Here it is, as promised. I hope you still enjoy it. I'm feverishly at w**k on the sequel and culmination of the trilogy. I'm doing two versions of it, I still don't know which I'll post though :blink:
But here is the finale. Enjoy :D
War with the Gods. Finale.
"Right, that's it." Buffy cried, exasperated by this most recent turn of events. "I've had it. I don't really care now if you are Jesus Christ, you can just go back to wherever the hell it was you came from and tell your daddy that we don't want an apocalypse right now thankyou."
"Uhm, Buff? You sure you wanna be talking like that, to the son of God and all?" Xander cautioned.
"I've fought one God already, and beat her sorry ass" Buffy gave no more than a passing glance to Glory, but it was enough for her to see the discomfiture on the God's face, Buffy smiled inwardly, "I've even faced down the first evil. If this guy's so tough, why doesn't he just bring it." Buffy strode to the figure who appeared to be Christ, brought her face up to a level with his and practically shouted at him, "Just bring it already, I'm bored."
An explosion rocked the group, as precariously lodged pieces of masonary found themselves dislodged and hurtling towards the ground. "Ask, and ye shall receive." Christ replied, without a note of irony in his voice.
Dawn, still in a state of shock at the appearance of the saviour, opened the door and gazed upon a war in progress. Glowing figures, Dawn assumed them to be angels, swarmed over the army of darkness that had previously looked so intimidating to her. Flames flew in every direction, angels with fiery swords battling demons composed of pure fire. It was so hideous, that even though she found the sight disgusting, she could not tear her eyes away from the scene. A giant grabbed an angel by the head and tore at it's wings, then proceeded to throw the prone form to the ground and stamp on it. "Stop it." Dawn whispered. "Stop it," Dawn's voice grew louder, then louder still, "STOP IT NOW!" The recognisable blue glow of a portal opened up around the combatants, enveloping all engaged in the fight, then the fight itself vanished.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, an army of demons looked around themselves, confused as to what had just happened.
In a pasture in Wisconsin, a similarly confused group of angels looked around, mystified by this new turn of events.
"Now, answer us. Why are you doing this?" Dawn turned on the figure, assumed to be Christ, her eyes glowing with cold blue fire, the same fire that seemed to burn at her fingertips. "Answer me."
"It is time. There is no other reason than that. This world is destined to end now, and so it shall. Despite your attempts to prevent the rapture, it shall continue. As it is written, so mote it be." The pure, innocent and unassuming eyes met Dawn's fury filled gaze. "Our armies are almost limitless, we gather more forces by the second, you cannot hold out forever. My father has decreed this, all is as it must be."
"And, you heard this directly from your father did you?" The voice came from behind Buffy, she knew that she daren't look behind her, in case it was a lie, or in case it was true, she just dare not look. Instead she looked at Dawn, her sister's mouth had formed a perfect o shape, and her eyes had returned to their normal colour and form, but tears welled around them. That was all that Buffy needed to confirm it, she turned.
"Mom...?"
Her mother's embrace was so familiar, so warm and loving, she had not realised how much she had missed it. She had grown so much since her mother's passing, taken on so much responsibility, so much pain and hurt. But this hug washed all of that away. Now she was the child, in the arms of her mother, she wept, long full on sobs emerged from deep within her. She heard the sound of running feet, but barely acknowledged them, but soon she felt another set of arms around her and her mother, Dawn's arms. All of the Summers women cried at this reunion. Until a crystal clear voice broke the joy.
"My father's voice was heard by all. There is no disputing it."
"The Metatron's voice was heard by all, yes, but what about your father?" Joyce replied, from the middle of the Summers huddle.
"The Metatron is my father's voice."
"Is it? Can he not speak for himself? I've never met a man who can't speak for himself. Who is unwilling to share his every thought, feeling and notion, at the drop of a hat."
"Ahem?" Came Oz's polite semi cough.
"OK, I've met one man who didn't do all that."
"Uhm, you've met Angel? Right mom?"
"Stop poking holes in your mothers argument Dawn. It's not nice." Joyce's playfull chastising of Dawn raised a nervous snigger from a couple of the group.
"The Metatron has always spoken the word of my father, it has always been thus." The figure of Christ seemed to shimmer with rage, seething just under the surface, "I shall brook no more of your lies and heretical suppositions. If you continue, my father shall smite thee."
"Let him try!" Buffy stood in front of her mother, staring into the eyes of the Messiah, her gaze unflinching, her resolve indomitable, her anger, etched on her face. No one could threaten her mother with impunity, not even Jesus Christ. "He tries anything, I'll take him down, even if it kills me doing it. What's another God? I'll have two under my belt."
"That's it," The cry came from Glory, "We're gonna go right now, you didn't beat me in a fair fight, I'm gonna rip your head from your shoulders and shove it right up your a...." Glory's threat went unfinished, as Senga brought the Slayer's ax in an upward swing right through one of Glory's outstretched arms, cleaving the limb, with almost surgical precision. Glory could only look at the stump, her arm ended just below the elbow, "My manicure. You bitch." With that final insult, the God fainted.
"Mrs Summers is quite correct though." The voice of Wesley cut through the stunned silence in the crowded hallway. "How can you be sure the Metatron is speaking the word of your father? Could the Metatron not have been fooled? Could you have been fooled?"
"No!" The emphatic reply was followed by a rumble of thunder. "The works of my Father are ineffable, they are perfect, it is time for this world to end, for life to start anew. The cleansing must occur. For all of your sakes, whether you like it or not."
"Your mother disagrees." Joyce's voice, almost a whisper, was loud enough to be heard over the still rumbling thunder, the ominous sound of rolling doom ceased abruptly.
"What know you of my Mother?" Christ looked at Joyce, a look of pain, mixed with anger, and the slightest hint of fear.
"We speak for her." Senga's mother stepped next to Joyce, Senga took a defensive posture close to her mother, Robin's mother also joined them. The three mothers stood in front of Christ, and held out there arms to him.
"You have been deceived, my son." The three women spoke as one. "It is not yet time. This world is still young, these people..." The women looked at the now slack jawed group around them, "are but infants, barely learning to stand. Would you cut them down so quickly? At the behest of a formless voice, claiming to speak your father's words?" Again, all three women fixed their eyes on Christ, again they spoke in unison, "these are not the actions of my son. Borne of my womb, flesh of my flesh. You are your father's son, but also, you are mine. Let the spirit of the man see clearly." As they finished speaking, a glow enveloped the figure of Christ, and the light left him. Standing as a man, in front of his mother, he fell to his knees and wept. Joyce sidestepped her daughter quickly, and wrapped her arms around the figure of Christ.
"How could I be so blind? Mother, forgive me?" He wept as Joyce held his head to her bossom.
"Always, you are my son, you are the son of the divine, and still you are but a man.
"But how can this be put right? The rapture has begun, it is inevitable now. Only my father can stop this"
"Then someone must speak with your Father." Joyce spoke as though she already knew who that person must be.
"But.... He speaks to no one. His voice, brought all of creation into being, it would strip the eternal soul from any who heard it, we must address the metatron."
"No!" Joyce replied, "We must deal with the Metatron, he is not what he once was."
"But he is the greatest of my fathers works." Christ replied.
"No, that is you my child. You are but a man, but man is your father's greatest acheivment. His proudest w**k, his most noble creation. You, all of mankind, works of beauty, works so full of hope and joy, of spirit and fire." Joyce stood up, and stepped back from the now pensive figure of Christ.
"Where are you going?" He asked in the feeble, pleading voice of a child.
"Your father and I need to have words." Joyce replied.
"No! You heard what he said, you know what'll happen to you if you go there." Buffy grabbed her mother by the shoulders. "I'll go. Saving the world is what I do remember?"
"And protecting you, is what I do Buffy, it's what I'll always do. My two girls," She wrapped Buffy and Dawn in a hug so tight, neither of he daughters could escape if they wanted to. "You've both grown so much, you've gotten so strong, but this is one fight, for your mother. You'll be needed elsewhere. And so will you." Joyce's eyes settled on the other Buffy, the feral slayer from another world, stood shaking in the presence of Joyce, deep in her heart she knew that this woman wasn't 'her' mother, but the bigger part of her didn't care. Joyce's arms seemed to grow longer as she beckoned the other Buffy to join the hug, the lost girl ran forward, into the arms of the woman who both was and wasn't her mother. "You all need to be strong for one another. There will be tow guides to lead you to where you need to go. And one other, from another place to take you the rest of the way. It has to be this way. Don't ever doubt yourselves, you're stronger than that, more powerfull than that, you are my girls, and I'll always be there for you." The voice sounded distant, Buffy looked up to the eyes of her mother, as Joyce seemed to fade, but still the three girls felt the tight hugs of their mother, the spirit and fire of the soul that bore them, and then, it was gone. Followed in rapid succession by the man who was Christ the saviour, and the demons in the hall, Glory faded from sight, and so did Wilkins...
But before he faded completely he shouted, "We'll need to do this again, REAL soon, It was good to see you again Faith, Don't forget me, I'll never forget you." Then he was gone.
"Is it over? I think that it's over. Did that feel a little too easy to anyone else but me?" Xander started rambling, until he saw the looks of near despair on the faces of the Buffy's and Dawn, They had just lost their mother, again. It was almost too much for them to bear, but Joyce had been right, they were strong, and Buffy felt that the real fight was just beginning.
Seattle, 4 days later.
"So Buffy, you never did tell us who called you to get us here? You've brought the entire school here, for what? A joyride? Take in the music? The urban culture?" Buffy actually smiled, the first smile that Anya had seen on her lips since Joyce disappeared. Since the world went back to, well, normal, if you could use that word to describe the human world.
"Nice to see you again Summers, looking good." The voice came from the shadows, "Your friends are cute, but they need a bit of training as lookouts." The voice broke into a laugh.
"It was good to hear from you again, how've you been? What are you doing in Seattle?" Buffy replied to the voice.
"Oh, you know, this 'n' that struggling musician and all that stuff."
"Four platinum albums and your still struggling? Wow, fame and fortune aint what it used to be." Buffy retorted. The figure laughed as it stepped from the shadows. Dawn recognised him instantly from her vantage point.
"Pike?" She almost cried out with joy and surprise.
2 streets away, in a darkened alley Willow stopped walking. "We're here."
"OK, and all I see is dark alley?" Faith replied.
"No, Willow's right, this is it, this is the place we're meant to be." Ken... No, faith still had trouble thinking of her as Tara, now that she wore Kennedy's form, it was weird, Faith reasoned, but more so for Willow she supposed.
Suddenly blue light filled the alley, casting strange shadows all about. Faith recognised it instantly as a portal, immediately she was on the defensive, taking up a position between Willow and the gateway. Three figures and a blur appeared in the light. The blur turned out to be a creature, giant, almost cat like as it bore down on Faith. But it didn't linger with her, it continued on, towards Willow. "This, I think, belongs to you?" One of the figures asked. "We have followed it, the lengths of the ghost roads to come here. It has a purpose here, an important one.
Willow looked stunned at the giant cat in front of her, "Miss Kitty?" The big cat purred as it heard the almost forgotten name, and smelled the scent of the one's who loved her.
The guides have come.
But where shall they lead?
To the Original Sinner.
The battle for reality has begun, we just haven't realised it, until now.................