Sacrifices
Episode 25 (Part II)
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Buffy faced off against the Goddess of Evil at the Hellmouth. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang fought off an army of vampires and demons who had come to the goddess's aid as part of the gathering. Buffy was losing to this all-powerful being. Just before killing her, the Goddess froze time and transported Buffy and her friends somewhere unknown. The potentials were left behind, wondering what had happened.
First, Willow arrived in a graveyard. It appeared to one from Sunnydale. She soon met up with Wesley and Lorne. Unfortunately, they faced off against the Master. All three were quickly killed in battle. Second, Giles, Oz, and Faith appeared in a sewer somewhere. They faced off against Adam, the cyborg that terrorized Sunnydale when Buffy was in college. Oz and Faith set off Adam's self-destruct system and were killed. Luckily, Giles escaped uninjured. Angel, Xander, and Fred were transported to an alternate dimension, where it seems they are back at Xander's graduation from Sunnydale High. The Mayor attacked and Xander concocted a plan to take out the huge snake demon. While using explosives to kill the Mayor, Xander and Fred are unaware that the woods they were hiding in were full of explosives as well. The two ended up dying and Angel was consumed by darkness.
Unknown Location:
Buffy could feel the wind whipping across her face. It was a rather harsh wind, unlike the ones she had come to know in Haynesville. But it was a familiar wind that she'd felt before. Opening her eyes, she was startled by where she was. The tower, which she lay upon, was unmistakable. She was back in Sunnydale. But that was impossible.
"Buffy!" someone shouted.
It was a familiar voice, perhaps the one of a young girl. Buffy just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Buffy!" she shouted again, "You have to get up! Hurry before Glory arrives!"
Buffy turned and glanced in the direction of the voice. She saw who was calling to her. It was Dawn! She was tied to two poles protruding from the platform which she stood upon. She was wearing some kind of gown. But it was impossible! Dawn was dead. And this had happened before.
"Buffy, please get up," Dawn begged.
Buffy didn't have to be asked again. She quickly rose to her feet and dashed over to her supposedly dead sister. She began to untie the ropes that bound her. Within a few short minutes, Dawn was free. Buffy helped her sister down. Dawn quickly embraced Buffy in a big hug.
"Aw…how touching," came another familiar voice, "The sisters are reunited at last."
Buffy broke off the embrace and spun around to face her opponent. It was Glory, the hell god that she'd faced years before. She began to wonder how all this could be possible.
"I will kill you for interrupting my ritual," Glory said.
She rushed Buffy. She gave Buffy a quick jab to the face, causing her to stumble backwards. She caught Buffy off guard. She hit Buffy across the face again. Buffy bumped into Dawn, causing the young teenager to lose her balance. Dawn stumbled and fell backwards off the tower.
"Dawn!" Buffy shouted, "No!"
She was on her stomach in the blink of an eye. She grabbed her sister by the arm, stopping her from falling for the time being. If she was being given another chance, she sure wasn't going to let her sister die again.
"What a foolish move, slayer," Glory said, "I have you right where I want you."
Glory walked over and kicked Buffy in the ribs. Buffy winced in pain. Glory continued to kick her until she heard a crack. She'd broken Buffy's rib. Buffy didn't release her grip on Dawn. She just lay there, taking all the abuse. Glory was enjoying this. She didn't care about getting home now. It didn't matter if the key fell or not, she was too bent on taking out the slayer.
Just as she was about to kick Buffy again, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see who could possibly be up there. She got a quick jab to her face, causing her to stumble backwards. She tripped over Buffy and fell backwards off the tower. She reached up and grabbed the edge.
Spike had arrived just in time. He and Cordelia had appeared at the bottom of the tower. He didn't know what was going on, but his memory had served him well. He remembered what had happened the first time and realized Buffy must have been at the top. He had startled Glory and gave her a good hit in the face. He dropped down on his stomach and reached down to help Dawn up. With both Buffy and Spike's help, Dawn was standing back on the platform.
"Will someone please explain what is going on?" Cordelia questioned.
"You're asking the wrong person," Buffy replied.
"What?" Cordy asked.
"I have no idea," Buffy said.
"What is Cordelia doing here?" Dawn asked, "Shouldn't she be in Los Angeles?"
"I'll explain everything to you as soon as we get down from here," Buffy told her.
Suddenly, the tower shook violently. Buffy and the others stumbled a bit, but quickly regained their balance.
"Let's go, luvs," Spike said, "We don't want to be up here when this tower falls."
He led the three women to the stairs. It was going to be a long climb back down. Hopefully they'd make it in time.
"No one is leaving this tower but me," Glory said, pulling herself up.
"Oh bloody hell," Spike said, "I knew I should have checked to make sure she fell."
"Cordelia, get Dawn down from here!" Buffy shouted, "Spike and I will handle Glory!"
As the two girls made their way down the tower, it shook violently. The three stumbled, but weren't knocked down. Glory began to approach the two, taunting them. She realized that this would be an easy kill. All she would have to do would be to knock the two of them off and then go after the Key and the other girl.
Spike and Buffy stood their ground as Glory attacked. Buffy blocked her punches and easily knocked her back. She followed up with a side kick. Glory blocked it, however, and sent Buffy spinning off the side of the tower. Luckily, Buffy reached up and grabbed the platform, holding on for dear life.
She went after Spike next. Spike managed to get in a few hits, but Glory gave him a large punch, knocking him backwards. Spike stumbled and nearly fell of the tower. He glanced down briefly to see how Buffy was doing. She was attempting to pull herself up but wasn't succeeding. Glory took his brief distraction to her advantage and gave him a sharp jab to the face.
This time, Spike lost his balance and fell backwards off the tower. He attempted to grab the edge of the platform, but was unsuccessful. Spike reached out and grabbed a metal bar as he fell. He had saved himself for now, but he couldn't hold on for long.
"Hang in there, Spike!" Buffy called, noticing that Spike hadn't fallen.
"That's all I pretty much can do, luv," he answered.
Buffy was still unsuccessful at trying to pull herself up. Her strength was gone. That battle with the Goddess had weakened her greatly. Glory walked over and stepped on Buffy's fingers. Buffy winced in pain, but didn't let go. She knew that if she did, then that would be the end.
Glory stepped on her other hand. Buffy still didn't respond. Glory was becoming frustrated. She reached down and lifted Buffy into the air. She pulled her close to her face.
"Have fun in hell, slayer!" Glory shouted.
"Hope to see you there soon," Buffy replied.
Glory released Buffy from her grip. Buffy fell from the tower. Just as she fell by him, Spike reached out a grabbed her with one hand.
"Gotcha!" he exclaimed.
Buffy breathed a sigh of relief as she realized that she'd been saved. But now they were both in a predicament; they were both stuck there, just hanging.
"Thanks Spike," Buffy said.
That's when the tower began to shake. These were more violent than the ones before. As the tower shook, pieces of metal began to fall from all over. Glory, who was still up on the platform, stumbled and fell off the tower. She wasn't able to grab the edge and fell to her death below. As she hit the ground, the tower began to collapse.
Unfortunately, Dawn and Cordelia hadn't made it off of the tower yet. A large piece of debris fell and smacked Cordelia in the head. She fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.
"Cordelia!" Dawn screamed.
She rushed to the fallen woman's side.
"Wake up, Cordelia!" Dawn screamed, "We have to get off of here!"
Cordelia couldn't hear Dawn. She was out cold. Besides being out, her head was bleeding badly. Dawn began to panic. There was no way she could carry Cordelia down. She would have to leave her. As she began to run down the stairs, a sharp metal bar fell from above. It went right through the teenager's head, killing her instantly.
Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike were still hanging onto a bar. They carefully dodged the debris as it fell, but it was becoming more difficult. There was so much of it. Then, a loud creak echoed through their ears.
"This is the end, luv," Spike said.
"I know," she replied.
"Goodbye, Buffy," he said.
The bar they were hanging from suddenly fell. The two dropped and began their quick descent to the ground below. About halfway to the ground, they were both consumed by darkness.
Unknown Location:
Kennedy opened her eyes. She was lying on her back, looking up at the sky. It was a beautiful sunny day. She stood up and looked at her surroundings. She noticed that she was in Buffy's backyard, back in Sunnydale. But that wasn't possible. Sunnydale had been destroyed. And besides, they were just in a big battle with all these demons and vampires.
She quickly noticed that Axel was lying on the ground near her. She rushed over and woke him up. Helping him to his feet, they both realize that they weren't the only people in the backyard. Two very familiar people were standing there next to a bench, talking.
"Isn't that Buffy?" Axel asked.
"I think so," Kennedy replied, "But this isn't possible."
It seemed all too strange to Kennedy. Both Buffy and Xander looked younger, plus Xander still had his eye. She realized that she must have been dreaming.
"How did we get here?" Xander asked.
"Scenic route," Buffy replied, "Long drive."
"The past few weeks…" Xander said.
"I know," Buffy answered, cutting him off.
"I thought I hit rock bottom…it hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Spike. It hurt."
"I'm sorry. I should have told you."
"Maybe you would have, if I hadn't given you so many reasons to think I'd be an ass about it."
"Guess we've all done a lot of things lately that we're not proud of."
"I think I've got you beat."
"Wanna compare?" Buffy asked.
"Not so much."
The two smiled at each other. They didn't even notice Axel and Kennedy standing there, watching their whole conversation. It puzzled the too of them greatly.
"I don't know what I'd do…without you and Will," Xander said.
"Let's not find out," Buffy replied, tears in her eyes.
The two embraced in a big hug. Kennedy smiled. She was happy for them. Once they were through, she was going to approach them and find out what had happened.
"I love you," Buffy said, "You know that, right?"
Xander spotted someone over Buffy's shoulder. A look of horror spread across his face when he saw who it was.
"Buffy!" Xander shouted.
Buffy jumped and spun around. Xander stepped up beside her. It was Warren. He was still dressed in the all-black outfit from the night before. He looked pissed.
"You think you can just do that to me?" he questioned, "You think I'd let you get away with that? Think again."
Warren lifted up his arm. It his hand was a gun. His finger pulled the trigger and he began firing at them. Buffy shoved Xander to the ground. The bullet hit Buffy in the chest. She fell to the ground.
As he ran off, Warren continued firing. He laughed as he ran. The remaining two bullets hit both Kennedy and Axel. The one bullet pierced Axel's heart, killing him instantly. He fell to the ground, dead. Kennedy was hit in the stomach. She covered her wound with her hands and stumbled over to where Xander kneeled next to Buffy.
Blood seeped through her fingers as she slowly walked. She could feel herself becoming weak. This was the end. Black spots formed in her eyes. Within a few moments, she was laying face-first on the ground. Her blood pooled in the grass around her.
It was ironic that the bullets had not only hit Buffy, but both Kennedy and Axel. Also, Xander hadn't even noticed that the other two had been shot. He was too busy trying to help Buffy.
Haynesville, Louisiana:
Buffy had just appeared out of no where. The last thing she remembered was falling from the tower after it collapsed. Spike had saved her from falling but they'd both fallen to their death. But she was alive. And now she was back in Haynesville. She looked around and spotted three of her friends, Spike, Angel, and Giles. The three of them were bloody and beaten. She noticed the potentials were standing around too. But the others were no where to be seen.
"Now, now," Jasmine said, appearing out of no where, "It seems that the four of you are the only ones left."
"What are you talking about?" Buffy questioned.
"The others failed in saving themselves," Jasmine informed, "Did you think you were the only one that I transported to another time frame?"
"You killed them?" Buffy questioned.
"Oh no, not me," Jasmine replied, "All your old nemeses took care of them."
Jasmine snapped her finger. Images of her friend's deaths began playing through Buffy's mind like a movie. She saw Wesley, Lorne, and Willow fighting off the Master. All three of them were killed. She was Faith and Oz fighting Adam. The two of them were killed when he exploded. She saw Giles running for his life. She saw Angel, Fred, and Xander defeat the Mayor using explosives. But unfortunately, Xander and Fred were killed in the explosion. Next she saw herself, Spike, and Cordy go up against Glory. She saw Cordy get knocked out and eventually die as the tower collapsed and saw the image that was Dawn get stabbed in the head. She saw herself and Spike fall from the tower. Finally, she witnessed Axel and Kennedy standing in her old backyard as Warren appeared. He had a gun and shot the two of them.
Tears were now dripping down Buffy's face. She couldn't believe what she'd just seen. There was no way that any of that had happened. Giles, Angel, and Spike were now standing behind her, wondering what she'd seen.
"Don't worry," Jasmine said, "I'm sure their much happier where they are now. Or not!"
"Buffy, what's going on?" Giles questioned.
"She killed them," Buffy replied, "Every one of them."
There was look of confusion on Giles's face. He didn't want to believe it, but it must have been true. Spike and Angel didn't quite catch on.
"Don't you fools get it," Jasmine said, "Only the strongest and well-skilled warriors survived; the four of you."
"I still don't get it, mate," Spike whispered to Angel.
"Are you that stupid?" Angel questioned.
"No, I'm just not good at guessing games," Spike replied.
"Oh forget it," Angel murmured.
"And now the final battle begins," Jasmine informed.
In the blink of an eye, Jasmine was right in front of Buffy. She gave Buffy a quick jab across the face, sending her stumbling backwards. Spike and Angel tried to rush to her aid, but they ran into a magikal barrier. It knocked both of them to the ground.
"It's a barrier that she's created," Giles informed, "She wants this fight to be between her and Buffy."
"Bitch didn't have to let us run into the barrier," Spike grumbled as he standing up
Angel didn't say anything. He rose to his feet and stood, watching what was happening. He feared the worst for Buffy. Could she actually take out the Goddess?
After coming to her senses, she retaliated with a punch of her own. Unfortunately, Jasmine caught her fist in midair. Buffy tried a front kick but Jasmine flipped her to the ground before she could hit her target. Before she could kick her, Buffy was up on her feet. She gave Jasmine a roundhouse kick to the head, causing her to stumble to the side.
It barely affected Jasmine and she ran at Buffy, grabbing her by her throat. She lifted Buffy off the ground, tightening her grip. Buffy couldn't breath and began struggling, but it was to no avail. She just couldn't break free.
"You still think you can beat me, girl?" Jasmine questioned.
She tossed Buffy through the air. Buffy hit a pile of rubble, causing it to explode into a cloud of dust and debris. She slowly stood up and ran through the cloud of dust, back towards Jasmine. Jasmine had walked to the edge of the cloud and was waiting for it to clear so she could finish Buffy off.
Buffy came charging through the dust, sending Jasmine flying backwards. She landed on her back and Buffy was there, standing over her. Jasmine pulled back her feet and kicked Buffy in the chest, sending her stumbling back. She rose to her feet and quickly followed up with several punches to the face. Blood was now dripping from Buffy's nose.
Jasmine punched her in the face again. This time Buffy was able to block a few here and there, but most got through. Buffy punched her back, this time catching her off guard. Buffy pushed her back with a kick to the chest. She knew that she couldn't keep this up however. It was obvious to her that she couldn't defeat Jasmine.
Meanwhile, Giles had gone over to check on the potentials. They were all still okay. They had very few injuries from the battle with the demons and vampires. They were just watching Buffy losing to the Goddess and were terrified at what would happen next.
"Mr. Giles," Danielle asked, "What's going to happen when she's finished with Buffy?"
"I'm not quite sure," Giles answered.
"She'll probably kill us first and then go after Spike, Angel, and you," Liz said to him.
"Let's not think that way, girls," Giles said, trying to make them feel better.
"Oh come on," Julia said, "You know it's true. You're just trying to make us feel better."
"Okay, you're right," Giles replied, "But have faith in Buffy. She can do this."
"Do you actually believe that?" Vi asked.
"She's right," Eve said, "Look at how badly she's doing. The Goddess is going to win."
"And it's plainly obvious," Ashley added.
Giles felt bad. There seemed to be nothing he could do to lift their spirits. He couldn't tell them that he knew Buffy couldn't win and that this was the end. Buffy was crumbling under the strength of this powerful entity.
"You are pathetic, slayer!" Jasmine said as she continued to knock Buffy around.
Buffy didn't reply. She had no comebacks left. The end was nearing and she could feel it. She couldn't keep this up for much longer. She was growing weaker and weaker from every attack. Jasmine didn't seem to be getting week at all.
As Jasmine came at Buffy again, Buffy gave another roundhouse kick. However, Jasmine caught her foot once again. She flipped Buffy, sending her to the ground. Buffy grunted in pain as she hit the ground. Jasmine stood, towering over the injured slayer.
"I hate to say it, but this is the end," Jasmine said, "I had fun though."
Jasmine snapped her finger and her curved sword appeared in her hands. She held it high above Buffy, preparing to slice the girl's head off. There was fear in Buffy's eyes. This was it; this was the end. She'd tried her best, but she'd failed. That wouldn't mean anything though. As soon as she was dead, Jasmine would spread her power throughout the world and completely destroy it.
Right as Jasmine was about to bring the sword down, Buffy remembered something. There was still hope for her and for the world. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the orb. It was glowing when she pulled it out. Buffy wondered why, but quickly dismissed the thought as she realized that Jasmine had brought the sword down to her side.
"What the hell is that?" she asked.
"The thing that will defeat you," Buffy replied, standing up.
The orb began to glow brighter every second. Outside the barrier, Giles and the others watched on in confusion. They all wondered what was going on.
"Nice try, slayer," Jasmine said, "You're foolish magik tricks may have distracted me, but I'm through screwing around."
She jabbed the sword forward, towards Buffy's chest. Unbelievably, the sword was stopped. The orb had protected Buffy from the attack. That's when the ground began to shake violently and began to crack open.
"Foolish slayer," Jasmine said, "You're helping to release hell on earth. Hell is now merging with the earth."
The orb began to grow brighter as the ground cracked open. Demons arms began to shoot up from the cracks in the ground. They were trying to get out. A hand reached up and grabbed Buffy's leg. However, Buffy didn't move. Suddenly, the cube released a wave of energy. It shattered the barrier that the Goddess had created and caused all the demon arms to explode.
"What is going on?" Jasmine asked, obviously confused.
The orb continued getting brighter until it was too bright to stare out. The potentials' bodies began to glow as well. It seemed as if they had some connection to the orb. Within a few minutes, the potential's stopped glowing. As soon as that happened, they all fell to the ground. Giles rushed to their aid and discovered that they were all dead. He was very puzzled.
As Buffy held onto the orb, it felt like she was gaining power. It was very strange. That's when she put two and two together. The orb had drained the energy from the potentials and was now transferring it to her. She could now feel the power radiating throughout her body. Once the orb stopped glowing, Buffy placed it on the ground.
"You think you're fancy magik tricks will save you?" Jasmine asked.
She pulled her fist back and gave Buffy a jab to the chest. However, Buffy reached out and caught her fist. Jasmine stared at Buffy in disbelief. She looked at Buffy and noticed that her eyes were now completely dark.
"This i-isn't p-possible," she stuttered.
Buffy let go of Jasmine's fist and kicked her in the chest, sending her flying through the air. Jasmine landed on the ground several feet away. She stood up and quickly came at Buffy once again. She reached out and grabbed for Buffy's neck. Buffy grabbed her wrist and flipped the Goddess over her head.
Jasmine was terrified. She didn't know how this could be possible. One minute she was beating Buffy and now she was getting beaten herself. It didn't make sense, unless it had something to do with that orb. Buffy turned around and lifted Jasmine into the air by her neck. She tightened her grip, choking Jasmine. She eventually tossed Jasmine through the air once again. Jasmine now lay in the dirt. She realized that she had to get to that orb and destroy it. Then she could kill Buffy.
She rose to her feet and ran towards the orb. It was sitting all by itself in the dirt. There was no doubt in her mind that she couldn't get it. Buffy didn't go after her. She just stood there and watched. Right as Jasmine was about to reach the orb, it glowed again. This time, it opened up and large hole in the ground. Jasmine stood at the edge of the hole, realizing that now it was hopeless.
She turned around and saw that Buffy was right behind her. She was now holding a sword, ready to attack. She jabbed the sword forward, plunging it into Jasmine's chest. Jasmine screamed in pain as the sword penetrated her body. There was something magikal about the sword. It had been enhanced with some sort of energy. It was destroying her insides completely.
Buffy pulled the sword out and shoved Jasmine backwards, into the hole. Jasmine fell into the darkness and eventually disappeared. The orb flashed one final time, closing what could be considered Jasmine's tomb. As Buffy dropped the sword to the ground, the energy of all the potentials slayers left her body. Buffy collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
Several Hours Later:
Buffy opened her eyes. She felt a warm breeze blow across her face. As she sat up, she hoped that all that she remembered hadn't been a dream. She prayed that it wasn't. As she looked around, she noticed Giles, Angel, and Spike standing a short ways off.
Out of the corner of his eye, Giles noticed that Buffy was awake. He dashed past Angel and Spike and ran to her aid. Spike and Angel followed him.
"Buffy, you're awake!" Giles exclaimed.
"I did it," Buffy said.
Buffy rose to her feet and walked away from the three men. They followed her however. She slowly made her way over to the closest body. It was Liz's body, one of the potentials.
"I beat her," Buffy said, "But not without a great cost. I lost the lives of all my friends and all the potentials. Whistler was right. He didn't mean that the world would literally be destroyed. He meant that my world would be destroyed. And it has been. I've lost all the people I've ever known. They're gone, all of them. Except for the three of you."
Giles, Angel, and Spike stood there, listening closely to everything that she said. They didn't say a word.
"I guess that's what my gift was. The First Slayer once told me that death was my gift. I thought that I'd figured it out before I died the second time, but I was wrong. She meant what I had originally thought. She meant that I would eventually lose everyone that I knew."
Tears were now dripping down her face.
"I saved the world, again. But I lost so much. I'm finished. I'm leaving. I'm through with this job. I've lost everything that I've ever known. And I can't deal with this anymore. Goodbye."
Buffy turned and walked into the darkness. None of the three guys moved to go after her. They just watched her figure disappear into the darkness. It was the last that any of them ever saw of her
The three of them stood there, not saying anything to each other. They just stared into each other's eyes. They knew that this was it; it was time to go their separate ways. Spike turned and left first. Angel and Giles stayed, still staring at each other.
"Thanks for all your help," Giles said.
"Anytime Giles," Angel replied.
The two turned and walked off in different directions. Angel took off after Spike though.
"Spike, wait up!" Angel called, running after the other vampire.
Spike turned and came face to face with his rival.
"What do you want, mate?" Spike questioned.
"You up to coming back and helping me run Wolfram and Hart?" Angel asked.
"Are you serious?" Spike questioned.
Angel held out his hand. Spike stared at it for a second; then put his forward. The two shook hands. Afterwards, they turned and disappeared into the darkness, heading back home, to Los Angeles.