AN: Virtual Chocolate for whoever spots the Cameo crosses (4)
General Hammond smiled secretly at his teams as they bickered between themselves, trading jibs and mentally preparing themselves for the upcoming mission. They might be causing him ulcers, but they were certainly fun to be around, even if he wasn't supposed to know about half the stuff they got up to.
Of course, if he didn't find out about it pretty sharpish, then he shouldn't be in charge of a facility such as this one, should he? O'Neill at least should remember that.
A muffled crash made Hammond shot upwards as the smile vanished off Buffys face, her eyes rolling up as she just fell, like a puppet with the strings cut, onto the briefing room table, moaning and shaking as if in the throes of some nightmare.
"Doctor Fraiser to the briefing room, medical emergency" he shouted into the phone at his side as the startled Scooby's and SG-1 darted forward to their friend.
Flash
A banner, drenched in blood and toil, burning fiercely in the hands of an black medieval armoured bearer, at the head of a titanic army, humans, soldiers, demons and aliens, all charging, screaming forward, all armed with pikes, knives, swords, clubs as they died by the hundreds, the thousands at the hands of a blue demon, before they were finally able to tear the Judge apart, the army charging over a meter high pile of it own bodies to get at the mighty creature
Flash
"Hold the line, let none through" a voice screams as a small pitiful army contemplates the charging army of vampires, determined to hold the line with their very blood, to die to keep the monstrous creatures from a hellmouth
Flash
Pyramids, of Goa'ulds taking human hosts, of Jaffa in cumbersome armour. A slayer leading an army, a host of humans against the Jaffa, screaming 'false gods' for all to hear, vowing to do whatever was necessary to save her people, her Earth. The humans behind her taking up the chant, as demons, even vampires joined the slayer in pushing this vile creature and his followers off their world.
Flash after flash, sacrifice, willing sacrifice of generation after generation as they died or were brutalised, holding the line against the darkest night.
The realisation came to her quickly, she was seeing them. The Champions, everyone of them. And not just the Champions of the Powers That Be, but of very Oracle, a faint image of a young lady in an ivory tower as she watches a book read, innocence and imagination safe for another forty years, an oracle saved as the last Siam pulls the plug on the life support machine that kept her contained, a limping figure faintly smiling as Michelangelo works in his lab, drawing images of craft and devices no human would make work for hundreds of years and a fifth, just hovering at the edge of her senses, choosing not to be seen.
Mentally, Buffy swallowed. Shit, this had to be BIG for her to see, to even get a glimpse of this truth for she knew for certain Giles did not know of this and she was pretty certain no one else on Earth knew.
"Only one other knows" the thought slipped into her consciousness, unbidden.
Frasier frowned, worried and disbelieving, the readouts on all her monitors not making any sense to her, "Well, she has no pulse, she isn't breathing yet according to the ECG she is in normal REM sleep apart from an elevated Delta line, we also can't resuscitate her because the needles aren't penetrating her skin and the defibrillator stops working as soon as the paddles get within a few centimetres of her body"
"Willow" Xander said flatly, "this sounds magical"
Willow nodded, turning a worried gaze from her best friend, "General? I am going to need some unusual supplies"
"Why show me this?"
"Because it is time, because unlike those who has gone before he doesn't just threaten Earths future, he threatens future himself"
Buffy nodded, "Then it is time"
"It is"
"What do I do?"
Flash
The ends of days, her fighting, slaying, welding the scythe with ease and purpose as her army fought around her, Turok Han dying one after another after another.
Flash
Pulling the scythe from its stone, a nervous Caleb trying to get her to hand it over.
Flash
"It slices, dices and makes marinated preacher"
"The scythe" Buffy said.
Hammond jumped back startled as Buffy jack-knifed of the bed, jumping clear over his head, landing sure-footed behind him. He turned swiftly around, wondering at the slight glow that seemed to surround her.
Then blinked as a small, spectral nuclear cloud appeared above the thin fabric divide to the area Willow was working in.
"Holy Hannah!"
"Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't somebody say that the biggest possible result was a small pile of C-4?"
Hammond caught Buffys look and grinned slightly, "They decided to do a power level spell, see if it could give them any hint of who was keeping you under"
Buffys eyebrows quirked up, her eyes following the small spectral mushroom shaped cloud as it drifted into the room, "Bit more power than they were expecting then?"
The noise from behind the curtain stopped, "I believe I heard Buffys voice, Miss Willow"
Xander's head poked around the curtain, then the rest of him followed, "Buffy!"
"Its time" Buffy said, her manner screaming warrior, ready and determined.
"Hammond, contact the Tok'ra and Thor, we need constant updates on his location and we will need the Tara Mclay ready, SG-1, Scooby's, we're going to Cleveland, see a gal about a scythe"
"Its time"