Up on top of the tower Dawn was struggling desperately to free herself from her restraints. She was beginning to give up on making it off the tower alive, then she saw Doc standing a few feet in front of her on the platform.
"You. You can help me. Untie me. Please. Help me, she's coming." Dawn pleaded, hoping her prayers had been answered. Doc took a few steps forward.
"Well, it seems she's running a bit late, is the thing. And, uh, if her Splendidness can't be here in time to bleed you..." Dawns face fell as she realised that he was not here to save her.
"Hey!" said Doc "Kid. Wanna see a trick?" Doc produced a large shiny knife from inside his sleeve. Dawn cringed at the sight of the weapon and tried desperately to free her arms.
"Get away from her!" yelled Buffy. Doc spun round to see Buffy standing at the edge of the stairway leading to the platform.
"This should be interesting" said Doc, twirling the knife in his hand.
Back on the ground Glory had gotten up from her fall and was now dusting herself off.
"Wow, that was fun but now I'm done playing nice sla-" She paused mid sentence. She had expected to see Buffy advancing on her but instead it was the boy from the magic shop, Nameless. "Well, well look who finally showed up. I was beginning to think you'd chickened out and skipped town."
"I'm not afraid of you Glory, and I seem to recall beating your arse into the ground once before."
"You caught a lucky shot." said Glory dismissively "this time I'm going to crush you and your friends."
"I don't think so Glory..." Nameless cleared his throat "...you don't know the power of the dark side." Nameless jammed out his free hand and blasted Glory with a bolt of lightning that made her fall to her knees in pain. Before she could recover he brought the hammer smashing up into Glory's face sending her backwards into a wall.
"Oh yeah" he beamed triumphantly "this beats Skyrim by miles." Glory staggered back up. Nameless put down Olaf's hammer and simply stood there.
"No hammer, what are you going to hit me with now?" said Glory in her usual arrogant tone.
"Well you're about to find out in three...two..." At that moment a huge wreaking ball smashed through the wall on her left, knocking her through the opposite wall. "One, zero." finished Nameless. He ran forward to look through the hole the ball had made. Through it he saw Xander sitting in the crane that operated the ball. Nameless gave him an appreciative thumbs up then turned back to survey the battle.
"The glorified brick layer picks up a spare." said Xander to no one in particular. Xander got out of the cranes cab and ran round to where the other scoobies were crouched behind a makeshift barricade. Opposite them at the base of the stairs were the remaining minions and crazies throwing everything they could get their hands on at the scoobies.
"How we doing?" asked Xander.
"So far it's a tie." replied Anya.
"Buffy managed to get through a few seconds ago. One way or another this will all be over soon." said Giles, looking up at the tower.
"I just saw Nameless fighting Glory, where is he now?" asked Xander.
"If he is here its news to me." said Spike.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" came a yell from somewhere. A bright orange ball rocketed over from the scoobies left and exploded in the centre of the minions and crazies sending them flying in all directions. The scoobies looked left and saw Nameless jumping up and down and punching the air. Spike was the first to take the initiative, he jumped over the barricade and started attacking Glory's servants before they could regain their senses.
"Well, what are you lot waiting for, Christmas? Beat the crap out of 'em!" yelled Spike. The others rushed out to join Spike in finishing off the enemy, Nameless was about to join in to when he spotted Doc up on the platform.
"Oh no you don't" he whispered to himself, aiming a dark bolt at Doc. He was interrupted by Glory who grabbed his arm then threw him across the floor.
"I've finally had enough of you." spat Glory advancing on Nameless, who disappeared in a speed flash. Glory looked around trying to locate her quarry. She didn't have to wait long. Nameless reappeared in front of her, bringing Olaf's hammer smashing into Glory's face. She staggered back, blood trickling from her nose.
"I was going to make this quick Glory." said Nameless in a low menacing voice "but now, humph...I'm going to make you suffer."
"This should be interesting" said Doc, twirling the knife in his hand. Suddenly a ball of darkness streaked passed Doc's face.
"ARRRGH MY EYES!" screamed Doc, who now had a long, jagged scar where his eyes used to be.
Buffy recognised it as the same power Nameless used, she looked down for a second to see Nameless fighting Glory on the ground below. The dark bolt that Glory interrupted had fired but had missed its mark slightly. It hadn't hit Doc directly but it had still blinded him. He was now clasping one hand over his face, the other hand, the one with the knife, was flailing wildly. Buffy ran forward to stop Doc from hurting Dawn. Too late. One of Doc's slashes caught Dawn across the stomach. Dawn gasped and the cold metal went through her skin and warm blood stated to flow out.
Buffy ran over to Dawn, knocking Doc off the tower in the process. He gave a long echoing scream as he fell which cut off abruptly.
"Buffy, it hurts" sobbed Dawn. Buffy broke her sisters restraints then started to lead her away from the platforms edge.
"I got it. Come here. You're gonna be okay." said Buffy. Some of Dawn's blood dripped off the tower and met something in mid air. A small circle of light appeared as the portal began to open.
Nameless avoided one of Glory's punches then hit her with the hammer again, forcing her to her knees. She looked up at Nameless, Glory was on the verge of tears, her face was covered in blood and she was gasping for breath.
"Stop it" she pleaded. Nameless hit her again forcing her onto her back.
"You're a god right? Make me stop." he brought the hammer down on Glory's face over and over again until she morphed into Ben.
"Hey Benji." said Nameless, dropping the hammer.
"I'm sorry." said Ben, then he coughed up some blood. "Looks like I made the wrong decision after all."
"You had your chance." Nameless's clenched his fists for a moment then relaxed. "I want you and Glory gone. She's finished, it's over. If either of you come back here..."
"We won't. I swear." Nameless marched off to help the scoobies finish the minions.
"You'll have to kill him you know." said the First. Nameless groaned, he'd hoped the First had gone for good but it seemed determined to annoy him.
"Don't you have a home to go back to? And no I don't have to kill Ben."
"If you let him live Glory will come back for revenge." the First gave Nameless an unnaturally wide smile. "You have to kill him."
"You don't get it. I don't have to kill him because that problem will take care of itself."
Giles had quietly slipped away from the battle and was now kneeling next to Ben.
"Can you move?" he asked.
"Need a ... a minute. He could've killed me." said Ben, with some effort.
"No, I don't think he could. But sooner or later Glory will re-emerge and make Nameless pay for his mercy. He probably knows that and still he couldn't take another human life." Giles reached into his pocket and pulled out his spectacles, carefully putting them on. "He's a lot like Buffy in some respects...she's a hero and Nameless tries to be one. They're not like us."
"Us?" asked Ben, puzzled by Giles choice of words. His meaning became clear when Giles clamped his hand over Bens nose and mouth. Ben struggled for a while then became still.
Spike was about to start fighting two minions at once when Nameless charged in and knocked one to the ground. Spike took advantage of the other minions confusion and punched him in the face. Nameless got up and kicked his minion in the groin, the minion gave a low groan of pain then Nameless punched him so hard he went unconscious.
"Finally decided to grace us with your presence" said Spike sarcastically. The other scoobies started to gather round. They looked tired and bloody but for the most part they were ok.
"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner, ran into some trouble on the way...does anyone else hear a crackling sound?" Everyone looked up in time to see the portal starting to open.
"Dawn" said Joyce, full of concern.
"Oh snap." said Nameless "I was hoping to avoid this...guess I have to go to plan B."
"What's plan B?" asked Willow. Nameless bit his lower lip, deciding if it was a good idea to let them in on his plan.
"That portal won't close until someone dies." He stated.
"Forget it" said Spike, grabbing Giles sword and pointing it towards Nameless. "You're not going up there and you're not hurting Dawn, got that?"
"Sorry guys" Nameless lifted his left arm so his hand was by his shoulder. "But I have to do this." Nameless swept his hand across in and arc creating a powerful gust of wind that sent the scoobies tumbling back. He turned and ran up the stairs, Spike and the others got to their feet and attempted to follow but then the portal expanded violently. The ground started shaking and the whole building started coming apart. A large metal girder fell in front of the stairs, blocking access.
"Now what do we do?" yelled Xander
"We wait" said Giles. Part of the roof collapsed raining debris down on the scoobies. "And try to stay alive."
Getting up the tower was proving to be more difficult then Nameless had thought. It wasn't just that reality was unravelling around him, it was having to put up with the First.
"So you've finally accepted the truth. To be honest I didn't think you had it in you. Out of interest how are you going to kill Dawn. Snap her neck? Push her off the tower?" the First sounded almost gleeful as it spoke. Nameless thought it had run out of ways to disgust him but the First had proven him wrong yet again.
"I'm not killing Dawn."
"Ah. So you figured it out. She and Buffy are the same. You're going to kill the slayer. Good luck with that."
"Wrong again."
The first was genuinely puzzled now. "Then what? Killing one of those two is the only way to close that portal."
"See, here's the thing deary. That portal is made of a mix of energy so what happens when a foreign, hostile energy is introduced?" Nameless waved his hand in front of the First, indicating the darkness playing around him. The First worked it out in its head. The boys plan could work.
"You could close the portal. Or you could make it grow faster."
"You clearly think it's a bad idea so I must be on the right track." Nameless continued his way up, with the First following behind.
"Are you really going to die for these people. Why throw away your life so recklessly?" hissed the First.
"Buffy's got more to live for than I do."
"And what about what you have to live for?"
"You said I was alone right? That means I won't be missed. You were right First. I don't have a destiny. I'm not a chosen one like Buffy. But that just means I can do what I want. Or what I need to do." Nameless paused for a moment.
"Do you want to know why you can't win?"
"Why?" asked the First, genuinely interested.
"Buffy has something that you don't. She has friends." The First looked at him for a moment then burst out laughing.
"Ha ha ha...that's it *friends*. Oh this is rich. What next, she listens to her heart, love always triumphs?"
"You really shouldn't mock things you can't understand. Buffy's friends give her a connection to the world that few other Slayers have had. They give her a reason to keep fighting. You on the other hand are completely alone. The First and Only."
The First stopped smiling at that. "I don't need anyone. I'm the First. I'm the thing that darkness fears."
"Well I'm mostly darkness now and I don't fear you. Used to, I mean, the idea of an incarnation of all evil was pretty scary...when I was five. Now though, you just look so small." The First disappeared with a flash of white light like an old TV turning off.
"What. No witty comebacks?" asked Nameless. When there was no response he continued up the tower.
"I have to. Look at what's happening." Nameless recognised Dawns voice as he reached the end of the stairs. Buffy and Dawn were standing just inches away, sharing an anguished look.
"Hi honey what for dinner." said Nameless, trying to hide his growing fear with bad humour.
"Nameless, why are you...never mind. What happened to Glory?" asked Buffy
"Dead." said Nameless simply. Buffy was about to ask him how but a bolt from the portal tore open reality just above them. A large dragon like creature flew out of the bolt passing just above them. Nameless ducked out of reflex but the dragon passed by harmlessly.
"Arsehole, learn how to fly!" Nameless yelled after the dragon.
Dawn turned to Buffy "Buffy, you have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop." Buffy's anguished look deepened as she realised how hopeless the situation was. "You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood." continued Dawn tearfully. A look of realisation grew on Buffy's face. Nameless knew what was going through her head, she'd worked out that her blood could close the portal and she was going to sacrifice herself for her sister.
"Death is your gift." said Nameless. Dawn looked at him, confused then realisation struck.
"Buffy ... no!" she pleaded.
"Danwie, I have to." replied Buffy, conviction in her voice.
"Buffy" Nameless extended a hand "It's been an honour." Buffy took his hand and gave him a friendly smile. "Sorry honey." Buffy looked puzzled for a moment as she wondered what Nameless had to be sorry about. She got her answer when ice spread out from Nameless's hand and quickly enveloped her entire body. Buffy was still aware but unable to move. Nameless turned from her and placed his hands on Dawn's shoulders.
"Someone always had to die here."
Dawn closed her eyes, ready to die. Nameless grabbed her hand and gave her something. Dawn opened her eyes in surprise. Looking down she saw two brown envelops now resting in the palm of her hand. "Those are important, don't lose them. If they make a grave stone leave me a flower once in a while, kay." Nameless kissed Dawn full on the mouth then charged off down the platform, heading for the portals light, a smile never leaving his face. He'd fought the Slayer, beaten a god and kissed a pretty girl. Life didn't get much better than this. The First materialised on the platform in front of him, he couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at it before running right through the apparition. Nameless reached the end of the platform where he paused for a moment before jumping off.
He closed his eyes and was back on the stained glass platform with the large dark creature still looming over him.
"Well, what are you waiting for? I'm all yours.!" The creature raised one of its powerful arms then brought its fist down on him.
Nameless opened his eyes while falling through the air. As soon as he hit the portal he stopped holding the darkness back. It exploded all around him, intent on devouring all within its reach. Tendrils of darkness scythed through the portals energy, disrupting then destroying it. After a few moments there was only darkness left, surrounding Nameless, then it to disappeared. Nameless hovered in place for a moment then fell, crashing face up onto the floor below.
The scoobies on the ground made their way through the wreckage to where Nameless lay. Buffy and Dawn staggered down from the tower, holding each other up. Buffy still had a few ice crystals clinging to her cloths but they were melting fast. They all gathered round Nameless.
"Is he..." asked Dawn.
"Owwww" Nameless groaned. "OK, that hurt." Buffy burst out laughing.
"Your ok." said Xander amazed and relieved
"No Xander." Nameless turned his head so he could see the scoobies." I'm about as far from ok as you can get." everyone stopped smiling at that. A pool of darkness expanded from underneath Nameless until it was wide enough to encompass his entie body. Small black coils of darkness snaked up from Nameless as he started to fade.
"Nameless you're..." began Dawn in alarm.
"Fading. Yeah well that's what happens when you surrender your being to darkness." Buffy tried to grab hold of Nameless but her hand just past right through.
"There has to be something we can do" said Buffy, desperate not to lose anyone, not after all this "... Willow, Tara, one of you must know something a spell, or..."
"Buffy, there's nothing anyone can do." said Nameless, surprisingly calm all things considered. "Buffy, since I arrived in Sunnydale I've been strangled, knocked out, tied up, shot at, beaten up by a hell god and I wouldn't trade up a second of it." He was fading away faster now, only a few seconds left.
"What are these?" asked Dawn, holding up Nameless's letters.
"Road map" replied Nameless "You'll understand when you read them." Nameless looked directly at Buffy.
"The hardest thing to do in this world is to live in it."
"Who said that?"
"You." Nameless disappeared completely leaving only the darkness which itself vanished quickly leaving the scoobies alone in the ruined building.