Over the years, Buffy's friends had developed a fine intuition for how they could best help her with the duty of Slaying. There was the 'stand-by-her-and-fight-to-the-end' situation. More common was the 'provide-research-and-emotional-support' option. And then there was the 'evacuate-the-wounded-and-get-the-heck-outta-there' scenario.
This was definitely one of the third ones. As Hostile 100 advanced, Xander, Willow and Giles scattered. Giles and Willow began dragging Forrest and the other commando towards the exit. Xander dashed to the pit Traeten had fallen into, looked in, blanched, and ran rather unsteadily to rejoin the others.
"Buffy..." started Giles.
"Just go! Tell Walsh what's going on. I'll hold it here as long as I can." Inwardly, Buffy had a not-inconsiderable urge to run after them. But that wasn't going to happen. Not only would it be near-impossible to outrun Hostile100 if it chased her, but the creature would just escape and start breeding again if Buffy allowed it to leave this room alive. If the alien wasn't stopped here and now, the horror would begin all over again. Buffy was determined that the ravaged soldiers lying around her would be the last victims of these otherworldly beings.
"We'll get help," said Willow. She looked at the towering alien. "Lots of help."
"Good. Now go! I think it's getting tired of our repartee." Indeed, the Queen looked like it was ready to start shredding. Buffy wondered what was holding it back.
Her friends dashed out of the chamber, each of them sending a last, encouraging look over their shoulder as they vanished down the tunnel. As they took their exit, the light spell expired for the last time. The Slayer faced Hostile 100 in near-total darkness.
She started edging cautiously towards Riley. Before she could even start thinking about how to fight something this large and vicious, she had to get her boyfriend out of here. But the moment Buffy stepped towards Riley, the Queen screeched and swiftly moved in front of him.
It's going to use him as a hostage like it did Professor Walsh, Buffy thought. Conscious thought left her, and she ran. "Get away from him you bi- Wuh?"
The alien showed no sign of threatening Riley. Instead, it turned to Buffy, bared its teeth, and hissed viciously. The situation clarified itself for Buffy in an instant. She and Hostile 100 both wanted to protect Riley: Buffy because he was her boyfriend, Hostile 100 because he was carrying its child. Despite the fact that she was in the bowels of an alien lair surrounded by corpses facing the pissed-off mother alien while her guy had an embryo nightmare growing in his chest, Buffy wasn't able to stop herself from smiling.
"Hey- this doesn't make us in-laws does it? 'Cause if it does, we are definitely not having the family get-togethers here. No offense, but your place could use a serious Martha Stewart injection- stat!"
Once again the alien showed its lack of appreciation for Slayer humour. It attacked.
Buffy was lost in a whirlwind of smashing feet, ripping claws, and snapping jaws as the alien tried to pulverize her out of existence. Diving away and evading the furious onslaught, she sprinted across the room in search of a weapon.
Buffy had always had a bit of a MacGyver relationship with guns. It wasn't any moral objection to them- heck, she'd used a rocket launcher when it was necessary- it just wasn't how she fought. Melee weapons like stakes and axes felt natural to her, they became a part of her during battle. They allowed her to fight with her soul. Guns... were just tools to kill things. Pull this, press that, something happens to make somebody dead. That just wasn't what a Slayer was about.
But right now, she needed something more than a stake. Right now, she needed a gun. A big one.
The minigun was how the Initiative was planning to stop this thing, she thought. And there it was, illuminated on the floor by Randall's flashlight. She couldn't see what had happened to Randall himself, which was probably for the best. But as she got closer, she could see there would be no salvation of the chaingun variety today. Acid blood had reduced the minigun to unrecognizable scrap.
The Queen charged after her, and she threw herself to the side to avoid a trampling. Randall's corpse and weapon weren't so lucky; Buffy grimaced as she heard the soldier's body being squashed under the alien's weight.
She made for the flamethrower instead, it's pilot light still flickering in the darkness. Trying to ignore the mess that had been made of its former wielder's head, she swiftly and deftly pulled the weapon off of the man and slung it onto her back. The bulky fuel tanks sat awkwardly on her small frame, but the Slayer could handle it.
Snarling, Hostile 100 came at her. Reacting with instinct tinged with panic Buffy raised the flamethrower, fumbling for whatever fired it-
FWOOOSH!
Found it.
The heat was nearly unbearable for Buffy- like standing a few inches away from a very generous bonfire. She could only imagine what it was like for the alien, which had just run headfirst into a wall of fire. It leapt back, screeching.
Buffy gave it another blast, encouraging it to keep its distance. She was sweating all over, but felt much better than she had a couple seconds ago. She had a weapon- a very powerful one. And for all its cunning and power, her enemy was still an animal... and animals are afraid of fire. She fired again, and the creature backed away some more.
Growling deep in its throat, the Queen swished its tail about menacingly. Suddenly, the tail snapped up and over the alien's shoulder, piercing the flames, its sharp point a blur heading for Buffy's torso.
Twisting, she avoided impalement, but the creature swung the tail into her chest, driving her to the ground with irresistible force and pinning her there. Panic welled in her chest- she was overturned like a turtle, and the tail was like a steel I-beam keeping her that way.
Stepping closer, the Queen bared its teeth. Buffy had no doubt they would soon be buried in her flesh if she didn't get loose.
Digging her heels into the ground, she pushed hard with her legs and propelled herself out from under the tail, an instant before the creature's jaws snapped shut where her guts had been a moment earlier. Buffy got to her feet and ran, trying to put enough distance between her and the alien so that she could use the flamethrower without cooking herself.
The Queen wasn't going to let her get away that easily. It leapt forward with a bounding stride, slamming its massive head painfully into her back. If not for the heavy metal fuel tanks, Buffy's spine might have been snapped by the impact. As it was, she was sent flying facefirst into the ground.
Coughing, breathing dirt, Buffy knew she had to do something before she was finished off on the ground- preferably something that didn't involve getting knocked down again.
Looking over her shoulder, she saw the alien's teeth bearing down on her. Grunting, she violently arched her back upwards, slamming the fuel tanks into the Queen's mouth. The creature hissed and recoiled, and Buffy took advantage, getting back to her feet.
Hostile 100 lunged, trying to knock her down again, but the Slayer caught it off guard, diving between its legs and dashing away behind it. Roaring, the creature whirled around to pursue, and got a face full of flame. Buffy now had enough room to safely use the flamethrower, and sent a long stream of fire squarely into Hostile 100.
It writhed and backed away, out of Buffy's range. It looked plenty pissed off, but she couldn't see any damage done to it by the flames. It looked like the alien's armour wasn't strong enough for it to get past the blasts of fire, but it was tough enough to keep the creature from being seriously harmed. She was going to have to think of-
To the left!
Moving with terrifying speed for something its size, the Queen dashed to the left, trampling alien and human corpses in its path, then bore in on Buffy's side. But the Slayer reacted too quickly for it. Pivoting, she braced the flamethrower on her hip and fired at the creature's face. Shrieking, it turned away, and Buffy took the opportunity to flame its tail too. The alien backed away some more, thumping the roasted tail on the ground, then whirled around and struck back, sending a glob of acid spit at Buffy's face. But the Slayer's reflexes were too sharp- she simply cocked her head to the side and let the slime pass over her shoulder. The Queen let fly again, with the same result. Buffy evaded the attack with ease.
Okay- I've avoided the acid facial, she thought. Now how do I end this? Before she could think of a plan, the alien did. It looked at Buffy and hissed- not its usual threatening hiss, but a signal.
Answering hisses came from the breeding pit as the five larvae swarmed up its sides and onto the ground, covered in both fresh and dried blood. They seemed to flow across the floor as a single gory mass, then separated to slither up their parent and perch on its back spines like a foul roost of featherless, legless birds.
Buffy grimaced. "I really don't see what that gains you, unless you wanted to give yourself the ugliest cheerleading bench in history. In which case- congratulations, mission accomplished."
Suddenly one of the chestbursters launched itself from the Queen like a projectile, teeth headed squarely for Buffy's face. She swept the barrel of the flamethrower up to meet it; larva met metal and larva lost, neck snapping in midair.
She understood now what Hostile 100 had done- it hadn't given itself an ugly cheerleading squad but a lethal living missile battery.
All four remaining creatures leapt at her throat. Buffy fired, knowing she couldn't get them all, and dodged at the same time. Teeth sank into her shoulder as one of the chestbursters made contact and she cried out. From behind, she heard Hostile 100's footsteps coming at her.
She dove aside from reaching claws, barely avoiding disembowelment as the enormous alien tried to take advantage of the opening its larva had created. The younger alien stayed attached to her shoulder, jaws tightening painfully around a mouthful of her flesh. She grabbed it and tore it free, gritting her teeth as some of her skin came with it, then hurled it away.
Hostile 100 roared as its child hit the dirt, righted itself, and scurried back to its parent. Two more of the chestbursters lay smouldering on the ground, fried in midair by Buffy. As the larva remounted its spines, the Queen hissed at the other surviving creature. It hissed back, then started slithering towards the exit, gliding over the ground like a snake.
"Oh no you don't," Buffy said. If that larva escaped, it would grow into an adult and eventually start a nest of its own. Not gonna happen. She started after the creature, aware that she'd just left herself wide open to Hostile 100. Sure enough, thudding footsteps signalled the Queen charging at her back.
Sprinting as hard as she could, she drew closer to the chestburster as it dashed for the exit. Raising the flamethrower without breaking stride, she fired at extreme range. The tongue of flame barely reached the larva, but when it did it turned the alien into a living torch. Shrieking, it continued running until it smacked into the wall, then lay still.
As soon as she saw the flames engulf the creature, Buffy stopped running and leaped in the other direction- towards Hostile 100. The alien had been going flat-out to overtake the Slayer, and its momentum didn't allow it to stop in time. Buffy darted between its legs as it skidded to a stop- too late to catch her.
Buffy dashed to a safe distance, turned, and fired again, this time at the remaining larva perched on the Queen's back. The alien screamed in unholy rage as its last surviving child was incinerated. The chestburster flopped about before falling to the floor, limp and wreathed in flame.
The alien charged, only to be stopped once again by a wall of fire. Growling, the creature spat at her, feinted left, then attacked right, then switched, then spat again. Each time the flamethrower stayed with it, and every advance was checked with fire, while the sprays of acid failed to find their mark. But each toasting the Queen received only seemed to be making it angrier, with no visible damage being inflicted on it. Meanwhile Buffy was getting tired, not only from the stress of the battles she'd been fighting since entering the Hive, but also from the sweltering heat that hit her each time she used the flamethrower. Worst of all, the fuel tanks were starting to feel disturbingly light. She was once again faced with the problem- how to bring this thing down?
The alien lost patience and attacked again, and again Buffy raised the flamethrower and fired. But this time, only a small spurt of flame licked the creature's exoskeleton. It stopped, surprised.
Buffy's finger tensed around the trigger again. This time nothing happened at all. Hostile 100 realized what this meant. The weapon wasn't working anymore. She was defenceless.
A low purr of satisfaction came from Hostile 100, relishing the chance to finally destroy this deadly pest which had hounded it since its arrival on this world. Almost leisurely, it leaned forward. Its mouth opened wide, as did the mouth within, a tunnel of teeth coming closer and closer to Buffy's head. She got the impression that the alien was going to take great pleasure in biting it off. She could feel its moist, warm breath on her...
Suddenly, a moment before the jaws closed around her, Buffy snapped the flamethrower's barrel up to Hostile 100's mouth and sent a long stream of searing liquid flame from the still-half-full tanks straight into the alien's mouth.
Rearing back, the alien gagged and choked as burning fuel ran down its throat, sizzling flesh. Buffy's voice was cold. "As they say on my planet- psyche!"
The alien went berserk. It stumbled away, writhing and spasming. Steam, acid, and drool spilled from its mouth. All the lethal grace it had moved and killed left it in an instant- the alien threw its head up and down, trying to get rid of the horrible flame ravaging its organs, destroying it from the inside out.
Buffy sighed as she watched the creature's death throes. She had done it.
Hostile 100's head swivelled left, right, then fixed on Buffy. It opened its mouth, and she could see flames flickering within its throat. Amid the sounds of roasting flesh and boiling fluids, a final hiss of pure malice for the Slayer came from the Xenomorph- and its arm lashed out at Buffy.
She was caught completely by surprise. The arm slammed her into the ground, bleeding freely from her side. If the blow had been more coordinated, she would have been killed instantly.
Getting back to her feet, she saw the alien shambling closer. Even if it was being burned alive from within its own body, the alien still meant to keep killing to the last. It's final act would be to slaughter this yellow-furred creature which had been Hostile 100's bane since its birth.
What does it take to KILL this thing? Buffy screamed inwardly. Time to think creatively...
The alien shuddered, groaned, and dropped down on all fours. The pain was becoming too great for even the Xenomorph to bear, and Buffy took advantage. Sprinting forward, she shucked the flamethrower off her back and smoothly looped one of its straps over the Queen's small secondary arm, dodging another swipe at her guts as she did so. Then, drawing her last remaining weapon- a simple wooden stake- she whirled and stabbed the metal fuel tanks as hard as she could. The stake splintered on the metal, but punched a hole through which fuel began to leak.
Then she ran, not looking back as the fuel dribbled down the side of the tank, and from there towards the flickering pilot light...
Hostile 100 reared up onto its hind legs to follow Buffy, a moment before fuel met flame. The flamethrower exploded as the creature was in mid-step, engulfing the entire creature in a ferocious fireball. One second the alien was there, the next there was only a yellow inferno spewing droplets of flaming fuel which forced Buffy to dive to the ground.
The heat washed over her, and she looked back as the alien emerged from the cloud of flames. The secondary arm the flamethrower had been hanging from was gone. A ragged green stump that extended only a few inches out from the alien's chest was all that was left. Fire, smoke, and steam shrouded the Xenomorph like a hellish cloak as yet more acid blood fell to the floor of the Hive. The alien's shell, previously so smooth and gleaming, now sported crumples, scorch marks, and dents.
It tried to snarl, but what came out was a moan. Hostile 100's legs tightened for another lunge, then went completely gave out from underneath it. The alien fell.
As it hit the ground face first, a cacophony of cracking shell and rupturing organs filled the air as the remainder of the Xenomorph's body structure was destroyed by the final impact. It lifted its head slightly, bared its teeth at Buffy one last time, then lay still forever.
The battle was over. An oppressive silence filled the darkness of the Hive. Buffy was suddenly aware of how tired she was, of how she hurt all over, of how much death and horror was around her in this place. She wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of here. But there was still one thing left to do.
She went to the wall where Riley was hanging, and tore apart the alien webbing with her bare hands. She gently lifted him down to the floor and held him there, unmindful of the monster clamped on his face. That was how they found her a few minutes later- sitting on the floor of the Hive, surrounded by bodies both human and alien, the immense corpse of Hostile 100 sprawled across the centre of the room, holding Riley in her arms.
Xander's eyes bugged slightly when he saw the ruined hulk of the fallen Queen. "Holy- Buffy, you said you were going to 'hold it here', not go for the major-league Slayage! What did you do to this thing?"
"Oh... just introduced it to some of Earth's more exotic cuisine," Buffy said.
"Are you all right?" asked Willow, looking doubtfully at Buffy's wounds. The Slayer was bruised and bloodied, her shirt red where alien claws and teeth had pierced her.
"It could have been much worse, believe me," she said. Giles peered at her closely anyway, making sure to his satisfaction that Buffy was okay.
Initiative soldiers clustered around Riley. "Ma'am, we've got to get him out of here and back to the base, right away. Professor Walsh will know what to do for him."
"Okay." She stood up. "I'm sick of this place anyway." They walked away, heading back to the surface, leaving the Hive behind like a bad dream.
A/N: There's still one last chapter before the end of the story. Stay tuned for the epilogue!