DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to Joss Whedon, J.R.R. Tolkien, and their other respective owners.
A/N ABOUT THIS STORY: As you can tell, I've taken several scenes directly from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lord of the Rings, word-for-word in the dialogue. This is not to rip off any of the real writers because I respect their work and I am not a plagiarist. This is an artistic ploy to put the reader in the mindset of where they are and is essential to the story. The Buffy episodes used were episodes (6.1-2) "Bargaining, 1 and 2" written by Marti Noxon & David Fury, (7.17) "Lies My Parents Told Me" written by David Fury & Drew Goddard, (7.18) "Dirty Girls" written by Drew Goddard, (7.19) "Empty Places" written by Drew Z. Greenberg, (7.20) "Touched" written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner, (7.21) "End of Days" written by Jane Espenson & Doug Petrie and (7.22) "Chosen" written by Joss Whedon. The Angel episode used was "Orpheus" written by Mere Smith. The movies used are, of course, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, written by Frances Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien (if you didn't know that, you just suck).
16. The Choice:
Faith pulled back her fist and punched a Turok-Han, spinning around on her heel and kicking another while she whipped out another stake and jabbed a vampire in the heart. Through the fighting all around her in the dark cavern, she spotted a young blonde fall to the ground, the Scythe still in her hands. "Buffy!" she shouted, running through the crowd to join her at her side.
She dropped down on her knees and gazed down at the unmoving woman. Buffy slowly lifted her head and looked up at Faith in shame, a long, bloody gash ripping across her forehead. The reformed Slayer looked down at the woman that she once wanted to be and it broke her heart to see her struggle to stay alive, breathing in utter pain.
Buffy looked up at her and ordered weakly, "Hold the line." With almost all the strength she had left she placed the weight of the Scythe in Faith's hands. Faith gazed down at the silver and red weapon, finally having the leadership that she thought that she always wanted. Buffy gasped and grunted in another wave of pain as she pulled her arm back to the ground and turned over on her back. Faith saw the exit wound in her stomach, a crimson pool of blood bleeding through Buffy's white shirt. It was all too much to see.
Faith clutched the handle of the Scythe and jumped up, cutting the heads off of two Turok-Han behind her as they exploded into dust. She went on a frantic attack, slicing at anything that moved around her with bitter fury.
Legolas continued to fire arrows left and right as he was pushed backwards towards the stone wall. Gimli sliced at the legs and stomachs of his attackers as he was backed up with Legolas. Another arrow shot through the throat of a Turok-Han and landed right between the eyes of another one behind him, killing them both. Legolas looked up from his battle and realized that there were too many coming in at once – they were trapped against the wall.
"Willow!" Dawn screamed as she cut off the head of a Bringer with her sword. She sped down the hallway, pushing back endless enemies. She stumbled and fell over something hard and looked down to see herself landing in a pool of human blood. She turned her head just a little ways to see Giles' blank and inert stare, his throat sliced open by a sword. In terror, she jumped up, grabbing her sword and pushed passed more attackers.
In the Principal's office, Willow slowly began to come to her feet as she heard her name being called. "Dawn?" she asked, looking up towards the door. The teenage girl rushed to the doorway with tears streaming down her face as a Turok-Han approached from behind, wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gruesomely bit into her neck. "Dawn!" Willow screamed as she rushed to the door as a wave of Turok-Han and Bringers flooded into the office.
"Dawn!" Kennedy heard from upstairs as she looked up at the cavern ceiling.
"Willow?" she breathed in fear, realizing that something was terrifyingly wrong. She looked down as a Turok-Han rushed her suddenly, thrusting a sword into her stomach. She gagged as the blade was ripped out and she fell to the floor dead.
Vi turned around to view Kennedy's demise. "No!" she shrieked, distracting her long enough to be tackled to the ground by a group of vampires.
Faith stabbed a Turok-Han with the end of the Scythe, then sliced the head off of a monster that tried to flee from her. She dashed after another that tried to run, jumping up and kicking him in the back the driving the stake-end down into the back of the monster. She felt at least three pairs of strong hands grab her and pull her back as three other Turok-Han charged at her from the front. She struggled to push them off of her as the slowly brought her tumbling to the ground. With a mighty toss, she threw the Scythe to the next Slayer in her eyesight – Rona.
Rona punched a Turok-Han with her arm cast, and then turned to catch the Scythe, piercing the heart of an oncoming vampire. She turned around as another ran towards her and she sliced the Scythe across his neck. She suddenly turned as she heard Faith yell in torturing pain, catching a glimpse of the last seconds of Faith's life as a Turok-Han plunged a knife into her stomach.
"Merry, help me!" Pippin called as he rushed backwards with his sword swinging. Merry pulled his sword from the back of a Turok-Han and then faced his friend as he rushed dangerously close to the edge of the cliff.
"Pip, don't!" he shouted as he ran in and cut stabbed his attacker in the back. The Turok-Han lunged forward and fell over the edge of the cliff. He grabbed Pip's hand just as the hobbit was about to fall backwards as well. Pippin accidentally dropped his short sword and looked backwards to see it fall down the steep, fifty-foot drop into the fiery pits of the bottom. Merry pulled back as hard as he could and dragged his friend to safety.
"Thanks," Pippin breathed as he looked up at his friend. Merry gave him a smile as they both turned to the left. Three angry looking Turok-Han stood before them with axes and swords, ready to slaughter them. Merry and Pippin braced themselves in terror, now unarmed.
Aragorn turned away from Buffy to see the two hobbits about to face imminent death. "Merry, Pippin!" he shouted as he ran towards them blindly. A Turok-Han rushed passed him with its sword drawn as he sliced Aragorn across the stomach. The King gasped in shock as he held his stomach gently, his hand being coated in warm blood as he dropped to his feet and fell over on his side, dropping Anduril on the dirt of the stone floor.
"Buffy!" Frodo shouted, finally reached his wounded Slayer. He dropped to his knees and gazed down at her as she lay on her back staring up at the limestone ceiling.
"Frodo," she breathed, loosing consciousness. "Frodo… where's… where is he…"
"Buffy!" he exclaimed as his gigantic blue eyes began to fill with tears. He gazed down at her stomach to see the enormous pool of blood that had now began to form around her body. It was too late. This was the end.
Legolas felt the cold blade of a sword stab through his stomach and be ripped out with force. The Turok-Han that mortally wounded him – the single one that broke through his defense of arrows – ran off to counter and kill another Slayer. Slowly, he fell to the ground finally, where he remained when Gimli turned to him and realized the sudden heart-wrenching truth that he was now alone in this world and every other.
Gimli dropped his axe to the ground in torment, tired of holding the weight of his constant battle as he stepped over to his friend's body. He gazed down at the fallen elf with tears flooding his eyes and running down his dirt-covered face. "I've failed you, my friend," Gimli wept. A Turok-Han rushed him from behind, picking up the dwarf's axe and swung it down towards his head.
Willow's bloodied and torn body collapsed to the floor of the Principal's office as she breathed her last breath. The Turok-Han, like locusts, instantly vacated the room and moved on to consume whatever was next, leaving nothing but Willow's corpse and the presence of a young woman.
The spirit of Tara Maclay gazed down at the love of her life with tears welling up in her eyes and barely able to breathe over the pure agony. She dropped down on her knees and touched Willow's cheek as it quickly lost the warmth of life. Tara leaned her head back and let out an excruciating cry of anguish, "No…!"
"You've got to promise me," Buffy breathed, her perception dwindling. "You've got to promise me…"
"What?" Frodo asked in confusion.
"You'll get out of here," Buffy answered, her stomach rising and falling with much pain. "It's all… up to you now—" She coughed suddenly, breaking her words off as blood began to trickle from the corner of her mouth. Frodo wiped the line of blood away and stared at it in horror.
"You've got to get home," she continued, her body trembling and aching. "You've… got to-to keep fighting… Please, promise me… Promise me, Frodo…"
Frodo looked down into her green eyes and replied momentously, "No." Buffy's eyes opened and looked up at him, stunned by the sudden darkness in his tone fueled by angry defiance and determination.
"No…" Frodo repeated as a smile curved on his face, shaking his head. "This is not how this will end… This isn't how it's supposed to be..." She stared up at him as if he were a maniac as he declared powerfully, "We must do this the right way!"
He grabbed her by her shoulders and used all of his strength to sit her up and bring her to her knees. Standing, he looked into her eyes with furious rage. "You don't get to die like this!" he demanded. "You don't get to give up so easily!" He glared into her eyes as she reeled back in fear, "You've got a choice, now – two options. You get on your feet and keep fighting like you've always told me, or you stay here and die like a coward!"
Frodo leaned down close to her face, his voice a menacing whisper. "Now you can choose whatever you wish," Frodo hissed, "but let me explain something about that second option. Don't expect me to feel sorry for you because you're more afraid of yourself than you are of fighting." His voice flared up with bitter anger and harsh sarcasm, "Do you want to die, Buffy? Then you die like a hero! A true champion! How does that sound? Finally taking your place in history and dying like the rest of them?"
Buffy's heart cracked as she gazed up at him like a deer in the headlights. He lowered his voice and declared, "You give up now, Buffy, and I promise you, you will die like a true Slayer." He suddenly let her go and she fell forwards onto her stomach. In pain she lifted up her head and gazed up at his stern face as he damned her with finality, "Alone."
With a subtle gasp, she took in the ringing sound of that despised word in her mind. "Whatever you choose…" Frodo said, breathing slowly and calmly, his eyes tired and sad once again as he stepped back away from her gradually. "Finish it."
Slowly and surely, Buffy tried to push the weight of her body up off of the ground. She was able to push herself up to where she could put some of the weight on her knee, but the pain was too excruciating. She fell again, her arms and legs giving out pathetically, overcome with weakness.
"Uh oh," she heard from above. Buffy looked up to see the horrible reflection of herself, standing over her mockingly. "Oh, no," Buffy/The First sighed, looking down at the bloody hole in its stomach. "Mommy… this mortal wound's all… itchy."
Buffy swallowed hard as the First laughed in her face, squatting down and gazing in her eyes tauntingly. "That was a pretty neat trick you pulled. You came this close to smacking me down." The smile faded from its face. "But it won't save you though."
Buffy watched in tortured agony as her face changed to that of her beloved watcher. "Or your friends, for that matter," The First said, taking on Giles' guise, complete with the bloody gash across his throat. "You've disappointed me, Buffy," Giles declared disapprovingly. "I told you it was time to start acting like a general, and this is how you disgrace me? I tried to train you, prepare you, spent years of my life for this moment – only to have you fail." The First glared down at her in anger, "The last thing that went through my mind is how much I've wasted my life on a worthless cause." The words stung her deeply as it asked, "What would your mother think?"
Buffy's heart skipped a beat as the First took on the form of Joyce Summers as it stared down at her with her mother's dark eyes. "I told you to stop this nonsense!" the First snapped. "Well, I guess it stops now. Your friends depended on you far too much." The First crossed its arms and added with narrow eyes, "They should've never trusted you."
Joyce's form then split apart into two bodies – one male and one female. The voices of Xander and Willow said simultaneously, "A mistake we'll always regret."
Tears flowed from Buffy's eyes as she looked up at Xander's body, the long bloody gash crossing his chest. "Nice going, Buff," the First snipped. "You sure got the leader of the year award on this one. You just couldn't stop at the eye, could you? Don't worry, though. Didn't hurt a bit. Cross my heart." The First ran its finger across his slash mark as Willow/The First stepped up.
"I should've never brought you back," the First declared with Willow's voice. Its body was tattered and stabbed in many places with blood splattered across its face. "Then I would've been the Slayer after all. I would've saved the world." Willow and Xander's bodies came together and formed one again as the First morphed into Anya.
"Look at you," The First hissed, blood running down her face from the cut hidden at the top of her skull. "You don't even care. Good, bad, death, life – it's all one procedure for you." The First grinned angrily, "You think you're better than us, don't you? You think you're invincible." It let out a laugh, "You thought wrong."
The First crouched down again and took most torturous form of all – the form of her sister. "Your blood," Dawn/The First smiled, blood still trickling from the wound in its neck. "My blood. Our blood. You promised me you wouldn't let anything happen to me. Now see what you've done?" The smile faded, "Mom is going to be so pissed at you…"
Buffy closed her eyes tightly – she couldn't watch, let alone bear to hear. But the First continued, "You were right, Buffy. Death is your gift." The First leaned in close and said in a low whisper, "It's your curse. It's your fate. It's the only thing you know how to give."
Buffy swallowed these words hard as she opened her eyes and viewed this taunting cut. "Well, guess what, big sis – I don't need you anymore," the First declared, coming to a bouncy stand and pacing around a bit. The First stopped and glared down at Buffy, deadly serious. "I'm going to reduce this town to ruin… this town, this dimension... and every other in existence. I'm going to tear your precious Middle Earth apart piece-by-piece. Everything you cared about and both worlds will be destroyed. Everything and everyone. I'll string that Queen Bitch up by her hair. I'll crush the old wizard in my hands. I'll take Sammy's little midget wife and rip her and her beautiful baby to pieces. My little lost lamb, Spike? I'll make him wish that he'd killed you when he had the chance." The First leaned down and said in a smiley, secretive tone, "And Angel?" The smile turned cold. "I'll kill him last." Buffy's eyes fell on her sister's face as she was reminded again of who she was talking to.
"The beautiful thing is," The First continued with Dawn's guise, "none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for you." The First came eye level again, transforming back into Buffy.
"You and me," Buffy/The First grinned. "Look around you," it said with wonder and awe in its voice. Screams erupted from the left and right as Chao-Ahn was pulled away by a Turok-Han as it fed off of her while Amanda dropped down to the ground, wide-eyed with a dead stare, her stake falling beside her. With a sickening rip, the last girl – Rona – collapsed to the ground as a sword was pulled from her chest, the Scythe clattering on to the ground.
"Isn't it wonderful, the world we have made?" The First whispered with enchantment. "Is this what you were searching for?" it asked. "Is this what you wanted?"
Buffy closed her eyes tightly, not being able to stand the horror and tragedy falling around her. Slowly, she reopened her eyes and saw above her, not the First, but Galadriel, standing tall and firm with a stern expression on her face. Buffy, the only one who could see her, stared up at her in confusion as Galadriel began to glow a soft blue light.
Aragorn, in the last moments of his life, turned his head to the right as he heard a ringing sound. He turned to see the Scythe, lying unmanned on the ground, as it began to glow a soft blue. With all the strength he could gather, he reached out for it.
In Lothlórien, Galadriel stood before the Mirror by herself in the moonlight as she slowly extended her arms towards the air. "I shall take this burden," Galadriel declared with bravery as her skin glowed a light blue. A gust of wind filled the glittering city and swirled around her, her sparkling robes flapping in the wind.
Buffy gazed up at Galadriel with wonder as the wind whipped around her, revealing a torso of silver armor. "This price shall be paid," Galadriel stated with a booming voice as she stood before Buffy powerfully. "I transmit my soul!" Her body became lost in the brilliance of the white light that formed in the cavern as it drained into Buffy's body.
Buffy gasped as she breathed in the essence of the elf sorceress and a gust of wind blew over her. She closed her eyes tightly as the tingle in the pit of her body, last experienced with Caleb, returned once more.
"What I want…" Buffy breathed lividly as she opened her eyes to reveal that her irises now glowed a bright blue, "…is for you to get out of my face!" The First stood up and stepped back in fear, realizing that the Power of the Ultimate Champion had descended upon her.
Aragorn lifted up and tossed the Scythe through the air with what was left of his strength. Buffy slowly came to a stand as her entire body became luminous with a blue light. She glared at the First with burning rebellion as she proclaimed in slow, calm tones, "I will not be told my place." She reached out and grasped the Scythe as if it had flown directly into her hands while Aragorn fell to the ground, having taken his last breath.
The last Slayer gazed around at the world, seeing the entirety of the battleground as it moved slowly for her when in reality she was moving much faster than time itself. Her eyes darted around like an eagle turning its focus from prey to prey as she clutched the glowing Scythe.
Buffy turned her attention away from the First to see Merry and Pippin standing at the edge of the cliff still with the three Turok-Han coming towards them menacingly. Merry froze suddenly, his focus off of his enemies and on his rescuer.
His eyes went wide with wonder and fear. "Buffy?"
The Turok-Han turned around towards their huntress with stunned expressions and confused expressions. Buffy pulled the Scythe back like a baseball bat and with a mighty cry she swung it at them. Merry and Pippin ducked as a flash of blue light extended from the weapon and shoved the Turok-Han back off of the cliff as they exploded into fiery ash in midair.
The light that was Galadriel dissipated and flew through the cavern and up through the Seal of Danzalthar, through the school hallways of Sunnydale and into the bodies of the dead, reanimating them and bringing their souls back to life.
With a gasp, Aragorn's eyes opened as he stared up at the ceiling, not quite sure how he got on the ground. A Turok-Han ran to him as he clutched Anduril and stabbed it through the chest. He jumped up and continued the fight. Near him, Rona came to a confused stand, as did Amanda and Chao-Ahn.
Gimli stood up as he grabbed his axe and roared with delight and force at the oncoming Turok-Han army. One of them approached the dwarf from the side as an arrow shot through its heart, dusting it immediately. Legolas jumped up and joined his friend at his side as the two took on the next wave of fighters.
Willow gasped suddenly, her eyes opening wide as her body glowed with the white light. She sat up, her flesh having been regenerated, and gazed down at her blood-stained top, lifting it up to see her unwounded skin. She heard a faint sigh from behind her – that of precious relief – and she turned around suddenly knowing exactly who was with her in the darkness…
Willow blinked with surprise. There was no one in the room with her. She stared around at the empty Principal's office as a warm smile curved onto her face. She was not alone. "Strong like an Amazon," she whispered.
Two combat boots shot up in the air, knocking out two Turok-Han as Faith energetically flipped onto her feet. When she straightened out, she took a small breath, holding her stomach in winded astonishment. Faith looked up to see more Turok-Han headed towards her. She was more than ready.
Kennedy jumped up into action and rushed over to a Turok-Han, snapping its neck from behind and tossing it away. Kennedy extended a hand to the girl on the ground whom she saved from the Turok-Han. Vi took Kennedy's hand and stood up, not sure what had just happened to her. Vi looked up at her friend. "Did I just…?"
"Doesn't matter," Kennedy cut her off. "Time to finish it."
Willow rushed out into the hallway outside of the Principal's office to see Dawn Summers leap up and thrust her sword into the stomach of a Bringer. Willow breathed with relief to see that Dawn, though shaken, was also okay. "Oh, no," Dawn suddenly remembered, spinning on her heel and heading for the North Hall. Willow turned the other way and ran for the lounge to see Robin Wood and Giles holding off the Turok-Han and Bringers better than ever before with speed and newfound energy.
Meanwhile, Dawn rushed through the hall to see Andrew pushing a Turok-Han off of him, ripping his sword out of its body. He turned around suddenly and knocked a Bringer out with a single punch. Her eyes then rapidly searched for Xander and found him, standing up groggily and pulling his eye patch off, revealing a perfectly new left eye to match the untainted right one. "So much for not having to watch Jaws 3D ever again," he said with a shrug. He then quickly extended his hand out towards the ground.
Anya looked up at his hand as she pushed herself up off of the ground. She stared at his hand, then stared up at him with hesitance. Just as he was about to take his hand back, she reached up and grabbed it tightly. With a grin, he pulled her up to her feet as they both turned and faced the new wave of enemies.
Dawn smiled at this warm scene and then glanced over at Andrew to see him spin kick a Bringer to the ground. "Ha!" Andrew declared, lifting up his bloody sword. "I vanquish you in the name of the Jedi Council!" A Turok-Han suddenly tackled him to the ground with the force of a Mac Truck.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "For a second there… he was actually kinda hot." She raised her sword and up and countered his attacker.
Faith staked a Turok-Han in the heart, then back-flipped in the air, kicking another one over the edge of the cliff. A bright light exploded from the edge of the cliff as she turned to Buffy, her jaw dropping agape.
Aragorn cut off the head of a Turok-Han as he caught sight of the woman in the middle of the fight who had surpassed them all. Buffy was blazing with blue light, the Scythe dancing off of her fingertips as she slayed and sliced at the oncoming Turok-Han army left and right. Her feet seemed to only barely touch the ground as she jumped off of wall, pillar and limb, running on the top of her enemies and throwing them into a literal whirlwind of dirt and fire that she had somehow magically conjured. She had become the Ultimate Champion.
Spike felt another sting in his chest as he gazed down at the amulet in pain. Panting, he looked up and was distracted as he caught sight of Buffy. His eyes wide, he stared at her blankly as she took out waves upon waves of Turok-Han, a dozen at a time. She had no necessity of even looking at her opponents before she slaughtered them or tossed them about like rag dolls. She grabbed two by the throat and threw them into the crowd. She back-kicked one away and stabbed the stake-end of the Scythe through three Turok-Han, dusting them. Buffy then dug the stake-end into the ground and rested her weight on it, lifting her feet and stomped on the faces of the Turok-Han as she ran in a literal circle then came to her feet, picked up the Scythe and cut the remainder of the ring around her at the torso.
A cloud of dust circled her along with the dirt of the ground creating a tornado at their feet. Another vampire rushed her from the front as she kicked him back against a pillar. The Scythe telepathically flew from her hand and pinned the vampire's throat to the stone pillar with the axe-end. She lifted her heeled boot and stepped on the stake-end, holding it in place as two Turok-Han approached her from the sides. With her bare hands, she grabbed each by the chest and clutched them tightly. Both of the Turok-Han let out agonizing roars as they exploded into flames at her fingertips. She then stomped down on the stake end and cut the head off of the pinned Turok-Han.
She reached out for the Scythe and grabbed it once again, then spun around and thrust her open palm towards three oncoming vamps. They paused, screamed as they were lifted in the air and they were reduced to flaming ash.
The city of Minas Tirith began to tremble.
Through the streets in the White City, men, women and children ran for their lives and rushed into the safety of their homes as the ground shook beneath their feet.
Inside of the palace, Gandalf ran into the Hall of the King where Queen Arwen jumped up from her throne, the guards around her clutching their spears and swords in terror. "Arwen!" Gandalf announced. "It's happening!"
A burst of light appeared in the center of the great hall as it expanded and began to swirl around into a cloudy disk. "You did it!" Arwen exclaimed. "You opened the doorway!"
"No, my lady," Gandalf shook his head with a worried tone. "I did nothing. Something has changed…" Arwen's smile faded as she turned to the blue portal as it grew larger and larger, an enormously forceful gust of wind exploding through the hall and knocking them to the ground.
The First, still in Buffy's guise, stepped back with a face of terror as it watched the Ultimate Champion destroy its army wave-by-wave. "She did it," the First exclaimed with disbelief. "That bitch actually did it!"
Aragorn approached the First from behind, whispering angrily into its ear, "You've lost your war." The First could not take its eyes off of Buffy as the King of Gondor passed it by, gloating in imminent victory. "The scales have changed," Aragorn declared.
A hand suddenly gripped his arm nearly crushing his bones.
Aragorn was jerked around as he stared down at the masculine hand that clutched his arm with ferocity. On one of the fingers on the hand, to Aragorn's shock, was the One Ring of Power.
"That they have," a familiar voice answered back. With wide, terrified eyes, Aragorn looked up into Boromir's blue eyes as they glared at him with livid, maniacal hatred and a twisted, dangerous grin. "…My King." Aragorn breathed in horrified astonishment as he glanced down to see his friend, still in the clothes that he had died in with the addition of the long, black cape that he had given to Buffy.
The First pulled its arm back and knocked Aragorn away more than a dozen feet and sent him crashing through a stone pillar. Buffy turned, hearing the awful, forceful sound as her glowing blue eyes went wide, disturbed. The Chosen One turned slowly and gazed across the cavern.
The world continued to move slowly in her eyes as they watched a tall man with long blonde hair straighten out as his back faced Buffy across the plethora of fighting between them. Her new enemy turned around slowly, letting out a mad laughter as the First faced her with a twisted grin. Both of them stared at each other through the slowed down clanging of the weapons around them. A roar let out to the right of Buffy. Her eyes found the gigantic Turok-Han with a white handprint across his face as it ran to its master with the golden sword stained with Buffy's blood in its hands.
It ran to the First and dropped to its knees before it, lifting the weapon up as an offering. Boromir's eyes did not leave Buffy as it reached down, picked up the sword and clutched the hilt with one hand. The second the First came in contact with the blade, the gold turned black, filling with darkness. With its free hand, it gently tapped the Turok-Han on its shoulder. With another excruciating howl, the Turok-Han jerked its head back as it exploded into flames.
"Ahh!" Frodo screamed as he dropped to his knees and grabbed his old war wound. He looked up and caught sight of Boromir/The First with abject terror. Merry, Pippin and Sam all ran over to Frodo and gazed around in confusion before they followed his line of sight. They stared at the unimaginable monster as he challengingly glared at Buffy with a perverse smile.
"Good heavens," Gimli stated in shock as he looked over across the way at the First's guise while Legolas continued to fire arrows. The elf suddenly stopped as he saw Aragorn lying motionless on the ground and he faced Boromir/The First with the rest of the Fellowship. "It's Boromir!" Gimli gasped. Legolas looked down at Gimli and shook his head.
"No," the elf replied. "It's not." Legolas raised an arrow and aimed for the First's head. He let the arrow fly as it traveled across the cavern, missing surpassing every other target with the speed of a hurricane wind. The First suddenly reached out and grasped the arrow in the blink of an eye. Legolas' bow fell as the elf stared at the First in astonishment, experiencing an event that had never occurred before.
The First pulled his arm back and in another blink, the arrow flew back towards Legolas and impaled him in the shoulder. "No!" Gimli howled as Legolas fell back to the ground in pain. The hobbits charged at the First in angry retaliation with their swords drawn and the First pulled his sword back and sliced the air, a shadow releasing from the dark blade. The force knocked all four of them back several feet as they crashed into the cave walls.
Buffy looked around at the slow fighting of all of the Slayers and then the defeated Fellowship. She was all alone in this fight.
Once again, she faced the First and gazed at that heartbreaking face knowing that she had no choice but to destroy it. Slowly, Buffy began to walk towards the First, clutching her Scythe tightly. Mirroring her actions, the First marched towards the Champion, holding the Dark Sword up in the air. The stride heated into a run as the antis began to race towards each other.
They approached the center with a fierce collision. A mixture of light and shadow exploded from them as they clashed and both were blown backwards several dozen feet. The First flew backwards through the air and landed on its back while Buffy back-flipped and her feet crushed the stone ground as she made a perfect landing. The Slayer looked up at her enemy as the First angrily came to another stand.
Aragorn's eyes opened as he groggily pushed himself off of the ground. He looked up to see Buffy and the First speeding towards each other again while a new wave of Turok-Han rushed to kill Buffy. Aragorn whipped Anduril out and began to take them on by himself. Across the way, the hobbits saw what he was doing and began to do the same, shielding Buffy while she faced off against the First.
Spike looked over in shock after he made another kill to see Buffy and the First collide the second time. However, this time, they grabbed each other and lifted off of the ground in a spin. Astonished, Spike watched as the two battled above the ground in the air – kicking, punching and slashing at each other in a blur, their moves being much faster than any human, nor vampire eye could see. He suddenly felt another burn in his chest.
Sam killed a Turok-Han and turned around to see Frodo surrounded by a whole group of them and one of them quickly approaching from behind. "No!" he shouted. "Frodo!" Sam ran towards his friend and stabbed the Turok-Han, only to have it turn around and impale Sam through the stomach with a sword. Sam yelped and groaned as the sword was ripped out and both of them fell to the ground.
Frodo turned around in shock to see Sam hit the ground as he killed another attacker and then dropped to his knees. Frodo looked into Sam's pained eyes and gazed down at his bloody torso. He placed his tiny hand over his friend's wound, but it was nothing more than a thumb in the cracked dam of a river beating them both down.
The First grabbed Buffy and flew down, burying her into the ground and creating a crater in the floor of the cavern. Both were still and lying motionless in the bottom of the pit as Buffy's glowing eyes opened slowly. She was quickly losing the Power and the First was only getting stronger. Helplessly, she lay on the ground and watched as Boromir's body straightened out before her as the First picked up the Dark Sword once more. She looked for her weapon weakly, but it was nowhere in sight.
The First let out a cruel, half-dazed laugh, calling Buffy's attention again. She looked up at the First as it gazed down at her with a bloody smile, raising the sword in the air. That face, she thought as she stared at him in pain. The First had found the way to break her.
"You can't do it," the First chuckled. "You can't kill me." Buffy stared up into Boromir's blue eyes knowing that was the truth. Buffy's eyes squeezed shut as voices filled her mind.
"Fear not the Darkness when it stands in your path," Lithuen's voice echoed.
Buffy's glowing eyes opened as Galadriel's voice reminded her, "The greatest enemy you have… is yourself." Buffy looked up and gazed at her enemy, seeing the First in its real form. The First was again in Buffy's guise, however, it had black hair and black veins bulging across its neck and face. The eyes of the First were completely blacked out as it smiled down at Buffy, completely confident of its victory.
"I see you," Buffy whispered with a smile as the First's grin faded again. The First brought the Dark Sword down into Buffy's hand as she caught it. An explosion of light blew the First backwards as Buffy clutched the sword and it dissipated in her fingers. Buffy's body lifted off of the ground as she was raised to her feet and she glared at the First as it tried to stand up.
Buffy extended her hand out to her Scythe. The First's eyes widened as it heard the ringing of the Scythe flying through the air. It turned to see the Scythe flying through the cavern stake-first as it impaled the First in the heart with enough force to lift it off its feet and pin it to a stone pillar.
The First grabbed the Scythe as it began to glow even brighter, the light entering Evil Buffy's body. Buffy watched with disgust as the anti version of herself pulled its head back and let out a screeching howl. The First began to glow as its golden, ram-headed demon form erupted from its self-destructing body, giving a final roar before it disappeared into the ground, retreating. The lifeless anti-Buffy body was consumed by light and exploded into a cloud of ash.
Spike clutched his heart again as this time, stronger than any other, a painful force overtaking him. He swallowed deeply and breathed, "Oh, bollocks…" He fell back against the cave wall as a white light burst from within him and blew a hole through the ceiling of the cave, through the Seal of Danzalthar, through the floor of the Principal's office and straight through the roof of Sunnydale High School as a beam of bright sunlight rained down on Spike, illuminating him in golden rays.
Spike stared up at the sun and miraculously did not burst into flames. He called out, "Buffy!" Buffy pulled the Scythe from the pillar and turned towards Spike in shock to see him awash in the beam of sunlight. The amulet around his neck suddenly began to sparkle and glow.
"Spike!" she shouted back.
A massive beam of sunlight exploded from the amulet, being filtered through his body, and ripped out across the Hellmouth. The entire army of Turok-Han was dusted in fiery ashes within seconds as the sunlight reached every corner of the cavern. As the ashes fell, a tremendous earthquake rocked the cavern as stones and pillars began to crumble and collapse around the Slayer army.
Faith ordered, "Everybody out now!" With that, the Slayers began to retreat up the stairs and out of the Hellmouth, save for Buffy.
Another light burst on the opposite side of the cavern. Buffy turned towards it as a blue portal exactly like the one that opened in as a doorway back to her world from Middle Earth widened and swirled around, beckoning the Fellowship back home.
Aragorn turned to see the portal open instantly, realizing that the time had come and their only opportunity was now. He reached down for the patch at his side and grabbed the white crystal, his ticket home, gazing down at it. Suddenly, he looked up and gazed across the cavern to see Buffy standing near a pillar with her Scythe in hand, staring at him warmly.
The two Champions gazed at each other with warmth between them. "Goodbye," Buffy whispered, even though he was too far away to hear.
"Goodbye, Aratoamin," he answered back softly. She gave him a half-smile as he turned away from her and ran towards Legolas and Gimli. He pulled the injured elf off the ground and he came to a stand, holding his bleeding shoulder. "It is time to go home, Legolas," Aragorn declared. "You're going to be all right." Legolas nodded with a smile as he and Gimli retrieved their crystals and ran into the portal, disappearing in the blue mist.
Aragorn watched them go as the cavern gave another groan, more of the ceiling crumbling and falling to the ground around them. Aragorn turned to see Merry and Pippin slowly making their way towards the portal, then suddenly began to look around with worry. "Where's Sam and Frodo?" he asked with fear.
Frodo gazed around him to see the massive stone boulders fall to the ground as a pillar collapsed near them. He looked back down at Sam as the hobbit stared up at him, tears streaming down his face. "I… I'm sorry, Mr. Frodo," Sam breathed as he trembled with pain. "I tried…"
"Don't be sorry, Sam," Frodo declared. "You saved my life. Again."
Sam gasped for air as blood began to fall from the corner of his mouth. "I-I let her down, Mr. Frodo," he said weakly. "I let them both down."
Tears began to well up in Frodo's eyes as he shook his head, "No… no, you didn't. Not at all, Sam."
"Tell her… I'm sorry. I… I never… meant to cause her so much pain." Sam's words became slower by the second as his life drained away. "Take care of her… Take… care of… my baby…" Sam Gamgee closed his eyes and fell away, leaving Frodo alone as the world fell apart around him.
Rosie collapsed on the ground inside the Tower of Ecthelion as she looked up at the red flower that Sam had planted for her as it quickly began to wilt in her presence; the life draining being drained from it. "No!" she cried out as tears fell down her face.
"Sam!" Aragorn declared as he raced through the cavern, stones falling all around him. "Frodo!"
Behind him, Pippin leapt into the portal with his crystal in hand. Merry turned around as he caught one last glimpse of Buffy running towards the exit. With that, he turned and jumped into the portal, returning home.
Frodo held Sam's body in his arms as tears fell from his eyes. His best friend was now gone and was more lost than he had ever been in his life. "What do I do?" he breathed in fear as if he were a small child. "Sam, what do I do?"
Gandalf's voice rang in his mind: "Here you are at the crossroads of a grand choice."
That single phrase sparked an onslaught of memories that filled his mind.
Merry stood in the Summers' kitchen declaring to her mutinous friends, "She's extraordinary. Beyond your world. Beyond any of you. Not because of a destiny or some silly title – but because of one thing. Sacrifice."
Frodo stood in the bedroom of an abandoned house staring at Buffy's tear-soaked face as she held herself in the darkness, "It takes more than opportunity to make a choice, Buffy. It requires courage."
Aragorn stood in the Hall of the King having heard the news of Buffy's disappearance, "To that I answer that I would sacrifice whatever was required… because that would also be her reply."
Angel somberly explained his actions in the tomb beneath Sunnydale, "You gotta do what you can to protect your family. Sometimes that means sacrificing a part of yourself in the process."
Buffy stood with her arms crossed in the basement, "Tell me. What do you choose?"
He remembered the very first time he ever saw Buffy – standing on top of a tower in a vision of the future sent to him long ago. "Live," Buffy pleaded, "for me."
Frodo reached inside of the pouch at his side and pulled out the white crystal, staring at it intently. "I choose life for you, Samwise Gamgee," he whispered. "Live." He pressed the crystal down on Sam's chest as it began to glow white. Sam gasped as he opened his eyes as was healed from the inside out, the crystal disappearing when its power was spent.
Rosie stopped crying and came to an astonished stand as she gazed at Sam's flower. Its withered state was reversed as it glowed white and returned to being a healthy, living plant.
Sam sat up and gazed at Frodo in shock, slowly realizing what had just taken place. Frodo looked over at the blue portal as it began to dim. "I think it's time for us to say goodbye," he said as he turned back to Sam. A tear fell down Sam's cheek as he stared at his friend in shock.
Aragorn ran up to them and watched as Frodo added, "The story, Sam. Make sure you tell the story." Without another word, Sam nodded and grabbed Frodo, hugging him tightly. They broke the hug as they both came to a stand.
"Goodbye, Frodo," Aragorn declared as he took Sam by the shoulder. Frodo nodded in reply with a smile. He watched as Aragorn and Sam grabbed their crystals and ran off, disappearing through the portal as it dissipated and vanished. Frodo looked around at the peril around him as he turned and tried to escape.
"Bus," Wood ordered as he and Giles stood outside of the collapsing school. "Get them on the bus!" Giles signaled the retreating Slayers to load an abandoned school bus as Willow, Xander, Dawn, Anya and Andrew raced out of the school doors.
Dawn stopped in her tracks. "Wait. Where's Buffy?"
Giles grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along. "She'll be okay. We need to help the others."
"Get out of here, Buffy," Spike declared as he stood inside the cavern against the wall, the beam of sunlight still protruding out of him. Buffy stood beside him and watched the cave continue to collapse.
Buffy shook her head as her eyes began to water. "No, no… you've done enough. You can still—"
"No," Spike cut her off. "You've beat them back. It's for me to do the clean up." They turned back to see the entire back of the cavern collapse and crumble.
"Buffy, let's go!" Faith called from the staircase as she rushed up, not being able to wait any longer. Buffy was frozen in her place.
"It's time to go, lamb," he remarked with a smile. He gazed out at his destruction. "I think it's fair to say school's out for bloody summer." She turned back to him and shook her head, knowing that he was being slowly burned from the inside out. Soon enough he would be able to feel it if he hadn't already.
"Spike—"
"I mean it. I've gotta do this!" He clinched his teeth as he felt the first real burning sensation begin to tear at his insides. Buffy stared at the light coming from his chest in shock, and then gazed up at his determined face. He had become the man she had hoped he would be.
Spike felt a gentle touch as Buffy's fingers met his, both hands closing around each other. He looked down at her in disbelief as she gazed up at him with tears in her eyes and a sense of wonder and awe. As his hand closed tighter around hers, it ignited in flame, something neither of them worried about at the moment.
He gazed down into her eyes as she marveled in his presence, a warm smile overcoming her. Every kind act that he had done for her, every moment of her pain that he had consoled her through – no matter where she was or where she wanted to be – ran through her mind. In his eyes she saw herself once again being held until she fell asleep. And now here he was. With all of his faults and all of his wrongs, he was once again holding her, protecting her from a fate that she did not have to face. A destiny and burden that he took from her. The weight of the world was no longer on her shoulders, it was on his.
With a meek voice, she said with tears streaming down her glowing face, "I love you…"
He heard the three words he had wanted her to say for so long and a small smile formed on his lips. "No, you don't," he kindly answered. "But thanks for saying it."
She gazed at him warmly for what felt like forever until the ground rocked again and she stumbled, their hands breaking. "Go," Spike ordered. "Now." Buffy listened and turned away from him, running up the stairs as he gazed out to face his destiny.
"I wanna see how it ends…"
A massive explosion of dust and dirt erupted from the front doors of Sunnydale High as Faith ran out of the school and onto the bus, ready to roll. She rushed inside and ordered Giles to go. Not having any time left, he stomped on the gas as the bus sped away. Dawn gazed out the back window waiting longingly for her sister as the entrance of the school got smaller and smaller.
Debris fell from the school as Frodo ran down the North Hall, the walls and ceiling literally falling down around him as the ground continued to quake. He stumbled in the dirty darkness and landed on the ground as the ground beneath him cracked and began to split.
A hand grabbed his shoulder. He looked up to see Buffy practically lift him off of the ground and carry him as she raced through the school, Frodo in one hand and the Scythe in the other. Without hesitation, she raced to a flight of stairs and began to run up towards the roof.
Spike begin to laugh in jolly defiance as fire came. His insides were incinerated by the sunlight as he was burned from the inside out and he was reduced to ashes as the light of the amulet disappeared, his soul leaving his body, and it fell to the ground, buried underneath the Hellmouth as it finally caved in.
Dawn looked up and slapped her hand on the window of the back of the bus as she saw her sister running across the rooftop of the main school building as it collapsed beneath her. She leapt to the next building just as the last one disappeared with both the Scythe and Frodo.
"Oh, my god!" Dawn gasped as the bus sped down the street beneath Buffy. She ran across the rooftops of downtown Sunnydale as one by one, the buildings began to collapse and disappear into the growing crater that originated in the Hellmouth. Buffy finally came to the Sun Theater as she made a final leap and landed on the roof of the school bus with both she and Frodo clutching on to the roof.
Buffy looked back to see the massive sinkhole grow larger and larger, pulling in every building, home and street in Sunnydale leaving nothing but a giant dust cloud and a hole in its wake. Faith looked back inside the bus to see the same horrifying sight as Sunnydale, California disappeared before their very eyes.
The bus slowed to a halt as Buffy and Frodo clutched the roof as tightly as they could. Buffy turned to Frodo in shock as she sat up, no longer glowing, the Power having dissipated completely. She declared with anger, "Are you out of your mind! What happened? Why didn't you go with the others? You could've been killed! What were you thinking?"
Frodo looked up at her and simply replied, "I made my choice." Buffy stared down at him as her stone face began to melt with understanding. She smiled and warmly put a hand on his shoulder and wrapped him into a hug.