”
“What?” Buffy questions.
“He used this to travel through time and space to observe the final battle between you and the first evil, apparently he wasn’t happy with your resolution to the matter. But he knew he wasn’t powerful enough to take you all on himself so he got me to do it for him.” Gudis explains as he raises the crystal high.
“No, don’t, if you shatter the crystal it will undo everything that has come to pass!”
“Yes I know, ain’t life just a #$%& sometimes!” Gudis taunts as he throws it down upon the floor resulting in an explosion along with a blinding flash of light.
As the time stream realigns itself Tomak is ripped back through the temporal portal, only it is done with so much force that all that reaches his place of origin are twisted lumps of flesh and bone as he is torn to pieces. Buffy gets back up only to be grabbed by Gudis as right before everything fully reverts to it’s former state he punches his fist into her gut and rips out her insides as she falls to the floor again, Gudis then kneels down and leans toward her.
“Consider that…a parting gift.” He whispers as everything around them swirls and contorts before eventually fading.
Back in their reality Buffy is suddenly back in Rome standing on the balcony vista of her apartment as she clutches at the place where her gaping wound was but a split second ago. Somehow…she remembers everything.
“But how?” She asks herself.
“Me, that’s how.” Gudis suddenly says speaking telepathically in her mind, “I want you to remember everything that has transpired, so that you know that if you are ever foolish enough to challenge me or seek me out that I can and will visit horrors upon you like nothing you have ever experienced.”
“Is this the part where you tell me that you’ll kill me?” Buffy responds still holding her ground.
“Oh no, not at all. You see Buffy there are far worse fates than death, and when I am finished you will beg for its sweet release and be denied it. I am the thing that all other evil fears…and you shall remember my name.” Gudis finishes as his voice fades from her mind with a deep booming laugh.
Buffy suddenly becomes aware of the fact that she is actually trembling, but that was silly, how could she be afraid, she was the slayer! But she realizes that it wasn’t Gudis that she feared at all, it was what he could do. Buffy did not fear pain nor death, she knew that came with the job, always had, always would. No, what she truly feared was losing everything that mattered to her, the true source of her inner strength…the people she loved. Today she has bore witness to that terrible fear brought to life and learned that Gudis had the power to destroy her world as she knew it.
Buffy tries to steel herself as she feels goosebumps race across her body. As strong as she was, as fearless as she is, there is a part of her that hopes that, that day…never comes again.
END
*****
Theme song for this story.
'Flash Of The Blade' by Iron Maiden.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W0DB8NYhmI
*****
Next chapter...
“How did it feel?” Gudis asks.
Superman does not reply but merely starts fuming with resentment that after all that Gudis is obviously still alive.
“Did you enjoy that? Of course you did, I could feel it. Your hate and unbridled fury. Do you have any idea of the potential that you possess? The truly raw power in your hands? You could wipe this world clean of all life and crack it like an egg shell if you wanted, yet instead you choose the path of a simpering useless do-gooder, you sicken me…you do not deserve such power…so I will take it from you!” Gudis finishes as the very ground beneath Superman explodes!
Linear Mode
