Sunnydale Army Base, 0630 hours (twenty minutes before the battle of Sunnydale.)
Amy was watching the red sky lighten as she sat alone on an empty crate that used to contain rifles that were already distributed to the personnel around the base. She just sat there quietly as she looked away into the distance at the outline of the sun rising, the red cloud blocking its destructive effect on vampires and other nocturnal monsters. As she watched the sun, she thought back to what she achieved in life… and found herself wanting.
'I didn't do anything' thought Amy to herself, 'I was under the shadow of my mother, then slowly… hell I even realized it back then... but Willow was going to eventually cast a shadow over me too; then came the burning at the stake where I became a rat. Then came years of running in a small wheel while eating cheese, and then I became human because of Willow. We had fun, then she told me that she didn't want to see me again because she feared power. I was so mad… so mad that all I thought about was revenge. I met Warren, someone who hated the Scoobies as much as me. But then he killed Willow's former girlfriend, and then Willow killed Warren. I was so mad… I cursed her. But she broke that curse, and I hated her for it. I wanted the world to end and then take her along with it… take all of them. But the First was too much, and the people I hated saved me… Willow saved me.'
Amy frowned as she looked down on the ground which was when she noticed some sand on the concrete trembling. Looking back up into the distance, Amy opened her eyes wide as she got off the crate and headed to the Eastern part of the fencing that surrounded the base.
"No" said Amy as she turned and ran to tell the two Generals that an attack was coming. It was then that everyone in the base froze when they heard a loud growl while Amy ran as fast as she could while shouting at the soldiers who were suddenly frozen with fear as they realized that this could be the last day any of them would spend on Earth, "get into positions! They're coming."
Amy soon met with Harkness who had the same feeling and together they went to Building One where everyone was already preparing for battle.
"Hank, Giles, George" said Harkness, "this base will be surrounded on all sides, a massive force is coming. And the Three are right within that mass… I can feel their rage. They're going to drop their hammer here hard. We… we must go now."
"Captain Finn" said General Hammond who was wearing a vest, a side arm and a rifle, "gather your team, we're leaving in five minutes."
"Yes, sir" said Riley as he left Building One while the ground started to lightly tremble. Wearing the Atanik armband, Riley could feel that he was getting stronger.. just like he used to be when he was being dosed with drugs during his time with the Initiative. However, Thor had told the man that the armband wasn't addictive, that the virus it released would be countered by the body's own immune system in approximately twenty four hours, but they had to keep their energy levels up. Riley then ran as fast as he could, faster than a normal human.. but not at superspeed yet since the device was still calibrating to inform the team going into the city to get ready, and meet at the APC. He then ran as fast as he could to the medical building. Walking into the large room that was already preparing itself for injuries, he saw his wife helping Dr. Lam and the other personnel make sure that they had all their supplies in hand. Upon seeing the man, Sam Finn ran to him before she was pulled outside and to the side of the building away from the soldiers who were running around; getting as fast as they could to their assigned positions.
Riley pushed Sam against the wall of the building and gave her a deep kiss before pulling back and looking into her eyes.
"I love you, Sam" said Riley, "I have to go, honey."
Sam knew that there was something in his voice, something that told her that her husband may not be coming back. She knew that ever since the meeting with the Generals, Buffy, Giles, Amy, Harkness and the others…. That there was something going on that she, nor others on the base were allowed to know. She guessed that it was because of the First's immense reach, but hearing the strange tone in his voice caused her heart to race in worry.
"You… you come back" said Sam before she kissed him again, "do you understand me? You come back."
"Sam"
"You bring them all back" said Sam as she looked at the armband, and then back up at Riley, "you use the abilities that thing gives you.. and you bring them all home. Understand me, soldier?"
"Yes, ma'am" said Riley as he kissed her again before running as fast as he could.
"Come back to me" whispered Sam again before she ran back into the medical building.
It was ten minutes later that the magically hidden APC took off from the Sunnydale Army base and headed towards the city itself at full speed. The inside was crammed with all fifteen people stuffed into the vehicle. With the introduction of the Atanik armbands, their plans had slightly changed; particularly in regards to the one who would be placing the charges at the specific above ground doorways. Since Riley was the one with the Atanik armband and his speed and reflexes were already increased to the level beyond a normal humans, it was decided that he'll be the one placing the charges at five of the six entrances and at the stairwell that led to the basement.
They recalled Buffy and Xander saying that more demons could come through the Hellmouth once the battle started, and if that happened they would be overwhelmed.
"So cover up the entrance?" asked Giles as he looked at Buffy and Xander.
"Just take out the stairwell that leads to the basement" said Xander as he pointed to the building plan in front of him, "I've studied the plans of the school, there's only one that leads down there."
"So take out the stairwell" said Riley, "and slow them down."
"Yea" said Xander.
"That would prevent unexpected surprises" said Harkness nodding her head.
The original plan was to have four soldiers place the charges once the other entrances were destroyed, but with Riley stronger and much faster than any of them, he volunteered to do the whole job himself. That way, he told General Hammond, they could devote more people to protect Amy and Harkness while the rest protected the entrance.
Back in the APC which had just reached the outskirts of the city, General Hammond approached Riley who had his vest stuffed with protein bars while he unwrapped one and started to eat it.
"Son?" said the General as he stood next to him, "I don't know how this will play out, but what you've volunteered for…"
"I'm the only one who could do what needs to be done in half the time, sir" said Riley as he took another bite off the bar, "and, I'll succeed.. I know I will."
The General nodded his head when the APC suddenly stopped, and some of the soldiers who were stand stumbled onto each other before regaining balance.
"What's going on?" asked the General.
"We have demons coming this way, sir" said the man, "they're pouring out of the city towards the base, we can drive straight through them but…"
"They'll find out that we're here" said Harkness as she leaned forward and looked at General Hammond, "we need to wait until the last moment before we make our move. If we do it out here, then they'll know.. and make preparations to defend the city. If that happens…"
"We're screwed, ma'am?"
"Yes" said Harkness when suddenly everyone heard a beeping sound before turning towards Riley who was confusingly looking at the yellow light on the armband blinking when it suddenly turned green, and steady. Unknown to Riley, at that exact same time back at the base, all of those wearing the armbands which included Kennedy, Buffy, five of the next most experienced Slayers, Robin and Xander's armbands, along with two soldiers whose sole duty was to protect the doctors in the medical building had also turned green. The soldiers, Riley, Robin and Xander could feel a rush of power going through their bodies, but it was much different for the Slayers.
Already with enhanced abilities, the Slayers felt a moment of euphoria as the armbands were finally calibrated to their bodies.
While those in the base prepared themselves for war, back in the APC, Riley had an idea. Putting down the rifle he was carrying, the man stood up and took out his combat knife before asking for another one. He told the General his plan, who then turned and asked Harkness if it would work… would the demons… particularly the First know that an attack was coming if his plan went ahead.
"He would have to be fast" said Harkness as Amy nodded, "very, very fast."
"I feel like I could run a marathon" said Riley as he looked at his hands while smiling, "a thousand marathons.. this is.. wow.."
"Captain" said the General, "are you certain of this? One mistake…"
"We need to get through those demons with a minimum of fuss, sir" said Riley when they suddenly heard the distance sounds of weapons fire.
"Everyone! Hang on!" shouted the driver before telling the others that the demons were now running towards them.
"No" said General Hammond as he look out the side slits, "they're going towards the army base."
"This is the Sunnydale Base to all personnel" said General Landry's voice over their radio, with the sound of weapons fire in the background, "Code: Hammerfall. I repeat, Hammerfall is in effect… all of you know what to do. Godspeed."
Hammerfall was code for the beginning of the attack on the base. General Hammond knew that there was no time to waste on a risky plan as the one that Riley had suggested. Instead, he told Riley to hold off, and then told the driver to drive through the demons that were coming towards them.
"Use any space you can find" said the General as the APC started to move again, "they're heading towards us… we have to hope that they don't realize what's happening. If they were just simply walking towards us, and we mowed them down.. that would be a different story. They are making the first move… we use that as cover to get through them… use their rushing towards the base as a screen. Just keep away from the larger demons.
"Hang on!" shouted the driver as he swerved the vehicle while the people inside the APC were thrown around like rag dolls, but luckily they only managed to mow down a few of the smaller demons while getting slightly dinged by the larger ones. However the APC made it through undetected and headed into the now empty city. It was once they were close to the school that Amy and Harkness screamed in pain as they grabbed their heads.
"Miss Harkness?" asked the General as the other soldiers looked on concerned.
"Amy?" asked Riley, "what's going on?"
"From beneath us" said Harkness as she looked at the General, "it's going to devour us."
"Dear God" said Amy as she opened her eyes wide, "I.. I… saw it… I saw…."
"Amy?"
"Demons, millions coming out of the Hellmouth… more heading here from all over the country to fight, welcome the rest who are coming to this dimension…. Oh my God…. This is the next wave."
"We need to destroy this Hellmouth now" said Harkness, "it's the most powerful and… and I can feel it now. This close again… I can feel it. If the other Willow's right, if this truly is the oldest and most powerful of all the Hellmouths, closing it could automatically reduce the dark energy coming from the others. But this one is key… it needs to be closed."
"I've seen the demons coming through the caverns deep underneath the city, General" said Amy as he looked at the man, "we lose here… we'll definitely lose the war. If we close it, then we have a shot. Especially since we don't know when the other Willow will get back here."
"Sir!" shouted the driver as he slowed down once he reached the street outside the main entrance of the school, "we're here."
"You all know what to do" said the General as everyone nodded while the APC backed itself through the main entrance of the school, and towards the main door. The door to the rear of the APC then opened as Riley sped out with super speed while the rest got into position around the APC for any attack coming their way. The General ordered two soldiers to take Amy and Harkness to the principal's office since it was directly over the Hellmouth. It was then that Riley told the General over the radio that he managed to place charges on three of the five doorways into the school, while at the same time killing a few demons and Vampires that had been squatting inside. Before Amy and Harkness headed inside, Riley told the General that charges were placed at the stairwell, and that he'll need another few seconds to set charges on the other two doors.
"Understood" said the General as he turned around when he, and the others, heard the sounds of growling coming from the street at the main entrance of the school, "protect Amy and Agatha at all costs, we have company coming."
"Sir" said Riley, "I'm done… I can come and…"
"Blow the charges." said the General.
Soon everyone felt the ground around them shake as six massive explosions look out the five doorways into the school, as well as the stairwell to the basement.
"People" said the General as he raised his weapon at the demons that were squeezing through the only entrance to the school from the street outside, "fire!"
Weapons fire erupted as demons were getting mowed down by grenade launchers, RPG's, machine gun fire and even from the weapons on top of the APC. The demons were squeezing into the grounds of the school one at a time, and the General knew that they had to keep them away from the inside.
Sunnydale Army Base, 0654 hours.
Buffy, Kennedy, Rona and Violet all had the armbands on them and were using all the power that came with the bands, as well as their own Slayer powers, to defend each side of the base. The demons had gotten close enough despite the weapons fire that had been mowing them down from the gun emplacements. They were beating back demons that were making it inside the base, since the mines that were laid in the perimeter had already been breached by the demons.
The blonde Slayer had watched in horror as, a few minutes earlier, some of the demons ran directly at the mines in a kamikaze run. They blew up the mines, and the same thing happened on all sides of the base as demons went on kamikaze runs. Once the mines had blown up, the demons that made it through the weapons fire, particularly the Turok-han started to invade the base. Buffy and the other slayers that were stationed in the base were working extra fast to not only prevent the demons from killing the soldiers who were firing the heavy weapons, but also to prevent the Turok-Han from getting further into the base. She saw a few more blurs running around the base; Atanik technology powered Slayers that were taking out the demons coming towards them, however.. there were a few that were always getting through.
Buffy remembered her first seven kills; four Turok-han, and three demons that were about six feet and had blades for hands. Holding an axe in her hand, she ran once the armband turned green. She was going so fast that the world turned still around her. She saw the bullets from the heavy weapons stay still in the air while she cut off the heads of one Turok-han after another, and then she threw the axe towards another Turok-han that was almost at a soldier at the far side of the area she was responsible for. Once she threw it, she ran to one of the bladed demons, used her supercharged strength to rip both blades of its body before killing it with its own weapons. She then used the same blades to eviscerate the other bladed demons that had made it into the base before throwing the blades in disgust onto the ground. She then ran towards the axe which had just dusted the Turok-Han that had been after the soldier who was firing the weapon at the incoming demons. Buffy then grabbed it out of mid-air before she stopped running. It was then that she saw the demons that she had cut up fall onto the ground.
"Cool" said Buffy as she looked at the armband which had some spots of blue blood from the blade handed demons before she laughed and started to kill more of those coming through.
All the while, she had also noticed the three clones were ruthless in the destruction of anything that came into the base. Some of the soldiers had been saved on the southern side of the base by Liam, John and Jane who coldly dispatched some red skinned demons who had attacked them using their horned heads. While some of the soldiers were stabbed, the clones used their reflexes to grab the oncoming demons and then twist their heads off their body before throwing it back onto the ground.. showing others who witnessed it why they were created in the first place; The ultimate weapons to battle demons, and the Wraith. Liam and the others then went on to try and prevent more deaths while providing cover for some of the other soldiers who were still firing to take the injured to the medical building.
Giles was looking on from inside Building One as General Landry and a few other personnel were getting prepared to go out there and join the fight.
Then, suddenly, they hear the ceiling over them rattling.
Thinking that maybe it was a demon that somehow made it on the roof, the General and the other soldiers in the building walked cautiously to the door waiting for a demon, or demons, to jump into the room. But nothing happened. The rattling of the roof soon gave way to a loud buzzing sound from outside.
Everyone in the immediate area, including the demons stopped dead in their tracks upon hearing the loud buzz which sounded like someone tuning a microphone. Taking their chance, Buffy and the other powered Slayers killed the surprised demons before they looked up into the air. Buffy could hear a strange sound right above her, and then a few more noises from the sky right overhead. Turning around as she spoke into her radio, she asked Rona, Violet and Kennedy if they heard the same thing.
"Yea" said Kennedy.
"It's all around us" replied Violet.
"Attention" said a familiar voice as Buffy looked around, and then looked towards the sky right above her. She was at the main entrance to the base as General Landry, Giles, and a few others ran out and stood by. Upon seeing them, Buffy sped to them and shrugged her shoulders.
"You guys heard that, right?"
Everyone nodded while looking up in the sky. They couldn't see anything abut they knew that the voice was coming from right overhead.
"Attention, vampires, and assorted demonic doofusses" said Willow as she hovered her cloaked Puddle Jumper at the main entrance to the base and looked out of her HUD as it commenced targeting all non-human life-forms. She then thought about the best place to fire her drones for the deadliest effect, and the computer then selected multiple areas to fire. She then zoomed in on the three large figures that were standing among a mass of demons; one had the head of a ram with black fire around its edges, another had a flaming head that looked like a wolf, and the last one had a head that was covered in darkness and blue fire.
'Scans show that their bodies are physical' thought Willow as she read the readouts, 'impressive energy readouts. But having a physical body… not good. You can die.'
Willow then closed the HUD and looked out the front window at the demons.
Back on the ground, Buffy and the others were still looking up when they saw two cylindrical ships with short stubby wings protruding from its sides hovering over them; they just appeared out of nowhere.
"This is Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, you have five minutes to leave this location and retreat to your own dimension."
"OK" said Xander through the radio, "did anyone just hear that?"
"She's insane" said Buffy as she looked at the ship, and then at the growling demons followed by a thunderous voice; the Three speaking as one.
"The human race will be extinct" said the Three together from where they were standing kilometres away from the base, "the time for demons to rule this world has come again, the First Evil claims it. And two of you will make no difference."
"Who said we're only two?" asked Colonel Carter as she ordered all the Jumpers to decloack.
Everyone in the base watched as one ship after another appeared over the sky of the Sunnydale Army base as launchers that contained what seemed to be yellow capsules appeared along the wings from inside the ship.
"We know what their strength is" said Willow as she communicated with the other ships "there are more than forty thousand demons out there, and more are coming. Fire drones at its highest yield for maximum damage. Watch your fire, save some for the inevitable coming of the dragons. These things here are flesh and blood…. Run them over if you have to. The inertial dampeners can take the punishment. Let's show them what these baby's do. Fire!"
Buffy and the others watched as four yellow lights from each ship shot out. They watched the lights hit several places in the mass of demons before giving off massive explosions that caused the ground to shake. Everyone saw eighty fireballs that wiped out multiple demons as the Three screamed in rage.
"Blue team, break off" said Colonel Carter as Willow and four others headed to the direction of the Three, "Green and Red teams, break off… you know what to do… and for crying out loud be careful."
The Colonel ploughed through demons while flying low near the ground as she took out a few demons that were screaming at her. She then angled the ship for a steep climb while she continued to get hit by the lighting. With the electrical charges killing the demons instantly, she then remained high enough for the lighting to attack her…. while dodging a few that hit the ground and killed a few demons.
"Slayers" said Buffy back at the base as she spoke into her radio while watching the ships whizz by, get hit by lighting and shrug it off, and then plough through more demons, "all Slayers, this is Buffy… we do what we do best.. Slay."
On that order, the Slayers who had the armbands started to use their supercharged powers to go out and beat the demons that were trying to coming in while the weapons fire from all the high calibre weapons, tanks and RPG's that fired into the mass of demons outside. Those who didn't have the armbands were given instructions by Robin, Liam, John and Jane as they fought any demons that came through the cracks.
"General" said Buffy as she looked at General Landry, "get back inside. Giles…. Go… go now."
"Yes" said a voice from behind Buffy.
The blonde Slayer saw Giles's eyes go wide before turning around to find herself facing the First Evil who had already taken her form, "go now, Giles. I'll be having fun with you later."
Buffy pulled back her axe back, and ran at super speed towards the First, but while the others were cutting the demons coming through into ribbons, Buffy found herself being held up into the air by the First Evil who had one hand on the arm that held the axe, and its other hand around the Slayer's neck.
"Miss Summers" said the General as he took a step forward.
"Buffy" exclaimed Giles as he and General Landry attempted to rush to her aid, but were told by the First that if they made one move, then it will snap her neck.
"I can feel the rest of my army coming" said The First as it looked at Buffy and turned into Angel, "and I'm sorry we couldn't be together. But…. you have to go. You're with me in the First, you know. Why should you exist?"
"Shut… up" said Buffy as she struggled to speak before she screamed when the First broke the hand holding the axe. Upon hearing the scream from Buffy, and the clattering of the axe as it fell onto the ground, it was Kennedy who watched in horror from the other side of the base while the First smashed Buffy into the ground before it reached down, and ripped the Atanik armband right off the Blonde Slayer's arm before it looked up and kicked the approaching Giles back onto the wall of the nearby building. The only thing that was going through Kennedy's ear at that moment was the blonde Slayer's high pitched scream.
"Buffy!" shouted Kennedy running as fast as she could when she suddenly stumbled and fell onto the ground heads over heels as the momentum from her super speed carried her forward towards the First.
"My, my" said the First smiling as it looked at the injured Kennedy before looking at Rona who also stumbled while running and fell onto the ground. However, Liam was close by her to beat back the demons who were coming towards her while a few soldiers brought the exhausted Slayer back to the medical building as the armband slipped off. The First then turned to Kennedy and watched the armband disengage, and fall off, "that was embarrassing. I give that performance a five point five. Your finishing needed a little more work."
"Fire!" shouted General Landry as he and the other soldiers next to him opened fire while more explosions were erupting around them caused by the ships flying over the mass of demons, and the tanks that were firing shells and running over as many demons as possible while two of them took up position to block the main entrance of the base, but left enough space for some of the soldiers wearing the armbands to run out and search for the formerly supercharged Slayers. In the meantime, the First glared at the General as it stepped back after getting shot. It looked down at the bleeding holes on its chest before it looked back up at the General. The First started to walk towards the General when Kennedy, who was bleeding from a cut on the forehead and arm, reached out and grabbed the First's leg; pulling her back with all her remaining Slayer strength. Kennedy then looked at the General who, along with the other soldiers, had loaded new magazines into their weapons and told them to fire.
The First stepped back as the rounds hit it's body when suddenly the whole ground shook. Giles, who was still dazed after the kick from the First, ran to Buffy who was sobbing from the pain of the broken arm, and from having entire sections of the flesh of her left forearm and wrist torn off after the First ripped the Atanik armband off. Giles held the sobbing girl close as she screamed in pain. He looked down at the injury and closed his eyes when he could see the bone, and then he saw the blood that was pouring onto the ground and shook his head. He knew that this could mean only one thing, his Slayer was going to die… and die very soon.
"Buffy" said Giles as he cradled the crying girl's body with his good arm while General Landry and the other soldiers walked over to him and covered the older man.
Suddenly the ground shook again, which was followed by a bright white lance of light that erupted from Sunnydale to the sky.
"What… what did you do!?" screamed the First as it looked at Giles and the others who were looking at the light as it pierced the red clouds. Everyone stopped, including the demons and the ships, while they watched in amazement as the red clouds started to dissipate and the first rays of real sunshine shone through the clouds.
"They did it" said Kennedy as she looked up at the First who looked down at her furiously.
"You" hissed the First looking at Kennedy, and then at everyone in the base, "you… you… all of you…"
"You lost, bitch" said Kennedy just before the First got on one knee and, in a swift motion, punched a hand though Kennedy's chest while the powered soldiers carried the other weakened, formerly supercharged, Slayers back into the base.
All the while, the demons looked at the lance of light confused.
Meanwhile, Buffy and Giles looked on in horror as the First tore out the Kennedy's heart, and crushed it in her bare hands.
Just then the demons started to scream when the sunlight hit them. The base personnel looked on as many demons just combusted… particularly the Turok-han, and other vampires; as well as other nocturnal demons who ran screaming as their skin burned. However, there were still enough demons around to end the people in this base before they attacked the other humans around the world.
The First, blood dripping off its fist as it took on Kennedy's form, approached Buffy who looked at it through tear stained eyes.
"You know what you did?! Huh?! Do YOU!?"
The First swiped away General Landry before he could fire another round at the First, and it did the same for the other soldiers. They hit the wall behind them and then fell, unconscious but breathing, onto the ground. In the meantime, the First stood over Buffy as the ships in the sky started making attacks again before the First looked up, and whistled. She then looked down at Buffy and Giles, and told them that it was over. She won.
"Dragons" said the first as twenty dragons appeared in the distance, some the size of buses... while the others the size of a Boeing Seven-Four-Seven with three heads, their screams reaching the First while the Three waited in the sidelines as they continued to swat away the small ships that were flying circles around them, "they will take care of these pests."
The First then turned and grinned at Buffy, then at Giles, before it pulled its fist back.
Liam was on the other side of the base as he protected the weakened Violet whose armband had fallen off, together with the normal Slayers. He and the other Slayers killed more demons while another Slayer took Violet to one side to rest and eat the protein bars that were in her vest before he noticed the First preparing to punch Buffy.
"Buffy!" shouted Liam as he ran towards her and Giles as fast as he could. As he ran he felt the ground quake again, while at the same time he remembered the first time she named him. Since then however, they hadn't had much contact. He thought that she was avoiding him, and he later overheard her talking to the one they called Willow that he was exactly like someone named Angel.
"Even his eyes, Will" said Buffy as the clone overheard them with his enhanced hearing, "he's so like him… I.. maybe I shouldn't have opened my mouth and called him Liam.. you know."
"You still miss Angel, Buff" Liam remembered Willow saying, "he was the one you were in love with. And now… now you think you have another chance, so you named him Liam. But you got scared and…"
'I must remind her that I am not this Angel' thought Liam as he ran towards the First as it swung its fist, 'and I am not…. Wait… what the?'
Liam watched as Buffy prepared herself for the punch from the First as Giles held on tight to the blonde Slayer, telling her that he'll die with his daughter. The both of them closed their eyes as Giles leaned forward and kissed Buffy's cheek while expecting to die at any time. Suddenly the both of them heard the First cursing multiple times.
"No! no! no!" screamed the First as Giles and Buffy opened their eyes to find that there was a white shield that covered the both of them, the same shield that covered Willowearlier. They saw the shield flare as a bright white ball of light floated in front of them. The First's screams seemed to be so far away as the ball of white light pulsed when there was suddenly another quake. Looking up, Giles saw one of the cylindrical ships heading towards the city before he looked back at the light while the First continued to pound her fists on the shield.
"You are Willow's light, are you not?" asked Giles.
The ball of light moved up and down before it floated closer to Buffy's broken arm when there was suddenly a cracking sound, and then the Slayer was able to move that arm. Giles then saw the light head to Buffy's other ripped arm and tap on it. Buffy, and Giles, watched in shock as the wound started to close up. Buffy could see the muscle fibers regenerating, and then stitching themselves, just before the wound and then the resulting scar vanished. Giles then helped Buffy sit up as she looked at her arms before flexing them and then looking at the light.
"Why did you help me?" asked Buffy as she looked at the light, "you're supposed to be Willow's guardian angel."
As the First kept on pounding on the shield, it flared before throwing the First out of the base and into the mass of demons outside with a thud.
"You saying I can't help my sister?"
Giles and Buffy widened their eyes at the sound of the familiar voice and watched as the light pulsed before growing larger, and larger. Soon, it began taking a familiar form. The both of them, as did the other soldiers and Slayers close by watched as the light faded away to reveal a smiling brunette in a cream and silver dress kneeling in front of Buffy and Giles.
"Daw… Dawnie?" asked Buffy though tears as she reached for the young woman whose dress faded away to reveal a orange T-Shirt and blue jeans.
"Hi Buffy" said the descended Dawn as Buffy screamed and hugged her sister while Giles still looked on in shock, as did some of the others. However, their attention turned to the outside of the base as the remaining demons, including the Three started to run at them. Dawn helped Buffy stand up before she turned around as demons started to break through the fence.
"Liam!" shouted Dawn as she looked to her left at the demons coming behind him, "down."
Dawn raised her hand as an electrical charge traveled from the tips of her fingers to the palm of her hand before an electrical beam shot out and went through one demon and then another while Liam turn and ripped apart another demon. Dawn then looked at the axe that Buffy had dropped and telekinetically picked it up, turned around and then handed it to a confused Buffy.
"I'll explain everything, Buffy" said Dawn, "I'm me…. but there are some thing's you need to know. But first."
"Save the world?" asked Buffy.
"Save the world" said Dawn she turned and formed two balls of energy in the palms of her hand while standing next to her sister.
Sunnydale High School, 10 minutes earlier.
While Riley and two other soldiers were leading Amy and Harkness to the Principals office, they walked past numerous demons of different shapes and sizes that were torn apart; as well as several piles of ash in many places. Amy looked at Riley with an eyebrow raised while the man shrugged, telling Amy that the demons and vampires were right there for the picking… and that he wasn't going to waste these enhanced abilities, that he was going to use them while he had them.
The group heard the sounds of weapons fire from the entrance turning into a distant thunder as they reached the principal's office. It was then that everyone stopped when they heard voices in the distance, one of which seemed to be Willow's voice, calling the demons that were gathered near the Sunnydale Army base, doofusses.
They then heard Colonel Carter telling the demons to surrender and leave, and then they heard the Three make their threats. Riley and the others then felt the ground shake before the soldiers looked out the window and could barely see large explosions taking place in the distance. The soldiers than turned to face Riley who said that back-up probably arrived.
"Riley" said Harkness gently, "you must help George and the others. Don't worry about us."
"I have my orders, Miss Harkness" said Riley before he turned and told the other soldiers that they needed to guard the door while they did what they needed to do to protect Amy and Harkness.
"Riley" said Amy, "listen to me. There is a chance that we will die, there is a really high chance and to be honest with you? I am fucking terrified. But if the others at the front door fail? if the demons come in? We will all die for nothing."
"Go, Riley" said Harkness as Amy took a silver cup, and a few other ingredients from out of a bag that she had put on the floor, "their ammunition is limited, but your abilities are not. Help them."
Riley didn't like it, but he knew that Harkness had a point; if General Hammond and the others failed… then all of them were dead. He then turned to the soldiers at the door and ordered them not to leave, and to shoot anything that wasn't human if they came at them.
"Of course, sir" said the soldiers before Riley looked at the two women inside the room.
"Good luck" said Riley, "and… and if you don't…."
"Help them, Riley" said Harkness as Riley, gave the two women a salute before leaving the room at full speed.
"Amy" said Harkness as she looked at the blonde young woman while she was preparing the materials for the ritual, "I am sorry."
"We're saving the world, Miss Harkness" said Amy as she looked up at the older woman while explosions could be heard in the distance, "I am scared, but.. but this is something that needs to be done."
"Come" said Harkness as the ingredients were placed inside the cup before she helped Amy stand up. Harkness told the soldiers at the door not to interfere the start of the ritual, no matter what they see or hear.
"Understood, ma'am" said one of them, "is it true, that.. that this is a one way trip."
"Most likely, young man" chuckled Harkness, "I've lived a full life, I suppose."
"And what the hell" said Amy, "we're saving the world."
"I hope you survive.. the both of you" said one of the soldiers.
Amy and Harkness nodded their heads before they looked at each other. The both of them then held each others hands while facing each other with the cup containing all the ingredients for the spell in between the two of them. Harkness told Amy that they had to say the initial spell together. Nodding her head, the two witches started to chant in ancient languages that the soldiers had never heard before. They looked into the room as the two women gave small screams while chanting the spell as several cuts were being made by an invisible force on their arms, hands, and faces. The two soldiers looked at each other in worry, recalling what Harkness had told them about interfering. They could only watch helplessly as the chanting grew more intense as the immediate area around them started to shake. The soldiers watched in horror as the blood flowed from the cuts that were made onto the women's bodies by the invisible force and into the cup which was rising into the air. Once the cup was chest high, the soldiers heard a high pitched sound coming from the cup as it started to become crushed, along with the ingredients, before it disappeared into a sphere of blood. The two soldiers could even see the surface of the sphere rippling before it started to spin faster, and faster.
The two soldiers noticed that the chanting had stopped as the two women looked at each other while they too slowly rose into the air.
"Goodbye, my dear" said Harkness as she shed a tear, "I'll see you on the other side."
"Goodbye, Miss Harkness" said Amy, "and thank you for everything."
The soldiers watched the two women floating in the air as they both arched their backs while a blue light travelled from them, to the sphere of blood that was slowly turning white. They saw the two women breathing hard while they seemed to be getting older, and older.
"Gary" whispered on of the soldiers as he nodded towards Harkness who was panting and looked like a living skeleton, and then at Amy who looked as if she was eighty years old. Just then there was a lance of white light that erupted from the sphere and punched a hole through the roof, and into the sky that could be seen all the way from the Army base and the Jumpers that were in the air as it punched through the red clouds. They then heard the ground quake again as another lance of white light erupted form the bottom of the large sphere that punched through the floor.
"Get… get… ge out" said Amy softly as she looked at the soldiers, "we… not…. Not…"
"Ma'am" said the other soldier as he stepped forward but was stopped by the other one known as Gary, as he nodded at Harkness. The blue stream of energy had stopped flowing as her body slowly seemed to de-atomise into the atmosphere. Soon the blue stream stopped flowing from Amy's body as well before the same thing happened to her body.
"Move.. move.. move" said Gary as he saw the sphere of light fall through the hole that it made in the floor of the principal's office. As they ran through the halls of the school, they could feel the building start to shake. When they reached the entrance where the APC was located, they saw that Riley was using the enhanced abilities from the armband to hold the other demons off while the others kept on firing. However, they could see that the whole area from the door, to the main entrance, and to the street was full of demons eager to make meals of them.
"Sir" shouted Gary at the General who looked back at them, "they're gone.. literally gone. There's nothing left of them, sir."
The General just nodded his head and ordered everyone back into the APC, that they were going to try and plough through them. The General and the others covered each other as they entered the APC, however more demons were coming into the school and he knew that Riley would never be able to handle everything alone. So he called Riley back into the APC and closed the rear door behind him. Once everyone was in, the driver started the APC and pressed the accelerator, however there was a problem.
A few of the larger demons were preventing the vehicle from leaving.
In fact, they were pushing the APC back into the school while others were shaking the vehicle when there was another quake.
While that was going on at the school, Willow and her team were trying to keep the Three out of balance when her instruments read a massive energy spike from the city.
"Athena" said one of the other pilots as he fired a drone that went through one of the Three, before it came about and lodged itself where the heart would be before the drone exploded inside the demon. They saw it fall back as the ground quaked again while the pilot told Willow about the energy spike from the city. Willow turned about and looked at the white light that pierced the red clouds, and opened her eyes wide when the red cloud started to disperse. It was then that every pilot started to talk at once, and it was Colonel Colonel Carter who reminded everyone to stay on task, that they hadn't won yet. It was then that a HUD popped up to show human life signs in the city.
"What the hell!" said Willow as she opened a communications channel to all ships, "this is Athena, I'm registering life-signs in the city. I am out of drones so I'll go check out what's going on, and attempt a rescue if possible. Everyone else, stay safe."
Willow saw the sunlight hitting the city and, unknown to her; some of the demons that was holding on to the APC and preventing it from moving were nocturnal and hated the sunlight. Their skin burning, they ran away; However, the other demons still snarled and pushed the APC further into the school building.
As the redhead prepared to make her move, giant blips came on another HUD. She zoomed in on the blips and frowned.
"We've got dragons incoming" shouted Willow, "everyone knows what to do. Blue team, take care of the Three…. Enough of playing around with them. Show them what Lantean technology can do."
"Understood" said the four members of her team.
Willow then flew towards the city at full speed until she was right over the entrance to the High School. Frowning at the sea of demons, the redhead used her scanners to find the human life-signs… and she did.
"The APC" said Willow to herself as she lowered the ship slightly. She saw that the demons were trying to smash the front windows open to get in, "damn it."
The redhead ran a scan of the surrounding structure and saw that many of the other doorways into the school were destroyed. She then scanned for roof access and found one stairwell that was close to the APC's location.
"This is Major Willow Rosenberg to those personnel in the APC" said Willow as she activated her external speakers, "I need all of you to get out of the vehicle, run into the school and take a left in the second hallway. Take another right in the first hallway and then.. then the first stairwell that you see. That will get you rooftop access, which is where I'll be for extraction. Move it.. go… go.. go…"
While the people in the APC got out of the vehicle, which was soon flipped over and pushed aside by the demons as they poured into the school. They ran after the personnel while Willow floated up to the roof while opening the rear ramp before she turned and lowered the ship; the rear facing the door with the redhead releasing the controls, and then taking the plasma weapon that was on her waist and heading to the ramp while aiming at the door. She was going to fire the weapon if it was a demon that made it through, and not any of the APC personnel; and then close the hatch before running to the cockpit and getting herself out of there.
In the meantime, the ball of energy that was formed in the principal's office pulsed as it dropped deep underground past ancient caverns where demons were already heading to the surface.
Millions of demons from the Earth's oldest Hellmouth.
It was nearly ten million years ago that the Alterra and the Furlings first opened it. Back then the Hellmouth, or the Gateway as it was known, was bordered by a ring of naquada.. much like a Stargate except it had no symbols. The naquada was mystically connected to the Earth, on the side of a high wall in the deepest cavern by the Furlings. When it was first opened, the space between the ring shone as if it was glass while the Furlings various mystical sects looked in wonderment at the multiple dimensions that they could see. The mystic sects of the Furlings were cheering when they felt the mystical energy flowing into this dimension. It was soon after that the Alterra, feeling betrayed, left in Atlantis. But not before threatening the Furlings who betrayed them.
"The plague destroyed our people" said one of the Alterra before leaving for Atlantis, "you have seven days to remove yourselves from this planet. We will destroy the plague by annihilating all life in this galaxy."
"This is research" said one of the Furlings as he pointed to the Hellmouth, "you must…"
"No" said the Alterra, "you stay… you die. You may do what you wish. Goodbye."
It was seven days later that Atlantis left Earth, and the Alterra then activated the Dakara Superweapon. Millions of mystic practicing Furlings died, while billions more left the Milky Way. Most regretting what the mystical sect of their own species had done; the problem with trust that they knew was now created between the Furlings and the Alterra.
However, the Hellmouth remained open as energy entered the Earth dimension, powerful energy… dark energy.
It was years later that the being known as the First Evil came through the Hellmouth, followed by those that would later become the Powers that Be, along with powerful evil demons form other dimensions that would eventually give rise to stories of the Old Ones. Demons whose blood would mix with later mortals, or other species to become vampires, or other assorted demons.
All the while, the Gateway remained open, the mystical connection to the Earth providing it with unlimited power.
Over millions of years, the Hellmouth became corrupted by the dark energy that seeped into the world until even the glossy mirror like appearance between the rings turned into a black, almost water-like rippling pool, similar to an event horizon of an active wormhole of a Stargate; except this allowed things to come in to the Earth dimension from multiple dimensions. The First had called forth all of its children from every dimension. The Sunnydale Hellmouth was the key.. without this one the others would be essentially useless.
The other Hellmouths were much smaller and only released mystical energy from other dimensions into this world… energy which complemented the magic that had already existed since the universe was created.
As more demons came through the black liquid of the Hellmouth and walked into the massive cavern deep underground. They all prepared for the push to the surface when suddenly a large sphere of light floated down from the surface of the planet. The demons looked up at the light and many snarled; while others looked with fascination, at least until the massive explosion caused by the sphere of light. An explosion that released a shockwave that shattered the nearby caverns before liquefying the demons below. The entire area started to shake as huge chunks of rock fell into the cavern.
More chunks of rock fell, covering the Hellmouth and preventing more demons from crossing over. However, it didn't stop there.
Back on the surface, there was a massive tremor as Willow was thrown to the other side of her ship as the roof door opened and she saw uniformed personnel running towards her as she motioned to them.
"Get in!" shouted Willow as she ordered one of the soldiers to cover those coming through the door while she gets the ship ready to fly.
Nodding his head, the soldier took out his sidearm and pointed it past the people running out of the door while Willow activated the HUD. She could hear the people coming behind her panting as they took a seat. Willow looked over her shoulder and saw many of them sitting down with their heads in their hands. Frowning, Willow turned back to her HUD and noticed that the seismic readings were off the scale in a small, contained area.
"We need to leave, now!" shouted Willow as she looked back at General Hammond and Reilly who just ran in while the soldier at the rear ramp, and then Riley, started firing at the demons that rushed out the roof exit.
"Leave!" shouted the soldier as Willow pressed a button on the right side of the console; closing the ramp while the Jumper rose straight up into the clear blue sky.
Clear except for the dragons in the distance attacking the other Jumpers.
In the meantime, everyone looked in shock not just at Willow looking at a holographic HUD… but also at what the HUD was showing.
Willow flew the ship high over the city while everyone in the ship watched Sunnydale die as the entire city collapsed in itself and formed a crater. The redhead knew that all the demons in the city were dead, that nothing could have survived that. She then headed back to the Sunnydale Army base as the next stage of the battle began.
TBC.