She was surrounded by dead Slayers. Giles lay dead at her feet, and behind her, she heard Angel howl as a stake pierced through his chest, turning him to dust.
She looked up into the sky.
Willow hung in mid-air, dressed in black, her face all pale and veiny, her eyes shimmering with the darkest sort of magic. In front of her, in an aura of bright green, fluttered Dawn, Buffy's sister. Literally, Buffy's own flesh and blood.
Leon stood behind Buffy, and he had the oddest sense of deja vu. He was half tempted to toss the shield at Willow, just to see if it would work again. But Willow was just a figment of Buffy's imagination, or so he assumed. Buffy he recognized, the others, not so much. So he didn't need Willow alive, nor did he need her attention. He just needed to snap Buffy out of it.
Mai watched silently from beside Leon. She didn't really have anything to say. What was it with people and their doomsday, end-of-the-world dreams? Did no one else fear boring, hum-drum, everyday life?
Alessa appeared, but at the sight of Buffy she paused. It was one thing to go jumping into a gods' dream, but whoever this was, she was an experienced killer. The scene itself was an interesting one though: she would have liked to know the story behind it if they had the time. The floating redhead, for instance, definitely had a sense of style. She could feel the darkness without even being that close. The scent of death was close to this girl, she knew that enough.
She gave Willow another look over, then turned to Buffy. "We are on a bit of a time restraint, actually. You must know about the nightmares by now: they are starting to affect the ship. We are trying to defeat a dark god who is preying on your fears even now. You should join us."
She had to make mention of something though. "You're a powerful one. You would be a good asset."
After serving as a vessel for Chthon, Wanda could not ignore this dream. She cast a single hex bolt at Willow, one that would cause the witch's magic to backfire.
"There is only so much any of us can do, individually. That is why we must work together."
"This isn't real," Leon stated, getting right to the point. "The real fight hasn't even started yet. This isn't the end of anything, but it might be if everyone on this ship doesn't start fighting."
Alessa sighed. "This is what he wants. Think about the feelings you're having: they are keeping this apparition up. You have the power to overcome it, and you have to...Leon is right. The fight hasn't even started yet. We're going to need all the help we can get."
Alessa, strangely enough, could at least make an attempt at encouraging words. These people may have been saying what she was thinking anyway, but some people needed to be broken from their nightmares. Alessa was more than familiar with how these things worked.
"Gachnar!" Alessa sniffed, snickering. "This is actually serious, come on now."
Buffy gave one last look towards Willow and Dawn and shuddered. I hate my subconscious, I really do. "Gachnar was serious. Tiny, but serious." If only most bad guys were that easy to stomp.
"Serious until you saw him," Alessa said, rolling her eyes. "Compared to the Nightmare King, Gachnar is a mild inconvenience. The Nightmare King isn't even fully released yet, and he's able to use waking dreams. Trust me, we have a much bigger problem on our hands."
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She looked up into the sky.
Willow hung in mid-air, dressed in black, her face all pale and veiny, her eyes shimmering with the darkest sort of magic. In front of her, in an aura of bright green, fluttered Dawn, Buffy's sister. Literally, Buffy's own flesh and blood.
Willow was killing Dawn.
And ending the universe.
And Buffy was powerless to stop her.
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"You waiting on an invitation or something?"
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She gave Willow another look over, then turned to Buffy. "We are on a bit of a time restraint, actually. You must know about the nightmares by now: they are starting to affect the ship. We are trying to defeat a dark god who is preying on your fears even now. You should join us."
She had to make mention of something though. "You're a powerful one. You would be a good asset."
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Buffy ignored him and he walked away.
"Not a good enough asset to save my sister," she said, almost catatonically. "Or my best friend."
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"There is only so much any of us can do, individually. That is why we must work together."
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Really, that's about the best you're going to get from Mai.
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Fighting would do no good here.
Not with them.
As the threads that held her to the reality of the dream fell away, Buffy asked, "Is this a Gachnar thing?"
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Alessa, strangely enough, could at least make an attempt at encouraging words. These people may have been saying what she was thinking anyway, but some people needed to be broken from their nightmares. Alessa was more than familiar with how these things worked.
"Gachnar!" Alessa sniffed, snickering. "This is actually serious, come on now."
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