Avatars
by Kirayoshi
Chaos Theory
[reviews]
Chapter 4
Chaos Theory
When Willow Rosenberg was a child, some of her favorite bedtime stories came from Aesop's fables. There was one in particular that she remembered, The Scorpion and the Frog.
A scorpion wanted to cross a river, but he couldn't swim. So he asked a frog if he would carry him across the water to the other shore. The frog scoffed at the scorpion, asking, "Why should I risk my life to help you? You would sting me as I carried you, and I would die of your poison."
The scorpion answered, "That would be foolish of me, friend Frog. If I stung you while we were both in the middle of the river, I would drown as you sank. You have my word. I will not sting you."
The frog reluctantly agreed to carry the scorpion across the river. But halfway across, the scorpion did indeed sting the frog.
"Why did you sting me?" the frog cried as he began to sink. "You promised you wouldn't sting me, and now you have doomed us both."
"I am a scorpion," his doomed passenger answered. "It is my nature."
Now, Willow pondered what was Buffy's nature.
Ever since her altercation with that vampire who claimed to be Dracula, only a month or so ago, Buffy had become more focused on finding out what it meant to be a Slayer. Dracula had said that there was a darkness within the Slayer. Was it that darkness that drew Tiamat to her? That caused her to be held sway by Tiamat's evil?
Considering how Willow herself had been swayed by Marduk's pawn, by Tara, Willow didn't have much room to argue. No, not Tara, Entropy.
She realized now that she didn't know who Tara was, would probably never know Tara. Who she saw, Entropy had wanted her to see. The real Tara had no memory of the love Willow had for her. The love that was meant for another. She realized that now.
Entropy had diverted Willow from her true love. Buffy Summers.
And now, Willow feared, she had realized this truth too late. Buffy was enslaved by Tiamat, and if she finished her task, she would succeed in destroying all life on Earth in the fires of Hell.
It fell to Willow to face her beloved. To talk to her, reason with her, bring her back to herself. Or, failing that, to kill her.
As Giled drove Willow, Xander, Anya and Thespia(formerly known as Buffy's sister Dawn) to the final site of battle, Willow prayed fervently to the Goddess that it wouldn't come to that. For if it did, she knew that she'd only have one choice, to fall on her own sword.
"Okay, Buffy," she whispered to herself. "Either we both pull through from this, or we both go. Don't let me down now." Thespia alone heard her vow, and said nothing. She also prayed that Buffy could be saved. Without the light that was the Slayer, the darkness that would follow would be unbearable.
========
"Excellent," the animated corpse of Riley Finn grinned hugely as he surveyed the damage caused by his pawn, the human once known as Buffy Summers. The corpses of a hundred humans lay strewn in her path, all guilty of only one crime; they dared to cross the path of the Slayer.
All that was Riley Finn died many months ago; the soul that brought the body to a mockery of life was that of Dischord, the servant of Tiamat. For more millenia than the human mind can fathom, Tiamat and Marduk had played this game. That's all it was between them, a game. But whichever side won the game, humanity would pay the forfeit. The prize for their game was the right to end all life on Earth.
Now, the preperations have been made. All that was left was for them to wait. Soon, Marduk's avatar would enter the circle, and the final battle would begin. The one called Willow, Dischord mused. A fitting choice, the best friend and secret love of Tiamat's avatar, Buffy Summers.
The final site had been chosen by fate; the nexus of demonic energy directly over the Hellmouth. The two combatants would draw on that power as they fought each other. Whichever one was able to command the greater share of that power would defeat the other, and the contest would be decided.
He scanned the athletic field outside the remains of the school. Tiamat loomed huge over the battlefield, his ten fiery eyes glaring balefully out of five hideous heads. The terrible dragon could be seen from anywhere in Sunnydale, but would only stand by and watch. And assure that no one would interfere in what was to happen.
Soon. Soon the final war between Marduk and Tiamat would be settled. Between order and chaos. And when chaos won this night, the world would be remade in fire, in fury, in death.
A sudden movement caught Dischord' attention. He glanced right, and saw a vehicle swerve and stop on the field. A miserable mortal, he thought, as the driver got out of the car. On closer examination, Dischord recognized the person in question; Joyce Summers, the mother of Tiamat's avatar. Yes, he smiled. She should be allowed a place of honor, to witness her daughter's final victory.
"Buffy!" Joyce shouted to her daughter. She saw the pile of corpses on which she stood, and blanched. Did she cause all this death? This destruction?
Joyce stood as close to Buffy as she could without touching the dead bodies. "Buffy, what's going on? What have you done? Why is all this happening?"
"Ah, Ms. Summers," Dischord greeted her, smiling. "How good to see you."
"Riley," she turned to the servant of Tiamat, not knowing what he was. "Would you talk to Buffy? Something terrible's happening, and I know that Buffy's in the center of all this."
"You are wrong, Ms. Summers," 'Riley' said. "This isn't terrible, it's wonderful. Your daughter has been chosen by Tiamat to be his avatar. She will defeat the avatar of Marduk, and bring about a new age."
"A new age?" Joyce gasped at the corpse of Riley, growing more hysterical. "What are you talking about? My daughter's standing on a mountain of dead people, my younger daughter's claiming to be a goddess, and you're acting like nothing's wrong! What are you--"
"Goddess?" Dischord raised an eyebrow at the word. "Your daughter's a goddess? Which goddess?"
Joyce desperately grabbed at this potential lifeline. "Uh, she said she was called Thespia. But what--" Before she could continue, 'Riley' grabbed her throat and started to squeeze.
"That was not what I wanted to hear," he snarled at Joyce, who grew more fearful as the countenance of Buffy's boyfriend turned more demonic. Not like a vampire's, that literally changed, but something else. Something that came from his inner self, and placed his features in a more hellish cast. With one terrifying moment of clarity, Joyce realized that this man, whom she trusted with her daughter's heart, was nothing less than the Destroyer. The evil one. The Anti-christ, for want of a better word.
'Riley' tossed Joyce onto the ground in a crumpled heap. "She'll upset what is to be, Master," Dischord addressed the mountainous form of Tiamat. "She champions these puny mortals, she would prevent us from bringing about their destruction." The god-being glared at Dischord with one of its heads, while another head scanned the horizon. Without the awkwardness of speech, it spoke to Dischord. And Dischord nodded serenely. "Yes, Master," he breathed. "It is too late for her. She cannot stop us at this stage of the game." As he spoke, another car sped toward the site, toward destiny. "She is here." Dischord harrumphed. "Is this the chariot of one touched by a god? How pathetic."
Giles, Willow, Xander and Anya jumped out of the car, accompanied by a young girl, a pre-teen. Dischord looked at the child closely; not fooled by eyesight, he saw her as she truly was. Thespia. Mankind's champion. He looked at the red-haired one. Buffy's beloved, Marduk's avatar. But now, Dischord could see, she no longer bore the mark of Marduk. Thespia had gotten to her. She was herself again.
How disappointing, thought Dischord. The match goes to Tiamat by default. And so the world dies and is reborn in fire.
Willow carried the sword of Gilgamesh, which, according to Giles, was the only weapon that could stand up to Tiamat's pawn. Buffy's already prodigious strength had been augmented incredibly by Tiamat's power. With the sword of Gilgamesh, Willow stood a slim chance. Without it, she couldn't face Buffy and live.
Xander and Anya rushed to where Dischord had dropped Joyce to tend to her. Giles stood back and spoke to Thespia; "Is there nothing you can do to intercede?"
"This is Willow's play, Rupert Giles," Thespia answered. "Only she can achieve victory this night. Only her love can save Buffy and the world now." Giles nodded, unhappy that he could not aid the two women who had become like his own daughters.
Willow approached Buffy nervously, sword in hand. Dischord suddenly leapt in front of her, leering menacingly. "You're not going any further, Willow Rosenberg. I won't let you prevent what we've started."
"Riley," Willow grimaced as she spoke the name. "I should have guessed. Tell you what, I'll go save the world, then I'll grab a shovel and come back for you, 'kay?" She moved forward, only to be pushed back by Dischord.
"Fine then," she glared at her opponent. "Screw the shovel." She held out her sword, preparing to defend herself.
Dischord sneered, and extended his right hand. Eldritch energy flew from his fingers, connecting with its target. Willow shuddered as the energy coursed through her, then she instinctively raised the sword. The energy now flew to the sword as though attracted to it, and Willow now understood. The sword was a capacitor, capable of absorbing arcane energies like a sponge and storing them like a battery, to be released under its wielder's control. Willow grinned with that realization. She knew how to fight Tiamat now. But first, she had to deal with the god's underling.
She saw the look of doubt in Dischord's eyes, and made her move. Quickly, she swung the sword in a wide downward arc, aiming for the shoulder. The sword slashed cleanly through the joint, severing the arm cleanly. The first thing Willow noticed was that there was no blood flowing from the wound.
Dischord stood still, unfazed by Willow's attack. He knelt down, picked up the severed limb, and touched the severed end to the wound. Within seconds the arm reattached.
Xander and Anya watched as they stood guard over Joyce. Xander whistled at the sight. "Good trick. You do bar mitzvahs, Captain America?"
He held up the newly restored arm for Willow to see. "Ouch," he leered. "You can't kill me, little mortal. I'm already dead."
"Thanks for the info, asswipe!" Willow swung the sword again, in several strokes, dismembering Riley's corpse, first the arms, then the head. The headless body stumbled across the field, as the head tumbled off of his neck.
Willow tripped the body, and as it fell, she neatly hacked off the legs. She then tossed the severed limbs away, muttering, "Eww, ick, ick!" with each one. Xander, still observing the fight from a distance, commented in a thick British accent, "All right, we'll call it a draw."
"You cannot win," the severed head of Riley Finn spoke hoarsely from the nearby field; evidently it still possessed some of its vocal chords. "Tiamat! Send your avatar! Destroy your enemies!"
The five-headed dragon stirred, its central head gazing angrily on the battlefield. Suddenly, Buffy awoke from her stupor, and charged at Willow, sword in hand.
Willow held her sword at the ready, preparing to confront her friend, but not to attack. Buffy swung her sword in a wide arc, but Willow instinctively summoned the power of the Sword of Gilgamesh. Instantly, a force field was erected in front of her, and Buffy's blade bounced off of it like a rubber ball. Buffy hacked at the sword mindlessly, and Willow concentrated, using her sword to absorb the kinetic energy of each of Buffy's impacts, to strengthen the shield.
"Buffy," Willow pleaded with the woman in front of her. "You have to shake Tiamat's influence. He's put the whammy on you, he's got you under some kind of spell." If the Slayer understood any of Willow's words, she didn't give any indication. She simply pressed her attack on Willow's shield. Willow feared that she would tire out too quickly, literally working herself to death.
The Slayer then stopped trying to break the shield, and pointed at Willow with the sword. "Coward," an unearthly voice issued from Buffy's lips, as her face contorted into a hateful grimace. "You hide behind your shield, afraid to face me! Come out of there, avatar of Marduk, and face me as it was intended!"
"You want me to face you, Buffy?" Willow challenged. With a gesture of her hand, she dropped her shields. "I will not fight you, Buffy."
"There is no Buffy," the blond shrieked. "I am Chaos! I am Tiamat's avatar! You and I, we were destined to face each other on this battlefield. We will battle this night, to decide the fate of humanity!"
"Oh, yeah," Willow chided, holding her blade in a defensive stance. "Some choice, either frozen by Marduk or roasted by Tiamat! Me, I've got a better choice. Join me, drop Tiamat's influence, and fight for humanity, as you always have!"
"NO!" the Slayer screamed. Willow thought her voice sounded like someone had their foot on her reverb pedal. "Humanity is evil. Corrupted beyond all redemption. I was a fool to defend these beasts. It is right that humanity should perish!"
"It is not right, and you know it!" Willow shouted. "These are not your thoughts, they are Tiamat's. The Buffy Summers I know, she would never let her despair win out. She has fought the greatest evils to ever walk the earth, she's never given up on that battle! Even when she was forced to fight the man she loved, she never allowed that terrible event to break her. She never allowed her despair to completely overwhelm her."
The Slayer lunged at Willow, intent for the kill. Willow dropped back, recalling some basic self-defense moves that Buffy had taught her last year. She pushed the Slayer off of her body with her legs, and the Slayer landed squarely on her feet, crouching catlike in front of Willow. "No, Buffy," Willow insisted. "I will defend myself, but I will not fight you."
"Then you will die!" The Slayer lurched at Willow, who still stood before Buffy, sword in hand.
"Fight it, Buffy," she soothed. "Remember who you are. The Chosen One. The Slayer. The good guy!" The Slayer slowed in her pace, but still advanced. "You're not the servant of Tiamat. You've never served anyone before. You've always fought against authority. Remember the Council? Their damned Cruciamentum? When they sent Wesley to take over as your Watcher? When you turned your back on the Council?"
Buffy stopped, and Willow recognized the look of recollection on her face. "They're in England," she whispered, recalling what she had said before. "I don't think they'll know which way I'm facing."
"Yes, Buffy," Willow answered hopefully. "You fought them, fight Tiamat. Fight its control of you, Buffy. I know you, you can do it. I know you, Buffy."
"Do you?" The voice was pleading, desperate. "Who am I?"
Willow gazed at Buffy's face, keeping her eyes affixed on Buffy's eyes, her voice level and clear. "You are Buffy Summers. You are my best friend. You kept me safe from all that the Hellmouth could throw at you. You gave me confidence when I was afraid. You told me I was beautiful when I didn't believe it. And you told me that so many times, I had no choice to believe you. Whatever I am, I never would have been without you. Not to mention that without you, we'd all be dead or worse long ago." She could feel the tears well in her eyes, and thought she saw Buffy's eyes glisten with unshed tears. "You're the most important person in my life, Buffy. I love you."
Love, Thespia had said. That was the key, the one thing that neither Chaos and Order could counter. Love was Chaos and Order at one in harmony. Chaotic in its emotions, its conflicting passions, its combined storms and calms. Orderly in its simplicity, in its matching of two who were meant to be together. And it was her love for Buffy that Willow now wielded as her most potent weapon against Tiamat.
And her weapon was effective. Buffy looked at Willow, as though she had never seen her before. She reeled as though she were to faint. Willow rushed toward her, steadied her in her embrace. Buffy shook violently in Willow's arms, like a wet animal. She then looked at Willow's eyes again, seeing the warmth and love in their jade depths.
"W-W-Willow?" Buffy gasped aloud, and Willow could hear her voice clearly. It was her Buffy, not Tiamat or Chaos but Buffy. "Oh, God, Wills, what have I done? I could have killed you--I wanted to kill you--oooh Willow---" Buffy sobbed quietly in Willow's arms, as Willow held her, her embrace becoming Buffy's tether, anchoring her to the world. She turned her face to Willow's once again, she smiled at the redhead and said, "I love you, Willow Rosenberg."
As Willow rejoiced to hear these words from Buffy's lips, Thespia walked up to them, and standing beside them shouted to the dark god; "Hear me, Tiamat! And you, Marduk, you are never far from the scene of the battle! Behold now the final result of that battle! Your avatars have defeated your plans! They have, by their love, proven the worth of their race!"
Buffy looked at Willow, stunned. "Is that Dawn?" she asked. "My kid sister?"
"Uh, yes and no," Willow hedged. "I'll explain later."
"You have decreed that this night should be your final war," Thespia continued to address the two gods not as their equal but as their superior, "that this place be your final battlefield! Be assured, dark gods, that I shall hold you both to that vow. You will never trouble mankind again, not so long as I live!"
Tiamat's heads shuddered, and a terrible keening wail issued from its many mouths. "Uh oh," Buffy whispered to Willow. "Very large monster has a mad on."
"We'd better start evacuating," Willow answered, as the two of them started to back away. Buffy called out, "C'mon, Dawn! Let's get you out of here pronto!"
Dawn stood her ground, between Buffy and Tiamat. "You will leave this plane, Tiamat!" she commanded the dark god, and Buffy was shocked by the unshakable authority in her sister's voice. She slowly understood the power that Dawn seemed to possess.
But whatever power Dawn held, Tiamat was more than equal to the task. Fireballs began to shoot from its many eyes, raining down on the field. Xander and Anya immediately helped Joyce to her feet and the three of them ran to Giles' van.
Before they could take three steps, a fireball engulfed them. They didn't even have time to scream. Within seconds, their charred remains were all that was left.
Buffy, Willow and Giles witnessed the butchering with horrified eyes.
"Mom--" Buffy gasped.
"Xander--Anya--" Willow whimpered. And still the rain of unholy fire fell around them. She looked away from the carnage, from the pile of ash that had once been three people. Her eyes landed on the Sword of Gilgamesh, the sword she had discarded in her battle with Buffy. With a terrible finality, she knew what she had to do.
She broke away from Buffy's arms, and ran toward the sword. Before she could grab it, Tiamat turned one of its heads toward her. Buffy saw the glow in its eyes, and immediately screamed for Willow to stop. Too late, the fireball split the ground in front of Willow, sending up a wave of dirt, rock and sod twenty feet into the air. Buffy jumped at Willow, grabbing her in mid-flight and pushing her out of the way.
It was already too late. Buffy quickly examined Willow's injuries. Willow had been hit by a ton of rock at a hundred miles an hour. Her erratic breathing, the deep lacerations on her head and arms from flying shards of rock, the terrible purpling of her forehead, all pointed to the same terrible reality. Whatever Tiamat had thrown at Willow, she wouldn't live long.
"Giles!" she screamed as Giles rushed to her side. "Get her to a hospital, NOW!"
"N-no," Willow groaned, her voice as ragged as she looked. "The Sword--of Gil-gam-m-mesh -- only thing that can(Unggh!)kill Tiamat--"
A grief-stricken Buffy glanced at Giles. "I'll look after her," her Watcher promised. "Go."
Buffy took the sword from Willow's limp fingers. She glanced back at her beloved, fearing that it would be the last time she looked upon her. Then she turned toward Tiamat, righteous rage in her eyes, her lips curled in a hateful sneer. With the Sword of Gilgamesh in her hands, she charged toward Tiamat.
The dragon fired again at Buffy, but the Slayer was ready for the attack. She dodged to the side, running in a zig-zag pattern, narrowly averting each fireball. When she got close enough, she took the sword in her right hand. She had one shot, and she was going to make it count.
"TIAMAT!" she shrieked, her voice carrying all the rage and despair she ever felt in her life, "And I mean this from the bottom of my heart--" She gripped the hilt of the sword.
"GO--" She held her arm back.
"TO--" She threw her arm forward with all of her strength.
"HELL!" She released the sword.
The sword sliced through the night, end over end, until it plunged directly into the dragon's hideous heart.
The beast cried out with the last of its breath. Before it could fall to the ground, it disintegrated, a huge cloud of stardust descending over the field like a snowfall. The remains of Riley Finn, robbed of the semblance of life given them by Dischord, decomposed rapidly. A gentle stillness settled over Sunnydale.
Buffy stood on trembling legs, before turning back to Willow and Giles. Seeing how still Willow lay, Buffy rushed toward them, despite the protesting of her tired legs.
When she reached them, she looked at Giles with a questing gaze. Giles looked at her with sorrowful eyes. "I'm sorry," was all he said. All he had to say. He then touched the face of the fallen wiccan before him, and gently closed her eyes.
Buffy shook her head, whispering, "No, no, no, it can't be, no. I stopped it. I killed Tiamat. She can't die. She said she loved me. She can't die. No!" She started to press against Willow's chest, initiating CPR. She started to breath into Willow's mouth, trying to inflate her lungs. She tried to remember her CPR classes; fifteen compressions to two breaths. As she worked, Giles tried to stop her. "It's too late, Buffy," he spoke as gently as he could. "There's nothing that any of us can do."
"Shut up, you bastard!" Buffy sneered at her mentor. "I just lost my Mom and my friends, I'll be damned if I lose Willow!" She tried again to start Willow's heart, to get her breathing again, but as the agonizing minutes dragged on, her strength faltered, her own breathing was uneven and labored.
And the corpse of her beloved lay before her, pale and lifeless.
And across the field, the only sound that could be heard was the Slayer, weeping for the loss of her mother. Her friends. Willow, the love of her life.
She would not be comforted.