God Shuffled His Feet: An Alias/Buffy Crossover
By: Sam Lincoln
Rating PG-13
Summary: An ancient evil stalks Agent Sydney Bristow
Spoilers: General spoilers for the current seasons of Alias, and Buffy, but nothing specific to any storyline.
Disclaimer: All characters from Buffy and Angel are property of Mutant Enemy. All characters from Alias are property of Bad Robot and Touchstone Television. All characters are used without permission and no infringement is intended.
God Shuffled His Feet: Chapter 6
-Sunnydale-
"I see about ten zombies guarding the door," Xander told Anya and Will.
"That means we're outnumbered almost three to one!" Anya protested.
"But don't forget, we've got these," Will said as he patted his shotgun.
"Exactly, so here's what we're going to do..." Xander's voice dropped to a whisper as he laid out his plan.
A short while later Anya stood up and walked towards the zombies. "Oh look, why it's a tasty juicy brain, just waiting to get eaten," she said in a flat monotone. The zombies saw Anya and began shuffling towards her. "Oh no, zombies are after me, whatever shall I do?" Anya turned and jogged off, leading the zombies away from the door.
Xander seized the opportunity. He rushed the now unguarded door and burst into the crypt. "Well that was...oh crap," Xander said as he ran into a room filled with zombies. "I guess it's time to go out guns blazing," he noted as he lined up a zombie and fired his flechette gun. The zombie's chest exploded in a cloud of pink. "Whoa, cool!" Xander exclaimed before continued to fight for his life.
Anya ran through the cemetery with the zombie guards on her heels. "Ok, that's it, if I get out of this alive I'm moving to someplace quiet and boring, like New York City." As Anya ran she saw Will crouched behind a tombstone. "Are you going to shoot those things?" She demanded as she skidded to a halt.
"Just waiting to see the whites of their eyes...if they still have them," Will replied as he stood up and took aim at the zombies.
"No Scarface jokes, please," Anya said as she pressed herself against a tombstone. She placed her hands over her ears when Will began firing.
Xander looked around the room to see if anything was still moving. He carefully slotted a fresh clip into his gun and then put a round into the head of every zombie corpse that still had one. "Better safe than sorry," he muttered to himself.
Satisfied that he wasn't going to be ambushed by any of the vanquished zombies Xander set about examining the crypt. He knew this was the place the had seen the green light, but there was no sign of the orb that Xander could see. He was searching for a secret door when he heard a sound behind him.
Xander spun around, ready to fight off another zombie attack when he saw Anya and Will enter the crypt. "Would it have really been so hard to say 'hey Xander'?" he asked the pair.
"Oh sorry, hey Xander," Anya said.
"Did you have any problems?"
"None once GI Joe over here figured out you have to hit the zombie in order to kill it."
"How would you know?" Will shot back, "You spent the whole time hiding behind a tombstone."
"Careful there Will, Anya gets her emotions mixed up, she might try to have sex with you right here."
"Eww, not here," Anya protested. "Although it is nicer than your parent's basement."
"Very funny, now give me a hand finding the door to the rest of the crypt," Xander said.
"You mean the one over there?" Anya asked with a sigh.
"Where now?" Xander asked.
"Over there," Anya repeated and pointed towards a wall.
"I'm not seeing a door," Xander said.
"Me either," Will added.
"Men," Anya huffed, "It's as plain as day." She walked over to the ornately decorated wall and turned one of the gargoyle heads. A section of the wall separated and swung backwards revealing a passageway.
"How did you know that was there?" Will asked in amazement.
"Simple," Anya replied. "I looked. Now are you two going to stand there gawking or are we going to deal with that orb?"
Xander and will cautiously walked into the hallway with their guns are the ready. Anya followed close behind and peered over the shoulders of Xander and Will to get a better look of what was ahead of them. As they walked down the hall the walls started to pulse with a greenish glow. The glow grew in intensity as they went forward.
"This must be the place," Will noted.
"Stay frosty," Xander cautioned, "There could be zombies anywhere."
"Stay frosty? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Anya demanded.
"Stay sharp," Will explained. "It's from the movie Aliens. Just don't do Hudson, ok Xander."
Xander smiled, "No way man."
"Would you two shut up and get moving!" Anya snapped, "We're in the middle of zombie central, this is no time to discuss movies."
"Oh, right."
"Sorry."
The trio continued down the hall until they came to another door. Xander motioned for Will to aim his gun at the opening before reaching for the door handle. Anya reached down and snatched the pistol tucked in Xander's belt. Xander looked at Anya in surprise. She simply shrugged as she flipped off the safety and pointed the pistol at the door. Xander nodded then opened the door.
They were not met by waves of zombies, instead a cloud of smoke wafted out of the room. Anya took a step back, coughing violently, "What is that awful smell?"
Will sniffed the air, "Marijuana, some zombie is rocking the ganja."
"Who'd be smoking pot at a time like this?" Anya demanded.
Will shrugged, "Doesn't seem like a bad idea to me."
"Let's go find out," Xander said, trying to head off an argument. He raised his gun to his shoulder and entered the room.
The room itself was small, with no windows. The only illumination came from the glowing green orb in the center of the room. Sitting next to the orb was a pair of giggling teenagers.
"Dude, dude," one of the teens said. "We totally have to get some Doritos."
"Yeah, you're so right dude, let's have the zombies raid the Quick Stop."
"Stoners?" Anya shouted. "Our lives were put in danger by a lame pair of Bill and Ted wanna-bes? I'll kill them myself!" She raised her pistol and pointed it at the pair.
Xander caught her arm. "Anya relax, they were probably under the control of the First."
"At least we've found the orb," Will noted.
"Make sure Beavis and Butthead don't try anything," Xander told Anya and Will. He walked over to the orb and picked it up.
It was at that point the two teen aged necromancers finally noticed Anya, Will and Xander. "Hey!" One of the teens protested. "Put that down!"
Anya and Will pointed their guns at the teens' heads. "Oh please try something, I would love to have an excuse to blow your brains all over that wall," Anya threatened.
Xander hurled the orb at the opposite wall. Upon impact the orb shattered in a brilliant flash and sent out a shock wave of white light that knocked everyone in the room onto the ground. The two teens were the first to pick themselves up and headed for the door.
"Not so fast," Anya said sharply. "You two over here," she motioned the teens away from the door with her pistol. "Now start talking, what in your drug addled minds made you think summoning a zombie army was a good thing?"
"Well a couple of days ago Ray and I were smoking up when Ray's brother Hal showed up and said it'd be cool to burn the Slayer by summoning all these zombies."
"And you agreed?" Will asked in disbelief.
"Well yeah, zombies are cool Besides, Hal's dead and stuff, so you got to do what the dead want, otherwise they haunt you and stuff."
"Wait, your brother's dead?" Xander asked the boy named Ray.
Ray shrugged, "Yeah."
"Didn't it seem a little odd to you that your brother wanted you to destroy the town?"
"Not really," the other teen said, Hal never liked it in Sunnydale. He was trying to runaway when he got killed by some gang or something."
Xander looked at Anya, "What do you think, the First found a couple of nihilistic teenagers and convinced them to do all this?"
"That doesn't sound too hard to believe, I doubt these two have a brain cell between to think up a stunt like this," Anya agreed.
"So what do we do with them?" Will asked.
"I say we lock them up in a room with their zombie creations and met out some ironic justice," Anya suggested.
"We destroyed all the zombies, remember?" Xander said. "Besides, we wouldn't do that even if there were."
"Oh pooh, when I was in the vengeance business I loved dishing out poetically ironic deaths like that."
"But you're not in vengeance business anymore," Xander pointed out. "Ok you two butt monkeys," Xander told the two teens. "Summoning zombie armies is not cool, and you're lucky I don't let Anya have her way with you."
"Alright," the talkative teen said, "bring her on, I could use some good lovin."
"I know roughly twelve thousand four hundred fifty six ways to cause a painful lingering death, and that's just with a spork," Anya informed the boy.
"Damn, no need to be so hostile."
"If I ever catch you two nimrods channeling the dark arts again I'm going to give you to Anya, and then the Slayer will get whatever is left over. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," the two teens stammered.
"Ok then get out of here, and stop taking advice from dead people!" Xander shouted after the teens as they ran out of the crypt.
"Swear to god Ray, I think the whole town's against us," they heard the loud mouthed teen say to his friend.
"Think they'll listen to you?" Will asked.
Xander shrugged, "Probably not, but at least we stopped the zombies."
"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" Will paused. "I need a drink."
"Fine, but before you go shower in Champaign we have to check on Giles, he might be hurt...or worse," Anya said.
Xander's expression sobered. "Right, Giles, let's go." The trio walked out of the crypt, leaving behind the shards of the ruined orb.
-Sri Lanka-
"So that's the temple?" Buffy asked no one in particular, "How appropriate."
The temple was constructed out of black rock so polished that it looked like it was carved out of a single piece of stone. Threatening looking stone figures were engraved into the sides of the temple. The failing light of the sun cast a blood red glow over the temple. It radiated evil in a way Buffy had never seen. The jungle itself seemed afraid of the temple. There was no vegetation surrounding the structure, though Buffy could not tell if that was due to mortal hands or the supernatural influence of the temple.
Jack stared at the temple through a pair of binoculars. "Ok, there are guards on the parapets but I don't see any patrols on the ground. Normally I'd say wait for nightfall..."
"But we don't have that luxury," Buffy said.
"Precisely, so here's what I want to have happen. Buffy, Willow, you're coming with me. We're going to charge the main gate to create a diversion for Vaughn. Vaughn I want you to slip in there and get Sydney out."
Vaughn nodded, "Understood."
"Mr. Gupta, what can you tell us about the layout inside the temple?" Jack asked.
"There are two entrances, here and here," Mr. Gupta said as he sketched a diagram in the dirt. The ritual will take place in the main chamber. Luckily for us all paths in the temple lead to this room. I would also like to point out that there is a spot in the main chamber where a man can observe the whole of the room without being seen."
"Can you get Vaughn into that room?" Jack asked the old Hindi.
Mr. Gupta nodded, "I believe I can, yes."
"Good, Vaughn, get set up in that spot and snipe the hell out of them."
"With pleasure," Vaughn replied.
"So we're still charging in guns blazing?" Buffy asked.
Jack nodded, "It will draw attention away from Vaughn. Plus given the rate we've gone through these Bringers I don't expect that there will be much opposition."
"You'd be surprised," Willow muttered.
"That's what I always try not to be," Jack replied. "So stay sharp, be on the look out for traps and possible ambushes. Never run off, we're most effective as a single unit. Our objective is the central chamber, ignore everything else."
"It's a shame I didn't think to bring an axe, or a sword," Buffy mused. "I'd much rather have one of those for close quarters work."
"Firepower remains the key to victory," Jack said sternly, "I don't want to throw that away."
"Oh alright, I can't wait to get home and take some vamps the old school way."
"But I thought you liked the gun," Willow said.
"That was before I had to lug the damn thing through all this jungle. Mr. Pointy is way lighter. Besides, everything in my wardrobe is geared towards stakes. I don't have anything this goes with."
Jack glared at the two women, "Are you finished?" He icily asked.
"Are we done Will?" Buffy asked Willow.
"I think we are," Willow confirmed.
"Ok, we're done," Buffy told Jack, "We just like to make with the funny to avoid getting the Wiggins before a big fight...and I'll shut up now."
"Thank-you," Jack told Buffy, "Vaughn start getting in position, we'll give you a half-hour head start."
Vaughn nodded, "I'm on my way." He had exchanged his jungle camo for a black ninja suit and silenced sniper rifle.
As Vaughn and Mr. Gupta walked towards the temple Mr. Gupta tugged on Vaughn's sleeve. "Mr. Vaughn, come this way, I know of a secret passage into the temple we can use."
"What? Why didn't you say something sooner?"
"Because there is no way the entire group could make use of the tunnel. Besides, Mr. Bristow's plan is a good one and what does it matter how we gain entrance into the temple?"
Vaughn mulled this over for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders. "I suppose you're right. So where is this tunnel?"
Mr. Gupta lead Vaughn around the temple back into the jungle. They continued through the jungle until Mr. Gupta came to a stop in front of an overgrown cave entrance. It was so well hidden that Vaughn was sure he would have walked right past it.
Mr. Gupta pulled back the vines in front of the cave and motioned for Vaughn to enter. "You first Mr. Vaughn."
"Why me, you're the person who knows the way," Vaughn said. He suddenly was worried about being lead into a trap.
"Quite true, but you have the night vision goggles, I do not."
Vaughn adjusted his grip on his pistol before nodding. "Alright, stay close." He told Mr. Gupta as he entered the cave. "I don't like the look of this place," he observed as they crept through the dark cave. The supports holding the ceiling up looked rotten and sagged under the weight of the rock above them.
"I suspect it's been years since anyone has walked through this tunnel."
"Or maybe more recently," Vaughn said as he held out his hand in warning. "There's a tripwire in front of us." He examined the thin filament of wire. It ran between two of the supports and connected to a pair of small detonators attached to both posts. "If we trip this," Vaughn whispered to Mr. Gupta, "It will case a cave in."
"Then we'd better not trip it. You first Mr. Vaughn,"
Vaughn gingerly stepped over the wire and continued down the cave a short distance before turning to watch Mr. Gupta negotiate the trap. Vaughn looked on in horror as Mr. Gupta's walking stick dragged over the tripwire, pulling it out in almost slow motion. There was a series of soft pops followed almost immediately by the roar of the ceiling falling in. The cave sent up a prodigious cloud of dust that left Vaughn blinded.
When the dust cleared Vaughn saw that the path leading out was completely blocked. A nervous glance upwards confirmed that the supports over him were still holding. Once Vaughn verified his own safety he began checking on Mr. Gupta.
By some stroke of luck the old man had jumped clear of most of the cave in, but his feet where caught under the rubble. Vaughn started to clear the debris. "Mr. Gupta, are you ok?"
"I'm fine Mr. Vaughn, but you shouldn't stop to help me. Time is short, you have to be ready when Mr. Bristow makes his move."
"But what about you?"
"I will be fine, provided you stop the First from destroying the world!" Mr. Gupta snapped. "Follow the cave until it comes to a door, go left and walk fifty yards. The secret room is to your right, push the third stone from the bottom to open the door. Now go, we are running out of time."
"We'll come back for you after we rescue Sydney," Vaughn promised.
"Yes of course you will, I have no doubt about that, but the world does need saving first." Mr. Gupta watched Vaughn run down the cave. He waited until Vaughn was out of sight before pulling himself out of the rock pile. He sat on top of one of the boulders in the lotus position and closed his eyes. "Good luck Mr. Vaughn you shall need it."
Jack checked his watch then picked up his radio. "Vaughn are you in position?" He heard a pair of clicks on the radio that signaled Vaughn was ready. "Understood we're on our way." He turned to face Buffy and Willow. "Vaughn is ready, we're moving in."
"Did he say if he saw Sydney?" Willow asked.
Jack shook his head, "He didn't respond verbally. He probably didn't want to reveal his position." Jack checked the clip in his M16. "Let's go save my daughter."
"Right behind you Mr. B," Buffy said. "Err, sorry, I forgot."
"Uhm, how are we doing this now?" Willow asked.
"It's very simple. Shoot everything that moves that isn't Sydney, Vaughn or Mr. Gupta."
"I can remember that," Willow decided.
Jack raised his rifle to his shoulder, "Are you two ready?" Buffy and Willow nodded. Jack took aim at the Bringers standing watch over the front entrance. He reached forward and pulled the trigger on the under barrel grenade launcher. The grenade landed between the two Bringers and exploded on impact. "Go!" Jack shouted as he ran towards the entrance. Buffy and Willow followed close on his heels.
They entered the temple and found a knot of Bringers running towards them intent on investigating the explosion. This time Buffy needed no prompting and she opened fire on the servants of the First. They fell down and none stood back up. Jack charged past the carnage without giving it a moment's thought. He fired at every hooded figure he saw and did not stop to check if his rounds hit their mark.
"Agent Bristow!" Buffy shouted. "Slow down!" She and Willow were advancing more methodically to make sure they were not hemmed in.
"There's no time. We'll just fight our way out after we get Sydney," Jack shouted back as he pushed on.
A burst of gunfire slamming into the wall next to him did cause Jack to stop however. He dove for cover and returned fire. "Buffy, Willow, get under cover!" Jack shouted down the hall as AK-47 armed Bringers poured into the hall.
"See this is why I don't use gun," Buffy grumbled as she pushed Willow down a side passage. "Because the bad guys then arm themselves and you get caught up in a big arms race that nobody can win." She leaned around the corner to return fire with her SAW when a stray round slammed into the gun and tore it from her hands. "Well crap," Buffy commented as she looked down at the ruined machine gun.
Willow handed Buffy her MP-5. "Here, take this one, I haven't fired it once. Guns give me the wigs, I just didn't have the heart to tell Agent Bristow."
Buffy accepted the sub-machine gun from Willow. "Thanks Will." She glanced down the hall. "I wonder how Agent Bristow's going to get out of this one." She watched as Jack fired another grenade down the hall. The resulting explosion scattered the resistance and the CIA agent picked himself up and charged into the smoke. "Well that got the job done," Buffy quipped as she followed Jack father into the temple.
Vaughn examined the alter room through the scope of his sniper rifle. The room Mr. Gupta had sent him to was in actuality nothing more than a ledge that overlooked the chamber below. Still, it afforded Vaughn as good a view of the room below as he could have hoped for. Unfortunately what he saw tore at his soul. Sydney lay strapped to a stone alter in the middle of the room. The robed servants of the First stood around her holding lighted candles and observing the whole scene was Buffy. Vaughn finally convinced himself that it was merely the First playing another mind game.
The distinctive sound of a grenade exploding signaled the start of Jack's assault. Vaughn watched and waited to see how the First would respond. There were too many bad guys below for Vaughn to simply open fire. He couldn't be sure he'd kill them all before his location was found or Sydney was killed. He watched as the First ordered some of the Bringers out of the chamber. Vaughn turned his gun sights on the Bringer closest to Sydney.
"Hello son," his dead father's voice said in his ear. "What are you doing here? Oh, I see, trying to save the day."
"Go away, you're not my father," Vaughn growled. He kept his gaze firmly on his target.
"That's really a semantic argument at this point son. You see my Bringers are about to release an awesome evil that will lay waste to everything, and do you know the only way to stop it?"
"Yeah, I do," Vaughn replied.
"No, I don't think you do. Your little rescue party is too late, all that has to be done is shed a little bit of Miss Bristow's blood. You only have one choice, kill the girl."
"What?" Vaughn exclaimed.
"If she dies before the ritual is complete then the demon cannot rise. So tell me son, can you kill all the Bringers before one of them can cut Ms. Bristow?"
"You're lying."
"Think about it logically son, it's the only way."
Vaughn stared through the rifle's scope at the alter. He knew that there were situations Sydney would want him to shoot, but was this one of those situations?
"If you don't kill her she'll be trapped inside the demon, suffering a thousand deaths but never dying. You'd be doing her a favor."
Vaughn felt a drop of sweat run down his forehead. In the distance he could hear the sounds of a ferocious gun battle but it remained in the distance. Vaughn let his sight settle on Sydney. He stared at her prone form for a long moment before realizing that was no decision to make. Vaughn took a deep breath, lined up his shot, and pulled the trigger.
Buffy peered around the corner she was hiding behind and fired a burst from her MP-5 at the Bringers that held the other end of the hall. "We don't have time for this," Buffy muttered to herself. She looked across the hall at Jack and mimed spraying the hall with her gun. Jack nodded and began firing wildly at the Bringers. Buffy seized the opportunity to charge them head on. The combination of covering fire and Slayer speed allowed Buffy to be on top of the Bringers before they had a chance to react.
The melee was brutal and short. Buffy was in a hurry and spared no time for niceties. Instead she focused of destroying the Bringers as quickly as she could. Jack watched in amazement as Buffy slammed a Bringer's head into a wall with such force that it caved in.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Buffy asked as she snapped the neck of the last Bringer. "An invitation?"
"The Slayer right," Jack muttered to himself as he ran after Buffy.
"Pretty cool huh?" Willow asked.
"That's one way to describe it," Jack said.
They continued down the hall until it opened into a large chamber. Dead Bringers littered the floor. Buffy's attention however was drawn to the middle of the room where Sydney lay unconscious. Standing next to her was a Bringer holding an outstretched knife over Sydney's chest.
Jack aimed his rifle at the Bringer and fired a three-round burst. The .223 caliber rounds slammed into the Bringer's chest, knocking it back. The knife slipped out of the dying Bringer's hands and fell to the ground, slicing a large gash in Sydney's arm in the process.
Suddenly the temple began to shake and the alter began to glow red. "Uh-oh, this can't be good," Buffy commented.
"Nice try Slayer, but you're too late, the demon is summoned," The First said appearing next to Buffy. It had once again assumed the shape of Angel. "I can't wait to see it devour you."
"Buffy!" Willow shouted. "The demon is trying to possess Sydney!"
Buffy stared at Sydney who was now suspended in a pillar of red light. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you shouldn't count your demons until they're summoned?" She asked the First before running towards Sydney. "I sure hope this works," she thought before leaping into the beam of light.
Buffy crashed into Sydney, knocking her out of the light. As Buffy passed through the pillar she was almost overwhelmed with feelings of anger and death. Buffy hit the ground and rolled to a stop. She looked back at the alter and saw the beam of red light coalesce into the phantom shape of a fearsome looking demon. The red ghost bellowed silently before fading away.
"No!" The First shouted. "That's impossible, once the process starts it can't be stopped."
"That is where you were wrong," Mr. Gupta said. Everyone turned and watched as the old man floated to the ground with a bloodied Vaughn clinging to his side. "Miss Rosenberg, would you please look after Mr. Vaughn, a Bringer attacked him while he was defending Miss Bristow."
"You," the First hissed. "What are you doing here?"
"Please, please, one question at a time," Mr. Gupta replied. "First of all, how was Miss Summers able to break the barrier surrounding the containment spell? You of all things should know that a Slayer exists in both the astral and physical planes. Any being with such a dual nature can pass through the barrier and disrupt the spell. As for why I am here I should think that would be obvious, to stop you of course."
"But you can't, the agreement, you cannot interfere."
"You tried to raise Rakshi, of course I can interfere!" Mr. Gupta said sharply. "Just be glad that Shiva did not come in my place."
"No, I can't be beaten, not like this!" the First shouted. It morphed from Angel's form into a large demon.
Mr. Gupta held out his hand. "That is quite enough. Nobody likes a sore loser." Mr. Gupta then waved his hand and the First dissolved into the floor.
"Did you kill it?" Buffy asked.
"Dear girl, you should know that you cannot kill the First. I merely dispersed its essence. It will be some time until it can again take form."
"You're not a simple fakir are you," Willow said.
Mr. Gupta chuckled. "No, I am not. Let us take a look at Miss Bristow shall we?"
Jack and Vaughn were already standing over Sydney who was still unconscious. "Her pulse is fain, but steady," Jack said. "Other than that I don't see anything wrong, we'd better get her to the medical ship, she might have a concussion."
"Your daughter was exposed to pure evil, and that leaves a mark." Mr. Gupta told Jack. "Buffy, you passed through that field, you felt it, correct?"
Buffy shivered, "It felt like death."
"So what can we do about it?" Jack demanded.
"Have no fear, you have not come this far for naught." Mr. Gupta knelt down next to Sydney and placed his hand on her forehead. "Come back to us dear one, your friends and family still need you." Sydney's body began to glow gold.
When the glow subsided Sydney's eyes shot open and she drew in a ragged breath. "Where am I?" She gasped. "Dad, Michael, Buffy?"
"It's ok Sydney," Jack said, "You're safe now."
"What happened? Mr. Sanjay!" she exclaimed.
"Who?" Vaughn asked.
"He was this nice old man they were also holding prisoner...I know he's dead but..."
"Relax Miss Bristow, there are some elements of your story that cannot yet be learned," Mr. Gupta said in a more authoritative voice than the others were use to hearing. "Rajiv Sanjay was a loyal servant of mine, his sacrifice will not go unnoticed."
"Ok, that's it, just who the hell are you?" Buffy demanded.
"I go by many names, but the one I am best known as is Vishnu."
"No way!" Willow exclaimed.
"Yes way."
"Want to fill me in here Will?" Buffy asked her friend.
"Vishnu is one of the three big gods of Hinduism. He's the god of balance and justice."
"So let me get this straight; you're one of those guys with all the arms and the funky poses?"
Mr. Gupta laughed, "Yes, that is how my followers often perceive me. But to answer your next question right now I have assumed the guise of a humble fakir. It was necessary to complete my mission."
"And what mission might that be?" Jack asked after he tore his attention away from Sydney.
"The same as yours Mr. Bristow, to rescue your daughter and thwart the First."
"I still don't buy it. You're a god?" Buffy asked in disbelief.
"You believe in vampires and demons, but you cannot accept the existence of a god?" Mr. Gupta asked, a gentle smile spread across his face.
"It's just...I don't know..." Buffy trailed off.
"So if you exist then the rest of the Hindi pantheon is real as well," Willow mused, "And if the Hindu gods are real...that must mean the other gods also...whoa, I think I just blew my mind metaphysically."
"Relax Miss Rosenberg. Most of what you know of the Hindu gods is real, but quite a bit is also fantasized. The old gods, myself, Zeus, Odin, Quetzalcotl, and the others are simply benevolent versions of what you might call demons. We decided long ago to watch over humanity and when we could protect it."
"Why would you do that?"
"That is a question I cannot answer other than to say that your species is capable of greatness and in the future that greatness will be required."
"But what about...you know..." Willow pointed up at the sky.
"The answer to the riddle of your monotheism is one that I do not have," Mr. Gupta replied. "All I can say is that there is a design to the universe. What that design might be is beyond even my comprehension, but it is there."
"Cook County, this is Paramedic, we have the patient, send in the Ambulance," Jack said into his radio. "Mr. Gupta, Vishnu, whatever, you probably won't want to be here when the Special Forces team arrives. I don't even begin to know how to write this mission up as it is."
"If you really are a god then why don't you do more to keep people safe?" Buffy demanded.
"Humanity can never grow if they know they can just fall back on a group of deities. I cannot interfere with the normal course of human events...much."
"And you got involved here because the First is not a normal event," Willow surmised.
"Precisely, the First is a being like I am, the only difference is that the First seeks to destroy everything. I got involved this time because the First tried to take advantage of one of our mistakes. We never should have let this temple stand. After you leave I shall raze the temple."
"What about the demon?" Willow asked.
"It's spirit was destroyed when Buffy disrupted the spell. It can do no more harm."
"Go me," Buffy happily said.
Jack helped Sydney to her feet. "The extraction team is on their way. We should head to the LZ. Buffy could you give Vaughn a hand?"
Buffy nodded and picked up the injured agent. "Hey, thanks for everything, making the First go poof, waking up Sydney, and just general godliness."
"You're most welcome, it was a pleasure and an honor to finally meet you Buffy. Do you now think I am qualified enough to call you the greatest Slayer?"
Buffy smiled, "Oh yeah."
"Good then remember what I said, and above all keep breaking the rules."
"You don't think you could maybe give me a little hint as to what the First is up to in Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.
Mr. Gupta shook his head, "I am sorry Buffy, but that truly is your fight and I cannot interfere...but I can tell you this. You are the last Slayer, and there is nothing to fear about that fact. Take heart, the First can be defeated. It is all up to you."
"No pressure huh?" Buffy said with a rueful smile.
Mr. Gupta reached out and touched Buffy's forehead. "You have my blessing for whatever good it does. Farewell Buffy Summers."
Buffy watched as Mr. Gupta stepped back and started to glow with a golden light. The body of the old man Buffy knew dissolved into the golden glow which began to expand outward.
"I think it's time to leave," Willow said as they edged away from the light.
Jack and Sydney went first followed by Willow then Buffy and Vaughn. While they walked Buffy saw cracks beginning to form in the temple walls. "Guys, picking up the pace would be good." Over his objections Buffy picked up Vaughn and started to run. Jack followed suit with Sydney and they sprinted out of the temple. As soon as they were clear of the building it began to shake violently, then fall in on itself. "Never let it be said that a god can't bring the house down," Buffy quipped.
They did not have to wait long before a pair of Blackhawk helicopters flashed overhead. "Paramedic, this is Ambulance One, what's your status?" Jack's radio crackled.
"Ambulance One this is Paramedic. The LZ is cold, condition green, I repeat, condition green," Jack said into his radio.
"Condition green, roger that." The two Blackhawks quickly landed near Jack and the others. A team of Green Berets jumped out from one of the Blackhawks and assumed a defensive perimeter around the helicopters. Another pair of helicopters appeared hovering slightly over the tree line. They slowly moved over the landing zone. One of the Green Berets ran over to where Jack was standing.
The Green Beret saluted. "Agent Bristow, I'm Lieutenant Young." The lieutenant looked around Jack at the remains of the temple.
"Is something the matter lieutenant?" Jack asked.
"Uh sir, wasn't there supposed to be a temple there?"
"The cultists holding Agent Bristow hostage wired the temple with C4. They blew it up over their heads. Agent Vaughn and I also found these two American college students," Jack indicated Buffy and Willow.
The lieutenant nodded, "Then if you'll just get in the second Blackhawk we can get the hell out of here."
"That's music to my ears lieutenant." Jack lead the group onto the waiting helicopter.
Buffy waited for everyone else go enter before she climbed on board. The crew chief slammed the door shut and showed her where to sit as the helicopter started to take off. Buffy looked out the window at the soldiers getting on board the other helicopter. Her eyes then drifted out into the jungle. She smiled when she caught sight of Mr. Gupta standing in the shadows. She waved slightly before the pilot increased power and the helicopter sped away.
Mr. Gupta waved at the helicopters as they flew off into the horizon. "Best of luck to you Buffy Summers, you shall need it." The god paused for a moment. "Best of luck to all of you actually. May you find the strength to fight back the dark, because this world depends on it." He sighed then dissolved into a golden ball of light that floated away, leaving behind nothing but empty jungle.
-the end-
