Chapter Eleven: - Truth and Revelations… and Baš (Part.1.)
Disclaimer: -
See Chapter One.
'The brothers have failed, they are on their way! You must destroy the body now. Do it now!' The Powers message reverberated in Whistler's mind with such fervency and volume that the demon nearly stumbled and fell. As he ran down towards the corridor to the elevator, Whistler summoned his magic and opened the door. Whistler's head still rattled from the Powers' message, the ferocity of them contacting him just now made his head hurt as his vision blurred and his balance swayed, Whistler leaned against the elevator as it went down to the hospital's basement.
The elevator stopped and the door opened, Whistler stumbled out, his head still throbbing as he looked up at the signs on the wall for where he had to go. The 'Morgue' was emboldened on a white sign with a large black arrow pointing left opposite the elevator, turning to face that direction, the Balance Demon stumbled down in that direction.
"Took… you long enough…" The Balance Demon jumped at the voice that suddenly spoke from behind him. Whistler spun and took in the charred and blistering skin of the Lord of Serpents, Baš.
"Jesus!" Whistler exclaimed as he saw the extent of the damage that the demon had suffered at Dawn's hands. "She really worked you over didn't she?"
"Baš scowled. "… She was… stronger than I had anticipated. Even now I hear Janus laughing up in the higher realms... I am going to kill her and the others; I will peel the flesh from their bones… and Janus, I will make my displeasure known. Find the body, I sense they are coming… I – I must gather my power… for the… for the final battle with them."
Jenny
She looked down where Ugallu had fallen towards Earth after their blasts duelled with each other and hers had won; the Saiyan grinned as she looked down, pleased that she had beaten the monster that thought it was her better. "Guys." Xander's voice called out through her scouter's comms. "It's over."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Jenny allowed herself to finally relax a little. "Finally!" She replied before she turned back towards the ship SG – 1 and their allies were piloting. 'Time to go!' She thought before she could see O'Neill gesturing to the old man to move closer to her. She looked down at the storm clouds that were still over Southern California. It seemed that unlike how quickly they had formed under Umū's power earlier, the storm looked like it was going to be around for a while yet. Good, Jenny thought, she could use the cloud cover to lose the ship and make it to Sunnydale.
"Xander!" The Saiyan woman called out into her comms.
"Yeah?" His voice replied over her comms.
"I'm heading back to the hospital after I lose the human's in the cloud cover. I'll meet you and Dawn there." She finished; Jenny turned one last time to look at the ship and thee humans, she smirked when she saw O'Neill and Carter look right at her, then she flared her Ki field around her, flipped them a two – fingered salute and then was gone from SG – 1's sight, a faint trail behind her indicating she'd headed down for the cloud bank before that too vanished leaving a group of awed and dumbstruck humans and Jaffa wondering what the hell just happened.
Jenny raced towards the hospital as her Ki field flared violently; the teacher's mind was racing over the events that have occurred tonight as she went to re – join her friends. After everything that's happened tonight; being changed into a Saiyan along with Xander and Dawn, and Buffy's death… as well as Angel's. And not to mention the Goa'uld and those humans they had met on that ship, it was Angel's death the most she was concerned about, and with good reason.
'The elders must have sensed the vampire's demise by now. The link to the curse breaking would've informed them immediately of his death.' Jenny thought as she closed in on Sunnydale General. 'I'll need to proceed carefully, I'll have to let Xander and Dawn know why I was really here. Giles, on the other hand… and Willow…' Jenny thought frowning as she idly wondered about the British man's and the young girl's reaction would be as to why she was really here in Sunnydale. She was… concerned – not for herself, what could a group of old Gypsy folk do to a Saiyan; more less a Watcher and a little girl? But the clan could cause problems for the group later on.
As the hospital finally came into view, Jenny saw Xander and Dawn waiting on the roof for her; angling her body downwards, Jenny flew towards them and quickly landed next to them and before she could ask, Xander spoke. "We'd thought we'd wait." He said by way of explanation as he looked at Dawn who nodded back at her as well.
"Best to explain to the others what's happened as a group." The girl said. Jenny could see her point, she didn't think that Giles and Willow would believe them that they had just defeated an alien invasion.
"Alright." Jenny said. "Let's get on with it then. I don't know about you but I just want this night to end."
"I hear ya, Lady J. I could sleep for a week after tonight, but still, strangely enough I'm not tired." Xander said as the three of them headed towards a roof access and opened the door. "I mean with the fight with those demons and everything, I'm still feeling kind'a wired right now."
"So am I, Xand. I'm still feeling kind'a pumped myself." Dawn told him with a grin. "I feel like sparring right now…"
"Dawn, not now. Maybe in the morning or somethin'." Xander said as he rebuked her offer. As they headed down the stairs towards the others, Xander looked at Jenny for a moment and smirked. "Oh, and I win by the way."
That stopped both women. Jenny turned and glared at him as Dawn did the same. "You cheated!" Dawn exclaimed whilst pointing her finger at him growling.
"You wanna get into this now, Xander?" Jenny asked as she stepped closer to him; he gulped as her voice took on an almost seductive tone as the teacher remembered the terms of the bet that the three of them had made. However what put him off from answering was the small glow that he could see emanating from the palm of her hand she had pressed against his chest armour and the tensing of her body as she waited for an answer. He gulped again and he shook his head, knowing that now wasn't the time to get into this with her.
"I did not!" Xander retorted with a glare of his own toward the younger Saiyan. "And being a sore loser doesn't suit you, Dawnie."
"I told you to call me Fasha." She grounded out at him petulantly as she took a menacing step towards him, trying to intimidate him, but she could see that he wasn't in the slightest and that pissed her off more than anything. Oh, she'd get a spar from him alright.
Alright that's enough of that shit, he thought. "When we're killing demons, or aliens or whoever the hell pisses us off next, sure. I'll call you Fasha, but when it's just you, your mom, Jenny and the others, I'll call you whatever the hell I feel like, Dawnie." He replied heatedly as he emphasized her name to make his point. Dawn snarled at him but Xander snarled right back at her louder and more aggressively; she could tell that he was angry as she jumped back slightly before she fell into a stance. Xander moved away from Jenny. "You maybe a Saiyan now, Dawn, but you're not Fasha, just like I'm not Tora. I may have his memories and his skill for fighting and killing, just like you have Fasha's, but that certainly doesn't make us them. You are Dawn Summers, daughter of Joyce Summers, no matter what that tail or your DNA might now say, act like it."
When he had finished lecturing her Dawn tensed for a moment, looking like she was going to attack him; Jenny looked between the two of them for a minute before she rolled her eyes and moved out of their way. Xander met Dawn's tensed stance with one of his own, he was prepared to defend himself from her if necessary, but he didn't have to when he saw Dawn growl and then visibly relax her body, but the glare was still there and if he was honest, he was glad that it was.
"You and me. Soon." She said before she turned and stormed off following Jenny.
Xander stood there for a moment before his glare turned into a smirk. "Fine."
A second later, he followed the two women down the stairs. Shortly they had arrived at the floor where everyone was waiting, they opened the door and immediately walked into a bustling scene; there was a small group of orderly's and doctors and a couple of security guards nearby. "What the hell…?" Xander asked out loud. The three Saiyans stepped into the corridor and headed to where the rest of the Scoobies were only to see that the doctors and the orderlies were attending to them.
When the Saiyans saw Willow and Giles on the floor with their backs against the wall and Joyce and Cordelia being helped onto a couple of gurneys. Xander and Dawn ran towards them. "Willow!" He called out garnering the attention of the doctors and the others. "What happened?!"
The redhead frantically looked in the direction she'd heard her name being called from. "Xander!" She cried out, her eyes closed tightly and surrounded with red raw skin, he could see her trembling and shaking hysterically; seeing his best bud like this, he could barely contain his rage at what had happened to her. "Xander… Ican'tsee… Ican'tseeIcan'tseeohgodIcan'tsee…" She cried frantically. "I'mblindI'mblindI'mblind…!"
"Ohmygodohmygod…!" Cordelia cried out in a similar state to Willow as a doctor tried to get her to calm down. Xander momentarily looked toward her and he could see that her eyes were shut tight and red raw.
"Stand back please!" One of the doctors said as he stepped forward to stop the two only to see the two teens and the woman scuffed up and covered in blood. He was going to call two of the orderlies over to help him with them only for Dawn to literally knock right past and push him off slightly into the wall startling him with her strength.
Dawn ran over to her mom with Jenny following her when she saw Joyce on another gurney. "Mom!" She cried out as she stopped at the right side of the bed.
"Dawn! Oh honey…" Joyce called out as she finally heard her youngest daughter's concerned cry. Dawn looked at her mom's face; like Cordy's and Willow's, her eyes were shut tight and the skin around them was red raw.
'Flash burns.' Dawn's mind instantly supplied the answer, the knowledge coming from the imprint of Fasha's mind. "What happened?! What did this?!" She asked as a doctor injected her with a sedative to calm her down
"That… man…" Joyce began answering, the sedative was already taking effect when she spoke and Dawn strained to hear it over Willow's and Cordy's wailing hysterics. She was tempted to grab one of the doctors and 'ask' him to knock the two girls out or she would. Her way.
"Man, what man?" She asked. "Mom, what man?!" She repeated. The question had garnered the attention of Xander and Jenny as well.
"I – I don't know… saw him briefly… he wore a brown leather jacket and a hat…" Joyce said as she calmed down more with the sedative going through her system. "He – He had something in his hand… bright… the light, so bright…"
" …" They barely heard the word. "X..d.r…" It kind'a sounded like…
"Rupert!" Jenny exclaimed as she turned to see the man being checked over by another doctor. The Saiyan woman moved away from Dawn and her mom and headed toward the paralysed Brit.
"Miss, could you excuse us please? We need to get these people to the ER." The doctor that was treating Giles spoke. Jenny looked at her and glared at her for a moment, the doctor held the gaze for a brief moment before she looked away from the irate Saiyan woman at one of the security guards. Calling out to the guard, the doctor ordered the man to move Jenny out of the way.
"Miss could you move out of the way please?" The guard asked.
Jenny ignored the man as she continued to focus of Giles. "Rupert, what man?" She asked. "Who is Joyce talking about?" As she waited for an answer, the guard grabbed Jenny's arm and just as he attempted to pull her away from Giles' gurney, Jenny reacted. Spinning around very quickly she snarled and grabbed the guard by the neck with her left hand and lifted him easily off the ground. As the guard gasped for air and struggled trying to pry the woman's fingers from his throat, the hospital personnel stepped back as the other guard cautiously moved. Jenny looked at the guard she held and hissed: "Wait one damned fucking minute." Then turning back towards the doctor tending to Giles she looked at her and told her to help quiet the wailing redhead.
As the doctor moved towards Willow, Jenny lowered the guard down to the ground but she still held onto his neck but not as tightly she was a few moments ago; she looked back down at Rupert. "English, what man? Where is he?"
Giles looked at her, struggling to get the words out. "B – B – … hur.y…!"
Xander, Dawn turned to look at him than at Jenny before they moved both moved. Willow, still wailing somehow sensed that Xander had left her and she cried more as she called out his name, but no matter how much he wanted to, Xander didn't stop. The two teens headed back towards the stairwell and headed down as they channelled their Ki to make the journey in mere moments. As they reached the hospital basement they burst through the door into a deserted corridor surrounded by their Ki auras.
"Which way's the morgue?!" Dawn asked as she looked left and then to the right.
"Down that way at the end of the corridor and to the right." Xander said pointing right; as he and Dawn looked around at their surroundings, they were wondering why everything was so quiet down here. "There's usually a couple of orderlies or nurses down here, hell I've even caught a couple of vamps down here on occasion when patrolling but…"
Dawn interrupted. "But it's too quiet. There's nothing. No one." She said as she focused her hearing to catch anything, something, but there was nothing. Shelooked back toward Xander but before she could speak, the Saiyans heard a familiar voice.
"So you are here at last." Dawn looked around wide – eyed as she remembered the voice belonging to Baš.
"Scratch that, there is something." She said. "I thought I killed you?!" She called out as she readied an attack.
"You very nearly did." The demon said as he suddenly shimmered into being on Dawn's right side. "See the fruits of your efforts child, for you very nearly did kill me." Baš stepped closer out of the shadowed hallway and Dawn could see regenerating patches of serpentine flesh on his lower body while his right arm and torso was a slowly healing blackened charred mess.
"This time I'll finish the job, I promise you." She said as she raised her arm and a ball of energy formed in her outfacing palm. She was about to fire at the demon and end him once and for all only for Xander to put his hand on her shoulder.
"No you won't, Dawn. I'll take care of him." He said as he walked past her. "It's obvious he's stalling for time; he's working with whoever hurt the others. Get to Buffy and get her up to the Ha'tak." Xander saw Baš grimace for a moment as the demon realised that his intention had been discovered. It had hoped that with the young redheaded girl he was fond of temporarily pained, the boy would stay with the other humans that the Powers' messenger had restrained.
Xander smirked unrepentantly. "Foiled your plan, have I?" He asked as Baš snarled at the boy. Xander lost the smirk. "I hope all of this was worth it, trying to stop us. Hurting Willow, Cordy, Giles and Mrs. Summers, all you've done is make sure that your end will not be a quick one, do you understand me demon? Death will not come quick for you."
Dawn watched as Xander walked closer towards Baš, once again torn between fighting the demon herself or saving her sister; indecision rocked her as she watched her friend approach the demon. "Dawn, go." Xander said again without turning around to look at her. "Buffy needs to be your priority right now." After what seemed like an eternity for Xander, he finally heard Dawn move off down the corridor away from him and Baš.
"I am prepared to die, boy." Baš spoke. "I will do whatever it takes to ensure that the girl remains dead…" An aura of magical energy came into being at the demon's whim. Xander prepared himself, Baš' lower body coiled in on itself as the demon balled its hands into fists. "The Powers have charged me with this mission! That girl is the key to an ancient enemy returning…"
"Like I told your brother with the beak before I ripped two of his arms off and killed him, I don't care about the darkness… this ancient enemy or your Powers' precious balance…"
"YOU SHOULD!" Baš roared, interrupting Xander. "Everything is in danger, boy. EVERYTHING!"
Xander sneered. "I said I don't care." His Ki aura briefly touched the magical aura that Baš was generating and as the two fields of energy interacted, sparks of energy danced between the two. "You have allowed someone to hurt those I consider family. You're… heh… attempting to stop my friend here from saving her sister, I will make you suffer before you die."
"… RRRRAAAAHHHH!" Baš looked at the Saiyan teen, snarling as he pushed off the ground like a coiled spring toward Xander leading with an outstretched left arm. Xander brought his right up to block the punch, he smirked and that infuriated the demon more before Baš then tried to punch Xander with a right before Xander blocked that one as well as he delivered a high kick to the demon's face. "Augh!" The demon was knocked back by the Saiyan's kick; he flew nearly five metres down the corridor before Xander caught up with him and planted his fist into its gut, the aura surrounding Baš glowed in intensity for a moment before it subsided.
But Xander saw it.
Dawn
Dawn flew down the corridor cautiously on the lookout for any more surprises that Baš may have left; as she flew around a corner she came upon a body lying on the floor. She landed next to it and saw that it was a female nurse, Dawn looked her over for signs of bodily harm but after a few moments she couldn't see any. As Dawn moved up to the woman's face she startled for a second as she saw the nurse's eyes were wide open and moving frantically from left to right.
"Mmmph…mmm…" The nurse mumbled, Dawn could tell that she was scared but she needed information.
"Calm down. Calm down, I'm here to help." Dawn told her, she held the nurse's gaze as she spoke, forcing her will upon the nurse to make her calm. "I know you can't speak, a friend upstairs has had something similar happen to him. Blink once for yes, twice for no; was it a man in a brown leather jacket and a hat that did this to you?"
The nurse blinked once.
"Am I near the morgue?"
Another blink. Dawn nodded as she looked away from the nurse and down the corridor, she saw a set of double doors. "Through those doors at the end there?" She asked looking back at the woman.
A third blink. Dawn looked around for a gurney to put the nurse on but couldn't find one, sighing she looked back and spoke. "I can't stay, I need to get after him." The nurses' eyes went frantic again as she tried to get Dawn to stay and help her but Dawn stood and rose up into the air again, the nurse stared wide – eyed at the sight, wondering just what the girl was. Dawn looked down at the nurse again and spoke. "Hopefully what's happened to you and my friend isn't permanent but I'll find out." Dawn left the nurse as she headed towards the doors, she wore a look of determination as she neared the doors and burst right through them… and saw the man in question speaking in a strange language while standing by her sisters body which was uncovered and lying on a table.
"Get away from her!" Dawn shouted as she charged the man, but she bounced off and went back through the doors as she hit an energy field that appeared surrounding Buffy's body.
"Sorry, kiddo, but I can't do that." Whistler said as he continued chanting in a language she hadn't heard before.
Dawn rushed back into the room, her features twisted into a mask of pure rage. Charging a ball of energy in her palm she quickly threw it the field and watched it get absorbed by the barrier, the field pulsed and glowed brightly for a brief moment before it died down. "I wished ya hadn't done that, kiddo." Whistler said sighing as he broke off from chanting and looked at her.
"And why's that?!" Dawn snarled with her gaze narrowed as she looked at the balance demon. Suddenly the hospital started shaking and Dawn could hear shouting coming from outside the corridor.
Xander
Xander had Baš on the ropes, he pounded the weakened demon down the corridor, throwing devastating punches, kicks, knee and elbow strikes into the demons' gut and his face as he barely offered the Saiyan no fight; Xander sneered as the demon threw a lazy right hook at Xander's face but the Saiyan easily dodged it and retaliated with a backhanded strike to Baš'. As the demon was rocked by the impact, the field surrounding him glowed intensely for a brief moment as it had before and suddenly Baš seemingly recovered. He snarled at the boy and then struck back with renewed vigour.
Baš swung the lower half of his body around and grinned when he caught it around Xander's arm; immediately he channelled his magic into his strength and he pulled a surprised Xander off balance and then delivered a one – two combination into the Saiyan's stomach and an uppercut to the chin. Xander was lifted off of the ground by the attack, colliding with the ceiling he grunted before he pushed himself off and down to the floor before getting to his feet and firing a ki blast at the demon.
"Hah!" Baš brought his arms up in a cross pattern in front of his face and blocked the blast before the field surrounding the demon appeared and flared again. "… Surprising." The teen spoke.
"What is, boy?" The demon asked smirking.
"That field." Xander started as he held the demons' gaze for a moment.
"Oh?"
"That glow was brighter than the last time. You're channelling magic somewhere, or from somewhere aren't you?" Xander asked.
"Perceptive. Truly you are most observant; it is no wonder that the Powers fear your influence here." Bas spoke as he complimented the Saiyan teen.
"Why though? You're fighting has been practically lethargic since we started." Xander said as he observed the demon. "The damage that Dawn did to you looks like it has nearly healed; so either you're channelling to heal your wounds faster…"
"Yes…" Baš led off as he kept smirking.
"Or you're channelling magic… to…" Xander trailed off as he worked out just what Baš was up to. It was a distraction and the demon had led him right into it. "… You bastard! Why?! Where?!" Xander raged as he charged forward and crashed into the demon and kicked in his flight ability as he held Baš in a tight grip.
"WHY?! SO THAT THE GIRL CANNOT BE RESURRECTED, THAT'S WHY!" Baš roared as he hammered the boys back in order to free himself while they flew down the corridor. "I WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO MAKE SURE SHE STAYS DEAD! Even if I have to destroy this building, I will do it!"
"Like hell!" The two quickly came to the end of the corridor; Xander looked at the wall he was fast approaching and putting channelling more of his ki into his flight ability, he and Baš crashed through.
Dawn
"You hurt people I care about. The Watcher, Willow, Cordelia…" Dawn spoke as she glared at the chanting Balance Demon. "… My mom." Whistler looked at her and winced as he could literally feel her intent to kill radiating off of her; he had to admit to himself as well as he took in her appearance, covered in the blood of the Jaffa she'd killed earlier, he was downright terrified of her.
"I didn't want to hurt them, kid…" He started.
"But you did and I want you to be aware of something. Just for that, I'm going to make it slow." She said. Whistler knew what she was talking about; he could feel a bead of sweat running down the side of his face as he forced himself to take a breath and continue with his chanting.
"Listen, kiddo…" He tried to speak.
"Don't call me that! You don't get to call me that!" Dawn roared back at him as she charged a ball of energy and threw at the field again. Like earlier her attack was absorbed by the field and again it flared brightly for a moment before the glow receded. She took a moment to observe the field as she saw it flare, Using Fasha's instinct coupled with her own, Dawn guessed that her attacks were making the field stronger so she'd have to use other methods to get past the barrier. But first she needed information.
"You can't keep me away from her." She said. "She's my sister; if it was yours wouldn't you do anything you could to save her?" Dawn asked him.
"Yeah, I would." The demon replied. "But I don't have a sister… ya gotta see the bigger picture…"
"She's my sister, that's all the picture I need." Dawn replied; she walked closer to the barrier and raised her hand to it, as she pressed the palm of her hand to the field, Dawn pushed against it, testing the barrier's resistance against physical force as opposed to her energy attacks. "My friends and I have just had a fight with five demons in the desert; one of them before my friend killed him spoke about a darkness returning…"
"He was right. Your sister was supposed to die months ago against a master vampire." He said as he recanted the events surrounding the Master's escape from his prison near the hellmouth. "It was Harris that brought her back, it's his fault that it's returning…"
"The fuck it is! Maybe you've heard of the concept? It's called Free Will! He didn't want her to die, that's all there is to it. He saved her and brought her back, end of fucking story." Dawn snarled. "And if he hadn't have brought her back, who would've fought and killed the Master then as he'd risen, huh?" Dawn asked him. She noted that Whistler didn't answer, but she pressed on. "Go on then, tell me; who would've fought the Master after he had risen and fully opened the hellmouth? Would it have been the Watcher? Would it have been Willow? Cordelia? What about Jenny, would it have been her? Don't tell me it would've been that Angel guy that she's been sucking face with. Go on, tell me." She asked.
When Whistler didn't answer her, she asked again. "TELL ME!" In her own way.
"The next Slayer to be called would've…" Whistler tried to retort but a scoff from Dawn told him that she wasn't amused.
"The next Slayer? Please, they would've been the first to die and you know it. I am not particularly impressed by your Slayers. And I am not impressed by this barrier." She finished as she channelled her ki increasing her already considerable strength.
Whistler knew what she was doing and his chanting resumed, Dawn watched as wisps of smoke started to rise from Buffy's body. Fearing the worst, Dawn began to push harder against the barrier. "Kid, c'mon, it's hopeless. Ya can't take down that barrier that way. Just accept it…"
"Accept it?! ACCEPT IT?!" Dawn raged. "FUCK YOU AND THIS BARRIER… AAAAAHHHH!" Dawn's power flared with intensity as her ki field surrounded her form, reacting to her emotional state her aura flared wildly like a candle flame exposed to a sudden gust of wind.
'Holy shit!' Whistler thought as he watched the Slayer's sister use her increasing strength to warp the shape of the barrier surrounding him and Buffy's body. 'That shouldn't be possible… what the hell is she?!' As he watched Dawn continue to warp the magical field around him, the hospital started shaking. He looked down at the ground and saw it cracking in response to the girl's power; realising that he didn't have long left before he was finished he continued chanting the last few words of the spell he was casting and watched as the Slayer's dead body glowed and more wisps of smoke rose off of her body.
"YOU. WILL. NOT. STOP. ME. FROM. SAVING. HER!" Dawn roared as she pushed and pushed and kept on pushing.
"KID… STOP!" Whistler shouted back over the quaking. "YOU'RE GONNA BRING THIS PLACE DOWN ON TOP OF US!"
"AAAAHHHH!" Dawn roared as she kept on straining the field; soon the barrier keeping her from her sister had become deformed as she pushed her outstretched arm through the field before there was an audible 'pop' sound and like a bubble bursting, the field destabilised leaving Whistler facing off against a raging Saiyan teen.
Jenny
"I said I'm fine. Get away from me." Jenny said glaring at a doctor that tried to examine her after seeing her covered in blood as the hospital shook under the effects of Dawn's power. Everyone inside the hospital was scrambling to get out of the building as doctors and orderlies escorted the patients out.
"I'm only trying to see if you're hurt, Miss. You're covered completely in blood, and we need to get you out of here…" The doctor said as he held his hands up in a non – threatening manner.
"It's not mine." Jenny said as she looked at the man. "Do you wanna know whose blood this is? It all belonged to a lot of people that were coming here to kill or enslave everyone on the planet." As the doctor looked at her sceptically, thinking that the woman was a nut, Jenny sighed before she brought her hand up and to his amazement formed a small ball of energy in her palm.
Jenny stared at the doctor for a brief second bemused by his expression as he looked at the small ball of ki; with her other hand, Jenny clicked her fingers in front of his face drawing his attention back to her. "There are other people who need your help getting out of here, doctor. Go away." The man nodded, turning away from her, Jenny noticed that the doctor couldn't leave her presence fast enough.
As she quickly found herself alone in the corridor as the doctors, nurses and orderlies had evacuated everyone out of the building, Jenny moved. Heading toward the stairwell, she headed down. She activated her scouter's transceiver and spoke. "Xander, Dawn, I don't know if you can hear me but I'm on my way." As she neared the second floor she had gotten a response.
"No, get out!" It was Xander. "Jenny, don't come down here! One of the demons from the desert survived! He's planted a bomb in the hospital." Xander's voice roared through her scouter as he continued, Jenny could hear grunts and sounds of exertion and blasts of energy being fired through the open comms channel.
"What?!" She exclaimed.
"There's a bomb in the hospital! Get everyone out now!" Xander replied as he suddenly cut off the communication.
"Xander?! Xander, do you hear me?!" Jenny spoke as she tried to reach him and failed. "Jesus." She muttered cursing the sudden but surprising move by the demon. "Dawn! Dawn, do you read?!"
A beat passed as Jenny waited for the young girl to answer her. "I'm here Jenny. I heard… I heard everything…"
Dawn
"…I know where the bomb is." Dawn answered as she stood over Whistler's bloodied, broken body. The demon gasped for breath as he coughed up blood; Dawn picked up and held the Balance Demon up by his neck as she stared despondently at the now smoking body of her dead sister, the bomb.
"Puh – plea…please…" Whistler wheezed out as he struggled to breathe; Dawn looked at him before she punched him in the chest, and cracked two of his ribs. "AAAHHH!"
"Dawn, what was that?! You know where the bomb is?!" Jenny's voice said over the teen's scouter. "Where are you? I thought you were getting Buffy's body?"
"I was; I found the guy that hurt Giles and my mom." Dawn told her as she shook the bleeding demon. Whistler groaned in pain, jostled by the sudden movements, he coughed up some more blood and a stab in his chest, fighting for breath he gargled clearing more blood and fluid from his throat. Groaning some more, the Balance Demon realised that one of his lungs had been punctured. "I made him tell me where the bomb is."
"Where is it, Dawnie?" Jenny asked; when she didn't get a reply from the young girl, she spoke again. "Dawn? Dawnie, the bomb…"
"Buffy." Dawn responded into her scouter. "They turned Buffy into the bomb."
There was silence on the other end of the comms channel as Dawn no doubt guessed that Jenny was registering what she had just told her. Dawn watched as her sister's body began glowing, she turned back to the Whistler and saw how the demon was fighting to stay conscious due to the massive blood loss and trauma he had received. "How long?" She asked.
When she didn't get an answer from him she tried again. "HOW LONG YOU BASTARD?! HOW LONG UNTIL MY SISTER EXPLODES?!" She raged as she shook the demon awake.
"Unh… uh… whuh…?" Whistler mumbled as he looked around and groaned. "Damn... thought… this… nightmare… minute there."
"Trust me, I haven't even begun on you yet." Dawn said as she pulled Whistler closer to her before she asked again. "How long until she explodes?"
Whistler glanced over at the body before he answered. "Minute… maybe… two… at most." He wheezed out as he struggled for breath.
"You are going to die." Dawn said as she narrowed her gaze at him. "Jenny, I need you in the morgue. Turn right and head down the corridor and turn right at the end. You'll see a nurse lying on the ground, she's paralysed like Giles was."
"I'm coming." Jenny said before Dawn's scouter registered Jenny's power level fast approaching. The Saiyan teen dropped the Balance Demon on the floor then walked over to Buffy's body. She picked her sister up just as Jenny burst through the doors and saw her.
"Dawn wait! It might be dangerous to move her!" The teacher reasoned before she took in the damage the morgue had taken. She saw the cracks on the ground and walls and knew that Dawn was responsible for the quake; looking down, she saw the broken body belonging to Whistler. "Is he…?"
"Yeah. I need you to kill him while I go take Buffy up to the ship." Dawn said as she carefully picked up her sister and held her in her arms. She could feel the build – up of heat coming from the body. "Jenny, make it slow."
"Wait…! Don't… ship dangerous…!" Whistler groaned out wheezing.
Dawn roared at the demon, telling him to shut up. "I don't believe you. You'd say anything to stop me from saving Buffy."
"… Saying it… to save… Earth." Whistler groaned. "Ha'tak… Goa'uld… Naquadah."
The demon's knowledge of the name of the alien species they had just fought made Jenny and Dawn pause for a brief moment. Jenny knelt before the demon as she grabbed him and pulled him up by the neck. "What do you know of the Goa'uld?"
"Been – been here before… man and demons drove them away… thousands… years… Star *cough! Hack!* Stargate… Chappa'ai…"
"You're lying…" Dawn said as she started to leave; Buffy's body had become hotter in her hands and she vehemently believed that the demon was just trying to stall her from bringing her sister back. "You'll say anything…"
"Truth… *wheeze!* Naquadah on ship… boom… big boom…" Whistler said as he looked at Jenny. "… Boom…"
"Now I know you're lying." Dawn said. "Jenny, kill him."
"Dawn, what if he's telling the truth?" Jenny asked as she held the demon whilst turning back toward Dawn only to find that the girl had girl. "Dawn?! Dawn! Damn it!"
Dawn POV (cont.)
"Dawn!" She flew with purpose down the corridor looking for an exit; somewhere where she could get out of the building that suddenly felt claustrophobic to her as she held her precious cargo. As Jenny's voice echoed through her scouter, Dawn ignored it as the girl finally found an exit and burst through the door surrounded by a halo of white energy.
"Dawnie, think this through! We don't know if he was lying or not. It could be dangerous to take Buffy up there." Jenny spoke.
Dawn didn't respond.
"Damn it Dawn! Will you answer me?! Wait!"
"NO! I WON'T, I CAN'T!" Dawn raged as she finally answered her friend; looking up into the night sky, Dawn programmed her Scouter to locate the Ha'taks' position above the Earth. "NOT WHEN I'M SO CLOSE!" She replied back; Dawn shot up off the ground, not waiting for her scouter to register where the ship was. Everyone that had gotten out of the hospital watched as something shot straight up into the sky from the back of the hospital. Heading straight up past the cloud bank as fast as she could go, Dawn increased her speed as she held on tighter to Buffy's body as she blocked out Jenny's repeated attempts to dissuade her from heading to the ship.
"Dawnie…" But the voice was different now; softer and more feminine than Jenny's ever was. It took her a moment to place who the voice belonged to. "Dawnie… stop. Let me go."
Buffy.
Dawn suddenly found herself surrounded by an expanse of white; it surrounded her everywhere where she could see. Looking down at her hands and body, she saw that she was no longer covered in the blood of the Jaffa she'd killed aboard the Ha'tak nor was she holding her sister's body in her arms. Because Buffy had just appeared in front of her looking whole and healthy.
"Hey Dawnie." Buffy said as she slowly approached her Saiyan sister with the look of a loving sister.
"Wha…? How…?" Dawn begun to ask.
"I asked for you to be brought here, sweetie." Buffy said before she was crushed in Dawn's arms and hugged for all she was worth.
Dawn squeezed her sister's frame as she held her whilst she cried. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… it's my fault…"
Buffy pulled her away to look at her. "Don't say that, Dawnie, because it's not true and deep down you know it… and it's not Fasha's either. So don't blame yourself. Don't ever blame yourself." Buffy wiped at her sister's eyes with her thumbs, brushing the tears away.
"I'm gonna bring you back, I promise." Dawnie said resolutely.
"Dawnie, I can't come back. Not now." Buffy said.
"Don't say that! What about mom? The Watcher, Xander and Willow and even Jenny and Cordelia, huh? What about them?!" Dawn asked as she pulled herself away from her sister. "I'm almost near the ship Buffy, I can bring you back. I'm bringing you back. They have a sarcophagus on that ship that can bring you back to life…"
"Dawn…"
"I'll bring you back and I'll teach you how use Ki and Xander and Jenny will help me." Dawn said as she laid out her plan. "And then you'll be safer, stronger."
"Dawnie, look at me." Buffy asked softly as she looked at her grieving sister. "I'm sorry, sweetie, truly, but I can't come back."
"I SAID DON'T SAY THAT!" Dawn shouted as her ki aura manifested; Buffy looked on saddened that she was partially responsible and had put her little sister through so much pain in one night. "DON'T GIVE UP! YOU SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP! You should live." The girl said after she looked back at her sister. "You should want to live, you never even got the chance to."
"I know." Buffy said. "So live for me."
"What?" Dawn asked.
"Live for me. Live for me, Dawnie. See the world, see all the worlds. I want you to live life for me every day, because it's precious and fleeting." Buffy spoke as she closed the distance between herself and her sister once more. "I want you to live and grow up, to fall in love, to meet a nice guy…"
"… Already did that one." Dawn interrupted. "You rejected him for a vampire, remember? What was up with that?" Buffy gave her a look that screamed 'are you done?' and Dawn held her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay…"
"I want you to get married and have children of your own one day…" She continued.
"Stop, I get it. I get it, but what about what I want, huh? Doesn't that matter? I want my sister back; I want you back." Dawn said as she rallied against her sister's acceptance of her fate. "What about mom? Are you just gonna leave me and her alone…"
"You and mom won't be alone, Dawnie. You'll never be alone." Buffy said as this time she pulled Dawn to her and hugged her. "You've got mom and Giles; you've got Xander and Jenny. Willow and even Cordelia. And I'll be watching over you, sweetie. I'll never leave you…"
"… But it won't be the same." Dawn interrupted her as she cried again. "It'll never be the same." She finished. Dawn pulled away from Buffy and her tears fell harder when she saw that Buffy was starting to fade away. "No…"
"I'm sorry, Dawnie, but I have to. I'm sorry I got involved in this mess." Buffy told her. "I'll miss you, munchkin." She said as Dawn held onto her tighter. "Look after mom and the others for me, Dawnie. Please?"
"Nononono…" Dawn held on tighter still, with her eyes scrunched tightly and shaking her head as much as she could, denying what was happening, she felt Buffy put a hand on her head and stroke her hair.
"Goodbye, Dawnie." Buffy said to her before Dawn felt her sister fading away. "Let me go…"
And just as soon as those words were uttered by her sister, Dawn found herself back above the Earth holding her brightly glowing sister in her arms; the Saiyan teen idly noticed her scouter had located the Ha'tak and that Dawn was already heading towards it. She ignored the numerous that were in her way as she flew faster than she ever did before; but it wasn't fast enough.
"Let me go, Dawnie." Buffy's words echoed in her mind as she flew closer. She could see the Ha'tak now just off in the distance. The golden pyramidal structure shone like a beacon to her, letting her know that the end was in sight. "Dawnie… let me go." She shook her head, trying to get the words out of her mind.
'I'm close! I'm so close… just a few more seconds!' She thought as she glanced down at her sister.
And then, Dawn's entire world lit up like a roman candle.
Stargate Command – Twenty Minutes before.
Hammond and Davis listened as SG – 1 reported that the woman they had identified as Celeria had flew into the cloud bank and used the cover to lose them. The General sighed. "Roger that SG – 1. In the meantime, head over to the Groom Lake facility and then taxi to Edwards Air Force Base. I'll let them know to expect you."
"Roger that sir. Heading there now, SG – 1 out." O'Neill's voice said over the channel before the comms signal was shut down.
"Sir, how do we know that the surviving Jaffa aboard the ship won't retaliate against Earth for the death of Apophis?" Davis asked as he recanted the brief mission report that SG – 1 had just given them.
"We don't, Major." Hammond said. "We can only hope that the threat the woman issued to the survivors stays their hand."
"General…" Major Davis started.
"… I know, Major. I'm not applicable to the idea of relying on the threat of an unknown variable like these three beings either." Hammond reasoned before continuing. "Which is why we will remain at Defcon 2 for the time being." Hammond finished.
"Yes, sir." Davis said.
"In the meantime, I'll inform the President." Hammond said before he left for his office.
Same Time as Dawn's POV
"Yes Mr. President. According to SG – 1, one of the three beings killed Apophis and captured another Goa'uld prisoner before turning the prisoner over to SG – 1's authority. They're headed over to the Groom Lake facility in a cargo ship and then they'll taxi over Edwards before heading to Peterson." Hammond reported.
"Understood, George… we nearly bit the bullet on this one, didn't we?" Asked the Commander – in – Chief.
Hammond let out a sigh. "I'd say so, sir. If it wasn't for the efforts of SG – 1 and whoever those three beings were, then we'd have been wholly unprepared." Hammond finished.
"Then it's safe to say that the SGC is still needed in order to better safeguard this world and its people in acquiring advanced technology that will better help us to do that, wouldn't you agree, General?"
"Yes sir, I do." Hammond said sounding hopeful that the President was going to do what he hoped he would. Hammond heard the man sigh on the other end of the phone before the President continued.
"Very well; like I told you before George, I'll probably be committing political suicide by going against the Senate Appropriations Committee on this, but in light of recent events I'm overruling Senator Kinsey's decision to shut down the Stargate Program."
"Yes, sir. Thank you Mr. President." Hammond said grateful to the man on the other end of the phone.
"I should be the one thanking you, George…" Hammond heard him mutter on the other end of the phone before he continued. "… In the meantime, I take it you're remaining at Defcon 2 until we can ascertain what to do with the alien vessel in orbit?"
"Yes sir, as a precaution; just in case the surviving Jaffa aboard decide to attack. Colonel O'Neill stated that one of the beings, a woman named Celeria took possession of the ship and its personnel before she… requested they leave." Hammond said diplomatically, explaining that the SGC's premier team were ordered to leave the ship.
There was silence on the other end of the line as the President listened to Hammond's report before he answered seconds later. "… I see. I'm a bit concerned about that George. We don't know all that much about these three beings other than they had just helped stop the bad guys."
"Yes, sir. I'm aware of that." Hammond stated.
"George, we need to meet and talk with these people. Find out who they are and what they are. We need to know where they stand. Are they allies or something else?"
"Yes, sir."
"I would appreciate it if the SGC were the ones to make contact with them, seeing as how it was Colonel O'Neill's team that encountered them. Can I count on you and your people, General?"
"Yes, sir. You can count on us, Mr President." Hammond said.
"Good." Just then…
*GENERAL HAMMOND TO THE CONTROL ROOM! GENERAL HAMMOND TO THE CONTROL ROOM!*
"What the…" Hammond exclaimed as he held the phone.
"Problem, George?" The President asked as he heard the announcement over the phone.
"I don't know yet, Mr. President. I'll get back to you."
"Understood. Carry on General." He said before the line went dead as the Commander – in – Chief ended the call.
Hammond entered the control room and found Major Davis nearby one of the computers as he was talking to someone over the phone. "What's going on, Major?"
"General sir, Vandenberg AF Sat – Com has just reported another launch of an unknown object from Sunnydale. They report that the object is on course for the Goa'uld vessel."
"Just one? Do we still have satellite telemetry on the Goa'uld vessel?" Hammond asked.
"Yes sir. From the Hubble." Sergeant Harriman answered. "We repositioned it after the… fight the woman had with the other being. It's coming in now." Both the General and Major Davis moved over to Walter's computer and looked at the monitor as the technician brought up the satellite feed. The image showed the Goa'uld Ha'tak off in the distance before the image enhanced and brought the alien vessel into sharper clarity. Then the image refreshed itself again as the satellite feed picked up the image of one of the three powered beings, the young girl dressed in pink and yellow holding onto a glowing object whilst heading toward the ship.
"What is that? She looks like she's carrying something." Davis asked.
"Unknown sir, we can't get a clear image of it." Harriman answered as the image on screen refreshed itself again and this time the satellite feed from the Hubble caught the image of an explosion before everything the image turned white.
"What was that?!" Hammond answered as everyone in the control room scrambled to find the answer. Fearing the worst, Hammond spoke. "Major, contact NASA, I want to know if the Goa'uld ship is moving. They might think that were launching an attack."
"Yes, sir!" Davis said before he went over to the phone by his desk and asked the operator to put him in touch with NASA.
Xander – Five Minutes before Dawn's POV
He brought his right arm up to block Baš' straight that the demon had aimed at his face, then swinging his arm wide, Xander countered with a left hook to the demon's kidney before Baš used his lower half to strike at Xander like a snake would attack its prey: Fast and hard. The demon missed; Xander sidestepped the attack and kicked out against the demon but he too missed. "Well, you're fighting much better now." Xander said as he brought his arms up in a 'X' pattern in front of his face to block another strike from Baš' lower half again.
"I see no point in prolonging the pretense, boy. You and the little bitch have failed!" He crowed. The Slayer shall remain dead and gone! I may not have destroyed the place of healing, but I'll die knowing that I have succeeded in stopping you and the girl. And if the little bitch dies as well, so much the better!"
Xander snarled as he rallied and charged Baš' position once more; the demon was unprepared for the boy's sudden burst of speed and couldn't bring up a defence in time before Xander's fists crashed into the demon's face.
"AAARRGGHHH!" Baš was thrown back by the attack as he crashed into a wall, the demon shook his head and glared at the boy before he tried to move but Xander had charged him again and begun hammering the demon's body with punches and kicks, preventing Baš from retaliating against him. Each punch rocked the demon back against the masonry as Xander kept piling on punch after punch and kick after kick. The Saiyan teen's arms and legs had become blurs that no ordinary eye could catch.
Baš gritted his teeth as he tried not to scream out, he wouldn't give the boy the satisfaction of hearing him cry out, either in pain nor asking the boy for mercy. He knew he wouldn't receive any anyway. Gods, he had seriously underestimated the boy's power. 'He's nearly as strong as the Key!' the demon thought as he continued to weather Xander's powerful blows. 'I am dead.'
"Yes, you are." Xander said as he addressed the demon; Baš looked up surprised at him through half swollen eyes and saw the boy smirking ferally. "Don't worry, I didn't read your mind. I just know that look on what's left of your face." Xander said. "You've just realised now that you're going to die. For good, this time. Am I right?"
"… Heh… I hope you and your kind die horribly… Saiyan." Baš wheezed out through broken and cracked lips as he addressed Xander by the name of the species he had been turned into for the first time. "… My brothers and sisters will avenge us. Tiamat… my mother will grind your bones into powder…"
"One day, probably. Knowing my luck it'll either be at the hands of a demon or a devil more powerful than me." Xander said as he spoke. "Or I'll probably have said the wrong thing and insulted either Jenny or Dawn, or both." He said before he brought his hand up and formed a ball of ki in his palm. "But the point I'm trying to make is this…" Xander said as he trailed off before driving his arm into Baš' chest; the demon's eyes shot open wide as the pain registered. "… You will not be here to see it." He hissed in the demon's face before he withdrew his arm leaving the ball of energy inside. Baš' mouth opened in a silent scream as he looked into Xander's dark eyes before the ball of energy in his chest exploded outwards, showering the boy in blood and viscera as he died.
Xander looked as the body of the demon finally fell limply to the ground before he finally turned his scouter's transceiver back on. "Jenny. I've killed the demon…"
"Xander!" Jenny's voice cut into his communicator. "Dawn's gone!"
"What do you mean gone? Gone where?" Xander asked.
"She's taken Buffy's body up to the ship…" Jenny's started before Xander interrupted her.
"Well, that was the plan, wasn't it?" Xander asked confused for a minute.
"Yeah, but that was before we found out that Buffy was the bomb!" Jenny said shouting over the communicator.
Xander froze as he processed what Jenny had just told him before he turned and ran as fast as he could back through the hole he had made before he ran back down the hospital basement's corridor. "Lady J!" He shouted out hoping that she was nearby.
"Xander!" She was nearby. "I'm by the stairwell!"
He ran back covering as much distance as he could before he saw Jenny carrying a nurse in her arms and a broken and bloody body on the floor near her. "What the fuck happened?!" He asked as he looked at the guy in the leather jacket, this was the guy that had hurt Joyce and the others upstairs earlier. His gaze narrowed as he saw that the Balance Demon was still barely alive.
"Why isn't he dead, yet?" He asked before he moved to finish the job that Dawn had started.
"He knows about the Goa'uld." Jenny told him, stopping him from finishing Whistler off. "He said something about it being dangerous if Dawn took Buffy's body up to the ship."
"Did he now?" Xander asked. "Is he still talking?"
Jenny looked down and lightly, for her, kicked him. Whistler went sliding along the floor and hit the wall with a dull thud before he rolled onto his back. "… AAAHHH…!"
"He's still alive." Jenny said before she looked down at the paralysed nurse she was carrying. "She's paralysed like English was. Since we don't know how long the effects of the paralysis will last for, I'll pass her off to one of the doctors outside."
"Let's go then. I'll grab him." Xander said as he moved to pick Whistler up and fling him over his shoulder then turning to face Jenny he and the Saiyan teacher quickly moved up the stairs and headed to the ground floor and outside.
Xander and Jenny – Same Time as Dawn's POV
As they headed out through the doors, the two Saiyans walked out into a scene of bedlam and chaos as doctors and nurses tended to their patients and tried to calm them down. Xander looked down at himself and grimaced. Being covered in blood and viscera wasn't something he wanted anyone here to see, plus the fact that he was holding onto Whistler, he needed to get away from here.
"I'm gonna head up to the roof of the hospital with this guy." He said. "Go pass her off to one of the doctors or something." He finished gruffly before he looked to his left and quickly ran off and around the corner before anyone could see him before he flew up to the roof.
Jenny watched him go. "Right." She muttered before she moved forward and saw a doctor with a free gurney. "Hey! Doc, over here!" She called out as she moved towards the doctor. Reaching the paralysed nurse out onto the gurney, Jenny turned to the doctor. "She's been paralysed. Help her."
Walking away leaving the slightly confused doctor alone with the nurse, Jenny headed left where Xander had gone before she flew up to the roof and joined him where Whistler had been dumped ceremoniously on the roof. "Ya got him talking yet?"
"Nope. He's unconscious; Dawnie really did a number on him, huh?" And she certainly did. The noticed that Whistler's arms and legs had been broken in multiple places and they noticed that there was blood pooling under his shirt in multiple locations. The Balance Demon's eyes had swollen shut were he had been repeatedly punched a number of times.
"I'm gonna try to reach Dawn." Jenny said as she activated her transceiver. "Dawn! Dawn, it's Jenny."
There was no answer and Jenny sighed.
"Dawn, come on! Answer me, sweetie, please." She tried again before she looked at Xander and shook her head in the negative.
He tried to give it a go. "Dawnie, it's Xander. Come in, Dawnie." It was the same for him as well; Dawn didn't answer. He turned to look at Jenny. "Try and locate her scouter." He ordered. Jenny looked at him for a minute before she complied and programmed her scouter to locate Dawn's.
It was mere seconds that the teacher had the little girl's position. Following the tracking reticule on her scouter, Jenny looked up with Xander following her line of sight. "She's not far from the Ha'tak…"
Just then, there was a small flash of light in the sky. "Wait!" Jenny exclaimed before continuing. "Her position's changing… she's heading in the opposite direction of the Ha'tak."
"Shit!" Xander said before he willed his ki aura into being. "She's tumbling back towards the planet. The bombs gone off!" He said as he flew straight up into the night sky as he headed to intercept Dawn's uncontrolled re – entry.
Jenny watched him for moment before she realised what had happened. "Oh god. Buffy…" Then, she mirrored Xander's actions and flew straight up after him.
Author's Note
Surprise! Here's chapter Eleven. Damn, this one was hard to get out. RL yet again decided to get in my way and then I made the mistake of getting Dragonball Xenoverse for my kids... and uh...*ahem, cough!* Mortal Kombat X for me... *whistle*
Anyway, back to the story. Right now I realise that I may get some flak for killing Buffy off, but let me just say to those who have been following this story from the beginning, both on tth and here, I always intended for Buffy to remain dead in this story. My goal was always to tell a Btvs fic without Buffy in it. What does this mean? Changes my friends. Changes galore. Some good, some great, and some probably not so good nor great, but I promise you, entertaining.
Read and Review. Enjoy.
Peace
