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Sparks flashed through the air, as scythe and sword crossed blades with each other. Angelus was having the time of his life as he battled against the Slayer, while Emily was struggling to take the upper hand and deliver the final blow to her long-standing nightmare. All the training and suffering she had gone through her entire life had led to this moment, a fight to the death against the one creature responsible for her misery.

"You'll think that most fights you find yourself in will be some of the most difficult," came Buffy's voice in her head, "But Angelus will be your most difficult fight ever. He lies with the truth and will use everything he can against you. You must always remain on your guard against him. It is your only hope of beating him."

"Wow, you fight just like your mom," Angelus smirked, "And wasn't she quite the pistol herself? She really gave it her all in our last fight together."

"Just ignore him," Emily tried to think, parrying his thrust, "Just ignore what he says. He's just trying to put you off guard."

"Tell you what, her death, I really savoured," Angelus continued, "And that's the whole thing. You really have to savour the kill, otherwise, where's the enjoyment?"

"I'm going to savour killing you, that's for sure," the young Slayer thought.

"He talks a lot, usually about himself, so try to use that to your advantage, if you can ignore his grandiose speeches," came Faith's voice this time, "However, that can be a danger, as his constant talking will capable of taking you off guard."

"Right, so I just have to try and ignore him," Emily tried to reason to herself as she dodged a thrust at her throat, "Or, I could perhaps cut his tongue out."

"Especially with Slayers," Angelus continued, "Killing them is almost like killing a god. There's always these stories about them being the demons' boogie-woman, but really, they snap easily like sticks. I should know. I've killed about eighteen-hundred of them."

He grinned as he easily deflected Emily's sideways slash, knowing that he was starting to have an effect on her, as she went to regain her balance, slashing again, but Angelus parried and swung his elbow back into her jaw, making her stagger.

"Yep, killing Buffy was definitely a highlight," Angelus grinned, "Beating her down. You know, she was defiant to the very end. Much like Faith in that respect."

"Ignore him, just ignore him," Emily thought, but she was failing.

He grinned as he drew a crimson line across her inner left thigh and she took a few steps back, before swinging the scythe to block his sword, as he deflected her weapon aside and landed a spinning kick on her stomach. Emily failed to regain her balance due to her injury and she fell to one knee, gasping heavily, as Angelus grinned and began attacking forcefully, finally succeeding in disarming Emily of the scythe and he then kneed her in the face, knocking her fully on her face, the sword diving down and piercing her upper right arm. Emily cried out, pain flaring through her arm, as blood leaked from the wound.

"Face it, Emily, if Buffy or Faith couldn't beat me, what chance did you think you have? I killed both of those slayers with my bare hands and you're nothing compared to them. Nothing, just like what you have now. You've lost everything, kitten. What now?"

"All that anger and frustration that you have felt at the hands of Angelus," came Faith's voice, "Channel it. Direct it right back at him. Give him what he deserves."

"In a fight to the death against Angelus, you have to do whatever you can to gain the upper hand," came Buffy's voice, "Exploit every opening, no matter how little it is or impossible it may seem…remember, Emily, I love you."

"There's still me," Emily replied.

Gripping the sword blade, she gritted her teeth as she slowly drew it out of her arm, cutting her palm as she did so, but she ignored the pain, channelling it towards Angelus, as she tossed the blade aside and brought her knee up at the same time. Angelus groaned when he was struck in the groin and Emily kicked him in the stomach, forcing him back, before rolling towards the scythe and picking it up, smacking Angelus' sword aside and slicing towards his neck, but he dodged the blade and stepped back. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and Acathla's mouth opened wide, as a large gold portal appeared before him. Lightning bolts flickered inside the portal, as Angelus grinned and lunged with a thrust at Emily, as she parried and sliced wide. Angelus growled, a crimson line appearing on his right cheek, his eyes flashing gold and he swung wide, but Emily rolled past him, whirling around and blocking his overhead strike.

"In a few moments, this will all be sucked into hell," Angelus said, "And you'll be going with the world into hell. Hope you enjoy your stay there."

Remembering a story that her mother had told her of how she had defeated Angelus, Emily dropped the scythe, bringing Angelus off balance, as she grabbed the sword and slammed her elbow into his jaw, seizing the sword from him. He snarled, as she whipped the sword around and stabbed it at his chest, but his hands slapped onto both side of the blade, holding it away from his chest, as she struggled to close the gap.

"Hmm, this is a little familiar. Sorry, kitten, but it's not going to end like this."

"Take the shot, Robin," Emily called, looking past Angelus' shoulder.

He frowned and looked over his shoulder, but Robin was still unconscious, however, it allowed Emily to take her chance and drive the sword straight into Angelus' chest. He gasped when the sword pierced his flesh and there were flashes of lightning, as he snarled and reached for Emily, intending on dragging her with him into hell, but she threw a punch, hitting him in the jaw and knocking him back towards Acathla, as there was a flash of light and both the portal and Angelus disappeared, the sword returning to its original place in Acathla's chest. Exhausted, Emily fell to her knees, as the tears of joy, realisation and weariness overcame her.

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Los Angeles, three months later…

Emily sat on the edge of the rooftop, overlooking the streets of Los Angeles, her father's coat blowing in the slight breeze as she gripped a wooden stake in her right hand. In the three months since Angelus had been defeated, Wolfram and Hart had crumbled…literally. Emily had seen to that herself when she set the entire building on fire and watched it burn to the ground. The remainder of Angelus' forces had dispersed, as with no leader to follow, they were unable to uphold his rule. The civilians of Los Angeles and in a greater scale, the rest of the country, now had something to look forward to: the rebuilding of their lives, which had been brutally torn apart by Angelus.

Vi had been laid to rest alongside the rest of the Slayers in Los Angeles, her death now leaving Emily as the last true Slayer in the world. Illyria had survived being tossed off the rooftop of Wolfram and Hart and upon returning to the Hyperion Hotel, she had been able to use some of her powers to extract the broken amulet piece in Willow's back, thus giving her her powers back again. However, despite regaining her powers, Willow still had the difficult task of walking again for the first time in nearly twenty years.

Having finally defeated the one creature responsible for all the terror, misery and destruction, Emily finally felt a sense of hope, even if it did come at a terrible price. She still cried at night whenever she thought of those she had lost: her mother, Faith and Connor. But despite that, she now had a brighter future ahead of her and while half of her was a little scared at that prospect, due to having known what the future would like with Angelus in charge, the other part of her was excited at the idea of not knowing what would be awaiting her around the corner in the near future.

"I hope you guys are resting in peace now and I hope I've made you proud."

Just as a faint tear slid from the corner of her eye in memoriam, the breeze picked up, but it seemed to be centred around the young Slayer and she frowned as she rose up, the breeze washing over her and she felt like there was something familiar about it, but she couldn't quite figure it out. The breeze was gentle and loving, nurturing her like a mother would for their child and Emily's jaw dropped slightly.

"Mom?"

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she thought she could hear her mother's voice singing to her within the breeze and a smile came to Emily's face.

"I love you too, Mom. Now, time for me to get to work."

Jumping off the building, she landed in the small alley and made her way along until she heard a struggle and she raced off towards it, finding a vampire cornering his victim.

"I'm told fast food is bad for you," Emily called out.

The vampire whirled around with a snarl, as his would-be victim shrank back against the corner, glad for a moment that her attacker was not focused on her. Growling, the vampire fully faced Emily and began stalking towards her.

"You got any idea what I can do to you?"

"Hit this stake and you can go all poof. Turn to dust. Quite amusing, actually."

"Just who the hell do you think you are?"

Emily smirked, one looking uncannily like a cross between both her mother's and father's, "I'm Emily, the Vampire Slayer. All bloody hail."

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