Chapter Sixty Six: Chapter Sixty Six: Reaching a Climax
"That's impossible," Lilah hissed quietly into her cellphone. "They can't be Slayers, they're still off world and they've got no way to get back. All they can be is potential Slayers. Tell everybody they've got nothing to worry about."
Lilah paused briefly and listened to the speaker on the other end of the phone: "Oh, yeah, I suppose that's possible," she said. "If they were killed over there I suppose we might have some new Slayers to deal with back here." Lilah listened again.
"Look, what you do is up to you. I can't possibly get involved now," she said before lowering her voice even further. "You'll just have to do the best you can. If the vampires and demons are panicking that's their problem. There'll soon be a lot more coming through the Hellmouth. We don't really need them. All you need to do is keep those Slayers or whoever they are out of this building until we're all done. It won't be long now."
That's just what we need thought Lilah. A new bunch of Slayers. But what could they do? Even if they were here they'd have to let us open up the new Hellmouth. And once it's open it'll take more than three Slayers to save the world. But best they be kept away she thought. You never knew with Slayers. Once they got involved, even if only one got involved, things had a tendency to become... unpredictable.
Lilah's further musing was interrupted by yet another shock as the building shook with the largest earth tremor so far. But Lilah had an even greater shock as she turned back to the mixed group that were taking part in the Hellmouth opening. For there in front of her was the familiar face of Cordelia Chase.
"They're not new Slayers you know," said Cordelia to the stunned Lilah. "They're the real deal, Buffy, Faith and Kennedy. They're back, and so are we. So you can forget whatever it is you've got planned. It's so not going to happen."
Even as Cordelia spoke Lilah realised that the number of people in the basement was continuing to increase. Other very familiar faces somehow materialised one by one as other women appeared; Amy, Anya, Tara and, worst of all Willow. The Sunnydale witches were all back!
"How... what did you do," began Lilah. "There's no way... I was assured..."
"You just go on believing that," said Cordelia staring at Lilah. "We're not really here. It's all a bad dream you're having. Sit down, take a pill. Leave it to the experts, the people who've had experience of dealing with a Hellmouth. But whatever you do don't do anything stupid. If you do I guarantee you'll be the first one to suffer."
Lilah was at a complete loss. This can't be real she thought. And then she had another thought. This is going to mess up everything.
"You don't understand," said Lilah. "If you change what my people are going to do the Hellmouth will still open. You all being back doesn't change that. But if you interfere, if you don't do things properly, the opening will bust the world wide open. You might not want a world overrun by demons but isn't that better than no world at all?"
But even as she spoke Lilah realised that she was wasting her breath. Nobody was taking any notice. The Sunnydale witches had been briefed by Amy and were joining the circle to take the place of the non-magic users who had been ready to take part in the ceremony. Cordelia had spoken of taking charge, but clearly she and the others did not mean to stop the opening of the Hellmouth. But the opening would no longer be under the sole control of Wolfram and Hart.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"So what are they waiting for?" asked Glory as she continued to watch the gathering of Kallistien witches. "Why don't they get on with it? Isn't anybody in charge?" A sudden thought occurred to Glory. "Perhaps I should take charge," she added ominously.
"They think they're waiting for Lissie to say everything is ready," said the other Glory. "They want to be sure the Key has been properly activated and is ready to be used. They need the power of the Key. They can't protect the planet with just their own magic power."
"They only think that? They're waiting and they don't know the real reason why?" asked a puzzled Glory.
"Everything has to come together remember," said the other Glory. "This ceremony, the big event back on Earth, your Earth that is, and everything else as well. Everybody thinks they're acting independently..."
"But everybody's wrong?" asked Glory.
The other Glory smiled. "When Fate takes a hand, when things that have already happened and things that are yet to happen are all so closely linked there's not really any leeway. It all has to happen in the right order and at the right time."
"You're not actually much like me are you?" said Glory eyeing the other Glory suspiciously. "I would never spout such meaningless nonsense as that. Who are you really and what exactly are you up to?"
I would never talk like that in a million years she thought, no matter how different I am in other universes. And for Glory, at least for this Glory, to think was to act. She grabbed the other Glory and focused her attention on the other woman.
Almost immediately the 'other Glory' changed and Glory found herself holding the arm of a completely different woman, a young woman who was very familiar to Glory: Dawn! Or not quite Dawn because on closer examination the woman was not exactly Dawn but could pass for a close relative.
And this Dawn wasn't upset or worried to face Glory. "Does it matter?" she asked. "I just looked like you to get your attention. To get you to listen to me and not interfere in things you know nothing about. From what I know of you the only person you respect is Glory. So I 'became' Glory."
"And who are you really?" asked Glory. "Where do you get your power? And what are you up to? Just for general interest before I kill you."
"What am I up to? I'm just making sure things are restored the way they should be, that's my job." said 'Dawn'. "I've got to put things back the way they were before you and all the others messed everything up by opening and closing things that should have been left alone."
Glory stared hard at 'Dawn' and tightened her grip. "I won't ask again, just exactly who are you?"
"Me? Why I'm your old friend of course," said 'Dawn'. "Your old green and glowing friend, independent of time and space. A word of advice. Go back to your own dimension while you still can and stay there. Last time you got a second chance and managed to go home. There won't be any second chances this time. If you're still here when this business is all done you'll be stuck here. You'll never get back home again."
Glory opened her mouth to ask another question but before she could do so 'Dawn' spoke again: "Sorry, can't chat any more, things to do, places to go, people to be."
And with that 'Dawn' suddenly morphed into a bright green flash which shot off towards the gathering of witches and keepers and then disappeared from sight. And nor were the other versions of Glory anywhere to be seen either, if they had really been there in the first place.
But somebody else was now very definitely there: Dawn, the original Dawn. At the moment the green flash disappeared the real Dawn appeared, not to replace the woman who had disappeared but to replace Lissie who had disappeared at the same time.
Dawn was now in the witches' circle but Lissie was not. She was now nowhere to be seen. But Dawn was not the only new arrival. Vala had also appeared and like Dawn was trying to puzzle out exactly what was going on. So too were the surrounding witches and Keepers.
Glory thought briefly about going over and taking hold of the real Dawn and questioning her. But one glance at the young woman showed that as usual she was completely bewildered about what was going on. It didn't look likely that she would be able to supply any useful information.
Glory sighed and decided to accept the advice of the Key. She could feel the power of the Key continue to build. If she didn't return home now she might soon be on the wrong side of new barriers between worlds. If there was one thing she knew about the Key, it was good at erecting and dismantling portals between worlds. It had a lot of power so Glory would be best advised not to go up against it. She disappeared from sight.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Special Forces completed their landings and the last of their helicopters rose back into the air. Colonel Maybourne exchanged salutes and shook hands with their commander Colonel Knight. He then led the way into the nearby building which was the current Sunnydale HQ of the NID. It was across the road from the front entrance of the Slayer HQ
"I'm told you know the current situation on the ground," said Knight immediately after they entered the building. "What exactly are we up against? Terrorists? Local gangs? Drug lords? What's their strength? What weapons do they have?"
"Did you have any problems flying over the town or landing your troops?" asked Maybourne. "I was told there might be some interference."
"Interference?" queried Knight. "No, no interference. We were the only people up there. Are you saying the enemy might have their own airborne, or a ground to air strike capability? Who are we dealing with? Why are they here and what are they up to?"
So Lilah Morgan was bluffing again thought Maybourne, what a surprise. There is no barrier. Or maybe her arrangements were only to keep out the other side, the magic and mystical people.
"Colonel," said Knight interrupting Maybourne's thoughts. "I was told to report to you but if you don't tell me anything I can't do my job properly. What is the situation? I was told my unit was needed urgently."
"Sorry," said Maybourne. "Things have been pretty hectic around here. You haven't been told why you're here?"
"My orders are to secure the town and to get details from you about what's going on here," said Knight. "My briefing said we were faced with an unknown number of hostiles of unknown capabilities and armaments. Worst briefing I've ever been given."
"OK," said Maybourne. "It's like this: You're here in a preventative capacity, to provide protection. With you here we'll be able to stop anybody, even other parts of our military, from interfering with some delicate, ah operations."
"Operations?" asked Knight. "What operations?"
"I can't tell you any more than you need to know," said Maybourne. "With any luck this won't develop into a shooting war. But there are parts of our military with different ideas about what the NID are doing. They might try to use their muscle against us. You're here to make sure they don't get to do that and at the same time to prevent anybody else from interfering."
"My men will not fire on other American troops," said Knight who was now studying Maybourne. "And I won't order them to. We're not anybody's private army. We're part of the US Military ourselves."
"Good," said Maybourne but good was not what he was thinking. "That's good. But if some other units turn up we have to hope they follow the same rules. Don't worry Colonel. I'm sure it won't come to shooting, at least not against American troops. Now what's your strength? How have you deployed your men? They all need to be in this area of town. We need to make it a fortress."
"As you saw I've got a company deployed outside," said Knight. "At the moment they're establishing a secure perimeter around this HQ. I've also put down units north, south, east and west. I was told we had to hold the town. At the moment we're deployed to cover the main approaches, the main highways. The troops I hold here are the central reserve. We can respond immediately to any outside attack and we can call back the helicopters if we need them."
"This central area is all you need to worry about," said Maybourne. "What you need to do is concentrate all your troops in this area, completely lock it down."
"Concentration is poor tactics," said Knight shaking his head. "Put all your men in one place and a single strike can take them all out."
"You're under my orders Colonel," said Maybourne. "And that's how I want you to deploy. We have to secure this immediate area. Nothing else matters."
"Yes I'm under your orders Colonel, but you're an Air Force Officer so it's my duty to advise you on sensible ground force tactics," said Knight. "And that's not a sensible way to deploy under any conditions."
"Look just contact your units and tell them...," began Maybourne starting to get annoyed. But he was interrupted by the arrival of a lieutenant who ran into the building. He was a member of Knight's Special Forces Unit and he reported directly to Knight.
"Colonel! We've heard from Pickett in the south. He's under attack. And we can't establish contact with Captain Martinez in the west!"
"Who's attacking Pickett?" asked Knight as he hurried out of the building and towards the communication center that his staff were setting up outside. Maybourne hurried along behind. "They're not American troops are they?"
"I don't think so sir," said the lieutenant. "Pickett says they're some sort of monsters or aliens."
Knight glanced at Maybourne who didn't seem to be surprised.
"You need to listen to me," said Maybourne.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Whatever it is you got planned think again," said Gunn quietly.
Since leaving his place in the circle preparing to open the Hellmouth Gunn had given himself the task of keeping a close watch on Lilah Morgan. This lady just lives for the double cross was the way he looked at it. Sooner or later, probably sooner, she would do something that wasn't in the script, something that would be bad news for anybody who wasn't working for Wolfram and Hart. No, he corrected himself. Bad news for anybody who wasn't Lilah Morgan.
"As soon as the Hellmouth is open I'm out of here," said Lilah. "You know as well as I do that some nasties will be coming through. Dealing with them is your job, not mine. You're the Champions."
"How nasty are we talking?" asked Gunn. "Vampire nasty? Demon nasty? Or worst of all Lilah Morgan nasty?"
Lilah scowled and shook her head. "How should I know," she said. "All I know is when you open a link to a Hell Dimension the demons and monsters generally pop through for a look around and a little fun. You should be expecting that and when it happens don't blame me."
On the other side of the basement the magic users of both sides were now busy with their spells. Each magic user in turn invoked their own spell before falling silent and allowing the next in the ring to do their thing. So far about half of the ten people in the circle had done what they needed to do. The climax would be reached when Willow and then Gerald, the Chief Mage from Wolfram and Hart, finished the process. At that stage the Hellmouth should start to open in the floor in the middle of the circle.
"The Stargate's powering up again," said one of the military personnel from across the room. They had kept well clear of the magic users and were continuing to follow their orders by guarding the Sunnydale Stargate.
"Somebody else trying to reach us?" asked Fred as she walked over to that side of the room followed by some of the others who were not casting spells.
"Nope, this time the Gate is dialling out," said Captain Dietrich from his position next to the DHD. "But nobody's doing the dialling. It seems to be dialling itself." He shook his head. All part of the general craziness of this place he told himself.
Lilah and Gunn had also hurried over to join Captain Dietrich and the others.
"What's happening?" asked Lilah who then watched as the dialling sequence was completed and a wormhole was established. "How can it do that if nobody's doing the dialling?"
But no sooner had Lilah asked the question than she worked out an answer for herself. Willow and the other Sunnydale witches hadn't broken through the protection against teleporting and orbing after all. They must have come through the Gate when the wormhole was formed a short time before she thought. Nobody had been able to see them because they were rendered invisible by magic or the power of the Whitelighter with them. And who was to say that all of the witches who had come through the Gate were now visible?
"Beats me," said Dietrich. "You people are the ones with all the magic. You explain. The Stargate shouldn't be able to do that."
"Maybe it's a side-affect of everything that's happened?" suggested Fred. "The Gates are linked somehow to whatever's happening to the universe. Maybe the magic spells have sort of loosened things up?"
"No! It's not meant to happen that way," said Lilah who was getting a very bad feeling. The sort of feeling that said run as far and as fast as she could because things were not going to happen the way she had planned.
"So how is it meant to happen?" asked Gunn, once again glaring at Lilah. "What exactly do you have planned?"
"You shouldn't be worrying about what I've got planned," said Lilah. "I'm not doing this. You want to speak to your friends the witches. They're the ones who are going to get you all killed." As she finished speaking Lilah began to move, oh so casually, towards the exit to the basement.
"What's on the other side?" asked Vi who now stood fascinated at the sight of a working Stargate and its watery threshold. "Could we just walk through and step out on another world? What other world has been dialled up?"
"Good question," said Fred looking at Captain Dietrich. Dietrich in turn looked at Corporal Hamilton who was studying the screen of his laptop computer.
"The dialling code isn't on our list," said Hamilton. "It could be anywhere, anywhere in the galaxy."
"You don't want to step through without knowing what's on the other side," said Dietrich. "It could be a world without air or with massive gravity. It could instantly kill you."
"So how do you usually find out what's on the other side before you...," began Vi only to be interrupted.
"It's moving," said Gunn. "Watch out."
And indeed it was. As everybody hurried out of the way the Stargate itself, connected as it was to a wormhole that led who knew where, was beginning to float across the floor towards them.
That was enough for Lilah. Nobody was now looking at her. The magic users were still busy in their circle. Everybody else was looking at the Stargate or moving out of the way as it moved. It's moving towards the magic circle thought Lilah as she turned and raced up the stairs. That's not a coincidence.