Complement

XX – As The End Draws Near
(Part B)

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"Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, turn, one, two, three..." Faith was counting the number of steps from one end of the room to the other and driving Anya nuts. At least she had stopped mumbling to herself and throwing her hands around. Anya had been watching her pace for a good while now. She noticed how Faith winced in pain with every step she took. She had asked her more then once what happened, what was wrong with her feet, but Faith just kept brushing her off. Every so often, she would stop and look at the door; Anya could almost hear her wishing for Buffy to emerge from it. She finally had enough and stood, blocking Faith's pacing route.

Faith just looked at Anya with tired, sad eyes and Anya couldn't help but wonder when the Dark Slayer had slept last.

Faith continued to look wearily at Anya standing in front of her, hands on her hips, staring at her with the ex-vengeance-demon's own version of Resolve Face. Okay, it was official everyone had a Resolve-Face but her, hell even Dawn had one. 'Dawn!' her mind screamed at her. Just the thought of Dawn and what had, was happening to her made Faith want to hurt something, rant, scream, cry, put a hurting on that skanky-ass-bad-haired-fucking-bitch-exiled-god. She clenched her fists at her side, forcing down the rage inside of her. Fuck, what was going on in that bedroom? What the hell was taking Red so long? She had been so wrapped up in her own head and thoughts, that she didn't even notice Anya had moved her over to the couch, until she was shoved down onto it.

Anya knelt on the floor in front of Faith, watching the emotions run rampant across her face. She knew she would feel the same way if it were Xander in that room with Willow or being held hostage by Glory. As she watched Faith, she realized though that the reason she recognized all of the emotions crossing Faith's face was because she felt the same way as Faith did about what was going on. It shocked her. When had that happened? When had she started considering the other members of the Scoobies as her family? Xander yes, she loved him; he had shown her what love was, is. After twelve-hundred-years as a vengeance demon, she had not thought that possible, but he had proven her wrong. They had all accepted her into their homes, their lives, into their tight knit group of friends that were more of a family. More of family then quite a few real families Anya had seen throughout her twelve-hundred plus years. They had accepted who she had been, who she was now and who she was becoming. And she had learned to love them all and without her even knowing it they had become her family too. So she understood completely how Faith was feeling, it was something they had in common; this was the first real family either of them had ever had.

Anya wasn't prepared for the dried blood soaked socks when she pulled off Faith's boots. She tried gently to pull off the socks, which were now stuck to the cuts on Faith's feet.

Faith impatient as ever, moved Anya's hands aside and just yanked them off, sucking in the hiss of pain as the gashes ripped open again. Probably would have been a good idea to pull the glass out of her feet before she had put the shoes and socks on she thought to herself. Then again, she had been in a panic that morning, and had seemed to be in one since then.

"What? How?" Anya asked in a strangled voice when she saw the embedded glass in Faith's feet. How the hell had she been walking with all those shards of glass in her feet was beyond Anya's comprehension.

"Dropped a coffee pot this morning, when I felt Glory attack Buffy, Dawn, Red and Blondie." Faith mumbled out. "Guess I shoulda pulled out the glass, probably why they didn't heal like they should of."

"Don't move." Anya told Faith when she rose to go fetch the first aid kit out from under the sink, as well as get a warm, wet washcloth and towel. Normally this was something she wouldn't do, but for some odd reason she felt empathy for Faith. Perhaps it was this newfound sense of family she had just discovered. She resettled herself back on the floor in front of Faith and began to gently wash away the blood. "Sorry," she whispered when she heard a hiss of pain come fromth wth when a shard of glass caught in the washrag.

"It's okay. I've had far worse cuts then these. A lot worse." Faith whispered the last part almost as an afterthought.

There was something disquieting about the ring of truth in that statement to Anya. She got the feeling Faith was talking about hurts that had nothing to do with being a Slayer. She didn't know why she thought that, either way it made her shiver a little. "What did you mean that you felt Glory attack the others?" Anya asked her, thinking if the Dark Slayer was distracted by talking she wouldn't notice as she began to pull out the shards of glass from her badly cut up feet.

"Well you know about the Slayer connection me and B share." Faith saw Anya shake her head no. "Oh... Well ya see, me and B we kinda share this connection..."
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"Okay... now this is weird." Willow was standing once again in the Summer's home in L.A. In the exact same spot she started in when she first entered Buffy's mind, dreamscape. Six-year-old Buffy was sitting at the child-sized table, holding her doll, and as far as Willow could tell, there was not one thing different.

Willow wasn't the least bit surprised when the child looked up at her and said, "Hi, Willow. What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I'm, um... looking for you. Here. Again."

'Okay who keeps hitting the rewind and play buttons here?'

"Do you like dolls?"

'Hmmm... let me guess she gonna start stroking the dollies hair....Okay need to stop this now, acting like Vamp Willow here.

Willow shook her head a little to clear it, maybe she was getting a little delirious here, she needed to focus.

"No..." Willow knelt down next to the six-year-old, "And I think we already deja'd this vu." Willow couldn't help but smile when the child let out a giggle.

"You talk funny."

"Yes, as you'll tell me again when we're older, and in chem class." Willow frowned, her tone got serious, "Buffy...what are we doing here?"

Six-year-old Buffy shrugged her shoulders, "Don't you like it here?"

"We don't have time." Willow trailed off as she heard the front door open.

The child got up, smiled, handed her doll to Willow and ran for the front door, yelling to her parents. Exactly like she did the first time Willow entered into the dreamscape. "Mommy! Daddy!"

"We're home." Hank Summers' told his daughter.

"You're back! You're back!" Young Buffy shouted out excited.

Standing again, Willow turned her head towards the door, not surprised when she saw Joyce and Hank Summers come through the front door, Joyce holding a newborn in her arms.

"Hi, Buffy," Joyce smiled down at her oldest daughter. She knelt down and handed her daughter the newborn, telling her softly, "We're calling her "Dawn."

Willow turned her head to the right again and saw the interior of the Magic Shop. She was not surprise, more confused. What was she missing? She watched as Buffy once again put the book back on the shelf.

She stood holding the doll, and turned back towards the front door. Joyce was still kneeling by young Buffy, Hank was leaning down with his hands on his knees and Buffy was still holding infant Dawn. Nothing had changed. Or had it?

"I could be the one to look after her sometimes."

Willow smiled a small smile as she heard six-year-old Buffy say that again.
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"It's always open," came the response from inside of the shop to their knock upon the door.

They entered and Xander looked around curiously. A fire was roaring in the fireplace, books were scattered and stacked on the floor, desks, shelves, just about everywhere, papers too. Doc, as he was called, was sitting behind a rather large cluttered desk, flipping through a book, he was, Xander guessed, in his late fifties early sixties.

"What can I do for you boys? You want some cocoa?" They walked over and stood by the desk, waiting for Doc to look up from his book, but he didn't.

"No. We need information. We need ..."

"Ben is Glory!" Xander blurted out cutting off Spike. The light had suddenly turned on in Xander Harris' head, he grinned like the village idiot.

"Who's what?" Doc finally looked up and almost smirked at the boy standing in front of him.

"Look at this. Special Ed remembers," Spike sneered, to cover his surprise and smirked at Xander.

"Yeah. I do. Ben's Glory and Glory's Ben. It's like this..." He circled his hand around his head to illustrate, "...fog is lifting."

Spiked nodded at Xander a little relieved that he remembered, he was beginning to think that maybe the bloody chip was starting to make him crazy. "Wonderful. But not why we're here." Spike turned his attention back to Doc, who turned his attention back to his book, thinking the floorshow was over. "Hellgod type, name of Glory..."

"A.K.A. Ben..." Xander interjected.

Spike continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "... is gone missing. Brewing up some major league bad. And she's nicked the Slayer's kid sister in the bargain."

That caught Doc's attention; he looked up and nodded, "That girl you brought here? Sweet little thing... how'd it work out with her mom? Changed her mind, didn't she?"

Spike squirmed a little. Last thing he needed was for the Scoobies to find out that he had anything to do with helping Dawn try to bring back her Mum. He played it off lightly. "Yeah, yeah. Got any idea where Glory would take her?"

Doc closed his book and looked up at them. A look of intense concentration on his face, "Glory? Glory... ooh..." He rose from the desk, the book still in his hand and walked around it moving towards them. "You don't mean Glorificus? Gosh, what do you want to get mixed up with her for? That's a sure way to get yourselves killed. I hear she's awfully unpleasant." He veered away from them and moved over to a table off to the side by the storefront windows. He placed the book on the table, "When it comes to Hellgods, my best advice is to get out of the way and stay there."

"Love to. Can't." Spike told him shaking his head in denial.

"Well, other than that ..." While he was talking, he moved himself subtly, or so he thought, in front of an antique wooden box on the side table. He missed the quick flicker of Spike's eyes in his direction as he kept on talking, "... I'd like to help, but I-I'm just a small town guy. This Glorificus, if it is her... whoo, she's Big City."

"She's got Dawn." Spike kept his gaze level, his tone even, but he wasn't liking this whole thing, something just didn't feel right to him.

"Right," Doc rubbed his chin, thinking for a minute. "Well... I may know a fella... you know, who knows a fella..." He rubbed his chin again thinking, "...in China. He might..."

Cutting Doc off, Spike asked sarcastically, "How the hell are we supposed to get to China? Teleport?"

"I guess..." Doc began... Spike looked at him, barely able to contain his suspicion; he looked downward hoping that Doc hadn't caught it. "...You know, if you're in that much of a hurry. Wish you luck."

Spike raised his eyes and gave Doc the once over. Doc was trying too hard to appear casual, his hands intertwined in front of him, but there was just a glint of something not right sparkling in his eyes. He shifted a little bit more, trying to once again block the antique box from their view, it was all Spike needed. "You're lying."

Xander looked at Spike in surprise, out of the corner of his eye he saw Doc remove his glasses, reminding him of Giles for a split second.

Calmly Spike told Doc, "And what's more... I believe you're standing right in front of the very thing we need."

They all stood frozen for a moment. Then with speed that belied his age, Doc leapt to the left, grabbed a sword from off the wall and was behind Spike, all in one fluid motion, all in less then a heartbeat. Spike turned in surprise and stopped short when he felt the sword tip pressed against his undead throat.

"Idiot," Doc whispered to Spike.

Xander saw that Doc's eyes were now completely black, and this time he was reminded of another of the Scooby gang. A Scooby member who eyes had also gone a similar color that same night.

Doc thrust the sword at Spike, who jerked back, knocking the sword aside, and then proceeded to trip over the pile of books behind him. He landed on his back on the floor hard, another stack of books falling on top of him. Xander launched himself at Doc, and was smacked in the chest hard, by what had to be at least a ten-foot long tongue, knocking him into the wall. 'Big eww factor there,' Xander thought to himself, as he slid down to the floor.

Doc coiled his extra-long tongue back into his mouth in a flash; he walked over and looked down at the stunned vampire lying at his feet. His eyes glittered dangerously, a malicious smile played around his lips. "You think only underworld bottom feeders worship the Beast?" He giggled like a girl as he twirled around, moved the few steps over to the side table, grabbed the antique box, turned and tossed it into the fire. He turned back around, walked over to Spike again, looked down at him and smirked. "Her day is coming, boys!" Doc lifted Spike part of the way off the floor by his shirt. "And when she returns... then you're gonna see something."

Xander jumped up from the floor, using a move he had seen the Slayer's use often, a kneestrikee the that he executed perfectly, he kicked Doc right in the chest. Xander came down right on top of Doc as he fell on his ass on the floor. As the other two fought fought, Spike saw his chance and dove for the fireplace and without a thought for himself, he reached into the fire, and grabbed the antique box out of the fireplace and screamed on the top of his lungs. "OW!"

'FUCKFUCKFUCK! Bloody hell that fucking hurt!'

Spike turned around, saw Xander rise up to his knees, grab the sword and plunge it into Doc's chest. A fountain of blue blood spurted up at Xander, covering him.

'Go you bloody little wanker!'

Xander wiped the - EWW! - blue blood from his face and looked at Spike a shit-eating grin splitting his face that Faith would have been proud of. Spike made his way over to Xander, holding the undamaged but smoking antique box tightly in his hands.

"What do we got?" Xander nodded his head at the box.

Spike looked down at demon covered in blue blood at his feet. "Something worth dying for."

Together, they turned and headed out the door into the night. Had they waited but a few seconds longer, they'd have seen Doc's eyes snap open.
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"Buffy, will you just stop a second and listen to me?" Willow followed franticly behind Buffy as she walked calmly once again down the upstairs hallway of her house in this twisted repeating dreamscape of Buffy's mind. "Buffy!" Buffy ignored Willow and kept walking. Not having any other choice Willow picked up her pace and got in front of Buffy in the hallway. She put out her hand and stopped Buffy by putting a hand on her arm. "You have to stop doing this."

"Doing what?" Dreamscape Buffy was genuinely puzzled, but there was something a little dead about her voice.

"Killing Dawn," Willow told her, desperate to get through to her. She was beginning to think she understood what Buffy was going through, but she still wasn't one-hundred-percent positive.

"Why?" Again, with the same puzzled slightly dead voice.

"Because this never happened. You never killed your sister!" Willow told her, hoping dreamscape and catatonic Buffy would hear the ring of truth in her tone, of her words.

"Will, I did this." Dreamscape Buffy told Willow with just as much conviction, with the same amount of truth ringing in the tone of her voice.

"In your imagination! None of this is real! Y-you're stuck in some kind of loop."

"I don't know what you're talking about. 'Scuse me?" Dreamscape Buffy looked at Willow for just a second longer. Then she walked around her, heading towards Dawn's room again. Willow followed behind her.

"Why are you doing this?!?" Willow asked her. Shit! What the hell was she going to do? How was soingoing to convince Buffy that this wasn't real? That this didn't happen? Willow was beginning to get very frustrated, and just a little bit irritated by the whole goddess-damn thing! She followed dreamscape Buffy into Dawn's room, not liking any of this at all.
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"Thank you." Faith told Anya who had just finished getting all the shards of glass out of her feet and cleaning them again. Anya had put antibacterial cream on the gashes to help prevent infection, then wrapped both of Faith's feet in gauze.

"You're welcome. It looks like they're already healing now that the glass is out, so I don't think they'll scar."

"Few more scars more or less won't make much difference."

Anya got that disquieting feeling again from Faith's voice. Again, she thought that Faith was talking about something that had nothing to do with being a Slayer. As she looked up and saw the haunted look in Faith's eyes, Anya didn't wonder at how she knew that this time. What she saw in Faith's eyes was something she had seen reflected in her own eyes over twelve-hundred-years ago. There were some things that you could never forget. It was after all, the reason she had been offered the job of becoming a vengeance demon in the first place. Anya gave Faithmallmall smile of understanding; she saw the look of surprise on Faith's face, before she smiled back.

The look was replaced in a blink by something else as Faith's head snapped to the side, her gaze riveted to the bedroom door. She had felt something - A flash? - she closed her eyes and concentrated. B? No it wasn't Buffy, it was Red. Red was getting frustrated, and a little bit angry. She had to suppress the urge to go into the bedroom, to protect Buffy. She realized though the thought of Red ever hurting Buffy in any way was ludicrous and if Red was getting pissed she probably had ad red reason. Hell, she knew just how stubborn Buffy could be. Red though could be just as stubborn, and had a backbone made out of steel when she needed too. If anyone could take on Buffy, it was Red. Still it felt weird to feel someone else's emotions besides Buffy's, echoing inside of her.

She got up from the couch muttering, "Scuse me," to Anya and walked over to the master bedroom door. She placed her hand lightly on the door wanting nothing more then to go in there and gather Buffy into her arms. It was killing her that she had to sit out here and wait. Killing her that there was nothing she could do to help Buffy. Killing her that she couldn't even reach out to her through their connection to let Buffy knhat hat she was still here, was waiting for her, loved her. Faith slid down to the floor in front of the door and leaned her head against it, forcing the terror down that threatened to overwhelm her at the slightest thought that she could lose Buffy.

"B, come back to me. Come back to us. Please." She whispered softly.
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He was practically dragging her down the main street of Sunnydale by the wrist. Ben was still wearing the ceremonial gown, it never even dawned on him how conspicuous he was. Dawn was worried and she looked nervously over her shoulder. She told him she thought they were being followed, he mumbled something back to her but it didn't even register with her. The next thing she knew he was shoving her into an alleyway. He pressed her up against the brick wall and told her to stay put as he went to peek out to see if, in fact, they had been followed.

Dawn quickly scanned the alley; she saw a pile of heavyweight metal link chain on the ground right by her feet. Quietly she picked up the chain, and waited for Ben to turn around. The second he turned back towards her, she cracked him in the head with the chain, knocking him unconscious.

"Sorry." She mumbled, then dropped the chain and stepped over him to make her bid for freedom.

She had made it about three steps before a voice she had come to know only to well this past day stopped her. "Sorry?" Dawn stopped dead in her tracks, turned around, horrified and scared shitless. "That actually hurt, you pre-pubescent puke." Glory picked herself up from the ground, making sure to grab the chain. She was pissed, and she smiled at the Slayer-bitch's, kid sister's terrified face.

Glory grabbed Dawn by the arm and held her fast. "Okay, first thought, just totally spontaneous, unfiltered, off the top of my head.... Ow!" She brought the chain up to Dawn's face. Loving the look of terror, the fear she could almost smell coming from the girl. Oh how she missed this! She lived for the fear, the pain, the agony she was so good at creating. Here in this dimension she had to brainsuck these lower beings to actually taste it. Home, though, home she could feed off of it without doing that, making them relive any of it, all of it over and over again, it was her sustenance, her food. Damn, but she couldn't wait to get back home. Glory shook the chain in Dawn's face, and shudder with something akin to desire when Dawn jumped in fear. "You hit Ben in his soft human head. And I remember the pain!" She threw the chain aside it had served its purpose.

She forced the arm she was holding up and behind Dawn's back, pushing her further, deeper into the alley, away from the sidewalk and any prying eyes. Dawn bit her lip in an effort to stifle her gasp of pain, not wanting to give Glory the satisfaction. She failed, and heard Glory's gasp of pleasure at the pain she had caused. Glory let Dawn go with a little shove when they were almost at the end of the alleyway.

"You probably think I won't waste any precious blood of yours 'til tonight. You're right. But I know a thousand ways to hurt you that won't spill a drop."

Dawn didn't doubt Glory for a millisecond, she started to quiver in fear. Glory shoved her a little harder this time. She stumbled backwards into the metal staircase that went up the side of the building. She sat down hard on the metal stair and clung to the rail for dear life, scared out of her wits.

Glory started walking towards her, the evil that was her very essence seemed almost to radiate out from her, making Dawn tremble. "You know all those pesky feelings Ben's been having? Like guilt, empathy...? I'm gonna take 'em and mash 'em back down where they belong. Okay? Now..." She stroked the side of Dawn's face, almost like a lover. Dawn shuddered in revulsion. "...let's hbig-big-girl fun..." She grabbed Dawn's chin, hard, painfully. "...just you and..." Glory paused a flicker of confusion rippled across her face, she let go of Dawn's chin. When she started talking again her voice was odd, not quite hers. "Leave her alone!"

Glory morphed into Ben so fast that Dawn would have missed it had she blinked.

"I said leave her alone!" Ben shouted at Glory and then in less then a blink of an eye it was Glory standing where Ben had just been.

"No. Nittlittle late in the game to start growing a backbone, Benjamin." Dawn watched the bizarre show with fear. "Now be good and stay quiet. No - you - don't! Get over yourself, Ben! This is the way things are! I'm strong, you're weak..." Glory let slip a giggle, a sound that Dawn would never forget. It was toundound only a madwoman would make. "...this is reality. Stop trying to infect me with your... " Glory whirled around and when she faced Dawn again, it wasn't her, as Bas Ben.

"Do you ever stop talking? I don't know which is worse, waking up in a dress not knowing where I've been, or having to hear all your self-involved ranting." His voice was laced with disdain.

"Animal..." Glory snarled at him, turning her back to Dawn.

Dawn watched them... her... him... it... whatever it was they were, thinking inanely to herself, 'Can we all say Sybil'. This was like watching a schizophrenic's different personalities come to life and fight for dominance. Then Ben was in front of Dawn again.

"Wrong, Glory. I'm no animal. This is humanity you're feeling. Welcome to the world."

Dawn saw her chance for escape; they were busy fighting each other, not paying any attention to her at all. She got to her feet slowly, quietly and started to move away from them, edging along the wall, holding her breath.

Ben turned back towards Dawn. "No no no." Shouted Glory, reaching out in a flash, she grabbed Dawn and threw her across the alley.

Dawn crashed into a dumpster, hitting it hard. She slid down to the ground when her knees gave out from under her. She went back to watching the exiled-crazy-god and Ben fighting.

"Stick around, chica." Glory told her.

"I won't let you hurt her, Glory."

"Shut your hole, you sanctimonious little meatworm." She moved towards Dawn like a predator. Basking in the fear she saw on the girl's face, she almost purred, "I'm going home no matter what you do."

Glory looked around, and spied an empty glass bottle by her feet. She bent down to get it and morphed back into Ben just as she picked it up. Ben slammed the bottle against the dumpster viciously; Dawn wasn\ure ure who she was more afraid of anymore. He held the jagged edge of the bottle to Dawn's face. Dawn pressed back into the dumpster away from him the bottle in terror.

"You really think I'll just let that happen?" He snarled at Glory.

"Benjamin. What are you doing?" Glory asked keeping the mixture of amusement and fear she felt out of her voice.

"You need her blood?" Right now Dawn was definitely more afraid of Ben. "When I'm through there won't be enough left to fill a bottle cap. Then you, Hellbitch, have nowhere left..."

"...to go. HUH!" Glory finished for him, taunting him like a two-year-old. She yanked Dawn up and away from the dumpster. Glory tossed Dawn across the alley again like she was no more then a rag-doll. With a vengeance she threw the broken glass bottle against the wall, it shattered echoing loudly in the alleyway.

Dawn was trembling crouched down on the ground, her eyes wild with fright.

"You can't hurt her and you know it, Ben." Glory sat down on a pile of bricks, a smug look on her face. "I know it, because I feel what you're feeling. Scared?" She sat and waited for herself to morph back into Ben so he could answer. She smiled when she didn't get a response. "Shh! Shh! It's okay." Glory spoke to him as if he were a child she was trying to comfort after a nightmare. And Dawn wished that was all this was, a nightmare, and she would wake up and be in her own bed, in her own house. "You don't want to die. Who would? I don't." Her voice was light, soft, meant to soothe him.

"You can't. You're immortal." Ben's voice was bitter.

Dawn was getting dizzy watching them morph back and forth in less than a blink of an eye.

"Nobody has to die here, Ben. Just let me bleed the girl and go home. Everything will work out fine."

"Do you really believe, with all I know, that you tri trick me?" He made a do-you-think-I'm-stupid face and then realized he was stupid because Glory couldn't actually see him.

"Stop... and think, baby. We bleed the kid. Return me to my seat of power. I become a God again......"

Dawn began to tremble a, no, not liking where this was going.

"And I disappear." Ben couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice.

"Ooh....Unless somebody up there likes you. Give up the girl......... I could like you a lot."

Dawn's eyes grew wide, her body trembled harder, she held her breath waiting for Glory to morph so Ben could answer her.

"I won't make a deal with you, Glory."

Dawn and Glory sighed together, one in relief, one in anger.

"When exactly did you get stupid? I'm offering immortality here!"

"I believe you," and Ben did believe her, so did Dawn for that matter. "That's not the problem. You make me immortal, then what?" Ben got up from the brick pile. He wd ovd over to Dawn and yanked her up roughly by the arm, making her his visual illustration. He shook her a little when he started talking again. "I have to kill her to do it and I won't be able live with that! Not even for a day... forget about eternity," he started whirling both himself and Dawn in a circle, he morphed into Glory mid-whirl.

"Baby, baby, baby Ben..." Glory let go of Dawn when she stopped whirling. Dawn fell to the ground, dizzy. "...why do you worry so much? When you're immortal, all this crap you've been carrying around inside..." She was a little tired, so she leaned up against the wall. This morphing back and forth was taking a lot out of both of them. She didn't know how long either of them could doi doing it. "...the guilt... the anger... the crazy-making pain..." Glory smiled at the thought of pain, not hers but the pain she caused others. "Ooh, it all just melts away, like ice cream. Trust me. When all this is over, I can set you up real nice. I'm making it easy. It's you......... or the girl." Glory slid down the wall, exhausted, and morphed halfway down.

"I can't accept that." Ben gasped, he was having a hard time breathing, his, their body ached like it had gone twenty rounds in the ring with Ali.

"Accept it." Glory smiled again and giggled. "I'm a God, stupid."

She morphed into Ben. He slid the rest of the way down the wall. He had nothinft, ft, he was beyond exhausted, he sat on the ground panting hanging his head, he smiled anyway, he beat her. He, Ben, mere human, had beaten Glory, Glory the god, had been beaten by him, he was victorious! Calling up some reserved strength from only god knew where, ht upt up on feetfeet. He looked at Dawn who stared at him in fright. He walked over to her slowly; he wasn't capable of anything more. He stopped in front of her and held his hand out to her..."

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Dawn.

Dawn smiled at him hesitantly, the relief washing through her. She lifted her hand, reaching for his and he snatched her by the wrist quickly.

"NO!" Dawn yelled in fright.

'PLEASEGODNOPLEASE!'

Ben yanked Dawn to her feet in one rough motion, and began to drag her, Dawn resisted him and he pulled her harder, telling her; "Don't make this harder than it already is. I'm sorry, I got no choice. It's you or me."

She couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it, how could he? She opened her mouth to say something then snapped it closed, her teeth clicking together, the sound echoing loudly inside of her head.

He pulled her out to the sidewalk. Three minions scurried over to join them. eganegan dragging her down the street. As they walked, the night sky started to change. They continued walking in the pre-dawn light in the direction of the rising sun.
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They were standing in Buffy's, Mom's room again. They stood side by side in front of the grave once more staring at the headstone. Buffy turned to leave.

"No. Buffy. Leave Dawn alone, what is this?" Willow was getting tired of this, she was a little pissy at this point and tired of the strangeness of it all. Wondering what the hell it was that she was missing. She followed Buffy down the hallway to Dawn's room yet again.

"My gift. This is what I do." Buffy told her as she opened the door.

"I'm not talking about this, I'm talking about..." Buffy walked through the door to Dawn's room. Willow followed right behind her, and blinked in surprise when she saw they were in the Magic Shop instead. Magic Shop Buffy walked over to the bookshelves like before. Only this time standing right next to Willow the the Buffy from the Summers' house. "...this." Willow finished her sentence as an afterthought.

'Okay now this was new. Why? Think! Why? What am I missing? Goddess-damn it!'

Willow silently cursed herself.

House Buffy and Willow watch the Buffy in the Magic Shop put the book on the shelf, look down pensively and sigh. Rewind... and they watched her repeat the same action again.

Willow started talking almost as if to herself, as if she hadn't stopped at all from before. "Right here, it happened. I know it's something small, but..." They watched as the other Buffy repeated putting the book on the shelf, look down and sigh. "...it's something. What?"

"Don't go there, Will." The Buffy standing next to her told her.

"I'm not! You're the one who keeps dragging me back here! A-and you wouldn't be doing that if you weren't trying to show me something." Willow told the Buffy next to her with a littlt oft of anger.

The Buffy next to her turned her head and asked her, "Do I?"

"Buffy, c'mon. It's your brain. Just tell me." Time for 'Resolve Face,' Willow thought to herself. They watched the other Buffy yet again walk over, put the book on the shelf, look down and sigh. "What happened here?" Asked Resolve Face Willow.

The Buffy next to her just stared, she didn't, couldn't, or wouldn't answer her.

Instead without turning to look the Buffy standing by the bookshelves did, very quietly, "This was when I quit, Will," such sadness in those words.

"You did?\uffyuffy quit? Her Buffy never quit, okay well once she did, but hey, she had just sent the then love-of-he-life to hell. Anyone would have quit, wouldn't they?

"Just for a second," the Buffy standing next to her told her.

"I remember I was in the magic shop," the other Buffy told her, turning to face her. "I put a book back for Giles. Nothing special about it. And then, it hit me," the Buffy from the Magic Shop said in the same quiet voice.

"What hit you?" Willow was getting a little dizzy with them going back and forth finishing each other's sentences.

"I can't beat Glory." Buffy said so softly that Willow had to strain to hear her even though she was standing next to her.

"Glory's going to win."

"You can't know that." Willow turned to the Buffy next to her, it should be her turn to answer her. The Buffy next to her turned and looked at her before answering.

"I didn't just know it."

"I felt it. Glory will beat me." The other Buffy told her and stared out into space at nothing.

"And in that second of knowing it, Will..." Willow turned her head and watched the Buffy next to her answer, hoping to see some clue in her face, but Buffy turned her gaze away from her. When she finished Willow turned her head to look at the Buffy in the Magic Shop.

"I wanted it to happen." Magic Shop Buffy told her.

"Why?" Willow asked her directly hoping that she would answer her, she was beginning to feel like she was the ball in a tennis match. And she hated tennis.

"I wanted it over. This is all... all of it... it's too much for me." Willow contained her sigh of relief when the Buffy from the Magic Shop did answer her. It was short lived, because they switched off again.

"I just wanted it over..."

'Turn head, look at Magic Shop Buffy,' Willow thought to herself. "If Glory wins... then Dawn dies."

Turn, look, at the Buffy next to her, this was starting to exasperate her. "And I would grieve and people would feel sorry for me." The Buffy next to her finally turned to look at her. "But it would all be over." Then she looked away again, staring into space as she continued to talk. "And I imagined what a relief that would be." Willow turned her head and watched as the Buffy in the Magic shop once again put the book on the shelf, look down and sighed. The Buffy next to her continued, "I killed Dawn."

Willow turned and looked at the Buffy next to her for a second; she frowned before she asked her, "Is that what you think?" Only to have the Buffy in the Magic Shop answer her.

"My thinking it made it happen. Some part of me wanted it. And in the moment Glory took Dawn..."

Next to her Buffy said, "I know I could have done something better. And I didn't. I was off by some fraction of a second."

Now Magic Shop Buffy, "And this is why..."

And of course Willow thought the Buffy next to her would finish the sentence. "...I killed my sister."

Now Willow scowled, she was dizzy with the back and forth, the self-pity she was hearing in both Buffy's voices. She looked first at the Buffy standing next to her. Then she looked at the Buffy in the Magic Shop and watched her put the book on the shelf, look down, and sigh heavily yet again. 'Hey how about an encore, cause I sure can't get enough of this!' Willow thought to herself. It was official she was definitely a little bit pissed, tired, and exasperated.

She began softly, slowly telling both Buffy's, "I think Spike was right, back at the gas station........." Willow hesitated a second and then, "SNAP OUT OF IT!" Willow told them in a near shout.

"What?" Both Buffys' said in perfect sync, both turning to look at her with shock.

"All this... it has a name. It's called guilt." The Buffys' exchanged looks with eotheother. "It's a feeling, and it's important," Willow looked at the Buffy next to her, "But it's not more than that, Buffy." She glanced back and forth between them, they look pensively at her, "Buffys'. You've carried the weight of the world on your shoulders since high school. And I... I know you didn't ask for this, but... you do it every day. And so you wanted out for one second. So what?"

"I got Dawn killed..." The Buffy next to Willow told her in a quiet mournful voice.

"Hello! Your sister... not dead yet! But she will be if you stay locked inside here and never come back to us." Just a hint of exasperation slipped out this time.

The Buffy next to her looked at the Buffy in the Magic Shop when she asked Willow, "But what if I can't."

"Then I guess you're right. And... you did kill your sister." Willow turned around and started walking toward the Magic Shop door.

The Buffy that had been standing next to her turned around. She yelled out to Willow anxiously. "Wait! Where are you going?"

Willow stopped when she reached the door. She squared her shoulders, put on her best ever Resolve Face and turned around to answer Buffy. "Where you're needed." Willow stared at her for a second or two then asked her, "Are you coming?"

The Buffy that had been standing next to her stared back, behind her the Magic Shop Buffy once again walked up to the bookshelves and placed the book on the shelf. This time instead of looking down she paused, and then turned to look at them.
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In the master bedroom of Xander and Anya's apartment, Willow sat silently on the edge of the king size bed facing her best friend. Buffy sat in the chair across from her, silent, expressionless, with empty, dead eyes.

With her head lying up against the master bedroom door, her hand resting lightly upon it, the Dark Slayer sat and waited for her heart, her soul to come back to her, come back to them all.
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Suddenly Buffy jolted awake, her back arched, she took huge breaths of air painfully, quickly, into her lungs. Her eyes widened, and everything she was feeling flashed rapidly through them. Her awakening was akin to a newborn vampire's rebirth.

On the other side of the door the Dark Slayer jumped, feeling Buffy the second she came back, the tears silently started to fall. And Anya heard her whispering softly, "B... B... you came back. Thank you Red... Thank you..."

Buffy looked at Willow, confused, startled. She quickly took in her surroundings, realized where she was, who she was with, who she wasn't with, and... began to sob, great wracking sobs from the depths of her soul.

Willow blinked rapidly, coming out of the dreamscape. She jumped off the bed, and knelt in front of Buffy, pulling her into her arms, holding her as she cried.

Buffy continued to cry; she lifted her tear-filled eyes and looked at the door... "Faith," she whispered.

The Dark Slayer was on her feet and barreling through the door before Buffy even finished whispering her name. She knelt on the floor next to Willow and gathered both women into her arms. She rested her head up against Buffy's, her own tears still falling, mixing in with and joining Buffy's. She whispered her name, and thanked Willow. And just held them both, surrounding them both with her love. And letting Buffy once again fill up the empty place inside of her she had left when she had gone into the dark place.
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The bell over the door to the Magic Shop rang signaling someone had entered. Giles looked out from between the shelves of the freestanding bookcase towards the door.

"Buffy?" He questioned softly, then practically yelled, "She's back." They all quickly gathered around the table. Xander and Spike sat at the table next to Giles.

"You're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay." Buffy gave Xander a small smile hoping to alleviate a little of the worry she saw in his eyes.

Buffy stood by the table, Faith was a little to her left, slightly behind her with her hand resting lightly on Buffy's lower back.

"Heard you found the ritual text." Buffy said to Giles.

"Um.. Something like that, yes."

"Did you know that... Ben is Glory?" Xanaskeasked Buffy, he was still excited over this discovery.

"So I'm told." She said then turned her attention back to Giles slipping into Slayer mode. "What do we know?" She didn't miss the slight hesitation before Giles answered her.

"Um... well, um..." Willow, Anya and Tara sat down at the table while Giles stumbled over his words. "...according to these scrolls, um... it's possible for Glory to be stopped." Giles paused taking a deep breath. Buffy stared at him, quirked her eyebrow and gave him a 'yeah-and' look. "I-I'm afraid it's, um... well, Buffy. I've read these things very carefully and there's not much...... margin for error. You understand what I'm saying?"

"Might help if you actually said it."

He smiled at her and took off his glasses, he put down his tea, and wiped his glasses, he nodded at her. "Um... Glory... plans to open a... dimensional portal... by way of ritual bloodletting."

"Dawn's blood?" She didn't want to ask, she didn't want to know. Was afraid of what he was going to tell her. She felt Faith begin to rub her thumb in soothing circles on her back.

"Yes............ Once the blood is shed at a certain time and place... the fabric separating all realities will... be ripped apart." Willow held Tara's hand while she listened to and watched Giles. Tara stared at the ceiling liking the pretty patterns there. Spike lowered his eyes and looked down at the table. "Dimensions will... pour into one another, um, with no barriers to stop them." Xander and Anya looked up paying attention. Faith felt Buffy stiffen under her hand, and her own body tensed up. "Reality as we know it will be destroyed, and... chaos will reign on Earth."

"So how do we stop it?"

'I don't want to know this do I?' Buffy thought to herself.

"The portal will only close once the blood is stopped... and the only way for that to happen is, um......" Giles stopped talking he dropped his eyes from Buffy's. He couldn't look at her. He took a deep shuddering breath. He looked up, locked his eyes with hers, a grim expression etched his face. "Buffy... the only way is to kill Dawn."

Buffy couldn't breathe, she felt the desolation wanting to lay claim to her again, wanting to take her back into the dark place. She fought it back, she was needed here, there was no way she would ever go back there, not ever again. Then a pair of loving arms were surrounding her from behind, holding her close, adding their strength to hers. Buffy leaned back into Faith and wrapped her arms over top top of Faith's, sinking into her.

'Together, all of us together we can find another way,' she thought.
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Buffy turned her head and looked at the pre-dawn sky through the front window of the Magic Shop. Together the Chosen Two walked out of the shop to stand on the sidewalk. They stood holding each other in the pre-dawn light and waited. One by one all the members of the Scooby Gang, even Spike, who hid in the shadow of the building close to the door, followed them outside. Thaiteaited with the Chosen Two for the sun to light up the sky.

This time all of them heard the dawn as it whispered to them of the impending storm. They listened together for the promises of the new day. Each making a secret wish that tomorrow would see them all together, all safe.

With faces turned up to the sky, they watched and waited as the sunrise brought to them a brand new day.
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...We can see it all from here ~ The starless night across the mountain side ~ No one left to talk to ~ There's nothing left to say ~ Into the valleys ~ The shadow of death ~ Grief's silently it's in you and me ~ It's in you and me ~ You and me ~ We stand alone ~ We can see it all from here ~ Stretched far and wide – Sarah McLachlin
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Continued in Chapter XXI – what lies beyond