Title: The Ultimate Scooby Gang Part 5
By Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author
"We gotta do something!" Dawn cried.
"We can't," Cordelia replied despairingly. "Everyone's at the battlefield. All we can do is hope for the best."
***
Xander leveled his sword at the god in biker's clothing.
"What do you mean all the Prizes will be yours?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from betraying his nervousness. Given that the other guy could read his mind, the attempt was probably pointless. Xander knew very well that he was outclassed in everyway.
"You know what the Prize is," Kurgan laughed. "It is that gathering of all our separate Quickenings into one body so that we become a god again. So that I have become a god." He twirled his own sword effortlessly, playfully even. "But I am still not whole. Time splits, diverging into many realities, other realities where other immortals have won the Prize. I find this. unacceptable. After all, there can only be One!"
"And, uh, what makes you think that?" Xander asked, stalling for time as his mind raced. He was up against a guy who was bigger, stronger, and older than he was. In his own reality, Xander had heard of Kurgan. An immortal of the worst sort, he had been defeated by Connor MacLeod. In his reality, those two had been at near parity in sword skill even though they hadn't been the last two immortals standing. That meant that Xander knew he didn't stand a chance in a straight up sword fight.
And then there were this Kurgan's god level powers.
"Oh, I told him all about that," Samantha Carter said as she stepped from behind Kurgan. She morphed into Anya. Xander realized this wasn't really either person. "After all, we can't have all those goody two shoes wandering around with Prizes." She morphed again into Buffy's form and draped herself on Kurgan. "It would be much too messy."
"You're the First Evil," Xander concluded out loud.
"Bingo, Xand."
Ignored by all parties, a boxy robot on wheels came through the Stargate behind Xander.
***
"Remind me why we're doing this again?" General O'Neill asked.
"Sir, how many chances do we ever get to look at an altenate reality?" Colonel Carter replied. "Since we have an open connection, we might as well send a MALP for a look see. Best of all, Stargate connections are one way, so we're in no danger of being invaded."
"Plus, I'm curious what's over there," MacLeod added.
O'Neill just grunted something unintelligible in reply.
"Receiving MALP signal now," a technician announced.
A monitor came to life showing the other side of the Stargate connection. The area in the MALP's limited field of vision looked industrial. The floor looked like sheet metal. Hand rails surrounded the edge of the floor and there were metal columns here and there that supported nothing, looking twisted and partially melted where at the tops where they'd been cut off.
The alternate counterpart of their Alexander Harris was standing with his back to the MALP. His sword was out and held at the ready as he faced down a bigger man dressed as a biker.
"I'm not going to let you pass," Xander was saying to the biker guy.
"You cannot stop me," the biker sneered back.
"Kurgan," MacLeod whispered, going pale.
As if he heard, the biker tilted his head to look straight at the MALP. It was like he was looking straight into the control room. But that was impossible. "MacLeod!" he exclaimed, a dangerous smile spreading across his face. "It will be a great pleasure to kill you. Again!"
Taking advantage of his distraction, Xander pulled an automatic pistol from the depths of his coat with his left hand and emptied a clip into Kurgan's face. Kurgan flinched in surprise, but wasn't hurt. The bullets had stopped in mid air mere inches from his eyes.
"Crap," Xander and MacLeod said at the same time.
***
"I don't have time for this," Willow growled at the apparition. "Get out of my way."
"Oh, don't go away yet," Maldis replied. "We've only just met."
BEGONE.
Maldis vanished. Willow took another step before realizing that the stairs had vanished too. Where the stairs had been, there was now just empty flooring. Reaching out with her magical senses, she discovered the stairs really were gone, not just papered over with an illusion. Ah, there was a slight twist of reality here.
"Now, that was just rude," Maldis' voice whispered in her ear. Willow spun around and found him much too close to her, well inside her personal space. She backed off. Maldis followed keeping close.
STAY.
Maldis paused in place, allowing Willow to put some breathing space between them.
"Now, you just stay there, while I." Willow began.
Maldis vanished and reappeared right in front of Willow. "Ah, aren't you a lovely creature?" he murmured, brushing his hand lightly against her jaw. She could actually feel his hand, a neat trick considering that he was incorporeal. "Seeming purity and innocence masking power and an inner darkness. Join me."
"Uh.what?"
"Join me," Maldis said again. "With your power and my. experience, I'll show you pleasures beyond your wildest imaginations. Worlds will lay at our feet and even that so-called god upstairs will not be able to stop us."
"I'd say your offer is kind of tempting," Willow began slowly, "but I'd me lying."
LIGHTNING.
Willow sent a blast of power into Maldis. It went through him and out his backside to explode some innocent railing. Unfortunately, Maldis was completely unaffected.
"Oh, Willow," he said, sounding a lot like a parent disappointed with his child. "I had hoped for so much better from you." He shrugged, and blasted Willow with his own lightning. She screamed in pain as she was flung across the floor. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for eating you alive."
***
Buffy woke up in the Hulk's hands. That is to say, she woke up to find the giant green vampire lifting her to his mouth like a bar-b-cued rib he was about to eat. Being so big, he couldn't bite her around the neck. He was about to sink his fangs directly into her torso.
He was going to bite her!
Reacting instantly, Buffy brought her free leg around and kneed the Hulk in the nose. More startled than hurt, the Hulk dropped Buffy. Buffy hit the ground and dodged the Hulk's attempt to grab her again. Buffy set about, pummeling the monster with a flurry of kicks and punches. They seemed to have no affect other than making the Hulk even angrier that he already was.
Buffy evaded several of the Hulk's attacks - the mutated vampire was fast, but clumsy - as she cast about for a weapon. She had dropped her Scythe somewhere. She spotted something else first. Leaping away, Buffy landed beside a decorative but dead tree. A pair of quick kicks snapped the trunk in two places. Grabbing it as it toppled over, Buffy threw the make shift stake as the Hulk as he leaped at her. Her aim was perfect.
It shattered into splinters on the Hulk's chest. There wasn't even so much as scratch inflicted.
***
The gun having proved useless, Xander attacked with his sword. Smiling, Kurgan parried every attack with one hand effortlessly. This did not bode well.
"I said I will not kill you," Kurgan said conversationally, "and I will stand by my promise. However." The point of his broadsword darted forward to stab Xander in the thigh. Xander gasped in pain and went down on one knee. ".being immortal means that injury isn't even crippling."
With a laugh, Kurgan parried another stroke. He followed up with a punch that sent Xander sprawling.
***
Back at Stargate Command, the people in the control room watched in horror as Xander was getting the snot beat out of him.
"We gotta help him!" Lieutenant Harris argued.
"We can't, Lieutenant," O'Neill replied irritably. "Anyone we send through would be stranded. Unless you happen to know how to dial a ten symbol address on the Stargate? No? Didn't think so. Besides, it's pretty obvious that this guy's immune to bullets."
"At least he can't get here through an outgoing wormhole," Carter added.
On the monitor, the Kurgan paused was he was doing and looked at the MALP again. The picture blinked. That was because the Stargate had blinked, the watery looking event horizon disappearing for an instant before reappearing.
"That's impossible!" Carter cried. She turned to O'Neill. "Sir, the outgoing wormhole just changed into an incoming one."
"Neat trick," MacLeod muttered under his breath.
"Reaction Teams to the Gate Room!" O'Neill ordered. "And close the iris!"
As the soldiers lined up in front of the Stargate, the iris closed shut, creating a barrier that in theory, nothing material could pass through. Once closed, the iris shimmered and changed color, turning into an off white color. Then it collapsed, throwing up a cloud of fine white dust.
O'Neill cursed under his breath.
***
"Excuse me," someone interrupted as Maldis was about to blast Willow again.
The Watcher appeared beside Maldis, flipping through his book.
"A Time Lord," Maldis murmured. "And one that isn't the Doctor. How novel."
"Indeed," the Watcher said. "You said that you are Maldis? The ascended dark wizard of the so-called Uncharted Territories?"
"Yes, I am." Maldis smiled, warming up to the Watcher. It was so nice to be famous and well known.
"The same Maldis that was reportedly defeated and dispersed by the human John Creighton and his band of misfit friends?" the Watcher continued, making notes in his book. "Twice?"
A bat materialized in Maldis' hand. He whacked the Watcher over the head. The Time Lord collapsed in a heap, unconscious. "I'll thank you not to mention that again," Maldis told him. He turned back to the other mortal present. "Now, where were we Willow?"
BANISH.
Maldis vanished again.
As Willow shakily attempted to stand up, she was hit by yet another lightning bolt that sent her sprawling again. Looking up, she saw Maldis standing over her. She really wished that Buffy was here.
"Longing for your friend?" Maldis said, amused. Great, he was reading her mind. "She's not really your friend you know. Your friend is dead. All your friends are dead. You killed them all."
"I didn't." Willow began to protest, propping herself up on an elbow.
"You believe you did, and who am I to argue?" Maldis interrupted. "You were too slow, too hesitant, too afraid of your own power to cast that Slayer activation spell in time. So the Turok-han overwhelmed and slaughtered your friends. And you know what the best part is?"
"What?"
"Your power. You are more powerful now than you've ever been and it's all because of the sacrifice of your friends," Maldis chortled. "A blood sacrifice that increased your power at the expense of your friends lives."
"No. it wasn't like that," Willow protested weakly. An ice ball was forming in her stomach. Whether Willow had intended it or not, Maldis' words had a ring of truth to them.
"And now you're trying to clean your conscience by clinging to alternate versions of your friends," Maldis concluded. "Best part is, even if this Buffy wasn't busy getting pulverized right now, she still wouldn't help you anyway. She isn't even really."
***
As Buffy dove under another swipe, she heard a scream from somewhere above in the Tower. She instantly identified the screamer as Willow. Willow was in trouble. Buffy paused, torn between going to Willow's aid and fighting the vampire Hulk. Buffy wished she could loan her friend some of her strength until she got there, but she had stopped too long.
The Hulk's fist hit her in the torso dead on. Buffy could feel several of her ribs crack as she was flung through the air, bouncing off and denting one of the Eiffel Tower's legs.
***
The punch came out of nowhere and sent Maldis reeling. Willow looked up at her rescuer and was shocked by who it was.
"Faith?"
"Hey, Red," the Slayer greeted, winking at the witch as she strode past. She threw a quick glance at Willow's snow white hair. "Huh, gonna have to think up a new nick name for you."
"What is this? Where did you come from?" Maldis demanded, lightning crackling in his hands.
"Always been here," Faith replied, parrying a lightning strike with the dagger given to her by Richard Wilkins.
"You. you're not real," Maldis said slowly.
"Hey, baldy, I could say the same to you," Faith taunted in reply. She yelped in pain when Maldis sent a pair of lightning bolts at her. Faith parried one, but the other got through.
"You're not even a ghost," Maldis told her. "You're just a memory given form." He zapped Faith again. "Did you think you could stand against me alone?" A round house kick from nowhere flipped Maldis onto his back.
"She's not alone," Kendra announce plunging Mr. Pointy at Maldis' heart. Maldis scrambled out of the way. Faith joined in moments later. Maldis materialized a sword in each hand and attempted to fend off the two.
Willow's view of the fight was blocked by the appearance of yet another spirit. It appeared as a young black woman with afro hair and long coat that looked a lot like Spike's.
"Go help your friends," the stranger said. "We'll keep this guy busy."
***
Rolling out of the way of another punch, Buffy managed to get out of the Hulk's immediate reach. Spotting the Scythe, she swept it up as she sprung to her feet. There was a pause as the pair took a moment to stare each other down.
Buffy didn't feel good. It wasn't just the injuries inflicted by the Hulk. The few times he had hit her, the Hulk had managed to inflict some damage. Aside from, the broken ribs, there was the leg that didn't work quite right, an arm, and a headache coming on. But that was only pain. Buffy was sure that she could heal those injuries if she had a few moments respite from the fighting.
No, what really bothered Buffy was the feeling of weakness. It was as if parts of her had gone somewhere else. They weren't very big parts, but it was enough to bother her.
Then there was no time for introspection. The Hulk charged at her again. Leaping over him, Buffy landed squarely on his back and brought the Scythe's blade down on the Hulk's neck for a perfect decapitation.
The Scythe bounced off.
Buffy could see that this time, she had caused a scratch. But it healed up even as she watched. An instant later, the Hulk's back hand stroke sent Buffy flying again.
***
Returning to consciousness was a pain. At first, the Watcher thought that maybe he had been dipping into his personal whiskey stockpile too much. He was rapidly disabused of the notion.
"Giles! Are you okay?"
"I'm not Giles," the Watcher said testily as he was helped up to a sitting position by one of his hijackers. Ah, it was the white haired witch.
"C'mon, we gotta go help Buffy." That would be the yellow haired one, the Watcher recalled. She telekinetically hauled him to his feet. There seemed to be a fight going on nearby.
"Must we?" the Watcher asked warily as he gathered up his book. "Ah, of course we must," he added at the girl's indignant look. "I must certainly help the two young women who kidnapped me and hi-jacked my TARDIS." He spotted an interesting piece of datum. "Oh dear."
"What is it?"
"There's an open wormhole upstairs leading to yet another parallel universe," the Watcher answered. "It seems the being upstairs is intending to leave."
"Leave? As in moving onto fresh worlds to destroy?" Willow said, aghast. "We gotta stop him."
"I thought you wanted to help your friend," the Watcher said irritably. "You can only do one or the other."
Willow bit her lip, apparently torn with indecision. She squeezed her eyes shut. Unfortunately, she also let go of her telekinetic grip. Still a tad woozy, the Watcher promptly toppled over and hit his head on something.
***
"Buffy?" The voice was echoing in her head. Someone was speaking to her telepathically to her. "Buffy? Can you hear me?"
"Little busy here Willow," Buffy grunted in reply. She had found a place that was safe from the Hulk's attacks, at least for the moment.
The Hulk roared incoherently as he spun around, attempting to reach the annoyance on his back. Buffy hung there by a chokehold she had around his neck. The big green moron wasn't flexible enough to reach around and pull her off. He also wasn't to try scraping her off with something. But all this spinning was making for a dizzy Buffy, unable to concentrate enough to really heal any of her injuries.
"Buffy, the Big Bad's about to leave for another universe," Willow said in her mind.
"So stop him already."
"But what about you?" There was concern in Willow's mental voice. Buffy might have found it touching, but she was kinda busy with staying alive at the moment.
"Go, I'll be fine," Buffy told her in no uncertain terms. The Hulk's antics slammed her into a one of the Tower's support columns, leaving a big dent. "Just peachy. You go after the Big Bad. I'll deal with the big, nasty vampire."
"That's a vampire? I can help with that easy." Buffy got a quick mental picture of a shining sun.
"Willow! Wait." Buffy began too late. Brilliant light flooded the area and the Hulk burst into flames. Unfortunately, since Buffy was still hanging onto him, she got roasted as well.
Buffy let go and jumped away, having also caught fire. She hit the ground and rolled to put the flames out. A roar caught her attention. Looking, she saw that while the Hulk was burning, he wasn't actually dying. Or at least he was burning too slowly despite burning brightly. Skin was melting away, but the muscles underneath weren't going as quick.
What did it take to kill this guy?
***
In the SGC command center in the reality next door, Connor MacLeod studied the picture being transmitted from the MALP closely. He had a feeling that something significant was about to happen.
Discovering that Kurgan had won their battle in some alternate universe had been disturbing. Discovering that his own ability to manipulate reality on the other side of the Stargate was more than that. Even if Kurgan had not been actively hindering, Connor had the feeling his powers would have been limited anyway unless he actually traveled to the other side. There was nothing he could do to help young Xander Harris from here.
"Geez, how can anyone take that kind of punishment?" this reality's version of Xander asked. "I. he. whatever ought to be dead by now. But he just keeps getting up."
Connor made no reply. He wasn't about to expose himself yet. Only if Kurgan came through and he had to fight him directly would he display himself as anything other that merely mortal.
Beyond Kurgan, a new figure appeared. A white haired woman had climbed some stairs into view.
"Xander!" the woman called out.
"Willow?" the young man on screen replied, apparently surprised.
"Willow?" echoed Harris next to MacLeod.
"Ah, the entertainment is here," Kurgan laughed. With a casual swat, he sent Xander flying out of sight.
***
It happened quickly.
The burning Hulk charged Buffy, roaring.
Something black fell from the sky and hit the ground in between them. It looked like a body.
The Hulk tripped, still roaring, and fell forward. Naturally, the Hulk threw his arms forward to catch himself. His face came to rest right in front of Buffy. He was still roaring.
The temptation was too much to resist.
Stake end first, Buffy shoved the Scythe into the Hulk's open big mouth. Her arm was inside him up to her elbow when it happened.
Dusted.
***
Maldis was actually managing to hold his own against the memories of three Slayers brought to life. It was too bad that Willow had gotten away. She was so. tasty.
Then he felt his host die, robbing him of a good deal of his strength. The Slayers were quick to take advantage, beating up on him and dispersing his essence. Pulling himself together again was going to be a long, drawn out process.
Earth was proving far too annoying. With all the demons, there was too much competition here. And here he thought John Crighton was unique. Maybe he ought to look up the human again.
***
"No!" Willow cried in horror as Xander went over the edge. She hadn't even known that Xander - or at least some version of Xander - had even been here. Now he was gone. again. How could he possibly survive the fall?
"The little man will live," the man who had thrown Xander was saying. This was the Big Bad. Willow could feel it. He eyed her up and down as if she were a side of beef. "Oh, you will be sweet."
Furious, Willow sent a blast of mystical energy at him. This guy at least was made of solid matter. The blast hit an invisible bubble surrounding him and streamers of power were deflected off in all directions. He rocked back slightly in surprise, then laughed.
"I actually felt that!" He took a step towards her. He sneered. "Do it again. I like it when they resist."
Willow sent more blasts at him, varying the type of energy to see if anything might actually hurt him. Nothing did. They didn't even slow him down. She morphed the metal decking to rise up and hold him. He broke through effortlessly. She tore a hole in the floor. He walked on thin air.
He wrapped his sword arm around her waist and pulled her intimately close. With his free hand, he tilted her head back so that they were staring each other in the face. Willow struggled to get loose, but his grip was like steel.
His smile was pitiless. "You know, I like to violate my women body." Willow felt something change in her connection to the Earth. ".and soul." Willow suddenly realized what he was doing to her. She could feel her inner darkness rising up, creeping in through her link.
"Stop." she gasped.
"No," he said, watching black coloring seep into Willow's hair. "I think you look better as a brunette anyway."
***
Xander gasped and sat up.
"Neat trick, Xander," a familiar voice said nearby. Xander turned to see that it was Buffy. "You heal up faster than I do. And I'm fairly sure you were dead for a few minutes there."
"Buffy, what." Xander shook his head to clear it. He spotted his sword nearby and snatched it up. He got to his feet and took another look at Buffy. "Wow, you look like crap."
It was true. Buffy looked bruised and battered, her tight leather clothing looking torn in strategic spots. She was using a funky looking axe as a crutch.
"Thanks a lot, Xand," she said drily. "You really know how to complement a girl."
"Er, sorry," Xander replied. His brain was still a little fuzzy. What had he been doing when he died again? "Willow!"
"What about Willow?"
"She's facing Kurgan alone," he told her. "We gotta go help her!"
"Who? That would be the Big Bad around these parts, right?" Buffy asked. "Just give me a few minutes here."
"But we got to help Willow now," Xander insisted.
"Xander, I'm sure Willow can handle herself." Buffy began.
"BUFFY!!!" a telepathic voice resounded in their heads. It was loud enough to make them both wince. "HELP!!!"
".or not," Buffy concluded quickly. She took a few hobbling steps toward the stairs and almost collapsed. "Xander, I think you're going to have to go ahead."
"If you say so." Xander took a step, but Buffy's hand stopped him.
"Wait, Xander," she told him. Buffy got a good grip on the lapels of his coat. "There's a faster way up there."
"Buffy, whaOOOAAAAaaaa."
Hauling him around with her good arm, Buffy had hurled Xander towards the top of Eiffel Tower. His scream of surprise had a noticeable Doppler shift.
***
Tumbling through the air, Xander was quick to see that Buffy's aim was right on target. His arc was going to take him right to Kurgan. Kurgan had his back turned to him, doing. something to Willow. Xander brought his sword around, ready to slash Kurgan as soon as he was in range.
At the last instant, Kurgan held a hand up at Xander. Xander stopped in mid-air, mere feet away from Kurgan. He couldn't move.
"Not now, gnat," Kurgan said without looking at him.
***
Connor looked out at the scene shown by the MALP. There Kurgan was, about to violate some girl that held a significant amount of power in her own right. Nearby, Xander was suspended in mid-air, frozen in the middle of attacking a god.
Now, he thought as he sent a surge of power through the Stargate.
***
Power bright and pure flooded into Willow through her link to the Earth. It didn't banish the rising darkness inside her so much as combine with it. She felt as though there wasn't spell in existence that she couldn't do. But Willow's first thought wasn't to cast a spell to free herself. Channeling the sudden influx of power, Willow's first act was that of a woman defending herself from a man's unwelcome advances.
She brought a knee up between his legs. Hard.
Kurgan's eyes rolled up as he doubled over in pain.
Xander's feet hit the deck beside Kurgan, suddenly released from his mental grip.
Willow separated herself from Kurgan's grip and threw herself aside.
Xander's sword brought his sword down through Kurgan's neck. The glyphs on the blade flared brightly in rainbow hues as they penetrated Kurgan's shields. Kurgan's head parted ways with the rest of his body.
Kurgan's body collapsed to the floor.
And then everything was still.
***
"Holy." someone began. Given what they had just seen on the monitor, the reaction was understandable.
Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Kurgan was dead. Again.
Then the monitor suddenly exploded.
***
"Xander? You're alive?"
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Xander replied. "You okay, Wills?"
"I think so." She looked at the headless corpse. "Uh, what's with the mist?"
"Mist?" Xander looked to see glowing white mist streaming from Kurgan's body and pooling around in the air. It was his Quickening he suddenly realized. Odd that he didn't feel it. Lightning arced from Kurgan's body to the Stargate. Another bolt struck the boxy robot probe that had followed Xander through the Stargate, blowing it to smithereens.
"Xander, I think we ought to get out of here," Willow said, backing away from the sparking corpse.
Xander was about to tell Willow to go ahead, when the corpse moved. It wasn't gently floating into the air. The corpse was moving as if under conscious control, clambering to its feet and groping around for his head even as more Quickening leaked out and lightning burst from it. They backed away from it.
***
"Hey, I thought you said beheading would kill Kurgan!" Dawn said.
"That's what I was told," Cordelia replied.
"He doesn't look very dead to me."
"Oops."
By Nopporn Wongrassamee aka the Evil Author
"We gotta do something!" Dawn cried.
"We can't," Cordelia replied despairingly. "Everyone's at the battlefield. All we can do is hope for the best."
***
Xander leveled his sword at the god in biker's clothing.
"What do you mean all the Prizes will be yours?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from betraying his nervousness. Given that the other guy could read his mind, the attempt was probably pointless. Xander knew very well that he was outclassed in everyway.
"You know what the Prize is," Kurgan laughed. "It is that gathering of all our separate Quickenings into one body so that we become a god again. So that I have become a god." He twirled his own sword effortlessly, playfully even. "But I am still not whole. Time splits, diverging into many realities, other realities where other immortals have won the Prize. I find this. unacceptable. After all, there can only be One!"
"And, uh, what makes you think that?" Xander asked, stalling for time as his mind raced. He was up against a guy who was bigger, stronger, and older than he was. In his own reality, Xander had heard of Kurgan. An immortal of the worst sort, he had been defeated by Connor MacLeod. In his reality, those two had been at near parity in sword skill even though they hadn't been the last two immortals standing. That meant that Xander knew he didn't stand a chance in a straight up sword fight.
And then there were this Kurgan's god level powers.
"Oh, I told him all about that," Samantha Carter said as she stepped from behind Kurgan. She morphed into Anya. Xander realized this wasn't really either person. "After all, we can't have all those goody two shoes wandering around with Prizes." She morphed again into Buffy's form and draped herself on Kurgan. "It would be much too messy."
"You're the First Evil," Xander concluded out loud.
"Bingo, Xand."
Ignored by all parties, a boxy robot on wheels came through the Stargate behind Xander.
***
"Remind me why we're doing this again?" General O'Neill asked.
"Sir, how many chances do we ever get to look at an altenate reality?" Colonel Carter replied. "Since we have an open connection, we might as well send a MALP for a look see. Best of all, Stargate connections are one way, so we're in no danger of being invaded."
"Plus, I'm curious what's over there," MacLeod added.
O'Neill just grunted something unintelligible in reply.
"Receiving MALP signal now," a technician announced.
A monitor came to life showing the other side of the Stargate connection. The area in the MALP's limited field of vision looked industrial. The floor looked like sheet metal. Hand rails surrounded the edge of the floor and there were metal columns here and there that supported nothing, looking twisted and partially melted where at the tops where they'd been cut off.
The alternate counterpart of their Alexander Harris was standing with his back to the MALP. His sword was out and held at the ready as he faced down a bigger man dressed as a biker.
"I'm not going to let you pass," Xander was saying to the biker guy.
"You cannot stop me," the biker sneered back.
"Kurgan," MacLeod whispered, going pale.
As if he heard, the biker tilted his head to look straight at the MALP. It was like he was looking straight into the control room. But that was impossible. "MacLeod!" he exclaimed, a dangerous smile spreading across his face. "It will be a great pleasure to kill you. Again!"
Taking advantage of his distraction, Xander pulled an automatic pistol from the depths of his coat with his left hand and emptied a clip into Kurgan's face. Kurgan flinched in surprise, but wasn't hurt. The bullets had stopped in mid air mere inches from his eyes.
"Crap," Xander and MacLeod said at the same time.
***
"I don't have time for this," Willow growled at the apparition. "Get out of my way."
"Oh, don't go away yet," Maldis replied. "We've only just met."
BEGONE.
Maldis vanished. Willow took another step before realizing that the stairs had vanished too. Where the stairs had been, there was now just empty flooring. Reaching out with her magical senses, she discovered the stairs really were gone, not just papered over with an illusion. Ah, there was a slight twist of reality here.
"Now, that was just rude," Maldis' voice whispered in her ear. Willow spun around and found him much too close to her, well inside her personal space. She backed off. Maldis followed keeping close.
STAY.
Maldis paused in place, allowing Willow to put some breathing space between them.
"Now, you just stay there, while I." Willow began.
Maldis vanished and reappeared right in front of Willow. "Ah, aren't you a lovely creature?" he murmured, brushing his hand lightly against her jaw. She could actually feel his hand, a neat trick considering that he was incorporeal. "Seeming purity and innocence masking power and an inner darkness. Join me."
"Uh.what?"
"Join me," Maldis said again. "With your power and my. experience, I'll show you pleasures beyond your wildest imaginations. Worlds will lay at our feet and even that so-called god upstairs will not be able to stop us."
"I'd say your offer is kind of tempting," Willow began slowly, "but I'd me lying."
LIGHTNING.
Willow sent a blast of power into Maldis. It went through him and out his backside to explode some innocent railing. Unfortunately, Maldis was completely unaffected.
"Oh, Willow," he said, sounding a lot like a parent disappointed with his child. "I had hoped for so much better from you." He shrugged, and blasted Willow with his own lightning. She screamed in pain as she was flung across the floor. "Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for eating you alive."
***
Buffy woke up in the Hulk's hands. That is to say, she woke up to find the giant green vampire lifting her to his mouth like a bar-b-cued rib he was about to eat. Being so big, he couldn't bite her around the neck. He was about to sink his fangs directly into her torso.
He was going to bite her!
Reacting instantly, Buffy brought her free leg around and kneed the Hulk in the nose. More startled than hurt, the Hulk dropped Buffy. Buffy hit the ground and dodged the Hulk's attempt to grab her again. Buffy set about, pummeling the monster with a flurry of kicks and punches. They seemed to have no affect other than making the Hulk even angrier that he already was.
Buffy evaded several of the Hulk's attacks - the mutated vampire was fast, but clumsy - as she cast about for a weapon. She had dropped her Scythe somewhere. She spotted something else first. Leaping away, Buffy landed beside a decorative but dead tree. A pair of quick kicks snapped the trunk in two places. Grabbing it as it toppled over, Buffy threw the make shift stake as the Hulk as he leaped at her. Her aim was perfect.
It shattered into splinters on the Hulk's chest. There wasn't even so much as scratch inflicted.
***
The gun having proved useless, Xander attacked with his sword. Smiling, Kurgan parried every attack with one hand effortlessly. This did not bode well.
"I said I will not kill you," Kurgan said conversationally, "and I will stand by my promise. However." The point of his broadsword darted forward to stab Xander in the thigh. Xander gasped in pain and went down on one knee. ".being immortal means that injury isn't even crippling."
With a laugh, Kurgan parried another stroke. He followed up with a punch that sent Xander sprawling.
***
Back at Stargate Command, the people in the control room watched in horror as Xander was getting the snot beat out of him.
"We gotta help him!" Lieutenant Harris argued.
"We can't, Lieutenant," O'Neill replied irritably. "Anyone we send through would be stranded. Unless you happen to know how to dial a ten symbol address on the Stargate? No? Didn't think so. Besides, it's pretty obvious that this guy's immune to bullets."
"At least he can't get here through an outgoing wormhole," Carter added.
On the monitor, the Kurgan paused was he was doing and looked at the MALP again. The picture blinked. That was because the Stargate had blinked, the watery looking event horizon disappearing for an instant before reappearing.
"That's impossible!" Carter cried. She turned to O'Neill. "Sir, the outgoing wormhole just changed into an incoming one."
"Neat trick," MacLeod muttered under his breath.
"Reaction Teams to the Gate Room!" O'Neill ordered. "And close the iris!"
As the soldiers lined up in front of the Stargate, the iris closed shut, creating a barrier that in theory, nothing material could pass through. Once closed, the iris shimmered and changed color, turning into an off white color. Then it collapsed, throwing up a cloud of fine white dust.
O'Neill cursed under his breath.
***
"Excuse me," someone interrupted as Maldis was about to blast Willow again.
The Watcher appeared beside Maldis, flipping through his book.
"A Time Lord," Maldis murmured. "And one that isn't the Doctor. How novel."
"Indeed," the Watcher said. "You said that you are Maldis? The ascended dark wizard of the so-called Uncharted Territories?"
"Yes, I am." Maldis smiled, warming up to the Watcher. It was so nice to be famous and well known.
"The same Maldis that was reportedly defeated and dispersed by the human John Creighton and his band of misfit friends?" the Watcher continued, making notes in his book. "Twice?"
A bat materialized in Maldis' hand. He whacked the Watcher over the head. The Time Lord collapsed in a heap, unconscious. "I'll thank you not to mention that again," Maldis told him. He turned back to the other mortal present. "Now, where were we Willow?"
BANISH.
Maldis vanished again.
As Willow shakily attempted to stand up, she was hit by yet another lightning bolt that sent her sprawling again. Looking up, she saw Maldis standing over her. She really wished that Buffy was here.
"Longing for your friend?" Maldis said, amused. Great, he was reading her mind. "She's not really your friend you know. Your friend is dead. All your friends are dead. You killed them all."
"I didn't." Willow began to protest, propping herself up on an elbow.
"You believe you did, and who am I to argue?" Maldis interrupted. "You were too slow, too hesitant, too afraid of your own power to cast that Slayer activation spell in time. So the Turok-han overwhelmed and slaughtered your friends. And you know what the best part is?"
"What?"
"Your power. You are more powerful now than you've ever been and it's all because of the sacrifice of your friends," Maldis chortled. "A blood sacrifice that increased your power at the expense of your friends lives."
"No. it wasn't like that," Willow protested weakly. An ice ball was forming in her stomach. Whether Willow had intended it or not, Maldis' words had a ring of truth to them.
"And now you're trying to clean your conscience by clinging to alternate versions of your friends," Maldis concluded. "Best part is, even if this Buffy wasn't busy getting pulverized right now, she still wouldn't help you anyway. She isn't even really."
***
As Buffy dove under another swipe, she heard a scream from somewhere above in the Tower. She instantly identified the screamer as Willow. Willow was in trouble. Buffy paused, torn between going to Willow's aid and fighting the vampire Hulk. Buffy wished she could loan her friend some of her strength until she got there, but she had stopped too long.
The Hulk's fist hit her in the torso dead on. Buffy could feel several of her ribs crack as she was flung through the air, bouncing off and denting one of the Eiffel Tower's legs.
***
The punch came out of nowhere and sent Maldis reeling. Willow looked up at her rescuer and was shocked by who it was.
"Faith?"
"Hey, Red," the Slayer greeted, winking at the witch as she strode past. She threw a quick glance at Willow's snow white hair. "Huh, gonna have to think up a new nick name for you."
"What is this? Where did you come from?" Maldis demanded, lightning crackling in his hands.
"Always been here," Faith replied, parrying a lightning strike with the dagger given to her by Richard Wilkins.
"You. you're not real," Maldis said slowly.
"Hey, baldy, I could say the same to you," Faith taunted in reply. She yelped in pain when Maldis sent a pair of lightning bolts at her. Faith parried one, but the other got through.
"You're not even a ghost," Maldis told her. "You're just a memory given form." He zapped Faith again. "Did you think you could stand against me alone?" A round house kick from nowhere flipped Maldis onto his back.
"She's not alone," Kendra announce plunging Mr. Pointy at Maldis' heart. Maldis scrambled out of the way. Faith joined in moments later. Maldis materialized a sword in each hand and attempted to fend off the two.
Willow's view of the fight was blocked by the appearance of yet another spirit. It appeared as a young black woman with afro hair and long coat that looked a lot like Spike's.
"Go help your friends," the stranger said. "We'll keep this guy busy."
***
Rolling out of the way of another punch, Buffy managed to get out of the Hulk's immediate reach. Spotting the Scythe, she swept it up as she sprung to her feet. There was a pause as the pair took a moment to stare each other down.
Buffy didn't feel good. It wasn't just the injuries inflicted by the Hulk. The few times he had hit her, the Hulk had managed to inflict some damage. Aside from, the broken ribs, there was the leg that didn't work quite right, an arm, and a headache coming on. But that was only pain. Buffy was sure that she could heal those injuries if she had a few moments respite from the fighting.
No, what really bothered Buffy was the feeling of weakness. It was as if parts of her had gone somewhere else. They weren't very big parts, but it was enough to bother her.
Then there was no time for introspection. The Hulk charged at her again. Leaping over him, Buffy landed squarely on his back and brought the Scythe's blade down on the Hulk's neck for a perfect decapitation.
The Scythe bounced off.
Buffy could see that this time, she had caused a scratch. But it healed up even as she watched. An instant later, the Hulk's back hand stroke sent Buffy flying again.
***
Returning to consciousness was a pain. At first, the Watcher thought that maybe he had been dipping into his personal whiskey stockpile too much. He was rapidly disabused of the notion.
"Giles! Are you okay?"
"I'm not Giles," the Watcher said testily as he was helped up to a sitting position by one of his hijackers. Ah, it was the white haired witch.
"C'mon, we gotta go help Buffy." That would be the yellow haired one, the Watcher recalled. She telekinetically hauled him to his feet. There seemed to be a fight going on nearby.
"Must we?" the Watcher asked warily as he gathered up his book. "Ah, of course we must," he added at the girl's indignant look. "I must certainly help the two young women who kidnapped me and hi-jacked my TARDIS." He spotted an interesting piece of datum. "Oh dear."
"What is it?"
"There's an open wormhole upstairs leading to yet another parallel universe," the Watcher answered. "It seems the being upstairs is intending to leave."
"Leave? As in moving onto fresh worlds to destroy?" Willow said, aghast. "We gotta stop him."
"I thought you wanted to help your friend," the Watcher said irritably. "You can only do one or the other."
Willow bit her lip, apparently torn with indecision. She squeezed her eyes shut. Unfortunately, she also let go of her telekinetic grip. Still a tad woozy, the Watcher promptly toppled over and hit his head on something.
***
"Buffy?" The voice was echoing in her head. Someone was speaking to her telepathically to her. "Buffy? Can you hear me?"
"Little busy here Willow," Buffy grunted in reply. She had found a place that was safe from the Hulk's attacks, at least for the moment.
The Hulk roared incoherently as he spun around, attempting to reach the annoyance on his back. Buffy hung there by a chokehold she had around his neck. The big green moron wasn't flexible enough to reach around and pull her off. He also wasn't to try scraping her off with something. But all this spinning was making for a dizzy Buffy, unable to concentrate enough to really heal any of her injuries.
"Buffy, the Big Bad's about to leave for another universe," Willow said in her mind.
"So stop him already."
"But what about you?" There was concern in Willow's mental voice. Buffy might have found it touching, but she was kinda busy with staying alive at the moment.
"Go, I'll be fine," Buffy told her in no uncertain terms. The Hulk's antics slammed her into a one of the Tower's support columns, leaving a big dent. "Just peachy. You go after the Big Bad. I'll deal with the big, nasty vampire."
"That's a vampire? I can help with that easy." Buffy got a quick mental picture of a shining sun.
"Willow! Wait." Buffy began too late. Brilliant light flooded the area and the Hulk burst into flames. Unfortunately, since Buffy was still hanging onto him, she got roasted as well.
Buffy let go and jumped away, having also caught fire. She hit the ground and rolled to put the flames out. A roar caught her attention. Looking, she saw that while the Hulk was burning, he wasn't actually dying. Or at least he was burning too slowly despite burning brightly. Skin was melting away, but the muscles underneath weren't going as quick.
What did it take to kill this guy?
***
In the SGC command center in the reality next door, Connor MacLeod studied the picture being transmitted from the MALP closely. He had a feeling that something significant was about to happen.
Discovering that Kurgan had won their battle in some alternate universe had been disturbing. Discovering that his own ability to manipulate reality on the other side of the Stargate was more than that. Even if Kurgan had not been actively hindering, Connor had the feeling his powers would have been limited anyway unless he actually traveled to the other side. There was nothing he could do to help young Xander Harris from here.
"Geez, how can anyone take that kind of punishment?" this reality's version of Xander asked. "I. he. whatever ought to be dead by now. But he just keeps getting up."
Connor made no reply. He wasn't about to expose himself yet. Only if Kurgan came through and he had to fight him directly would he display himself as anything other that merely mortal.
Beyond Kurgan, a new figure appeared. A white haired woman had climbed some stairs into view.
"Xander!" the woman called out.
"Willow?" the young man on screen replied, apparently surprised.
"Willow?" echoed Harris next to MacLeod.
"Ah, the entertainment is here," Kurgan laughed. With a casual swat, he sent Xander flying out of sight.
***
It happened quickly.
The burning Hulk charged Buffy, roaring.
Something black fell from the sky and hit the ground in between them. It looked like a body.
The Hulk tripped, still roaring, and fell forward. Naturally, the Hulk threw his arms forward to catch himself. His face came to rest right in front of Buffy. He was still roaring.
The temptation was too much to resist.
Stake end first, Buffy shoved the Scythe into the Hulk's open big mouth. Her arm was inside him up to her elbow when it happened.
Dusted.
***
Maldis was actually managing to hold his own against the memories of three Slayers brought to life. It was too bad that Willow had gotten away. She was so. tasty.
Then he felt his host die, robbing him of a good deal of his strength. The Slayers were quick to take advantage, beating up on him and dispersing his essence. Pulling himself together again was going to be a long, drawn out process.
Earth was proving far too annoying. With all the demons, there was too much competition here. And here he thought John Crighton was unique. Maybe he ought to look up the human again.
***
"No!" Willow cried in horror as Xander went over the edge. She hadn't even known that Xander - or at least some version of Xander - had even been here. Now he was gone. again. How could he possibly survive the fall?
"The little man will live," the man who had thrown Xander was saying. This was the Big Bad. Willow could feel it. He eyed her up and down as if she were a side of beef. "Oh, you will be sweet."
Furious, Willow sent a blast of mystical energy at him. This guy at least was made of solid matter. The blast hit an invisible bubble surrounding him and streamers of power were deflected off in all directions. He rocked back slightly in surprise, then laughed.
"I actually felt that!" He took a step towards her. He sneered. "Do it again. I like it when they resist."
Willow sent more blasts at him, varying the type of energy to see if anything might actually hurt him. Nothing did. They didn't even slow him down. She morphed the metal decking to rise up and hold him. He broke through effortlessly. She tore a hole in the floor. He walked on thin air.
He wrapped his sword arm around her waist and pulled her intimately close. With his free hand, he tilted her head back so that they were staring each other in the face. Willow struggled to get loose, but his grip was like steel.
His smile was pitiless. "You know, I like to violate my women body." Willow felt something change in her connection to the Earth. ".and soul." Willow suddenly realized what he was doing to her. She could feel her inner darkness rising up, creeping in through her link.
"Stop." she gasped.
"No," he said, watching black coloring seep into Willow's hair. "I think you look better as a brunette anyway."
***
Xander gasped and sat up.
"Neat trick, Xander," a familiar voice said nearby. Xander turned to see that it was Buffy. "You heal up faster than I do. And I'm fairly sure you were dead for a few minutes there."
"Buffy, what." Xander shook his head to clear it. He spotted his sword nearby and snatched it up. He got to his feet and took another look at Buffy. "Wow, you look like crap."
It was true. Buffy looked bruised and battered, her tight leather clothing looking torn in strategic spots. She was using a funky looking axe as a crutch.
"Thanks a lot, Xand," she said drily. "You really know how to complement a girl."
"Er, sorry," Xander replied. His brain was still a little fuzzy. What had he been doing when he died again? "Willow!"
"What about Willow?"
"She's facing Kurgan alone," he told her. "We gotta go help her!"
"Who? That would be the Big Bad around these parts, right?" Buffy asked. "Just give me a few minutes here."
"But we got to help Willow now," Xander insisted.
"Xander, I'm sure Willow can handle herself." Buffy began.
"BUFFY!!!" a telepathic voice resounded in their heads. It was loud enough to make them both wince. "HELP!!!"
".or not," Buffy concluded quickly. She took a few hobbling steps toward the stairs and almost collapsed. "Xander, I think you're going to have to go ahead."
"If you say so." Xander took a step, but Buffy's hand stopped him.
"Wait, Xander," she told him. Buffy got a good grip on the lapels of his coat. "There's a faster way up there."
"Buffy, whaOOOAAAAaaaa."
Hauling him around with her good arm, Buffy had hurled Xander towards the top of Eiffel Tower. His scream of surprise had a noticeable Doppler shift.
***
Tumbling through the air, Xander was quick to see that Buffy's aim was right on target. His arc was going to take him right to Kurgan. Kurgan had his back turned to him, doing. something to Willow. Xander brought his sword around, ready to slash Kurgan as soon as he was in range.
At the last instant, Kurgan held a hand up at Xander. Xander stopped in mid-air, mere feet away from Kurgan. He couldn't move.
"Not now, gnat," Kurgan said without looking at him.
***
Connor looked out at the scene shown by the MALP. There Kurgan was, about to violate some girl that held a significant amount of power in her own right. Nearby, Xander was suspended in mid-air, frozen in the middle of attacking a god.
Now, he thought as he sent a surge of power through the Stargate.
***
Power bright and pure flooded into Willow through her link to the Earth. It didn't banish the rising darkness inside her so much as combine with it. She felt as though there wasn't spell in existence that she couldn't do. But Willow's first thought wasn't to cast a spell to free herself. Channeling the sudden influx of power, Willow's first act was that of a woman defending herself from a man's unwelcome advances.
She brought a knee up between his legs. Hard.
Kurgan's eyes rolled up as he doubled over in pain.
Xander's feet hit the deck beside Kurgan, suddenly released from his mental grip.
Willow separated herself from Kurgan's grip and threw herself aside.
Xander's sword brought his sword down through Kurgan's neck. The glyphs on the blade flared brightly in rainbow hues as they penetrated Kurgan's shields. Kurgan's head parted ways with the rest of his body.
Kurgan's body collapsed to the floor.
And then everything was still.
***
"Holy." someone began. Given what they had just seen on the monitor, the reaction was understandable.
Connor breathed a sigh of relief. Kurgan was dead. Again.
Then the monitor suddenly exploded.
***
"Xander? You're alive?"
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Xander replied. "You okay, Wills?"
"I think so." She looked at the headless corpse. "Uh, what's with the mist?"
"Mist?" Xander looked to see glowing white mist streaming from Kurgan's body and pooling around in the air. It was his Quickening he suddenly realized. Odd that he didn't feel it. Lightning arced from Kurgan's body to the Stargate. Another bolt struck the boxy robot probe that had followed Xander through the Stargate, blowing it to smithereens.
"Xander, I think we ought to get out of here," Willow said, backing away from the sparking corpse.
Xander was about to tell Willow to go ahead, when the corpse moved. It wasn't gently floating into the air. The corpse was moving as if under conscious control, clambering to its feet and groping around for his head even as more Quickening leaked out and lightning burst from it. They backed away from it.
***
"Hey, I thought you said beheading would kill Kurgan!" Dawn said.
"That's what I was told," Cordelia replied.
"He doesn't look very dead to me."
"Oops."
