The rest of the gang trickled in slowly after that. Willow and Tara arrived shortly after Dean came back from talking to Bobby. Xander and Anya came in about half-hour after that, Xander setting down a box of donuts as he took a seat next to Tara. The ensemble sat like that, silent except for the opening and closing of the donut box as both Dawn and Dean helped themselves, no one sure how to proceed with these two strangers in their midst. Sam, uncomfortable with all the tension, was the first to speak.

"So, while we wait for Bobby to -"

Anya was quick to interject, asking who Bobby was. Once the whole gang had been filled in on the possibility of some leads, Sam continued.

"Like I was saying, while we wait, why don't we trade some war stories? I'm sure we've all seen things that the others haven't. Could be interesting."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Giles said, "If nothing else, maybe we can learn something about how the two of you fight and you can learn the same of us, of Buffy mostly."

For the next hour, the Winchesters told stories of their past. They told the Sunnydale gang about their childhood, the nights spent alone while their father was off hunting. They explained how the family had gotten into it, starting with their mother's death at the hands of a certain yellow-eyed demon and ending the family history with the death of their father by that same demon. From there they chose a couple of particularly interesting adventures to share. They told the tale of the Hell House and how it was initially harmless until people started making up legends which, once they spread, became truth. They talked about the town that thrived by making yearly sacrifices to a "creepy ass scarecrow" as Dean put it and the werewolf who, despite their best efforts, they were unable to save. That one struck an unexpected nerve among a few of those listening as they glanced awkwardly at one another and Willow, who had previously seemed interested in their stories but now looked down at her lap while Tara lightly rubbed her shoulders.

Buffy was the only one who didn't seem even remotely impressed by what she heard. She merely sat there staring with a stone-like gaze that would have intimidated lesser men to silence within a few minutes.

"How many times have you guys faced an apocalypse? An actual world-could-end apocalypse."

"Well, none. Not before now that is. Why?"

"Because this isn't our first. Or our second for that matter. And if we somehow win this, it won't be the last."

"Okay… And your point is?"

"My point is that you guys are impressive, sure. You've done a lot and seen more than most people ever will. But we've seen more. From the stories you guys have told I get the idea that you guys don't exactly take things as seriously as you should and we can't have that here. The world is at stake. My sister's life is at stake. And if you two are gonna goof off you might as well leave."

"Now listen here, lady!"

"Dean, don't."

"No, Sam! Listen, you may be a pro at this, born into it and everything, but don't you dare insinuate that we don't take what we do seriously. We may not have faced any end-of-the-world scenarios but rest assured that when lives are at stake we step up. And if we 'goof off' more than you think we should, it's because we don't have sticks rammed up our asses like you seem to."

With that, Dean sat back down in the chair he had leapt out of, still angry but ashamed at himself for overreacting like that. Giles was the one to break the silence this time.

"It's obvious tensions are high. As things proceed, if Glory attacks, things are going to get worse. And when that happens we all need to be on the same side. If we can't get along now, it might be best if we go our separate ways."

"No. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. It's obvious that you guys are good at what you do. After all, you've been doing it longer than I have and you're both still alive. And right now I think it's important that we have all the help we can get."

"So…should we maybe start with the research now?"

"Ah Willow. Always trying to break the tension with some book learning. Didn't you learn back in high school that that never works?"

Willow gave Xander a slight grin and with that, things quickly calmed. Each person at the table grabbed a book except for Sam who took his computer out of his bag to search online. When Dean's phone rang twenty minutes later, no one looked up from what they were doing although no break-throughs had been made.

"Bobby, you got anything?"

"Yeah. You're not gonna like it, though."

Dean put Bobby on speaker phone to avoid having to repeat everything later and set his phone on the table.

"Alright. Go ahead."

"Well, I called this friend of mine who teaches mythology at a university in Colorado. She didn't know anything at first but called me back a few minutes ago asking why I had been wondering."

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth, more or less. I told her a couple of friends were doing research for a project and didn't I know just the person that could get them that A they were looking for."

"Haha, good old Bobby."

"Yeah, well, like I said she originally didn't recognize the name Glory. But she said after thinking about it she remembered reading something back when she was doing research for her senior thesis about a god by the name of Glorificus. Real nasty woman from the sounds of it. Interesting thing is, she's not from this world. Not from this dimension actually."

"Yeah, we already knew that. She's trying to get back to her dimension and in the process will probably destroy this one. Did she say anything else?"

"Just that she needs some sort of key to get back."

"Uhhh, yeah. Turns out the key is now human."

"Really? Well do you guys know who it is?"

"It's the slayer's sister."

After that there was a silence on the other side of the line, followed by the unmistakable sound of Bobby pouring himself a drink.

"Well…at least you know who it is, so you can protect her. And boys, you must protect her. If Glory gets her hands on this girl, that's it. She'll bleed her out and with that goes the world."

The look that crossed Dawn's face in that moment was one of utter defeat. It was clear that while she had known this for awhile now, the shock of hearing it didn't pack any less of a punch. Sam felt he needed to tell Bobby to tone it down a little.

"Bobby, you know you're on speaker, right?"

"Dammit, boy, I didn't know that. I apologize if I've said anything I shouldn't have."

Giles was quick to get back to business, "Did your friend say anything about weaknesses? Is there anything we can do that will hurt her or prevent her from doing the ritual?"

"Sorry. Now you know as much as I do. This bitch is tough. Even in her own hell-type dimension she was the baddest of the bad. I'll keep looking, though, and call Dean if I find anything."

"Alright, thanks Bobby."

With that, Dean hung up his phone and the gang went back to staring silently at their books, trying not to think of what might happen if they didn't find anything soon.

Sorry I've taken so long to update. I really hope you guys like this chapter :)