FIC: Destiny's End 3/?

[CDRERamius@xxxxxxx]

TITLE: Destiny's End 3/? 
AUTHOR: Tony McD 
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and 
others. This is for fun, not profit. 
SUMMARY: Final in Terra/Trinity/Destiny series. Buffy, Willow, Xander face 
the final battle. The battle to end destiny. Sequel to Terra Australis 
Incognito, and Trinity's Child. 
SPOILERS: None really. AU. 
RATING: R (suggested sexual situations [no smut]) and language (if I lived on 

the Hellmouth I'd swear more too).
AUTHORS NOTE: This was written a number of months before the horrific attacks 
of Sept 11 and its aftermath. The character of Professor Alibek is in part 
inspired by Dr Ken Alibek who was deputy head of the former USSR biological 
weapons program. He defected to the West after the end of the Cold War and 
exposed the sheer scale of the program in a book called "Biohazard". I 
recommend everyone read it.

"If you are not afraid of the dark, maybe you should take a walk through the 
soul of mankind." 
Bruce W. Clark, Winter '01 

Destiny's End 3/? 

"The first major world event that happened after you three had been absorbed 
into the Black Opal for safe keeping, was the advent of controlled nuclear 
fusion. Safe, clean, and with a virtually limitless supply of hydrogen in the 
oceans, it freed the world of its dependence on dwindling fossil fuels. 

"The down side was a number of countries depended on the income from the sale 
of fossil fuels. With no more money, many of these already unstable countries 
collapsed and the resulting wars between them were the most horrific ever 
seen. Nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare were all used at one point or 
another.

"The rest of the world, horrified by the sheer madness and evil of these wars 
effectively quarantined these regions from the outside world. After a few 
decades, the countries had fought themselves to a stand still. Ravaged by 
decades of war, cities destroyed, lands poisoned, and disease rampant, these 
countries were still fighting at Winter Fall. However, as I'll tell you a 
little later, these wars and their use of biological weapons in particular 
would have a massive effect in the future.

"The rest of the world, on the other hand, entered an unheard of golden age. 
With advanced technology and all the clean power to run it, they built great 
space stations and lunar outposts. It was an age of great prosperity, great 
advances in technology and science, and the realisation that humanity could 
stand above the savagery of its past and look forward to its future.

"There was one legacy of the past they had to deal with. Millions of tonnes 
of highly radioactive material from now obsolete nuclear fission plants. Much 
of it would not be safe for centuries and they couldn't store it on Earth 
without it eventually getting into the environment. The solution was to bury 
it deep into the Moon where the isn't any weather or water or earthquakes to 
release it. Space travel between here and the Moon was by then routine and 
safe, so they began sending the waste to the Moon for safe keeping.

"All went well until a terrorist attack on one of the last shipments saw 
thousands of tonnes of radioactive waste spread along the east coast of 
Australia. Twenty million people were forced to flee west, over the Great 
Dividing Range and into the plains and deserts of the Outback. Unable to 
return to their beloved coast for centuries, the embarked on an ambitious 
project. To build a city in the deserts of Australia in which the nation 
could wait for the day they could return. This city was named New Haven.

"With the technology and efforts of the entire world behind them, they 
created an immense underground city to house the nation. Mindful of the 
mistakes of the past, it was designed from the beginning to be environmental 
and socially friendly. Virtually self sufficient and employing the greatest 
achievements of science and technology, it would be a model for all cities to 
come after it.

"Then, 14 March 2127, less than ten years after New Haven was finished, the 
Earth was hit by a comet cloud. It caused massive extinctions not seen since 
the end of the dinosaurs and an ice age that is only now, after 2000 years, 
beginning to end.

"That day, Winter Fall as it is known, saw the world population drop from 
over 18 billion to less than 40 million. Only here in New Haven and in the 
orbiting space stations did humans survive." Professor Alibek looked at the 
three with sympathy. There were greater shocks ahead for them and all she 
could do was try to make it just a little easier to handle. She stood up and 
motioned for them to follow her.

"Come with me and we'll go to Central Park where we can discuss this in more 
pleasant surrounds." Buffy, Willow, and Xander followed her out the door and 
into the new world that awaited them.

***********************

They walked along several deserted corridors until they came upon what 
appeared to be a roadway. Professor Alibek got into a vehicle which faintly 
reminded the trio of a VW Beetle without wheels. Silently the car raised off 
the ground and hovered silently about a foot above the road. Xander grinned.

"Hey! Cool hover car you've got Doc." he said as they got in. Professor 
Alibek smiled at his enthusiasm. Not too many people complemented her car, 
which slightly hurt her. It was her grandfather's and she had many cherished 
memories associated with it.

"This may sound like a dumb question, but how do you steer this thing? I mean 
there's no steering wheel." Willow pointed out.

"Or any wheels at all, for that matter." Buffy added. Professor Alibek looked 
confused for a moment before realising what they were talking about.

"All cars run on superconducting electromagnets buried under the road and in 
the car. As for the steering, I just tell the car where to go and it 
automatically drives me there. Watch." she told them then addressed the car.

"Activate." she said.

"Please state destination." a pleasant woman's voice came from the dashboard.

"Central Park. Southern side. Trinity Gardens."

"Destination Central Park, southern side, Trinity Gardens."

"Correct." Professor Alibek looked back at Xander with a mischievous grin.

"From reading the old records, I believe you are a Star Trek fan, Xander." 
she said. Xander nodded.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well, you'll love this." Professor Alibek said as she relaxed back in her 
seat. She gave a little motion with her hand.

"Engage!" she said in her best imitation of Captain Picard. The car speed off 
towards its destination, all the while Xander was grinning like a kid in a 
candy store.

********************

They parked near an entrance to the immense park. High above them, a huge 
glass dome let the in the light from the surface. Occasionally the sun would 
emerge from the clouds, casting its rays onto a park of breathtaking beauty.

As they walked along the pathways, they saw a number of people, including 
several human/demon, and demon/demon couples. All of them looked at Buffy, 
Willow, and Xander with awe bordering on reverence. This began to wig the 
three out. Buffy grabbed the Professor and expressed her concerns.

"What's the riff here Doc?"

"I'm sorry, the what?" Professor Alibek asked in confusion.

"The story, why are people and demons so friendly, and why is everyone 
looking at us that way?" Professor Alibek placed a reassuring hand on Buffy's 
shoulder.

"I'll answer your first question on the way. The second will be answered when 
we get where were are going."

"And where's that?" Xander asked. Professor Alibek motioned with her hear to 
follow her.

"You'll see."

*********

As they continued their walk, the Professor began to explain the demon thing.

"In 2289, there was several mysterious deaths, the cause of which couldn't be 
readily explained. Eventually that cause was found, and its discovery marked 
the watershed in human/demon relations.

"You remember how I told you about the biological warfare that went on before 
Winter Fall? I turned out that a virus made during the wars mutated. 
Seemingly harmless, scientists paid it little attention. The virus had been 
around for almost 200 years with no one ever suffering any effects from it. 

"But something happened. The virus had begun to insert itself into DNA. It 
then started to breakdown the DNA strands which eventually killed the victim. 
The time it took to kill a person varied between each person but no one would 
survive more than ten or twelve years once infected. To their great horror, 
it turned out that every human, both in New Haven and in space, had the 
virus.

"For three years they worked frantically to find a cure. And they did, in a 
way. They were able to insert a section into Human DNA immediately after 
conception. This new section would protect the child, when born, from the 
virus. However, it could only be done immediately after conception." Willow 
stopped in her tracks, shock registering on her face as she realised the 
consequences.

"But that would mean...!" Professor Alibek nodded.

"That's right. When the last unprotected Human died, the oldest protected 
Human would be just 8 years old."

"But without adults, a world of children wouldn't survive!" exclaimed Xander.

"True. It looked like Humans would survive the great extinctions brought by 
Winter Fall, only to die out by an evil of their past wars. Then, out of the 
shadows that they hid, the Slayers Council came up with the solution that 
would save the Human race.

"Demons.

"For decades before Winter Fall, the Slayers Council had brought together 
various good demons in their common fight against evil. They joined the 
Council and the Council, along with several governments, protected those 
Demons from those who would harm them. After Winter Fall, there were a 
significant number of them hidden away in New Haven.

"The Councils solution was simple. Demons had a different DNA to Humans, thus 
making them immune to the virus. The Demons would care for the children as if 
they were their own.

"From that day on, Humans and Demons would be bound by the closest link. For 
an entire generation, Demons were the only parents Humans would ever know."

They walked in silence along the paths of the park, each lost deep in 
thought. Their train of thought was interrupted when they entered a clearing 
full of bronze statues.

There was a life sized statue of every Slayer of the last 22 centuries. At 
the base of each statue was a short history of each Slayer, and in many 
cases, images of them and those who worked with them.

They found Jenny's statue and saw images of Jenny, Paul, and Giles 
researching in a rebuilt library. They saw pictures of Jenny and her family. 
They saw pictures of grandchildren, great grand children, and great great 
grandchildren who they had never seen and who were now long turned to dust.

They cried tears of joy at seeing that their daughters wonderful life, and 
tears of sadness at the fact that they were not there to share it. Professor 
Alibek waited a while before approaching them.

"There's one more statue you need to see." she told them. Together they 
walked into a cluster of trees. At their centre, a small clearing contained 
statues of Buffy, Willow, and Xander. A mother and her young daughter stood 
at the statues and, upon seeing them enter the clearing, the little girl 
tugged at her mothers pants.

"Mummy! Look!" she said then ran up to the three. Xander knelt down in front 
of the little girl.

"Hello." He said with a warm smile. The girl returned his smile with a giggle 
that only the an innocent child could produce. She looked at them with big 
brown eyes.

"Mummy said you will make all the bad monsters go away." Willow knelt beside 
Xander.

"Yes, we will make the bad monsters go away. You don't need to worry about 
them any more." the Wicca told her.

"Promise?"

"We promise."

The little girls mother came up to her and took her hand.

"Come on little pumpkin, let's leave the good people to themselves." With a 
slight bow of her head to Buffy, Willow, and Xander, the mother left with her 
daughter in tow.

"To the people of this world, you three represent the ultimate force for 
good. You are almost revered as the promised saviours of mankind. The legends 
of Trinity are known to everyone. You three will fight The Twelve in the 
final battle between good and evil. 

"You hold the future of the world in your hands. Win, and evil will be 
finally destroyed. Loose, and everything good will be consumed by the fires 
of Hell."

====================

Any moron with a pack of matches can start a fire. Raining down sulfur takes 
a huge level of endurance. Mass genocide is the most exhausting activity one 
can engage in, next to soccer. 

Dogma