Disclaimer: None of the characters below belong to me. All the BtVS people belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. I’m just trying to have fun.
Pairing: Buffy/Willow, of course.
Spoilers: Anything up to and including the Series Finale is possible
Distribution: IKOLY and Wishful Thinking. Anybody else, just ask.
Rating: NC-17, mostly for language, but who knows what might happen.
Feedback: Well, Yeah! frank_8281@xxxxxxxxx
The Times In Between
May 4th, 2005 9:50 pm
“Will, get up that ramp!” Buffy ordered, “First opening on your left up the tunnel!”
Willow started to protest, “But Buffy…”
“Go Will! Al needs you to finish the mojo!”
Faith yanked her necklace off saying, “Don’t need this crap any more.”
As it hit the floor the glamour vanished. Drawing her axe from its position slung at her back, she rushed at the Uber Vamps surging towards them. Buffy tore her own crystal off as she shoved Willow up the ramp and ran to help Faith brandishing the Scythe.
At that moment Kennedy emerged from the tunnel entrance and began to fire into the crowd of Turok Han and Harbingers. Every arrow found a mark but not all were fatal. Willow shot past at a full run, she gave her ex-girlfriend an odd look as she continued to fire arrow after arrow.
Willow barreled into the cave and Althenea said, “Quickly! Come join me, we’ve little time!”
The redhead entered the circle and resealed it as she sat cross-legged facing her mentor. “Buffy said that you needed me to finish a spell?”
“Yes, do you remember telling me about a sunlight spell you had tried?”
Willow’s _expression_ grew panicked. “My ‘ball of sunshine spell’? But that was a failure! The only thing it accomplished was to release Olaf the Troll from that crystal! Oh, and Anya almost wrecked Giles’ car, the Bronze was practically demolished… Oh! And let’s not forget what Olaf did to Xander’s poor arm!”
Althenea grabbed the younger Witch by the shoulders to get her attention. “Willow, listen to me! You CAN do this. For the Wiccan that empowered all the potential Slayers on the planet, conjuring enough sunlight to destroy a few Vampires should be child’s play.”
“But what about the Bringers blocking me?” she asked.
“Already taken care of. Inside this circle their power holds no sway. Now, draw strength and calmness from me, if you must and begin!”
Willow took Althenea’s hands in her own and bowed her head to send a quick prayer to whoever might be listening and began marshaling the magicks. In the main cavern Faith and Buffy were holding their own. Fully one third of the Turok-Han were dust and all but the three Harbingers protecting the First were dead. But the sheer numbers of the Ubervamps were starting to take their toll.
The two senior Slayers had been forced apart by the attacking prehistoric Vampires and were hard pressed to keep from being overwhelmed. From her vantage atop the ramp Kennedy kept shooting but the crush of bodies made kill shots almost impossible. She reached for another rack of arrows to reload and found none.
“Shit!” She cried. “Hang on Faith! I’m coming!” with that she drew her bowie knife and ran to join the melee.
Meanwhile Althenea was staring in awe as Willow, her eyes closed, began to glow and a wind began to howl through the caves. Brighter and brighter she glowed as her power built to a crescendo. Her eyes snapped open, her hair turned pure white and her voice echoed throughout the complex as she cried, “SOLARIS FIAT LUX!”
The words reverberated in the main cavern as a small light began to glow near the ceiling. It continued to grow brighter until the blazing light of the sun had illuminated every nook and cranny. In seconds all of the remaining Turok-Han had been reduced to ashes.
Willow collapsed to her side, breathing hard as her hair returned to its normal red hue. “Wow.” She said, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that.”
The three Slayers looked at each other through the cloud that was all that remained of the Ubervamps. “Damn! Red did it!” Faith said with a silly grin to Kennedy.
“Job’s not done… yet.” Said Buffy as she stalked toward the dais.
The First watched this with a hateful glare. “What are you waiting for? Kill them!” she shrieked at the three Harbingers standing before her. They leaped to the attack, only to fall almost immediately. Kennedy parried a dagger thrust with her Bowie, throwing the Harbinger off balance. She spun before he could recover, slashing his throat nearly to the bone. Faith caught the knife hand of her attacker, forcing his own weapon under his ribs and into his heart. Buffy simply decapitated the bringer before her, barely breaking stride as she continued advancing on her double.
The First looked directly at Buffy and said, “Damn you, Slayer! You always have to RUIN it!”
“Hey!” Kennedy said, “She’s not the only Slayer here, ya know!”
“She’s the one that matters,” the First said with disdain. “She’s the one that changed the rules! Sealed the Hellmouth! Forced me to make a choice.”
“Choice?” Asked Faith.
She sighed, “To remain as I was, incorporeal, unable to affect anything on this plane of existence. Or, I could draw on the last vestiges of power emanating from the Hellmouth and make myself… THIS! Mortal… HUMAN, with all of the… the SHIT that implies!”
“You’re kidding right?” Buffy asked incredulously. “All this? Trying to kill Willow, open a new Hellmouth? Because you want do-overs?” catching a smirk trying to form on Faith’s face she said, “I am NOT that bad.”
Faith struggled to keep a straight face as she said “Not… um, all the time B.”
Kennedy coughed trying to hide her laughter, earning a glare from both Buffys.
Returning her attentions to the First Evil, the Slayer saw that she had drawn a knife. As Buffy assumed a fighting stance, her double said, “Oh don’t worry Slayer, this is for me not you.”
With that she slashed her palm and dripped blood onto the dais. A rapidly expanding energy bubble quickly enveloped the two blondes while forcing Faith and Kennedy to move back until it stopped just a few feet short of the monoliths supporting the roof.
Buffy glanced around, saw that her allies were locked out and spotted Willow and Althenea coming down the ramp.
“This barrier was originally intended to keep anyone from interfering with my sacrificing your girlfriend. But… since you’ve ruined that plan, I thought I’d use it to isolate you while I beat you to a pulp.”
“Blah, blah, blah,” with a bored tone in her voice, “what IS it with bad guys? You can’t just fight, you’ve always gotta SAY something!”
With a shriek of rage the First lunged off the stone slab at Buffy, only to be met with a right cross to the jaw. Stunned, the false Slayer landed and rolled managing to get up in time to catch a fist in the midsection, driving her back.
“Know what?” Buffy quipped as she launched a kick into the side of her double. “You may look like me,” following up with a back fist. “You may sound like me,” moving behind her opponent and sending a boot to the back of her leg dropping her to one knee, “But you are NOT… UH!” The First scored with a desperate uppercut to the jaw as Buffy circled in front of her.
“Oh, SHUT UP!” the first exclaimed. Breathing heavily, she got to her feet and stalked over to the real Buffy. “And you say I talk too much?” Kicking the downed Slayer in the ribs, she continued to rant, “You think I want to be you?” Planting a boot in her back this time, the First bent down and pulled the Scythe free from the strap holding it to Buffy’s back. “I just want this… and your Witch.” Looking around she spotted t he Slayers, Althenea and Willow outside the barrier.
“Oh there she is now.” She said and moved towards them menacingly.
On the perimeter of shimmering energy, the two Slayers ready themselves for a fight. Faith lifted her axe into a ready position while Kennedy reached for the other weapon slung at her back. Willow stopped her with a touch and a gentle shake of her head.
“Not yet.” She whispered. Nodding, the young Slayer drew her bowie knife and waited.
Ignoring the pain from her ribs, Buffy rose from the ground and spat blood. “Hey!” She called, “We’re not finished yet.”
“Yes we are.” The First said with a look of triumph. “I have the Scythe, all I need now is Willow.”
“Think so?” Buffy replied, breathing hard, “Look again.”
The First glanced down at the weapon in her hands only to see it change to an ordinary axe. “Nooooo! Damn YOOOUUU!”
It seemed as if everything happened at once. The first turned and rushed at Buffy, axe raised. Willow cried, “Now Kennedy!” and slammed both palms against the barrier rupturing it. Kennedy drew the real Scythe from where it was concealed by yet another glamour and threw it to Buffy. Buffy sidestepped the Firsts attack and leapt to catch the Scythe in midair, turning as she did, slicing through the axe handle and beheading t he First in the same motion.
Time seemed to slow as Buffy watched her duplicates head sail through the air with a shocked _expression_ on its face. She saw the body continue a few steps and collapse. She turned in time to see the others coming closer. Then time resumed its normal flow, pain from her broken ribs kicked in, and the last thing she saw was Willow bending over her looking frightened.
TBC…