Before Willow could prepare for another spell, Glory was upon her.
Grabbing the witch by the throat, the blonde god pinned Willow against the
wall. "I don't want to hurt you, Willow," Glory said, "but I will if you
get in my way." With that, Glory slung Willow across the room into the
wall, and was gone.
Willow quickly climbed to her feet. Glory's throw hadn't been meant to kill; at the most, it was intended to knock her out. Willow had grown enough in strength where she could manage various spells without an incantation; thankfully she increased her ability to take damage while in motion, enabling her to take the blow with no harm done save a minor backache.
She was scared of what was to come. While the voice had been Glory's, the words were from Giles. That meant this wasn't an air headed bimbo running around with a god's powers; it was Giles, the smartest man Willow had ever come across. She wasn't sure if there was anything on earth that could stop him from getting what he wanted.
There was only one thing Willow was sure of. She would stop Giles from killing Buffy, or she would die trying. After everything Willow had done, she owed her best friend that much.
Scene change
Buffy was alone in the cemetery when she heard a familiar noise behind her. It was the noise of a vampire clawing his way out of the grave. She had heard the noise several times. Mostly it was from watching vampires climb out themselves, but she had heard the noise upon her own resurrection almost a full year earlier.
The vampire was dust in almost no time. Buffy watched as the creature's remains tumbled to the ground. She was so intent on demon's demise, she never heard the foot steps behind her.
A hand grabbed her from behind and tossed her to the ground. Buffy spun around, a stake at the ready, but it was only Anya. "Where are you doing here?" Buffy demanded.
"Checking in on you," Anya reported. "Good thing it was just me and not Glory. The way you were intent on that vampire, World War 3 could have started and you wouldn't have noticed the difference."
[Anya.]
The voice caught Anya completely by surprise. "What?" she asked out loud.
"I didn't say anything," Buffy responded, looking at Anya quizzically.
"I'm not talking to you," Anya responded. "It's Willow. What do you want?"
[It's Giles. He's on his way to kill Buffy. You have to protect her.]
"What? Why would Giles want to kill Buffy?"
Buffy's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but she kept quiet, intent on hearing as much of this telepathic conversation as she could.
[Anya, for God's sake will you quit responding verbally? All you have to do is think your responses; I can hear them.]
"But that always gives me a headache!" Anya whined. "I'm not the big bad Wicca here. It's not as easy for me to talk without speaking as it is for you."
[You have to protect Buffy. Giles and Glory are one and the same, and he plans on killing Buffy. He thinks she never should have been raised from the dead.]
"So why are you telling me this?" Anya asked. "Buffy's right here, why don't you talk, or think, or whatever it is you do, to her?"
[Because she won't be able to deal with the information. She's not a demon; Glory's protection spell will just cause her to forget. Only you and I will be able to remember the truth.]
"Why you? You're not a demon."
There was silence for a moment. Anya wondered if she had scared Willow off. Or maybe some attractive woman had walked by, and Willow had simply gotten distracted. Then she started to worry what would happen if Willow read her mind and got offended by what Anya was thinking; even as a vengeance demon, Anya wouldn't stand a chance against a pissed-off Willow.
[Let's just say after flaying Warren, I'm in touch with the dark side now.]
There was a finality to Willow's words; Anya knew the witch was up to something else at the moment. The question was, what?
"What did Willow say?" Buffy asked.
"Giles and Glory are one and the same, and their on their way here to kill you," Anya answered. She briefly wondered if maybe she shouldn't have told Buffy the truth, but she decided not to worry about it.
"Giles is Glory? But that's impossible!" Buffy declared.
"'Fraid not, sweetie."
Anya and Buffy both turned to see Glory, who had entered the graveyard without either the Slayer or the Demon having heard her. Glory looked around at her surroundings and smiled.
"Looks like we picked an excellent location for our fight," she remarked. "This way they won't have to carry your body far when I'm done with you."
hr
To be continued.
Willow quickly climbed to her feet. Glory's throw hadn't been meant to kill; at the most, it was intended to knock her out. Willow had grown enough in strength where she could manage various spells without an incantation; thankfully she increased her ability to take damage while in motion, enabling her to take the blow with no harm done save a minor backache.
She was scared of what was to come. While the voice had been Glory's, the words were from Giles. That meant this wasn't an air headed bimbo running around with a god's powers; it was Giles, the smartest man Willow had ever come across. She wasn't sure if there was anything on earth that could stop him from getting what he wanted.
There was only one thing Willow was sure of. She would stop Giles from killing Buffy, or she would die trying. After everything Willow had done, she owed her best friend that much.
Scene change
Buffy was alone in the cemetery when she heard a familiar noise behind her. It was the noise of a vampire clawing his way out of the grave. She had heard the noise several times. Mostly it was from watching vampires climb out themselves, but she had heard the noise upon her own resurrection almost a full year earlier.
The vampire was dust in almost no time. Buffy watched as the creature's remains tumbled to the ground. She was so intent on demon's demise, she never heard the foot steps behind her.
A hand grabbed her from behind and tossed her to the ground. Buffy spun around, a stake at the ready, but it was only Anya. "Where are you doing here?" Buffy demanded.
"Checking in on you," Anya reported. "Good thing it was just me and not Glory. The way you were intent on that vampire, World War 3 could have started and you wouldn't have noticed the difference."
[Anya.]
The voice caught Anya completely by surprise. "What?" she asked out loud.
"I didn't say anything," Buffy responded, looking at Anya quizzically.
"I'm not talking to you," Anya responded. "It's Willow. What do you want?"
[It's Giles. He's on his way to kill Buffy. You have to protect her.]
"What? Why would Giles want to kill Buffy?"
Buffy's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but she kept quiet, intent on hearing as much of this telepathic conversation as she could.
[Anya, for God's sake will you quit responding verbally? All you have to do is think your responses; I can hear them.]
"But that always gives me a headache!" Anya whined. "I'm not the big bad Wicca here. It's not as easy for me to talk without speaking as it is for you."
[You have to protect Buffy. Giles and Glory are one and the same, and he plans on killing Buffy. He thinks she never should have been raised from the dead.]
"So why are you telling me this?" Anya asked. "Buffy's right here, why don't you talk, or think, or whatever it is you do, to her?"
[Because she won't be able to deal with the information. She's not a demon; Glory's protection spell will just cause her to forget. Only you and I will be able to remember the truth.]
"Why you? You're not a demon."
There was silence for a moment. Anya wondered if she had scared Willow off. Or maybe some attractive woman had walked by, and Willow had simply gotten distracted. Then she started to worry what would happen if Willow read her mind and got offended by what Anya was thinking; even as a vengeance demon, Anya wouldn't stand a chance against a pissed-off Willow.
[Let's just say after flaying Warren, I'm in touch with the dark side now.]
There was a finality to Willow's words; Anya knew the witch was up to something else at the moment. The question was, what?
"What did Willow say?" Buffy asked.
"Giles and Glory are one and the same, and their on their way here to kill you," Anya answered. She briefly wondered if maybe she shouldn't have told Buffy the truth, but she decided not to worry about it.
"Giles is Glory? But that's impossible!" Buffy declared.
"'Fraid not, sweetie."
Anya and Buffy both turned to see Glory, who had entered the graveyard without either the Slayer or the Demon having heard her. Glory looked around at her surroundings and smiled.
"Looks like we picked an excellent location for our fight," she remarked. "This way they won't have to carry your body far when I'm done with you."
hr
To be continued.