Divine Introductions S5 Ep18

Glory tossed her knife aside and ducked under Buffy's attack to drive her own fist deep into the slayers stomach. The little vampire hunter was lucky Glory was in such an outstandingly good mood. She drove the air out of the slayer's lungs and punch-tossed her across the room, but did no permanent damage.

The old man leveled his crossbow at Glory as the young man circled behind her. Glory heard the twang of the crossbow - such a lovely sound - and the sound of the young man's sneakers on the stairs at the same moment.

Glory moved up the stairs ahead of the young man in a rush and seized him by the throat.

"Going somewhere, hero?"

"Xander!" the woman Glory didn't know called out. Glory saw fear in her eyes that she had beheld in the eyes of her victims' lovers in countless dimensions over the eons. Some things never changed. It brought a broad smile to her lips.

"Xander, is it? I'll make sure they get it right on your tombstone!" Glory had used that taunt a thousand times, it was easily one of her favorites. She hurled the wannabe hero away and he landed at the feet of his woman.

It would have been so much easier to kill him, but if Dawn was the slayer's sister she might have a soft spot for this lovable band of losers herself.

The slayer was getting back to her feet, but Glory was distracted by chanting from the two witches. She had let them get away with that last time and wound up going on an involuntary skydiving trip.

Not again! Glory ran at her full speed and grabbed the ginger witch by her jaw mid chant. Her speed produced a sound like the crack of a bullwhip behind her.

"You like magic? I'll do a trick for you,"

Glory clapped her hands together in an arc ending at the middle of the witch's jaw. She felt the bones of the young woman's mandible crunch under her fingers.

"Silencio!" Glory cried out in a mockery of a spell.

"Willow!" the second witch called out as the redhead crumpled howling in pain and holding her mouth.

A crossbow bolt bounced off of Glory's shoulder, as harmless as a snowflake.

"That's Xander," Glory said, pointing at the young man, then at the witch on the floor, "and that's Willow," finally she pointed at the second witch, "and now it's time for me to learn your name,"

Just then, something small and annoying slammed into Glory and drove her into a wall, punching her repeatedly.

"Buffy, you had your turn," Glory said, her every third word interrupted by a punch or a kick from the Slayer, "now I'm trying to get to know your friends,"

Glory headbutted the Slayer and threw her into the old man. She turned back to the second witch, who was now kneeling over Willow protectively.

"Sensus et aer oppleatur, corroflagreit!" the witch chanted quickly, raising her hands to the air between herself and Glory. Thick, dark smoke erupted from her hands and formed a cloud around Glory.

"This all you got for me?" Glory asked. Then she took a breath, without thinking, and felt the dark smoke stinging her nose, her lungs, her eyes. She coughed, which only seemed to drag more smoke into her lungs and, now, her mouth.

"My n-name is Tara Maclay!"

"Anya, now!" the Slayer called out as she untangled herself from the old man.

Anya reached into her bag and pulled out something small and round and threw it at Glory.

Glory caught the object before she could understand her mistake. Suddenly she was holding the Dagon Sphere in her own hand. The ball illuminated brightly in her grip and sent ripples of energy cascading outward, harmless to anyone but Glory.

The energy smothered glory with a sensation like drowning while in the throes of a five-alarm migraine, while at the same time revealing to Glory to true strength of the witch Tara's little spell. Suddenly, instead of a mild irritation in her eyes and mouth, Glory's entire body burned as if she had been dropped in a pool of acid.

Glory screamed in genuine agony and slammed the Dagon Sphere into the ground with all of her remaining might. The ball shattered like a christmas ornament beneath her and she started crawling out from the cloud of smoke.

"Big mistake," she said when she had gotten clear. She noticed more smoke streaming out from her mouth as she spoke.

"Doesn't look that way to me," Buffy's self-satisfied voice came from above her. Glory realised she was still on her hands and knees. She looked up and saw the Slayer standing over her with an axe in her hand.

The axe sang through the air and connected with Glory's face in an upswing. Now it was Glory who was sent sailing across the room. Buffy ran to her and brought the axe down again and again, dulling the weapon against Glory's invulnerable body.

Glory's lungs were still burning from the smoke, she couldn't catch her breath, and Buffy's viscous attacks were keeping her pinned down and, already weakened from the Dagon Sphere, draining her even further.

"No, no," Glory said, still struggling to rise, this couldn't be happening, "You can't take her. Dawn, Dawn!"

"You will never get anywhere near her again," Buffy raised the axe high over her head, furious at hearing her sister's name on the lips of her kidnapper, only to stop suddenly.

Dr. Ben was sprawled out on the ground before her, in the tattered remains of a lovely blue dress.