Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
Screw Loose: Indeed.
Chapter 109- Peace Out
"Second last one begins", Buffy muttered as she turned the recording on.
In the sewers, Wesley and Gunn beat down some people with pipes as Fred elbowed a guy down, and Lorne beat one back with a hockey stick. Someone pointed a gun in Fred's face. Gunn tried to fight his way to her but was beaten down as Wesley beat one down, while Fred too was thrown down, a gun on her face, and Lorne was thrown down too, Wesley still fighting. He deflected blows from another guy and beat one down, but was punched across the room by Connor, and when he looked up, Connor stood over him with a sword. "Angel."
"Somewhere you can't get to him", Dawnster sneered.
"Not a good place though", Tara reminded grimly.
"But he has luck on his side, don't worry", Summers assured them.
Angel held the orb as the insect Demons surrounded him. He then raised the orb threateningly as they screeched back away in fright. Angel then saw a bridge to a city of sorts with a high mesa-like mountain in the middle, and a temple on top, so he walked towards it.
"All right, the orb drove them back, that's good", Willow said as they sighed in relief.
"High Priest, temple, I'm guessing that's where he'll get what he wants", Xander realized.
"Yup, that's the place where answers lie", Harris nodded.
"Good to know", Buffy said. "Just hope he gets those."
Connor had Wesley, Lorne, Fred and Gunn on their knees, sneering at them that they were full of hate and lies, and didn't belong, and was about to kill them, but a guard in Jasmine's voice stopped him, and she said she wanted them intact, making him lower the sword.
"And why would that be?" Giles asked grimly.
"To keep Angel quiet", Rosenberg confirmed as they groaned.
"Don't worry, it won't take", Maclay assured.
Angel struggled to climb the mountain to Demon city, but was more than halfway through. Jasmine addressed her followers in Hyperion and then they left for the banquet hall as Connor arrived with the prisoners. Jasmine gloated they must have suffered pain by letting go of her, and then she said she couldn't take them back. She asked for Angel's location as Wesley pointed out she was omniscient, only for Connor to punch him, but Jasmine stopped him, and Wesley knew she knew the creature from the sewer. Jasmine said a few millennia ago his world was like Earth, full of anger and hatred, till she'd made it as much of a paradise as she could with insects, kicking their evolution up a few ticks, but it was an early experiment to work out the bugs. She said Angel was wasting his time.
"So she just wants to rule, right? Not bring about any paradise", Buffy scoffed.
"Oh no, she wants to rule Earth, and be its Goddess, and the insect Dimension was her test run for Earth", Dawn confirmed.
"She left them and now they pine over her, its actually quite childish of her", Tara pointed out, and now the other past people realized she was right.
"So a Goddess, and childish, wow!" Xander scoffed too.
"Yeah, she really is, now that you say it", Summers agreed with a nod.
Jasmine called in a woman called Patience and asked her to get the news people to set up in the lobby. She walked off as Wesley realized Jasmine would use the satellites to transmit her message all over Earth. Fred tried to warn Connor of what Jasmine truly was, saying the blood was supposed to break the spell, and show him what she really looked like. Connor looked at her and saw her maggoty-face. "I know what she looks like. She's beautiful."
Now it hit the past people too, as they realized what Connor truly saw.
"He could….see her real form from the start?" Xander finally blurted out.
"Yes", Harris nodded.
"And he didn't mind at all?" Buffy then asked too.
"No he didn't", Dawn confirmed.
"But why?" Dawnster asked.
"Quortoth", Maclay revealed. "He has grown up there, so he has a different standard of beauty from the rest. He could find beauty even in something ugly."
"Plus, helping give birth to her helped too, and Jasmine knew he could see her true face, which is why she used Cordy to feed him lies", Rosenberg added too, as the past people absorbed what they had been told.
"So he knows what she looks like, and still worships her", Giles summed up.
"Yeah, that sums it up", Summers nodded.
"Wow!" Willow said.
"So he is better than humans in that regard", Tara realized. "But he still realizes what Jasmine is doing and supports it, so..."
All sighed, realizing Connor was still pretty much falling in a never-ending pit, and not slowing down.
Jasmine had her guards escort Team Angel away as Wesley said they were bargaining chips to keep Angel quiet. Connor wondered about what as Jasmine said this address would drain her and while feasting she'd be out of touch with everyone, him included, so he must be her eyes and ears, and stand guard over Team Angel in case Angel shows his face. Connor asked what he was looking for and she said. "The unattainable."
"Not so unattainable", Summers said with a taunting smirk.
"He's close", Buffy realized.
There was an oversized statue of Jasmine in the temple as Angel arrived, and a voice taunted him, revealing itself to be a creature whose body was kind of human-shaped, but had one-inch spikes over his head with yellow-green skin, wearing robe and necklaces. He was the High Priest and was the only true believer left as the rest had doubted and gone. He then realized Angel was looking for the name and taunted him as Angel lifted him by the throat, demanding the name, and he said Angel may take her power but he'd lost everything.
"No he hasn't, he still has it", Dawnster snarled at him.
"Not yet", Dawn said, and now they gulped again. "But soon."
"As horrible as Jasmine is, there are some who would prefer her version of world peace", Maclay said with a sad sigh.
"I won't", Willow said.
"Never said those people were all up there", Harris added as they chuckled a little.
Connor locked Team Angel in the cage for Angelus as Lorne realized Connor had always seen Jasmine's true form. Connor then told them he'd grown up in a place like Quortoth so appearances didn't matter to him. Fred then asked him to think about Cordelia as Connor said she'd been moved to someplace safe, and Wesley revealed Jasmine ate humans as the creature had called her 'Devourer', Lorne adding the followers in the banquet hall were the banquet. Fred said now she was going global, and Gunn wondered if Cordelia was fine, to which Wesley said they'd know way of knowing, and looked at Connor.
"Is it just me or does he look conflicted?" Buffy asked finally.
"It's not just you", Summers confirmed.
"So, I guess he won't be watching over them then", Tara realized.
"Oh no, he won't", Rosenberg smirked.
The High Priest taunted Angel with knowledge about him, but he wanted the name, only for High Priest to reveal there was a keeper of the name, and he guarded the keeper, Angel realizing he was the keeper's keeper. There was another creature in the corner as Angel walked to it, and High Priest said it will reveal the name only with its last breath. Angel tried to talk but the keeper stood and growled.
"The hard way it is", Xander said as they sighed.
"Yeah, these things are all zealots", Dawnster agreed.
"For a Goddess who abandoned them", Giles shook his head.
"Well, you know, zealotry has no limits", Harris shrugged.
In the banquet hall, people were undressing, a naked woman called Susan thanking Jasmine when Connor arrived, and asked about Cordelia as Jasmine assured she was safe, and added she hadn't eaten her, because she couldn't hurt her parents. She was in a secure location and under guard, and Connor needed to do some guarding too, so he nodded and left.
"I'm guessing he's not gonna go guard anyone", Buffy said.
"Nope, now he's just, well, done", Rosenberg said, and the sad tone in her voice wasn't missed, and it got them curious.
But none asked anything yet.
The keeper knocked Angel down before being spin kicked back, and High Priest said his friends were probably dead. The keeper knocked Angel back again but he leapt to avoid the next strike, saying he was trying to save his world. He kicked the keeper back as High Priest said the world didn't care for him or wanted him. Angel blocked some blows and struck back, saying it needed him, before knocking it away as High Priest it wasn't the reason. Angel rolled to avoid a swing before punching the keeper and tossing him away, knocking him out, and asked the reason as High Priest said it was the boy, due to already losing the woman, and now he'd lose the boy too. The keeper then attacked Angel from behind.
"Is he?" Buffy asked. "After all he did, he's gonna lose his son?"
"It's complicated", Summers said.
"Then uncomplicate it", Dawnster requested.
"Next recording will do that", Maclay confirmed in a sad tone as they felt tense for what was coming next.
Connor walked through the lobby, sniffing a woman who smelt like Cordelia due to using the same perfume, then saw a guy, and followed him from the lobby to the garden, answering a reporter with a one-word answer, and then told 2 followers to go be interviewed. The guy he'd followed and another one recognized him as Jasmine's dad as he knew they'd moved Cordelia. They tried to stall and Connor pushed one against the wall, his forearm on his throat while knocking the other man down when he tried to attack with a knife, and asked to tell him and then he'd crush his windpipe, though the guy said it was 'or'. "Where's Cordy?"
"So she's fine then", Willow said as they felt a little relieved.
"As fine as you can be in a coma", Harris sighed as they looked a little lame now.
"He doesn't like Jasmine hiding things like that, right? That's why he didn't like Angel either", Tara realized.
"Right you are", Dawn confirmed. "He doesn't like this anymore."
The keeper lifted Angel by the throat as High Priest asked why Angel bothered to try to make things better for Connor when it was never enough, and Angel said High Priest didn't have kids, as he freed himself and punched it back while avoiding a blow. High Priest said Connor was born only to birth Jasmine, but Angel said people were born for varying reasons. Angel then stabbed the keeper as High Priest said. "He will never love you." Angel retorted. "It doesn't matter." The keeper swung at Angel with a torch and he ducked and the High Priest was hit instead, knocked into spikes in the wall as Angel said that'd work, but the keeper lifted him off the ground over its head.
"At least he has been shut up now", Dawnster said, sighing in relief. "Now Angel can focus on the fight."
"So, the keeper will reveal the name with its dying breath, so Angel will what? Make it reveal and then kill it?" Buffy asked. "And then reveal the name?"
"You're half-right", Summers shrugged, increasing their interest again.
Gunn was trying to kick the cage door as they wondered if they'd gotten through to Connor, and then they realized maybe right now, Jasmine couldn't hurt Cordelia without hurting herself, but Cordelia could hurt her, due to having same blood, and now she'd been moved, so Cordelia was their only hope to stop Jasmine if they could wake her up, or find her first.
"But she isn't awake, is she?" Willow asked.
"No, she doesn't awaken", Rosenberg confirmed with a sad sigh.
"So the name it is then", Giles said.
A massive cathedral with the words- 'God is nowhere. Jasmine is the way', was shown as Connor walked inside, finding the doors to the sanctuary boarded up as 2 cops arrived, saying he wasn't supposed to go in there due to a request from Jasmine, not order, but Connor needed to go. They said they'd get rough if he didn't turn around, adding please, and a second later both crashed through the boarded up doors, shattering them as Connor walked inside. One tried to lift a taser but Connor knocked him out, then saw Cordelia laid out on the table, draped in see-through white tulle fabric. "Found you." He walked to the altar.
"There she is", Dawnster said, everyone sighing in relief again.
"At least she is safe here", Buffy muttered.
"Yup, Jasmine doesn't want her harmed till the big ceremony", Summers confirmed.
"After that?" Xander asked.
"After that it can go either way", Harris revealed to their horror.
In the banquet hall, a green light glowed, then shrunk to reveal a creature with tentacles. There was the sound of rearranging flesh as the light disappeared to reveal Jasmine at the center, and she rubbed her belly. "Time for my close-up."
"All those people…." Tara trailed off, all horrified.
"Sacrifice for the Goddess", Giles scoffed in disgust.
"Yeah, but they will soon see her for who she really is", Maclay assured.
Connor stood beside the altar and said. "I wanted to see you again. I had to, to know that you're still here... with me. I'm sorry I haven't –" he sat beside her. "It's started, Cordy. The new beginning. Just wish you'd wake up and see it. Just what you wanted", he looked down. "I mean..." He stood and paced, "it is what you wanted, right? Why you came to me? You know...what this was all about? Protecting our baby - Jasmine - so she can...be, and make this world the... the kind of place you wanted. And it is better. Not harsh and cruel - the way that Angel likes it so he has a reason to fight." He walked away, angrily. "'Cause you know that's what he's about, him and the others. Finding reasons to fight. Like that's what gives their lives any meaning. The only damn thing!" He punched the lectern, smashing it. "I'm not like them. I just..." He walked back toward Cordelia. "I want to stop. Stop fighting. I just want to rest. God, I want to rest. But I can't." He looked at Cordelia with tears in his eyes. "It's not working, Cordy. I tried. I tried to believe. I wanted it. Went along with the... the flow." He paced. "Jasmine, she's...she's bringing peace to everyone, purging all of their hate and anger. But not me." He chuckled, then got slightly angry. "Not me! I know she's a lie. Jasmine. My whole life's been built on them. I just... I guess I thought this one was better than the others."
Now no one could comment any negative things about Connor after this, because as horrible as he could get, here he was finally showing how broken and vulnerable he truly was.
"All his life he has been lied to", Tara muttered, relating to him because of that. "And now, lies are all he can latch on to."
"Yes, and unlike us, he didn't have a loving mother to make it better either, to make him question", Maclay told her sadly. "The lie of Jasmine is a little better than other lies, for him."
"Still a lie though", Buffy said.
"Want to tell that to his face?" Summers asked, and she was silent.
"Annoying jerk he is, but at least he has a reason to be one, unlike most others", Xander sighed, hoping he could get better.
"Will he ever get better now? He just seems to be getting worse, and no, I'm not hating on him", Dawnster said.
"He will, but not in the way you think", Rosenberg said in a cryptic tone again.
"This has something to do with the next recording?" Willow asked.
"Everything actually", Harris confirmed.
"And Jasmine?" Giles asked.
"Oh just wait and watch", Dawn said with a cruel smirk.
In Hyperion, people were gathered, with reporters making announcement as Patience tried to stop the guy Connor had attacked earlier, but he managed to get to Jasmine, telling her he'd been forced to tell Cordelia's location, and Jasmine knew it was Connor, but she needed to go to the press conference. Jasmine then arrived at the balcony, her supporters kneeling but she asked them to stand and share the moment with her, and blew a kiss too. "I want to thank you for allowing me to speak with you. I come to you not as a leader or divinity, but as your partner in a venture to make this the best of all possible worlds, without borders, without hunger, war, or misery. A world built on love, respect, understanding, and, well, just enjoying one another. Doesn't that sound nice?" She smiled as all applauded, and she was broadcast on TV with all cameras on her.
"It would be a perfect world", Buffy told the rest. "If we made it of our own free will."
"Yeah, free will would make it better, but when have we ever done something that good with free will?" Summers asked.
"Still, it's better than this", Dawnster said.
"Yes, it is, but many wouldn't agree either", Rosenberg pointed out.
"She is taking what she believes to be desperate measures for world peace, but she is not interested in it", Giles told them all. "She wants to rule, to be worshipped, and if she grows bored, who is to say she wouldn't leave this world for another one?"
"Good point", Dawn nodded.
"Free will makes us do the worst of things, but also the best", Maclay said.
"We mess up, but it's on us, and we are still unique, not a hive mind", Willow pointed out.
"And that is something a monster like Jasmine will never understand", Buffy finished firmly.
"Just hope she's stopped before she goes global", Xander said.
"Well, you don't remember feeling all happy after seeing her on TV, right?" Harris pointed out. "Just wait."
Gunn kicked the door as they realized Jasmine's world debut had come, and Lorne stood up. "That's all, folks." Jasmine addressed the reporters, as one asked what they could do to show their love, and she said they just had to love one another, but a temple that was massive but warm would be nice, and violent behavior shouldn't be a thing, only for bright blue purple lightning to erupt in the lobby's center as a portal opened and Angel arrived, with the blue orb and keeper's head. He threw the orb as she now ordered them to kill Angel as the crowd mobbed Angel but he held out the head threateningly so they backed away.
"She was just saying no violent behavior and now asks them to mob Angel, the irony", Willow said as the rest sighed and chuckled darkly.
"So, this is it?" Buffy asked.
"This is it", Summers nodded in confirmation.
"I'm sorry", Angel said to Jasmine. "Don't", she begged. Angel used a knife to cut the threads closing the keeper's lips and a sound escaped its mouth, nothing like any word known to mankind, rather a long breath. But as soon as it uttered the word, Jasmine's face glowed green and her spell to hide her true appearance faltered, as her true rotten, maggoty face was seen. The people panicked and screamed. "No!" She glowed white for a moment, improving her appearance slightly, so now her face was rotting, but the maggots were gone. "Please. Pay no attention. It's a lie. See? I - I'm not-" Everyone left the room in panic, screaming. "Wait! Please! Don't leave me!" Angel just stared up at Jasmine who tried to find a way out. Angel followed her.
"Awww, why so sad? The fun has just begun", Buffy said in a taunting voice, satisfied to see Jasmine humiliated at last after how she had used and degraded Cordelia, manipulated Connor, raped both of them, and caused mental anguish to Angel as well.
"Cat's out of the bag", Xander smirked, feeling vindictive pleasure himself.
"The truth is out, no amount of lies will hide it now", Willow agreed with a nod.
"Prepare for your just desserts now", Dawnster said, stretching.
"The word sounded more like a breath", Giles muttered.
"Well, different creature, different language", Tara shrugged.
"Now the world is nothing like what Jasmine wanted", Summers told them. "And she'll see it."
"It's bad, but she gets hers", Rosenberg confirmed.
Team Angel wondered downstairs what the commotion was and thought Jasmine had devoured people, while Gunn finally managed to kick the door open, and got a 'thank you' from Fred too. Jasmine walked on the once peaceful streets, now chaotic, as people screamed, and there was panic, traffic jams and fires. A woman was frightened on seeing her as someone threw a rotten tomato at her, and then she called out to Connor. At the cathedral, Connor was thinking when a cop called out to him in Jasmine's voice for help, and he bolted without hesitation.
"Does he still believe in Jasmine?" Dawnster asked.
"He doesn't believe in anything anymore", Maclay said sadly, remembering his blank look in the next recording.
"All that chaos on the streets, would it have gone if Jasmine had gotten her way?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, it would have", Dawn confirmed with a nod. "But people would be her slaves."
"We're all gonna wonder if this was the right thing to do for our whole lives", Summers sighed sadly. "Enemies who punch us, they can be beaten easily. Those who question us, they are the ones who stay with us."
"So, no good answer at the end of the day", Willow sighed darkly. If Jasmine had her way, there would be world peace but no free will. Right now, there was chaos, but people had free will.
No, as horrible as free will could get, there was always some good there. Jasmine was wrong. Violating someone was the most disgusting thing you could do, and she knew it first hand as she'd done it too.
"If she was so fond of peace, she shouldn't have degraded Cordelia to come here", Willow sneered, and no one could disagree there.
Whatever Jasmine's intentions, her ways of getting them made it clear she wasn't benevolent, and deserved to be ended.
Jasmine walked down the center of a street on a bridge as cars pass in both directions. "Jasmine, it's over. You've lost." Jasmine turned to face Angel. "I've lost? Do you have any idea what you've done?" Angel retorted. "What I had to do. " Jasmine denied. "No. No, Angel. There are no absolutes. No right and wrong. Haven't you learned anything working for the Powers? There are only choices. I offered paradise. You chose this!" Angel pointed out. "Because I could. Because that's what you took away from us. Choice." Jasmine reminded. "And look what free will has gotten you." Angel shrugged. "Hey, I didn't say we were smart. I said it's our right. It's what makes us human." Jasmine pointed out. "But you're not human." "Working on it." Jasmine turned to walk away. "Where you going?"
"He's still more human than you'll ever be", Dawn said with a sneer.
"Free will may get us nowhere, but at least it is us of our free will going nowhere", Giles sighed. "Better than going somewhere not on our own terms."
"Yeah, but she is too full of herself to understand that", Summers pointed out.
"I thought she was full of maggots", Xander said, lightening the atmosphere as some chuckles followed.
Jasmine walked away. "Leave me alone." Angel said. "Sorry, but... can't do that." Jasmine asked. "What? You've taken everything. You're gonna try to kill me now, as if you could." Angel replied. "Maybe not. But I'll die before I let you hurt anyone else." Jasmine snapped. "You're already dead!" Angel replied. "You know what I mean. It ends right here." Jasmine was crying. "Why do you hate me so much?" Angel snarled. "Let's run down the list, huh? Rain of fire, blotting out the sun, enslaving mankind, and, yeah, oh, yeah, hey, you eat people!" Jasmine asked. "Like you never have?" Angel pointed out. "Thousands of people are dead because of what you've done."
"Controlling Cordelia, making her do things she never would, and doing that to Connor after what he has gone through", Buffy added to the list as well.
"She sacrificed a million people to bring peace to a billion. The price is too high", Maclay said to them in a grim and serious tone. [1]
"And she doesn't even believe in peace, she just wanted to rule, so it's all for nothing", Willow scoffed.
Jasmine walked up to Angel. "And how many will die because of you? I could've stopped it, Angel. All of it. War, disease, poverty. How many precious, beautiful lives would've been saved in a handful of years? Yes, I murdered thousands to save billions." She walked to the edge of the bridge. "This world is doomed to drown in its own blood now." Angel countered. "The price was too high, Jasmine. Our fate has to be our own, or we're nothing." Jasmine asked. "Like me?" Angel walked up to her, standing beside her. "Look, we've all done horrible things. All we can do is try and make up for it. So, OK, you know, it's not the world that you wanted, but maybe you can still help us make it better, even if you have lost your powers."
"He is really reaching out to her after all she did?" Dawnster asked incredulously.
"You really think he'd forgive her after all she did, especially to Cordelia and Connor?" Rosenberg asked and pointed out, and Dawnster realized she had a point.
"He was trying to get her guard down, so he could kill her", Harris revealed.
"And does it work?" Buffy asked.
"No, not really", Summers said as they groaned.
Jasmine looked down, then at Angel. "Not all of them." She punched Angel so hard that it sent him flying over the edge of the bridge. He landed on a car hood. Jasmine, still on the bridge, picked up a station wagon. He told the driver. "Run." She ran off. Jasmine yelled. "Think the price was too high? You haven't begun to pay!" Jasmine threw the station wagon over the bridge, it snapped a power line before crashing into the street and exploding. Jasmine jumped off the bridge, landed on her feet, and walked menacingly toward Angel. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I can still make this world a better place." She kicked Angel across the street. "One body at a time. I loved this world. I sacrificed everything I was to be with you." Angel asked. "So you could rule us?" Jasmine replied. "Because I cared. The other Powers don't. Never really did. You know that's true in your heart. Shame now I gotta rip it out."
"See? Her plan failed and she is showing her true colors", Maclay showed them all.
"She can't rule anymore, and is lashing out, it is immature, childish", Giles noted.
"Yeah, she makes play at being a God, but is nothing more than a childish being who wants something that is not theirs, and lashes out when it gets taken away", Rosenberg gave the real analysis of who Jasmine truly was, and they all realized she was right.
"Only difference between her and other children is she is really powerful", Dawn warned grimly.
"Yeah, we can see that", Dawnster nodded.
Jasmine reached for Angel, but he grabbed the end of the power line and electrocuted Jasmine with the live end. The electricity sent her back a few feet, but didn't hurt her. She walked back toward Angel. "I was forged in the inferno of creation, vampire. Do you really think a little electricity would destroy me?" Worth a shot." Angel punched Jasmine, but she was unfazed. She picked him up and threw him into a lamp post, snapping it in two. Jasmine walked over to Angel who was crawling on the ground coughing. "Remember the prophecy, Angel? The one that says in the time of the apocalypse, you'd play a major part? How you never knew whether you'd be on the side of good or evil? Well, now you know." She grabbed Angel's face. "Thanks to you, this frail, little Power That Was has just enough strength in her to wipe out your whole species. And it's all on your hands." Angel punched her. "This isn't my fault!" She grabbed his throat "Go to hell." "You first, baby." Jasmine forced Angel into a kiss. Connor walked up to Jasmine and Angel. "Always the same, dad. I get a girl, you gotta make a play for her." Jasmine let up on the kissing as Angel gasped. "Connor." Jasmine smiled. "Connor."
"You do realize she is technically your kid? Disgusting factor aside that is", Dawnster pointed out as all cringed.
"Now he is here too, what's he gonna do?" Xander asked.
"No spoilers", Harris warned.
"So she's lying again, this is clearly not the apocalypse the prophecy spoke of", Buffy said.
"Nope, that one still hasn't come", Summers confirmed.
Wesley, Lorne, Fred and Gunn found the place empty and wondered what had happened, and the TV stations were offline too. Then Gunn found the keeper's head as Wesley realized Angel had come. Gunn threw the head off as Wesley said they'd to find Angel and Cordelia before Jasmine did, and opened the door, but then they stopped and stared at the same thing as Fred said. "Oh my God!"
"What now?" Willow asked, all groaning.
"Just about 3 more minutes left in this one, so you'll know", Maclay assured.
Jasmine stood beside Connor as she patted his shoulder while Angel panted. "Connor, I still have you. Angel's ruined everything. But he can't defeat both of us. You still believe in me, don't you? You still love me?" Connor confirmed. "Yes." When she turned to Angel, Connor punched Jasmine in the head so hard that his fist went right through her skull. Jasmine fell to the ground, dead. Connor looked at her body, saddened. "Connor... It's OK. It's over." Connor looked up at Angel. "Look, I know this is difficult for you. I'm just -I'm just happy to have you." Connor walked away; a weakened Angel tried in vain to follow him. "Connor. Connor? Connor. Connor!" Connor ran off.
"He did it", Buffy whispered, as all watched, feeling satisfied that Jasmine was gone at last, she deserved to die after all she had done.
"She came from him, so they were connected, that's why he succeeded, right?" Tara asked.
"Yes, that's the reason", Rosenberg confirmed with a nod.
"She is gone, and the city is in chaos", Giles muttered to himself.
"She shouldn't have induced her forced world peace then", Buffy pointed out while snarling. "Then this wouldn't have happened either."
"At least she is gone, that's a good thing", Dawnster said.
"Yeah, that's good", Xander agreed. "She deserved it."
"That she did", Harris nodded in agreement too.
Weakly, Angel stumbled in through the front door of Hyperion. The rest of the gang was in the office. When they heard him come in, they all went out to the lobby. Fred called out. "Angel." Angel was relieved. "Oh, my God. You're alive." Wesley called out too. "Angel." Angel revealed. "Jasmine's dead. I brought back her name and her powers were destroyed." He sat. "Connor killed her." Fred asked. "Connor?" Wesley started. "Um, there's something –" Angel confessed. "I've never seen him like this. He wasn't hurt or angry, he just... killed her. And his face, it - it was just blank, like he had nothing left." Wesley shook his head. "Angel, you really –" Angel told them. "I've got a bad feeling. He's just...given up. I think he's gonna do something. You know, he might –" "End world peace?" Angel looked over to see Lilah Morgan standing in the office doorway. "Well, you already took care of that. Congratulations." The screen went black.
Now the past people's jaws were dropped.
"Lilah? How did she….?" Xander trailed off.
"Holland", Tara suddenly remembered. "His contract, it-"
"Extended beyond his death, yes", Giles nodded too, as all put two and two together.
"And Lilah's is too", Willow summed up.
"So, she is here to what? Taunt?" Dawnster asked.
"I think there's another reason", Buffy said.
"There is, and next recording will clear it all up", Summers assured them.
"So turn it on", Dawn told Buffy.
"Yes", Buffy agreed, bringing the screen to the next recording.
Well, Jasmine getting hers was so satisfying to watch, though the questions she raised regarding world peace and free will were interesting.
But at the end, since I think my assessment of her is right, she has no feet to stand on. She is no benevolent Goddess or ruler or anything. She is a child who wants something that is not hers, and makes excuses for it, and when it goes away, she lashes out.
Difference between her and other children is that she has high powers.
[1] Yes, that was a reference to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, best MCU film, and one of the best superhero films, maybe even one of the best films (Its definitely in my Top 20 films of all time) ever. And I've seen lots of movies.
Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with the Season 4 finale. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!