Eyes.
Claws.
Teeth.
There was really no other way to describe them all. First the portal, and then the courtyard, filled to the brim with creatures... beings... things from many different dimensions, all at once. Some looked almost human, others nothing like it, and every possible variation in between.
Not all of them were necessarily monsters, countless seemed just as confused as the humans they would meet, but there were quite enough that were willing and able to kill anything they came across, including each other. And their cries soon drowned out the drone of the portal itself as they kept coming, fighting, pushing, tearing their way into our world.
The scoobies, of course, never stood a chance.
Xander was the first to go down. He had managed to wake Anya up and was just picking her up to get her to the hospital, still refusing to believe the portal was an actual threat... even when his own eyes told him that hundreds of demons were heading his way. They'd beat Glory, Buffy had reached Dawn, they'd saved the day. Xander happy. He was more puzzled than anything as they tore into him; he and Anya were both dead before they hit the ground.
"Enemies, fly and fall. Circling arms, raise a wall." Willow had managed to use the last of her power to put up a protective barrier around her and Tara. It was barely large enough to fit the two of them, and since they were both tapped out they knew it wouldn't hold for long. They lay down inside it, cradling each other as the demons piled on top, some just running over them, others striking at the barrier, trying to punch through. As Dawn looked down at them, they eventually disappeared under a writhing mass of claws, teeth and flesh. There was a brief flash, and the next time there was a gap in the crowd of demons, there was nothing to be seen on the ground where the witches had been.
Spike, of course, put up a fight, even though he must have known it was useless. Even if he'd been unhurt he wouldn't have stood a chance, but he stayed on his feet for as long as he could; kicking, punching, tearing, biting everything in sight. "Come on, you fuckers! It's just a flesh wound! Running away, are ya? Come here and take your medicine!" Screaming, crying and laughing, he was ripped apart piece by piece until he finally dusted.
By then, Giles was already gone. He
hadn't bothered with a pointless struggle; when he realized there was
no stopping what was happening, he had cast one last look at the
people around him and at the struggling sisters on the top of the
tower
(his children)
and then took off his glasses,
putting them in his jacket pocket, and sat down with his back to the
portal. As long as Giles had known Buffy, all she'd wished for was a
normal life. He hadn't understood until earlier tonight what Dawn
meant to her: a chance at that, if only by proxy. Hope, innocence,
carefreeness. She's more than that. She's me. Buffy could
suffer anything as long as she knew Dawn was OK... but if she died,
there would be nothing left. No wonder she couldn't let go; if Dawn
really had been merely her sister, she could probably have let
her die if it would save the world. He couldn't quite appreciate the
irony of that right now, but he understood and couldn't blame her. He
just hoped it would be quick. It was.
By now, the portal had stretched so wide it was barely even a portal anymore, just a piece of the landscape. The line between worlds had been erased. Yet the tower still stood, even if it was swaying back and forth. As Dawn stared down at the horror beneath her, the shock and trauma of the last 24 hours eventually caught up with her and she stopped struggling and went limp. Buffy managed to haul both herself and her sister onto the platform. They lay there in each other's arms, sobbing helplessly as the world ended around and below them.
"Buffy... they're all..."
"Shhh. Be still. It'll be over soon. I'm so sorry, Dawn... I just... I couldn't..."
"It's OK... I know. Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think we'll get to see Mom again?"
Buffy didn't answer. She just held her sister as the tower kept shaking ever more violently from the bursts of energy and the demons tearing at it... Then it slowly started collapsing in on itself and she felt herself falling. And everything went black.
Author's note: Told ya.
But the fat lady hasn't sung yet. There'll be an update on Monday or so. There's at least one more twist to this.