After the Daylight Fades:
Buffy stands in her room digging through her weapons chest. She loads up on weapons in preparation for the biggest fight of her life - and un-life. As she digs through the wooden chest she ignores the stakes and holy water and finds places on her body to hide knives. She knows this wont be a fair fight and she plans to fight dirty. Buffy grabs a large battle axe. She stares at the sharpened blade and notices her lack of reflection in its surface, something she’s still not used to. Buffy then walks out of her room and makes her way downstairs.
--
In the living room the blinds are drawn as the sun has not yet set beyond them. Willow is setting up a large circle with crystals and candles on the floor. She remembers when she and Anya brought forth her vampire doppelganger that it took the both of them to do it. Willow suspects that to bring Tara into this dimension that it will take more then a few people and so the furniture has been pushed aside to make room for a large circle of people. Willow stands then as she hears footsteps coming down the stairs. She walks into the entranceway to come face to face with Buffy carrying a large axe.
Buffy stops at the end of the stairs and smiles at Willow, then from the dining room Xander walks into the entryway as well. The three of them stand in silence for the moment and reminisce.
“So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?” Buffy asks as if it were just another day.
“Nothing strenuous,” Willow says.
“Well, Mini-golf is always the first thing that comes to mind,” Xander says.
“I was thinking about shopping… as per usual.”
“Oh! There’s an Arden B. in the new mall,” Willow says excited.
“Well, now aren’t we going to discuss this?” Giles says from his position leaning against the French doors, the gang notices him for the first time as he speaks. “Save the world to go to the mall?”
“I’m having a wicked shoe craving,” Buffy pouts.
Buffy then smiles at Giles and turns to walk into the living room. Xander and Willow follow her and continue their light-hearted conversation as they go. Giles simply watches as they walk off.
“The earth is defiantly doomed,” he says then proceeds to follow after them.
--
A short while later everyone is gathered in the living room and their attention lies on Buffy. She stands with the French doors behind her and all the scoobies as well as potentials before her. The room is buzzing with anticipation as they wait for their leader to speak. Buffy looks them all over for a moment then decides it’s time to get down to business.
“Well, this is it,” Buffy says. “So… here’s the plan, I’m going after the First and when I find it, I’m going to kill it, but to do that you all need to help Willow, she’s going to need almost all of you for this spell. Spike, you’re staying here… this is my fight, and I need you to hold down the fort… I don’t know what the First has planned, but I need you guys to be ready in case it sends any of its uber minions to the house. Xander, you, Giles, and Spike need to keep watch while Willow does her spell. Everyone just needs to be prepared.”
“We’ll be right behind you Buff… except only here at home instead of behind you in the physical sense,” Xander says and Buffy smiles at him.
“Willow… do you have everything you need?”
“I’m all set.”
“Alright then… hopefully I’ll see you all again soon.” With that Buffy turns toward the door, but she stops before she leaves and turns to face Dawn. Her eyes lock with her younger sisters and she tries to think of something to say.
“Don’t… anything you say now is gonna sound like goodbye,” Dawn says and Buffy simply nods, then with her axe in her hand she walks out the door.
--
Buffy stands on the front porch for a moment as the last of the sun’s rays disappear beneath the horizon. Then she steps out following the shadow that grows into the yard. Moments after walking out the front door Buffy is preparing herself for the fight and with a shake of her head she has her game face on. She walks bristly with her axe held tight in her hand and her hair flowing in the breeze. With each step the light from the house fades away and she moves further into the darkness.
“Here we go,” Buffy says as she proceeds to walk in the direction of the now abandoned Sunnydale High School.
--
Xander, Spike and Giles arm themselves in preparation for whatever may come their way. Earlier Xander had voiced the question of how the uber-vamps would get in with out an invite; he was quickly reminded that the invitation clause only applied to the living which Buffy is now not. The three men are currently in Buffy’s room, where the good weapons live. Spike pulls an axe out of the weapons chest while Xander grabs a sword as does Giles.
“Well this is it…” Xander says to the two men before him as he raises his sword, “It’s up to us to keep these girls safe; a laid off carpenter, a retired watcher, and a brooding vampire against whatever the First sends this way which will most likely be some super strong and ugly vampires.”
“Right… so let’s do some damage then,” Spike says with a smirk. He knows the uber-vamps are stronger then he is and he doesn’t know how many will be coming their way, but he does know that the First won’t let this fight be just between it and Buffy. He also knows that he’s going to do whatever it takes to keep everyone alive. “And I don’t brood… that’s Angel’s territory.”
--
The First stands outside the front doors of the high school with the three uber-vamps that it has raised before it. They stand at attention for their leader to give them instructions. The First stares at her minions in the form of Buffy. Her arms are crosses and she has an evil glimmer in her eyes that twinkles as brightly as the stars above. She purses her lips then begins to speak.
“The slayer is dead, which means her house is unprotected… go now, then wait for my signal… when I give it… kill them all.”
--
Willow has just explained to the potentials how the spell they will be performing works. They will need to chant over the photograph Willow has of Tara and if all goes well she will appear before them. A knot had formed in Willow’s stomach when she had said her former lover’s name, but she has since untied it and is ready to do what needs to be done. She sits down at the head of the circle with the photograph before her. In the image Tara is smiling bright and has a stack of books in her hands. It’s from their first year in college. Willow smiles down at the picture remembering the day when she took it; then she looks back up. Dawn sits down beside her and offers her a reassuring smile as she takes her hand. Anya is next to sit down and then a few potentials follow. Kennedy however remains seated on the couch with her eyes glued to the floor and her arms crossed tightly.
Unbeknownst to everyone else in the room the First has taken a seat beside Kennedy appearing as her deceased watcher. It speaks to her, invisible to everyone else, and its tone is wicked. Not at all the tone her watcher had ever used with her. All the same having the thing beside her wearing her watcher’s face is unnerving.
“It’s time to join them… your lover is looking at you from across the room… can you feel her emerald eyes bearing into you? They beg you to help her, to help her bring me into this world.”
Kennedy wants to scream, she wants to run out of the room and refuse to participate in this magical intervention, she wants to find something to hit, but she doesn’t. Instead Kennedy looks up and meets Willow’s eyes. Something in that moment makes her push aside all of her previous thoughts. Something in Willow’s eyes tells Kennedy that this is the way to win. The First’s tauntings have only been fed to her to stir things up possibly even to break up the group or simply because the First can’t help but brag. Kennedy, however, knows she can’t trust it, but she can trust Willow and so she does. Kennedy gets up from the couch and sits in the circle beside Willow.
“Are you okay?” Willow asks her with true sincerity.
“Yeah… I just uh… I realized that just because the First thinks it’s gonna win doesn’t mean it will.”
--
Sunnydale High School comes into view. Buffy pauses for a moment staring at the building from across the street. She can feel the evil energy of the Hellmouth calling to her. Like a siren’s song the Hellmouth attracts her vampire self to it. The Hellmouth, however, is not why she’s here. Buffy is here for the First and that is the only thing on her mind as she walks closer to the building. As Buffy reaches the door it appears to her. The First materializes with Buffy’s face before her.
"You think you can fight me? I'm not a demon, little girl. I am something that you can't even conceive. The First Evil… Beyond sin, beyond death. I am the thing the darkness fears. You'll never see me, but I am everywhere. Every being, every thought, every drop of hate…" The First says.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard it already. You’re evil, I get it, but I’m still going to kick your ass.”
“Even if you win, even if you defeat me, you can never destroy me. I will spread out for a while, but I will regroup eventually. I have an eternity to act again.”
--
Xander, Spike, and Giles step out the front door of the Summer’s home and walk down the steps of the front porch to stand in the grass. It’s then that they see exactly what they’ve come outside to fight. Three turk-hans slowly make their way toward the house. Their rough skin, dirtied faces and ragged clothes are illuminated by the yellowed street lamp. Xander, Spike and Giles hold their weapons ready to strike, however the creatures have stopped just beyond the yard.
“What are they waiting for?” Xander asks.
“For us to finish the spell,” Giles says.
“Right… the buggers want the First corporeal,” Spike says. Then through the window Spike can see as white light fills inside and he hears as the chanting grows. As the room swarms with a twinkling bright mist Spike turns back toward Xander and Giles. “Get ready, their about to get what they’re waitin’ for.”
[Reviews - 62]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3524 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +