The situation was really bad and getting worse by the minute. ADAM had killed most of the Initiative and turned their remains into near copies of him. He and his brethren were for now hiding somewhere in the caves under Sunnydale, but if the rumors were true they weren't inactive but 'recruiting' any demon they came across.
On top of that the remaining troops of the Initiative had been recalled for debriefing, leaving the Scoobies once again alone to face the demonic threats of the Hellmouth.
While Anya was doing what she liked best, separating customers from their money, the rest of the group sat around the large table in the Magic Box avidly reading in several large stacks of tomes in search for any potential help in form of spells, possible weaknesses of the demonic parts used in the construction of the constructs.
From time to time they also found descriptions of the demons presses into the cyborg's service. And in many cases it didn't bode well for the youths.
Oh dear, muttered Giles upon finishing the latest chapter in the book he studied. With a sigh he leant back and massaged the bridge of his nose.
Hearing the dreaded words uttered for the first time during this crisis all perked up and looked questioningly from their reading over to Giles.
What's up with the words of doom? inquired Buffy.
Giles took of his glasses and started to polish them while obviously searching for a way to start what he had to say.
It seems that I have found a prophecy that pertains to our situation and from what I could translate our prospects for the future are most dire. I just can't make any sense out of what might be the key for resolving our situation.
Buffy, Willow and Xander shared a look of surprise; it was rare that Giles couldn't decipher a prophecy from his books. And until now it seemed impossible that he should be unable to even find a hint to the solution of their problems.
Wh..what d..d..does that prophecy s..say, Mr. Giles? Tara asked, looking like she regretted speaking up in the first place and was now trying to sink into the ground to escape the sudden attention of the other occupants of the room that was now directed at her.
Yeah, Giles. What does it say? Maybe it need a younger perspective than yours to come up with a solution, Xander added. Earning himself a small smile of gratitude from Tara for the diversion of attention his interjection brought and a mild glare from Giles.
While I doubt that a younger perspective, as you call it Xander, will help it can't hurt either. But I'll have you know that the translation is very rough and I had to interpolate some parts as the Etruscan language is to this day only fragmentarily known to us since its use ended during the Roman Empire's reign.
Ignoring the youths' eye rolling at this additional information Giles launched into reciting the translated prophecy,
In a time where the Slayer is finally fighting no longer alone but with the aid of allies, warrior, witch and sage,
an enemy will arise stronger than all faced before.
Melded from human and demon with iron and magic that is none.
The worms that have fought against evil among themselves, like no human before,
Shall rise up from beneath to heed the call,
For without them the Slayer is doomed.
There are several other passages that probably relate to this prophecy but they are of an even more obscure dialect of Etruscan than the rest. Here I can translate only a few words. Some like worm, earth, fruit and fire are repeated quite a few times.
The girls looked at each other feeling no small amount of trepidation, not sure what to think of the prophecy that, while giving some hope, was so cryptic on who - or what - that source of help may be. Xander on the other hand bore a face of deep concentration and thoughts. Thoughts that ran back to his road trip as he silently questioned himself.
<Could it be them? Or is it too obvious? But then again it can't be that obvious if Giles doesn't know of them. But should I call them? They could level parts of Sunnydale easily but so could Mr. Tinman and his goons. And he won't stop there, unlike them What!?>
Hello! Earth to Xander, anybody home? Xander was roughly roused from his thoughts as Buffy yelled into his ear while waving her hand in front of his eyes.
Ouch! Buffy was that necessary? I'll have you know that I'm very fond of my hearing. No need to destroy it, Xander groused, exaggeratedly poking in his ear with a finger.
Buffy had the decency to look chagrined as she replied, Sorry Xand, but you were a million miles away and didn't react to anything else. Anything interesting going though your head you want to share? Buffy asked only to add after a moment's thought, Something you want to share with us that doesn't make me slap you?
Well there was that thing with Xander trailed off with a grin as Buffy's gaze started to get a dangerous component. Then he continued in a more serious tone, I might know someone who could help us with making sense out of that stuff. But I'll have to get his cell from home, I don't know the number by heart but it is on its speed dial.
His cell? Why would you have someone's cell at home? asked Willow.
Well I helped him and a few of his friends while I was in Oxnard and as thanks they gave me a cell to call them if I need help. And I think they could help us. Xander replied not really fully noticing for the disbelief in Willow's and Buffy's looks.
Before they could utter any derisive answers Giles intervened and told him to get the phone, but to wait with calling until he was back in the Magic Box so that Giles could ask and answer questions that might come up during the call.
He didn't slow down at the table, but went straight to the backroom where he waited for Giles and the others to follow.
Why didn't you sit back at the table Xander? Buffy asked in a more than slightly annoyed voice as she had to leave her seat just as she had found a comfortable position to slee research.
That's simple, I trust you guys to keep the confidence of my friends, but I don't know if a customer that overhears us would do the same. And you can be sure that hell would freeze over before Anya closes the shop for us to make a phone call without being overheard.
A prudent choice Xander and while I agree with your reasoning, I'll have you know that I'm still the owner of this shop and I say when it gets closed, Giles responded
As Xander heard that he only lifted an eyebrow and gave Giles a pitying look that clearly told everyone what he thought of that statement, much to the amusement of the girls. Especially as they all could hear Anya's exclamation of joy that spoke of a larger than usual sale.
Giles cleared his throat embarrassedly, Ah, yes Now where were we?
In the training room, Xander answered and was rewarded by Giles taking of his glasses to polish them.
Now, would you please phone your friends? questioned Giles in an exasperated voice.
Xander grinned unrepentantly and dug his hand into his back pocket to retrieve the phone.
As soon as it was visible to her eyes Willow broke out into hysterical laughter, the cell phone looked just like a TOS communicator.
What do you want to do Xander? Phone Kirk and the Enterprise?
Of course not, I'm calling the Defiant, Xander replied. When Willows laughter didn't quiet down over the next minutes Xander felt a growing anger until he snapped, Arrgh, will you stop laughing now. It's not my fault that they like Star Trek.
Slowly Willow quieted down, though it was unclear if it was simply because her mirth had run out or because of shock upon the realization that Xander was glaring daggers at her.
Xander sighed deeply, Sorry Willow, I didn't meant to snap at you like that.
It's all right. We are all a bit jumpy with all that world-endage and stuff.
Finally Xander opened the phone and pressed the speed dial and then the loudspeaker button.
After a few rings a high pitched voice answered, Eik here. We remove your pest problems. What's your trouble that needs extermination?
With a wide grin that was audible in his voice Xander replied, Hey Sarge. Got promoted to phone service now? Xander here.
Xander! Hey how are you? Is there any trouble with the last delivery?
Nah, everything's peachy with that. I'd say I'm good but we have a serious problem here in town. Maybe you should get Kermit on the speaker and then I'll tell you in detail.
All right. We'll call you back in a few minutes. Kermit is somewhere at the range. I'll get him ASAP. With a click the connection was broken.
Exactly five minutes later the phone started to ring - with just that same sounds as the communicator on Star Trek TOS.
Yes? That you Kermit? Xander spoke into the mike.
Yeah, I'm here, Shooter, another high pitched voice, this one with a bad Southern drawl, answered.
Buffy shot Willow a glance and mouthed Shooter? to her in confusion, but only received a shrug as an answer.
While the two girls still wondered about Xander's nickname the voice continued, I took the liberty to ask Waylander, Squeezy and Doc Spangle to join us for this talk.
Xander replied with a grin, Sure, no problem. How's the terrible trio doing?
His question was answered by three equally squeaky voices calling out their positive answers. After the social part of the call was done Xander began to relate a summary of the situation in Sunnydale and the content of the prophecy they had just discovered. When he was finished the Scoobies could hear only snippets of the conversation on the other end of the line as Kermit and his friends - at least that was what the girls and Giles presumed and Xander knew for fact - discussed the situation and the implications of the writ. After a few minutes they quieted down and then Kermit spoke up again.
O.k we will help you. We know whom to bring, but we need more details to prepare our party favors.
Clear thing, what do you need to know?
What about the leader? Do you know any weaknesses we can exploit?
Yes, we know where his power source is and we have a spell that will allow Buffy to destroy it. But we won't come close with the army he has built.
Good, what about his troops? What do you know about them?
Hmm, I better let Giles answer that, Xander replied. After a moment of silence he added, Well what is it Giles? Cat got your tongue? You always jump at the chance to explain. Why not now?
Giles jerked a bit, obviously having been deep in thought. Oh? Oh, yes the constructs. They are a meld of human and demonic parts that are fused together by various technological implants though some magic may have played a role. On average they are twice as strong as a vampire, so about eight times the strength of a human. Luckily they aren't faster. So far all have proven highly resistant to crossbows and cutting weapons. Holy items have no effect, but magic seems to work on them. Unfortunately they are so robust that spells need to be so highly powered that none of our spell casters can affect more than two in a row without passing out for several hours. All are deadly in melee and quite a few have ranged weapons too.
What weapons? questioned Eik, then he added sounding extremely annoyed, And why do you still use crossbows? Go with the times and use some of the toys we sent Xander for his collection.
Now, hear there. Crossbows are a perfectly acceptable weapon against vampires and other demons. The council has determined that guns are of no use against them.
And when did they test that? With muskets? I suggest you talk with Shooter about that ASAP. Now back to the weapons our opposition has. What are they?
Ehm, I must admit I'm not familiar with what they are called, Giles answered a bit hesitantly after the harsh response from Eik.
Let me handle that oh glorious font of knowledge, Xander interjected. They have some kind of stun gun that shoots electricity but without the conducting wire of a tazer. Then there are the standard lethal weapons M16A3, Beretta M92 of the Initiative, most should have access to them. I've also seen a few MP-9s, Franchi SPAS-12s and one or two M-60s before the destruction of the Initiative so it is likely that they have them too. They might have grenades too, but we haven't seen sign of that yet. We aren't sure if the tin men can use them like the 'donors' of their body parts, so we might get lucky and either most don't use the guns or hit themselves more than us.
I see. I think we have the right countermeasures for them. Now what about those demons you mentioned earlier
The conversation went on for several more minutes as they discussed the know powers and weaknesses of the demons that were known to be in service of ADAM. Finally the call ended with the announcement that Kermit and his group would fly in and would arrive the next evening at the cargo terminal of Sunnydale airport with all the gear they thought was needed.
In his cavernous hideout ADAM allowed himself a short notion of triumph. His calculations that demanded for bugs to be placed in the Magic Box had proven to be correct. Prophecy or not, he was going to win - all his calculations came to that conclusion. He would lead his troops to the airport and finish the minor annoyance once and for all, no matter what reinforcements Summers had organised through her friend.
The cargo terminal was deserted as with the fall of night all business in this remote part of the airport closed. Xander, Giles, Buffy, Tara and Willow stood in front of one of the lard hangars waiting for the arrival of their allies.
They didn't have to wait long, soon a large twin-prop plane rolled from the landing strip over to their position. It was painted in a garish combination of green, blue and pink stripes. In the cockpit they could see a shape waving to them before the plane turned into a park position that would allow for a speedy leave. Shortly thereafter the propellers were turned off and came to a stop. In the back of the plane a ramp, wide enough for a small tank was let down to the ground.
So are there any cute guys among those friends of yours Xander? Buffy asked, desperately trying to forget Riley and the fact that he didn't even say good-bye when he was recalled. And what hurt even more was that he had found the time to do just that with Giles and Xander, a fact that she would make him pay for if he ever came back to Sunnydale. After Parker she had been so desperate for a good relationship and until the disaster all had looked so good in relationship-vile.
Well it really depends, some would find most of them really cute and cuddly but others might think that they are hideous and run away
Ok, ok, ok. Don't tell your friends anything, groused Buffy as, once again, her questioning had failed to get more information about their helpers.
Oh come on, Xander. Tell us how they look like, Willow prodded, slowly starting to think about the need to break out either a pout or her resolve-face if Xander kept up with the bullheadedness.
Et tu, Willow? Don't you already have a girlfriend? And a cute one on top of it, you really don't need to know how cute or not cute Kermit and his friends are, Xander replied.
The effect of his response was immediate; Willow flushed a bright fire engine red and started to stutter indignantly. Tara on the other hand smiled tolerantly, with only a light flush showing on her cheeks, while she watched the teasing between Xander and her girlfriend. Giles once again polished his glasses upon such childishness.
Before the teasing could possibly lead to hurtful words movement could be seen in the cargo hold of the plane. Driven by curiosity the girls and Giles advanced towards the hatch and Xander did his best to stay close to Buffy - just in case his friends didn't fit her idea of cute.
When they were no more than five paces from the hatch a small floodlight went on in the back of the plane and bathed them and the ramp in bright light, luckily without dazzling them thanks to a thoughtful placement of the lamp. With the light came also the illumination of the sources of movement that the group had spied in the dark cargo hold.
Four huge earthworms, nearly six foot long with the front half rising from the floor to form a more or less humanoid upper body. They had arms like humans though they simply came from their body without any shoulders. Their faces were dominated by two huge eyes and a big, bulbous nose. The thin mouth seemed to circumvent about half of their head or was that the chest - it was really hard to say as they didn't have necks, all that was sure was that the mouth was above their arms and below the nose.
The second surprise was their clothing, which was not much. It consisted mostly of ammo belts, holsters, a pouch and other little things that would have made Rambo on the warpath envious. The five worms could only be kept apart by the few differing items they wore. One had an army helmet with sergeant's insignia, another had a stethoscope hanging from a belt. The third had a red head band and the fourth a baseball bat in a harness on his back and a baseball cap on his head.
To say that the female Scoobies and Giles were surprised, even shocked, was understating the effect the appearance of Xander's friends had on them. Buffy was about to react in a deadly manner but the soft touch of Xander's hand on her shoulder managed to derail any thoughts of violence, at least for the moment.
Buffy, remember Friends. No killing of friends. I'm sure we agreed on that some time ago.
Not slayable demons? Buffy asked with a pout like a twelve year old that was told that there were no presents this Christmas.
Nope. And for your information, they aren't demons. I never got what they are exactly, but definitely no demons.
By then the giant worms had reached the group. The lead one waved a short arm in greeting.
Hi, Kermit. Good that you managed to come so fast. Let me introduce you to my friends, Xander greeted the four. So, this violence loving person is Buffy, and then we have here one first class Willow and her girlfriend the charming Tara. The man in process of cleaning his glasses to nothing is Giles and over there we have Anya. Just don't mention any thing about money or profit for a while. She is still a bit angry for having to close the Magic Box two hours before the usual time. That's it for our side, do you want to introduce your crew or should I continue?
Oh no problem at all, I'll handle that. As you have already gathered I'm Kermit. Now this friendly fellow here is Sarge, no one bothers with the rest of his name and he is all right with that. The one right beside him is Doc Spangle. Over there that is our resident baseball nut Squeezy and our martial arts expert Waylander.
Great, the whole chaos crew is complete, Xander said with a wide smile, Are you all that are coming or are more of you guys in there?
Tiffany and Kilburn are inside, but I wouldn't expect them to come out any time soon, Squeezy piped up.
Cool, the two finally got together? Xander asked with amazement coloring his voice. To his Sunnydale friend he continued, The last time I saw them they acted around each other like I and Cordelia did before she saw that there is more than her sheep, only difference is that both are usually heavily armed.
This explanation invoked scary pictures in Buffy and Willow's mind and to a lesser degree also in Giles' imagination.
Kermit continued where Squeezy had left off without reacting to Xander's rhetorical question, And a second group is flying in with the second machine. But it will take them a bit longer, it is a slower model than this one and we started first.
Before the two groups could get better acquainted Buffy shushed all conversations and peered hard into the darkness.
What's up Buff? Xander whispered.
I think we have a problem As Buffy said that, they all started to see the dark shapes coming from the far runway towards their position. Their advance presented a wide front reminiscent of the battle formations of the 18th century.
Shit, Xander exclaimed.
We take the attack to them, Kermit said. Wait here until we have cleared most of the targets and then try to get that Frankenstein.
Ok, Xander agreed and with obvious reluctance Buffy agreed to keep back too.
Quickly the worms took off to find advantageous firing positions. As soon as they were left alone Xander turned to the two witches in their group and asked them, Do you have the stuff for the joining spell with you?
Tara timidly nodded that they had everything they needed with them.
What a good fortune, Giles remarked. Please prepare the spell for quick use. With a bit more luck we could be able to put an end to this threat for once and for all.
The two witches quickly voiced their agreement and started to ready their spell components. While Tara started to draw a mystic circle with colored chalks Willow sorted the candles and herbs that would be needed.
Sarge was the first to reach a good position. From his new vantage point he could see the attacking line while being nearly invisible to them. Out of the bag at his belt he withdrew one of his especially modified bazookas and after taking the wind and distance into account fired his first shot of the battle. The rocket flew on a ballistic path instead of the direct way in hopes to keep the enemy guessing for a bit longer, soon it had reached the peak of its path and descended on a group of the cybernetic demons. The following explosion, for all it's power didn't destroy them, but all the affected cyborgs were badly damaged.
First blood! could be heard all over the field.
Battle had begun for real.
Kermit was the next to join the fight. His opening salvo consisted of a metallic banana that he lobbed with a powerful throw into the air above the enemies. Only a second before the strange banana could land squarely on the forehead of one of the demons pressed into Adam's service it exploded into several smaller bananas. They impacted in a radius of several meters. Each impact was immediately followed by a loud explosion that left large craters and small demon parts behind.
Waylander took out his communicator-look-alike cell phone and squeaked a string of orders into it. A moment later he vanished in a swirl of blue light. He reappeared almost immediately on the roof of the building in front of which they had parked their plane.
Squeezy spotted a group of vampires sneaking around in the shadows in an obvious attempt to fall into the back of the Scoobies. A well placed Molotov cocktail put that plan to a rapid end.
In the plane the two remaining worms stopped their necking as soon as they heard the explosions from the outside. Under streams of curses and promises of violence the two grabbed their gear and let themselves transported to the radar tower, Tiffany to the roof and Kilburn to the base of it.
Adam was furiously calculating. But all results were inadmissible due to checksum errors. He decided to proceed with the attack. The losses may be heavy at the moment but in melee it would be the other way round. It had to be, he had calculated his victory after all on all previous checks.
The return fire from the confused mechanoids was far from accurate and no bullet or lightning bolt hit any of the defenders.
Kilburn stuck his hand into his dimensional pocket and pulled a group of cows that had foaming mouths out of it by their tails. With a little remote control he sent them towards a particularly thick cluster of opponents. When the cows arrived they all violently exploded one by one until only one big crater was left behind that rapidly filled with water from a ruptured line.
Let evil fear my wrath! Tiffany exclaimed and pulled a silver orb with a small cross on top of it out of its place on her harness.
As soon as she had it in her hand a silvery light illuminated her and a small halo formed above the orb. Tiffany pulled a pin from the cross and then threw it to the nearest group of demons. The demons all looked stupidly down on the small object that had landed at their feet. Suddenly there was a blare of trumpets and the orb exploded in a silent flare of golden light. When the glare had vanished so had the demons and only a shallow, smoking depression was left as testimony of what had happened.
Up on the roof above the Scoobies Waylander had unpacked his minigun and the barrels were already rotating furiously. Then he pulled the trigger. Every tenth bullet was a tracer and even that was enough to make his fire look like a death ray from a bad sci-fi movie as it danced along the line of attackers, shredding whatever body came into its way. All to soon the ammo belt was used up but he was satisfied with the results. He then let the gun fall to the roof and put on a jetpack.
Squeezy let one of his exploding sheep run full tilt into a small crowd of vampires and demons. Within a blink of reaching the group the sheep proved that it could indeed explode. A short shower of ash and multiple-coloured goo rained on the few demons that stood a bit to the side.
In preparations for his next attack Sarge catapulted a highly pressurized fuel canister into the more and more disorganized attackers where it started to release some of its contents as a fine mist.
The demons that had just been targeted by the fuel canister had seen where it had been coming from and started to fire on Sarge's position. That was about the worst decision they could have made as the small explosions of gunpowder set fire to the fuel aerosol around them and several vanished forever in the resulting flame cloud while others were badly singed.
Adam was furious. His losses were mounting and so far his troops hadn't managed to even wound a single Scooby or one of their new allies. After a quick risk calculation he ordered a charge on the known positions of shooters.
Meanwhile Willow and Tara were finished with preparing the spell while the rest stood guard in case any demon broke through the defence the worms had erected.
In a swirl of exhaust fumes Waylander landed on ground level again.
Hadocken!!!
With this bellow from the depth of his being the martial artist worm sent a small, blue energy ball towards one of the charging demons, incinerating it.
Kermit quickly spoke into the mike of his communicator, I need a Concrete Ass right now at the following coordinates
A few moments later blue light swirled in the air above a storming group of cyborgs that stopped when the light appeared above them. A moment later the regretted it when a gigantic concrete statue of a donkey fell out of the light and smashed the poor demons beneath it. An inscription proudly proclaiming 'Weight: 55 tonnes'.
Tiffany and Kilburn both fired their bazookas but they didn't correctly calculate for wind and distance and only scored glancing hits on the demon horde.
Squeezy looked on with a satisfied grin as the second plane they had been awaiting flew, following the coordinates he had given them, along the front line of the charge, dropping a small bomb carpet over them. The mix of explosive and napalm was enough to melt down the majority of the remaining cyborgs to slag.
Yew-ha! Great aim Cowlibob! exclaimed the worm and waved at their air support.
Willow and Tara began to chant the enjoining spell bathed in the warm light of a good dozen candles. Their concentration never wavered, no matter how loud or close the explosions were. Soon all began to feel the first effects of the spell as it began to draw on their most basic, yet most complex, nature, pulling them towards each other. Soon Tara's voice was the only one left chanting as Willow was about to join with Buffy, Xander and Giles.
The few surviving demons took the air strike as the sign to do the one logical thing - retreat. And retreat they did, they ran in all directions as fast as they could. Some vanished into sewer accesses, some in cellars and hangars around the airport and a few ran down the runway away from town, leaving only Adam and four seriously damaged knock-off cyborgs behind.
Tiffany pulled out a carrier pigeon and told her to fly to the cyborg with the broken arm. With a speed that was truly unbelievable the pigeon crossed the distance between the worm and the demonic construct. Then it landed on the cyborgs head, dropping some guano on its hairless skull. Irritated the mechanical being swatted at the pigeon and hit it. The result was startling, the pigeon exploded with a loud bang. About two thirds of the cybernetic being vanished in a shower of blood, gore and oil from one second to the next.
Unity was created. Unity started to orient itself. After a moments hesitation all was clear. Adam had to be destroyed and it knew how.
Squeezy squared off against his much bigger opponent. And despite the obvious superiority that the cyborg had to have over the worm there was no sign of doubt or fear as he held his baseball bat high, ready to strike his opponent out.
Then he saw his chance, for one moment the cyborg seemed to have mechanical problems during his attack routine and Squeezy used that weakness without hesitation. The bat struck out and hit the construct so hard in the head that it turned several times around its axis before falling to the ground, having itself screwed of its neck.
Sarge drew one of his newest toys out of his pouch. A grenade that was dotted with dozens of large suckers around its surface.
Let's see if you work as advertised the worm mumbled and threw the grenade.
The grenade flew straight at one of the remaining cyborgs and stuck there like it was glued there with super glue. The creature's path took it close to his last comrade and unfortunately for the two it was just that moment that the timer ran its course and spelled the end of the grenade's existence and as such theirs.
Now only a lightly damaged Adam and a fresh and well rested Unity were left on the battle field and the worms decided to take a rest and only interfere if really necessary to save Unity's life.
It would be too long and maybe even boring to recount the battle between Unity and Adam her, but suffice to say that it was an exhausting fight that brought even the mighty Unity close to the last of its reserves, until it finally had destroyed enough of the chest armor to remove the energy core from Adam's body. With a nearly contemptuous ease Unity squashed the core in its hands while Adam's dieing eyes looked on it in disbelief. None of the calculations had predicted something even remotely like this.
The crossover was with the PC games series WORMS by TEAM 17. If you haven't played it yet you really should do so sometime in the near future, there is a wide selection of titles and expansion sets available. As of 2003 Worms is also 3D with the newest title in the series: WORMS 3D (very creative title ;) ).