Buffy found herself in the main room of tunnel system after splitting up from the gang. The room was empty save for a large hatch on the far right, and a switch close by she guessed opened it. She also noticed a bunch of metal barrels grouped up next to the switch. Each one had FLAMMABLE on the front of them, painted in red letters.
Buffy pulled the switch down. The hatch rose up slowly. A huge, panting beast lumbered from the open hatch. Buffy remembered fighting a couple of them last night when she chased Spike down when he abducted Willow. They looked like oversized dogs from Hell. Buffy labeled them Hellhounds.
Buffy acted quickly before it had a chance to do anything. She came in and pummeled him with a series of kicks. The Hound retreated, avoiding the rest of her fury. It howled into the air. Its loud howl reverberated on the stone walls. She could tell it was ready to charge at her, full force.
Buffy back flipped away from the Hellhound, distancing herself away from it. The Hound reared his head down and charged. Buffy flipped out of his path. The Hound charged head-on into the barrels. The barrels exploded in a burst of flame. The Hellhound bellowed in agony. It fell to the ground, burning quickly before it was reduced to charcoal.
Buffy jogged through the open hatch, into another dimly lit chamber. Smoke rose from the opening up ahead.
She heard somebody whistling behind her. She spun around and saw a vampire leaning casually against the wall. He continued whistling. Buffy was about to make a smart comment about him, when she heard heavy pounding coming from behind her. She turned around in time to face another huge Hound before it smashed its massive head into her. It brought its head up just as it hit her, driving her into the air. She landed on the ground at least eight feet from behind the beast.
Buffy leaped to her feet. The vampire stared at her menacingly, the Hound at his side.
"Sick her." He said
The Hound growled and began to charge. Buffy reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of holy water Willow had given her before they left the school. She was surprised it didn't shatter when the Hound smacked into her.
The Hellhound charged. Buffy threw the holy water. The glass smashed into its face and shattered. The Hound shrieked in pain, as its face began to bubble. It shook its head furiously, almost as if he would be able to shake the water off before any real damage was done. Buffy ran up to it, and brought the stake into its back. The Hound shrieked one last time, before it disinigrated.
"That was mine, you bitch!" the vampire cried.
The vampire ran at her in a fit. Buffy brought the stake back up, and rammed it into his chest before he grabbed her, dusting him.
"Too bad. They really made a great pair."
Buffy looked around and sighed. She was exhausted from the whole ordeal. This had to be the hundredth vampire she slayed in the past two nights.
"If I see another vampire, it will be too soon." She sighed.
Buffy walked on through the tunnels, eager to find the Master and get this over with.
---
Cordelia practiced the spell over an over in her head. She felt like she almost had the full hang of it, but she couldn't stop worrying about the cheerleading squad. She couldn't continue because of her injuries. It was all up to Buffy. Sure, Buffy was terrible, and she had the gracefulness of an elephant trying to learn the river dance, but Cordelia was counting on her. She was sure if Buffy tried hard enough, she would make it.
But if you don't concentrate now, Cordy, there won't be any squad to worry about the next day. Or anything else for that matter.
Cordelia silently wished Buffy good luck, and continued practicing the spell.
---
"Oooh. Shiny buttons and switches. Look important. Must press"
Buffy pushed the series of buttons on the walls of the sunken church. After traveling through the tunnels, dusting vampires and killing demons, she finally made it to the Master's domain.
She pushed the switches, hoping they would open up the huge doors that led inside the church where the Master was awaiting. A series of clicks, followed by a loud creak confirmed hey theory.
Another clicking sounded from behind. Like the sound of claws clicking on the stone floor. She felt something sneaking up from behind her. She drove her elbow back, into the face of the demon behind her. She spun around, coming in with a spinning kick, just as the demon backed off. The demon flew back, crashing into the body of another demon that was making its way over. They both fell, thrashing around on the ground, attempting to get up.
Buffy ran up to them and drove the stake into the back of one of them, killing it instantly. The second up propped itself up against the wall. Buffy grabbed her stake, ready to finish it off, when another demon grabbed her from behind. Buffy headbutted it in the face, then came around with a spinning punch. The vicious blow to the face caused the demon's neck to snap. The demon fell limply to the ground.
Buffy looked around to see six more demons pouring out around her. She knew it would be impossible to fight them all. If not, at least, a waste of time and energy trying to dispose pf them. She ran ahead where she came in at, the group of demons on her tail. She ran around to the front of the church, and went inside. She grabbed hold of the huge door, and with all her strength, pushed it close. Crushing a couple of the demons who tried to enter.
She leaned against the door and sat down to catch her breath. She was going to have to muster up all her energy before she squared off against the Master again.
---
The Master floated above the ground, looking down at the gaping pit the Dreamer's had created. The spell was almost complete. Soon, the bridge between both realms would be completed, unleashing Hell on Earth. He didn't know what became of Laibach, but he was grateful for the favor of bringing him back to this realm.
Nothing could break his mood right now, not even after William's betrayal. William was an idiot; he knew that from the start. He should have known better to trust him in the first place. If he would have been informed of his betrayal earlier, he would have disposed of him as soon as he was resurrected.
The Slayer was no longer a nuisance to him. He knew she wasn't going to just let this go. Her and her meddling friends were probably making their way over here right now. The Master would take care of her. There was no sport in killing her outright. It would be much more fun to let the Dreamer's take care of her. He was curious of what they were capable of.
He heard the sound of heavy breathing behind him. He turned around to see the Slayer making her way over to him, out of breath apparently from the obstacles she had to face to get this far into the church.
"Oh, it's you again. Hello Slayer. I suppose I should be angrier with you for that little exorcism of yours. But honestly, I find this spirituality quite liberating. I must say, though, your do-gooder tenacity is proving to be quite annoying. Please stand aside and be patient. I'll get back to killing you shortly."
"I don't think so." She replied sharply.
"I don't have time for you right now, Slayer. I'm quite busy orchestrating the end of the world. I think it's time for you to…get lost!"
The Master shot out his hand, and levitated her off the ground. He threw his arm back. The Slayer flung through the air at his command, and plummeted into the gaping pit, into the reality of the Dreamers. There was no way she we be able to find her way out.
Well, not before the end of the world anyways.
---
The fall felt never ending. Buffy felt like she was going to land in China or something. Finally, she hit ground, hard. She sat up stiffly, and got slowly up to her feet. She looked around to see where she landed.
Everything seemed out of place. The sky was a dark shade of purple. She looked on ahead to see a series of platforms. Each one moved in its own, funky direction. It reminded Buffy of one of those old Sega platform games she watched Xander play at his house on some weekends.
"Ooo-kay, not in Sunnydale anymore."
Buffy took a deep breath and started the treacherous journey to wherever in the hell she was supposed to be going. She silently prayed she be back in time to save her own world from crumbling.
---
Willow walked around in a circle, lighting the candles. Xander and Angel spread the salts and herbs used in the spell, while Giles told them directions. They let Cordelia sit out until the spell was prepared. She was sitting off to the side, looking through the spellbook and reciting the lines to herself. Willow gained more respect for her. Cordelia was trying really hard to get this right. And surprisingly, she hadn't lashed out at anyone since they got here. She must have realized the danger they were in. If they didn't get the spell right, Buffy could get killed. And the whole world would be joining her soon after.
They were all afraid. But Willow had faith in them all. The spell will work out, Buffy would kill the Master again, and everything will be back to normal. Well, as normal as a small town sitting on the Hellmouth can get, anyways. Oz will come back and spend more time with her, Xander and Cordelia will continue on with their wacky relationship, Giles will get back to his beloved books, and Buffy will continue on fighting the good fight. And Faith will probably get a hold of herself and join them again.
Willow replayed the scenario in her mind over and over as she finished lighting all the candles. She set the last candle down and watched as the rest of the gang finished up preparation.
---
Buffy stared at the familiar figure that stood ahead, its back turned. The figure turned around as Buffy took a few steps forward. She was staring back at a copy of herself. The other Buffy was dressed in all black. It wore black leather pants with a matching top. Her hair was also black. She looked like an evil gothic version of herself.
Dark Buffy stared back at her, jaw set. The look was all too familiar to her. It gave her the shivers.
"Welcome to my nightmare." Dark Buffy said.
Buffy was too awe-struck to do anything as Dark Buffy ran up to her and snapped a kick at her jaw, sending her down. Buffy regained her senses and rolled out the way as Dark Buffy kicked at her. Buffy rolled in and swept her foot out. Her foot caught her in the legs, and she went down.
Buffy got back on her feet. This was all too surreal. It was one thing having to fight against Angel, but she was fighting against herself. It would take some serious therapy to shake of the wiggins this was giving her.
She caught a glimmer in the corner of her eye. She looked over to see a skeleton propped up against a column, a sword in hand. Buffy ran up and snatched the weapon out of the skeleton's grasp. Its arm broke off with a brittle snap. Buffy grabbed the sword in both hands and faced her doppelganger.
Dark Buffy stood up and stretched her arm out. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a sword similar to the one Buffy held materialized in her outstretched hand. Dark Buffy brought the sword back in a battle stance.
Buffy came in and made the first swing. Dark Buffy brought the sword up, blocking the swing. Buffy swung the blade in an arc. Dark Buffy brought her blade back down, and dodged the next swing. They both clashed their swords together. Both swinging furiously, ducking and dodging each other's moves. Sparks flew from their clashing blades from the intense battle.
Buffy felt herself growing tired. The battle continued on. Dark Buffy wasn't breaking a sweat. She felt her arms getting weak. She tried to back off. Dark Buffy came back in and swung the blade hard. The sword flew out of Buffy's grasp, and slid across the ground. Buffy watched hopelessly as the sword slid off the ledge, into the dark abyss.
Buffy was defenseless. She spun around and ran, Dark Buffy hot on her heels. She leaped up onto a rise in the platform, and backflipped in the air as Dark Buffy brought her sword down. She landed behind her and snapped a powerful kick at the back of her head. A loud snap sounded, and Dark Buffy fell limply to the floor. Sparks flew into the air where Dark Buffy once stood, and she was no more.
Buffy threw the sword down and took a deep breath. Her body shook involuntarily. The thought of killing herself creeped her out past any level of creepiness. She couldn't wait until this was all over. She walked over to the end of the ledge. Platforms suddenly formed out of nowhere, covering over the huge gap between the other area where she had just came from, and where she now stood.
She made her way over to the other side, and walked up to the end of that platform, into a circular area. A huge, gaping black hole formed in the sky above her head. Bolts of energy emitted from the gap and lifted her off her feet, and pulled her through. Darkness enveloped her, and she felt like she was falling again.
After another long fall, she hit ground again. She stood up slowly, to find herself in a long, stone chamber.
This must be another realm.
She walked down the stone chamber, and found a door at the end. The door opened up into a narrow hallway. The hallway branched off into many different directions. It was like a maze.
She walked down the hallway, and took the first left. The hall continued all the way down, turning right at the end. She made the right and continued down. She made another right, and found herself back in the same hallway she was in earlier. But on the right side this time instead of the left.
"I feel like I'm on television…or some other drug. Why does it feel like I'm chasing my tail? Especially since I'm lacking a tail?"
A glowing light suddenly emitted from her pocket. She reached in and took out the talisman. She had forgotten all about it until now. She was amazed that she had managed to make it this far without it.
The talisman glowed a dark shade of red. She could feel its power surging through her body again. Her senses once again growing keen and sharp. Holding it gave her a sense of direction. If she paid attention to it, and got hold on its power, she would be able to make it out on time.
"Guess I'd better pay attention to the talisman if I wanna get outta here."
She grasped the talisman in her hand and continued down the hall, confident that she would find a way out.
---
After what felt like hours of running around through the maze, watching the talisman, and following her keen senses that it gave her, Buffy finally managed to reach the end of the maze. Another portal formed and transported her to another realm.
When she landed, she found herself in an arena similar to the one she fought her doppelganger in, only much bigger. The area was closed off, encircled by a massive gate supported by stone pillars. Torches were lined along the pillars.
A Dreamer floated above. It was attached to two long metal rods. Its head twisted in agony, much like the one she fought back at the docks.
Energy built up and crackled around its body. Buffy jumped out the way as a bolt struck the ground in front of her. She performed a diving roll, and took cover behind a fallen column. Buffy looked around desperately for a weapon. Her prayers were answered when she found a stray crossbow lying on the ground close by.
She jumped up from behind the column and grabbed the bow. She ran back up to the column and hid behind. The Dreamer shot out another bolt of energy in her general direction. It missed her by inches, striking the side of the fallen column.
Buffy came back up and quickly took aim.
"Just hold that pose, sweetheart."
She fired the crossbow, and the bolt hit the Dreamer directly in the skull. The Dreamer twitched and writhed vigorously. A blinding light suddenly blasted out. Buffy shielded her face.
The light dimmed out. Buffy stood in another arena. The column was gone. So was the crossbow. She looked around, only to see another Dreamer hovering there. This one was similar to the other two, only it had two metallic spheres circling around it. Buffy didn't want to imagine the damage those things could do if the Dreamer got close, and she didn't want to find out.
She ran around the arena, dodging the Dreamer as it charged for her, attempting to rip her to shreds with its sharp, rotating spheres. Buffy felt herself begin to tire out. She was going to have to end this soon.
Buffy dodged another attack by jumping off to the side, landing by a pillar. She reached up and snatched a torch off the wall. The Dreamer charged at her again. Buffy dropped down before it reached her. The Dreamer shot past her and came to a halt just in front of her. Buffy quickly got up to her feet lit the Dreamer on fire. The Dreamer burst into flames. It screamed and wriggled in agony as the flames engulfed its body.
"Burn baby burn."
The Dreamer scream died off, and it fell to the ground, withered and black.
Buffy had finally killed the rest of the Dreamers. She knew it was time to get out of this twisted world they created. She had another bone to pick with someone.
Buffy waited as the dark portal opened up and lifted her off her feet.