Chapter 472
Adam's research showed there was a significant, un-identified power source in Sunnydale. Something that Tom Warner's cult had used to create their own "Moloch." Adam and Forrest found this thing, deep below Sunnydale. They weren't sure what this thing was. It was large, ferocious looking, but it seemed unable to move. Adam realized that Illyria was rumored to speak all languages, including those of animals and plants. Wesley and Fred said Illyria was doing fairly well in her rehabilitation. The five of them went down, and Illyria spoke to this creature, a Hellmouth spawn, then relayed intel to the group.
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Illyria: This thing lived in another dimension. Vicious by your standards, but gentle by the standards of its own kind. When the Master vampire tried to open this Hellmouth, barriers between dimensions were broken. This thing saw a way to escape a much larger predator. Then the Hellmouth closed again, and it was stuck on this side. Without the energy from its own dimension it became too weak to pose any kind of threat. But it was close enough to the Hellmouth to still live, too weak to even move. Too weak to stop Tom Warner from taking its DNA. The Master drains energy from this Hellmouth spawn, becoming stronger. It knows that as long as it lives, its kind are in danger from the end. The Master is the last link to the Hellmouth opening. Destroy him, and the world is safe again.
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Illyria looked at the Hellmouth spawn. It seemed to know that Illyria brought death, and did not fear that. Living all these years in this near-comatose state, it welcomed death. And it was willing to sacrifice itself to protect the others. Illyria did what even the Master once thought impossible, it destroyed this creature.