Synopsis: Now that Glory has the Key, Buffy and her
friends must find a way to cope with the burden of getting her
back. A post-"Spiral" episode B/S fanfic.
Note: I write immediately after an episode airs. I don't
read spoilers nor early bird reviews, plus I don't get next
week's previews (!), so all my post-episode fictions are pure
speculations :)
Date Written: Tuesday, 08 May, 2001 : 11:00:00 PM
Credits: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a property by Joss
Whedon and the powers that be.
Characters in play: Buffy Willow Xander
Anya Tara Dawn Glory Giles
Spike
Eight lost souls wandered along Sunnydale Park in the middle of
the night. They were headed to a certain location on top of a
hill. All of them mumbled incoherently, saying the same exact
word over and over. A number of their kind joined them from the
nearby hospital.
"Time...time...time..." they said gibberishly as they
walked aimlessly towards the mansion.
***
Glory grinned evilly at Dawn. "You thought you can get away
from me, don't you?" she said nastily.
Dawn didn't utter any words. It was beyond her now. All she can
do was wait. Wait for somebody to rescue her. Her sister. A
miracle. Anything.
Glory walked slowly at the heavily chained Key and examined her
intently. Her Key, now in human form, was the ticket to go back
to where she came from--a parallel dimension from which she ruled
as a part of a triumvirate. Back to a place where she was once
the holiest of figures, if not the most powerful one. No more
mindless insanity, no more human co-habitation, only power, an
absolute power.
Finally, she had the Key. Nobody can stop her now. Not the
Slayer, not the Knights, nobody.
part two.
Giles lay unconcious on the hospital bed. He was diagnosed
critical when he was rushed in the emergency room a couple of
hours ago. A deep wound tore part of his lower abdomen and had
lost a good amount of blood, for which he underwent blood
transfusion to stabilized his condition. Right now, Giles seemed
to be out of the woods. Willow, Xander, and Anya was at his
bedside, fear and worry were visible from their faces. They
prayed that nothing serious would happen to him, not today, not
ever. They needed him just as much as they needed Buffy.
***
Buffy sat outside Giles' room, Spike and Tara was with her. She
didn't say anything, she just stared blankly at the wall in front
of her. Was it the effect of too much pressure? Or was it the
fact that Glory's in possession of the Key and it's only a matter
of time before she use it for her own agenda?
Buffy remembered talking to her friends and telling them that
everthing seemed to fall apart. First it was Riley, then her mom,
then Tara, and now Giles. It's as if, she was trapped inside a
wall with no possibility of getting out. Then one by one, walls
around her crumbled, burying her alive. Everthing that she cared
for was taken away from her. There's nothing left. Nothing, but
pain and sorrow.
Tara got up and mumbled something. Spike watched her as she
walked aimlessly at the corridors not far from where they were.
She stopped and looked around seemingly searching for something,
someone.
Spike approached Buffy and sat gently beside her. The moment he
looked at her, his heart sank horribly. He knew she was in pain,
he can feel it. Spike can't explain how or why, he just knew that
he must do something to ease her pain.
"Buffy," he said calmly.
Buffy, buried in her own thoughts, did not respond. Her sister
Dawn was taken away by Glory and she cannot do anything about it.
She was no match against Glory. She cannot defeat her. She
doesn't know how to.
Spike noticed that nothing seemed to stir her. No amount of words
can bring back what was taken away from her, which by now was
increasingly evident. He fell on his knees right in front of
Buffy and looked steadily at her.
"Buffy, it's not the end of the world," said Spike,
"we will get Dawn back."
"D-Dawn," she whispered.
part three.
Dawn watched Glory as her minions gathered around their master.
They were speaking in other language, apparently planning out
their next move. Dawn looked around the room to search for a way
to escape but was interrupted by the ex-god herself. From what
she understood, Glory and company were planning to move to a new
location. To where, she doesn't know. Dawn knew however, that it
had something to do with using her power--the power to destroy
the universe-- as soon as possible.
***
Willow, Xander, and Anya left Giles' room. They reckoned that
Buffy might want to see him alone. They knew it has been hard on
Buffy to go through another ordeal, this time through Giles.
Memories were in fact, still fresh from her mom's demise. They
could only hope that everything will turn out fine in the end.
Spike knew Buffy was falling apart. He reached out for her hands
and reassured her, "You're much stronger than this
Buffy." He felt that his wounds opened up once again after
he held her hand tightly. "If anybody can pull it off, it's
you."
"Buffy," blurted Xander, as he closed the door behind
him. He was still unsure if having Spike near their friend was
such a good idea.
"Giles will be fine," said Willow.
Buffy suddenly sprang to her feet and faced them. Without saying
a word, she walked towards Giles' room and entered. Spike stood
from where he was and followed Buffy, only to be stopped by
Xander.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
Spike gave him a sour look, "I'm going inside," he said
irritably.
"No you won't. Haven't you done enough?" snapped
Xander. Anya clutched his arms in protest, "Xander..."
"I came here as a friend, and Buffy needs a friend right now
more than ever," Spike reasoned out. "She needs help
and I'm here for her."
"What? That beat-up RV?" asked Xander sarcastically.
"Giles almost died in that-that- thing!" he hissed,
"And by the way, where did you get it? You stole it, didn't
you?"
"None of your bloody business," Spike said sharply,
"And it's not my fault what happened to Giles!"
"Xander, Spike, stop it!" cried Willow. "Just stop
it! Please!" she pleaded. "We must work together not
fight! We must help Buffy to get her sister back. She needs our
help, so just please..." Willow was on the verge of tears,
she cannot comprehend why they have to fight over a silly old RV
or blame one another! There were more important things to do than
to fight each other. Giles was hurt, Dawn was kidnapped, and
Buffy was obviously disoriented after the fact. It was not the
time nor place for petty fights.
Xander nodded glumly and stepped away, letting Spike pass though.
Before opening the door, Spike looked sideways at Willow and
acknowledged her, somewhat relieved that at least one of Buffy's
friend understood him. He let himself inside Giles' room and
closed the door behind him.
part four.
The room was dimly lighted. The only source of light came from a
lamp placed on the side table. Spike quietly approached the foot
of the bed and noticed that Buffy was holding Giles hand. She
seemed to be staring at a blank wall, no expression whatsoever.
An IV was attached to Giles arm. Life giving blood trickled
slowly down his veins. He lay steadily without any sign of waking
up. This was not a good time to lose another member of the group,
especially a Watcher, Buffy's guide and mentor. Spike felt
infinite sadness. He moved beside Buffy and without a saying a
word, he covered her hands in his.
After a few moments, Buffy stirred. She carefully leaned her head
on his shoulders, her thoughts still preoccupied with what
happened to Dawn.
Spike understood. There was only one thing for him to do,
sacrifice everything to save the one that mattered most. "I
will do whatever it takes to rescue her. I promise."
***
Willow approached Xander and Anya. Overwhelmed with the amount of
pressure they've been having, she let out a sigh of frustration.
They have to find a way to rescue Dawn from Glory. Mere strength
was not enough to defeat her. Not even a thousand Knights were
unable to stop her. What else can they do? Her magic didn't
seemed to make a difference. Something was missing, an extra
spell perhaps? If only Tara can help me with the magic...it
would definitely help. Two witches are better than one, she
thought. Willow stopped dead, fear flooded her.
"Has anyone seen Tara?" she asked frantically.
***
Another lost soul wandered outside the hospital. Her eyes
bewildered, her speech faltered.
"Time...time...time..." said Tara as she headed towards
the mansion up on the hill.
***