Author's Note: Thus begins a four-part story, told in segments scattered throughout this season, called "Invasion of Hell". Part I is fairly short; some of the others are longer. I've spread it out through the season because it takes place over a long period of time, and I wanted to show that better.
This is all for Part I. In Part II, which will come up in a few stories, we'll get the continuation of the story at the end of this part.
Next story: a Donna, Ace, and Dawn story (also short). Then... Jenny's back! Hurray!
Enjoy!
Invasion of Hell
Part I: Genesis
Buffy had never set out to be the Liberator of Hell Dimensions.
She hadn't gone all Greek Myth and decided to voluntarily venture into the underworld, sword drawn, to stop the suffering and torment and prove that she was the greatest hero ever.
But she'd wound up here. Away from her daughter.
The daughter she had to save.
And if she could save a few other people, while she was at it… well, that's what a Slayer did, right?
They needed someone to save them, and it may as well be her! After all, she was the super Slayer Mom armed with a trusty magic ring that could jump her back home!
Er…
Actually…
Scratch that.
Yeah, the ring hopped her around. But only to another random hell dimension, with no control over where and no idea if she was even going in the right direction to get home. And that was only if she could get the ring to activate in the first place!
Which it only did in one random spot in every hell dimension — which Buffy only ever found by chance.
So… definitely not trusty.
"We can't ever thank you enough," the star-faced woman said, waving a long arm at Buffy. The walls of the hell dimension still glowed an evil-looking red, around them. But the people had taken a definite turn for the better. "This place — our hell — has become our place of freedom."
That made… forty two hell dimensions liberated so far.
And still no sign of Earth.
Or Seo.
"You're the greatest hero in existence!" a man with five arms called out.
Buffy shrugged. "Just did what anyone would do when faced with a hell dimension ruled by Hetroyer Demons. Kill off the baddies, free the good guys."
She felt her ring starting to glow, again. Time to figure out where the glowing was brightest, and make another leap. Hopefully a leap out of Hell and back to her own world.
Fingers crossed.
"Gotta go, now," said Buffy. Grabbing the sword she'd gained three hell dimensions ago, and following the glowing of her ring. "Get home, do the Slayer thing and save the world."
And rescue her daughter.
The people Buffy had just saved crowded around and wished her luck, as she found the ring-sweet-spot. And, in a flash of light, Buffy was gone.
Then thudded back down on solid ground, again.
Red ground. Littered with blood and bodies. Chains dangling from a nearby wall and burn marks apparent everywhere. The whole place dark and filled with a deep sense of dread and foreboding and threat.
Buffy sighed.
"Another Hell Dimension," she muttered. Looked down at her ring. "I bet Rose never knew she had it so easy, just jumping from universe to universe."
She paused. Looked back up, and frowned.
As she realized… something here was very wrong.
It was definitely a hell dimension, that much was obvious, but… no tortured screams. No demon cackling. In fact… no sound whatsoever.
Silence.
No sounds.
No people.
Buffy began to explore the hell dimension. All the different areas in this red deserted wasteland. Everywhere that might hide demons or devils or whatever else was trying to enslave and torture ensouled creatures.
But all the demons and devils were just as dead as the others.
Everyone was dead.
"That's not like demons," Buffy muttered. "I mean, kill lots of innocent people — yeah. But killing themselves? Not…!"
She stopped, as she turned a corner.
And came face-to-face with a metal dome, in the middle of a giant impact crater. A metal dome that was hollow, open. And empty.
A metal dome that… Buffy couldn't help but think… looked vaguely familiar. Like something she'd seen on TV or read about in a book — something she'd never actually come face-to-face with, but knew about… from…
The grating voice behind her made her blood run cold.
Buffy froze.
"…LIFE FORMS DETECTED!" shouted the grating voice. "LOCATE AND EXTERMINATE!"
Buffy stared at the metal case. And everything clicked together inside her head. After the ghost shifts! Torchwood One! The Powers that Be had shown her — when she'd been rescuing Seo that first time — something called the Genesis Arc, which had spat Daleks out across London. Willow and Xander had confirmed the story, later.
This metal dome… was the Genesis Arc.
This was where it had wound up, after being sucked out of Buffy's universe.
And all the Daleks once inside it… were now free.
"LIFE FORM LOCATED!" shouted one of the Daleks, slithering into sight.
Buffy spun around, seeing their cold blue eyestalks pulsing in the darkness of the hell dimension around her. An icy fear crept over her, as she realized… this was the end for her. The Daleks would kill her — she'd never get home, and Seo would be dead.
"No," Buffy breathed, as still more Daleks emerged from the shadows, surrounding her. "It can't end like that!"
"EXTERMINATE!" the Daleks shouted, in unison. Light searing from their gun-sticks, towards Buffy.
Buffy stumbled backwards, towards the Genesis Arc.
And the ring on her finger flashed with a sudden surge of power, yanking Buffy away just before the beams struck, and making her appear in yet another hell dimension.
This one Dalek-free.
Buffy couldn't quite believe her luck. Looked down at the ring, trying to regain her breath.
"Oh, duh," Buffy muttered. "The Genesis Arc must have fallen through a dimensional weak point. That's where the ring would activate."
Her words attracted the attention of the rulers of this particular hell dimension, though. Their sleek forms little more than shadows, creeping through the air, slithering around her and encompassing her. A new toy for them to play with.
"At least you're not Daleks," Buffy said, as they led her away through the bleak, ruined landscape of their hell.
They were called the "Dream Stealers".
And Buffy soon learned why.
They dragged her into the back of their stone fortress, strapped her down to something big and onerous and menacing, and began to suck something from Buffy.
A white shining light, yanked from the very depths of Buffy's soul.
Buffy sat up. Suddenly feeling empty and cold and distant. She looked around herself, at the creatures nearby. The ones who'd captured her.
"You are our slave," they told her. "Your life is meaningless without us."
Buffy tried to muster together some fight. "Not a slave," she retorted. "I'm Buffy. I'm the Slayer. And I'm gonna…!"
She stopped herself.
As, with a sinking dread, she realized… she didn't know what she'd do without them.
Where would she go? She couldn't get home — the ring hadn't brought her home so far, and it probably never would. And even if she did, Seo was probably dead, anyways.
Murdered by Elizabeth.
At which point Elizabeth would destroy the Earth, kill all Buffy's other friends and family, and… who knew what else?
There was nothing left for Buffy to fight for. Nothing left for her to hope for.
"What do you want me to do?" Buffy asked her new masters.