A
Altoz
Guest
HAMMERFELL PARK: May 2002:
Doug felt the pain like a body blow and his eyes filled with tears as he realised what had happened. Willow swallowed as the impressions reached her a moment later:
"Giles?!"
"Meers. It's Meers. He...he killed Rupert. No. It's all right, Willow. I'll be okay.:"
"But given what you told me about the dao shengbang spell, Buffy has to kill three people to balance that out."
"No. I can't feel Meers darkness anymore, or whatever possessed him. It's gone somewhere else. Willow, find Jonathan Levinson."
"I noticed that. He's not emanating darkmagick like Meers did and like Andrew Wells...still is."
"I hate to say this, but you may need to protect him from Buffy."
"But it'll mean leaving you here. I've already lost two friends tonight. I won't lose another."
Doug shook his head: "I may not punch in your weight class, Willow, but I can look after myself. Go. Jonathan needs you more than I do. Those two may be cold blooded killers but it feels like Levinson wouldn't let himself be corrupted by whatever's possessing the others." Willow teleported away as Doug headed through the forest.
Abruptly the tree nearest him burst into flame and a fusillade of fireballs rained down on him. He warded them off as he saw the younger blond man levitating in the air above him:
"Andrew Wells, I presume?"
"Well, well. The little Watcher boy. Mmm, cute too."
Doug rolled his eyes as he rose up to meet the intruder:
"Sorry, I don't date across the morality barrier. And from what Willow and Tara told me, Wells was a closet case anyway. Who are you, really?"
Andrew Wells- or the power that was puppetting him -sneered in response:
"Your friend and mentor Giles died a few minutes ago. Are you really so ready to join him?"
Doug said coldly: "You won't provoke me. I'm too disciplined for that. Hell yeah, part of me wants to kick your sorcerous arse from here to oblivion, but that's not going to interfere with my judgement. You're not fighting a fledgeling here, darkmage."
Wells gave a malicious grin: "Bring it on!" With that, he sent another energy burst toward Doug, which the other effortlessly parried and responded with a fusillade of debris, which Wells directed toward him, which Doug pulverised. Then Wells sent birds against the wiccan, who overrode their aggression with a strong feline mental image and they fled in panic. Then the two men engaged in a contest of energies with one another, whitefire against ebon corruption as they griited their teeth, gestured and concentrated on bringing the other down.
Meanwhile, Willow had found Jonathan:
"We need to talk. But...thank you."
"No offence, but I thought you might be the one to go dark."
"At times, last year, I thought so too. I almost fell over the edge. If it wasn't for Tara, I would have. But Buffy... I made a mistake bringing her back. And it's cost us all so much."
"I can hardly believe it. She's the slayer. I thought she was made of iron."
"Her outside, yes. Her inside? She's still a woman. Inappropriate relationship with Spike. And with Xander's death..."
"I'm so sorry about that. He was a good man. I'll miss him."
"Why did you get mixed up with those two in the first place?"
"Andrew wasn't like Warren, not to begin with. I suppose it was a question of power. And then I realised, they were getting in over their heads. I wasn't prepared to do that, so exit stage left."
RAVELLO DRIVE:
Dawn had heard a sound from her sister's room. Leaving Tara asleep on the couch, she tentatively entered it: "Buffy?"
"Hello, Key."
Dawn swallowed and backed away: "What's gotten into you?"
"You know, you almost sound human. Now is not a good time, if you want me to play sister."
"It's me, Dawn. Why are you behaving like this? I loved Xander too. And Spike... I don't know what you had with him, but.... Listen to me, Buffy. You're only going to make things worse."
"You don't belong here. You're just some mystical ball of energy. You're not my real sister. I'm an only child. I have no sister."
"That's enough, Buffy. You're a strong woman, you're more powerful than this."
"Don't interfere with this, Tara."
"You need to back down, Buffy. You're attacking your own sister, now? Dawn, get out of here. Go! You're still Buffy."
"Yes. Buffy, the lovable loser, always getting into inappropriate relationships with men, live or undead. Angel. Riley. Spike. You want to know something, Tara? Recently, I really only felt alive when Spike looked at me, touched me, caressed me. But he'll never do that again, because that bastard Meers murdered him."
"You need help. We're all friends here. If you'd sacrificed Dawn, it would only be the start-"
"Enough!" Buffy tried to get past Tara, but found herself in a labyrinth:
"You're not getting to Dawn. Leave. Now."
"This isn't over. I will be back here. I will take her." Buffy stalked away as, sobbing, Dawn let Tara hold her, rocking backward and forward.
HAMMERFELL PARK:
"You're under the delusion that you're still relevant here?" Wells snarled, as the intensity of energy at his disposal increased. Doug was now visibly tiring:
"Temper, temper."
"You're not up to this, Mercer and you know it. You and your boy scout whitewicca whitewash of the craft."
"Because this is the real craft, the real heart of wicca. You're not even Andrew Wells. You're something that possessed him."
"Something stronger than you!"
Finally, Wells broke through and for an agonising moment, Doug was silhouetted against the sky and then he fell. He tried to cushion his impact but he fell heavily on his arm. Wells descended, knelt down and kissed the wiccan warrior:
"Shame about this."
"If you think I'm going to beg for mercy, dream on. I'm not afraid to die."
"Good. I'm glad that's ...settled..." Then blood flowed out of Wells' mouth and his eyes glazed over and he pitched forward:
"Buffy?"
"Sorry, Mercer. I'm not taking orders from the Watchers any more."
"Oh, come on. You really think I'm that lily white?"
"Nice moves up there, by the way.:
"This is an ancient Chinese curse, the dao shingbeng. Listen to me. It involves three people killed to provoke and in return you kill three more to balance that. You've already killed Meers and Wells. You won't get to Levinson."
"Who's going to stop me, Mercer? You?" With that, Buffy strode away into the forest. Doug eased himself up onto his feet, grimaced and limping, made his way after Buffy, stopping to tie his arm.
[Doug, Willow? Buffy's heading for Hangman's Bluff.]
HANGMANS BLUFF:
"I'm not going to give up without a fight."
"Good. Because neutered as you are, you can't stop me."
"You will not kill an innocent man. I can and will protect him. Don't do this, Buffy, it's a perversion of everything you fought for."
"I know you, Willow. It's been good."
"I can and will stop you, Buffy"
Then Jonathan Levinson got up from the rock where he was sitting, stated simply:
"Stagno." Immobilised, Willow froze into position as Jonathan stood, unbuttoned his shirt and knelt before Buffy:
"I'm here, slayer. Where you want me."
"Buffy, no!!!" Doug called as he stumbled into the clearing. But Jonathan raised his head,
Buffy smiled malevolently and raised the sacrificial dagger above her head, ready to bring it down. But then, something stopped her. She gritted her teeth and tried to follow through, but something was stopping her. High above, the Inverted Chalice constellation was occluded as it passed behind a cosmic dust cloud. Buffy dropped the dagger, sank to her feet and started to cry as the spell broke. Willow unfroze and gently took Buffy in her arms. Then she started to cry, for the memory of an old friend who had met her at kindergarten when she had broken a yellow crayon. Doug was crying too as the ordeal and exhaustion of the last few days got to him. He turned to go:
"Doug? Get over here. You're hurting too. You need this too. For Giles." At the mention of his beloved friend and mentor's name, Doug's reserve broke. He closed the distance and joined the two women in a close embrace. It was over. Around them, the sun rose and they noticed the flowers around them for the first time in days.
END OF AU SEASON SIX
Doug felt the pain like a body blow and his eyes filled with tears as he realised what had happened. Willow swallowed as the impressions reached her a moment later:
"Giles?!"
"Meers. It's Meers. He...he killed Rupert. No. It's all right, Willow. I'll be okay.:"
"But given what you told me about the dao shengbang spell, Buffy has to kill three people to balance that out."
"No. I can't feel Meers darkness anymore, or whatever possessed him. It's gone somewhere else. Willow, find Jonathan Levinson."
"I noticed that. He's not emanating darkmagick like Meers did and like Andrew Wells...still is."
"I hate to say this, but you may need to protect him from Buffy."
"But it'll mean leaving you here. I've already lost two friends tonight. I won't lose another."
Doug shook his head: "I may not punch in your weight class, Willow, but I can look after myself. Go. Jonathan needs you more than I do. Those two may be cold blooded killers but it feels like Levinson wouldn't let himself be corrupted by whatever's possessing the others." Willow teleported away as Doug headed through the forest.
Abruptly the tree nearest him burst into flame and a fusillade of fireballs rained down on him. He warded them off as he saw the younger blond man levitating in the air above him:
"Andrew Wells, I presume?"
"Well, well. The little Watcher boy. Mmm, cute too."
Doug rolled his eyes as he rose up to meet the intruder:
"Sorry, I don't date across the morality barrier. And from what Willow and Tara told me, Wells was a closet case anyway. Who are you, really?"
Andrew Wells- or the power that was puppetting him -sneered in response:
"Your friend and mentor Giles died a few minutes ago. Are you really so ready to join him?"
Doug said coldly: "You won't provoke me. I'm too disciplined for that. Hell yeah, part of me wants to kick your sorcerous arse from here to oblivion, but that's not going to interfere with my judgement. You're not fighting a fledgeling here, darkmage."
Wells gave a malicious grin: "Bring it on!" With that, he sent another energy burst toward Doug, which the other effortlessly parried and responded with a fusillade of debris, which Wells directed toward him, which Doug pulverised. Then Wells sent birds against the wiccan, who overrode their aggression with a strong feline mental image and they fled in panic. Then the two men engaged in a contest of energies with one another, whitefire against ebon corruption as they griited their teeth, gestured and concentrated on bringing the other down.
Meanwhile, Willow had found Jonathan:
"We need to talk. But...thank you."
"No offence, but I thought you might be the one to go dark."
"At times, last year, I thought so too. I almost fell over the edge. If it wasn't for Tara, I would have. But Buffy... I made a mistake bringing her back. And it's cost us all so much."
"I can hardly believe it. She's the slayer. I thought she was made of iron."
"Her outside, yes. Her inside? She's still a woman. Inappropriate relationship with Spike. And with Xander's death..."
"I'm so sorry about that. He was a good man. I'll miss him."
"Why did you get mixed up with those two in the first place?"
"Andrew wasn't like Warren, not to begin with. I suppose it was a question of power. And then I realised, they were getting in over their heads. I wasn't prepared to do that, so exit stage left."
RAVELLO DRIVE:
Dawn had heard a sound from her sister's room. Leaving Tara asleep on the couch, she tentatively entered it: "Buffy?"
"Hello, Key."
Dawn swallowed and backed away: "What's gotten into you?"
"You know, you almost sound human. Now is not a good time, if you want me to play sister."
"It's me, Dawn. Why are you behaving like this? I loved Xander too. And Spike... I don't know what you had with him, but.... Listen to me, Buffy. You're only going to make things worse."
"You don't belong here. You're just some mystical ball of energy. You're not my real sister. I'm an only child. I have no sister."
"That's enough, Buffy. You're a strong woman, you're more powerful than this."
"Don't interfere with this, Tara."
"You need to back down, Buffy. You're attacking your own sister, now? Dawn, get out of here. Go! You're still Buffy."
"Yes. Buffy, the lovable loser, always getting into inappropriate relationships with men, live or undead. Angel. Riley. Spike. You want to know something, Tara? Recently, I really only felt alive when Spike looked at me, touched me, caressed me. But he'll never do that again, because that bastard Meers murdered him."
"You need help. We're all friends here. If you'd sacrificed Dawn, it would only be the start-"
"Enough!" Buffy tried to get past Tara, but found herself in a labyrinth:
"You're not getting to Dawn. Leave. Now."
"This isn't over. I will be back here. I will take her." Buffy stalked away as, sobbing, Dawn let Tara hold her, rocking backward and forward.
HAMMERFELL PARK:
"You're under the delusion that you're still relevant here?" Wells snarled, as the intensity of energy at his disposal increased. Doug was now visibly tiring:
"Temper, temper."
"You're not up to this, Mercer and you know it. You and your boy scout whitewicca whitewash of the craft."
"Because this is the real craft, the real heart of wicca. You're not even Andrew Wells. You're something that possessed him."
"Something stronger than you!"
Finally, Wells broke through and for an agonising moment, Doug was silhouetted against the sky and then he fell. He tried to cushion his impact but he fell heavily on his arm. Wells descended, knelt down and kissed the wiccan warrior:
"Shame about this."
"If you think I'm going to beg for mercy, dream on. I'm not afraid to die."
"Good. I'm glad that's ...settled..." Then blood flowed out of Wells' mouth and his eyes glazed over and he pitched forward:
"Buffy?"
"Sorry, Mercer. I'm not taking orders from the Watchers any more."
"Oh, come on. You really think I'm that lily white?"
"Nice moves up there, by the way.:
"This is an ancient Chinese curse, the dao shingbeng. Listen to me. It involves three people killed to provoke and in return you kill three more to balance that. You've already killed Meers and Wells. You won't get to Levinson."
"Who's going to stop me, Mercer? You?" With that, Buffy strode away into the forest. Doug eased himself up onto his feet, grimaced and limping, made his way after Buffy, stopping to tie his arm.
[Doug, Willow? Buffy's heading for Hangman's Bluff.]
HANGMANS BLUFF:
"I'm not going to give up without a fight."
"Good. Because neutered as you are, you can't stop me."
"You will not kill an innocent man. I can and will protect him. Don't do this, Buffy, it's a perversion of everything you fought for."
"I know you, Willow. It's been good."
"I can and will stop you, Buffy"
Then Jonathan Levinson got up from the rock where he was sitting, stated simply:
"Stagno." Immobilised, Willow froze into position as Jonathan stood, unbuttoned his shirt and knelt before Buffy:
"I'm here, slayer. Where you want me."
"Buffy, no!!!" Doug called as he stumbled into the clearing. But Jonathan raised his head,
Buffy smiled malevolently and raised the sacrificial dagger above her head, ready to bring it down. But then, something stopped her. She gritted her teeth and tried to follow through, but something was stopping her. High above, the Inverted Chalice constellation was occluded as it passed behind a cosmic dust cloud. Buffy dropped the dagger, sank to her feet and started to cry as the spell broke. Willow unfroze and gently took Buffy in her arms. Then she started to cry, for the memory of an old friend who had met her at kindergarten when she had broken a yellow crayon. Doug was crying too as the ordeal and exhaustion of the last few days got to him. He turned to go:
"Doug? Get over here. You're hurting too. You need this too. For Giles." At the mention of his beloved friend and mentor's name, Doug's reserve broke. He closed the distance and joined the two women in a close embrace. It was over. Around them, the sun rose and they noticed the flowers around them for the first time in days.
END OF AU SEASON SIX