REMNANT : Buffy, the Vampire Slayer meets Batman and the Red Rider

REMNANT: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer meets Batman and the Red Rider - Chapter 26

Chapter 26.

Buffy stared through her hourglass prison at the quivering crate. Beyond it, Helena continued to scream and writhe in her bonds on the St. Andrew's cross, while Faust and Avurkana watched her with delight. The Scarecrow's toxin had plunged Helena into her most horrifying nightmare, reliving the slaughter of her entire family at the hands of the Lycanthru wolves.

And her fear was fueling the monstrous demon inside the crate, Kalderon, who would enslave all humanity throughout history once he emerged. From the look of his quivering prison, he was mere minutes away from rising to full power.

While Buffy remained stuck in a rising pile of sand with Batman, Xander, and Willow, unable to lift a finger to stop the beast from emerging. Doing nothing but help Xander hold the ends of Batman's cape to funnel the sand to one side of the hourglass.

"Batman, we're running out of time," she urged. "Helena's losing it, and that thing's about to burst out of its box. What are we gonna do?"

"Wait," Batman said dully as he held the top end of his cape, entirely focused on diverting the sand.

Buffy craned her neck forward, aghast. "Wait? Are you kidding? Wait for what?"

A small explosion jolted the cave near its entrance, splitting rocks apart with a blinding flash of light. Followed by another burst near it, and another closer to the center of the cave. Faust jerked toward each successive blast, gnashing his teeth. "Batman!" he growled.

From inside the hourglass, Xander meekly raised his hand. "Question. What's happening right now?"

Batman continued to watch the sand. "When dealing with extremely powerful enemies, such as sorcerers, I like to be prepared. Given the likelihood that we might be overpowered, I dropped several timed miniature explosives throughout the cave as we entered. They were set to go off after twenty minutes if I didn't deactivate them with a controller in my utility belt." He glanced outside the hourglass, where his stolen utility belt rested on the ground.

Xander squinted. "Annnd – how many more of those dynamite bomb thingies are there?"

"Eight," Batman said. "I'm hoping we won't need them. We just have to wait."

Buffy blinked. "Again? What are we waiting for this time?"

"For Faust to become too distracted to concentrate on keeping this hourglass illusion in place."

The series of explosions continued with a fourth and fifth blast that rocked the surrounding cave walls. The wolves glanced about nervously, finally turning toward the cave mouth to flee on all fours.

"Stop!" Faust ordered. "Come back! Kalderon is about to rise!"

"Then let him help you!" one wolf growled as he scrambled out.

"Cretins!" Faust grumbled. "You'll pay for this when Kalderon destroys you all!"

Avurkana squinted at the crate by their feet, noting that its tremors had dissipated. "He is not rising," she said, concerned. She stared up at Helena, still writhing and screaming above them. "Something is wrong."

Another blast seized Faust's attention. "We have no time to decipher it now. We need to leave before Batman brings the entire cave down on us!"

As he spoke, another explosion rocked the surrounding walls, and the giant hourglass suddenly vanished. Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Batman came tumbling to their knees, free of the illusion. Batman gathered his cape in his fist as he rolled across the ground, to land in a crouching position right beside his utility belt. Reaching quickly into its inside pocket, he fingered a collapsible Batarang and hurled it straight at the St. Andrew's cross. It cut through the ropes binding Helena's right wrist, embedding itself in the cross as her arm fell free.