slowly, slowly, it all comes together. More V!Giles

Repetition did not make portal travel any better. Dawn squinted her eyes until she could just barely see which way she was going, because it was better than seeing the things pulsing in the walls. She ran just as fast as she could, desperate to get back to Buffy and her mother. There were footsteps behind her, but more than just Giles' steps.

A golden light appeared ahead, dawn's light. Go to the light. The light at the end of the tunnel. Is sometimes an oncoming train. Dawn stumbled on exiting the portal, a hand grabbed her arm to pull her up, and she screamed when she saw the bloody, bruised, crazed face of Glory.

Glory shook her. "Don't bother, kid. You're mine, and I'm starving." She clamped her hands around Dawn's head. "Shut up! You wouldn't even exist if it weren't for me!"

Dawn felt a dreadful hollow sucking in her head, and the world began to dim. Glory's eyes bored into hers. A strange green haze fell over Dawn's fading vision, and she thought, "She's right, if not for her I wouldn't exist. It almost makes sense, her taking me." It hurt, though, and she whimpered.

Glory suddenly screeched and let go. Dawn fell, gasping. Blinking hard, she saw Buffy, her face blood-streaked, clinging to Glory's leg.

"Get off, bitch!" Glory kicked at Buffy, who grabbed that foot and yanked. Glory hit the ground hard.

"Dawn," Buffy gasped, "get into the chapel."

Dawn started to crawl away, then Glory grabbed her ankle. Gasping in terror, Dawn tried to dig her fingers into the dirt, but the hellgod dragged her closer. Fingernails dug into her leg as the inhumanly strong fingers clamped down. Dawn tried to bat away the hands that clawed at her, even as Buffy tried to get to her feet. Glory kicked at Buffy, knocking her over, then, grinning, reached up to clamp her hand over Dawn's face again.

Until a gleaming swordblade slashed down between them, slamming into Glory's wrist and knocking the arm, regretfully intact, away. Glory yelled in pain and Dawn scrambled away just as fast as she could.

Glory looked up and snarled. Giles leveled his sword, the point just a few inches from her face. "Stop that," he said calmly.

I know, I know, it's short, but I've got this last battle to choreograph, then it's time for the denoument. Damn I hate finishing things.

Oo, connie. I like it. Especially Giles.

JS, what's your LJ user name? It was sweet of you to leave a comment for me. I've been absolutely giddy about all of the positive feedback I've been getting.

Connie, this:

"Stop that," he said calmly.

is perfect Giles. I can't wait to see what happens as you wind things up.

Anne, I'm "hereward" on LJ. I'm glad to hear that you are pleased with your feedback. I hope it is part of your inspiration to write more! [grin]

Reponse to Cindy's half-hour challenge. Pretty much straight through.

Buffy opened the door slowly, the chain on, wanting to see before she was seen.

For a moment, she didn't quite believe it. "Wesley?"

He nodded. "Buffy, we need to talk."

"About what?" she asked.

"What's happening. The prophecy. Everything," he said, and leaned on the doorframe. "Can I come in, Buffy, please? I've been on the road for three days, looking for you."

"I didn't want to be easy to find," she told him, but she took the chain off and stood back. "Are you sure you're not a vampire?"

In silence, he walked past her. "It wouldn't matter if I was. This isn't your home."

"Closest thing I've got," she shrugged. "It does. Bed, chair, space to swing an axe in."

"You're still practising, then? That's good," he said, without waiting for an answer. "We'll need that."

"Okay, Wes. Square with me. What's going on?"

"Guess." She looked at him, taking in the unshaven chin, the haunted eyes, and the ragged clothes.

"Big war, lots of fighting, time for a Slayer to save the world?"

"That's right."

"Well, you can go and find yourself some other girl. There's thousands out there with Slayer powers now; I'm no better than any of them."

"None of them have your... experience."

"Then they can get some. I have stuff to do."

"Like what, Buffy? Stamp on cockroaches?"

"For example," she agreed, putting her booted foot on one that had haplessly crawled out from under a cupboard. "And a job to go to-- waitressing-- and a free evening class. That sort of thing."

Wesley simply looked at her.

"Nothing I can't leave if I have to, but I'd rather not. You never answered my question."

"I can tell you the details in the car. We have to be going."

"No, we don't."

"I'll never understand," Wesley sighed, "how Giles put up with you."

"He saw my inner light," Buffy said, facetiously.

"I'm sure. In short, then: Angel Investigations has taken over Wolfram and Hart. Angel can't deal with running something that large. Gunn's quit. Fred can't be dragged out of her lab. Cordy can't be dragged out of her coma. There's a prophecy that says Spike will come back from wherever he's gone. It goes on to say that he will cause an apocalypse, but it doesn't say how."

"I don't see what I can do to help." Buffy suddenly became aware that they were still just standing there, inside the door. She moved to sit down.

"No, Buffy," Wesley said, and she changed her mind, turning back towards him. "You can lead, Buffy. You can get the Watcher's Council to help us. You can get Willow to help us. The younger Slayers will follow you."

She shook her head, and flopped into the musty armchair. "Wrong, Wesley. I can't lead, they won't follow, Willow's gone her own way, and there is no Watcher's Council. Go back to your law firm and think of someone else to ask."

"Buffy, there is nobody else. You have to help me."

"No, I don't. You have to help you."

"I'm sorry?"

"You really aren't," Buffy said. "I mean, if none of the others can lead, then you'll have to. It's the only reason anyone's ever followed me: none of them could lead."

"I can't."

"That's what I thought."

"Okay, Buffy, you don't want to help, that's fine." He put his hand on the doorknob.

"You don't get it, do you?" Buffy said, standing again. "I am helping you. I'm telling you what I've learnt. You were in charge of Angel Investigations, weren't you? I remember Willow telling me something about that. You can take charge, if that's what's needed."

He nodded, as if he got it, and opened the door. "Will you come with me? Show me how?"

"I already did that," she said, and shut the door in his face.

edited following a spellcheck

nothing like the Conan the Barbarian soundtrack to kickstart a battle scene. Very close to the end now. Then I can start the sequels.

Giles blinked. "Ben's Glory?"

"Been there, done that," Buffy said.

"Do you have a plan for finishing this?"

She licked her lips. "No."

Glory charged Giles, ducking underneath the swordblade. He barely managed to roll out of the way of the claws that were aimed at his face.

Buffy ran to Dawn, who was still on the ground, staring in disbelief, and she yanked her sister to her feet. "Get in there," she snapped, pushing Dawn towards the chapel.

"Buffy--"

"Go! Go check on Mom."

Dawn gasped and nodded, then took off as fast as long legs could take her.

Giles spun and slashed at Glory. The blade caught her but did not break the skin. Instead of trying for cuts, Giles began using the sword as a very narrow club, chopping at Glory.

Buffy watched for several seconds, ramping up her perceptions from human to Slayer. Then she dove into the god vs. vampire brawl, landing a kick that knocked Glory straight into Giles' backhand slash. Glory turned on Buffy, giving Giles a clear shot at Glory's head. Glory stumbled, and Giles gave Buffy a tight smile. He'd shifted into game face, but she couldn't help grinning back. Then they moved in again.

Every time Glory tried to shift her attack, either Buffy or Giles countered her. Glory made no attempt to escape, wanting only to cause damage. She managed to get hold of Buffy's arm and twisted, driving Buffy painfully to her knees.

"Aren't you happy you're stuck with me?" Glory hissed into Buffy's ear, yanking on the arm. "I bet you'll come apart easier than a vampire."

"You'll not be finding out!" Giles kicked Glory in the side, and she fell back, but without letting go of Buffy. Buffy yelled as her shoulder was nearly dragged out of its socket. Before Glory could recover, Giles stomped with all his power on her wrist. Glory screamed in pain and let go. Giles grabbed Buffy and pulled her out of reach.

"Will you be all right?" he asked anxiously. She nodded impatiently, clutching her shoulder. They both looked up at a strange sound. Glory was whimpering in pain.

The hellgod sat on the ground, cradling her wrist. From the angle, it was severely broken. She stared at her injury, shaking her head. "You can't. It's impossible. You can't hurt me. You can't." Her body morphed several times to Ben's, and then back, the pain-filled voice shifting as well from male to female.

Giles nodded. "Excellent. She's beginning to lose hold. Let's finish this." He started to move, but paused when Buffy didn't move. "Buffy?"

She stared at her foe, watching the transformations. For moments on end, Ben's face stared at her, and she could only think of him shyly asking her out for coffee. Then Glory would be back, mad and desperate and needing to be stopped. "I don't think I can . . ."

"What?"

"He's Ben, he's human." She glared at him. "I'm not supposed to hurt humans, that's what you taught me. Can I help it if some lessons took?"

Giles started to argue, then thought better. "Well, then, you hit her when she's Glory, and I'll hit him when he's Ben. Buffy, we can't give her time to recover."

"I know . . ." She stared at his vampiric face. When he'd been a Fyarl, she'd known him by his eyes. It was his voice that confused her now, reasonable, concerned, Gilesian. He hadn't quite gotten the knack of sounding like himself past fangs, but he wasn't far off. She wanted to ask him to change back, but that was encouraging a lie. She needed to see this face and try to figure it out later, how his face could scream enemy while his voice still said friend.

"Buffy . . ." His voice was patient, but firm, sounding like a thousand training and consultation sessions.

She nodded and looked away, unable to listen to that voice from that face. "I know. Let's do it."

They moved. It was Glory, all pretense at rationality gone from her eyes, who rose to meet them, so Buffy hit first. Even a one-handed god still had some power, and she barely staggered as the blow landed. Two more punches brought out Ben, though. He saw Giles' sword coming and flinched, catching the edge on his shoulder instead of in the throat. Buffy grabbed his arms, gasping an apology as she tried to immobilize him. Glory reappeared and wriggled free, headbutting Buffy squarely in the nose.

Giles punched Glory in the belly, bringing his knee up to catch her face on its way down as she doubled over. More blood flowed, but Glory could do no more than gasp in horror before Buffy recovered and joined Giles. They drove Glory to her knees. Giles dropped his sword, the quarters being too close for decent swings. Buffy hesitated a little when Ben surfaced, showing the bruises of the beating Glory was taking, but Giles continued, never blinking as the face beneath his blows kept changing.

Then it was Ben's face that appeared and stayed as he slowly sank to his knees. Buffy managed to redirect Giles' fist as the young human man lay on the ground, whimpering on every breath.

"Enough!" she snapped, glaring back at yellow demon eyes. "He's down! She's gone!"

"No, she's not."

"She's gone enough! Look at him!" Maybe not the wisest of instructions to a vampire. Giles stared down at the bloody human, and Buffy could have sword she saw him lick his lips very briefly. "Anyway, even if she comes back, she's going to be too weak to do anything. You said it yourself, she's losing control. She won't be able to hang on to the form long enough to do anything. Besides," she added, "the sun's going to be shining in here before too much longer."

Reminded, Giles looked anxiously at the sky and winced. He glanced back at Ben, undecided.

Buffy crouched down closer to Ben. "I am so sorry," she said, trying to find an unbattered part of him to touch comfortingly. "But we had to stop her. We'll find a way for you to control her, I promise. She can't last much longer. Can you hear me?" She shifted position so he could look at her without moving his head. "We'll help you."

Ben might have nodded, he might have been trembling in shock. But he managed something approximating a smile.

She straightened with a wince and reached for her bleeding nose. "Ow." Then she reached for her shoulder. "Ow again."

"You should rest," Giles said quietly. "Get those injuries seen to. And I imagine someone's mother is rather anxious to see her daughter."

Buffy turned towards the chapel door, forgetting her wounds. Dawn and Joyce stood in the doorway, holding on to each other, looking both horrified and relieved. Buffy took a step towards them, then glanced back over her shoulder. "You should get under cover."

"I will. Go on."

She ran to her family. Joyce was incoherent with worry and happiness, trying to hug Buffy without letting go of Dawn. Dawn clung to her sister, not even bothering to try to speak as she cried.

Willow came up carefully, not wanting to interrupt but carefully reaching out anyway to touch Buffy's arm. Buffy looked up and blinked away tears. "Hey, Will," she whispered, taking her hand.

"Hey, Buffy. How was your trip?"

"Kind of dull, actually. How was your night?" Willow stuttered then went silent, but Buffy had already looked beyond Willow to Tara. "Hi. I got your call. I'm glad you're OK."

Tara smiled. "I'm glad it worked. We should pack your nose before it swells too much more."

Buffy almost reached for her nose, but it hurt too much to touch. "Is it broken? Am I going to look like a field hockey player?" Dawn giggled from where she was tucked in tight between her mother and her sister.

Spike stepped forward a little from the shadows, but not too far. "Nah, should be fine, but you'll bruise up impressively. It'll look like you went a few rounds with a god."

Buffy nearly smiled at him, then frowned at the bandage around his neck. "What happened to you?" She looked around the chapel. Xander was sitting in a front pew, staring at the floor in front of his feet and not paying attention to anyone else. She checked everyone again, worried now. "Where's Anya?"

Everyone went very still, then Spike took a slow, reluctant breath. Something outside caught his attention before he could speak, and his eyes went very wide. "What the hell?"

Giles glanced at the encroaching sunlight, gauging the time, then he went over and picked up his sword. He brushed the dirt off the grip, then cleaned the blade with a corner of his shirt. Holding it loosely, he walked back to Ben, who had managed to raise himself a few inches and was pausing to catch his breath.

"A noble soul, Buffy," Giles said. "She sincerely believes in the curative powers of hope. She will offer help to anyone, all they need to do is ask." He shifted out of game face as he gazed down at the battered human. "But sometimes there is no help, no hope. I think you know that."

Ben managed to look up at him. "I can try . . ."

"You can't control her, we've only driven her back. I have no idea how long it will take her to fade away. As you recover, so she will recover. And so she will be back. And she will try to kill my Slayer again, in revenge for everything that was taken away. No."

Ben barely had time to blink before Giles raised his sword and swung down.

"Giles!" Buffy shrieked from the chapel door, but the head was already on the ground, rocking slightly. Blood gushed out of the body as it convulsed and transformed one more time, leaving Glory's corpse laying in the dirt.

"Requiescat in pace," Giles said softly.

Buffy ran up and gasped in horror before she turned away with her hands over her mouth. "Oh, god, how could you? How could you?" The others were approaching, though more hesitantly.

"This doesn't require an audience," Giles called, cleaning his sword again.

Spike came up, looked at the pieces and shook his head. "You had to do this in front of everybody, Ripper? Come on, love," he said, putting his hands on Buffy's shoulders and urging her away. "None of your concern anymore, go on back in."

She pulled away and turned, tears on her face. "You had no right," she whispered. "We could have--"

Giles sighed and resheathed his sword. "Buffy, you are a hero. Your job is to save the world. And congratulations are in order, because, yet again, you've done just that. Well done." His tired smile was sincere. "But every hero needs a cleanup crew, people who will do the jobs the hero can't but which need to be done to make sure the hero's job stays done. I have always been a part of your cleanup crew, and as long as I walk this earth, I shall continue to be so. Whether you want me to or not."

She shook her head. "This was wrong. We might have been able to save him . . ."

"No. If there was enough Ben left to save, it wouldn't be Glory lying here now." He glanced up at the sky again. "I do apologize for leaving this mess for others to deal with, but time is against me." He looked at Spike and frowned. "What happened to you?"

Spike grabbed his arm to pull him towards the bus. "Long night, long story." He hesitated and turned back to Buffy. "I'd take care of this for you if I could, but . . ."

She shook her head without looking at him. After a moment he continued to the bus with Giles. Buffy kept her eyes away from Glory's body, but she couldn't avoid any of the other bodies lying around the courtyard. "It was supposed to be over," she whispered. "Now what do we do?"

just some loose ends to prune, a bit of foreshadowing angst to shade in, and we're there. Finally.

connie, that's fantastic. I love it.