Divine Interference
Part Fifteen: Live
Posted: August 2, 2004
Disclaimer: see the first couple chapters, it's there somewhere.
Author's notes: Well, I promised you a totally original ending, didn't I? It's finally here! All your long months of waiting and grousing, and wondering finally paid off! I want to thank all of my reviewers for reviewing, and all you readers that hide in the shadows; it's a tough job being a fanfic writer without you guys!
But wait! There's still an epilogue yet to come! Hopefully the suspense won't kill you, because I need you guys to go read my other fics! I'm sorry if I miss a review response, yahoo is being a bitch, and I haven't been able to check mail in a couple days like I normally do. And if anyone knows the creator of that damned "Cannot Find Server" page, could you give me their address? I want to put them out of my misery.
Reader Responses:
Out-of-reality: Ok, think I've responded to this one before, but no more waiting. Yes, that silly glowey orb will be in here. As for deaths...I've learned a British expression: Mum's the word. Seriously love the Internet, where else would I learn cool phrases? I have a British friend at school, but he just swears a lot, and I already know those words.
As for your chapter 14 review: Yes, when they were at the gas station, Xander and Anya were hiding out somewhere safe, doing God knows what. Well, knowing Anya....Nope, not even going to touch it with a ten foot pole.
Queen Boadicea: Oh, no insult taken! Compared to the reviews I get from some of my BeeGee stories, that was icing on the cake! And I don't know about the regular members getting old thing, cuz, you know, they started with a 241-year-old vampire. Can't get much older...except for older vampires....Oh well, I still think Giles/Anthony's hot, and this is coming from a 16 year old, lol! Once I put it like that, that's kinda gross....
Melanie: No more waiting! We can all cheer! Except for waiting for the epilogue, but that's just icing, we've already used that analogy. Ok, how about...it's just...Rain on your...no that's a song...the epilogue just ties things together. No big deal, it's barely a page!
Melluvben: do you mean during the actual episode, or instead of Willow in this? I think I kinda like Willow going, she gets to learn things about her best friend she wouldn't otherwise.
AND HERE IT IS! THE EVENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE DODGE SUMMER BLOWOUT EVENT!
Oh, wait, that's a commercial...Here's the story, I promise:
(START OF CHAPTER)
Giles, released from the hospital, stood behind the register, making tea as Buffy, Willow, Angel, Anya and Tara entered the shop.
"Buffy?" Giles looked up, "She's back," he said to the others.
"You ok?" Xander asked, jumping up from his spot sitting at the table near Spike, but not next to him.
"Yeah, I'm ok," Buffy sighed,. "Hear you found the ritual text."
"Uh, something like that, yes." Giles said.
"Uh, Did you know that Ben is Glory?" Xander asked.
"So I'm told. What do we know?"
"Um ... well, uh ..." Willow, Tara and Anya skirt Buffy and Angel, and sit down at the table. "...According to these scrolls, uh, it's possible for Glory to be stopped." Buffy raises an eyebrow, telling him to go on, "I-I'm afraid it's, um ... well, Buffy, I've read these things very carefully and there's not much ... margin for error. You understand what I'm saying?"
"Might help if you actually said it."
Giles gave her a small slime, and a nod. He set his mug down on the table, and removed his glasses. "Um ... Glory ... plans to open a ... dimensional portal ... by way of a ritual bloodletting."
"Dawn's blood."
"Yes. Once the blood is shed at a certain time and place ... the fabric which separates all realities will ... be ripped apart. Dimensions will ... pour into one another, uh, with no barriers to stop them. Reality as we know it will be destroyed, and ... chaos will reign on earth.
"So how do we stop it?"
"The portal will only close once the blood is stopped ... and the only way for that to happen is, um ..." Giles looked Buffy straight in the eye, "Buffy, the only way is to kill Dawn."
(SCENE CHANGE)
A vampire chased a kid into the alleyway beside the Magic Box, Bufy went out and dealt with it.
"Been awhile since I met one who didn't know me." She sighed, "You should get home." She told the kid.
"H-how'd you do that?"
"That's what I do."
"But you-you're just a girl."
"That's what I keep saying," she sighed, reentering the magic shop. The gang is all around the table, researching. Spike was sitting on the ladder, smoking. Angel growled as she came in. Spike sighed, and put out the cigarette, saving it for later.
"Anything?" she asked.
"Nothing you want to hear. The ritual is, ah-"
"Explain it again."
"There's nothing new-"
"Go through it again."
"The key was ... living energy. It needed to be channeled, poured into a specific place at a specific time. The energy ... would flow into that spot, the walls between the dimensions break down. It stops, the energy's used up, the walls come back up. Glory uses that time to get back into her own dimension, not caring that all manner of hell will be unleashed on earth in the meantime."
"Um, but only for a little while, right? The walls come back up, uh, n-no more hell?" Anya asked, nervous.
"That's only if the energy is stopped. And now the key is human...is Dawn," Willow said sadly.
Giles picked up the book he had been reading from, "The blood flows, the gates will open. The gates will close when it flows no more. When Dawn is dead."
"I have places to be!" Tara suddenly yelled.
"Why blood? Why Dawn's blood? I mean, why couldn't it be like a, a lymph ritual?"
"Cause it's always got to be blood," Spike drawled.
"We're not actually discussing dinner right now," Xander said sarcasticly.
"Spike's right. Blood is life. That's why vampires eat it. Blood is what keeps you going, makes you warm, makes you hard, makes you other than dead," Angel sighed, closing his eyes in pain, "'Course it's blood."
"Pretty simple math here. We stop Glory before she can start the ritual. We still have a couple of hours, right?" Buffy asked.
"If my calculations are right. But Buffy-"
"I don't want to hear it," she moved away from him.
"I understand that-"
"No! No, you don't understand. We are not talking about this."
Giles jumped up from the table, dropping the book on his lap to the floor, starting everyone, "Yes, we bloody well are!" he yelled. He then took a deep breath, and continued, "If Glory begins the ritual ... if we can't stop her..."
"Come on. Say it. We're bloody well talking about this. Tell me to kill my daughter."
"She's not your daughter."
"Oh, funny. I certainly remember the pain I went through. I remember the moment she was conceived. I remember holding her for the first time, marveling at the wonder that was my child. But she's more than that. The monks made her out of me. I hold her...and I feel closer to her than... Dawn ... is a part of me. I-" she shook her head, squeezing her eyes tight, willing herself not to cry.
"We'll solve this. We will. Don't have another coma, okay?" Willow asked, and she was rewarded by a wan smile from Buffy.
"If the ritual starts, then every living creature in this and every other dimension imaginable will suffer unbearable torment and death...including Dawn," Giles continued.
"Then the last thing she'll see is me protecting her. That's what mothers do, protect their children."
"You'll fail. You'll die. We all will." He turned away from her, and the once teens that had become family to him.
"I'm sorry," Buffy whispered, "I love you all ... but I'm sorry." Silence reigned in the shop for a couple seconds, as everyone mulled over their fate. The person they had always counted on to save them was turning her back on them, but with good cause, and everyone understood.
"Okay. All in favor of stopping Glory before the ritual. Suggestions, ideas? Time's a-wastin'," Anya said loudly startling everyone once more.
"Uh ... when you say you love us all..." Spike started.
"Shut up," all the males in the room besides Spike said simultaneously.
"Willow. I bet you've got some dark spell a-brewin'. Uh, make her a, a, a toad? Little hoppy toad, we can hit her with a hammer?
"Hoppy toad," Tara giggled.
"What about Ben? He can be killed, right? I mean, I know he's an innocent, but, you know, not like Dawn innocent. We could kill a ... regular guy." Everyone was silent, considering the idea, and Xander realized what he had just said, "God," he murmured in self-disgust.
"If it was his life or Dawn's, I'd kill him. Soul or no," Angel spoke up, and nobody thought anything of it. Everyone knew of his undying love for his child.
"It's, ah, doubtful he'll surface again this close to the ritual. We can expect its Glory we're dealing with," Giles said. Angel looked at the floor, almost in defeat. The odds were just so high.
"We don't have to kill her. Uh, we just have to stop her from doing the ritual. I mean, there's only the one time that she can do it, right?" Willow asked, and everyone looked t her, Buffy with a light of thanks in her eyes.
"Yeah. We get her on the ropes, we just gotta keep her occupied till it's too late," Spike agreed.
"Okay. But I'm still not hearing enough ideas. She's a god. Let's think outside the box," Anya encouraged.
"Why don't you go think outside the bleeding box?" Spike threw at her.
"Yes, Anya, apart from your incredibly uninfectious enthusiasm, have you anything else to contribu-"
"The Dagon sphere!" Anya interrupted.
"Sorry?"
"When Buffy first met Glory, she found that magical...glowy sphere that was meant to repel Glory. We've got it in the basement. It might drive her away or hurt her. Ooh!" Anya had another great idea, rushing over to a display case. She did a Vana White, "And Olaf the troll god's enchanted hammer. You wanna fight a god, use the weapon of a god." Buffy walked over to get a better look at the hammer.
"Uh, nah, that thing's too heavy to-" Spike began, but Buffy picked it up with one hand, "Yeah. Good."
"I like this. Thanks."
"Here to help. Wanna live," Anya replied.
"Smart chicks are soooo hot," Xander said, looking fondly at Anya.
"You couldn't have figured that out in tenth grade?" Willow asked him teasingly. They exchanged a smile of friendship.
"Well, we have some ideas, if we could actually get Glory on the run, but, um..."
"But, we still have no idea how to find her," Buffy said, sounding deflated once more. Angel walked over to her and started rubbing her arms.
"Big day. Oh, it calls me! I have to be there!" Everyone looked at Tara, then to Buffy, "Big day!"
"We can work this," Buffy mumbled, and only Angel heard her.
(SCENE CHANGE)
Buffy and Angel were in the workout room, Angel holding the bag, while Buffy alternated hands, hitting a steady staccato against the bag.
"Are you sure you're not going to tire yourself out?" Giles asked, coming into the room. When Buffy had slipped off during research, he knew exactly where she was going, and why.
"I'm sure," Buffy said, stopping punching for about a minute, before starting the beat the bag once more.
"We're, ah, still looking for ideas. Time's short, but, ah, best leave it to the last minute," Buffy stopped punching and stretched her arms and back, "If we go in too early, and she takes us out, no chance of getting her to miss her window," he said quietly.
"Then we wait," Buffy's voice was hard, and though someone else might think she was angry, Angel knew she had closed herself off, so she couldn't feel, wouldn't feel, then she wouldn't break down. Buffy threw one last good punch, sending Angel and the bag halfway across the room. Angel dropped it to the floor as soon as he had stopped his movement backwards.
"I bet you hate me right about now," Giles sighed, taking off his glasses. Buffy looked at the bag, not saying anything. "I love Dawn."
"I know."
"But I've sworn to protect this sorry world, and sometimes that means saying and doing things...what other people can't. What they shouldn't have to."
Buffy spun to face him, "If you try and hurt her, you know I'll stop you."
"I know."
Buffy slowly walked past Angel and sat on the couch by the wall. Giles went to sit next to her, and Angel slipped out of the room. "This is...what? How many apocalypses for us now?"
"Uh, well...six, at least. Feels like a hundred."
"I've always stopped them, always won."
"Yes.
"I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much. But I knew...what was right, and that was the right thing to do. I don't have that anymore, Giles. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in a world where these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I just wish that...I wish I could be holding her right now," she held back her tears, "I wish it was all over, and I was hold her right now."
She stood and composed herself, before turning to Giles. "The spirit guide...it told me that death is my gift. Guess that means a slayer is just a killer after all, huh?"
"I think you're wrong about that."
"It doesn't really matter now. If Dawn dies, I'm through. I've tried to quit in the past, and somehow I always got dragged back in. But this final. If I lose her, I quit," she looked down at her feet for a moment, then into his eyes, and he knew she was dead serious. Then she turned her back on him and walked out of the room, leaving him to mull over this thoughts.
(SCENE CHANGE)
Giles walked over to the basement door to check on Xander and Anya.
"Any luck? Have you found the Dagon Sphere?" he heard a rustling from below.
"Um, I'm sure it's here, just be a minute!"
"Yeah, we're on it! Let's look over here, where we didn't look yet." Giles shook his head and went back to see if he could find another book to go through.
"Will, what do you got for me?" Buffy asked, sitting down on the stairs.
"Some ideas. Well, notion, or theories based on wild speculations. Did I mention I'm not good under pressure?"
"I need you, will. You're my big gun."
"I'm your - no, I-I was never a gun. Someone else should be the gun. I, I could be a, a cudgel. Or, or a pointy stick."
"You're the strongest person here. You know that, right?"
"Well ... no."
"Will, you're the only person that's ever hurt Glory. At all. You're my best shot at getting her on the ropes, so don't get a jelly belly on me now."
"Well ... I, I ... do sort of have this one idea. But, last few days, I've mostly been looking into ways to help Tara. I-I know that shouldn't be my priority..."
"Of course it should."
Willow smiled at her, "Well, I've been charting their essences. Mapping out. I think ... if I can get close enough, I may be able to reverse what Glory did. Like, take back what she took from Tara. It might weaken Glory, or ... make her less coherent. Or it might make all our heads explode."
"Buffy," Giles called from the counter.
"I'll try to work on it," Willow promised as Buffy got up.
Angel walked in to hear Buffy talking to Giles, "No, no that could be pivotal. Thank you guys."
"Well, um, you're gonna need some-"
"Way ahead of you," Buffy interrupted, and Angel was left in the dark. "We have time?"
"Yes, if you hurry."
"Ok, I'll go grab some weapons and things."
"I'm looking for a big broadsword, myself," Xander mused.
"Don't be swinging that thing near me!" Spike protested, coming up from behind.
"Hey, I happen to be a-"
"Glorified brick layer?"
"I'm also a swell bowl," Xander protested.
"Who do they remind you of?" Buffy asked Angel quietly as he came to stand beside her. She gave him a pointed look.
"He has his own shoes," Anya tried to help.
"Gunn got lost on the way, and Cordy's being no help. I'm going to go find them." Buffy nodded.
"The gods themselves do tremble," Spike said sarcastically.
"Spike, Shut your mouth. Come with me." She handed the sphere back to Giles and stalked off. Spike looked surprised for a moment, then followed.
They walked in silence to her house. "The weapons are in the chest by the TV, I'll get the stuff upstairs," she told him, heading upstairs.
"Uh, Buffy?" Spike still stood on the porch. Buffy turned back to him, waiting. He gave her a little wave. She just stared at him, "If you wanna just hand them over the threshold..."
"Come in, Spike."
"Hm...presto, no barrier," he walked over towards the chest, "Um, won't bother with the small stuff. Couple of good axes should hold off Glory's mates while you take on the lady herself."
"We're not all gonna make it. You know that."
"Yeah. Hey. Always knew I'd go down fightin'"
"I'm counting on you ... to protect her."
"Till the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight."
"And if anything happens to me...Help Angel with her. Take care of him, for me." He didn't look happy about it, but he nodded, "I'll just be a minute."
"Yeah," he turned back to the chest, "I know you'll never love me, I know that I'm a monster. But you treat me like a man. And that's..." Buffy stared at him, waiting, "Get your stuff, I'll be here." She turned and went upstairs.
(SCENE CHANGE)
"We on schedule?" Buffy asked as she and Spike entered the shop.
"Yes, it's time," Giles told her.
"What about Angel?" Anya asked. He still hadn't returned.
"He'll find me," Buffy turned to willow, "Will?"
Willow nodded, going over to where Tara was looking into a display case, "Tara, baby? Is there somewhere you should be?"
Tara glared at Buffy, "They held me down."
"No one's holding you now. It's the big day, right?" Tara looked at Buffy, and Willow did as well, "Don't you wanna go?"
Tara looked at Buffy and Willow anxiously for a moment, before getting up and crossing the shop, while the rest of the gang made final preparations. "You're a killer," Tara said, pointing to Giles. Both he and Spike looked at her in surprise, "This is all set down." Then Tara continued on her way out.
"Stay close, but don't crowd. We'll follow in a minute," Buffy said to Willow, who nodded and followed her girlfriend out. She stopped when Buffy started addressing everyone, "Everyone knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, and we all die. I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn." She turned and started after Willow and Tara.
Giles and Spike stood by the weapons bag, Giles holding his side.
"Well, not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?" Spike asked.
"We few..." Giles walked past Spike as Spike grabbed the weapons bag, "we happy few."
"We band of buggered." Spike finished.
They all followed Tara silently, all intent on their specified jobs. All wanted to live, even Spike.
Tara came around a corner, stopping to gaze upward, before continuing. When the gang came around the corner, everyone stared up at the massive tower.
"Shpadoinkle," Xander said, impressed.
"What is that?" Anya asked.
"The portal must open up there," Giles reasoned.
Buffy didn't seem phased by the tower. She was intent on getting her baby back, "Will, you're up."
"Need anything?" Giles asked.
"Could use a little courage," Willow told him. Spike held out a flask, "The real kind," Spike looked at her, "But thanks," he nodded and put the flask away.
Tara went through the fence, finally getting the cast off that she had been playing with the whole time. Before getting very far, Glory grabbed her, "You. What are you doing here?"
"She's with me," Willow said, grabbing both Tara and Glory's head. All three began to scream as blue lightning flickered around them. A blue stream of light passed from Glory's head to Tara's. A blast of power separated them, sending Willow and Tara in one direction, Glory in the other.
"What the frickin' hell did that bitch do to me?" Glory asked, as her minions helped her up form the concrete.
"You look fine, truly!"
"She made a little ... she made a hole. Uh, I need a brain to eat," Glory said, holding her head.
"Oh, take mine, oh groove-tastic one!" a minion bowed, offering his head.
"I said a brain, you worthless dirt!" Glory cried, pushing him away. "Big day. Got places to be. Need a brain." She looked up in front of her, seeing Buffy, "Suppose I could always use yours."
"Okay then. Come and get it," she stood with her hands clasped behind her back and her head tilted to the side. They stood there for a moment, "You don't seem very well," Buffy noticed innocently.
"Your little witch bitch ... gave me kind of a headache there." She threw away the ceremonial robe, only to be wearing a black dress underneath, "But if you think this is gonna last more than eight seconds-"
"I noticed you're talking, whereas in your position, I would attack me."
Glory stood there a moment, looking weak.
"Oh, most sweaty-naughty-feelings-causing one, should we..." a minion started.
"Go guard the girl. This is a ... this is a, a..." Glory tried to remember.
"Diversionary tactic?"
"Go guard!" he scurried away.
"Huh, funny, you're not as blurry with speed as usual either."
"The witch..." Glory started.
"It's not her," Buffy pulled her hands from behind her back, holding the sphere. "Might be this, though," she smiled in satisfaction at Glory's worried look, "I heard it's supposed to repel you. So my guess is ... you probably shouldn't touch it, either." She threw the Dagon sphere at the god, who caught it instinctively. The sphere lit up when it touched Glory, warping the air around her. She made a pained face, dropping her hand. Slowly, painfully, she crushed the sphere, and the light slowly went out.
"You're gonna wish you-" Buffy was right there and punched her in the face. Glory stumbled back as Buffy kicked her, then punched her three of four times more.
"Stand fast! Kill anyone who dares approach! This will be our day of glory!" Buffy heard a minion yell. Nice pun, she thought, but you've got it all wrong. She heard a twang of a crossbow, and knew Spike had shot someone. No cries of pain, so it was a minion. Then she heard Willow and Tara getting reacquainted as her fists got acquainted with Glory's face.
"You know what?" Glory stood up, "I'm feeling a little better. And now? I'm a little bored."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Cause you're about-" Glory kicked the head off of the robot.
"Hey, wow, the Slayer's a robot. Did everybody know the slayer was a robot?" Glory smiled, not seeing Buffy behind her. The real Buffy this time.
"Oh Glory..." She turned and Buffy hit her with the hammer. She flew across the room, hitting a wall, and going right through it. "You're not the brightest god in the heavens, are you?" Then Buffy heard a scream. A scream she knew well. "Dawn," she breathed, rushing towards the tower. She jumped over a pile of bricks and scrambled onto the stairs.
"Oh no you don't!" Glory said, catching up with her. Buffy was about halfway up the tower when Glory caught her. She punched Buffy, who stumbled back. Buffy slammed Glory with the hammer, then Glory kicked her into the scaffolding. They hit each other a few more times before Buffy lost a grip on her hammer. It got caught in a piece of chain hanging off the tower. Glory grabbed another piece of chain, using it to swing over to the other side, and punch Buffy as she tried to grab the hammer. She fell to the side, before getting up and getting kicked by Glory. She stepped back then hit Glory a few more times.
Once she was out of her way, she tried once more to reach her screaming child. Glory hit her just below the knee as she tried to climb the ladders, the stairs having stopped, and she gasped in pain. She thought it might be broken, even. She swung around to the outside of the scaffolding and tried to climb that way, but Glory was right there to stop her.
After about five minutes of not making any ground, Buffy managed to grab her hammer, hitting both Glory and a ladder, which went flying. Glory kicked Buffy off the scaffolding, but Buffy grabbed her at the last second, and they both plummeted to the earth.
When Buffy was able to get up from her fall, she was closer to Glory than her hammer.
"You lost your hammer, sweet cheeks. What are you gonna hit me with now?" Glory taunted, standing beside a concrete wall. Buffy looked at the wall, and Glory turned to look as well as a wrecking ball came though and hit her. It crashed through a second wall nearby, leaving Glory on the other side.
"Whatever's handy," Buffy quipped. Buffy grabbed the hammer on her way by to get to Glory.
Angel and his gang finally showed up in time to see Glroy go flying via the wrecking ball. He stood next to Willow, looking around, "Isn't there someone up there?" he asked, pointing to the tower.
She didn't answer, 'Is there someone up there with Dawn?' she telepathically communicated with Spike, the closer of the two vampires.
"Yeah, can't tell who," he said out loud.
"Are you talking to us?" Xander asked.
'Get up there. Go now.'
"Yeah, but-"
'GO!'
Angel saw the intense concentration on Willow's face, then Spike charge at the crazies. He saw out of the corner of his eye Willow and Tara grab hands, and Willow momentarily close her eyes, before the minions and crazies were pushed out of the way by some unseen force.
"I'm gonna go find Buffy," Angel said, before turning to his team, "Help out Giles and Xander." They nodded.
He saw her beating Glory repeatedly with the hammer.
"You're just a mortal. You couldn't understand my pain," Glory rasped, her nose bleeding.
"Then I'll just have to settle for causing it," Buffy said, "You sure like to cause me pain."
"You can't kill me," Glory said as Buffy hit her again. Angel stood back to watch the love of his life in action, ready to step in if she need help.
"No...but my arm's not even tired yet."
Angel heard a soft thud, and saw Spike lying amidst some rubble.
Glory fell to her knees, almost in tears, "Stop it," she half pleaded, half ordered.
"You're a god," Buffy hit her again, and she fell backwards, now lying on the ground, "Make it stop." Buffy knelt on top of her and started punching her. Eventually, Glory morphed into Ben, and she stopped.
"I'm sorry," he rasped.
"Tell her it's over. She missed her shot. She goes. She ever, ever comes near me and mine again..."
"We won't. I swear," Ben said fervently. Buffy dropped the hammer and rushed away. Angel watched her go.
Ben lay there for a moment, breathing heavily, "I guess we're stuck with each other, huh baby?"
"Can you move?" Angel asked, coming over.
"Need a ... a minute. She could've killed me," he breathed.
"No she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge, and...make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that...and still she couldn't take a human life. She's a hero, you see. She's not like us."
"Us?" Ben asked, puzzled.
"This won't be the first life I've snuffed out," Angel said, clasping his hand over Ben's mouth and nose. Ben struggled weakly, but Angel stood motionless, until he could hear his heart no longer beating. "She's not like us," Angel said quietly. He didn't know if Ben was just a mere mortal or not, so he twisted his neck swiftly, making sure. Then he rushed off to where Buffy had gone.
(SCENE CHANGE)
When Buffy got to the top of the tower, a man was standing over her child, holding a big knife.
"Shallow cuts, shallow cuts," she heard him mutter, "Let the blood flow..." Dawn screamed even louder at every stroke of the kinfe on her skin, "free."
"Mu..." Dawn called out weakly, seeing her.
"Dawn."
The man whirled around as Buffy strode towards him. She walked right past him, pushing him off the side as she went.
"Shh, baby, Momma's here. Shh," she said soothingly, as she reached her screaming child. Her cries were weak to Buffy's ears, and she saw blood drip off her toes as she reached to untie her child. "I got you, I'm here, you're gonna be ok. Shh..."
A small circle of light appeared underneath them, growing larger as Buffy untied Dawn, and took her into her arms. She sunk to the floor of the tower, cradling her baby. She had failed. And now everyone would pay for her failure.
Angel knelt before her and gently took Dawn from her. She didn't even fight. She knew that this would be his last chance with his daughter.
Angel carefully ripped off the ceremonial dress that held Dawn, until she was naked except for her diaper. He then carefully started wiping off the blood, and putting it in his own mouth.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Buffy cried, trying to get Dawn back form him.
"Trust me," he said quietly, and she nodded warily as he placed his mouth over the deepest cut and sucked gently. The coppery takes of human blood disgusted him, almost made him want to be sick, but he had to try, even if he didn't know if it would work.
"I-I have to jump," Buffy said suddenly, "It's always the blood. They made her from me..."
"The fall would kill you."
"But she'd live."
He could feel the blood surging inside him, fusing with his own. "No, she's my daughter too. Her blood is now my blood. I can feel it," he passed the child to her mother, "The fall shouldn't kill me. Whatever happens, live. The hardest thing in this world is to do what you do, every day. Live. Live for me, and our daughter."
"Angel, no! I can't lose you again! I-I feel like I'm never going to see you again!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms.
"I'm always in your heart, Buffy. I always will be." He hugged her one last time, knowing nothing is certain with dimensional portals, and then pulled her to her feet, "There's no telling how stable this thing is. Take her down, and get away. It could topple at any moment. I love you, Buffy. I always have." He didn't look at her, didn't want her to see the tears in his eyes as he turned and ran across the platform, and dived off the edge.
"NO!" she screamed, breaking down, "I LOVE YOU!"
He entered the portal, and felt the energy go through him, burning him.
"You are released." He heard from everywhere, yet nowhere, four voices as one, sounding each like a season, and yet nothing, before the energy left him, closing the portal, and he plummeted to the ground. He hit far harder than he had ever imagined, groaning with pain, before rolling over and blacking out.
The tower started shaking as soon as the portal closed, and Buffy stumbled down the ladders, ramps and stairs, clutching Dawn close, barely seeing through her tears. When she reached the bottom, the sun's first rays rested lightly on his body. Buffy ran over, crying hysterically. Tara took the baby from her, beginning the workings of a minor healing spell as she went to support Willow once more. Buffy pounded the body with her weakened fists, sobbing like her heart had been ripped out of her body, before laying her head down on his chest, exhausted, sobbing.
(END OF UPDATE)
Stick around for the epilogue. It's gonna be one sweet ending!
Part Fifteen: Live
Posted: August 2, 2004
Disclaimer: see the first couple chapters, it's there somewhere.
Author's notes: Well, I promised you a totally original ending, didn't I? It's finally here! All your long months of waiting and grousing, and wondering finally paid off! I want to thank all of my reviewers for reviewing, and all you readers that hide in the shadows; it's a tough job being a fanfic writer without you guys!
But wait! There's still an epilogue yet to come! Hopefully the suspense won't kill you, because I need you guys to go read my other fics! I'm sorry if I miss a review response, yahoo is being a bitch, and I haven't been able to check mail in a couple days like I normally do. And if anyone knows the creator of that damned "Cannot Find Server" page, could you give me their address? I want to put them out of my misery.
Reader Responses:
Out-of-reality: Ok, think I've responded to this one before, but no more waiting. Yes, that silly glowey orb will be in here. As for deaths...I've learned a British expression: Mum's the word. Seriously love the Internet, where else would I learn cool phrases? I have a British friend at school, but he just swears a lot, and I already know those words.
As for your chapter 14 review: Yes, when they were at the gas station, Xander and Anya were hiding out somewhere safe, doing God knows what. Well, knowing Anya....Nope, not even going to touch it with a ten foot pole.
Queen Boadicea: Oh, no insult taken! Compared to the reviews I get from some of my BeeGee stories, that was icing on the cake! And I don't know about the regular members getting old thing, cuz, you know, they started with a 241-year-old vampire. Can't get much older...except for older vampires....Oh well, I still think Giles/Anthony's hot, and this is coming from a 16 year old, lol! Once I put it like that, that's kinda gross....
Melanie: No more waiting! We can all cheer! Except for waiting for the epilogue, but that's just icing, we've already used that analogy. Ok, how about...it's just...Rain on your...no that's a song...the epilogue just ties things together. No big deal, it's barely a page!
Melluvben: do you mean during the actual episode, or instead of Willow in this? I think I kinda like Willow going, she gets to learn things about her best friend she wouldn't otherwise.
AND HERE IT IS! THE EVENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE DODGE SUMMER BLOWOUT EVENT!
Oh, wait, that's a commercial...Here's the story, I promise:
(START OF CHAPTER)
Giles, released from the hospital, stood behind the register, making tea as Buffy, Willow, Angel, Anya and Tara entered the shop.
"Buffy?" Giles looked up, "She's back," he said to the others.
"You ok?" Xander asked, jumping up from his spot sitting at the table near Spike, but not next to him.
"Yeah, I'm ok," Buffy sighed,. "Hear you found the ritual text."
"Uh, something like that, yes." Giles said.
"Uh, Did you know that Ben is Glory?" Xander asked.
"So I'm told. What do we know?"
"Um ... well, uh ..." Willow, Tara and Anya skirt Buffy and Angel, and sit down at the table. "...According to these scrolls, uh, it's possible for Glory to be stopped." Buffy raises an eyebrow, telling him to go on, "I-I'm afraid it's, um ... well, Buffy, I've read these things very carefully and there's not much ... margin for error. You understand what I'm saying?"
"Might help if you actually said it."
Giles gave her a small slime, and a nod. He set his mug down on the table, and removed his glasses. "Um ... Glory ... plans to open a ... dimensional portal ... by way of a ritual bloodletting."
"Dawn's blood."
"Yes. Once the blood is shed at a certain time and place ... the fabric which separates all realities will ... be ripped apart. Dimensions will ... pour into one another, uh, with no barriers to stop them. Reality as we know it will be destroyed, and ... chaos will reign on earth.
"So how do we stop it?"
"The portal will only close once the blood is stopped ... and the only way for that to happen is, um ..." Giles looked Buffy straight in the eye, "Buffy, the only way is to kill Dawn."
(SCENE CHANGE)
A vampire chased a kid into the alleyway beside the Magic Box, Bufy went out and dealt with it.
"Been awhile since I met one who didn't know me." She sighed, "You should get home." She told the kid.
"H-how'd you do that?"
"That's what I do."
"But you-you're just a girl."
"That's what I keep saying," she sighed, reentering the magic shop. The gang is all around the table, researching. Spike was sitting on the ladder, smoking. Angel growled as she came in. Spike sighed, and put out the cigarette, saving it for later.
"Anything?" she asked.
"Nothing you want to hear. The ritual is, ah-"
"Explain it again."
"There's nothing new-"
"Go through it again."
"The key was ... living energy. It needed to be channeled, poured into a specific place at a specific time. The energy ... would flow into that spot, the walls between the dimensions break down. It stops, the energy's used up, the walls come back up. Glory uses that time to get back into her own dimension, not caring that all manner of hell will be unleashed on earth in the meantime."
"Um, but only for a little while, right? The walls come back up, uh, n-no more hell?" Anya asked, nervous.
"That's only if the energy is stopped. And now the key is human...is Dawn," Willow said sadly.
Giles picked up the book he had been reading from, "The blood flows, the gates will open. The gates will close when it flows no more. When Dawn is dead."
"I have places to be!" Tara suddenly yelled.
"Why blood? Why Dawn's blood? I mean, why couldn't it be like a, a lymph ritual?"
"Cause it's always got to be blood," Spike drawled.
"We're not actually discussing dinner right now," Xander said sarcasticly.
"Spike's right. Blood is life. That's why vampires eat it. Blood is what keeps you going, makes you warm, makes you hard, makes you other than dead," Angel sighed, closing his eyes in pain, "'Course it's blood."
"Pretty simple math here. We stop Glory before she can start the ritual. We still have a couple of hours, right?" Buffy asked.
"If my calculations are right. But Buffy-"
"I don't want to hear it," she moved away from him.
"I understand that-"
"No! No, you don't understand. We are not talking about this."
Giles jumped up from the table, dropping the book on his lap to the floor, starting everyone, "Yes, we bloody well are!" he yelled. He then took a deep breath, and continued, "If Glory begins the ritual ... if we can't stop her..."
"Come on. Say it. We're bloody well talking about this. Tell me to kill my daughter."
"She's not your daughter."
"Oh, funny. I certainly remember the pain I went through. I remember the moment she was conceived. I remember holding her for the first time, marveling at the wonder that was my child. But she's more than that. The monks made her out of me. I hold her...and I feel closer to her than... Dawn ... is a part of me. I-" she shook her head, squeezing her eyes tight, willing herself not to cry.
"We'll solve this. We will. Don't have another coma, okay?" Willow asked, and she was rewarded by a wan smile from Buffy.
"If the ritual starts, then every living creature in this and every other dimension imaginable will suffer unbearable torment and death...including Dawn," Giles continued.
"Then the last thing she'll see is me protecting her. That's what mothers do, protect their children."
"You'll fail. You'll die. We all will." He turned away from her, and the once teens that had become family to him.
"I'm sorry," Buffy whispered, "I love you all ... but I'm sorry." Silence reigned in the shop for a couple seconds, as everyone mulled over their fate. The person they had always counted on to save them was turning her back on them, but with good cause, and everyone understood.
"Okay. All in favor of stopping Glory before the ritual. Suggestions, ideas? Time's a-wastin'," Anya said loudly startling everyone once more.
"Uh ... when you say you love us all..." Spike started.
"Shut up," all the males in the room besides Spike said simultaneously.
"Willow. I bet you've got some dark spell a-brewin'. Uh, make her a, a, a toad? Little hoppy toad, we can hit her with a hammer?
"Hoppy toad," Tara giggled.
"What about Ben? He can be killed, right? I mean, I know he's an innocent, but, you know, not like Dawn innocent. We could kill a ... regular guy." Everyone was silent, considering the idea, and Xander realized what he had just said, "God," he murmured in self-disgust.
"If it was his life or Dawn's, I'd kill him. Soul or no," Angel spoke up, and nobody thought anything of it. Everyone knew of his undying love for his child.
"It's, ah, doubtful he'll surface again this close to the ritual. We can expect its Glory we're dealing with," Giles said. Angel looked at the floor, almost in defeat. The odds were just so high.
"We don't have to kill her. Uh, we just have to stop her from doing the ritual. I mean, there's only the one time that she can do it, right?" Willow asked, and everyone looked t her, Buffy with a light of thanks in her eyes.
"Yeah. We get her on the ropes, we just gotta keep her occupied till it's too late," Spike agreed.
"Okay. But I'm still not hearing enough ideas. She's a god. Let's think outside the box," Anya encouraged.
"Why don't you go think outside the bleeding box?" Spike threw at her.
"Yes, Anya, apart from your incredibly uninfectious enthusiasm, have you anything else to contribu-"
"The Dagon sphere!" Anya interrupted.
"Sorry?"
"When Buffy first met Glory, she found that magical...glowy sphere that was meant to repel Glory. We've got it in the basement. It might drive her away or hurt her. Ooh!" Anya had another great idea, rushing over to a display case. She did a Vana White, "And Olaf the troll god's enchanted hammer. You wanna fight a god, use the weapon of a god." Buffy walked over to get a better look at the hammer.
"Uh, nah, that thing's too heavy to-" Spike began, but Buffy picked it up with one hand, "Yeah. Good."
"I like this. Thanks."
"Here to help. Wanna live," Anya replied.
"Smart chicks are soooo hot," Xander said, looking fondly at Anya.
"You couldn't have figured that out in tenth grade?" Willow asked him teasingly. They exchanged a smile of friendship.
"Well, we have some ideas, if we could actually get Glory on the run, but, um..."
"But, we still have no idea how to find her," Buffy said, sounding deflated once more. Angel walked over to her and started rubbing her arms.
"Big day. Oh, it calls me! I have to be there!" Everyone looked at Tara, then to Buffy, "Big day!"
"We can work this," Buffy mumbled, and only Angel heard her.
(SCENE CHANGE)
Buffy and Angel were in the workout room, Angel holding the bag, while Buffy alternated hands, hitting a steady staccato against the bag.
"Are you sure you're not going to tire yourself out?" Giles asked, coming into the room. When Buffy had slipped off during research, he knew exactly where she was going, and why.
"I'm sure," Buffy said, stopping punching for about a minute, before starting the beat the bag once more.
"We're, ah, still looking for ideas. Time's short, but, ah, best leave it to the last minute," Buffy stopped punching and stretched her arms and back, "If we go in too early, and she takes us out, no chance of getting her to miss her window," he said quietly.
"Then we wait," Buffy's voice was hard, and though someone else might think she was angry, Angel knew she had closed herself off, so she couldn't feel, wouldn't feel, then she wouldn't break down. Buffy threw one last good punch, sending Angel and the bag halfway across the room. Angel dropped it to the floor as soon as he had stopped his movement backwards.
"I bet you hate me right about now," Giles sighed, taking off his glasses. Buffy looked at the bag, not saying anything. "I love Dawn."
"I know."
"But I've sworn to protect this sorry world, and sometimes that means saying and doing things...what other people can't. What they shouldn't have to."
Buffy spun to face him, "If you try and hurt her, you know I'll stop you."
"I know."
Buffy slowly walked past Angel and sat on the couch by the wall. Giles went to sit next to her, and Angel slipped out of the room. "This is...what? How many apocalypses for us now?"
"Uh, well...six, at least. Feels like a hundred."
"I've always stopped them, always won."
"Yes.
"I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much. But I knew...what was right, and that was the right thing to do. I don't have that anymore, Giles. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in a world where these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I just wish that...I wish I could be holding her right now," she held back her tears, "I wish it was all over, and I was hold her right now."
She stood and composed herself, before turning to Giles. "The spirit guide...it told me that death is my gift. Guess that means a slayer is just a killer after all, huh?"
"I think you're wrong about that."
"It doesn't really matter now. If Dawn dies, I'm through. I've tried to quit in the past, and somehow I always got dragged back in. But this final. If I lose her, I quit," she looked down at her feet for a moment, then into his eyes, and he knew she was dead serious. Then she turned her back on him and walked out of the room, leaving him to mull over this thoughts.
(SCENE CHANGE)
Giles walked over to the basement door to check on Xander and Anya.
"Any luck? Have you found the Dagon Sphere?" he heard a rustling from below.
"Um, I'm sure it's here, just be a minute!"
"Yeah, we're on it! Let's look over here, where we didn't look yet." Giles shook his head and went back to see if he could find another book to go through.
"Will, what do you got for me?" Buffy asked, sitting down on the stairs.
"Some ideas. Well, notion, or theories based on wild speculations. Did I mention I'm not good under pressure?"
"I need you, will. You're my big gun."
"I'm your - no, I-I was never a gun. Someone else should be the gun. I, I could be a, a cudgel. Or, or a pointy stick."
"You're the strongest person here. You know that, right?"
"Well ... no."
"Will, you're the only person that's ever hurt Glory. At all. You're my best shot at getting her on the ropes, so don't get a jelly belly on me now."
"Well ... I, I ... do sort of have this one idea. But, last few days, I've mostly been looking into ways to help Tara. I-I know that shouldn't be my priority..."
"Of course it should."
Willow smiled at her, "Well, I've been charting their essences. Mapping out. I think ... if I can get close enough, I may be able to reverse what Glory did. Like, take back what she took from Tara. It might weaken Glory, or ... make her less coherent. Or it might make all our heads explode."
"Buffy," Giles called from the counter.
"I'll try to work on it," Willow promised as Buffy got up.
Angel walked in to hear Buffy talking to Giles, "No, no that could be pivotal. Thank you guys."
"Well, um, you're gonna need some-"
"Way ahead of you," Buffy interrupted, and Angel was left in the dark. "We have time?"
"Yes, if you hurry."
"Ok, I'll go grab some weapons and things."
"I'm looking for a big broadsword, myself," Xander mused.
"Don't be swinging that thing near me!" Spike protested, coming up from behind.
"Hey, I happen to be a-"
"Glorified brick layer?"
"I'm also a swell bowl," Xander protested.
"Who do they remind you of?" Buffy asked Angel quietly as he came to stand beside her. She gave him a pointed look.
"He has his own shoes," Anya tried to help.
"Gunn got lost on the way, and Cordy's being no help. I'm going to go find them." Buffy nodded.
"The gods themselves do tremble," Spike said sarcastically.
"Spike, Shut your mouth. Come with me." She handed the sphere back to Giles and stalked off. Spike looked surprised for a moment, then followed.
They walked in silence to her house. "The weapons are in the chest by the TV, I'll get the stuff upstairs," she told him, heading upstairs.
"Uh, Buffy?" Spike still stood on the porch. Buffy turned back to him, waiting. He gave her a little wave. She just stared at him, "If you wanna just hand them over the threshold..."
"Come in, Spike."
"Hm...presto, no barrier," he walked over towards the chest, "Um, won't bother with the small stuff. Couple of good axes should hold off Glory's mates while you take on the lady herself."
"We're not all gonna make it. You know that."
"Yeah. Hey. Always knew I'd go down fightin'"
"I'm counting on you ... to protect her."
"Till the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight."
"And if anything happens to me...Help Angel with her. Take care of him, for me." He didn't look happy about it, but he nodded, "I'll just be a minute."
"Yeah," he turned back to the chest, "I know you'll never love me, I know that I'm a monster. But you treat me like a man. And that's..." Buffy stared at him, waiting, "Get your stuff, I'll be here." She turned and went upstairs.
(SCENE CHANGE)
"We on schedule?" Buffy asked as she and Spike entered the shop.
"Yes, it's time," Giles told her.
"What about Angel?" Anya asked. He still hadn't returned.
"He'll find me," Buffy turned to willow, "Will?"
Willow nodded, going over to where Tara was looking into a display case, "Tara, baby? Is there somewhere you should be?"
Tara glared at Buffy, "They held me down."
"No one's holding you now. It's the big day, right?" Tara looked at Buffy, and Willow did as well, "Don't you wanna go?"
Tara looked at Buffy and Willow anxiously for a moment, before getting up and crossing the shop, while the rest of the gang made final preparations. "You're a killer," Tara said, pointing to Giles. Both he and Spike looked at her in surprise, "This is all set down." Then Tara continued on her way out.
"Stay close, but don't crowd. We'll follow in a minute," Buffy said to Willow, who nodded and followed her girlfriend out. She stopped when Buffy started addressing everyone, "Everyone knows their jobs. Remember, the ritual starts, and we all die. I'll kill anyone who comes near Dawn." She turned and started after Willow and Tara.
Giles and Spike stood by the weapons bag, Giles holding his side.
"Well, not exactly the St. Crispin's Day speech, was it?" Spike asked.
"We few..." Giles walked past Spike as Spike grabbed the weapons bag, "we happy few."
"We band of buggered." Spike finished.
They all followed Tara silently, all intent on their specified jobs. All wanted to live, even Spike.
Tara came around a corner, stopping to gaze upward, before continuing. When the gang came around the corner, everyone stared up at the massive tower.
"Shpadoinkle," Xander said, impressed.
"What is that?" Anya asked.
"The portal must open up there," Giles reasoned.
Buffy didn't seem phased by the tower. She was intent on getting her baby back, "Will, you're up."
"Need anything?" Giles asked.
"Could use a little courage," Willow told him. Spike held out a flask, "The real kind," Spike looked at her, "But thanks," he nodded and put the flask away.
Tara went through the fence, finally getting the cast off that she had been playing with the whole time. Before getting very far, Glory grabbed her, "You. What are you doing here?"
"She's with me," Willow said, grabbing both Tara and Glory's head. All three began to scream as blue lightning flickered around them. A blue stream of light passed from Glory's head to Tara's. A blast of power separated them, sending Willow and Tara in one direction, Glory in the other.
"What the frickin' hell did that bitch do to me?" Glory asked, as her minions helped her up form the concrete.
"You look fine, truly!"
"She made a little ... she made a hole. Uh, I need a brain to eat," Glory said, holding her head.
"Oh, take mine, oh groove-tastic one!" a minion bowed, offering his head.
"I said a brain, you worthless dirt!" Glory cried, pushing him away. "Big day. Got places to be. Need a brain." She looked up in front of her, seeing Buffy, "Suppose I could always use yours."
"Okay then. Come and get it," she stood with her hands clasped behind her back and her head tilted to the side. They stood there for a moment, "You don't seem very well," Buffy noticed innocently.
"Your little witch bitch ... gave me kind of a headache there." She threw away the ceremonial robe, only to be wearing a black dress underneath, "But if you think this is gonna last more than eight seconds-"
"I noticed you're talking, whereas in your position, I would attack me."
Glory stood there a moment, looking weak.
"Oh, most sweaty-naughty-feelings-causing one, should we..." a minion started.
"Go guard the girl. This is a ... this is a, a..." Glory tried to remember.
"Diversionary tactic?"
"Go guard!" he scurried away.
"Huh, funny, you're not as blurry with speed as usual either."
"The witch..." Glory started.
"It's not her," Buffy pulled her hands from behind her back, holding the sphere. "Might be this, though," she smiled in satisfaction at Glory's worried look, "I heard it's supposed to repel you. So my guess is ... you probably shouldn't touch it, either." She threw the Dagon sphere at the god, who caught it instinctively. The sphere lit up when it touched Glory, warping the air around her. She made a pained face, dropping her hand. Slowly, painfully, she crushed the sphere, and the light slowly went out.
"You're gonna wish you-" Buffy was right there and punched her in the face. Glory stumbled back as Buffy kicked her, then punched her three of four times more.
"Stand fast! Kill anyone who dares approach! This will be our day of glory!" Buffy heard a minion yell. Nice pun, she thought, but you've got it all wrong. She heard a twang of a crossbow, and knew Spike had shot someone. No cries of pain, so it was a minion. Then she heard Willow and Tara getting reacquainted as her fists got acquainted with Glory's face.
"You know what?" Glory stood up, "I'm feeling a little better. And now? I'm a little bored."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Cause you're about-" Glory kicked the head off of the robot.
"Hey, wow, the Slayer's a robot. Did everybody know the slayer was a robot?" Glory smiled, not seeing Buffy behind her. The real Buffy this time.
"Oh Glory..." She turned and Buffy hit her with the hammer. She flew across the room, hitting a wall, and going right through it. "You're not the brightest god in the heavens, are you?" Then Buffy heard a scream. A scream she knew well. "Dawn," she breathed, rushing towards the tower. She jumped over a pile of bricks and scrambled onto the stairs.
"Oh no you don't!" Glory said, catching up with her. Buffy was about halfway up the tower when Glory caught her. She punched Buffy, who stumbled back. Buffy slammed Glory with the hammer, then Glory kicked her into the scaffolding. They hit each other a few more times before Buffy lost a grip on her hammer. It got caught in a piece of chain hanging off the tower. Glory grabbed another piece of chain, using it to swing over to the other side, and punch Buffy as she tried to grab the hammer. She fell to the side, before getting up and getting kicked by Glory. She stepped back then hit Glory a few more times.
Once she was out of her way, she tried once more to reach her screaming child. Glory hit her just below the knee as she tried to climb the ladders, the stairs having stopped, and she gasped in pain. She thought it might be broken, even. She swung around to the outside of the scaffolding and tried to climb that way, but Glory was right there to stop her.
After about five minutes of not making any ground, Buffy managed to grab her hammer, hitting both Glory and a ladder, which went flying. Glory kicked Buffy off the scaffolding, but Buffy grabbed her at the last second, and they both plummeted to the earth.
When Buffy was able to get up from her fall, she was closer to Glory than her hammer.
"You lost your hammer, sweet cheeks. What are you gonna hit me with now?" Glory taunted, standing beside a concrete wall. Buffy looked at the wall, and Glory turned to look as well as a wrecking ball came though and hit her. It crashed through a second wall nearby, leaving Glory on the other side.
"Whatever's handy," Buffy quipped. Buffy grabbed the hammer on her way by to get to Glory.
Angel and his gang finally showed up in time to see Glroy go flying via the wrecking ball. He stood next to Willow, looking around, "Isn't there someone up there?" he asked, pointing to the tower.
She didn't answer, 'Is there someone up there with Dawn?' she telepathically communicated with Spike, the closer of the two vampires.
"Yeah, can't tell who," he said out loud.
"Are you talking to us?" Xander asked.
'Get up there. Go now.'
"Yeah, but-"
'GO!'
Angel saw the intense concentration on Willow's face, then Spike charge at the crazies. He saw out of the corner of his eye Willow and Tara grab hands, and Willow momentarily close her eyes, before the minions and crazies were pushed out of the way by some unseen force.
"I'm gonna go find Buffy," Angel said, before turning to his team, "Help out Giles and Xander." They nodded.
He saw her beating Glory repeatedly with the hammer.
"You're just a mortal. You couldn't understand my pain," Glory rasped, her nose bleeding.
"Then I'll just have to settle for causing it," Buffy said, "You sure like to cause me pain."
"You can't kill me," Glory said as Buffy hit her again. Angel stood back to watch the love of his life in action, ready to step in if she need help.
"No...but my arm's not even tired yet."
Angel heard a soft thud, and saw Spike lying amidst some rubble.
Glory fell to her knees, almost in tears, "Stop it," she half pleaded, half ordered.
"You're a god," Buffy hit her again, and she fell backwards, now lying on the ground, "Make it stop." Buffy knelt on top of her and started punching her. Eventually, Glory morphed into Ben, and she stopped.
"I'm sorry," he rasped.
"Tell her it's over. She missed her shot. She goes. She ever, ever comes near me and mine again..."
"We won't. I swear," Ben said fervently. Buffy dropped the hammer and rushed away. Angel watched her go.
Ben lay there for a moment, breathing heavily, "I guess we're stuck with each other, huh baby?"
"Can you move?" Angel asked, coming over.
"Need a ... a minute. She could've killed me," he breathed.
"No she couldn't. Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge, and...make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that...and still she couldn't take a human life. She's a hero, you see. She's not like us."
"Us?" Ben asked, puzzled.
"This won't be the first life I've snuffed out," Angel said, clasping his hand over Ben's mouth and nose. Ben struggled weakly, but Angel stood motionless, until he could hear his heart no longer beating. "She's not like us," Angel said quietly. He didn't know if Ben was just a mere mortal or not, so he twisted his neck swiftly, making sure. Then he rushed off to where Buffy had gone.
(SCENE CHANGE)
When Buffy got to the top of the tower, a man was standing over her child, holding a big knife.
"Shallow cuts, shallow cuts," she heard him mutter, "Let the blood flow..." Dawn screamed even louder at every stroke of the kinfe on her skin, "free."
"Mu..." Dawn called out weakly, seeing her.
"Dawn."
The man whirled around as Buffy strode towards him. She walked right past him, pushing him off the side as she went.
"Shh, baby, Momma's here. Shh," she said soothingly, as she reached her screaming child. Her cries were weak to Buffy's ears, and she saw blood drip off her toes as she reached to untie her child. "I got you, I'm here, you're gonna be ok. Shh..."
A small circle of light appeared underneath them, growing larger as Buffy untied Dawn, and took her into her arms. She sunk to the floor of the tower, cradling her baby. She had failed. And now everyone would pay for her failure.
Angel knelt before her and gently took Dawn from her. She didn't even fight. She knew that this would be his last chance with his daughter.
Angel carefully ripped off the ceremonial dress that held Dawn, until she was naked except for her diaper. He then carefully started wiping off the blood, and putting it in his own mouth.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Buffy cried, trying to get Dawn back form him.
"Trust me," he said quietly, and she nodded warily as he placed his mouth over the deepest cut and sucked gently. The coppery takes of human blood disgusted him, almost made him want to be sick, but he had to try, even if he didn't know if it would work.
"I-I have to jump," Buffy said suddenly, "It's always the blood. They made her from me..."
"The fall would kill you."
"But she'd live."
He could feel the blood surging inside him, fusing with his own. "No, she's my daughter too. Her blood is now my blood. I can feel it," he passed the child to her mother, "The fall shouldn't kill me. Whatever happens, live. The hardest thing in this world is to do what you do, every day. Live. Live for me, and our daughter."
"Angel, no! I can't lose you again! I-I feel like I'm never going to see you again!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms.
"I'm always in your heart, Buffy. I always will be." He hugged her one last time, knowing nothing is certain with dimensional portals, and then pulled her to her feet, "There's no telling how stable this thing is. Take her down, and get away. It could topple at any moment. I love you, Buffy. I always have." He didn't look at her, didn't want her to see the tears in his eyes as he turned and ran across the platform, and dived off the edge.
"NO!" she screamed, breaking down, "I LOVE YOU!"
He entered the portal, and felt the energy go through him, burning him.
"You are released." He heard from everywhere, yet nowhere, four voices as one, sounding each like a season, and yet nothing, before the energy left him, closing the portal, and he plummeted to the ground. He hit far harder than he had ever imagined, groaning with pain, before rolling over and blacking out.
The tower started shaking as soon as the portal closed, and Buffy stumbled down the ladders, ramps and stairs, clutching Dawn close, barely seeing through her tears. When she reached the bottom, the sun's first rays rested lightly on his body. Buffy ran over, crying hysterically. Tara took the baby from her, beginning the workings of a minor healing spell as she went to support Willow once more. Buffy pounded the body with her weakened fists, sobbing like her heart had been ripped out of her body, before laying her head down on his chest, exhausted, sobbing.
(END OF UPDATE)
Stick around for the epilogue. It's gonna be one sweet ending!