[ video ]

[antibadstuff]

{{ Buffy will not be replying to this post. This marks the start of her IC hiatus. }}

The portal had opened. This whole day had been a mess. Everything that had happened, the people that had been hurt, everything, and Buffy hadn't made it in time. There was fear in her eyes as the world fell apart, but there was nothing she could do but watch. She'd gotten to Dawn, but she was too late. This was it.

"I'm sorry," Dawn's voice was frantic.

"It doesn't matter."

Dawn moved to run. Buffy was quicker.

"What are you doing!?"

The desperation in Buffy's voice was palpable. She wouldn't lose Dawn. Even if they lost everything, she couldn't lose Dawn.

"I have to jump, th-the energy--"

"It'll kill you!" Buffy cut her off, not wanting to hear about it.

"..I know."

Resignation. Buffy wouldn't let it stay that way. Dawn continued saying that she had to stop the ritual, she knew how. She would not lose Dawn. Almost pleading refusal passed her lips.

The platform rocked angrily as a dragon ripped through the portal and Buffy still held onto her sister.

"Buffy, I have to, look at what's happening!"

Buffy kept shaking her head. Not Dawn. There had to be another way. What was happening... If this was what they had to face, they would face it together.

"Buffy, you have to let me go. The blood starts it and until it stops flowing it'll never stop!"

Buffy's lip quivered faintly. Dawn continued.

"You know you have to let me," Dawn's eyes turned down. Pain. Regret. "It has to have the blood."

The blood. The blood..?

Because it's always got to be blood.

Buffy's eyes turned down slightly, her mind reeling.

It's Summers blood. It's just like mine.

That was--

She's me. The monks made her out of me.

She knew. How to save Dawn, how to save everyone. Buffy knew.

Death is your gift.

Death--

Is your gift.

A soft breath. Slow, calm. It finally made sense. Everything did. Everything she'd been through, everything that she'd done. Everything she would do from this moment on. If it would save Dawn... If it would save everyone, it would be okay.

Buffy's gaze slowly turned toward the cosmic tear shattering the worlds before them.

This was it. She knew. It didn't hurt anymore. She wasn't afraid. This was that moment. The second a Slayer considers it as a possibility, that they wanted it all to end, that would be it. All it took was a second. That second had lead to this, to Dawn being captured. Buffy had thought when she had met her end, it would be terrifying. That it wouldn't be something that she could leave this world without regrets, without anguish.

Buffy didn't want to die, but this... Being able to save Dawn, giving her and everyone she knew-- Xander and Willow, Giles, Anya, Spike, Finn, Sam, Steve, Darcy, Rory, Will, everyone in all of those worlds a chance to live. It didn't hurt. She wasn't scared.

It felt right.

Buffy watched the sun begin to rise. It would rise today. It would rise every day after this. Buffy knew it would. A peaceful quiet found its way to Buffy's heart as she turn back to Dawn.

"Buffy... no," Fear filled Dawn's eyes as Buffy's eyes met with her own.

"Dawny, I have to."

"No!"

Buffy put her hands on Dawn's arms, steadying her.

"Listen to me. Please, there's not enough time, listen. Dawn, listen to me. Listen," A pause. A calm breath, "I love you. I will always love you."

It was why she could do this. She'd killed Angel when the world was going to end that time. She'd known it was right. Nothing in her could do the same to Dawn, even if there was so much more to lose than just this world.

"This is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles, I--" What could she tell Giles? Would he understand? He would-- He would. He knew what it was she had to face and that she knew what she was doing more than anyone, "Tell Giles I figured it out and... and I'm okay."

The softest of smiles tiptoed across Buffy's lips. When Dawn had said she would die to save the world, it had been resignation. This wasn't the same. Buffy's eyes displayed a clear gleam of acceptance. It would hurt everyone, but everything would be okay. She already was.

Dawn's body shuddered as she fought back tears, trying to keep quiet so she could hear Buffy's words. Buffy's final words.

"Give my love to my friends.. you have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong."

Another pause. Brief. Meaningful.

"Dawn, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live... for me."

Buffy caressed Dawn's cheek, lovingly. Comfortingly. It would hurt Dawn so much, but Buffy knew she could make it through this. Everyone could. Everyone would. If there was nothing else Buffy had done in this life, this dawn would not be Dawn's last.

Nothing hurt.

Buffy closed her eyes and kissed Dawn's cheek as tears rolled down the younger girl's skin. She ran. Buffy ran without looking back. It was the longest run of her life. That short distance on the platform was slow, even at such a speed.

As her feet left the platform, Buffy's eyes closed.

There was no pain.

No fear.

No doubt.

All there was was the knowledge that she had done this. It welcomed her and she welcomed it. The portal closed as she felt herself leaving this world with it.

Complete.

Finished.



.........



Buffy's body fell to the ground as the sun rose and Dawn made her way to the ground with Buffy's words in her heart. The video cuts out and just shows a serene scene with her headstone. Flowers at the base, surrounded by nature, the sun is out. At peace.

BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS
1981-2001

BELOVED SISTER
DEVOTED FRIEND

SHE SAVED THE WORLD
A LOT

Comments

[chapter_behind]

Miss Summers--

[of_action]

[Buffy, nooooooooo!!]

[swordplay]

...

[rockstark]

[Tony's eyes are half on the odd portals in the sky and half on this feed. he's riveted until he realizes that he's treating this like a bad reality show, or something off Fox, or the CW, and then he's just horrified.

this is happening. someone really just decided she had to die to stop this. and she wasn't Marines, or Army, or Navy. she wasn't conscripted, she wasn't ... drafted, or anything. she just ... decided.

he doesn't even realize he's reached up to touch the arc reactor in his chest as she jumps.]

Kid.

[the word leaves his lips as a whisper, and some part of him goes cold]

... she's just a kid...

[ms_potts]

[Pepper had been staring at the screens, herself, one hand across her mouth. It seems absolutely unreal. The portals, hopping between worlds... the sea monster... but this is real. That girl just gave her life to close that portal without so much as a second thought.

All the air goes out of her in a rush as a tear rolls down her cheek.]

[rockstark]

[seeing Pepper out of the corner of his eye, Tony frowns. his second reaction is anger - he wants to find whoever started this and made it so that this girl felt she needed to sacrifice herself to stop it, wants to repulsor-blast them into a wall and shove a Jericho down their throat for starters. but that dies quickly when he realizes that anger wouldn't be the thing that'd make Pepper feel better.

only, well.

he doesn't know what would.

he's not good with sentiment, even though he's got more of it than he knows how to handle so he just awkwardly reaches out and takes her hand.

he doesn't know what to say, or do, he just knows they both hurt, right now, because of something that's unfair, something they can't do anything about. and he needs to be there, even if ... he's not sure how.]

[ms_potts]

[She looks down at his hand for a moment. The fact that Tony took her hand meant the world to her. Through the years everyone had always said that he only cared about himself. She'd always known it wasn't true but she was still getting used to him openly caring about her.

That feeling... his hand around hers, the sight they'd just witnessed, the community as a whole, everything is just too much for her. She leans against him, resting her head against his shoulder with a sigh. Closing her eyes she takes comfort in the fact that he's there.]

[rockstark]

[when Pepper leaned against him, Tony all but froze. as much sense as the gesture made, he hadn't been expecting it. he looked over at her, brow knitting slightly in concern. Pepper didn't do Clingy Girl. Pepper had never been Clingy Girl. but here she was, leaning on him. pursing his lips slightly, Tony realized that if she started to cry, he wouldn't be able to handle it. his centers of reasoning would probably just shut right down, and his brain would go straight to blue screen of death.

okay. okay, he could do this. he let out a quiet, short breath that he'd only half realized he was holding, and reached out with his free hand to touch the screen, turning off the community feed and switching the view to a live webcam of Hawaii. yes, they had the beach right outside the window, too, but this was better than staring at static feed of a tombstone while he decided what the hell to do with himself.

if it were just him? there would be distractions on a grand and ridiculous scale. but he was pretty sure that wasn't Pepper's thing, and it occurred to him with a sudden strangeness that he ... didn't know what Pepper's thing WAS. well.

this was vaguely awkward]

[ms_potts]

[She felt him move and opened her eyes to see... Was that Hawaii? She realized that they'd never had a moment like this before, not really. All of her pain had always been handled privately. Even when he'd seen her bloodshot eyes upon his return to the States she'd passed it off with a joke instead of admitting that she'd spent every night of his captivity crying and praying for his safe return.

She relaxed slightly against him. It's not her usual distraction method but it's certainly a start. And the fact that he was trying at all definitely helped.]

[rockstark]

[he's completely at a loss, for a long time, as they stand there. his mind's a riot of thoughts, all fighting for his attention ... both about what just happened, and what to do about this Help The Girlfriend thing. finally, one thought pushes its way to the top of the heap that seems like it might be a solution to both. he speaks up quietly, but seriously - the sort of tone that's usually reserved for something that makes him want to suit up]

I wanna do something for 'em.

[ms_potts]

[She lifts her head to look at him. The determination in his tone and the look in his eyes... it brings her back to that day in his workshop, "There is nothing. Except this." She runs her thumb over his knuckles and nods]

I think that's a very good idea. But what can we do?

[rockstark]

Well, uh. [why do you always have to ask the important questions, Pepper? these snap decisions are supposed to be spontaneous and reckless and not thought out. but maybe thinking about it first is a good idea] Maybe ask the community for ideas? There're people out there who knew her, there must be.

[ms_potts]

[She nods, brushing a few stray hairs back from her face. Taking a breath she lets herself slide into familiar territory. Work helped her think about something other than the emotions leaving a weight in her chest.]

I think that's a good idea. Find out something that we could do that would be tailored to her. Something she felt was important.

[rockstark]

Alright. I'll ask around, see what I can come up with. Give it a little time, though. [he knows that people much closer to her will need it]

[lovethisworld]

Oh Buffy... [She will definitely leaving flowers there later.]

[doyoufondue]

[ It doesn't matter if he would have done the exact same himself in that situation-- She shouldn't have had to. When he told he she'd figure it out that wasn't what he was hoping he meant. Fake gods and portals and... That isn't fair.

There she goes and... He can't even look. He had to look away from the feed. Then he looks back and there's a tombstone and it just hurts. ]

[grimdarkseer]

[Rose says nothing. There's nothing to say. But you can guarantee that seeing Buffy sacrifice herself for the sake of others has cemented her belief that she must do the same, if the situation calls for it]

[denies]

[ Ange is mostly just quiet as she watches - she knows this. She knows what it's like, sacrificing yourself like that, especially not just for 'the greater good' or something like that but especially for a sibling.. ('the blood' is not too difficult of a hint on that, after all.)

She didn't know Buffy all that well, but it doesn't mean she's unfeeling when she watches. Even if it might seem that way. ]

[twotailmechanic]

[Why does he keep watching people die on here? At least her sacrificed saved her world and other worlds.]

[precursorstone_gun_nest]

...

[After a moment, Jak reaches up to switch the feed off. The portals never even reached his world. It occurs to him just how little he actually had to lose in saving the world whenever he's done it. Especially compared to her.]

... Dammit.

[6collegecredits]

[Darcy takes a long while to process what she's seen. For a long while she just sits in front of the computer, replaying the video a few times. It gets harder to watch every time because it's sinking in that it's real. Buffy's gone; doing one of the most heroic things she'd ever seen. Something she's pretty sure she would ever have the guts to do.

After some time she exits the community. A pathetic shadow of a smile is on her face. Buffy really did kick some major ass in the end...]

[believemyvoice]

[Tokiya watches the feed, pretty horrified, until the very end. He is completely silent, as many of the others have been. He didn't know the girl, but he knew enough to be able to see that this was all very real.]

...She wasn't that much older than I am.

[hasbottombunk]

[Rory is heartbroken to see his friend go through all of this. He is also angrier than he has been in a while. He may have actually thought a curse word or two while helplessly watching the video.

He should have been there. Should have been able to do something. Isn't that what traveling with the Doctor always came down to? He had said it was a fixed point. There was nothing any of them could do to change how things unfolded, but he just couldn't accept that. There must have been something they missed. Someway they could have saved her.]

...I'm sorry.

[whitechocolate]

[Sam's cheeks are stained with tears by the end of the video.]

Sorry you never made it to Tahiti...

[Sniffling, he clasps his hands together and bows his head, silently praying for her.]

[starblaze]

[sacrifice...? a true hero. there are no tears, only admiration and dull, brief pangs of sadness. death shouldn't even perturb her, yet here she is, face stony but flames wavering.]

[p_a_r_a_d_o_x]

[Buffy...damn it...]

[daretotry]

No...

[ Finn's slowly shaking his head as the video plays, unable to believe this was actually happening. He'd really thought Buffy would win...

He roughly wipes at his eyes, closing the lid to his laptop when the video stops playing, then goes to lay on his bed ]