Chapter 2

Revelations

Thanks heaps for the reviews, keep em coming. Enjoy this next installment…


Buffy was sitting alone in the waiting room of the hospital, looking back on the blur that had been the last week. There was Spike's sex bot, then Tara's brain suck, the siege in the desert then things got complicated. So much had happened, and it all happened so fast, she was looking forward to some well-earned rest. A familiar British voice interrupted her train of thought.

'Well, I checked out the construction site, and most of the lame leprechaun minions have cleared out.' Spike said, as he sat opposite Buffy in the otherwise deserted room.

'Yeah, I guess they would. It's not like they've got a reason to stay.' Buffy replied, yawning and checking the time on her watch. She looked across to the beaten vampire. 'Are you sure you're all right? You took quite a tumble. You still look like a walking punching bag.' Said Buffy, obviously concerned.

'I'm fine, and plus, I ain't one for stayin' put. Where's everyone else? Those that didn't get bashed to a bloody pulp.' Said Spike, wincing with pain.

'Dawn is getting some bandages for her arms; her wrists are kinda shot from the platform, and she said that Glory tossed her around a bit. I told Giles to head on home; he still hasn't recovered from that hit he took from that javelin, and his hands seemed hurt. Willow and Tara are being seen to, they both got broken bones from the reverse brain-suck, and they need some time alone, I think. Xander's with Anya, she got hit the worst of us. She's probably gonna have to stay a few nights here.' Buffy said, staring at the floor.

'And what are you still doing here Slayer? It's not like you've got a lot of shut-eye lately, what with everything that's been going on. You had that vague out, but I'd hardly classify that as sleep.' The vampire said, pulling out a packet of blood that he had nicked from the blood bank downstairs.

'I just want to wait and see how everyone is.' Said Buffy. She glanced at the bag and frowned slightly at the "Sunnydale Hospital" logo emblazoned across it. Then her tone grew a little more serious. 'Listen Spike, I just wanted to thank you for what you did for Dawn, holding off that demon until I got there, I really appreciate it. You did well, and if you weren't there, I wouldn't have got there in time. Thank you. You helped save the world. That makes you one of us now.' Buffy said gratefully.

'I didn't do much; I mean he could only do it the ritual at one time, right? I just kept him occupied, nothing special. He still kicked my ass. But thanks anyway. Nice to know I'm in the good books in the Scooby loop.' Spike replied, hissing the last two words patronizingly as he sucked the last of the blood from the sachet.

A deathly silence followed, and Spike tried to break it with casual talk. 'So what now? Just cool our heels till the replacement Big Bad comes along?'

'Probably. Just keep an eye on Ben, make sure Glory doesn't give us any more trouble. I don't think she will though.' Buffy replied, the words mumbled as she ran her hand through her hair, she hadn't even thought about her next enemy.

'Ben? I thought you said he won't be giving us so far as a wink and a nod. Didn't look like a threat when I saw him a few hours ago.'

'Well when I was finished with Glory, she looked a little bit worse for wear. She changed back to Ben, and I told… them…' Buffy looked slightly confused for a moment, 'not to come near us again, so I think they'll disappear out of here pretty quickly. Plus, with her shot at returning home gone, she'll probably just fade away.' The Slayer said very casually.

'You're right about her not coming near us again; she won't be goin' near anyone again. But I honestly didn't think you could do it, didn't think you had it in you to kill him. I figured you for the softy "I don't kill innocent humans" type.' Spike said, taking a cigarette out, ignoring the 'no smoking' sign.

'Do what? Kill who?' Buffy looked up sharply, obviously wildly confused.

'Ben. You killed him, right? He looked pretty damn dead when I saw him at the construction site.' Spike said, but noticed a blank expression on Buffy's face. 'You did kill him, didn't you?' Spike shifted in his seat, sensing a revelation he didn't expect.

'No, of course I didn't. I was beating Glory with the hammer, and Ben came back. I told him to never come near us again, and that she had missed her shot. I let him live. But who could do something like that…kill an innocent…' Buffy trailed off, already running off a mental list of suspects.

'Well the only person I can think of is'

Buffy cut him off before he could give the name, thinking exactly what he was. 'Oh god…the blood on his hands…' She immediately got up and left, not even hearing Spike's pleas to wait.


A weary Xander emerged from Anya's ward to find only Spike there, waiting for him. 'Where's Buffy?' Xander asked.

'Doing some detective work, turns out that someone had the guts to actually do the dirty deed and kill off Ben.' Replied Spike, getting up from the chair.

'Who is also Glory.'

'Yes. Who is also Glory.' Spike answered Xander's question in an exasperated tone. 'Where's everyone else?'

'I checked on everyone, and apparently they have to stay here for the night. Hospital policy. Willow and Tara will be right to go in a couple of hours though. Had a hell of a time explaining about Tara now that she's not crazy. Now we need to get to Buffy, before she does anything rash.'

'Bit late for that, she left about 3 hours ago. Tried to stop her, but she seemed determined.' Spike said.

'Well, thing is, Ben's not as innocent as everyone thinks. Dawn told me that he had the chance to get Dawn away from Glory and her little pals, she changed his mind half way through. He gave up Dawn to Glory.' Xander explained.

'So now Buffy is gonna give ol' Giles hell cus she thinks he's an innocent'

'Giles? But… how?'

'All clues point to him.'

'We've gotta find Buffy.' Said Xander, running out of the hospital with Spike.


Buffy slammed open the door to Giles' apartment, with that resolved look on her face. She meant business, and Giles knew it.

'Ah Buffy. I'm glad you're here. I need to talk to you about some' Giles started, coming down from the stairs, but the Slayer cut him off.

'Sure. We can talk. What about killing innocent people? That sure seems like a relevant topic.' Buffy replied with a determined, angry voice. Giles recognized the tone, it was her I'm-angry-with-someone-I-care-about-but-it's-upsetting-me voice He had experienced it a number of times.

'Buffy…I…' Giles started, but was cut short again.

'I'm not done yet. So. That's your solution to everything? Just kill somebody? Kill an innocent human? Is that what you thought? "Hmm I can't kill Dawn, so who's the next best bet?" You make me sick.' Buffy yelled in a tantrum, looking straight into her watcher's eyes.

'Buffy, it was the only way. Ben had to die. If I hadn't done it, Glory would have returned, and would have killed us all. It had to be done. But there's some' Giles replied, trying to reason with Buffy.

'She wouldn't have come near us again. Not after the beating I gave her.'

'You were lucky, that's all. She would have returned and made you pay. Listen, I've found some' Buffy cut him off again.

'She missed her chance. Besides, what does it matter? He didn't deserve to die. You said it yourself last night. You said a slayer isn't a killer. But you were obviously wrong about that too.' Buffy said, just as Spike and Xander burst into the room. A knife could have cut the tension in there.

'Buffy, killing Ben was the only way to kill Glory. Sometimes you have to make these decisions. But can we please continue this debate later? We have more pressing issues at hand. Like the world ending.'

'Again!' said Spike.

'It turns out that the book that Spike and Xander stole from that demon was a prophecy book. When it said "the blood will flow, the gates will close when it flows no more", it meant that that was supposed to happen.' Giles explained to a stunned crowd.

'So Dawn was meant to die…But she didn't. And Glory is dead' Xander said, but Giles proceeded to explain.

'Ben's body was just a host for Glory, a prison. So now Glory is transferring to another body, and another opportunity for her to destroy the world is coming up. Turns out that it wasn't just that one opportunity she had to return home.'

Xander asked the obvious. 'So how do we stop her?'

'The only way to stop Glory is to kill Dawn.' Giles replied. 'I'm sorry Buffy, but it's the only way. The prophecy says that Glory will bleed Dawn, and Dawn will die. It doesn't go into specifics.' Giles replied coldly.

'I don't believe it.' Said the Slayer in disbelief.

'There has to be another way.' Xander said. 'Like can't we do a spell where Glory changes her mind or something?'

'I'm afraid not. Ben's death has bought us some time, but not much.' Giles said. 'I guess the next question is where is Glory? Whose body is she in?'

'What about Doc? I mean he seemed to pretty close to Glory, could be a right-hand man.' Spike suggested. 'He was the demon that tried to kill Dawn.'

'Well, it's most likely to be a human host. When Glory was banished, she was meant to die in the body of a human. Demons are generally immortal, so the purpose is lost. But we mustn't rule out the possibility of her inhabiting a demon's body, especially if this demon was particularly close to Glory.' Giles said.

'So she could be anywhere?' Xander asked.

'Yes, she could be on the other side of the planet or still here in Sunnydale, but we must focus our efforts on keeping Dawn safe.' Said Giles, looking toward Buffy.

'Okay. This is what we're going to do. Xander and Spike, you check out Doc's place to see if he's gone back there. Giles, you go and get Dawn, Willow and Tara from the hospital, then I need you to take them to the Magic Shop, try and find a spell to locate Glory. Make sure Dawn is safe. I'll check out the construction site to see if Doc is still there. Everyone clear?' Said Buffy, ordering her troops into action.

'One question. Isn't Doc kind of…dead? I mean you did push him off the tower, and if a sword to the heart or a huge fall won't kill him, then I don't know what will.' Xander said.

'We can't rule him out.' Buffy replied. 'Besides, if Glory's minions are still alive, they'll go to the next body that Glory has. If he isn't at the tower, then I might be able to get an answer out of them.'

'Sounds like you might need some help.' A familiar voice said from the doorway. Two figures walked into the room, one smaller than the other. Everyone instantly recognized Angel, as the dim lights shone on his face.

'You have got to be kidding me.' Buffy said whose attention was drawn to the smaller figure.

'C'mon B, not happy to see your old friend?'