zigpal- thanks for claps and review and I'm glad you liked the Dawn/Joyce scene. The knights of hack and slash are gone? They're still hackin and slashin- I didn't write them out...did I? I think they've just been laying in wait, is all. hehe.
rabidreject- hey, thanks for review, and yes, even though I don't think Giles will ever like Spike haha, he is going to be more tolerant of him now after the whole Joyce and Glory sitch. I hated the whole anti-Spike thing too (I thought he was such a sweety...most of the time..haha)
A/N: Oh my god, my updates have never been so late. I am so sorry, but like I said a couple of updates ago, my laptop went kablooy on me so I'm having to write these chapters at the library which is no easy task when the librarians are constantly breathing down your neck allowing no more than an hour and a half on the computer a day. My updates have taken even longer this time though due to the fact of several family parties, including one of those damn meet-the-in-laws things in preparation of my Dad's wedding (argh doesn't quite cover it) and also...well, the Harry Potter book was released at midnight on Saturday and I spent the majority of the weekend reading it. It was very good by the way, although I saw many Buffyesque moments in it. Dumbledore's past reminding me slightly of Giles, the theme of Death is your Gift and Molly Weasley had the censor free version of Joyce's 'Get the hell away from my daughter'.
Anyway, on with the update.
"Such pure green energy!" Tara exclaimed, looking at Dawn with a giddy smile. Joyce, Buffy, Dawn and Willow all exchanged expressions of pure panic before looking at Glory to see the god was grinning a pleased smile at Dawn. She had found her key.
Instantly, without a moments thought Buffy stood up, grabbed Dawn by the hand and the two of them ran straight through the door, crashing onto the floor of the dorm hallway amongst pieces of splintered wood. Within seconds they were up again and running off down the hallway.
Glory laughed and went to chase after them, but Willow held up a hand and Glory was stuck- unable to move from where she was. Joyce looked at Willow in surprise, but was even more taken aback when she saw how black Willow's eyes had become as she cast the binding spell. A few more words of latin on Willow's part amd Glory went flying backwards, far, far away from the building amd Will's eyes returned to normal.
"Willow, are you okay?" Joyce asked, extremely concerned by the change that had just come over the girl.
"I'm fine," Willow said simply, already standing up, "We need to go"
"What about Buffy? And Dawn?" Joyce was understandably worried about her daughters but Willow didn't have time for it.
"No," She said firmly, the powerful Magicks coming out in her voice and Joyce immediately stopped going to go after her daughters, "We'll meet them at Xander's," Willow continued, her voice back to normal, "We said we'd all meet back there anyway. She'll be there"
Joyce nodded, silently accepting that what the twenty-year-old was saying was right.
"Okay," She agreed, climbing through the tattered door frame, before looking back at Willow and Tara, "Come on. We need to get Tara to my car again"
At this statement Joyce and Willow shared a tired look- on the way to UC Sunnydale, Tara really hadn't been fond of Joyce's jeep cherokee and had loudly verbalized this fact all the way there through the medium of metaphoric ramblings.
"A-and then whoosh! All of a sudden Glory's standing right there in front of us," Dawn was telling everyone the story at Xander's appartment- which despite him having lived there for over a year Dawn still had to check herself not to say 'Giles' place'. As Dawn told the story everyone was listening to her eagerly except for Buffy who was instead looking out the window. Her Mom was listening with rapt attention like the others, but wouldn't let go of Dawn and seemed to be keeping her in a permenant side hug. "Mom? I really can't tell the story while you're latching onto me like a limpet.
"Oh. Right," Joyce said in realization, "Sprry," She apologized and went to stand beside Giles, leaving Dawn to her spotlight.
"So anyway," Dawn continued, "Glory's stood there all skanky and blond and thinking she's all that just coz some bumpy heads kiss her stinky feet...she does have nice feet...A-and she's coming right at us and Buffy's just standing there not even blinking like "bring it on" and then wham!" Dawn smacked one fist into her other hand to emphasize her point and it caused nearly everyone in the room to blink in surprise, "hell bitch in orbit"
"Go Buff!" Xander exclaimed.
"Buffy- that's wonderful!" Joyce agreed, extremely glad that Glory was finished with.
"I knew you'd best Glory eventually," Giles added eagerly, "I mean all- all our years of training-"
"A truck hit her," Buffy interrupted him, not even looking away from the window as she said it.
"Oh"
"You threw it at her?" Anya asked with not very contagious enthusiasm.
"Well, no," Dawn answered, "She more kind of waited for it to hit Glory. Uh, but then Buffy ran really fast and we got away"
"Oh thank god," Joyce said, putting a hand to her chest in relief, "Thank god you're both okay"
"Yes," Giles nodded in agreement, "It doesn't matter how it happened, the important thing is you're both safe"
"Safe?" Buffy asked, finally turning away from the window to look at Giles, "We've barely been able to manage not getting seriously dead everytime we've crossed paths with Glory. And now that she knows Dawn is the key?"
"Buffy, you-" Joyce began but Buffy cut her off.
"No, Mom. You don't get it. You've never got it! This is dangerous. Seriously! People may die, I might die fighting Glory coz right now I sure as hell can't see me winning. I am never gonna have the long life with college grades not matter how much you wish it Mom! And this is not gonna be solved by calm words, parenting tapes and chicken and stars!"
The whole group fell silent at Buffy's words, looking chastised.
"There must be something in The Book of Tarnis that we've missed," Giles suggested, "Something we can use against Glory"
"Piano!" Anya suddenly exclaimed and everyone looked at her with a frown.
"Because that's what we used to kill that big demon that one time," Xander agreed readily, before frowing in puzzlement at his girlfriend, "No, wait, that was a rocket launcher. Ahn, what are you talking about?"
"You used a rocket laucher?" Joyce asked Giles and Buffy, but they just gave her a look instead of a reply, "Right wrong time, wrong place," She agreed and returned her attention back to the conversation at hand.
"Perhaps we should reassemble at the magic shop," Giles suggested, "See if there's anything-"
"We can't fight her," Buffy cut him off.
"Well, no," Giles agreed with a look of surprise, "Not yet, but-"
"Not ever," Buffy interrupted him firmly again, "She's too strong Giles. We're not gonna win this with stakes, or spells or pulling out some uranium power core. She's a God and she's coming for us so let's just not be here when she comes knocking"
"Run away?" Anya asked and while everyone else looked distinctively less-than-keen on the idea, Anya smiled, "Finally, a sensible plan"
"That's not what she meant," Xander inistsed before looking at Buffy, "Is it?"
Again, Buffy was silent in response.
"Buffy, we can't just drop everything and run away," Joyce protested.
"We can't stay here!" Buffy countered, "She'll just kill us off one by one until there's no one standing between her and Dawn"
"But our homes," Joyce protested again, "I have a business to run- I can't just up and leave. And what about your college? Dawn's school?"
"Stay and you die," Buffy told her harshly, "hands up for that option," Everyone was silent and no one moved a muscle, "Thought not. All right, nobody goes home. Nobody tells anybody we're leaving," Buffy aimed the last comment specifically at her Mother as she knew she was considering telling Carole arrangements for looking after the gallery while she was gone.
"Cool," Dawn stated quietly, "Don't have to study for that geometry test"
"What about wheels?" Xander asked, "I don't think everyone's gonna fit in the Xandermobile and even Joyce's car is gonna be a stretch"
"Just get you stuff together," Buffy told him, "I'll handle the rest"
Later on, all the group except for Buffy were waiting outside, sat on a bench in the hot midday sun with their scarcely packed bags scattered around them.
"I'm still not sure about this," Joyce confessed as she paced anxiously.
"None of us do," Anya told her, "We all feel like we're walking into a deathtrap and we haven't even started moving yet"
"Anya," Xander reprimanded and his girlfriend shrugged and gave him a look that said, "What'd I do?"
"I'm just saying," Anya continued regardlessly, "That Joyce isn't the only one feeling that cold draft of paralyzing fear.
"Oh it's not paralyzing for me," Willow protested, "Just erm...slightly numbing..."
"Either way it says we're screwed," Anya concluded.
"Look, everything will be all right," Giles said in an attempt to calm them all down, "We just need to stay here calmly. As soon as Buffy arrives..." He trailed off as he saw a large Winnebago driving towards them, looking incredibly unstable as it did so and it screeched to a halt in front of them, "we'll feel oddly worse" Giles finished his sentence as he looked at the Winnebago with an expression of pure loathing. From the silence that met his comment, he guessed the rest of the group felt the same way. Reluctantly they all picked up their suitcases and got in the vehicle.
Walking in, Giles saw there was a small kitchen area with a sink, a table which Buffy was sat at studying maps made up a living room, but the thing that didn't got with the rest of the mise-en-scene in Giles' opinion was Spike at the wheel. Since Spike had helped save Joyce from Glory, Giles had become a lot more tolerant towards the vampire, but this was pushing it.
"What are you doing here?"
"Just out for a jaunt," Spike replied, turning around to reveal he wearing thick black goggles to protect his eyes from the sun, "Thought I'd swing by and say howdy"
"He's driving," Buffy explanation made a bit more sense, but only a bit.
"Driving? Not bloody likely, he'll kill us all," Giles instantly replied, "Spike, move" He gestured for Spike to get up out of the driving seat.
"Fine. You drive," Buffy agreed with Giles patiently, "But he's still coming with us. We need him"
Spike merely grinned when he saw everyone's displeased faces. Only Dawn and Joyce looked okay with the thought of him coming along and so he made a decision to take his seat beside them.
"See the cast's gone love," Spike pointed out, tapping Joyce's bandaged wrist.
"Yeah," Joyce agreed, "And the bruises,"
"A-are you okay?" Dawn asked Spike, referring to his own injuries he had recieved from Glory.
"Takes more than a hell bitch to shake me up pet," He grinned momentarily, but the smile faltered when the Winnebago jerked forward.
A few hours later and they were still hurtling along, though they had now left any signs of the city behind and all that stretched on either side of them was desert. Giles was still driving and while most were sat around the small square table, Buffy had moved to the back room for some quiet and Dawn was stretched out on the floor much to Joyce's chagrin., who claimed even though the kangerooing RV didn't have seat belts it was even less safe sitting on the floor.
"Shouldn't someone be asking 'are we there yet?'?" Anya asked and Joyce just smiled patiently at her before looking at Xander in concern.
"Xander are you okay?" She asked, "You look...off for lack of a better word"
Xander didn't say a word in reply but merely groaned in discomfort.
"Oh he doesn't travel well," Anya explained, "He's like fine shrimp"
"It's how long we've been on here what's doing it," Spike pointed out before shouting to Giles, "Oi! Gramps! Step on it!"
"Hey," Joyce reprimanded Spike for the insuilt, wacking him on the arm lightly, before she got up and walked over to sit in the passenger seat beside her husband, "Hi, how's it going?"
"As much as I hate to agree with Spike on anything," He replied, "I have to say it isn't going fast"
"Would it make a difference?" Joyce asked, realizing the question came out more loaded than she intended it to.
"Are you okay?" Giles asked his own loaded question.
"I just want to go home," Joyce replied and then realizing how childish that sounded, quickly elaborated, "It's just...when I found out Buffy was the Slayer, my whole world came crashing down around me...I hated it all so much... I still do. But...so Dawn- she was the one who was safe. Free of all this. Then I find out- I remember that I didn't even think that and now we're driving as fast as...this thing'll allow from a hellgod that wants to rip her apart" Joyce's voice started to break, "I just don't think I can take it anymore"
Giles smiled across at her warmly and took one hand off the wheel to place it over hers supportively and she smiled back.
"It'll be okay," He assured her, but his smile faltered, "I'm not quite sure how but...we all do get through these things. Again...and again."
Joyce couldn't help laughing a little.
"Sunnydale was meant to be the nice, quiet town where Buffy and I could have a fresh start-" She faltered, realizing that she was remembering a non-dawn memory which brought her back to why they were here in the first place, "Guess some things just come full circle huh?"
"It is the natural order of things," Giles acknowledged.
"There's nothing natural about this," Joyce replied a split second before she had to rip her hand away from Giles' as an arrow shot between them, "That's not natural either"
Giles peered out the window and saw nothing, but reflected in the mirror was-
"A crusade?" Joyce asked incredulously, getting a glimpse of them in the mirror as well.
"Giles!" Buffy called, running out from the back room.
"I see them," Giles assured her, while thinking ' I may see, but stop? That's another thing entirely'.
"Arrows!" Xander exclaimed as even more shot through and Joyce instantly got up and ran over to Dawn.
"Bloody hell!" Spike yelled as a wooden arrow came precariously close to his heart.
"Dawn, get down," Joyce told her and she helped her daughter crawl under the table, "Stay there until it's safe"
Joyce was about to get back up again when another deadly arrow shot past and Dawn yankled her Mom down with her,
"Maybe you should stay here until it's safe as well," Dawn suggested as Anya, Tara and Willow climbed under the table also.
"Don't hit the horsies!" Tara cried out and Willow hugged her to try and calm her down.
"How many horsies-uh, horses, are there?" Joyce asked the other under-the-table people.
"I don't know," Anya replied, "Enough to knock us on our asses though"
"Anya, does optimism escape you completely?" Willow asked in complete exasperation.
Then there was silence, no more arrows being shot, nothing.
"Did we shake 'em?" Xander asked and in reply a wicked-sharp sword pierced through the roof almost scraping his head and Xander tumbled away as the sword was pulled back out.
"Stay low!" Buffy ordered everyone as the sword pieced another area of the roof again, "Watch out for the-"
"Buffy!" Joyce exclaimed, seeing the sword about to pierce her daughter's head before Buffy dud. Before she could be impaled though, Spike reached out with both hands and grabbed the sword, bringing it to a halt mid plunge.
"Now might be a good time for something heroic," Spike advised as he continued to hold onto the sword and Buffy looked around the RV anxiously.
"Xander! Hatch!" She ordered and her friend helped boost her up through the hatch on the roof where she could fight the knight who owned the sword that was currently ripping Spike's hands to shreds. Once Buffy was through the hatch Spike couldn't hold on any longer and as the sword was ripped from his grip he cried out in a pain and collasped in a nearby seat.
Dawn went to climb out from under the table, but her Mother pushed her back.
"No, stay under here where it's safe,"
"But-" Dawn began to protest but Joyce talked over her.
"No buts," She told her, "I don't care how ridiculous you feel under there," She added knowing exactly what Dawn was thinking. After making sure she was going to stay under the table (with Anya willingly staying for company), Joyce got up to see to Spike who was presently trying to rip some rags for his wounds with his teeth.
"Come here," She told him, taking the rags from him and ripping them herself, "Thank you"
"For letting you rip 'em?" He asked, "not that big of a favor really, it was wrecking me teeth"
"For saving Buffy's life," She explained as she wrapped the makeshift bandages around his hand.
"I didn't really-"
"Yes, you did," Joyce insisted as she tied the second bandage tightly and Spike nodded in silent acceptance of the thanks.
Suddenly, destroying the oddly peaceful moment completely, a knight crashed through the window reaching out for Dawn. and Spike dived out of the way as the sun seared his skin. Anya climbed out frok under the table, grabbed her frying pan and promptly began hitting the knight on the head with it repeatedly until he was forced to retreat.
"Not a piano," Anya grinned at everybody, "but hey"
Then everything actually was quiet as though the frying-pan victim was the last attacker.
"Was that the last?" Joyce asked as she helped Dawn out from under the table, "Are they all gone?"
"Everyone all right?" Giles called back from where he was still steadily driving despite the commotion, "Joyce?"
"We're fine," Joyce replied, looking around at everyone, "Pretty much so anyway. Where's Buffy?"
Before anyone could answer, commotion struck again as Giles, in sudden panic as he saw a remaining knight on a horse and wielding a spear, suddenly turned the steering wheel and everyone jerked sidewards.
"Rupert!" Joyce called out as Giles was impaled with one of the knights' spears but as she ran toward him she was thrown over as the RV hurtled out of control, Giles no longer driving, and it careened off the dusty road and turned on it's side and toppled over, coming to a loud, crashing stop.
Screaming, everyone in the back landed on top of each other, crushing one another's limbs. Joyce was the first one to scrabbled up as she shoved Anya off of her and rushed over to where Giles had fell, the spear still panifully embedded in him.
"Oh god...Rupert..." Joyce had no clue what to do with would. All the first aid training in the world didn't prepare her for this, "Please be...you'll be okay"
"Is everyone all right?" Buffy asked, running onto the upturned Winnebago, which is when her eyes fell on her Watcher, "Oh god- Giles. Spike!"
"What?" Spike asked, tumbling over the pile of people who hadn't gotten up yet as he headed over to her, "Bloody hell," he commented, seeing Giles.
"I need you to hold him down," Buffy ordered, "I'm gonna pull the spear out,"
Spike nodded in acceptance and walked over to hold Giles down. Joyce immediately moved out of his way, eager for Giles to be seen to- made better, but she didn't got far away, finding herself needing to watch.
"One..." Buffy counted, "two...three!" She pulled the spear out in one strong movement and Giles cried out in pain, before seeming to lose consciousness.
As soon as the group reached the abandoned gas station, Spike kicked the door open and rushed in, smoking in a lethal way from the sun outside and the moment he fell into the shade of the building he threw off his blanket in relief.
Next in were Buffy and Xander who were carrying the injured Giles.
"Spike," Buffy called and as Joyce watched anxiously, Spike helped Buffy and Xander lift Giles onto what was once a counter.
"Careful. Up" Xander said, barely hiding his grimace as he saw all the blood that poured out of Giles' wound.
"Oh god- he needs a doctor," Joyce said, walking over and finally seeing the wound herself, "We need to get him to a hospital"
"I know, I know" Buffy agreed,stress causing her to repeat her word as though saying it twice might make it happen.
"Dawn, I don't want you seeing this," Joyce ordered her youngest daughter away from the sight as she folded up her coat and put it under Giles' head as a makeshift pillow. Sadly,it seemed to do little good and for lack of anything else to do, Joyce held his hand tightly which, thankfully, he seemed to acknowledge.
"Come here, I can help," Willow assured her and started tending to Giles' wound using what little supplies and bandages they had on hand. He was sweaty and clearly struggling to breathe, but Willow tried to not let her worry show through.
"We-we-we'll rest here for a minute," Buffy said, "But then we have to keep moving"
"We can't keep moving," Joyce told her, "He can barely stay conscious never mind 'keep moving'"
This gave Buffy pause as though up till now she had practically forgotten about Giles' injury.
"How is he?" She asked, rushing over.
"Willow's doing the best she can," Joyce told her as she brushed Giles' hair off his face, the action of a woman who had no idea what else to do.
"I think I slowed the bleeding..." Willow informed them just as Giles coughed blood out of his mouth and Joyce wiped it away with one of the (few) nearby clothes whilst trying to ignore the fact that coughing blood was a very bad sign.
"Buffy..." She said pleadingly and Buffy knew she was asking her to come up with a plan. One that would benefit Giles.
"I know... just give me a minute"
Buffy stood there trying to think, while Joyce and Willow tended to Giles, when a flaming arrow shot through one of the boarded up windows,zooming past and in between Buffy and Joyce.
"Dawn! Get down!" They both ordered in synchronization, the two of them both thinking the same thing for once as more and more flaming arrows shot through the abandoned building.
"Spike, also get down," Joyce added as an after thought, realizing fire and wood were two bads for a vampire.
"Gotcha," He agreed, grabbing Dawn and pulling her down with him behind a counter.
"We got company," Xander told them all as he looked out of one of the windows, "And they brought a crusade,"
Willow told Joyce to keep the pressure on Giles' wound as she ran to the corner to flip through one of her spellbooks. As she kept her hand on the wound and made sure he was okay, Joyce took time to look at everything that was going on around her. She saw Buffy and Spike (who had obviously stopped hiding behind the counter to help) shoving a large, broken coffee machine in front of the door in an attempt to keep most of the knights out.
Suddenly an axe broke through the wall right near Dawn's head and the girl screamed loudly.
"Dawn!" Joyce exclaimed,wanting to run over to help her, but was unable to leave Giles, "Buffy!"
Looking over at the sound of her name, Buffy quickly ran over to help her sister but was intercepted by another knight bursting in and knocking her to the ground with a single punch.
"Buffy!"Joyce yelled, unable to help her other daughter either. She turned back to look at Dawn, "Dawn! Run!" She called her over and the teenager ran as fast as she could towards her Mom. As soon as she got there though another knight ran at them from another direction, swinging his sword. Joyce pushed Dawn out of harm's way quickly and ducked the sword herself. Relying on instincts and powered by the fact he was trying to hurt Dawn, she grabbed the arm that was wielding the sword and twisted. Thrown by this sudden and unexpected opposing force,the knight stumbled and Joyce used this moment to kick one of his legs out from under him, and, his balance lost, she shoved him over the nearby side. He toppled over and banged his head on the way down, rendering him unconscious and leaving Joyce holding the sword, thankfully at the non-pointy end. She promptly threw this at Buffy.
"Buffy! Catch!"
Buffy caught it in mid-air and cut through the knight she was fighting before kicking him outside.
"Ooh, shiny!" Buffy grinned approvingly at the sword.
That dealt with, Joyce resumed applying pressure to Giles' wound with one hand and helped Dawn up with the other.
"That was so cool," Dawn grinned.
"What?" Joyce asked, too distracted with dealing with Giles.
"That, with the fighty-swordy," Dawn explained.
"Well, I had to learn something from Rupert's goddamn pushing training sessions," Joyce pointed out reasonably, "I mean we don't spend all our time..." She trailed off, realizing what she was saying wasn't suitable for Dawn's ears, "Bible studying. For texts"
"Yeah, sure," Dawn sounded highly unconvinced, "Whatever. Just know that that was very cool."
"Well, thank you," Joyce smiled,clearly very pleased by her daughter's opinion.
"Enemies fly and fall!" Willow began to chant, "Circling arms raise a wall!" She raised her arms and a circle of bright light emitted from them before surrounding the entire building creating a barrier and a calming silence fell on them all as the attacks ceased.
"Will? How long will it hold?" Buffy asked.
"Half a day maybe," Willow replied as she looked outside, "Or till Heckle and Jeckle punch a hole through it"
"Okay," Buffy nodded,setting the sword aside, "Hey Mom, not that I'm not grateful, but where'd the sword come from?"
"She took it off him," Dawn explained, pointing at the unconscious knight.
"Cool," Buffy nodded, walking forward before pausing in thought at her Mom, "Wait, you did that?"
"Thanks,"Joyce said sarcastically, "It's nice that you're all so shocked"
"Sorry, it's just..." Buffy shook her head, realizing she was digressing, "Let's find out what these guys are up to. Spike"
Then she and Spike dragged the unconscious knight to the back room to be tied up ready for questioning when he awoke.
"He's awake," Spike announced a little while later and Buffy marched into the room, Spike following close behind. Dawn got up and followed them both.
"Dawn..." Joyce called in protest but there was little effort in her voice. Figuring after everything that had happened in the past few hours was so traumatic that listening to Buffy ask the knight a few questions was hardly going to scar Dawn any further, Joyce returned her attention to the presently conscious Giles.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Never...better," He replied, not without some struggle.
"Thought so," She forced herself to smile but it didn't last very long.
"We've been...through...worse..." He assured her, coughing slightly and Joyce, so very close to tears,shook her head in argument.
"No...no we haven't," She held his hand tightly, "But we're..." She looked around at the room where Buffy was interrogating the knight with Dawn, Spike and Xander as audience, then to where Anya was sat looking helpless and finally to Willow who was,while holding Tara,flipping through her spellbook. Joyce looked back at Giles and resumed what she had been saying,"We're gonna fix it," Joyce assured him, her voice breaking completely in upset, "We will. We'll get you to a hospital and you'll be fine"
Giles managed a nod, but the look in his eyes showed her he wasn't so convinced. A moment later he seemed to drift out of consciousness.
"Time!"
Joyce jumped as she heard Tara suddenly begin to yell and turned around to see Willow trying to hold her down as Tara scratched at the covered windows.
"Time! Time! Time!"
"What happened?" Buffy asked, running into the room.
"I-I don't know," Anya replied, "She just went nuts"
"Time! Time!Time!"
"Tara!" Willow cried as she pulled her lover down by grabbing her around her torso and pinning her arms to her side. Tara gave up trying to crawl through the windows and instead sat there, hunched over slightly and whimpering. Willow looked over at Buffy pleadingly,"We have to do something Buffy. She can't stay this way"
At the sound of Buffy's name,Giles seemed to gain consciousness again.
"Buffy..." He rasped and she instantly headed over to him to see what he wanted while Joyce walked over to help Willow with Tara.
"Time...time..." Tara carried on murmuring, but stopped when she caught sight of the long silver pendent hanging from Joyce's neck. She gazed at it eagerly, the look in her eyes distinctly magpie like for a moment before it gained the giddily innocent look of a curiously amused child, "Ooh!" Tara giggled, reaching out for it, "Pretty. Shines...bright light gone? Shine-" She reached for it again, but Willow pushed her hand away from Joyce's necklace.
"No you can't have that"
"Oh!" Tara whimpered sadly and seemed to be bordering on hysterical again at Willow's reprimand and having been forbidden from the shiny object.
"No, it's okay," Joyce told them both and Tara seemed to calm down a little as Joyce took the necklace off, "She can have it...if it makes her happy"
"Are you sure?" Willow asked as Joyce handed Tara the pendent. Tara grasped it eagerly and smiled brightly as she looked it over, twirling it in between her fingers.
"I'm sure," Joyce assured her,"It's how I avoided Buffy's terrible twos" She smiled wistfully and Willow shared the same expression as she glanced at Tara lovingly.
"Thanks," She told Joyce gratefully.
"Willow," Buffy said and Willow looked up,"Open a door"
"All right, I think I've got him stabilized," Ben assured them all later on as he bandaged up Giles' wound, "But there's a lot of damage. We need to get him out of here"
"We know," Joyce agreed, "But we're not really in a position to do that" She gestured to outside where they all knew the hundreds of armed knights were awaiting them.
"Yeah, I noticed," Ben agreed, "When you called, Buffy, you didn't exactly mention the costume party"
"Oh," Buffy said, clearly struggling for what to say in reply, "Yeah, well...you know..." She sighed in resignation, "I know this probably seems very Outer Limits to you"
"This?" Ben asked, "Nah, I've seen things you wouldn't believe"
"Really?" Joyce asked, her tone slightly incredulous, "Would you like to trade stories and compare?"
Buffy threw her Mom a very pointed look before shoving her aside slightly in an attempt to shove her right out of the conversation.
"Sorry," Buffy apologized to Ben on Joyce's behalf, "Panic and worry makes my Mother use inappropriate sarcasm,"
"She was being sarcastic?" Ben asked sceptically.
"Yeah...well, like I said; panic- makes her all wacky" Buffy smiled nervously, inwardly relieved that her Mother was too busy paying attention to Giles to participate in the conversation, "Look, if this gets too weird, just tell me. I'll understand"
"Don't worry about me," Ben assured her, "I won't leave until I've outstayed my welcome"
"Are you okay?" Willow asked the question of the day as she walked over to where Joyce was sat near to Giles. Tara was sat in the opposite corner still, but was so engrossed in the wonder that was Joyce's necklace that Willow was able to leave her alone for a few minutes.
"Officially yes," Joyce replied, "I'm keeping-it-together Mom; it's what Moms do best"
"Unofficially?" Willow prompted and Joyce sighed.
"Unofficially?I...I feel like I'm falling apart." She looked over at Giles who was, for the moment, unconscious again, "I'm so very far from okay it's unbelievable"
"He'll be fine you know?" Willow told her, "And I'm not just saying that to make you feel better. Giles is tough. Anyone who can get up again after two Slayers attempting to beat the crap out of him can survive-"
"A spear to the gut?" Joyce finished and Willow smiled weakly.
"Well...yeah..."
"Buffy and Dawn shouldn't have to deal with all this," Joyce said, apparently thinking aloud and Willow didn't know whether she was talking more to her or herself, "Neither should you or Xander or...any of you. You should be considering where to go for Summer vacation together, getting your dissertations in on time, not running from hellgods and crusades"
"Well...we take what we can get," Willow replied carefully, clearly thinking very deeply on her answer, "And what I think I have is great friends that I wouldn't have if we didn't have hellgods and crusades to fight"
"Well, aren't you the little optimist?" Joyce smiled and Willow grinned back.
"Always"
Dawn came out of the back room before Buffy did. She looked lost, hurt and confused as she walked over to her Mom and was extremely thankful when Joyce automatically pulled her into a warm hug.
"What's the matter honey?" She asked, running her fingers soothingly through Dawn's long, brown hair.
"It's all my fault,"
"What?"
Dawn looked over at Giles, a look of dismay coming across her features as she took in the details of his bandaged injury.
"It's all my fault," She repeated, "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for me"
"Dawn, don't be silly. These things just happen," Joyce paused before added, "To us anyway,"
Dawn didn't say anything in reply, but just watched Ben taking Giles' pulse.
"Is he gonna be alright?" She asked and Ben looked over at her, but didn't quite make eye contact.
"He was hurt pretty bad Dawn," He did look Joyce in the eye though, "But people have come through worse"
"Thank you...for doing this I mean," Joyce told him, "I think Buffy was underestimating when she said this situation was merely 'weird'"
"It's not a problem," Ben assured her,"It's my job" He looked intently at Joyce and Dawn, at the way they were sat hugging one another, and seemed to be weighing up the entire situation before he turned his attention back to Giles as he injected him with a substance that was unfamiliar to both Mother and daughter.
"Will that help?" Dawn asked,. Ben didn't reply, but instead turned away, bending over slightly and Joyce stood up in concern.
"Ben? Are you okay? Ben?"
"You have to let me out!" He screamed at them, slamming his hands to his forehead as though trying to knock something out of there.
"Ben?" Dawn sounded just as concerned as her Mom, but there was also fear in her voice at the way he was acting.
"You don't understand!" He exclaimed, "I gotta get out! Open a door now!"
Buffy and Spike, at the sound of his yelling, ran over to them.
"What happened?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know," Dawn replied, "He just freaked out"
Ben was absolutely frantic as he ran around the room desperately.
"Let me out!"
"Okay," Buffy agreed, "Will, open a door"
Before Willow could even begin the spell, Ben cried out in pain, putting his hands to his head in agony.
"No! Argh!"
Then Glory was standing there, stretching casually. Everyone stared on in horror while Glory merely looked around in surprise.
"You two again," Glory said, her eyes spotting Joyce and Spike stood together first. Then, realizing what them being there meant, she began to smile a smile that broadened when she caught sight of Buffy and, more importantly, Dawn.
"What what do you know?" She grinned, "Little Ben finally did something right"
"The beast,"Gregor, the knight who had been interrogated by Buffy, gasped in horror.
"Hey, it's Gregor," Glory picked up a hubcap that was hanging nearby and threw it powerfully at the Knight like a Frisbee. It embedded in his chest and he hung limply in his bonds. Dead. "Now it's not"
Spike suddenly rushed at Glory with a yell, Xander immediately following with just as much aggression. Glory hit Spike with the same effort as swatting away a fly and he went flying into Xander, the two of them crashing to the ground.
Buffy tried next, charging at the God, but Glory sent her barreling into Willow. Next she tossed Joyce aside easily and then no one was standing between her and Dawn. She laughed giddily as she took in the clear short path to her Key, before she grabbed the teen's hand. Anya tried to pull Dawn back but it was a waste of time as Glory pulled her away and ran out the door.
"Dawn!" Joyce cried out, getting up, but struggling as the impact of the fall hit her. Buffy had already run outside after her sister, but a second later she ran back in.
"Willow! Get it down now!"
Willow's eyes turned black as she began to chant and both Buffy and Joyce ran outside after Dawn...to find there was sign of her or Glory anywhere and dead knights lay scattered everywhere. It was a harrowing sight and it was only Joyce's focused worry about Dawn that prevented her from throwing up at the scene. Both Buffy and Joyce stopped running as they took in everything around them in shock.
"We have to-" Willow began, running outside with the others, but stopped when she saw the sight as well.
"The car," Spike stated, "Get the keys" He and Xander ran off.
"Buffy!" Willow called, "Buffy, we have to find Dawn. We, we can't let Glory-"
Buffy abruptly sat down on the ground, tears running down her face as she looked ahead with a blank stare, not seeing anything.
"Buffy," Joyce rushed over to her, "Buffy!" There was no reaction. She shook her a little, "Buffy! We need to save Dawn! Glory's...Buffy!"
"Oh my god," Willow looked into Buffy's eyes, "Her pupil's aren't responding at all...she's, she's like...catatonic." Willow couldn't believe what she was saying.
Joyce couldn't believe what she was hearing, what was happening.
Giles was inside with what was potentially a mortal wound, Dawn had been taken god knows where by Glory and Buffy was in a catatonic state. Her whole family had fallen apart in the space of five minutes. Unable to be 'keep-it-together-Mom' any longer,Joyce collapsed on the floor beside Buffy as well, barely sitting upright as she felt her own tears start to fall down her face.
"Oh no- don't- not you too," Willow pleaded and Joyce took her hand to let her know she wasn't in the same comatose state as Buffy. She was just distraught, lost beyond all measure.