Triumph over Evil

Episode 22 (Part II)

            Suddenly, someone grabbed her waist and dove out of the way. She landed on her side, gasping. She turned to see who had saved her. There lay a hooded figure, next to her.

            "Who are you?" she asked.

            The hooded figure reached for his hood and pulled it down.

            "Oh my god!" Buffy exclaimed, "Angel."

            "Yes, it's me," he replied.

            "But you're not Angelus anymore?" she questioned.

            "It was a set up to keep me out of the picture. My soul was taken by one of Malvagio's minions," he replied.

            "How'd you get it back?" she asked.

            "After I left Sunnydale, I traveled through Europe. I mistakenly killed some guy related to the gypsy group that originally gave me my soul. They cursed me again," he answered.

            "How sweet," Malvagio smirked, "The vampire is back in commission. Not for long!"

            He shot dark energy out of his arms again. Buffy and Angel jumped into the remains of a building. The dark energy had barely hit them.      

            Out of breath, Buffy asked, "How did you know I was here?"

            Angel replied, "I figured where there was apocalyptical destruction occurring, you were bound to be there trying to stop it. Let's get out of here!"

            They ran out of the building just as it exploded. Pieces of stone and glass flew in every direction. The explosion knocked both of them to the ground.

            "Damn you, slayer!" Malvagio shouted, "Hold still!"

            "Having some trouble there?" she asked, sarcastically.

            "I will kill you sooner or later!" he yelled in anger, "You're just making it harder on yourself. The more you mess around, the slower your death will be!"

            "You tried to kill me several times," she began, "But you failed every time!"

Outside Rome:

            Willow sat on a stone, peering towards the city. She could see the part that Malvagio had already destroyed and the part he hadn't yet reached. She hoped Buffy would find a way to stop him before he destroyed the entire world.

            She had used her magik to get her and Buffy from Sunnydale to Rome. It had taken a lot out of her. In fact, she had almost collapsed because of it. Buffy told her to catch up after she had rested for a while. Willow was ready to go. She hoped that she wasn't too late to help her friend in the fight.

            Just then a white light surrounded the redhead. Willow wondered what was going on. That's when something appeared in front of her. It was a beautiful young woman with blonde hair and baby blue eyes. But there was something else that caught Willow's attention, the wings on her back and the gold halo above her head.

            "Oh my," Willow muttered, "You're an angel."

            "That's right, young Willow," the angel spoke.

            "But why? Why are you here? Why are you here talking to me?" Willow muttered.

            "I am here because of this great evil. I was the one that imprisoned him below that seal thousands of years ago. I stopped him from destroying the world back then. I cannot stop him this time. I have grown weak over the centuries," the angel began.

            "But what does that have to do with me?" Willow asked.

            "You are a very powerful witch," the angel went on, "Even though I cannot stop the evil completely, I can give you a powerful magik. It's known as the Magiks of Heaven. You will be able to use it now, but after it's defeated it will be gone. I wish you good luck, Willow. I believe you can help save the world."

            With that, the angel disappeared back into heaven. Willow was confused. How was she to know that she had the Magik of Heaven? Did the angel pass it to her? There was only one way to find out. She ran up towards the huge city to help her best friend.

Los Angeles Hospital:

            Xander and Anya had gotten Giles to the Los Angeles hospital very quickly. It turned out that Xander's car was the only thing not destroyed. The potentials had stayed behind to look for survivors.

            Xander sped into the emergency room parking lot and called out "My friend is hurt! Can I get some help?"

            Immediately, two paramedics came running out to the car. The opened the backseat door, where Giles was lying. Anya was applying pressure to Giles' wound. A few seconds later, another paramedic came running out with a stretcher. They put Giles on it and wheeled it inside. Xander and Anya followed behind.

            The paramedics took Giles to the emergency room. They quickly got to work on trying to stop the bleeding, but it looked hopeless. Xander and Anya sat in the waiting room. A nurse came over to them.

            "What happened to your friend?" she asked.

            Xander replied, "He was stabbed while the three of us were walking down the street."

            "Who stabbed him?" she asked.

            "Some man," Xander answered.

            "What happened to the man?"

            "He fled right after he stabbed our friend," Anya said.

            "What is your friend's name?"

            "Rupert Giles," Xander responded.

            "Alright," the nurse said, "Thanks for the information."

            Xander and Anya sat down again. Meanwhile, the doctors had gotten the bleeding to stop. Now they just had figure out how much blood Giles lost and give him more. They were working against the clock.

            Xander picked up a magazine and began to read. Anya dozed off.

            "Xander?" someone called.

            Xander looked up from the magazine. There stood Wesley, who was supposedly dead.

            "Wesley?" Xander questioned, "But you're supposed to be dead."

            "I managed dodge death. I was finally able to return to California. What are you doing here?" Wesley asked.

            "Giles was speared," Xander replied.

            "What has happened?"

            "The First Evil, it's free. While trying to fight it, he called on vampires to attack us. They speared Giles. Buffy and Willow went after it."

            "The First Evil, that's impossible."

            "News flash, Sunnydale is burning to the ground. The First headed for Rome. Buffy and Willow followed."

            A nurse came out and told Xander that Giles would be alright. She also said that Xander could go and visit. Xander, Wesley, and Anya headed up to Giles' room.

            "Wesley?" a weak Giles questioned.

            "I escaped death," Wesley replied.

            "Where is Buffy, Xander?" Giles asked.

            "She went after Malvagio," Xander answered.

            "She went all the way to Rome?" Giles questioned.

            "Yeah," Xander responded, "Her and Willow."

            The room began to shimmer. A ghostly figure of someone began to appear.

            "Rupert," the figure said.

            "Jenny?" Giles asked, "Is it really you?"

            "Yes, Rupert," she replied, "I am communicating with you from beyond. I have a message to deliver to you."

            "A message?" Giles questioned, "What kind of message?"

            "The slayer will triumph over the evil forces, with the help of her friends.  Her friends won't be the only help she'll receive. Something from beyond will come once again and help. All evil will be wiped off the face of the earth," the ghostly figure of Jenny Calendar informed, "Goodbye, Rupert. I love you."

            "I love you too, Jenny," Giles replied.

            The ghost of Miss Calendar suddenly disappeared and Giles passed out. Xander, Wesley, and Anya were confused with what they just heard.

Rome, Italy:

            "Give up, slayer!" Malvagio yelled, "You cannot defeat me! Nothing can!

            Malvagio was getting extremely mad because he couldn't kill Buffy and Angel. They kept diving out of the way before his dark energy could hit them.

            The ground began to crack open. Malvagio fired another beam of energy at them. They dodged it again. Angel landed but his foot was stuck in a crack in the road.

            "Buffy, I'm stuck," Angel said.

            "Looks like someone's in trouble," Malvagio smirked.

            He fired another beam of dark energy at them.

            "ANGEL!" Buffy shouted, "NO!"

            The dark energy was just about to hit Angel and Buffy, when a barrier formed around them.

            "What the!" Malvagio called as his energy hit the barrier and was cancelled out.

            Buffy turned around to see Willow walking up the road towards them. Buffy smiled. Willow walked up to them.

            "Come on, Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, "Let's kick this guy's ass!"

            "You're finished!" Buffy shouted to the evil.

            Angel managed to free his foot and stood up to join the two women.

            "The power of friendship stands strong!" Buffy yelled, "That's something that you cannot destroy with your evil!"

            "What?" Malvagio was beginning to become confused.

            "You look different, Will," Buffy commented.

            "I was powered up, given special magik," she replied.

            Willow fired a beam of white energy at Malvagio. It caught him off-guard, knocking him to the ground. Buffy drew her sword and ran towards where he fell.

            "That bitch!" Malvagio shouted as Buffy came running up, "She was able to hurt me, but how?"

            "It's called the Magik of Heaven," Willow called as her and Angel came running up beside Buffy.

            "Magik of Heaven? But how?" Malvagio questioned.

            "Your time is up!" Buffy shouted.

            "That's what you think, slayer," he smirked, "Your final battle is beginning now!"

            The city began spinning around Buffy and Malvagio. It spun faster and faster. Buffy held her sword, ready for battle. Soon they were surrounded in a large ring of fire.

            "You like?" Malvagio asked.

            "What is this? Where are my friends?" Buffy questioned.

            "This is hell, slayer," Malvagio informed, "This is where you will spend eternity!"

            Malvagio snapped his finger and a sword formed in his hand. A sword formed from dark energy.

            "This is where you die!" he shouted and swung the sword.

            Buffy ducked and stuck up her foot. Malvagio stumbled and fell on his face. Buffy brought down her sword. Malvagio rolled out of the way. Buffy's sword struck the stone ground.

            "Once I kill you, you're soul will remain her forever," Malvagio informed.

            He swung his sword and barely missed Buffy's stomach. He stood up and kicked her. She stumbled backwards, but quickly regained her balance as he lunged for her. He stabbed the sword towards her chest. Buffy bent back as the sword flew in front of her face.

            "What? How dare you!" Malvagio said.

            Buffy jumped back after he pulled his sword back. She gave him a roundhouse kick that snapped his head to one side. He was a little bedazzled. She jumped into the air and gave him a front kick in the face. His head snapped back.

            When Buffy landed, he quickly regained his senses and swept his leg under Buffy's feet. She fell to the ground. As he brought his sword down, she kicked it from his hands.

            "I don't need that to kill you," he said and grabbed her by her collar.

            Malvagio pulled Buffy off the ground and towards his face. He smirked and punched her hard in the chest. It caused her to fly backwards across the stone. She scraped her back. She tried to stand up, but Malvagio came over and knocked her on her chest. She got on her knees and he kicked her a few times in the chest. Buffy heard some cracking as he kicked her. Some of her ribs were broken.

            He bent down and lifted her over his head.

            "Yours will be my favorite death out of everyone I kill," he spoke, "You're the first and last slayer that I will ever kill."

            He threw her through the air. She landed on her back and cried out in pain. She stood up. Malvagio ran over and punched her in the face a few times, then tripped her again. Buffy was in so much pain.

Malvagio produced another dark energy sword. He held it high above her beaten body. This was it. This was where she died. Her soul would be trapped here in hell and Malvagio would destroy the world.

"This is how it has to end, slayer. I will personally kill your friends. I will burn them, stab them, and drown them. I will kill them all in every possible way. Goodbye slayer," he shouted.

He brought the sword down. He was going to stab her right in the chest. He brought it straight down in stabbing position. Buffy had had enough. She wasn't going to fail her friends, fail the world. She rolled out of the way. The sword hit the stone with a clank.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Malvagio, but I'm not gonna let you win this," she said, standing up.

She kicked him in the chest, causing his to stumble backwards. He regained his balance just in time to get a foot to the side of his face. His jaw cracked and he howled in pain. She jumped into the air and dished out several punches to the chest, stomach, and face.

Malvagio bent over, throwing up blood. Buffy took this opportunity to get her sword. She dove to it and picked it up. She ran back over to an injured Malvagio. He was still coughing up blood.

"You cannot beat me, slayer!" he yelled and stood up.

Buffy swung her sword. Malvagio backed up, but the sword sliced off his arm. Blood was gushing out of the severed hand. Malvagio's ragged clothing was covered in his own blood.

Buffy gave him a roundhouse kick, which sent him falling to his side. She brought the sword down, but he rolled out of the way. He still had some strength left in him. As he stood up, Buffy sliced him across the chest. He winced in pain. Buffy kicked him in the chest, causing him to fall back.

"You're finished," she said.

She swung the sword and sliced him across the face. Blood dripped from the cut. Buffy had the upper hand and she knew it.

"Not as tough as you thought, huh?" Buffy said.

She tripped him and then lifted him by his tattered, blood-stained clothing. She tossed him across the small fighting area. When Malvagio hit, he slid across the stone, scraping up his face.

"You cannot kill me," he said, coughing up blood, "I'm invincible."

"Is that so?" she questioned, "Then how come you're getting your ass whooped?"

She ran at him and shoved the sword into his chest, where the heart was. Then she pulled it out. It was covered in blood.

Malvagio didn't die, he just laughed.

"Stupid girl, you think something as evil as me would have a heart? Well you're wrong, he smirked.

He attempted to kick her, but she grabbed his foot in midair and twisted his leg, snapping his ankle. He fell to the ground on his back, a puddle of blood forming underneath him.

"If you don't have a heart, then how do you bleed?" Buffy questioned.

"Oh, I have blood, just no heart. It pumps through my body on its own," he informed, coughing up more blood.

Buffy brought the sword down again. He moved his arm out of the way, but not quickly enough. She had sliced his hand off. Then she brought her foot up and kicked him under the chin. His head snapped back and she heard a crack.

"There's nothing broken," he said, "I cannot be killed. Have you forgotten?"

"No, but I could chop you into little pieces and then you couldn't do anything," she said.

He kicked her in the chest, which caught her off guard. Malvagio stood up and charged her. She quickly regained her senses and grabbed him, tossing him to her left. He fell to the ground, once again. Malvagio was pretty beat up. He was missing an arm and a hand. He was bleeding from pretty much everywhere.

He got to his knees as Buffy made it over to him.

"You can be killed!" Buffy yelled, "And I will prove it!"

She pulled back the sword and swung. The bladed connected with Malvagio's neck. It sliced his head cleanly off his shoulders. His head flew into the fire and burnt up. The body fell to the ground instantly.

Malvagio, the First Evil, had finally been defeated, defeated by Buffy Summers, the vampire slayer. She dropped her arm, holding the sword down at her side. She used her other hand to wipe the blood from her lips. She caught her breath.

That's when she noticed energy going into Malvagio's lifeless body. She was confused. The speed that the energy was entering his body increased. It was going too fast for her to even see. She held her sword up, waiting for him to come back to life. Suddenly, the headless body exploded.

Buffy was then enveloped in complete darkness. She became nervous once again.

"Buffy," someone said.

"Who's there?" Buffy called.

"I am an angel," the voice came again.

"An angel?"

"I watched how you defeated the evil. You are a true warrior, a hero. You saved the world," the angel said.

It showed itself. It was a young woman. She was very beautiful and kind of sparkled. She had long blonde hair and baby blue eyes. She had sparkling wings and a shiny halo.

"I honor thee," she said.

"Thank you," Buffy replied.

"You will be returned to earth with all your friends. All the damage that he did will be restored. With the death of Malvagio, you have eliminated all evil from the world," the angel said.

With that, the darkness became night. She was back in Sunnydale and it was nighttime. Buffy was relieved.

"Buffy!" Willow called.

            Buffy spun around to see her friends running towards her. Everyone was there, Xander, Anya, Willow, Giles, Angel, Wesley, and Spike. They greeted her with a big hug.

            "You did it, Buffy," Giles said, smiling, "You defeated the evil."

            "Congratulations, Buffy!" Willow exclaimed.

            "You are a hero," Giles went on, "You saved us all."

            Buffy finally spoke, "The sad thing is, no one will know that I saved their lives and the planet."

            Tears began to form in her eyes. Everything was back to normal and her friends were all alive. She dropped to her knees and cried tears of happiness. After a few minutes, they all headed home. The world was at peace for the first time ever.

            And that is the final chapter in the story of Buffy Anne Summers, the vampire slayer. Or is it?