Construction Site
Tower
Huddling behind a flimsy wooden fence, the Scoobie's sized up their enemies but their eyes were on the makeshift metal tower standing high up into the sky.
"Shapadoinkle." Xander gulped with nervousness and took Anya's hand.
"The portal must open from up there." Giles suspected.
Buffy took a deep breath, tearing her eyes from the tower and to her mother, "Mom, whatever you do, please, stay close to Giles. I can't do my job if you're—"
"— I know, Buffy," Joyce said with a gentle smile, cupping her daughter's cheek.
"I'll save her." The Slayer vowed.
"I know, baby, I know…" Joyce leaned forward pressing her mouth against Buffy's forehead.
Buffy looked at her mother once more memorizing every detail of her face just in case something were to happen during the battle. No, don't think that way. Buffy pushed back the thoughts of defeat from her mind and turned back to the group. "It's time."
The battle was well underway, the time Buffy had fired the first blow after Willow had worked magic to give Anya her sane mind back. Glory staggered backward with surprise by the attacks
Glory pushed her blonde curly hair off of her face and glared at the Vampire Slayer. "You know what?" She swung a powerful fist, backhanding Buffy across the face. "I'm feeling a little better." Glory punched Buffy into the nose. "And now I'm a little bored."
Buffy faced the Hell God seemingly unafraid when she said, "Oh, I'm sorry but you're—"
The God kicked her leg high in the air, decapitating Buffy's head from her shoulders. Glory paused with surprise and looked down at the fallen head then to the body still standing in front of her. Sparks zapped from the wires revealing the robotic technology. "Whoa… The Slayer's a robot!" Glory said looking up at her henchmen in shock at the discovery. "Did anybody else know that the Slayer was a robot?"
"Glory," The sound of the Vampire Slayer's voice chimed into Glory's ears. Slowly, Glory faced the smaller woman and was immediately met by a large and heavy hammer which was taken from Olaf the Troll. The hammer smashed into Glory's face sending her flying backward to the concrete ground with a thud. "You're not the brightest God in the Heavens are you?" She continued to bash Glory's face with the hammer when she heard her name from high above on the tower.
"Buffy!" Dawn's high-pitched scream pierced through the battle.
Buffy took off towards the tower climbing as fast as she could to get to her little sister. Glory wiped the blood from under nose and glared at the Slayer. "Oh, no you don't." She sneered and took off after the petite blonde.
From down below, Graham recognized the henchmen that had knocked him unconscious back at Spike's crypt a few days before.
Murk spotted the angered human and began to back away in fear of his life knowing that he was soon in for a whirlwind of pain.
Without breaking eye contact with the weak henchmen, Graham stomped towards Murk chopping at the henchmen in his way creating a pathway with the ax in his hand.
Murk cringed throwing brainless innocents working on the tower into Graham's path. Graham caught each innocent and pushed them aside and he continued towards Murk.
With no place to go, Murk slowly turned his eyes upwards to Graham now standing over him. "Oh, I am so sorry, M—Mister… I was just following—" The sentence was never finished when Graham's ax swung across the henchmen's body.
"Buffy!" Joyce called out from behind a forklift caring for a very weak Anya.
Graham whirled around to see Buffy and Glory falling from the top of the tower landing straight on their backs with a thud. "Buffy," Graham jumped down from the stairs and headed over to his love but he had been blocked by a group of henchmen attacking him.
Buffy got to her feet and turned to Glory just as the God stood on her feet.
With a smug smile, Glory said, "Lost your hammer, sweet-cheeks. What're you gonna hit me with now?"
A wrecking ball crashed through the wooden fence hitting Glory into a brick wall. Buffy grabbed the hammer that had fallen with their drop. "Whatever's handy…" Buffy marched over to Glory, now flat on her back and bashed her face with the hammer.
"Stop it." Glory coughed up blood filling her lungs.
Buffy continued to hit the God over and over again, "You're a God. Make it stop." She said through gritted teeth bashing the hammer down with unrelenting force until the God morphed into Ben.
"I'm sorry…!" Ben exclaimed weakly unable to endure any more pain. His vision was blurry with blood unable to make out all of Buffy's features.
Buffy withdrew the hammer from Ben's face and said, "Tell her it's over. She missed her shot. She goes. If she ever comes me near and mine again—"
"— We won't." Ben coughed and opened his bloodshot eyes a bit wider to show his seriousness to Buffy. "I swear, we won't."
Buffy stared down the severely beaten man a moment longer then tossed away the hammer taking off to free Dawn from the tower she had been tied too.
Final alone to wallow in his agony, Ben smirked placing his hand over his chest, "I guess we're stuck with each other, huh, baby?" He coughed up more blood that was sitting in the back of his throat.
A shadow of a man cast over Ben for a moment. Ben lifted his eyes and recognized Graham looking down at him with concern.
Graham crouched down examining the extent to the injuries Buffy had created. "Can you move?" He asked.
"I need…" Ben began weakly, "… a minute. She could've killed me."
Shaking his head, a faint smirk tugged at Graham's lips. He lifted his eyes catching a distant figure in a white sweater climbing as fast as she could up the bars of the tower. "No, she couldn't." Graham dropped his gaze back down to Ben. "Buffy's one of the good guys… a hero. Even when she knows Glory would eventually reemerge and seek revenge on her… Still, she couldn't take a human life." Graham locked eyes with Ben. "She's not like us." The faint smile dropped from his face.
"Us?"
Graham grabbed Ben's throat. Ben's bloodshot eyes grew wide fighting for breath and to pull the strong hand wrapped around him off. Graham used his strength to squeeze his throat until a loud crack of Ben's windpipes snapped.
The cold and unemotional expression written across Graham's face did not change and as he stared down at the body.
