The Fall of New Brooklyn, Day One, 2:13pm

<You’re clear!  Land now!>  Fin threw his hands straight out in front of him, and then spread them horizontally to each side of his body.

The ground in front of him flattened out as the helicopter touched down.  Soldiers stepped down to the ground, guns ready, and already some of them were firing bursts at the regrouping Soulless.  Fin caught a burst of red in the corner of his eye, and he threw up a magical barrier, deflecting the fireball just in time.

“Regroup!” he yelled.  He motioned for the soldiers to come over.

“Fin!  Drop your shield, I’ll cover us!” Grace yelled, throwing her own barrier over Fin’s.

Fin pulled his sword from the ground and addressed the ten or so soldiers in front of him.  “We’re going to move toward the main group we saw on the monitor.  Xander and Grace will keep us covered and provide support.  I’m going to lead the charge.  You guys provide covering fire, and try to communicate with them.  I’m not sure radios will still be working or not.”

Everyone readied their weapons, and Fin turned to the sea of Soulless between them and the survivors.  At least, he hoped there were still survivors.  His eyes disappeared into silver, and his mouth opened into a feral yell as he started charging across the rubble.  He planted his sword into the earth, sending a pulse of energy to the ground that launched him into the air.  Fireballs roared toward him, but were deflected by Xander and Grace as they moved forward with the soldiers.

A dark beam of light blew past, missing Fin’s face by inches.  He lunged with his sword, impaling a Soulless and landing on top of it, burying his blade into the ground.  He summoned his soul, and shot a massive burst of raw energy through the Soulless.  The field was flooded with a brilliant white light, and when it disappeared, Fin was kneeling in the scorched remains of the Soulless.  The rest had been pushed back by the intensity of the light.  He heard gunfire behind him, and saw the bullets piercing the Soulless that were regrouping around him.  They advanced, ignoring the bullets raining through their bodies.  Fin stood, leaving his sword in the ground.  He reached deep into his soul, grabbing all of the power he could muster.  The blade of his sword burned red, sizzling against the concrete slabs and rubble it was grounded in.

“Fin!  Stop!  You’re going to burn your sword and break the ground!”

He ignored Grace’s voice.  It sounded far away anyway.  He slowly lifted his arm.  The Soulless were almost to him, riddled in bullet holes and beams of light shooting past him.  He pointed, and the earth shook.  Silence collapsed over his ears as hell rained from the sky.  The Soulless that was almost to him dropped, struck down by a small meteorite.  The smoldering hole in its chest began to fill and then another meteorite struck.  And another, and another.  Meteorites rained down on the Soulless, sending them scattering.  They vanished, grey smudges streaking away from the clearing and meteor shower.  Not all of them made it, though.  Several smeared, white bodies littered the ground, burned and beaten by the falling, molten rocks.

Fin dropped his hand.  For a moment, he felt like he was floating, and then his head crashed into the ground.  Bright lights danced in his eyes, and then Grace was over him.