Operation Slayers and Non Essentials, the Second Coming:
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
"Oh, look who's awake. Ready for school honey?" Joyce asked.
"You really are evil you know that? Half-assed powerful, but evil." Buffy replied.
"Tsk tsk Buffy, you shouldn't talk to your mother in that tone. I don't have to give you a spanking like I did the rest." Joyce replied before nodding to a bringer holding a dagger.
After the bringer stepped over the circle of corpses consisting of team Kennedy which were strategically placed all along the outer lip of the Hellmouth seal, agonizing screams filled the air while the bringer was slowly carving into Buffy's cheek…or at least Buffy should have been screaming, but she merely looked past the bringer and right at the face of her fake mother with tightly lock lips and a stare that could kill. However, as bad ass as Buffy is, even she couldn't take the pain as the bringer continued to label Buffy's face with superficial cuts; flicking droplets of blood from the knife onto the Hellmouth seal, causing it to flicker and crackle with bright electric energy.
"Nice to know my toys still work." Buffy Summers replied after the power display, now walking to Faith. "Faithy, what can I say. I could say I don't love you but that pesky humming in our gut's tells us both different. So I guess there's no point looking like this eh?" Buffy said before suddenly materializing into Mayor Wilkin's, third of his name. "Firecracker? Hhhhhhhhhhhh"
"You bought a one way ticket to Hell and evil when you joined my side firecracker." Mayor Wilkin's spoke with a smile, somehow raising Faith's chin with an immaterial finger to meet his gaze half a millimeter before touching her skin. "What do you have to say for yourself young lady?"
Smiling back, Faith answered the man. "I hope evil takes MasterCard"
And so the agents of the First crept towards the older members of Scoobie Central with deadly purpose, until an ear piercing shriek filled the air. Said ear piercing shriek being caused by a former airborne arrow that was now pointing its head in Giles' face; blood splattered on the man's glasses and face. As both good and evil looked from left to right, none saw the source of the flying death. However looking skyward, one could see one lone human standing at the top of a dirt platform with two smooth dirt paths leading downwards towards the Hellmouth; bow in hand and arrows face down in the dirt.
"And the glorified brick layer picks up a spare!...again"
And like a climactic scene from a movie, the watchers of Slayer Central dispersed from behind their commander and formed a line on either side of the Nick Fury look alike with arrow's notched then drawn. The opposition was completely taken by surprise and was trying to gather their ranks while flatfooted, clearly organizing for a defense to slowly.
"Watchers!"
"Slayers!"
Two different voices screamed in unison, one belonging to Xander Fury and the other to Andrew Wells.
"Fire!"
"Attack!"
Chapter 20
"Good demon, now go help the others!" Xander barked at Andrew's summon after it dropped off Willow. "Olivia, how is she?!" Xander demanded while he and the watchers were still raining arrows on their enemies, careful to avoid any areas which inhabited Slayer life.
Olivia quickly checked Willow's vitals and breathed a sigh of relief. "She's fine, just unconscious! Olivia yelled back through the screams of battle.
"Well wake her ass up! We could use some witch-fuu right about now!"
"Xander are you insane?!" Olivia asked, getting a raised eyebrow from the one eyed man.
"Never mind! I can't drug her to re-awaken! God knows what the drugs and her magic will do to her body!"
"Damn it all! We could use some support! Ken and Satsu's team are down-….Jesus!" Xander cut himself off as he launched an arrow right through the mouth of a snarling bug like demon that was about to take a chunk out of an underage Slayer it just knocked down.
Right after Andrew's winged beasts carried, or rather half carried and half tossed team Kennedy and team Satsu towards Buffy in a relief effort, only the younger teen Slayers were left to defend the high ground the choke points. The only exception being Dana, as she was left behind to rein havoc on anything that may jump, slither or crawl past the two dirt hill choke-points. For a while the defense held, but the numbers game quickly caught up to the younger Slayer's stamina and inexperience. Now lying injured beside Willow was the entire left choke point defensive team, Olivia furiously trying to mend the teen Slayers well and fast enough to get them back into the fight. The only reason why said dirt platform was not overrun was because of one lone reason…the fury that is Dana, the psychotic Vampire Slayer. Littered all over the young Slayer's body were cuts and welts, but to Dana, a mere scratch. Lashing out from one body to the next, Dana was a one woman army. But just like during the siege of the vampiric Joan of Arcadia, Dana's mind was still in the fight but her body wasn't.
"Olivia!...*pant*…Get…*pant*…Me…*pant*…Up!" Andrew told the doctor in between his deep breathes, the magic he previously performed in such quick bursts clearly taking a toll on the young man's body.
"Andrew you can hardly breathe! Let me tend to….." Andrew eventually drowned out the sound of Olivia even though the woman was right beside him. Then almost in slow motion Andrew could see the clubbing blow a large muscle bound demon was about to land right to the side of Dana's jaw. Quickly looking around him, the young watcher noticed one of Olivia's adrenaline shot needles beside the woman while she was occupied. Without any hesitation, Andrew grabbed the shot and plowed it into the side of his other arm and then pushed down on the plunger.
"Ahhh!" Dana grunted as a bulging blow knocked her to the ground.
Looking up, Dana saw the long claws of some cat demon thingy about to crack right through her face and was unable to move her extremities with the right amount of speed to get out of the way…although that didn't stop the teen Slayer from trying. Half bracing herself for the blow and half still trying to get out the way, Dana rolled over onto all fours and tried to crawl away and get to her feet. However what Dana was unable to brace for was a surge of blue'ish white energy that just missed the top of her head by less than an inch. Looking back Dana saw the result of a domino effect as demons and bringers were toppled over. Craning her neck to look forwards, Dana saw Andrew standing tall with energy crackling around his hands.
"Well it ain't Willow…." Xander said, watching Andrew put his hands behind his back and start to chant something that sounded like 'Ka' and 'me'.
After firing another arrow from his ever vastly decreasing supply, Xander looked around for another easy target, but was drawn to Andrew's magical display.
"…mmeee!...GIRLS!" Andrew shouted after his chant, thankfully getting one of the younger Slayers holding the line to look back at him. "GET DOWN!" Andrew screamed as he built up the energy that his hands held behind his back.
Then, with more speed than most people knew Andrew possessed…although it could have been from the adrenaline shot…Andrew extended his left leg backwards on its side while rushing his right foot forwards and bent the knee, not two seconds later chucking his crackling hands forwards as fast and as forceful as possible. "HAAAAAAAAAA!"
Xander's eye went wide as he saw a huge beam of blue'ish white energy rush forth from Andrew's hands and collide with their enemies along the dirt path, leaving a traveling crater in the ground as the beam rocketed forth….."But….it'll due." Xander finished as he witnessed the results of Andrews magically based attack. A bunch of young Slayers started to remove their hands from atop their heads and get up after leaping out of Andrew's way, looking completely shell shocked as a large chunk of what they were so fiercely fighting against now lay splattered along the cave walls.
Bottom side, the battle was going somewhat well. Dante was holding back any humanoid demon that had a pulse with his demonic stare, though greatly straining himself in the process, and the white hats were hacking off heads on both sides of the cave floor dirt pathways. For a little while Buffy and Co. we're winning, but Dante soon had to relinquish his hold on the masses, and the blinding lights that were cast all over the enemy soon faded.
However outnumbered, the Slayers were not out skilled…plus having a pack of hellish wolves chomping on calf's and finishing off fallen enemies helped; not to mention Xander and his men's ranged support picking off enemies who were stuck between the fighting going on up top and on the bottom of the battleground. However, because of the growing urge to not die by an arrow to the face, the agents of the first started to jump off the uphill dirt paths. At first, most brave jumpers smashed their ankles from the force of the landing as they leapt from to high up. Unfortunately, the army of the First learnt from their mistake and found a good spot to jump into the fray from. Thus, both choke point teams had to form a back to back circle formation as they were being overrun from all sides.
With all of their tricks and tactics, the side of good was still outnumbered and running out of resources fast. The watchers above were almost out of arrows and Andrew was so mentally and physically exhausted that it's safe to say the boy had the magical strength of a doily. Most importantly, the white hats big gun was still out of commission as Willow lay unconscious behind Olivia; an Olivia who was just about out of medical supplies and stimulants. Yet with all obvious signs pointing towards a loss, the good guy's fought on; the game changing moment of battle coming when THE Slayer became wounded.
"Urrrgggh!" Faith grunted in pain when a cat like demon leapt from God knows where and landed on Faith's back claws first. The Kevlar suit thankfully protected Faith from taking any piercing damage, but as soon as Faith reached backwards to grab the whatever demon by the head and launch it off of her, the cat like demon opened its mouth and bit down into Faith's hand.
"Ahhh!" Faith cried out.
But just as soon as Faith closed her eyes and hollered in pain, she felt a weight suddenly disappear off of her back. Looking from side to side, Faith found the source of her relief. Dante had his muzzle around the face of the cat demon….while it was still alive. It wasn't until Dante snapped his jaws close with a snarl did Faith's man kill the other demon, demon cat brains, bone and blood flying everywhere. Shrugging off the pain which plague her stake hand, Faith shook her hand back and forth to be free of the excess blood leaking from her palm…which was quite possibly the worst thing Faith could have done.
As soon as the first drop of blood hit the air, just a fraction of a millimeter above the large Hellmouth seal, electricity crackled all over the seal. Both factions quickly started to haul ass off the seal as to not be electrocuted, but not all of the First's army made it off in time and those left behind were in quickly electrocuted and soon fried. While almost every being from both factions stopped his/her/it's actions and looked at the light show being cast below, they all began to see double as the entire cave started to rumble; the only clear sight being what looked like a river of blood being drained from the corpses of holy men and women on the Hellmouth seal. The lifeless bodies of team Kennedy having their glamor removed as energy crackled over their forms, revealing the corpses of young Slayers and what could have been their watcher.
However, as terrifying as an underground earthquake is, very little could compare to the eerie sound of ancient metal grinding and the sight of the Hellmouth opening with blood and electricity going right through the seal. The icing on the cake from Hell being the First laughing in the same incorporeal form it met Buffy with when the First tried to get Angel so long ago.
"Oh" Buffy started
"Fuck" Faith finished.
Buffy quickly made a B-line straight for her younger sister, cut down anything that was even remotely close like they weren't even there, and took Dawn by the arm. "Dawn! We have to close this now! Get everything you need, We'll hold them off!"
"Buffy you nuts?! Were barely holding our own!"
"If you don't close this now, it won't matter what we hold! Now do as I say!" Buffy commanded her sister over the rumbling of the cave.
"Buffy, everything I need is up there!" Dawn screamed as she pointed upwards, and then stabbing a bringer who got to close. "If you know a good way to get up there, I'd like to hear it!"
Suddenly, Buffy's worst nightmare started to come true….again. A familiar clawed hand came out of the Hellmouth, a Turokan following. Getting to its feet, this Turokan looked different than the ones the Slayer's fought in Sunnydale. This vampire of old was dressed in stained amour and was taller and thicker than the Turokan of Sunnydale. However as beefy and general-like as this Turokan looked, all the armor in the world didn't save it from a fireball in the face. Looking skywards, Buffy felt a wave of relief that was better than sex as Willow was now standing at the edge of the dirt hill above with hands on fire.
"Welcome back Will!" Xander cheered. "Did ya bring me anything?"
With a smile aimed at her best friend, Willow waved her hand at Xander. Suddenly, the two dozen arrows that were impaled in the ground in front of Xander and the watchers were multiplied by a number Xander didn't even have to count to. The red head then turned to face the threat below.
"DAWN! JUST LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT!" Willow's magically enhanced booming voice rang out, the single back pack containing everything the white hats thought they would need to close and re-seal a Hellmouth being telekinetically chucked in Dawn's direction below…followed by a sprawling midair Andrew.
"Whhha! Waaaa!" Andrew hollered as he was unwillfully being magically carried through the air. "Willow?!" Andrew huffed while looking at the red headed witch as he landed on his ass beside Dawn and Buffy.
"You take the low road!" Willow boomed again before closing her eyes.
"What the hell is she-"
"yyyyyyyAAAARAAAAH!" Willow suddenly screamed as she forcefully extended her arms in both directions, blue glossy energy flowing from her fingertips and encasing half the cave clearing.
Try as they might, the army of the First that occupied the dirt pathways and all around it, couldn't penetrate the barrier the red headed witch erected.
"DO IT NOW DAWN!" Willow boomed once more, her eyes blackening and her body straining.
"Dawn!" Buffy hollered to sister beside her. "Stay behind us and do the spell!." Buffy then tilted her chin upwards and screamed with the voice of the Slayer inside. "SLAYERS!" All Slayer's on the battlefield below quickly turning their heads to their leader, along with Giles and Andrew. "FORM!..THE!...LINE!".
And without a moment's hesitation, all white hats and white hat pets at the cave bottom aligned on either side of Buffy Summers and awaiting whatever crawls out of the Hellmouth next; Xander and his rangers readying their bows, their aim targeted at the mouth of Hell through a circular midair hole in Willow's barrier that the witch purposely left for ranged support.
"Readddy! Holllld!" Buffy commanded as they all awaited what Hell spat up, both Dawn and Andrew rifling through their supplies to gather all the ingredients needed to perform the Hellmouth sealing ritual. "Hoollld! Hoooo…..oly crap that's big!" Buffy spoke out as everyone bottom side had to crane their necks upwards to gaze upon two every growing tentacles.
"Xander!"
"Watchers! FIRE!" Xander commanded, a volley of arrows released from their bows.
Thankfully, whatever the giant tentacles belonged to obviously felt pain as an ear piercing screech rumbled the Hellmouth. The beast quickly withdrew its appendages back into the earth, however the armies of Hell still proceeded. Out of the opened seal sprang forth a horde of Turokan, all just like the one Willow burnt to ash.
"Slayers!" Buffy screamed
"Watchers!" Xander screamed
"CHARGE!"
"FIRE!"
And with war cries from above and below, Slayer's charged as arrows flew through the air. After arrows landed, both waves of fighters met head on in between the Hellmouth and the two participants trying to seal it. As the numbers game soon became advantage evil, some of the ancient vampires made it past the Slayer line only to meet an arrow or two in various places. Those that made it past and the arrow barrages, were met by Dante and Andrew's winged beasts with a weapon in each hand. Eventually, Turokan and various disgusting demons made it past both melee lines and had a clear shot at Dawn before she could fully prepare the ritual items.
"Dawwwwnnn"
"I'm almost ready! Hold them off!" Dawn replied to her love.
"Oh yeah, cause I'm suddenly Xena."
"If you want to live to have sex with me again, hold them off!" Dawn reminded Andrew.
Slowly turning his attention back to the oncoming enemies, Andrew remained perfectly still…or so it would seem. Mere seconds later Andrew was shaking and cringing, blue'ish white energy crackling around his hands like lightning. Locking his hands together and concentrating on pulling the energy up his arm and to his shoulder, both of the young watchers arms started to crackle with energy.
"DAWN!" Buffy screamed in terror as she looked back to see her baby sister alone one second, and then the backs of a group of Turokan the next.
"YyyyyyyyrrreEAAAAHHH!"
A wave of relief quickly rushed through Buffy as she witnessed the same group of Turokan go flying through the air and overhead, blue'ish white energy fading in the air. The last sight Buffy saw before hauling more Turokan ass was a blue glow around Andrew's arms fading while the boy looking like he just finished a golf swing.
"DAWN?!" Andrew hollered a questioning yell while looking at the incoming evil, the young man firing energy blasts the second an uber vamp made it past the rain of arrows. "I'm not Goku here! You ready yet?!"
"Just need to grind morrrreee…DONE!"
"Really?!" Andrew asked in disbelief.
"Should be!" Dawn stated as she put away everything into the back pack minus a bowl and book. "Now I need to get to the seal and not be interrupted!"
"Don't look at me!" Andrew shouted back as he blast another straggler back over an engaged Kennedy's head. "I'm not Willow, I can't levitate you!"
Looking for a clear area to perform the ritual and still be able to toss the contents of the bowl onto the opened seal, Dawn was beginning to think that there was no way to perform the ritual unless the good guys could somehow beat the bad guys back enough so that the enemy couldn't even crawl out of Hell; but Dawn knew there was no way that could happen. However, as all potential areas looked impossible to perform from, Dawn got an idea after watching one of Andrew's winged demons side stepped an attack and fluttered behind the enemy to launch a decapitating strike.
"Andrew!" Dawn screamed.
"Kinda busy babe!"
"Get one of your demons to fly me over the seal!" Dawn yelled over the battle as she tore the ritual pages out of the one of a kind book, an act that Giles will crucify Dawn for if they all lived through this.
After cracking a Turokan in the back with an energy blast before it could hit Rona from behind, Andrew jogged towards one of his winged demon's and helped it defeat its enemy. "You!" Andrew pointed at the demon as he spoke. "Go do whatever she says!" Andrew finished while pointing at Dawn.
Nodding with understanding, the winged demon Andrew spoke to flew to Dawn's side for orders. "I want you to fly me above that hole the demons are coming out of!...EEEEEEE!" Dawn squealed in surprise as Andrew's summon wasted no time in going behind her, wrapping its ape like arms around her waist and taking off for its destination; Dawn almost dropping the materials needed to perform the Hellmouth sealing ritual. Once the demon and Dawn were in midair position above the mouth of Hell, Dawn made the demon hold her with one arm and the bowl containing magical powder in the other. Then, Dawn held the pages of the text she tried so desperately hard to memorize while still at Slayer Central in front of her face, and reached for the hilt of her demon's sword at its waste. Halfway unsheathing the demonic summons blade with her free hand, Dawn closed her eyes, reached over with her other hand holding the papers to place it flush with the edge of the blade and braced herself. "Ssssss!" Dawn hissed in pain as her mystical blood started to pour out of the fresh cut Dawn just made along the inside of her forearm.
As soon as the first drop of blood hit Buffy's shoulder, a large number of Turokan took a whiff and then looked skywards; of course causing the white hats to glance upwards as well. "DAWN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Buffy asked with a scream as she saw her baby sister cutting herself….again.
"In every name of every God who ever served mankind, whether once evil or divine we are the last in line! I cast you out!" Dawn started to chant just before she took a pinch of her bowls contents the winged demon was holding and sprinkled it downwards. As dust and blood fell, not a being moved nor attacked, all wanted to see what was going to happen. "We are the poison and your bane!" Dawn once again chanted as loud as she could while sprinkling some more magic dust, or whatever it is she sprinkled. By the time most of Dawns blood and dust hit the dirt floor without any effect, the Turokan began to regain their focus as their fears were misplaced. The uber vamp Buffy was fighting even tilted it's head and formed an incredibly ugly smile. It wasn't until one tinnnnny particle of Dawn's magical powder made contact with her blood stained dirt floor, did something start to happen….and boy did it ever happen.
No sooner did Buffy's opponent smile did it wipe that smirk right off its face. Everyone on ground level could now hear some kind of weird sound, like the metallic grinding sound a bomb makes before going off.
Both Buffy and her opponent barely had enough time to look back at their respective sides and try to warn them. "HIT THE DECK!"
Suddenly, a web of electricity covered the open seal of the Hellmouth and incinerated anything that it touched; metal, clothing, Turokan's, what was left of Andrew's demon dog's…anything. As bad as it was to lose some of Andrew's summons, the Slayer's looked back while lying on the floor and realized that the web worked both ways. Anything from inside the mouth of Hell which tried to crawl out and hit the web was instantly vaporized, like a fly hitting a really….really powerful bug zapper.
'Well, at least were only fighting on one front.'Buffy thought to herself as she looked up to see the ridiculous scene of black eyed Willow still straining yet holding her barrier as her clothes and hair wafted in the non-existing wind, just like something out of a fantasy movie.
"It is the skin that is cut from your flesh!" Dawn screamed again as she continued the Hellmouth sealing ritual and sprinkled more of her 'Dawn dust'onto the electric web….which could be interpreted as a very bad thing because as soon as Dawn's dust hit the web, a beam of light the circumference of the Hellmouth seal shot up out of the seal. And God knows how, the beam made a clean cut all the way through the cave until sunlight hit the electric web of energy covering the seal. Dawn soon came to regret continuing the ritual and not just holding the darkness at bay, as the vertical beam of energy sent out a powerful shock wave which sent both Slayer and demon crashing to the ground.
Now one would think that the current events would be a good thing for team Slayer, as the hole in the cave ceiling now served as an escape route with the aid of Andrew's flying demon summons. Plus if Willow could control her barrier and make it mobile, she could force everything around her right into the web of death while Andrew's summons flew the white hats on cave floor to safety….or the Slayers could start chucking uber vamps into the erect beam of energy. However, any plans on a now easy win was squashed almost the very second anyone could think of it. Mere seconds past as the blue'ish white beam of energy turned orangey red while the sun's rays were upon it, not giving both factions a chance to even get to their feet yet. And then, like always, things took a turn for the worse. The vertical beam of energy over the Hellmouth seal sent out a sudden pulse of energy before diminishing into just an electric web covering the seal. As the orangey red energy blast through demon and human alike, both factions on the cave floor were checking for injury as they rose to their feet. It wasn't until Willow spoke that either faction knew which had the advantage.
With wide eyes in shock, Willow's blackened vision returned to normal as she spoke. "BUFFY!"
*Crash*
The sudden sound of glass breaking filled the air as Willow's barrier shone like the sun hitting polished metal….until it cracked and then shattered. As demons and bringers first toppled over one another and off the dirt pathways, Willow desperately tried to launch an assault. Unfortunately for the red headed Wicca, every fireball and lightning strike she tried to muster was reduced to a lighter's flame or a static shock.
"OH!" Satsu began
"FUCK!" Kennedy finished.
"SWITCH SIDES!" Buffy screamed as loud as she could. "XANDER, WILLOW, OLIVIA! THROW WHATEVER AND WHOM EVER YOU CAN DOWN HERE! HURRY UP!""
"You two, go up there and bring out people back!" Giles roared at the Andrew's summons.
Mere seconds past as the landscape changed, now having to fight on the low ground instead of the high, with a giant circular bug zapper at their backs. As fast they could, Xander and the watchers through their weapons and ammunition to the cave floor while the young Slayers who could still fight were killing the toppled enemies as fast as possible.
"Andrew! Get your hounds to the left flank!" Faith commanded of the boy. "Dante, follow!" Faith told her demonic pet. Faith sprinted to the right dirt pathway which was filled with enemies getting to their feet, Dante in tow. "Dante!" Faith hollered as she looked down at her man. "Look!" Faith continued as she pointed towards the mass of evil. Luckily, Faith's spur of the moment plan worked somewhat. As Dante's used what little power he had left in him to halt their enemies, he unknowingly used the enemy's numbers against them as the right dirt pathway was effectively bottle-necked; Faith killing the small numbers still advancing one by one.
Over on the left pathway, the enemy was much harder to stop. Atop the dirt platform enemies started to close in, thus forcing drastic measures. Two groups of humans latched onto one another tightly as Andrew's winged beasts took hold of whatever flesh they could grab, and then jumped off the dirt cliff in hopes of gliding to the floor…which obviously worked less than half ass with all the extra weight, a few watchers breaking various bones upon crash landing while two Slayers cracked their skulls wide open. What sucked even more was that the injured good guys Buffy had to abandon up top were now being savagely ravaged by demons and bringers, judging by the screams.
"Giles!" Buffy screamed to her former mentor. "Get them up and fighting!" Buffy commanded, pointing towards the heap of good guys on the floor just behind them. "Kennedy!" Buffy hollered…however too late as Vi's war cry could be heard as team Kennedy, minus Dawn and Andrew, charged to Faith's aid. "Satsu!" Buffy yelled.
"Chhhhhharrrge!" Satsu screamed at the top of her lungs, her team at her back running to cover Andrew' dyeing demon dogs on the left flank.
Seeing the enemy held at bay briefly, Buffy looked back and to the fallen. "Will! Xander!"
"Were fine." Xander said as he was helped to his feet by Giles.
"Good. I need you to set up our support, magic's a no go!" Buffy loudly told her general, her heart of her army, over the clanking of metal and screams of fury; the muffle or silencing spell, along with the weapon tempering spell cast earlier that day obviously now broken.
"Andrew, help Xander!" Buffy commanded, the young watcher then started to help bodies to a vertical base and then getting the ranged weapons and ammunition ready.
"Dawn!"
"Busy!" The youngest Summers sister screamed back as she was frantically collecting her magical ingredients and papers with Olivia's aid.
"Damn it!" Buffy cursed, looking around the battlefield as quickly as possible. "You two!" Buffy pointed at Andrew's winged beasts…which looked more like apes now that their wings looked like they've been shot and run over after the crash landing. "Cover her!" Buffy commanded as she pointed to Dawn, flipping two enemy swords in the air with the same foot before catching them both and tossing the blades to the demons.
"Wow, not bad…not bad at all." Buffy said to Buffy. "I think you may even win this battle….But, too bad you won't win the war." The real Buffy said nothing, but heard every word the First said. "Do you really believe you can win? Do you really believe that with all the evil beings on this plane of existence at my back, you can beat me with only a fraction of your population?" As much as the real Buffy wished she could say otherwise, the First was right. Yet still walking towards her sister Slayers, Buffy did not show fear nor falter. However, what did make Buffy's eye twitch, was the First's unexpected offer. "Last time you faced my armies, I wanted you and your line erased from existence. But this time I think I can go about it a different way." The First in Buffy's clothing told the blonde Slayer as it stepped in front of the real Buffy to halt the Slayer's progress. Obviously both figures knew Buffy could walk right through the First, but for some reason Buffy hesitated to look herself in eyes.
"My victory is inevitable and every being who has ever faced me knows it. Why do you think I chose to exist as the manifestation of evil instead of love since the beginning of creation? There will never be a balance between the two, evil will always tip the scale so long as humans and demons exist on this plane….Look all around you," The First told Buffy while pointing in any direction while moving around for Buffy to see all. "Even as your warriors of good fight my army, they feel hate and anger. Although they fight for the simple reason to survive, their acts and desire to kill fuels my existence without them even knowing it." The First re-stepped right in front of Buffy once more as it continued. "This fighting is pointless and will cost both our sides many lives. My minions I could use to service my strong and your race to live in servitude instead of dying horribly. Why throw the sheep to the lions when you could tame both?"
Buffy was furious now. Not because of the taunting the First was performing, but the sad truth that the First wasn't actually taunting, but stating fact. Just before Buffy was about to reply to the First, the First beat her to it and made her an offer. "Join me Buffy Summers. Fight for my cause and you will be rewarded handsomely, along with those closest to you. You will be my right hand, amongst your tittle you will be given untold power and property. Even in death I will make you almighty. Buffy Summers, how would you like to be queen of the world?"
To say Buffy was completely shocked would be an understatement which would earn the speaker a kick right to the gonads. 'Queen….of the world?...' Buffy thought with wide eyes before tilter her gaze to the floor. 'No more fighting, no more watching my friends and family suffer. We could all live and die with anything and everything.'
"What say you Buffy Summers? All I ask is to stay out of my way and aid me only when called upon, in return I will give you and yours the world and eternity…-"
Buffy then lifted her head to look at her friends and family while the First kept going on with its 'Lord of the Rings' speech. Buffy Summers, the most legendary champion that mankind had ever had to honor of knowing….started to actually consider the source of all evil's offer. Buffy Looked on, looked at all of the men and women she have come to know and adore, fighting for their lives and unselfishly for the lives of others they have never seen before. 'Is this really worth it? When it's all said and done, will fighting and dying in hopes that others will continue to fight this everlasting war be worth it? I can end the eternal struggle now and rule the world. I can stop all the bloodshed and broken families forever. I can ensure both humans and demons stop the rape, the violence and the unfair tragedies. I can do so much good if I say yes.'….And so, Buffy Summers came to her decision. Her closest loved ones may hate her for it, even try to kill her to stop her, but Buffy knew with great power she could try to make this world better.
Buffy looked at the mirror image of herself still talking right in her eyes, and opened her mouth with tears forming around her own eyes to give the First her answer….Or she was about to, for when Buffy Summers was about to bend the knee to the first and original evil, a white and warming light formed behind her. Buffy knew something was going on, and that the First had no idea anything was occurring with the way it continued to speak in her voice. Yet Buffy couldn't care less, she was warm, she was happy, she was content. Buffy Summer's couldn't remember any time she felt so good…until a glowing hand was gently felt on her Kevlar clad shoulder.
It happened, suddenly but absolutely, it happened. Buffy Summers, with wide eyes, quickly recalled the one time she ever felt so complete and satisfied…..heaven. While standing still completely in shock, a glowing figure stepped from behind Buffy and stood beside the First.
'…..Mom?'Buffy mentally asked herself, to choked up to form words.
Without saying a word, a divinely glowing Mrs. Summers closed the gap between herself and her daughter. Slowly the dead woman dipped her head downwards until she placed a tender kiss on her eldest daughter's forehead. Buffy in turn, was absolutely moved. Not one second did go by before tears streamed down Buffy's face….yet, the blonde was smiling. Buffy Summers was just standing there with her arms at her side, being tenderly kissed by her dead angelic mother with a smile, as tears streamed down her closed eyed face. For one brief moment in time Buffy felt it once more as a white and warming light shone in front of her before imploding and then vanishing, the love and contentment that all of heaven has to offer.
"…..And the world will be orderly and ruled by the strong, no more civil wars and pointless death and destruction for both human and demon kind alike." Buffy's own voice began to fill her ears as reality came rushing back. "So, what say you Buffy Summers? Power and immortality, what more could you want?" The First in Buffy clothing asked the real Buffy while noticing Buffy's tears a while ago, thinking all along that it already knows Buffy Summers answer.
Opening her eyes to look at an evilly grinning reflection of herself, tears still pooled and flowed down Buffy's face. "I want…you…"
The fake Buffy suddenly stopped smiling, looked upon the real Slayer wide eyed in completely shock and actually started to back step as it remember those familiar words that the Slayer of legend uttered back in Sunnydale. The real Buffy Summers didn't even care, nor notice that the First was taken back as she spoke with honesty and passion. The Slayer started to walk towards herself, the wind caused by her strides flinging her tears off of her face. While looking directly ahead and at the First, Buffy Summers' foot somehow found its way right under the shaft of the Slayer Scythe that was dropped during the blast. Without even hesitating for a fraction of a second Buffy simply lifted her foot upwards, while after continuing to walk, with enough force to send the weapon rocketing upwards and to the right.
Walking past the air born Slayer Scythe, it looked as if Buffy was going walk towards the carnage ahead while unarmed. But of course, Buffy is Buffy and enough said. With the blonde Slayer's body past the mid-air axe, Buffy suddenly struck her right arm out behind her and caught her weapon by the shaft. The First didn't like where this was going, not one bit. For an incorporeal ultimate evil to be back stepping away from a mere mortal is unheard of, a feat that would make the lowliest parasite demon laugh…yet it did. The First in Buffy clothing continued to back step while looking on at a walking Buffy, head down with Slayer Scythe in hand.
Finally, even though this all happened in mere seconds although it indeed felt much longer, when the First was but a few feet in front of the battle being waged Buffy slowly looked up and showed her tear stained face at mankind's worst enemy. Right there, right at that very instant that Buffy gave the First that look once again, the First had its answer and was about to lash out in rage. However, Buffy beat the First to the punch as she gave evil incarnate her answer.
"….TO GET OUT OF MY FACE!"