Taming the Muse Prompt 14, Dark Tower, BtVS, PG
Title: Dark Tower
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: #14 - Riptide
At: tamingthemuse
Warnings: Set during The Gift, so, character death.
Rating: Pg
Summary: A sort of companion piece to 'Fag Ends'
Note: Xander's spoken dialogue is taken from BtVS Episode 5:22, The Gift
Note 2: The prompt 'riptide' set me off into a world of watery metaphor. There is no point in swimming against a riptide. The way to escape is to swim at 45 degrees to the direction of the current, using it, instead of fighting it.
Dark Tower
In all the years, it had never been this bad. The sense of impending doom hovered over them like the proverbial black storm cloud. Xander felt like he was drowning, helpless in the face of this latest apocalypse. What was the plural of apocalypse, anyway? It was a question that shouldn't need asking. This one had felt different, almost from the start, coming in on the tide of all the other disasters of a more human nature. Xander had watched as Buffy's strength and certainty were slowly eroded over the weeks. He watched her struggling against the current, as one misfortune after another swamped her: her mother getting sick, being forced to drop out of college, Riley leaving, Joyce's death. It had been unnerving, seeing Buffy so willing to run, but after all that had happened it was understandable. And in the end it had been the wrong tactic, as ineffective as all their previous actions. They had barely got out of town, into the open waste of the desert, as stark and lonely as the ocean, before those role-play wannabes had turned up and harpooned Giles at the wheel. Then they were stuck with no help and no escape - the Knights, like sharks circling their beleaguered vessel, smelling the blood, just waiting for their time.
He still couldn't believe that they had actually invited their nemesis into their temporary sanctuary. That was when the tsunami struck and they lost Dawn. Glory had gone through them like a whirlwind and she had gone through the Knights like a tidal wave, leaving broken bodies as so much flotsam scattered across the sand. And now they were right back where they'd started.
Jolted back into the present by the shouting, Xander watched Giles really lose his cool and confront Buffy with the unthinkable. It was shocking to hear and, predictably, Buffy didn't want to hear it. That was what made Giles the adult - he knew how to voice the unspeakable. Xander tried to pin down the moment when, if they'd only done something different... Ben was Glory, Glory was Ben. His brain knew it, but the connection was imprecise - like a badly dovetailed joint, the concept was shaky. He had to keep repeating it, to even hold it in his mind - although it was not as fuzzy now as it had been. Glory's power was shifting. Glory was Ben.
Anya jumped in with an attempt to find something else, anything else. Xander looked up. "What about Ben?" he asked. "He can be killed, right? I mean, I know he's an innocent, but, you know, not like Dawn innocent. We could kill a ... regular guy." As his voice trailed off in self-disgust, he caught Willow's eye and saw her understanding of both the truth of his suggestion and its total impossibility.
Willow's idea, to delay the ceremony, did get them thinking. Then Anya produced the Dagon Sphere, and the hammer, and suddenly the atmosphere changed. They had a plan. And with it, they had some small measure of hope.
'That's my girl' he thought fondly. Anya was beautiful, and kind of weird, and very wonderful. "Smart chicks are soooo hot."
*****
They had waited, drifting with the flow, knowing that they could do nothing until the very last moment. Then they followed Tara into the night.
The first sight of the tower was awesome. Somehow crazy people seemed far less crazy when they acted together. Xander reckoned they were being directed by Glory's will. The Buffybot bought them some time, as did the Dagon Sphere. It slowed Glory a little, but not enough. Xander was too busy, himself, to snatch more than glances at the epic battle between Buffy and Glory in the tower, but even so, part of his brain was processing the site, noticing the equipment scattered around. When Buffy and Glory fell back to earth he began to really believe they had a chance and his construction site knowledge proved its usefulness, the wrecking ball weakening Glory just a little bit more.
He scrambled out of the cab of the crane and worked his way back to the main fight - it was a stand-off, except for Buffy and Glory, still battling hard, although it looked like Buffy had the upper hand at last. Willow's spell worked beautifully, sweeping the crazies out of the way and he watched Spike run for the tower. He turned back to the fight when a few of the crazy people began to get up again. Then Spike came crashing down, landing almost at Xander's feet and he realised that Spike had been right, there had to be someone else up there with Dawn. Buffy had finally knocked Glory over but she hardly paused. Dawn's scream reached them and she left Ben on the ground, running up the tower. He followed her progress for as long as he could, not wanting to look away but needing to also keep an eye on the mass of people gathering by the steps. He was just getting ready to renew the fight when they suddenly stopped and began to wander off.
Later he would realise that a part of him already knew what had happened and so wasn't surprised to see the adult among them climbing wearily to his feet. In that moment, just for a second, he dared to believe they might have won. He looked up, half expecting to see Buffy and Dawn beginning the long climb down. And his breath caught in his throat. The portal was open, its light casting the tower into sharp focus and, instead of watching a victorious return, he stood frozen as Buffy did the unimaginable. Her run, her leap and her beautiful swan dive were too incredible for his mind to process. Time slowed down and Buffy hung suspended in the crackling void. Then Anya was pushing him over and the world came crashing down.
So now they stood, a bedraggled band at the foot of the tower - alive and bereft. He hugged Anya tightly in his arms as he looked down at Buffy, too shocked to even think of crying. A slayer's life was always short. He'd read that many times in the library over the years. But the idea that that truth could ever apply to Buffy... She had dived in and stemmed the tide, drowning in the process, but ultimately saving the world, again. And Dawn was coming down the stairs alone.
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: #14 - Riptide
At: tamingthemuse
Warnings: Set during The Gift, so, character death.
Rating: Pg
Summary: A sort of companion piece to 'Fag Ends'
Note: Xander's spoken dialogue is taken from BtVS Episode 5:22, The Gift
Note 2: The prompt 'riptide' set me off into a world of watery metaphor. There is no point in swimming against a riptide. The way to escape is to swim at 45 degrees to the direction of the current, using it, instead of fighting it.
Dark Tower
In all the years, it had never been this bad. The sense of impending doom hovered over them like the proverbial black storm cloud. Xander felt like he was drowning, helpless in the face of this latest apocalypse. What was the plural of apocalypse, anyway? It was a question that shouldn't need asking. This one had felt different, almost from the start, coming in on the tide of all the other disasters of a more human nature. Xander had watched as Buffy's strength and certainty were slowly eroded over the weeks. He watched her struggling against the current, as one misfortune after another swamped her: her mother getting sick, being forced to drop out of college, Riley leaving, Joyce's death. It had been unnerving, seeing Buffy so willing to run, but after all that had happened it was understandable. And in the end it had been the wrong tactic, as ineffective as all their previous actions. They had barely got out of town, into the open waste of the desert, as stark and lonely as the ocean, before those role-play wannabes had turned up and harpooned Giles at the wheel. Then they were stuck with no help and no escape - the Knights, like sharks circling their beleaguered vessel, smelling the blood, just waiting for their time.
He still couldn't believe that they had actually invited their nemesis into their temporary sanctuary. That was when the tsunami struck and they lost Dawn. Glory had gone through them like a whirlwind and she had gone through the Knights like a tidal wave, leaving broken bodies as so much flotsam scattered across the sand. And now they were right back where they'd started.
Jolted back into the present by the shouting, Xander watched Giles really lose his cool and confront Buffy with the unthinkable. It was shocking to hear and, predictably, Buffy didn't want to hear it. That was what made Giles the adult - he knew how to voice the unspeakable. Xander tried to pin down the moment when, if they'd only done something different... Ben was Glory, Glory was Ben. His brain knew it, but the connection was imprecise - like a badly dovetailed joint, the concept was shaky. He had to keep repeating it, to even hold it in his mind - although it was not as fuzzy now as it had been. Glory's power was shifting. Glory was Ben.
Anya jumped in with an attempt to find something else, anything else. Xander looked up. "What about Ben?" he asked. "He can be killed, right? I mean, I know he's an innocent, but, you know, not like Dawn innocent. We could kill a ... regular guy." As his voice trailed off in self-disgust, he caught Willow's eye and saw her understanding of both the truth of his suggestion and its total impossibility.
Willow's idea, to delay the ceremony, did get them thinking. Then Anya produced the Dagon Sphere, and the hammer, and suddenly the atmosphere changed. They had a plan. And with it, they had some small measure of hope.
'That's my girl' he thought fondly. Anya was beautiful, and kind of weird, and very wonderful. "Smart chicks are soooo hot."
*****
They had waited, drifting with the flow, knowing that they could do nothing until the very last moment. Then they followed Tara into the night.
The first sight of the tower was awesome. Somehow crazy people seemed far less crazy when they acted together. Xander reckoned they were being directed by Glory's will. The Buffybot bought them some time, as did the Dagon Sphere. It slowed Glory a little, but not enough. Xander was too busy, himself, to snatch more than glances at the epic battle between Buffy and Glory in the tower, but even so, part of his brain was processing the site, noticing the equipment scattered around. When Buffy and Glory fell back to earth he began to really believe they had a chance and his construction site knowledge proved its usefulness, the wrecking ball weakening Glory just a little bit more.
He scrambled out of the cab of the crane and worked his way back to the main fight - it was a stand-off, except for Buffy and Glory, still battling hard, although it looked like Buffy had the upper hand at last. Willow's spell worked beautifully, sweeping the crazies out of the way and he watched Spike run for the tower. He turned back to the fight when a few of the crazy people began to get up again. Then Spike came crashing down, landing almost at Xander's feet and he realised that Spike had been right, there had to be someone else up there with Dawn. Buffy had finally knocked Glory over but she hardly paused. Dawn's scream reached them and she left Ben on the ground, running up the tower. He followed her progress for as long as he could, not wanting to look away but needing to also keep an eye on the mass of people gathering by the steps. He was just getting ready to renew the fight when they suddenly stopped and began to wander off.
Later he would realise that a part of him already knew what had happened and so wasn't surprised to see the adult among them climbing wearily to his feet. In that moment, just for a second, he dared to believe they might have won. He looked up, half expecting to see Buffy and Dawn beginning the long climb down. And his breath caught in his throat. The portal was open, its light casting the tower into sharp focus and, instead of watching a victorious return, he stood frozen as Buffy did the unimaginable. Her run, her leap and her beautiful swan dive were too incredible for his mind to process. Time slowed down and Buffy hung suspended in the crackling void. Then Anya was pushing him over and the world came crashing down.
So now they stood, a bedraggled band at the foot of the tower - alive and bereft. He hugged Anya tightly in his arms as he looked down at Buffy, too shocked to even think of crying. A slayer's life was always short. He'd read that many times in the library over the years. But the idea that that truth could ever apply to Buffy... She had dived in and stemmed the tide, drowning in the process, but ultimately saving the world, again. And Dawn was coming down the stairs alone.