Black and White and Shades of Grey
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Hilary
Author: Keren and Meredith
E-mail: avssp@hotmail.com
Rating: R
Pairings: B/S (gettin’ there...)
Distribution: Sure, just let us know
Spoilers: Eighth episode in the series Strange Bedfellows: Being the Unlikely Adventures of a Vampire and a Slayer, an alternate Buffyverse which diverges after “Crush”. Previous stories: All of You, Once Upon A Time, Head to Head, Across the Pond, Walk a Mile, The Lady and the Unicorn and Night and Day.
This is our very own rendition of a farewell to Glory. Yes, it’s been done in the real Buffyverse, but since our characters took a sharp right after “Crush” they don’t know any better. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: These characters aren’t ours. We just like to play with them. They belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Fox TV, WB, UPN and any other copyright holders.
Boggle is a registered trademark of Parker Brothers. Oreo is a registered trademark of Nabisco. The Society for Creative Anachronisms is © 1996 - 2001 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., and if you should ever happen to be in western Pennsylvania in late August, they throw a hell of a war. DeSoto is a registered trademark of Daimler Chrysler. The Sphere of the Eternal was inspired by “Who’s Who in Egyptian Mythology” by Anthony S. Mercatante, © 1978. LAX is the Los Angeles International Airport, a division of Los Angeles World Airports, a self-supporting branch of the City of Los Angeles. Prada is a registered trademark of F. Ili Prada Di Fernanda E Luigia Prada. In spite of Spike’s assertion, it is only a popular myth that President Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope. To view the actual existing drafts of the document, visit the Library of Congress at http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gadd/gadrft.html.
Feedback: Yes, please!
Notes: If you would like to read Returning, a crossover between “Strange Bedfellows” and the Angel/Wesley series “Epiphanies” by the Brat Queen, go to http://countylimerick.prohosting.com/fanfiction/buffy/returning.htm
Special thanks to Liz for all the help with the fight scenes.
Translation provided by Quintus’ Latin Translation Service, www.latin.fsbusiness.co.uk.
Black and White and Shades of Grey
Nighttime in the Sunnydale woods, oddly enough in the same glade where Buffy and Spike previously encountered the unicorns, hundreds of the Knights of Byzantium are gathered. Their leader steps up, draws his sword and holds it dramatically before him, and begins to chant, soon joined by the voices of his entire army.
Et servare in perpetuum hanc superficiem fragilem
Per hanc sacram laminam fiet disiunctio clavis.
***************************************************
The next afternoon, at Spike’s crypt, Dawn waltzes in without knocking and finds Spike asleep. Making sure the door is fully closed so as not to burn him with sunlight, she takes a flying leap and jumps onto his bed.
Dawn: Wake up sleepyhead!
Spike (bolts upright in vamp face ready to attack but relaxes when he realizes who it is): Oh, it’s you. Don’t you people realize I need my beauty rest? What part of nocturnal don’t you understand?
Dawn: I need your help.
Spike: Of course you do. That’s all anybody ever bloody comes in here for.
Dawn: Hey, I brought Boggle that one time. (Serious tone) This is important.
Spike (lighting a cigarette): What is it this time, small foodstuff?
Dawn (looks at him askance): Slipping a bit, aren’t you?
Spike: They can’t all be gems.
Dawn: Buffy’s getting ready to fight Glory.
Spike: And...
Dawn: And she won’t let me help.
Spike: My advice? Tell her you don’t want to help and then she’ll force you to do it. Or, you could try asking for money.
Dawn: Spike! I came to you for a reason!
Spike: Do you want me to put in a good word or something? It’s not like she listens to me either.
Dawn: No. Look, I’m the (looks around furtively and whispers) the Key. All of this is happening because of me. There has to be something I can do.
Spike: Unless you’ve picked up a black belt while I wasn’t looking, seems to me the best thing you can do is make yourself scarce so’s Buffy can kill this bitch without having to worry about you.
Dawn: I’m not talking about fisticuffs here. Spike, if you grow up around accountants you know about taxes. If you grow up around doctors, you know about pills. I grew up around a Slayer, I know about destiny. I’m at the center of this and my swirly green insides are telling me there’s something I have to do. I need you to help me find out what that is.
Spike (sighs): And what magical destiny-seeking power do you expect me to use to help you?
Dawn (grins): You can drive.
***************************************************
Meanwhile, at the Magic Box, all the scoobies, Buffy included, are in full-out research mode.
Xander (throwing a heavy book down): We are getting nowhere!
Buffy: Nah, we got nowhere ages ago. We’re so far past nowhere we must be somewhere by now.
Xander (frustrated): There are just too many questions. How do we find Glory? If we do find Glory and split her into good and evil twins...kinda like what happened to me, only, you know, gods. Anyway, if we do, how do we stop them from ravaging good ol’ Sunnydale? Wait, maybe that’s not a bad idea.
Giles: How would you propose evacuating an entire town before tomorrow?
Xander: Air raid warning?
Willow: Well, Tara and I have been working on a force field thingy. It was originally a protection spell, you know, keep the bad stuff on the outside, good stuff on the inside. Like an Oreo. I think we can figure out how to make the bad guys the cream filling while we remain safely outside the chocolatey goodness. But it’s a maybe. A big maybe.
Tara: I-I’m pretty sure we can do it but I don’t know if it’ll be strong enough to hold them. They are gods.
Anya: Ok, but what if Glory wins? If we’re outside we can’t help Ben.
Buffy: That’s a chance we’ll have to take. If she does, we book while she’s breaking through the force field, and we’re back to square one. But we’ve got to try. Our first priority is finding Glory. I’ll take Spike; we’ll track her down tonight. (Buffy gets a brief faraway look in her eyes.)
Willow: Why don’t you just find Ben and tell him where to show up? He does work at the hospital.
Buffy (snaps out of her reverie): Huh?
Willow: Ben? Hospital?
Buffy: I don’t want to take the chance of him turning into Glory in a hospital full of people. (Scrunches up her nose, remembering) Again. Besides, we still don’t know how many of Ben’s memories Glory can get to. We really need the element of surprise on this one.
Xander: There’s just too many jokers in this deck. Remember the Society for Creative Anachronisms? And the third Hellgod? You know, Mr. Low Profile?
Buffy (shrugs): I told the knights to help or stay outta my hair. Nothing more I can do on that front. As for the other god, I’m drawin’ a blank. Giles?
Giles: I have no leads either thus far, I’m sorry to say.
Willow: What about Dawn?
Buffy: Dawn will be staying home, locked in the basement until all this is over.
***************************************************
Later that day at the demolished factory where Buffy first encountered Glory, Dawn and Spike pull up in his De Soto.
Spike: Tell me why we’re here again.
Dawn: This is where Buffy met the monk who told her about me. Maybe he left his diary behind or something.
Spike: Not much left here to search really.
Dawn (resolved): We have to try.
Spike (mumbling): I’m starting to see a family resemblance.
They exit the car and dash for the cover of the factory, Spike under his daylight blanket. They begin to search the ruins.
Dawn (as Spike is lifting a fallen beam so she can walk under it): So...Buffy admit you’re her boyfriend yet?
Spike (chuckles): Not bloody likely.
Dawn: My sister is so stupid.
Spike: She has her moments.
Dawn: Is this a new moment, or a moment I saw at the Bronze already?
Spike (digging through some rubble): Well, I don’t like to kiss and tell...
Dawn (looks up from her pile of junk): You kissed? Oh my god, tell me everything! No wait, this is my sister. Eew...no, tell me everything!
Spike: Not much to tell really. I kissed her; she kissed me...Hello…what’s that? (He picks up a box and opens it to reveal tools. He closes it and tosses it over his shoulder.)
Dawn: Oh great. The screwdriver of doom. She kissed you back?
Spike: Why so shocked half-pint? Am I that repulsive?
Dawn: No! Buffy’s just that dense.
They shuffle around in the destroyed building in silence for a while.
Spike: So far we’ve found a lot of bricks, three rusty steel beams, two broken beer bottles, a deflated beach ball and the inscription (clears throat) Peggy+Jose 2gether 4ever. Any of this makin’ your insides glow greener?
Dawn (disappointed): No. Neither is this junk. (Waves a pile of papers and begins to go through them) Let’s see, plumber’s bill, invoice, itinerary...
Spike (pointing to the page she’s holding up): There’s something on the back of that one.
Dawn (turning the page over): It’s probably a grocery list. (Reads it) Oh my god. This is it!
Spike: What?
Dawn: I don’t know, it’s in Latin. But that has to mean it’s important!
Spike: Give me that. (He snatches the paper from her and reads aloud.)
De Portis
Transire limen et reserare ianuam
Egredi extra temporis mortalis fluctus
Et invenire immutatum aera istius animae
Quae prima mundi originem et finem locuta est
Clavis quae illam tranquillam aeternam sphaeram evocat
Quae, omnem tangens mundum, a nullo tangitur.
Dawn: That’s a big help.
Spike: It says:
Of Portals
To cross the threshold and unbar the door
To step outside the flow of mortal time
And find unchanged the wind of that first breath
That spoke the worlds’ beginning and their end
The Key calls forth that still, eternal sphere
That touching every world is touched by none
Dawn: Still not getting anything here.
Spike (sighs): See here, you’re the Key, right?
Dawn: Uh huh...
Spike: This bit (points to the page) says you call up some big bubble jobby outside time. And that bit says what happens in the bubble doesn’t affect any world, but you can go from there to any world.
Dawn: Like an inter-dimensional foyer.
Spike: Exactly. You are the smart one in the family, aren’t you?
Dawn (beams at him): Yup. And the pretty one. How do you understand this crap anyway?
Spike: I majored in classics. Besides, I used to write this bleedin’ stuff. Iambic pentameter and all that rot.
Dawn (giggles): Maybe you should’ve written them in Latin. (In mocking tone) Oh my unsung Artemis.
Spike grabs his blanket and chases her out to the car.
Spike (while running): Artemis was Greek! What do they teach you kids in school these days?!
*************************************************************
Later that night, Buffy and Spike are on Glory recon duty.
Buffy: I think if we start at the place where I pummeled the life out of giant Mr. Snake, we’ll find Glory.
Spike: Alright.
They start walking in that direction.
Spike: Slayer, there’s something we gotta discuss. The Bit and I...
Buffy (blushing furiously and obviously missing the second half of his statement): You wanna talk about last night, don’t you? I don’t know what to say. I mean, I know what happened, there were lips involved, your...lips...(she trails off) A-and mine! And umm...
Spike (obviously amused): Much as I’d like to relive last night’s episode (leers at her) I have something more pressing.
Buffy (sounding somewhat disappointed): Oh. Good! What is it?
Spike (hesitantly): Well you see...me and the Nibblet, we were...uh, helping. ‘Cause that’s what we do best. And we found this. (Hands her the paper they found)
Buffy (looking at the wrong side): Arriving at LAX 6:35 p.m.? Are we expecting company?
Spike: No you nit! The other side.
Buffy (starts to read the Latin aloud badly): Spike, I didn’t take Italian.
Spike (very frustrated now and muttering): She is the smart one in the family. It’s Latin, Buffy. In a nutshell it means little Dawn has to make a bubble outside time that’s a gateway to all dimensions, and nothin’ that happens there affects any of ‘em.
Buffy (whispering): The Sphere of the Eternal.
Spike: Come again?
Buffy: The Sphere of the Eternal. Tara told us about it. Xander was right, it wasn’t a metaphor.
Spike: Score one for the useless one. Had to happen sooner or later.
Buffy: No way.
Spike: Yeah, you’re right. Blind luck doesn’t count.
Buffy: No. Forget Xander. No way is Dawn going to be there.
Spike: But...
Buffy: No! She’s staying at home where it’s safe.
Spike: Uh, pet? It’s not going to be safe with a couple of raging Hellgods on the loose. None of Sunnyhell will be safe.
Buffy: But Willow and Tara think they can contain them.
Spike: How much are you willin’ to bet on that? Good witchy intentions are all very well, but when the chips are down, I’d go with prophecy.
Buffy: Yes, Spike, and all prophecies come on the back of flight itineraries.
Spike: Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope.
Buffy: The Gettysburg Address is not a prophecy.
Spike: That’s what you know.
Buffy: We’re getting off the topic here. I am not bringing Dawn into the middle of a war!
Spike (incensed and yelling now): She’s already in the middle of this! She is the middle of this! And she may be our best chance to win it!
Buffy (yelling back): The monks gave her to me to protect. I have to keep her safe!
Spike (visibly calming himself and lighting a cigarette): I feel a bit of a story coming on. Listen up kiddies. Once upon a time, there was a nancy-boy vampire with a soul. Don’t give me that look! Ahem. And he loved the most beautiful princess in the world, but they could never be together for many reasons, one of which was the fact that he thought she always needed to be kept safe. No matter what she said, he insisted on building a whopping big tower, stickin’ her in the top, and ridin’ off to have his poncy adventures alone. Problem was, she didn’t need protectin’. And after she dismantled the spinning wheel, used the spokes for pitons, and fought her way out of and away from the tower, he still refused to believe she was a warrior just like him. So then what do you think the princess did next? She became queen of all the land and put her younger sister, now the princess, right back in the very same tower. The end.
Buffy (glowers): Dawn is not a warrior.
Spike: No, she’s a magic item. And what have we learned about magic items? We use them! You said it yourself; it’s this Sphere of the Eternal. You need her to do this!
Buffy: Dawn is not a thing to be used.
Spike: No. She’s your sister. And she’s just as brave and just as pigheaded as you are. She needs to do this. It’s her fight, Slayer.
They hear a scream, and look up to realize they have reached the luxury apartments where Buffy defeated the giant snake. They see a body smash through the top floor window and plummet to the ground. They run to the fallen body and find that it is one of Glory’s crusty monk minions. He is still breathing, if just barely.
Buffy (leans down and breaks his neck with no hesitation): So he won’t report back. Looks like we found her.
She dusts off her hands and starts walking back to town. Spike follows and after a few moments she stops and looks at him.
Buffy: Fine. She comes, but she’s only a last resort. And Spike? She dies, you die.
*************************************************************
The next morning at the magic shop, Buffy has gathered all the scoobies, Giles, Spike and Dawn to lay out their plan of attack.
Buffy: All right people, its magic time.
Anya: You know, that would be a great slogan for this place. We could print it on our bags and our gift-wrap, and paint it on the window. It’s sure to bring in a lot of business.
Xander: Anya, now is not the time to play junior entrepreneur.
Buffy: Ok, here’s how things are gonna work. Spike and I will grab a minion, pin a note to his chest and tell Glory to meet us at the demolished factory tonight. Giles, as soon as she gets there – you separate the Siamese twins.
Willow: Do you need any help with that, Giles?
Giles: No, it’s not a difficult spell, actually. The combined state of the entities is so unstable that it should only take a slight touch, properly placed, to break them apart. It’s a matter of concentration, really.
Buffy: Good. Willow, Tara, operation Oreo.
Willow: (Gives her a salute) Got it, chief.
Dawn: But what about…
Buffy: (Turns and answers her sternly) I told you, only as a last resort.
Everyone with the exception of Spike looks confused. Buffy takes no notice of their puzzlement, and plows right on.
Buffy: I’ll be mopping up any stray minions while the Hellgods duke it out.
Xander: Don’t forget to be on the lookout for the knights.
Spike: What are you gonna do, guard the car?
Buffy: No, he and Anya are with me. You (pokes Spike in the chest) are on Dawn duty. Make sure she stays out of sight. (Gives him a malicious grin) Your unlife depends on it.
Xander: Conundrum. (To Dawn) You’re lucky I like you so much.
Dawn: But what if I need to…
Buffy: You won’t.
Dawn: But if I do…
Buffy: You don’t even know what you think you have to do!
Xander: Does anyone else feel like they’re being left out of the loop here?
Everyone raises their hands, once again with the exception of Spike. They all turn and look at him.
Spike: What?
Giles: Buffy, there’s obviously something you’re not telling us.
Buffy: It’s not important.
Spike: The hell it’s not! (Goes to hand Giles Of Portals)
Buffy: Dawn and Spike found someone’s Latin homework.
Giles: (Takes paper and reads aloud) Buffy, this is very important. I can’t believe you didn’t tell us about this!
Buffy: It’s way cryptic and way more unlikely.
Giles: Yes, prophecy usually is, but I don’t think it should be ignored. Perhaps when the time comes, Dawn will know what to do.
Buffy: And she can commune with her mystic knowledge safely behind a pile of rubble.
Spike: Unless her mystic knowledge requires her to, oh, do something?!
Buffy: Then you damn well better be sure she does it in one piece!
Dawn: (Growling) Stop threatening him.
Buffy: (spins to face Dawn) What?
Dawn: Stop threatening him. And stop treating me like a child! I’m only one year younger than you were when you became the Slayer!
Buffy: It’s not like I had a choice! (Ruefully) It was my destiny.
Dawn: And this is mine. And no amount of picking on Spike is going to change that.
Buffy: (starts to say something, stops herself, and goes over and pushes Dawn’s hair behind her ear.) Dawn… When did you get so grown up?
Dawn: I’m old for my age. Heh, technically, I’m thousands of years old. I got you all beat. Except maybe Anya.
Anya: Hey!
Buffy: Just promise me you’ll be careful.
Spike: (Comes up and puts his hand on Dawn’s shoulder) We will.
***************************************************
A few hours later, Glory is standing in front of her impossibly huge closet, garbed only in a towel. She is holding up two dresses and trying to match them to a multitude of shoes on the floor. The door bursts open, and one of her cowled minions stumbles in, a crossbow bolt through his chest.
Minion: (on his way to the floor) A message for you, oh most splendiferously indecisive one.
Glory: (Ripping the bloodstained note off of his chest as he falls to the ground) Oh! A note from Buffy the Vampire Layer. Nice stationery “From the Magic Box.” Gross! (Kicks the dead minion) You’re bleeding on my shoes! Guess I’ll have to wear the red ones. (Pauses and thinks) The strappy red ones. Let’s see… “I have your key.” Well, duh! “Meet me at the monk hidey-hole factory at nine p.m. tonight.” Ugh. That place brings up bad memories! So I guess the little Slayer has a plan. This calls for an entirely different outfit!
***************************************************
About eight o’clock that evening, after the sun has set, Buffy and pals show up at the demolished factory. The gang is following Buffy as she gives them directions over her shoulder.
Buffy: Giles, you set up over there. Willow, Tara, over by that beach ball. Spike, take Dawn and get behind that pile of…junk? Xander, Anya, we’ll be over (Turns around and walks smack into a large bald headed knight with a tattoo twice as big as any they have seen yet.) here. Hi.
General: Surrender the Key!
Buffy: Not much for the small talk, are you, El generalissimo tattoo head guy? I thought I told you people to get lost.
Six more knights step out from behind him.
Buffy: Ok, you can get lost on the buddy system.
Twenty more knights emerge from various hiding places.
Buffy: That’s the plural form of you. Get lost guys.
Many many more knights come into view now, surrounding Buffy and co.
Xander: How did you get here? Do they bus you in? Are there a hundred horses grazing around here somewhere?
General: You were warned. If it takes a hundred men, we send a hundred men, and if it takes a thousand, we send a thousand. We shall have the Key. It is fruitless to oppose us. I have the holy instrument and we shall triumph.
Buffy: Instrument? You mean like a lute? You guys have bards?
General: (brandishing sword) Terminus!
Buffy: Gezuntheit.
General: (Gives her a patronizing look) As it is written:
Terminus
Obserare limen et occludere ianuam
Contra iram ignis Inferni aeterni
Monstrum tergeminum, deum exarmare,
Diversos habere mundos discordes
Et servare in perpetuum hanc superficiem fragilem
Per hanc sacram laminam fiet disiunctio clavis.
Buffy: (Turning to Spike): Latin again.
Spike: He said:
To bar the threshold, and hold fast the door
Against the wrath of Hell’s unending fire
Undo the threefold beast, disarm the god
To keep asunder the discordant worlds
And to preserve this fragile plane forever
With this sacred blade, the Key shall sever
General: No. “This sacred blade shall sever the Key.”
Spike: Sorry mate. Could be either. No way to tell. Latin sentence structure doesn’t work like that.
General: It has been prophesied, godless monster. The bearer of the blade Terminus shall be invulnerable to all earthly harm, and through its might shall the beast pass from this world forever. (Turns to Buffy) You cannot touch me.
Buffy: (As the words barely get out of his mouth, she kicks his sword hand, sending the blade flying, catching it in her own hand.) Is that so?
The general makes a grab for the sword, and Buffy casually tosses it to Spike, out of his reach. He is about to respond when the entrance of Glory and a horde of her minions interrupt him.
Glory: Well, lookee what we have here. It’s a costume party. For me? I feel so overdressed! Here I am in my Prada original, and there you are in rusty chain mail. And I was so worried someone would have the same dress as me. (Turns to Buffy) Where’s my key?
Buffy: Right under your nose. (She punches Glory in the face and gets in fighting stance)
Glory: (grabbing her nose) Oh! My nose! If you’ve ruined my classic profile, I’ll…
She punches Buffy twice in the face, and Buffy returns with a head butt. Glory reaches out her hands, grabs Buffy by the throat and throws her across the vacant lot, into the fence where a group of minions are standing. Meanwhile, Giles is chanting as fast as he can. Buffy gets up by way of a spinning kick, knocking down the minions as she rights herself. She gets back in fighting stance and awaits Glory who is now stalking towards her.
Glory: Hello? Haven’t we been through this? You can’t keep this up for long.
Buffy: (Kicks Glory in the face and does a series of handsprings out of the way) I don’t have to.
Giles finishes his chanting, and Glory and Ben split into their two selves in a puff of silvery-grey smoke.
Glory: (A bit stunned, but is quick on the recovery) Hello Benjamin, so nice to see you. (She lunges and throttles him.)
Buffy: Willow, Tara – now!
Their spell goes up, enveloping Ben and Glory in a purple-ish bubble. Ben, still in Glory’s clutches, grabs her hair and pulls her head towards the ground. Glory kicks him in the side, causing him to release her hair. Ben punches her in the stomach, releasing her grip on his neck. He uses his advantage to pick her up and throw her into the side of the force field, which emits sparks of energy and becomes considerably dimmer. As Glory shakily gets to her feet, Ben charges her from the side and sends both of them into the wall of the bubble, which becomes even dimmer upon impact. Glory pushes him back and deals a flurry of blows to his face, ending with a powerful kick to the stomach, sending him reeling face first into the barrier. The magical bubble wobbles and finally bursts, leaving the gods free to wreak havoc on the surrounding area.
Spike (handing Dawn the sword): Guess it’s your time to shine, pet.
Dawn takes a deep breath, hugs the sword to her chest, and holds out her hand in a gently cupped position. Her eyes glow green and a small green soap-like bubble appears in her hand. She throws it gently toward the two gods, and it grows in size, eventually enveloping them. As she lowers her hand, she is suddenly rushed by hundreds of knights, who up until now have been standing around dumbfounded, unsure of what to do.
Spike (Jumps in front of her): Nice trick, princess.
The first to reach Dawn is the General, who hefts his other sword above his head, and prepares to cleave Dawn in two. Spike holds his ground in front of her, and punches the General square in his tattoo, causing the both of them to hold their heads in stunned pain. Buffy, seeing her sister in danger, takes a flying leap over Spike, and gives the General a sound kick to the head. Behind them, the battle between the two Hellgods rages on, but this time, they seem to be fully contained by the Dawn-made sphere.
The rest of the knights rush at Buffy and her friends. Giles holds three at bay with his giant battle-axe, while Xander and Anya fight back-to-back, both wielding cudgels. Willow utters some magical words and a sheet of ice forms under a dozen of the knights, taking them down. A group of knights rush towards Dawn, intent on killing her while their leader is occupied, and are quite surprised when they are thrown back by a flash of green energy that emits from her any time she is touched.
The general, having recovered from the multiple blows to his head, slashes at Buffy with his sword. She ducks his blow and does a sweep kick, attempting to take his legs out from under him. He dodges, stumbling slightly backward, and then rushes at her, sword raised and screaming. She manages to dodge a fatal blow, but is nicked on the arm by the sword. Meanwhile, Spike has been tackled by two minions, and is trying to fend them off. He hears Buffy gasp in pain and looks over to see a trail of blood begin streaming down her arm. He growls, changes to vamp face, and slams the minions heads together, rendering them unconscious. He then rushes at the General and tackles him, heedless to the pain it will cause him. They fall to the ground, and Spike rolls off the wounded man, clutching his head in pain. Buffy stomps over to the General, puts her high heel on his wrist, and yanks the sword out of his hand. As he looks up at her, ready for the deathblow, she brings the hilt down on his head, knocking him out. The knights, looking to avenge their fallen leader, promptly rush her.
Spike finally drags himself to his feet, still visibly in pain, and looks through bleary eyes to see three minions attempting to get at Dawn. He runs over, does a backward spinning kick, sending them flying. They get back up and try to restrain him, one on each arm, and the third wrapped around his leg like a child. Spike rolls his eyes and kicks the minion on his leg into the air, sending him bouncing off the sphere where Glory and Ben are still in heated combat. He then rips his arms free of the other two and punches them on their heads simultaneously, knocking them both to the ground.
On the other side of the lot, Xander and Anya are holding their own against the knights until Xander is hit, causing him to bump into Anya’s back. She stumbles forward, losing her cudgel in the process. As the knights advance, she wrings her hands, and for lack of any other weapon, she picks up a handful of gravel and tosses it in their general direction. As she and Xander are about to be attacked, Willow shouts, “Separate!” and the knights surrounding them go flying back several feet. One flies back, bumping into Giles who was in the midst of a back swing, causing Giles to lop off his head with his axe. Giles’ blow still comes around at his intended victim, but is blocked by a clever sword parry.
Buffy is still surrounded by knights, though she seems to be holding them off. Spike, having finally disposed of a number of pesky minions, returns to Buffy’s area, keeping an eye on Dawn all the while. Not knowing how else he can help without putting himself in pain, he begins to pick up broken crates and other debris, and throwing it in the general vicinity of the knights. He doesn’t hit any of them but his barrage is enough to keep them off balance and aid Buffy.
Meanwhile, in the Sphere of the Eternal, Ben and Glory have been slowly wearing each other down. Ben is on the floor, as a very incensed Glory storms over to his downed body and kicks him in the head. He grabs her ankle and pulls her down, using the momentum to rise. She, in turn, grabs his leg, and tosses him into the side of the sphere. She walks over to him and drives her spiked heel through his hand. He curls his hand up around her shoe, gets a grip on her foot and pulls, sending her falling backwards to the ground. He extracts the sharp heel from his palm, and they both get unsteadily to their feet. Glory deals him a succession of punches to the face. He grabs her last incoming punch, whirls her around, and bangs her into the barrier. Glory recovers stomps towards him and kicks him in the face. He stomps on her other foot, and deals her an uppercut to the chin, sending her stumbling away from him. She dives at him and grabs his throat at the same instant that his hand closes around her jugular. They both stand there, digging their fingers into each other’s necks trying to suffocate one another.
A silvery gray mist appears above the Sphere of the Eternal, and swirls around it a few times, as if surveying its contents. It then floats down in front of Dawn and forms itself into the semblance of a face. All those fighting outside the Sphere cease and turn to watch. The crowd seems to hold its breath.
Gray Swirl: It has been a long time.
Dawn nods her head gravely.
Buffy: Who-what are you?
Gray Swirl: I am the fulcrum, I am the twilight, I am the center.
Xander: I am the Xander. Pleased to meet you.
Buffy: What’s that when you’re at home?
Gray Swirl: I am the third, the balance. (To Dawn) It is ended.
Anya: It is? Who won?
Spike: (First on the uptake, as usual) No one. I think that’s the point.
Grey Swirl: Will you remain?
Dawn: I belong here.
The mist swirls around Dawn a few times before finally flying over to the Sphere, spreading itself out and around it until the perimeter shimmers silver as well as green, and finally slipping inside. Dawn hefts the sword up with both hands and traces the outline of the Sphere in the air, ending with a severing motion. The Sphere of the Eternal begins to fade into the background. The final thing seen by those who remain standing is a gray glow in the center, which, after a few minutes, fades as well. Dawn slumps to the ground, sword clutched to her chest.
Buffy: (Rushing over to Dawn) Oh my god, Dawn! (She puts her head against Dawn’s chest and hearing nothing, begins to cry. Her tears quickly turn to anger though, as she rounds on the knights) She’s dead! She killed your stupid beast, and she’s dead! Are you happy now?
Giles: Buffy (He puts an arm around her shoulder and gently tries to pull her away from the General)
Willow bursts into tears and slumps on Tara’s shoulder. Xander stares at Dawn, and Anya gropes for his hand, squeezing tightly when she finally takes hold of it. Spike leans over Dawn and puts an ear to her chest.
Spike: Buffy. Buffy? (When she continues to ignore him and everything else, he sighs and then shouts) Slayer!
Buffy whirls around to face him with tears in her eyes.
Spike: She’s alive. I can hear her heartbeat. (Off of Xander’s quizzical look) I’m a vampire. It’s an occupational necessity to know these things. Get us some smelling salts, would you?
Giles: I-I have some sulfur, will that do?
Spike grabs it and waves it under Dawn’s nose. After a second or two, she wakes up.
Dawn: Ugh. I’ll be smelling that for days.
Buffy: (Rushes over and tackles her) Dawn! You’re alive!
Dawn: Duh. Did I save the day?
Buffy: (Smiles at her) you did.
Spike: Of course you did pet. Runs in the family. (He helps her get up.)
Buffy: (Gets up and goes over to the general. He starts to say something and she holds up her hand) No. Don’t speak. Start walkin’.
General: My sword?
Dawn: (Having just handed Spike the sword, which he has surreptitiously concealed in his duster, gives an impossibly innocent look) What sword?
***************************************************
A few days later at the Summers’ home, Buffy, Joyce and Dawn are in the kitchen preparing for the End of Glory Days party.
Joyce: It’s hard to believe it’s finally over. No more living in fear. No more paying Spike to baby-sit Dawn.
Buffy: You paid him?
Joyce: Honey, he did take good care of her.
Spike: (Walks in the back door) Hullo ladies.
Buffy: (mumbles) Speak of the devil.
Spike: Thank you Xander. Hey lockpick, how you feelin’?
Dawn: Fine. You?
Spike: Dead as a doornail. Got a little somethin’ for ya. (He hands her a badly wrapped package.)
Dawn: (Ripping it open) Cool! A scabbard! It’s perfect! (She runs over and hugs him.)
Buffy: Just what every fourteen year-old girl needs.
Joyce: I’m sure it’s very...practical.
Buffy glowers at Spike and the doorbell rings.
Spike: (Extricating himself from Dawn) Why don’t I just get that?
Dawn: (After he leaves the room) Awww. Are you mad he didn’t get you something? Why don’t you kiss and make up? I hear it worked real well last time.
Joyce turns and gives a blushing Buffy a thoughtful look.
Buffy: Dawn! (Joyce smiles at her) Mom!
A little later, all the scoobies have arrived and are milling about, chatting.
Willow: I’m just so glad that Dawn got to stay.
Buffy: We all are.
Xander: No reason to think Dawn would go away, really. When you put a normal key into a normal lock it doesn’t usually explode.
Giles: Have I mentioned that you have an incredible knack for boiling down a complex idea to its lowest common denominator?
Xander: Hey! Deja put-down G-man.
Giles: Oh look, Spike has no one to talk to. Excuse me. (He walks over to Spike at the dining room table)
Xander: Ooh. That hurt.
Giles: Someday, I’m going to kill that boy.
Spike: (Handing Giles a glass of punch) right there with ya mate.