" Buffy." " Keep moving." "I can't." "I really hate it when people touch my things." " Last words, slay-runt?" " Just one." "Truck." " No." "Not now, you idiot." " Let go of my body." "Oh, God." "And then, whoosh!" "All of a sudden Glory's standing in front of us, skanky and blonde and thinkin' she's all that cos some bumpy heads kiss her stinky feet..." "She does have nice feet." "She's coming at us and Buffy's standing there, not even blinking, like "Bring it on" and... wham!" " Hell-bitch in orbit." " Go, Buff." "I knew you'd best Glory." "Our years of training..." "A truck hit her." "You threw it at her?" "Well, no." "She more kind of waited for it to hit Glory." "But then Buffy ran really fast and we got away." "I don't know how." "That truck couldn't have slowed her down for more than a second." "Well, how isn't important." "All that matters is that the two of you are safe." "Safe?" "We've barely managed not getting seriously dead every time we've crossed paths." "Nowthat she knows that Dawn is the Key...?" "There must be something in the Book of Tarnis that we can use against Glory." "Piano." "Because that's what we used to kill that big demon that one time." "No, that was a rocket launcher." "What are you talkin' about?" "We should drop a piano on her." "It works for that cartoon rabbit running from that nice man with the speech impediment." "Or we could paint a convincing tunnel on the side of a mountain." "Let's just keep thinking." " We'll reassemble at the magic shop, see if..." " Can't fight her." " Well, notyet, no..." " No, not ever." "She's too strong, Giles." "We won't win this with stakes, or spells, or pulling out some uranium power core." "She's a god and she's coming for us." "So let's not be here when she knocks." "Run away?" "Finally, a sensible plan." "That's not what she meant." "Is it?" "We can't stay here." "She'll just kill us one by one till there's no one between her and Dawn." "We understand the severity of this, but there must be another..." "No." "We stay, we die." "Show of hands for that option?" "All right." "Nobody goes home, nobody tells anybody we're leaving." "Just pack whatever supplies we need and we're gone." "Cool." "Don't have to study for that geometry test." "What about wheels?" "I don't think everybody'll fit in the Xandermobile." "Just getyour stuff together." "I'll handle the rest." "This is terrible." "I'll never be able to mend this." " Not really my colour, anyway." " Oh, yes." "Inappropriate humour." "Most amusing." "Don't suppose you know what led to this sartorial tragedy." " That's not how it works." " Yes." "Of course." "I just thought maybe after Her Magnificent Incandescence was returned to this manly and painfully handsome assemblage, you might have noticed something interesting." "A Key in human form, perhaps?" "Lounging about unattended?" " If I did, do you really think I would tell you?" " Why do you fight the inevitable?" "No one can stand against Her Blindingly Scrumptious Luminescence." "Glory." "Her name is Glory, and she's your god, you little scab, not mine." "With all due respect and fear of sharp objects, you exist, sir, only because of Her Divine Greatness." "You mean Her Divine Failure, don'tyou?" "I didn't ask for any of this." "I just wanna be normal." "We play the hand we're dealt." "Nothing's mine, is it?" "This life, this body, it's all infected." "The only thing I've ever cared about, she's taken away from me." " You know why I wanted to be a doctor?" " Flattering drawstring pants?" "To be close to people." "To witness their lives and their deaths, to be there alongside them, a part of everyday humanity." " Maybe it's the drugs." " Drugs, sir?" "Find the right combination, keep her buried." "Impossible." "Her Magnificence can never be fully contained." "She is a perfect, all-encompassing light, one you should feel honoured to be bathed in." "I'm thrilled." "Especially with the part where she gets her Key back and I cease to exist." "True, this oh-so-appealing form will of necessity be shrugged off." " Not if I get the Key first." " And if you did, what then?" "Could you do it?" "Take a human life with your own hands?" "Oblivion is such a small inconvenience in the service of a deity." "Acceptyour fate." "I mean, you said ityourself." "This life was never really yours anyway, was it?" "It doesn't matter how I came by it." "It's mine." "And I plan on keeping it." " Anybody else feel that?" " What?" " Cold draught of paralysing fear." " We just need to stay calm." " Calm." "Right." " We gotta be like Sergeant Rock." "Cool and collected in the face of overwhelming odds." "Overwhelming?" "How much more than whelming would that be exactly?" "Everything will be all right, we just need to stay here calmly." "As soon as Buffy arrives... we'll feel oddly worse." " What's he doing here?" " Just out for a jaunt." " Thought I'd swing by and say howdy." " Out." " He's here because we need him." " The hell we do." "He's the only one besides me with any chance of protecting Dawn." " Buffy, come on..." " Look, this isn't a discussion." "He stays." "Get over it." "Buckle up, kids." "Daddy's puttin' the hammer down." "Sign here." "OK, that should do it." "See?" "Did I not tell you how easy it would be for us to..." "My pen." "The trees are singing water." " You have him." " Yes, General." " Our brother has returned to the fold." " Welcome home, Orlando." "I swear by my sword your sacrifice will not go unavenged." "Shiny." "Yes, I suppose it is." "Pretty little girl, she's shiny too." "Watch him, make sure he's comfortable." "So shiny." "Pretty little shiny Key." "The Key?" "You've seen it?" "Pretty little shiny girl." "The monks, they've made it human." "We knowthe Slayer's protecting the Key." "If what Orlando says is true..." " Prepare to advance." " Yes, sir." "We end this now." "Shouldn't somebody be asking "Are we there yet"?" "Isn't that what small irritating children do?" "That kinda only works if you know where you're going." "Do we know where we're going yet?" "We'd be somewhere if Captain Slowpoke would give up the wheel." "Gramps, bloody step on it." "Step on what?" "I've driven tricycles with more power." " Is anybody else queasy?" " He doesn't travel well." "He's like fine shrimp." "I should've nicked that Porsche." "There's just enough room for me, you, and big sis." " What?" " Would you give it a rest, or..." " Or you'll toss your cookies on my shoes?" " Or you can be undead man walking." "See howfastyou can hitch a ride with a flaming thumb." "Fine." "Shrimp." "That guy is bloodsuckin' the last nerve outta me." "Well, Buffy has a point." "In a confrontation, Spike may prove... useful." "I don't know if Buffy's thinkin' too clear on that one, or anything else right now." " I've never seen her so..." " She's been through more than her fair share." "She just needs a chance to catch her breath, regroup." " She'll be all right." " Yeah." "She'll..." "Yeah." "Any luck?" "If you define luck as the absence of success, plenty." "There's a couple of barrier spells, but they only work on fixed locus." "I haven't found anything that'll work while we're moving." "So pretty." "Can I have one?" "Come on." " Anyone hungry?" " Snacks." "The secret to any successful migration." "Who's up for some tasty fried meat products?" "Tara, no." "What did I tell you?" "I'm sorry." "She didn't mean to." "She doesn't know what she's doing." " We know." " No biggie." "The skin's already stopped smokin'." "You go ahead and play peekaboo with Mr Sunshine all you like." "Keeps the ride from getting boring." "All the light's gone." "No, baby." "The light's still outside, OK?" "All dark." "All dark." " Dark." " All dark." "Soon." "Soon." "Soon." "It's coming." "The signs are in alignment." "Soon victory will be in our grasp." "All we need do is seize the moment and squeeze until it bleeds." "Hey." "I thinkAnya's gonna try to cook." "Wanna come watch the tears and recriminations?" "Maybe later." "Thanks." "For what?" "You know." "Pretty much everything." "Yeah." "I'm doin' a great job." "You are." "I'm the Slayer." "The Chosen One." "All mythic and defender-y." "Evil nasties are supposed to flee from me." "Not the other way around." "You're not fleeing." "You're moving at a brisk pace." "Quaintly referred to in some cultures as the big scaredy runaway." "It's the most amazing thing anyone's ever done for me." "It just keeps coming." "Glory," "Riley," "Tara," "Mom." "I know." "But there's a bright side." " There is?" " At least things can't get any crazier." "Right?" "You knowthis is your fault for saying that." "Armando." "Bring up the ranks." "Advance." " Giles." " I see them." "See who?" "Arrows." "They're throwing arrows." "Dawn, get down under the table." "Horsies." "Tara." " Weapons?" " Hello." "You're driving one." " Don't hit the horsies." " We won't." "Aim for the horsies." "Did we shake 'em?" "Stay low." "Watch out for..." "Now might be a good time for something heroic." "Xander." "Hatch." "Up." " Keep the pressure on." " I always do, sweet bit." "Not a piano, but hey." "Everyone all right?" " We gotta find shelter." " Yeah, bloody quick." "I'm burnin' up out here." "Careful." "Spike." "Careful." "Up." " OK." "Will?" " I'm on it." "Careful." " Are you sure you're OK?" " Yeah." "But Spike's hurt." " Easy with the delicates." " They'll heal." "Florence bloody Nightingale to the rescue." "You have a plan, right?" "One that doesn't involve pointy knives and a Winnebago?" "We'll rest here for a minute, then we have to move." " Where?" " I don't know." "We can't stay here." "It's too close to the wreck." "We're too easy to find." " Buffy." " Will, how is he?" " Will?" " I think I've slowed the bleeding, but..." "OK, just give me a minute." "Dawn, get down." "We got company." "And they brought a crusade." " Willow." " I'm working on it." "Go." "Come on, let's move." "Come on, move it." "Buffy." "The Key." "Enemies, fly and fall." "Circling arms, raise a wall." "They have the General." "Clerics." " Energy barrier." "A most powerful one." " Can it be breached?" "The witch's magic pales to the might of our god." "The infidel's wall shall tumble before us." "Will?" "How long will it hold?" "Half a day, maybe." "Or until Heckle and Jeckle punch a hole through it." "So, what's the story with these role-playing rejects?" "Let's find out." "You sure Scarface can hablathe English?" "He understands me." "Don'tyou?" " You were warned we would return, Slayer." " Took you long enough." "What are you supposed to be, some kind of chief?" "General." "In charge of what, getting captured?" "You do not frighten me, child." "The instrument of chaos must be destroyed." "Look at her that way again, and she will be the last thing you ever see." "As I've been told, you protect the Key of the Beast." " It's not that simple." " Yes." "The Key has been transformed, given breath, life." "Yet this makes no difference." "The Key is the link." "The link must be severed." "Such is the will of God." "She doesn't remember anything about being this Key you're all looking for." "The only thing she remembers is growing up with a mother and a sister that love her." "What kind of god would demand her life for something that she has no control over?" "We are notyour enemy." "Tell your men to stand down." "No." "It is not her fault." "She's human now." "The Key is too dangerous to be allowed to exist, no matter what form it has been pressed into." "I will not let anyone tell me..." " What happened?" " I don't know." "She just went nuts." "Time." "Time." "Time." "Tara?" "Tara." "We have to do something." "She can't just stay this way." " Buffy." " Time." "Time." "Time." "Time." "Time." "No, it's not time for your med." "Just lie back and..." " Doctor." "Doctor McCarthy." " Time." " It's time." " No." "There's nothing to fear, my brother." "The Beast may have taken your mind, but I swear to you, she will never knowthe taste of your heart." "Clerics." "I want the witch's barrier down." "Now." " I'm sorry." " What for?" "We should've stayed." "If we had, none of this would have happened." "Don't." "Whatyou did was necessary." "What I've always admired." "Running away?" "Being able to place your heart above all else." "I'm so proud of you." "You've come so far." "You're everything a watcher... everything I could have hoped for." "Willow." "Open a door." "Speak." " My friend was hurt when you attacked us." " Ten of my men are dead." "Honourable men." "Shall we balance the scale?" "Will you let someone come and help him or not?" "Give quarter to an agent of the Beast?" "What madness would move me to such action?" " I'm done asking." " Whoa." "This is war, isn't it?" "And if there's one thing I've learned from Sergeant Rock, it is in war, there are rules." "Or at least there should be, if you're as honourable as you think you are." "Plus, we do have your General Forehead Guy." "Discharge and bring life." "Handier than a Swiss knife." "Look, the door to my crypt's got this nasty squeak, maybe you could..." "Hey." "It's Buffy." "I need to ask you a really big favour." "You forgot to mention the costume party outside." "Sorry." "I didn't know who else to call." "No, it's OK." "I mean, yeah, not how I pictured seeing you again, but I'll take what I can get." "Thank you for coming." "My pleasure." "I think I got him stabilised, but there's a lot of damage." "We need to get him outta here." "I thinkthe guys with the pointy swords kinda have other ideas." "Don't they always." "I knowthis must seem extra Outer Limitsto you." "I've seen things you wouldn't believe." "You know, emergency room, full moon on a Saturday night." "Look, if this gets too weird, just tell me." "I'll understand." "Don't worry about me." "I won't leave until I've worn out my welcome." "Thanks." "You know, those things'll kill you." "Oh." "Right." "I mention today how much I don't like you?" "Might've let it slip in once or twice." "How're your feelers?" "It's nothing compared to the little bits we'll get chopped into when they kickthe door in." " And here we bloody sit." " It's not like we got much of a choice." "We could make a break for it." "Use General Armour-All as a shield, get to the doc's car..." "Great plan." "While all the hacking and slashing's goin' on, what are you gonna do?" " Throw migraines at 'em?" " Look, we stay here, we all die." " At least this way, some of us might get..." " No." "We're all gonna make it." "I'm not losing anyone." "Checkthe supplies." "See if anyone's hungry." "Dissension in the ranks." "Seldom a harbinger of glad tidings." "Shut up." "Poor frightened girl." "You've no idea what you've gotten yourself into." " Why don'tyou tell me?" " Would it make a difference?" "What do you know of the Beast?" "Strong." "Fast." "Hell god." " From a dimension of unspeakable torment." " A demon dimension." "I know." "She ruled with two other Hell gods." "They were a triumvirate of suffering and despair." "Ruling with equal vengeance." "But the Beast's power grew beyond even what they could conceive." "As did her lust for pain and misery." "They looked upon her, what she had become, and trembled." " A god afraid?" " Such was her power." "They feared she would attempt to seize their dimension for herself, and decided to strike first." "A great battle erupted." "In the end, they stood victorious over the Beast." "Barely." "She was cast out." "Banished to this lower plane of existence, forced to live and eventually die trapped within the body of a mortal." "A newborn male, created as her prison." "That is the Beast's only weakness." "Kill the man and the god dies." "Unfortunately, the identity of the human vessel has never been discovered." "I don't understand." "I've seen Glory." "Not a lot goin' on in the hairy-chest department." "You have seen a glimpse of the true Beast." "Her power was too great to be contained." "She's found a way to escape her mortal prison for brief periods before her energies are exhausted and she's forced back into her cell of meat and bone." "What about me?" " What about the Key?" " Dawn." " I want to know." " The Key is almost as old as the Beast itself." "Where it came from, how it was created:" "the deepest of mysteries." "All that is certain is that its power is absolute." "Countless generations of my people have sacrificed their lives in search of it, to destroy it before its wrath could be unleashed." " But the monks found it first." " Yes, and hid it with their magics." "Why didn't they just destroy it?" "If it's so dangerous..." "They were fools." "They thought they could harness its power for the forces of light." "They failed, and paid with their blood." "What do I do?" "What was I created for?" "You were created to open the gates that separate dimensions." "The Beast will use your power to return home and seize control of the Hell she was banished from." "That's it?" "That's Glory's master plan?" "To go home?" "You misunderstand." "Once the Key is activated, it won't just open the gates to the Beast's dimension." "It's going to open all the gates." "The walls separating realities will crumble." "Dimensions will bleed into each other." "Order will be overthrown and the universe will tumble into chaos." "All dark." "For ever." "That is whatyou were created for." "Dawn." "You think it's true?" "What he said?" "I don't know." "Destroyer of the universe." "Guess cutting school doesn't seem so bad now." "It's notyou." "You knowthat." "But it's in me, isn't it?" "It's inside me." "What are we gonna do?" "I won't let anything happen to you." "I promise." "Wriggling." "Come on, Tara, you have to eat something." " Want me to try?" " I don't know." "I'm gettin' used to picking' food out of my hair." "You." "You are not a part of this, are you?" " Just a friend of the family." " Would you die for them?" "That is what will happen if you align yourself with the Slayer and her misguided people." "It's my life, and I'll do what I please with it." "It's not justyour life." "Unimaginable legions will perish, including everyone here." "You can stop this." "You can save all their lives by ending one." "The little girl." "The Key." "Destroy it, and the will of the Beast will be broken, she will fade." "A distant memory." "And all of this madness will end." " Sorry." " Is..." " Is he gonna be OK?" " He was hurt pretty bad, Dawn." "It's because of me." " It's all my fault." " No, it isn't." "You don't know what's happening." "I don't have to." "I just knowthat sometimes terrible things happen to good people." "It shouldn't, but it does." "It's nobody's fault." "It's just the way life is." "Is that gonna help?" "Ben?" " You have to let me out." " Ben?" " I gotta get out." "Open a door now." " What happened?" " I don't know, he just freaked out." " Let me out." " OK." "Will, open a door." " No." "What do you know?" "Little Ben finally did something right." "The Beast." "Hey, it's Gregor." "Now it's not." "Buffy." " The Beast." "Prepare to attack." " Great." "Attack." "Dawn." "Willow." "Get it down, now." "Hear my plea." "Circling arms protecting me." "We have to..." "The Beast." "The car." "Get the keys." "Buffy, we have to find Dawn." "We can't let Glory..." "Buffy." "Buffy." "Buffy, you have to get up." "We need you."