"Willow, Glory's here! What do we do?"
Willow was surprised to hear Anya's voice in her head. Anya wasn't a witch and wasn't generally capable of telepathy, but somehow she was able to get through to Willow without the witch contacting her first.
[Just stall her. I have a plan.]
"Care to fill me in on it?" Anya asked. Willow ignored the question. She was off to Wal-Mart.
Scene change
Anya was teleporting in and out of Glory's way repeatedly. Every time Glory took a step, Anya was there to block her path; then when Glory swung at the demon, she was gone before the blow landed. Buffy appreciated what her friend was trying to do, but she was finding it all very irritating. She'd rather fight than hide in the background.
Without even thinking, Buffy pulled a tombstone out of the ground. "Sorry," she muttered to whoever was buried underneath. She turned and concentrated on Anya and Glory, preparing for the perfect time to throw her newly found weapon. Taking a chance, she launched the tombstone and hoped that her Slayer senses had enabled her to time the throw just right.
Apparently they had, as Anya teleported out of the way just in time, causing the tombstone to hit Glory right in the nose. The tombstone shattered on impact and Glory was momentarily stunned. Buffy ran in and delivered a kick to the face, which sent Glory staggering backwards. Unfortunately, Glory regained her footing far faster than Buffy had anticipated.
"Now that the flea is out of the way, let's get things started," Glory remarked.
Scene change
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Dawn asked, clinching her eyes as the wind blew into her face. She looked down under the diesel they were traveling on and worried that one slip-up from Willow would kill the both of them.
"Honestly? No," Willow admitted. "It's really dangerous and I have no idea it will work, but it's the only thing I can think of to stop Glory. It's not too late to back out if you're nervous."
"Of course I'm nervous," Dawn replied, "but I'll do it. If it's the only way to save Buffy, I'll do it."
Willow was thankful. The truth was she would have tried to persuade Dawn even if the youth had changed her mind. And that wouldn't have been easy, not while controlling the diesel as well. It was far harder than traveling by air, but Willow was running out of juice. If she had traveled in the sky and dropped Dawn, she doubted she would have been able to save the both of them. She only had enough energy to get to the gravesite and defeat Glory. She prayed that nothing got in the way of that.
Scene change
Glory had Buffy pinned against the wall of a mausoleum. Both of Buffy's hands were trying to pry Glory's hand from around her neck, but she wasn't able to succeed. Using her other hand, Glory prepared to punch Buffy's skull through the wall. Her hand stopped an inch from Buffy's face, having been caught by Anya.
"You are such a pest!" Glory shrieked, batting Anya out of her way. Anya once again proved to be enough of a distraction for the Slayer to regain some balance. She managed to kick Glory away from herself, which enable Buffy to start breathing again.
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Glory asked. "The only reason you're still alive is because of that annoying little ant, but it's only a matter of time before I squash her, and then there's nothing that's going to stop me from sending you back to your grave."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
Glory turned around to see Dawn a few feet away with a sword held out in front of her. Glory laughed. "Do you really think you can hurt me with that, pipsqueak?" she asked. "I'll have that shoved down your gullet before you even got a chance to step forward."
Hidden behind a grave was Willow. Glory no longer sounded like Giles, as she had back at Buffy's house. She didn't know if that was good or bad, and she couldn't worry about it. It was time to start the spell.
"Goddess Hecate, hear my will," she whispered
Unfortunately, her voice wasn't so low Glory couldn't hear her. Glory's head whipped right to the tombstone Willow was behind. "The witch," she said, and started to step forward, but Buffy grabbed her from behind. Glory started bucking like a bronco, trying to get the Slayer off her back, but Buffy was too strong.
"There was one, but now are two," Willow continued. "One is evil, and one is true. One is a god and one is a man. Separate the mortal from the god of the damned."
Buffy was thrown by off Glory's back, but not by the God's doing. A strange orange light appeared around Glory, causing her to drop to her knees and start screaming in agony. There was a sound, what sounded like ripping, and then a bright flash of light. When the light dimmed enough to see, there were now two people where the God had been; there was Glory, still on her knees, and next to her was Giles.
Before anyone could respond, Glory shoved Giles to the side. Anya ran to Giles side while Glory once again started heading towards Willow, only to be cut off by Buffy. The two once again began their dance as Willow prepared another spell. Dawn rushed to her side.
This spell was much different than the previous. For one thing, it wasn't in English. For another, it was more than a simple incantation. There was a sacrifice to be made. Willow handed a knife to Dawn, which the youth willingly took.
"Are you sure you're willing to do this?" Willow asked once she was through with her part of the spell. Dawn merely nodded before pressing the blade into the palm of her. She winced in pain as blood began dripping from her hand. Willow threw some shimmering type of dust into the air, which started to swirl around instead of falling to the earth. It also seemed to work as a sort of magnet towards Dawn's blood. Dawn's blood flowed upwards into the dust, which now turned a bright red as a portal opened in the air.
"Get away from it!" Willow shouted to Dawn, who didn't need to be told twice.
Buffy and Glory were still fighting when the God caught sight of the portal. Buffy managed to land in a blow to the face before she too caught sight of the portal. "What on earth?" she wondered out loud.
"You wanted to use the Key to go home?" Willow shouted at Glory. "Then fine, go home, Hellbitch!"
Glory found herself being pulled towards the portal. "No!" she screamed. "Not now! Not before I kill the Slayer!" But the Fates weren't willing to listen to the voice of a God. Glory was sucked into the air and into the portal, which closed behind her.
Willow fell to the ground. She was drained, but relieved. The spell had worked. Glory would never plague her or her friends again.
Scene change
"So tell me all the details," Xander said.
"I've already told you," Willow said, growing weary of the subject. "I've told you a million times."
"I know, but you know you want to keep talking about how you saved the world from the Hellgod from Dimension Bitch."
"Really, I don't," Willow admitted. "After everything I've done, I'm no hero."
"Come on, for me," Xander begged. "Pretty please with extra creamy goodness poured on top."
"Make it clumps of sugar and you're got a deal," Willow smiled.
"You've got it. So tell me what happened."
Willow sighed, and began the explanation. "After Glory was defeated, she wound up getting into Giles's body. Only with the Dagon Sphere destroyed, it was quite different from when she shared bodies with Ben. It was no longer a case of two separate entities; it was now Glory in control of both their bodies. She was a sort of like a vampire; she could look and act like Giles, and she had his memories, but she was in full control.
"She returned to England and destroyed some powerful Coven she feared could stop her," Willow continued. "She combined the Coven's power with her own and returned here, intending to kill us all. What she didn't realize was that I." She stopped, unwilling to summon the words. Unwilling to say that she herself had been intending to kill them when she arrived. "Of course, Glory didn't want the world to end, so she had to try to stop me. Once I defeated her and drained her of her power, she was left weakened. It took her two weeks before she was back at full power."
"Now tell me about the thing with Giles explaining he was in control," Xander said. "I'm still a bit foggy in that respect."
"It's really quite simple," Willow explained. "Glory was in control the whole time. She wanted to kill us all, but she was afraid she couldn't do so if we all went at her at once. Considering I had once nearly killed all of you, she thought I'd leave her alone if she promised she was only trying to kill Buffy. When my guard was down, she attacked me, but somehow Giles managed to get through so I wasn't injured."
"And then she tried to kill Buffy and Anya before you and Dawn ripped her out of Giles and then sent her packing on a one-way trip to her hell dimension," Xander interrupted. "But how did you know it would work?"
"I didn't," Willow admitted, "but I had faced Glory and knew we weren't going beat her. And as Dawn was the only way to open a portal to Glory's home dimension, I decided to try and see if I could do that. Thankfully it worked."
Xander laughed. "Another apocalypse averted," he said. When he saw Willow look down, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't look so down," he told her. "It's in the past."
She knew exactly what he was talking about. "No it's not," she said. "Buffy doesn't trust me any more. How can I ever get her to forgive me?"
Xander sighed and slid a bit closer to his best friend. "There's only one way," he replied. "You have to erase her memory." At first Willow was horrified at his suggestion, but when a big goofy grin spread across his face, she couldn't help but laugh. It was no wonder she had such a crush on him before she realized she was gay; he would no doubt make somebody a fantastic husband one day.
Willow wasn't sure what was going to come. She didn't know if Buffy, Dawn, Anya, or Giles would ever forgive her for the past, but at least Xander had. She had at least one friend remaining, and that was far more than she really deserved. She smiled, knowing that at least one person would always be there for her, even if she went homicidal again.
Fin.
Willow was surprised to hear Anya's voice in her head. Anya wasn't a witch and wasn't generally capable of telepathy, but somehow she was able to get through to Willow without the witch contacting her first.
[Just stall her. I have a plan.]
"Care to fill me in on it?" Anya asked. Willow ignored the question. She was off to Wal-Mart.
Scene change
Anya was teleporting in and out of Glory's way repeatedly. Every time Glory took a step, Anya was there to block her path; then when Glory swung at the demon, she was gone before the blow landed. Buffy appreciated what her friend was trying to do, but she was finding it all very irritating. She'd rather fight than hide in the background.
Without even thinking, Buffy pulled a tombstone out of the ground. "Sorry," she muttered to whoever was buried underneath. She turned and concentrated on Anya and Glory, preparing for the perfect time to throw her newly found weapon. Taking a chance, she launched the tombstone and hoped that her Slayer senses had enabled her to time the throw just right.
Apparently they had, as Anya teleported out of the way just in time, causing the tombstone to hit Glory right in the nose. The tombstone shattered on impact and Glory was momentarily stunned. Buffy ran in and delivered a kick to the face, which sent Glory staggering backwards. Unfortunately, Glory regained her footing far faster than Buffy had anticipated.
"Now that the flea is out of the way, let's get things started," Glory remarked.
Scene change
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Dawn asked, clinching her eyes as the wind blew into her face. She looked down under the diesel they were traveling on and worried that one slip-up from Willow would kill the both of them.
"Honestly? No," Willow admitted. "It's really dangerous and I have no idea it will work, but it's the only thing I can think of to stop Glory. It's not too late to back out if you're nervous."
"Of course I'm nervous," Dawn replied, "but I'll do it. If it's the only way to save Buffy, I'll do it."
Willow was thankful. The truth was she would have tried to persuade Dawn even if the youth had changed her mind. And that wouldn't have been easy, not while controlling the diesel as well. It was far harder than traveling by air, but Willow was running out of juice. If she had traveled in the sky and dropped Dawn, she doubted she would have been able to save the both of them. She only had enough energy to get to the gravesite and defeat Glory. She prayed that nothing got in the way of that.
Scene change
Glory had Buffy pinned against the wall of a mausoleum. Both of Buffy's hands were trying to pry Glory's hand from around her neck, but she wasn't able to succeed. Using her other hand, Glory prepared to punch Buffy's skull through the wall. Her hand stopped an inch from Buffy's face, having been caught by Anya.
"You are such a pest!" Glory shrieked, batting Anya out of her way. Anya once again proved to be enough of a distraction for the Slayer to regain some balance. She managed to kick Glory away from herself, which enable Buffy to start breathing again.
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Glory asked. "The only reason you're still alive is because of that annoying little ant, but it's only a matter of time before I squash her, and then there's nothing that's going to stop me from sending you back to your grave."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
Glory turned around to see Dawn a few feet away with a sword held out in front of her. Glory laughed. "Do you really think you can hurt me with that, pipsqueak?" she asked. "I'll have that shoved down your gullet before you even got a chance to step forward."
Hidden behind a grave was Willow. Glory no longer sounded like Giles, as she had back at Buffy's house. She didn't know if that was good or bad, and she couldn't worry about it. It was time to start the spell.
"Goddess Hecate, hear my will," she whispered
Unfortunately, her voice wasn't so low Glory couldn't hear her. Glory's head whipped right to the tombstone Willow was behind. "The witch," she said, and started to step forward, but Buffy grabbed her from behind. Glory started bucking like a bronco, trying to get the Slayer off her back, but Buffy was too strong.
"There was one, but now are two," Willow continued. "One is evil, and one is true. One is a god and one is a man. Separate the mortal from the god of the damned."
Buffy was thrown by off Glory's back, but not by the God's doing. A strange orange light appeared around Glory, causing her to drop to her knees and start screaming in agony. There was a sound, what sounded like ripping, and then a bright flash of light. When the light dimmed enough to see, there were now two people where the God had been; there was Glory, still on her knees, and next to her was Giles.
Before anyone could respond, Glory shoved Giles to the side. Anya ran to Giles side while Glory once again started heading towards Willow, only to be cut off by Buffy. The two once again began their dance as Willow prepared another spell. Dawn rushed to her side.
This spell was much different than the previous. For one thing, it wasn't in English. For another, it was more than a simple incantation. There was a sacrifice to be made. Willow handed a knife to Dawn, which the youth willingly took.
"Are you sure you're willing to do this?" Willow asked once she was through with her part of the spell. Dawn merely nodded before pressing the blade into the palm of her. She winced in pain as blood began dripping from her hand. Willow threw some shimmering type of dust into the air, which started to swirl around instead of falling to the earth. It also seemed to work as a sort of magnet towards Dawn's blood. Dawn's blood flowed upwards into the dust, which now turned a bright red as a portal opened in the air.
"Get away from it!" Willow shouted to Dawn, who didn't need to be told twice.
Buffy and Glory were still fighting when the God caught sight of the portal. Buffy managed to land in a blow to the face before she too caught sight of the portal. "What on earth?" she wondered out loud.
"You wanted to use the Key to go home?" Willow shouted at Glory. "Then fine, go home, Hellbitch!"
Glory found herself being pulled towards the portal. "No!" she screamed. "Not now! Not before I kill the Slayer!" But the Fates weren't willing to listen to the voice of a God. Glory was sucked into the air and into the portal, which closed behind her.
Willow fell to the ground. She was drained, but relieved. The spell had worked. Glory would never plague her or her friends again.
Scene change
"So tell me all the details," Xander said.
"I've already told you," Willow said, growing weary of the subject. "I've told you a million times."
"I know, but you know you want to keep talking about how you saved the world from the Hellgod from Dimension Bitch."
"Really, I don't," Willow admitted. "After everything I've done, I'm no hero."
"Come on, for me," Xander begged. "Pretty please with extra creamy goodness poured on top."
"Make it clumps of sugar and you're got a deal," Willow smiled.
"You've got it. So tell me what happened."
Willow sighed, and began the explanation. "After Glory was defeated, she wound up getting into Giles's body. Only with the Dagon Sphere destroyed, it was quite different from when she shared bodies with Ben. It was no longer a case of two separate entities; it was now Glory in control of both their bodies. She was a sort of like a vampire; she could look and act like Giles, and she had his memories, but she was in full control.
"She returned to England and destroyed some powerful Coven she feared could stop her," Willow continued. "She combined the Coven's power with her own and returned here, intending to kill us all. What she didn't realize was that I." She stopped, unwilling to summon the words. Unwilling to say that she herself had been intending to kill them when she arrived. "Of course, Glory didn't want the world to end, so she had to try to stop me. Once I defeated her and drained her of her power, she was left weakened. It took her two weeks before she was back at full power."
"Now tell me about the thing with Giles explaining he was in control," Xander said. "I'm still a bit foggy in that respect."
"It's really quite simple," Willow explained. "Glory was in control the whole time. She wanted to kill us all, but she was afraid she couldn't do so if we all went at her at once. Considering I had once nearly killed all of you, she thought I'd leave her alone if she promised she was only trying to kill Buffy. When my guard was down, she attacked me, but somehow Giles managed to get through so I wasn't injured."
"And then she tried to kill Buffy and Anya before you and Dawn ripped her out of Giles and then sent her packing on a one-way trip to her hell dimension," Xander interrupted. "But how did you know it would work?"
"I didn't," Willow admitted, "but I had faced Glory and knew we weren't going beat her. And as Dawn was the only way to open a portal to Glory's home dimension, I decided to try and see if I could do that. Thankfully it worked."
Xander laughed. "Another apocalypse averted," he said. When he saw Willow look down, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't look so down," he told her. "It's in the past."
She knew exactly what he was talking about. "No it's not," she said. "Buffy doesn't trust me any more. How can I ever get her to forgive me?"
Xander sighed and slid a bit closer to his best friend. "There's only one way," he replied. "You have to erase her memory." At first Willow was horrified at his suggestion, but when a big goofy grin spread across his face, she couldn't help but laugh. It was no wonder she had such a crush on him before she realized she was gay; he would no doubt make somebody a fantastic husband one day.
Willow wasn't sure what was going to come. She didn't know if Buffy, Dawn, Anya, or Giles would ever forgive her for the past, but at least Xander had. She had at least one friend remaining, and that was far more than she really deserved. She smiled, knowing that at least one person would always be there for her, even if she went homicidal again.
Fin.