Even Angels Fall
by tainted_blood_chylde
Rating: PG
Buffy woke up with a sudden pain in her stomach, she tried to call out, to scream for Faith, for anyone who might hear her. She couldn't, something was blocking the sound, another moment later she looked up and saw Rhona staring over her bed, Buffy tugged tightly at the restraights she now found around her hands and feet. She was gagged, she screamed louder in vain to make a sound to get help, it was useless. She looked around the room. There were three other potentials in the room, and DAWN!
Buffy cried out and started pleading with her sister to let her out, to get help. She didn't, it was mutiny, Buffy realised. They were going to take the baby out of her. One way or another. She looked down at her stomach, she was definitely a lot larger than when she'd fallen asleep.
"We have to do this Buffy.. I can't let it grow anymore. It'll kill everyone!" Dawn declared.
"So who made You the surgeon!" Vi shouted at Dawn. "I'm telling you guys, this isn't the way! We should ask Giles first!" the young girl snapped.
"Shut up" Dawn said, and threw a blade right between the girl's eyes. Buffy stared at Dawn in horror. Only a slayer could have made that shot. "Oh yeah, forgot to tell you, I'm a slayer too. Turns out that whole blood bond thing meant I was a slayer too. Found out just after my birthday.. guess I had to *come of age* and all. Still, I didn't bother telling you, figured I'd use it when it became really important" Dawn said.
*Why?* the look in Buffy's eyes screamed.
"Because I knew you wouldn't believe me, and if I did tell it would make no difference, I've NEVER been important to you. You only died because you would have looked bad if you didn't save me. Even in your own little fantasy world I didn't exist. You didn't deserve to know, cos it's always been about you! Now it's time for it to be about me" Dawn snapped. "I'm a slayer, and what you carry is a threat to humanity, so it has to go!" she continued.
Buffy struggled furiously to try and free herself. This wasn't happening, not Dawn.. not her own flesh and blood. She managed to free one arm, and pulled the gag from her mouth. "Faith!" she screamed before she was knocked unconscious and Dawn put gag back in her mouth. Nodding the potentials started to move the elder slayer out of the door and down the stairs.
Faith snapped her attention upstairs, she had just heard Buffy screaming for her. Was she in labour? She quickly pulled violently on the chains. What was going on up there? She listened carefully. A light flickered past the window, she snapped her attention towards it. Buffy..
Dawn and several black robed wearing potentials were laying her on the grass outside the house. What was going on?? she pulled furiously on her restraints. Snapping the metal in two. She turned to see Giles standing in the stair case.
"Giles, we need to get out there now.. they gonna hurt Buffy!" Faith snapped.
"Oh, well I'll deal with them in a moment" he hiccuped.
"We need to go now" she said.
"Nope" he said, burping slightly.
"Are you drunk?" she said, looking at him a little closer, he was.
"Right now, I need to kill you" he said, producing a crossbow. Faith's eyes widened in shock.
"Giles.. stop, think about this!" she said, holding out her hands to defend herself.
"I don't need to think about anything.. You're dust!" he snapped. "This whole time you've been here perverting our slayer.. SHE'S OUR SLAYER FAITH! Not you! You were never a slayer.. you were just a cheap imitation... You should never have been called!" he said angrily. "You will never accomplish even HALF of the greatness my girl has done! hahaha, least not now you won't.. cos you're dead! Now I'm gonna make you DEAD DEAD!!" he giggled insanely. The words stung Faith, she didn't have time for this. She rushed at him and smacked him squarely on the nose, breaking it. He collapsed to the ground in pain. She bolted up the stairs. Willow hurried down from the bathroom in a towel.
"What's going on?" she demanded, seeing the crossbolt buried in Faith's arm that Giles had managed to get off as she was charging at him.
"It's the Potentials.. I think they are trying to exercise that thing out of Buffy!" she said quickly. Suddenly everything went black.
"We are!" Kennedy said as she dropped the vase. "I'm sorry honey, you know I never meant any of that stuff. We just needed to get them out of the way so the First couldn't channel into her with Caleb" she said. Kissing her girlfriend passionately. Xander came into the kitchen and looked at the sight of Faith on the floor. Were they doing the right thing?
Anya's Journal
Okay, here's the part where I'm confused. First there was this great big evil, and everyone is all seeing people who they used to care about telling them that we are going to end up destroying the world. Then we get told that all these little girls with no real ability to fight without their slayer powers show up, and we are told they are being picked off one by one so we have to start a Save The Slayerettes mission.
Then suddenly we get all these little potentials and then the big bad decides it's time to let us know it is the original big bad and we have a war coming. Then we get these Ubervamps, which we're told is a warrier super-vampire that will come in the thousands and kill everyone on Earth and all we have are these defenseless little girls to protect us. I can't deny I'm scared.
Then here's where it all gets more complicated. We get another slayer, and it's all good, cos now we have two slayers and small army. Then it gets bad, a superman shows up, and he's really evil. And this superman can beat both of our supergirls to a pulp. Not only that, he's put his supersperm into one of our supergirls and now is making the perfect host for this ultimate evil.
But it turns out that a certain now dead dead jealous vampire made a really big mistake and got himself killed by murdering the pregnant supergirl and turning her into a slayer/vampire thing. Now the only slayer who had any chance of leading us, is pregnant with the superbaby that is growing at an evil rate. Then we get two new slayers, Kennedy and Dawn. Who'da thought Dawn? Now we need to get the super baby out of Buffy, but we don't know how to do that. So we have to cut it out and see. Are you confused? I know I am.
Xander's Journal
I've always considered myself a good guy, not too smart not too dumb, I've done some messed up stuff and I've done so not so messed up stuff. But this takes the icing in the cake. This is when I really have to stop and consider if I'm doing the right thing. I know Kennedy told me that she found some weird text when she was on patrol... but something about feels.. I dunno.. wrong. Buffy's my best friend and I love her.. I just can't help but feel that... there's something. Not right here.
Andrew's Journal
I'm not even sure if I got the translation right, I've been out here nearly all night trying to find something about this ritual.. How the First is meant to come into being and I think I found it. The First needs something pure born from an act of pure ugliness and hate so it can take it over and pervert it. So.. whatever is inside Buffy, is this pure little thing.. that it needs to destroy. I'm guessing this is a baby.. taken from rape.. urgh! I hate even saying that word. It's so.. harsh. It has to kill this baby and take its right to be flesh. But to do that it needs to be flesh, so it takes another not so pure soul with the potential for pure evil.. a warrior that is meant to be good but think bad thoughts basically. I'm guessing.. oh god! Kennedy! I have to get back! I have to warn them.. that spell she found for Willow, the one to extract the baby.. it's to remove the soul! The First is gonna... oh god! I need to get home!
Andrew ran quickly through the graveyard, the bringers were following him, he had the magic weapon.. what was going on? How had they found him..? Of course.. First/Kennedy. They had been such idiots. He needed to get to Faith. She was the only that could help him. He tripped and fell.
"Hey!" Angel yelled, he killed off the second Bringer and ran towards the boy. "You know where Buffy is?" he demanded.
"She's at the house!" he said choking on the words. Angel's beheaded another Bringer. "She's in danger!" he said getting to his feet.
"Well let's go!" Angel said as he threw the last one into a tree and they headed quickly for the Summers' house. He had to give Buffy the amulet.
"Where's Spike?" He demanded.
"Dead, she killed him" Andrew answered, eager to know exactly who this man with cold hands was.
"She killed him?" he frowned.
"He killed Faith" he said trying to keep up.
"Faith's dead?" Angel said angrily.
"Undead, she got a soul back..." Andrew said before Angel grabbed him and started off running. Then who was looking after Buffy?
Caleb sat in the dining hall calmly, he could feel himself begining to spill into the older slayer mind, it was weakening her, if this ritual was to succeed, he needed her to be completely at his mercy. He dragged her into the darkness with him, soon she wouldn't be able to escape him. Soon she would be left alone here... with him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, show time.
Buffy didn't know what was happening to her, her body was kind of floating somewhere between what was happening in the garden with the others, and where she was now. She really couldn't explain the feeling, it was like she was in her own body, yet completely separate. Trapped in some cold dark place, only she wasn't alone. Something.. black watched her from the shadows. Eventually the creature in the blackness got closer to her, and all awareness of the pain shifting through her mortal body was gone. It felt like what had happened to her in the vortex, it hurt for the first few seconds, then all awareness, all pain, slipped away. But when she'd woken then, in her formless consciousness, she had been warm, loved, safe. Here... it was cold, and hard, and she felt anything but safe. Buffy's soul reached out into every corner of the dark place, she was afraid. Was she dead?
"Can't we slow down just a little?" Andrew panted, he had grown tired of trying to keep up with Angel. He needed rest, he hated himself for it, but he needed to wait a moment before he went any further.
Angel stopped and looked at the boy, he softened, in as much danger as Buffy seemed to be, he couldn't push the young lad like that. He was after all, only human. "Five minutes, but I can't wait" Angel said in irritated.
"I only need one" he gasped.
"How much further is it?" Angel said.
"Not much.. who are you anyway?" he queried.
"Angel" the dark haired man to Andrew, his eyes furrowed together.
"Oh! Buffy's Ex, the vampire Angel" Andrew nodded, gasping and trying to catch his breath. He saw the look of pain cross his face, he was forgotten. Andrew smiled and tried to comfort him. "It's just, I've only known her such a short time.. and there's been too much *from beneath you it devours stuff..* I hadn't recognised you" Andrew smiled.
Angel gave him a sceptic look, it didn't matter much anyways, they weren't in each others lives anymore. Right now, hers was in danger.
"Not much further" Andrew said, finally regaining his composure. "It's still the same Summers house" he said finally.
"Then let's go" Angel said, grabbing the young lad by the arm and taking off at top speed again. The Ubervamps weren't far behind them.
Angel's Journal
I'd alway thought a lot of things, not all of them so pleasent. But I've never thought that Buffy would forget me. Or that I would fail Faith so badly, now she's cursed as I am. I can only prey I'm not too late. So much depends on me getting there in time.
Caleb's Journal
I never really was one for all this diary hoopla, but I guess this is more of my victory bible, so much has come from these great deeds, so much will come from the pure genius of its simplicity, these girls, don't know who they are dealing with, and no one, not even god himself will be able to rival Me and My Lord when we finally have our win, as they say in the great book just before the end. Our Hour is a hand. And I'm gonna watch the clock very carefully.
Giles woke with a sudden jolt and a quick rush of pain melted in through his nose, where was he? His mind frantically unclouded itself. He was in the basement, why was he here? His mind searched for answers. "Good Lord!" he whispered to himself. He'd come down there to kill Faith. He scrambled to his feet and up the stairs, he had to confess to Buffy. He hadn't meant it.
No one was home. Where was everyone? Searching for Faith? He spotted blood on the floor. Moving into the kitchen he found Willow's body laying on the floor next Andrew's. It looked like there had been a struggle. Who had done this? Faith? He backed away from the door. She could still be in the house. Grabbing a stake he prepared himself for an attack. One... two... the footsteps grew louder. He struck out at his opponent, Angel blocked the manover easily.
"Angel?" he gasped.
"Giles! Are you alright?" he replied quickly.
"I think so, but I'm a bit as confused as to what is going on.." the old watcher replied.
"I'll fill you in on the way. I got here just as the Ritual was about to take place. Turns out everyone here is in some kind of possession. Willow seemed to be the only one not in the gang, Kennedy was unfortunately" he said sadly as he stared at the young woman he'd once counted as a close friend.
"Oh no.. Willow" the old watcher mourned.
"There's no time for that now, after I got here, a gang of Super- vampires attacked us, Faith came to and her and Buffy ran off into the woods" Angel said.
"What direction?" he said immediately.
"North." The vineyard! Giles' face grew grave.. They were in big trouble.
It was dark, there seemed to be nothing around them but dense forrest, what was going? Where was everybody? For some reason Buffy felt like she'd been running through the woods forever following Faith, she was running faster than the older slayer could keep up with. She still felt disoriented, Caleb was still in her head... she blocked out the images.
A little too familiar this scene, she heard the voices and growls not far off. Several potentials were being slaughtered...
"AH!" Buffy screamed and fell to the ground in pain. Not now.. not now... this was soooooooooo the wrong time for this..
She was going to give birth right then and there!
Giles woke suddenly, where was everyone? what was going on? He moved, his nose was killing him, one tentive touch told him it was broken. What was going on? He stood up and looked at his surroundings, the basement. This wasn't good? Faith! She had escaped! Giles quickly reached for the crossbow, he had to warn Buffy. Scrambling up the stares, he looked out carefully into the hall, there was no telling what danger now lurked in the house.
He moved towards the door, his mind trying frantically to piece together the shattered images in his head. His head hurt, he'd been drunk.. no.. not drunk. Drugged. But how long had he been out? He moved into the kitchen and into the garden. Nothing, he noticed a slight burnt patch on the ground. What was happening? A ritual had been performed here, not too long ago. He moved away.
"Who's there?" Willow's voice called, in a weak fit of coughing. She was badly injured. A knife had been stabbed into her side and she'd been left to bleed.
"Willow!" the old watcher said, rushing to her aid, he placed a hand over her wound and applied pressure. "What happened here?" he said.
"Kennedy... she told us to... take the baby out of Buffy, one way or another" she said coughing.
"What?" he snapped angrily.
"I don't know the exact details. But she brought us out here, and did some kind of spell... I really can't be sure which.." she said, her eyes rolling back.
"Willow, listen to me... where did they go?" he demanded.
"I don't.. I don't know" she said, her eyes completely exhausted, she was too tired and weak for this interogation.
"You have to think.. it's important" Giles said. "I need you to tell me exactly what you remember."
"They had Faith, sort of tied up beside Buffy, like they were trying to drag something out of her and put it back into Faith" she said, "Then things got really dark, and I felt this pressence, like something black inside Kennedy. The First. I felt it in all of them, in the potentials, in Xander.. but the strongest one came from Dawn, a hatred. Something had been poured into them, they weren't themselves" she coughed.
"You're saying they were possessed by the First?" Giles said, his alarm more apparent.
"No, nothing as serious as that.. more like they were drunk or something.. like something had stolen their reasoning and made them act on their innermost darkness" she said before trying to stand up. "Angel came by here, I saw him, but I was too weak to shout. They headed east, I'm sure he's following their scent. You need to hurry Giles" she said as he put her down onto the sofa. "They couldn't be more than five minutes ahead of you" she said. The old watcher said nothing, he simply nodded, as much as he wanted to stay and tend to his friend, they had a battle to win, and both had separate jobs to do. He left in search of Buffy.
What was going on? In the same instance, Andrew had seen Willow and Giles talking to one another in the kitchen, then in the next, he was staring up from the floor and the basement door had opened to reveal another disoriented looking Giles talking to a distressed and determined Angel. How was that possible? It didn't make any sense. He needed to get himself up from the floor, but he couldn't move. What was happening? Though his body wouldnt react to his commands.. inwardly, he cried out in despair.
Anya hid behind the nearest tree, something wasn't right here, time was moving in a jumbled mess. What was happening? It had to be something to do with that ritual.. how could they have been so stupid? She'd known it was a bad idea in the beginning, but for some reason... God! Why hadn't she said anything? The UberVamp charged at her from behind, quickly she dodged the blow. She screamed for Dawn, nothing.. The creature lunged at her again.. she uttered her incantation again and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Anya!" Xander called, it was too late, she'd already disappeared. He chopped off the nearest Vampire's head. They were grossly outnumbered. What was happening? How had they broken the seal?? He fired another crossbolt at the nearest demon, ashes. He ran to the clearing in the forest to re-group with the surviving potentials. Where was Kennedy? Where was Dawn? He shouted for them to fall back to the house. They needed to get inside, needed to get indoors.
"Come on B! We don't have time for this!" Faith said trying to lift her from the floor. She shook her head violently. Clutching her stomach that had grown to that of a woman in the final stages of pregnacy.
"I can't move!" Buffy said in agony.
"You have to!" Faith argued.
"You don't.. {Ah!) get it.. this baby is coming now!" Buffy said between yelps. Faith's face grew grave.. she looked out towards the woods, the lights were getting closer. Whatever was out there killing the potentials would be there in seconds. Faith couldn't hold them all off. She could protect her for long. The only option would be to hide. She looked around and saw a small light in the background. A house. She would take Buffy there. It was their only chance.
The soul screamed in fury, it couldn't happen like this. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. It had to stop the blackness, it had to push back. Something had out stayed its welcome. It needed to push it out. Needed to stop all these crazy things. It wouldn't hurt anyone else. It wouldn't allow this chaos to continue. It found its chance, a weakening. It began to squeeze through.
First/Kennedy walked up beside Dawn, they surveyed the carnage. It had been so easy to leak into the younger girl. To twist all of her thoughts into blackness. Soon they would find the slayers. Soon, they would have their revenge for being entrapped in that damn seal. First/Kennedy kissed Horis/Dawn. Their race would have everything that they had been denied, flesh, existance, dominion of the Earth. Soon the child would be purged, and the First, would take up its rightful place, soon their black blood would flow in everyone's veins. She smiled. The vampires nodded and ran off in search of the slayers. The REAL hunt was on.
Angel ran on without the older watcher, there was no time to lose. He picked up his axe and cut a demon in half. He ran onwards. *Flash* Angel stopped running, he was back at the Summers house. "What the?" he looked around him.
"Angel!" Anya said quickly.
"Anya... what's going on here?" he said.
"I don't know" she began to explain.
*Flash*
Angel found himself standing in front of Giles, asking him if he was okay.
"Where'd...?" he began.
".. time distortion, I think it's something the First was using to speed up..." Anya continued. Angel frowned in confusion. Huh?
*Flash*
"They are headed towards the cabin in the woods, if we take the resivor route..." Giles continued. Angel looked at him in amazement, the time distortions weren't affecting him.
*Flash*
"... so it can take it over, and that would be really bad" Anya concluded.
"Uh Huh" Angel said.
*Flash*
"We can surprise them and stop the birth before it even takes place* Giles said. Angel gave him a sceptic look, what was going on?
"Okay, let's go" he replied, following the watcher up to the path.
Xander ran into the house, several of the girls followed, he had no idea where Dawn and Kennedy were. Tonight had been a disaster. This was it, it was the end. Goodbye cruel world... he slammed the door and put his hands on his head. "Oh God no!" he said angrily. He had to think. He should have known better. Now Buffy was out there with a psycotic Faith and an army of Ubervamps after her and no other slayers in sight.
"Xander?" a weak voice called from the kitchen.
Willow!
He ran into the kitchen to see Willow furiously searching through texts searching for something. He reached forward to hold her.
*Flash* he tripped over something, turning he saw Willow's dead body laying on the floor and Giles and Angel running off towards the forest. Were they crazy? He looked around him. No potentials. Nobody. What was happening?
*Flash*
"What the hell just happened?" Xander demanded when he suddenly found himself staring at Willow who was alive and well.
"Yeah.. I'm working on that" she said quietly.
"How the hell...." *Flash* "..is that happening?" Xander said. Suddenly confronted with the image of a Dawn laying dead in his arms. His eyes watered up. Why was this happening? Was it hell already? Had they planned to torment him by throwing him between several different events he couldn't control?
*Flash*
"It's the First" Willow explained. She looked sad as she spoke, almost hurt but determined. "It took over Kennedy, I don't know how, I'm still really fuzzy on the details..."
*Flash*
Xander looked up from the body of Dawn and saw Faith standing hovering over him. She vamped out and attacked him.
*Flash*
Xander's heart leapt.
".. I know you can't really follow a lot of what I'm saying but try to bare with me. The baby is innocent. We can't kill it" Willow explained.
"How do you know that?" Xander demanded.
"Andrew told me" she said simply. He looked around him. "Or rather he WILL tell me I can't really explain. The First wants to speed up the birth.. so it's fast forwarding everything, and then puts it back the way it's meant to be" she continued.
"Right... Well you keep working on that" he said.
*Flash*
He saw Willow's body laying in a crumpled heap on the floor.
*Flash*
"I will, whatever the outcome, I'm gonna do my best" Willow said.
"I love you Willow" he said, kissing her furiously on the forehead and giving her a fierce hug. He might not get another chance.
"It's okay, I already know how it turns out for me" she said, then continued on with her research.
Caleb looked out the window, they were coming. He smiled to himself, Buffy knew he was here, but he had seized control of her motor functions and prevented her from saying anything about it to her dead lover. He watched as Faith neared the house. He backed away into the darkest corner of the room, he had missed the little bitch.
"Buffy! Hold on, we're almost there" she said quickly, she was struggling with the pain of the slayer below her arm. She eased her inside.
"Faith.." BUffy whispered as she was placed onto the bed.
"It's okay, B, I love you. I won't let them get you" she said passionately. She reached into her pocket and gave Buffy a stake. "Thought you might want this."
Mr Pointy.
Buffy smiled, tears forming behind her eyes. She couldn't tell her, he was still blocking it.
"Welcome home my little darling!" Caleb said as he pushed the wardrobe on top over and it collided with the door.
Faith looked at him in horror. Oh no! This wasn't happening.. it couldn't be!
"Y-you're not here!" Faith stuttered. "Y-y-you can't be here..." she said backing away from Caleb and sheilding Buffy from him.
"Now now darling, that's no way to talk to your lover now is it?" he said smiling cruelly.
"You're not my lover.. you're not my anything, you're nothing!" Faith snapped. "You're just a thing!" she yelled, her voice trembling.
"Wow gosh, Filthy.. that one really hurt" he smiled wickedly. He quickly lunged across the small gap between them and pushed her punches away easily and grabbed her by the throat. He began to squeeze and forced her to the floor.
"Faith!" Buffy screamed and tried to move towards her, she couldn't stand up, the pains in her stomach were getting worse. It was crippling her, a tear rushed down her cheek. She couldn't help Faith. "Leave her alone you sick son of a bitch!" Buffy snapped at him.
Caleb turned to Buffy and smiled, Faith was still struggling to get her feet back on the ground. "Yeah my mother is a bitch, at least she used to be" he said smiling ironically. "Though I've always thought you little whores were bitches anyway" he said before hurling Faith into the wall. Faith grunted in pain and turned on him, her face already changed into its demonic visage.
"Beats being an over dramatic bastard like you!" Faith growled. Caleb looked at her in surprise.
"My my girly, that's quite a blasphomas statement coming from someone addressing their God" he said. Lifting an axe from the table. Faith stared at it, the axe Kennedy had brought home... How did...?? Faith's eyes widened in shock, Kennedy was working for Caleb.
"Bring it on Bitch!" Caleb yelled triumphantly and swung the axe at Faith's head. She dodged the blow and kicked him in the head. She had to protect Buffy.
"We both know I'm gonna win this woman!" he spat at her angrily.
"Not with THAT axe you won't!" she said, grabbing it and pulling it from his hands.
"You stupid little girl, it's NOT an axe. It's a Scythe and in two minutes, I'm gonna be using it, to chop up your little girlfriend there. That is.. AFTER I've had my merry fill of her. And YOU.. I still can't get the taste of you off my mouth. Must be a slayer thing.. that other carpet-muncher tasted pretty good too" he mocked her.
"You mean Kennedy?" Faith demanded him.
"Golly. You aren't so stupid after all" he said before dodging Faith's efforts to decapitate him.
"Faith look out!" Buffy screamed as Caleb pulled a stake from his jacket. Faith's eyes widened in horror.
"Not so confident now, are you VAMPIRE?" he smiled before they went into a full scale assault on one another. Faith may not have had all of her slayer strength, and she may not fully know how to control most of her new found demon abilities.. but she had one thing going for her. Vampires could move faster than slayers. It was their only advantage in a fight against a slayer. Now it was her advantage over Caleb. She dodged his blows with surprising effort, the scythe had been abandoned ages ago and they were now down to fist against fist. He growled at her in frustration and kicked her feet from under her.
"Time to die you little wench!" he spat at her, lifting the stake from the floor he thrusted it downward into Faith's chest. She screamed out in pain.
*Slice*
Caleb looked down in horror.
"Oh my God!" he said as his he saw the lower half of his body falling away. "Oops" he spluttered before he fell into two lumps on the floor.
Faith looked up to see Buffy drop the scythe and clutch her stomach, Faith rushed Buffy into her arms, eyes full of questions.
"Nobody messes with my girl" Buffy said in a painful gasp.
Faith smiled and kissed her.
Xander's Journal
Okay, I'm not too clear on all this time shifting thing, all I know, is that in some point in the next few hours, my best friend in the whole world is gonna be dead, maybe even both of 'em. I can't believe I'm just sitting here staring at a map waiting for whatever it is I'm supposed to waiting for. Let's face it, I was never the smart one, I was the shut up and follow orders one. But now there's no one to give me orders. And Buffy's out there all alone. I failed them.
Buffy's Journal
God, nothing in existance could have ever hurt this much, it feels like I'm being ripped open. Why would woman do this? God it hurts.. if Eve was here right now, I swear to God I'd kick her. Even that vortex didnt hurt this much, it feels like something is trying to claw itself out of me let alone, be given birth. Faith.. God my Faith.. I love her so much, she's been so great through this.. and I'm in so much pain.. I can't open my mouth anymore to do anything other than scream in pain. Caleb's gone.. but now we got to worry about Kennedy, somehow she's been taken over by the First. I didn't even know that was possible. And Dawn... My own sister. It's not her... it can't be her. We have to find Giles, we have to get answers.. Ahhhhhhh!!!! Fuck this hurts!!!
"Willow, are you okay?" Andrew said as he ran into the kitchen and saw the Red head sitting at the table.
"Andrew! You're alive!" she said, lunging from the table and hugged him furiously.
"What's going on?" he said quickly.
"It's happening, all of it, the apocalypse, the birth, the end of existance as we know it.. it's all happening" she said before turning back to the computer.
"Where is everyone?" he said softly.
"The girls are patching each other up, Xander's looking through maps and I'm trying to fix the time distortions" she said hurriedly.
"Time distortions?" he questioned.
"Yeah, it all goes cablooey" she said dismissing him and getting back to work. She didn't have much time.
"Okay.. you need help with that?" he asked.
"Please" she said.
"Where's Giles?" he asked calmly.
"I don't know, it keeps going all funny on me, one minute I'm in the garden with him.. the next I'm here, then I'm back on the floor and it's like he's only walked in the room" Willow told him bluntly.
"That's the same with me. Everything is so muddled. I can't make sense of anything" he told her. "What do you want me to do?" he said quickly, ready to accept his orders.
"Go through those volumes, try and figure out what's happened to Kennedy, I think the same thing has happened to Dawn" she said, moving slightly to the left, her wound starting to cause problems.
"Here first let me see that" Andrew said.
"Not that it matters, we both know how we end up anyway" Willow said as he looked at her wounds.
"We haven't been killed yet, let's not give up hope that the time distortion thing isn't working to our advantage, all we have to do is be careful NOW in this time, and we shouldn't end up like that" he said, patching up her laceration.
"You never give up hope do you?" Willow smiled.
"You guys never taught me to" he smiled before grabbing the first book he could find.
Anya ran crazily through the forest.. she SOOOOOOOOOO had to get back to the house.. one second she was.. the next she was back where she started. She ran faster.. that demon wasn't far behind her.
"Leave me alone you big creep!" she spat as something lunged out at her and pinned her to the ground.
"Creep?" Giles said, a somewhat hurt expression crossing his face.
"Giles!" Anya smiled, she hugged him furiously. "You're alive!" she said.
"Ah- yes.. but I kind of need oxygen to keep it that way" Giles gasped, Anya realised how hard she was holding him and released him from her grip. He quickly stood up and decapitated the ubervamp that had been charging after them.
"We need to get back to the house!" Anya told him quickly.
"Willow's the only back there" he said panting.. age was an awful thing. "I'm trying to find them" he continued.
"Wasting your time, I heard Xander call everyone back to the house, several of the potentials are gone.. we have to get back there and see to the casualties" Anya declared, already running towards the house.
"Anya! Wait! Where is Buffy?" He said charging after her, the demon woman was surprisingly quicker than he had imagined.
"I don't know, she's out there, somewhere with Faith... they took off, now those things are after them and the troops are at home, we need to get them" she said, running quickly towards the house.
"But!" he began to protest. *Flash*
"We both have our jobs to do, I'll see what I can do about the time distortion" Willow told him.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
"We told you.. time is going crazy there isn't a stadey flow anymore.. everything just.." Andrew tried to explain.
*Flash*
"Bleeds but NO these guys have to get into your hair, your skin.. ugh! I need a bath after this" Anya spat as she killed another ubervamp.
Giles hurried after her.
*Flash*
He found himself in the basement. What was going on?? He ran upstairs and into the kitchen, where was Anya? He tripped over something. Andrew!
Someone grabbed him. He turned quickly, stake raised high, Angel.
"We won't get any further if time keeps blinking out like this" Rona moaned as they ran quickly to the bus, the time imbalances were becoming more and more frequent.
Xander told the girls to keep quiet, they had to be somewhere near the old cabin, Faith would take Buffy someplace warm and dry, so he packed everyone into the car and they hurried off towards the cabin in the woods.
They were approaching the cabin, Kennedy/First smiled, this was almost too easy. They drew closer.. soon they would be feasting on slayer flesh, and they would have their victory. Her smile widened.
Faith propped Buffy's head up. She tried her best to make her feel comfortable. There wasn't much Faith could do.. she waited. Oh shit! The baby was coming. She prepared her stake.
Willow skimmed over the book quickly. It was the one that Andrew had brought back from that weird temple. Turned out his hunch was right, they were concealing something. Some kind of weapon. She flicked through the pages and tried to find the passage about how to kill the First.
"Xander and the others are gone" Andrew said.
"The forest?" Willow asked quietly.
"Yep, all twenty-two of 'em" he replied, they shared a glance. It wouldn't be long now until whatever killed them showed up.
"You nervous?" she asked softly.
"A little, a lot, not so much, definitely... no.. I'm petrified" he stuttered. Sitting down beside her.
She smiled back at him. "Don't be, whatever happens is what is supposed to be."
"They can't be that much further ahead" Angel muttered as he tried to keep up with the old watcher. Then he stopped in his tracks, he smelt something. Blood. Buffy's blood.
"I told you it's this way.." Giles said, walking off in the opposite direction.
"No, it's back here!" Angel said running off towards the cabin.
He didn't see the Watcher's eyes turn black and he lifted the axe from the dead potential's arms. He looked down at the girl. Amanda he thought her name was. Shrugging, he followed the vampire towards the cabin, people in that damn town were always far too trusting he smirked.
Faith ran after Dawn, her teeth bared, fangs flaring. The bitch was going to pay for this. She jumped and brought the girl to the ground. Violently Faith turned her over and smacked her across the face.
"Faith please! Please don't hurt me!" she cried. "It was the ritual, it was that thing.. it took over me but it's out now! Please don't hurt me Faith, please!" she pleaded, her watery eyes screaming back at Faith for mercy. For a second Faith wasn't so sure, she stopped to consider what the young girl was saying. Could she be wrong? It wouldn't have been the first time.
"Where's Buffy!?!" Faith demanded, tightening her grasp around the girl's throat. She squeezed a little harder.
"I don't.. Let go Faith.. you're hurting me!!" she screamed.
"WHERE IS SHE?" Faith shouted, morphing into her vampire visage again.
"Please let me go..!" Dawn cried.
"Tell me what I want to know and I will!" Faith snapped.
"I don't know.. I already told you! I don't know anything... I was in my room and then Kennedy.... something started... and then I was here.." Dawn mumbled incoherently. "Where is everybody? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING FAITH? I don't understand.. Where is my sister?" Dawn cried. Her innocent young face staring back at Faith. Why was she wasting her time like this? What if Dawn was telling the truth? Faith eased up her grip on Dawn's throat. She got off her, and began to turn, then she caught something. A gleam in her eyes, she turned and snapped the girl's throat just before she blocked the stake being aimed at her heart.
She had to find Buffy.
Xander brought the truck to a halt. They were here. He piled all of the girls out and gave them their weapons.
"Take your positions" he told them. Each of them formed their teams and took off in different directions. Gurilla warfare. They had limited numbers.. this was the only advantage they had over the enemy.
"Come on" he said to Val and Rona. They headed off into the woods near the cabin. Buffy was bound to there.
"That's just fine.. leave me all alone. Nice to see you too Giles. GOOD OF YOU TO DISAPPEAR!!" Anya shouted. She ran into the house. Where was everybody? She ran into the dining room. A note.
My dearest Anya, I don't think I ever really told you this, or if I did, I don't think I ever made it clear. I love you. I've taken what was left of the girls and I'm going to find Buffy. I'll kill her if I have to. I never really got a chance to say good bye. So if you're alive and you're reading this, let this note be it. I'm not really good at the sharing thing, you know me better for that than anyone. If I don't make it, or if we all blow it. Get on the next moonbeam or whatever it is outta here. Survive as long as you can. I'll always be with you.
- Xander.
Anya clutched the note and folded it neatly into her pocket. That sappy irresponsible fool! How was she supposed to life on without him?? How could she walk away from this now?? She ran into the living room and lifted the axe laying there and headed for the car.
Dawn's Journal
Hey Buffy, I always knew you were kind of nosey and my whole.. you'll only ever read this journal over my dead body comments were always kinda literal. So here it is, here's me. Every little messed up thought I've ever had.. all in these little pages. I got rid of the fake ones. These are the REAL memories. Stuffs getting kinda crazy.. End of the world.. no more Spike.. Vampire Faith. I really wish I could tell you how scared I was. But you'd just try and protect me, try and send me away. I don't want to get sent away. I'd miss you too much, and worrying, if I wasn't already dead, would have killed me. Don't feel too bad I chose this. I just want you to know, you're the best sister a little energy ball could have asked for, and that I love you.
Buffy's Journal
What's going on? Where am I? One second I was with Faith.. now I'm here.. what is this? This shapeless.. black nothing? I can't even feel my body anymore.. am I dead? What's happening? Time is meaningless here.. God that's a bright light... It's starting to hurt my eyes... Won't someone turn that off? I need to see... I have to get back to Faith. Am I still pregnant? Is that light sucking me in?? Shit! I'm being pulled! No! Send me Back!! I want to go back to the others! I have a sacred duty... Let me go!!
Angel ran into the clearing. The cabin! This was it.. this is where the trail stopped. He tore open the door.
Giles followed.
"They aren't here!" Giles declared.
"They were.. and not too long ago either.. the blood is still warm" Angel replied, standing up from Caleb's corpse. He looked around the room. A pool of Buffy's blood lay on the floor.. was she in labor?? The time distortions would certainly make sense.
"We need to get out there.. They couldn't be that far ahead of us" Angel said, walking towards the door.
"WE AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE!!!" Giles snapped, before grabbing and hurling the vampire into the wall. Angel stood up and looked at the watcher.. this was no human.
"What's going on? Who are you??" Angel demanded.
"I am Rupert Giles XXII, fourth generation of the Mckinlets clan, and ninth guardian of the slayer. I am untainted by the powers that be, and believe in the full destruction of this world" he explained. Angel backed away. "For too long I've watched everything I stand for being tainted by the likes of you. By that little whore, I'll make you pay, you and Faith both! Buffy is MINE!" Giles snapped and charged at Angel.
He ducked and watched as the Watcher's body fell lifeless to the floor. An arrow buried in his back. Angel darted his attention to the door. Xander.
"Holy Jesus" Xander said. Angel rushed to his side.
"I know.. who'd have thought Giles?" Val said.
"We need to find Buffy" Angel said.
"Not to question the love man.. but what are you doing here?" Xander said.
Angel held up the necklace and stormed wordlessly out the door, trying to pick up the scent.
"Oh, You know I just usually buy them chocolates and flowers.. But if you think bringing Buffy necklaces and Jewellery.. you might wanna rethink your options.. she's kinda not that easy to win over" Xander said, walking through the woods after his old friend. Staking a vampire as he went.
"Get away from me!" Anya screamed.
"What's the matter sweetie? You not demon enough to hail the dark?" Halfrek said, closing in on her. The car had been abandoned ages ago.
"Please let me go!" Anya cried.
"Why would I do that Anyanka?" she tormented her. "You think Taholfrin would have let me go IF I BEGGED HIM TO???" she screamed at her.
Anya cried and covered her ears. Moments later, the blow came, not from Halfrek, but from a UberVamp. She looked upwards. It smiled and smelt the blood before dragging her off into the woods. The bloodied note Xander had left her, fluttered by the road side. Before it blew away.
"I got it!" Andrew said.
"The anti-distortion spell?" Willow smiled.
"Yeah... Here" he handed her the book, she quickly skimmed over it.
"I'll get the ingredients" he said.
"No need!" Willow said, her eyes burned black and she threw her head up towards the ceiling.
"Somebody Help!!" Buffy screamed as First/Kennedy lifted the baby from the floor, the carvings beginning to form in the youngster's flesh. "LET MY BABY GO!" Buffy snapped.
The First smiled back at her. Its true face playing over the young girl's features, Buffy stared back in horror as it opened its mouth.. The baby cried.
The girls sank back into their circle, the bringers were closing in on them. The ubervamps weren't that far off either..
"We're not getting out of this one!" Maggie said, hugging her sword tighter to her chest. Her gaze darting frantically from bringer to bringer.
"Then let's at least go out fighting!" Amanda yelled back.
"Time that was, and time is.. stop the flow of what will be, keep it still and keep it sound. I bring this reality to the ground. Cease the circle and unbend the line.. Force it straight and force it mine.. return back the proper place and time!" Willow rhymned.
Andrew smiled as the room ran through a multi-tude of times. It stopped. Willow's eyes cleared and she drew in a large breath. She looked down at herself. She was still alive. Turning, she saw Andrew laying on the floor. Slowly she reached for a tea towel to cover his face.
"NO!!!" The First/Kennedy screamed. "THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!!!"
Kennedy pushed all the blackness away from herself. The ubervamps were gone, the hell mouth hadn't been opened yet, she turned to Dawn. Both girls were free. They rushed to Buffy's side. She was still in labor.
"Buffy!" Dawn said, "It's me. That thing that took over is out.. you don't need to be afraid anymore."
"Bitches!" Caleb snapped.
"No!" Buffy screamed. "It's still coming!!"
"Not if I can help it!" Faith sliced the Scythe downwards and cut Caleb in half and then began chopping him into tiny segments. She fell to her knees beside Buffy. Holding her hand tightly. Angel rushed to her other side.
"You're going to be Okay" Angel soothed.
"oh yeah?" the First snapped. "Have you any Idea what you've done? If you think you've in anyway gotten rid of me.. you are VERY WELL mistaken. Haha! I would have been the easy version.. But what you've got coming is worse. You honestly think that witch can keep saving you forever?" it snapped.
Suddenly time a huge jolt forward. They were no longer in the cabin, they were in the Summers house. Buffy was laying on her bed. No longer pregnant. Faith stared at the young woman in the room.
"Thanks Mommys, I'll see you in a little while. Just got a few Demonic essences to devour before I start my own little Armagedon. You really think I was THAT innocent? Please. A union between good and evil.. can only result in one thing. Me!" she said.
A look of horror passed the Slayers face. This was their baby.
Moments later, she disappeared.
Faith's Journal
I never thought I'd live long enough to have kids, being a slayer kind of does that to you. Then I got cursed, and suddenly the thing growing inside me was my biggest sin. My worst mistake. My mother always told me that I could never keep my pants on. I told Buffy everything, eventually. We still don't know everything that happened. By the time we got out of there.. Angel was gone and the hell mouth was closed. The Ubervamps left in the forest looked like something had sucked the life out of them. It's the same with several of the big bads, something is going straight to the source of all evil and draining all its power. But according to Willow, it's not for the greater good. Something worse is coming. Something that's going to make everything that's ever happened look like a cheesy Hollywood horror movie. And it's only a matter of time before it starts beating on the good guys.
Omega
I think that should be my name. I've destroyed the First.. and I am the last ever evil. My dear mothers will never know what hit them. I am my father's daughter. And I will send them into eternity screaming. Just like he wanted.
...continued in The Omega Series...