Buffy, Willow, Tara, Giles, Xander, and Melissa are meeting in Buffy’s room.
Xander reports “We’re finally ready to start. Construction begins on our
new headquarters tomorrow.”
Melissa asks “How long before it’s finished?”
Xander replies “About eight months. As long as it doesn’t get attacked before then.” He pauses. “Willow and Tara already set up some wards around the site.”
Buffy looks wistful. “I’ll hate to leave this house.” She pauses. “I know. I know. It’s safer if we’re all in one place.”
Melissa adds “And I have more good news. Colonel McCormack funneled a chunk of Black Ops money into our operating fund. We also got a big contribution from Alkindi.”
Buffy asks nervously “No strings attached?”
Melissa shakes her head. “No strings. Willow’s little projection spell seems to have made a good impression.” She smiles. “When you save the Pentagon and the Grand Mosque on the same night, people want to reward you.”
Saturday October 25, Night: Melissa Johnson’s House
Xander is in the living room when he hears the doorbell. He opens the door to see Anya standing there. He stares in astonishment. “Anya?”
Anya calmly walks in. “Glad to see you too, Harris. And don’t worry, I’m still human.”
Xander still looks stunned. “Ahn?”
Anya grins. “Morningstar was right. It was fun seeing the look on your face.” She pauses. “You didn’t get rid of my stuff, did you? I was only dead for two weeks.”
Sunday November 2, Night: Wolfram & Hart, Los Angeles
Willow, Wesley, Gunn, and Illyria are standing in Wesley’s office. Wesley explains “Illyria’s been having seizures. Or perhaps flashbacks. It’s almost as if she’s Fred for a few moments and then she’s Illyria again.”
Willow concentrates on Illyria and begins to chant. Glowing energy surrounds Illyria. When it fades, Fred is standing next to Illyria. Wesley says joyfully “Fred!” and hugs her.
Willow smiles. “I wasn’t sure that would work, not even tonight.” She sees Illyria edging toward the door. “Illyria?”
Illyria replies “I should leave. They won’t want me here. Not now.”
Willow considers. “You could come back to Sunnydale with me. Melissa can probably find you a room.”
Illyria shrugs. “It’s as good as anywhere else.”
Wednesday November 5, Afternoon: Summers’ Residence
Willow is sitting in her room in front of a bronze statuette. Dawn asks “What are you doing?”
Willow explains “I’m preparing for a meditation called Healing the Five Elements. It helps with mental balance. Each element is associated with a different aspect of personality.”
Dawn nods. “You’re really into this, aren’t you? Tara said you’ve been studying about meditation ever since N’Tse-Kaambl gave you that statuette.” She pauses. “I like it. Tara the savior goddess. Bodhisattva of compassion. Guardian and guide.”
Willow says “It’s n-not just about the name, you know that?”
Dawn smiles. “I know.”
Thursday December 11, Afternoon (Los Angeles Time): Unknown Demon Dimension
What appears to be Bruckner materializes in front of Cyvus Vail. It says “Thought you could hide from me.” Then it changes to Izzerial and his three friends in turn. “Or that the Senior Partners would be merciful.” Then it changes to the Fell leader and the Sahrvin leader, before ending in the shape of Sebassis. “But you must see that I’m your only chance.”
Cyvus argues “I’ve survived for two months without you.”
Sebassis says “Only because I let you. My patience is running out. You can try to hide for the rest of a very short life or you can serve me. Which will it be?”
Cyvus considers for several moments. Finally he responds “All right. I’ll help you. What do you want me to do?”
Saturday December 20, Morning: Summmers’ Residence
Willow and Tara are in their room. Tara hands Willow a present and says “Happy Hanukkah!”
Willow unwraps the present and finds a webbed hoop with three pairs of feathers attached. Tara explains “It’s called a Dream Catcher. It’s supposed to protect you from evil spirit dreams. I thought of it when you were having the nightmares.”
Willow says happily “It’s beautiful. I love it.” She pauses. “Do you think it’ll really work?”
Tara replies “I don’t know. A shaman friend of Melissa’s helped make it so it might.”
Willow squeezes Tara’s hand. “It doesn’t matter. I still love it. And I haven’t had any of those nightmares since we got the statuette.”
Saturday March 20, 2004, Night (Mecca Time): Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Ahmad Alkindi is dreaming. He sees a stack of stone tablets covered with cuneiform writing and glowing with power. The tablets are sent through what looks like a portal and then buried deep underground but slowly make their way back to the surface.
Sunday March 28, Night: Summers’ Residence
Willow and Tara are sleeping in their room. Willow starts to toss and turn, waking Tara. The Dream Catcher starts to glow and Willow calms down. Tara waits a few moments and then goes back to sleep.
Sunday April 4, Evening: Summers’ Residence
Willow, Tara, Buffy, Giles, Melissa, Anya, Xander, and Faith are meeting in Willow and Tara’s room. Willow reports “Alkindi wants me to retrieve some items near the sites of Assur, Babylon, and Nippur that have just become mystically more accessible. The most important one is the Dup Shimati.”
Giles looks startled. “Oh, dear lord. The Dup Shimati. The Tablets of Fate. The Tablet of Destinies. He wants you to retrieve THAT?”
Anya adds “They’re supposed to be cursed.” She pauses. “But you know how it is. A few people vanish and everyone assumes there’s a curse. It might be nothing more than powerful guardians.”
Giles glances at Anya then back toward Willow. “You’re going to be walking right into a war zone. And I wouldn’t imagine it’ll be particularly safe to be recognized as an American.”
Willow replies “I won’t be recognized. I’ll be wearing what amounts to a disguise and there’s a spell that will make us inconspicuous. No one is going to be looking closely enough to tell much about me and I won’t need to talk to anyone, except for Alkindi.”
Buffy remarks “Inconspicuous won’t help if a stray shell lands on you.”
Willow shakes her head. “A stray shell won’t hurt me. I’m not sure I even can be hurt by anything nonmagical now.”
Buffy pauses then asks “So what do the Dup Shimati do?”
Giles replies “Legends say that the destiny of the world is written on the Dup Shimati and that they can be used to literally rewrite reality. They’ve been lost or hidden for a very long time. Powerful sorcerers have disappeared while searching for them.” He pauses. “Some scholars identify them with tablets known as the Elder Keys. A spell from the Elder Keys was supposedly used to bring the Great Old Ones to our dimension.”
Buffy considers. “All right. If they’re that powerful we have to at least try to get them. Just be careful, okay?”
Willow nods. “I will. I promise.” She pauses. “Alkindi has a few things he needs to arrange. I’m going to meet him near the site of Assur tomorrow morning.”
Tuesday April 6
Excerpt from the Journal of Tara Maclay
Willow said they found what they wanted in Assur. It’s an item that’ll help them control an old portal in the site of Babylon. She didn’t say what the portal leads to. There’s a lot she’s not telling me. Especially about the fighting that’s going on all around her. Giles said that Babylon means “gate of God.” But there seem to be more hostile gods than friendly ones.
Thursday April 8
Excerpt from the Journal of Tara Maclay
Willow said they opened the portal in the site of Babylon. They retrieved an item they’ll need at Nippur then permanently closed the portal. They had to sneak on to a Polish military base so she got to wear her regular clothes again. She’s still not saying anything about the fighting. She did say that Alkindi has called in a favor from someone called “The Immortal.”
Thursday April 8, Night
Buffy and Lisa are patrolling in a cemetery when they see three ghouls approach them. The one in the center wears purple robes and a silver-looking mask. The two others have canine features and hooves. The masked ghoul steps forward and says “Mordiggian wishes to talk. Tomorrow night at nine.”
Friday April 9, Night: Summers’ Residence
Faith, Melissa, and Giles arrive and leave shortly afterwards with Buffy and Tara. Cyvus Vail watches them leave from a nearby house. What appears to be Buffy stands next to him. She merges with Cyvus then reappears in the shape of Buffy. Cyvus waits briefly and then approaches the Summers’ house. He starts to chant and a wall of darkness surrounds the house.
Friday April 9, Night
Buffy, Faith, Tara, Melissa, and Giles arrive at the cemetery. Two ghouls in purple robes and silver-like masks are already there. A cloud of darkness appears and the temperature drops. Mordiggian speaks directly to their minds. “My followers need to perform a ritual tomorrow night after midnight. It will help keep me more firmly in this dimension. No one will be harmed in the ritual. I ask that you do not interfere.” He pauses. “This will be to your advantage. Most of my enemies are also your enemies.”
Buffy asks a few questions and confers with her friends. She tells Mordiggian “All right. We won’t interfere.”
Mordiggian pauses and then adds “And when Willow returns tell her that she can trade off power for blood and blood for power.”
Friday April 9, Night: Summers’ Residence
Molly, Kennedy, and Dawn are in the living room. Molly says “I tried to call Vi and the phone didn’t work. Neither did any of the other phones in the house.”
Dawn looks out a window and sees a wall of darkness. Kennedy gathers everyone together and they break out weapons. The darkness starts seeping through the door and brings with it an overwhelming wave of fear. Kennedy orders “Everyone stay together!” She tries to hold their position but the darkness slowly forces them upstairs. Once upstairs, they see that the darkness is also advancing from Buffy’s room. They retreat into Willow and Tara’s room and the feeling of fear lessens. Kennedy pauses by the door, looking out into the hall.
Dawn looks out a window into the backyard. “We can’t get out that way.”
Colleen asks “Wh-what do we do now?”
Kennedy replies “I don’t know yet.” She pauses. “Lisa, you’re the mojo expert, do you have any idea what that thing is?”
Lisa shakes her head. “No idea. It’s a bit like Zu-che-quon. But there aren’t any bells and the temperature didn’t drop.” She pauses. “And ... And you all feel it, don’t you?”
Dawn nods. “The major wiggins? Yes, we feel it.” She walks over to the dimly glowing statuette and sits in front of it. She concentrates on it and begins to chant. A beam of light emerges from the statuette and ends in the hall, two steps beyond the door. Dawn says softly “Guardian and guide.”
Kennedy takes a deep breath and steps out into the hall. Dawn and Lisa follow her. Kennedy stops at the end of the light beam. She forces herself to take another step and finds that the darkness retreats from her. “We’re going downstairs.” Kennedy slowly leads everyone downstairs and back into the living room. She looks out a window and sees a wall of darkness still there. She hears fighting start outside and heads for the front door. “Molly, Lisa, follow me.”
Friday April 9, Night: Melissa Johnson’s Residence
Vi and Xander are in the living room. Vi tells him “I tried to call Molly on the phone and I couldn’t get through. I could call other numbers just fine, but nothing in Buffy’s house. Several of us tried our cell phones and the same thing happened.”
Xander answers “We’d better check it out.” He breaks out weapons and leads Amy, Illyria, and Vi and two other Slayers to Buffy’s house. Before they leave, Xander tells Anya “If you don’t hear from us in fifteen minutes, call Buffy.”
As Xander’s team approaches Buffy’s house they see a wall of darkness surrounding it. A group of Harbingers stands in the yard and Cyvus Vail stands near them, concentrating on the darkness. Cyvus turns around and sends a blast at Amy, who manages to block it and return fire. Xander and the Slayers charge into the Harbingers as Illyria attacks Cyvus. Kennedy, Lisa, and Molly come through the wall of darkness and charge Cyvus. Cyvus tries to flee but Amy delays him long enough that Illyria snaps his neck and Kennedy stabs him.
Xander looks around. “I’d better call Anya and give her an update. Is everyone all right inside?”
Kennedy answers “We’re all fine.”
Saturday April 10, Morning (Iraq time): Near the site of Nippur
Willow and Alkindi approach a house and he knocks on the door. The door opens and they are invited inside by a man who appears to be in his early thirties. Alkindi tells Willow “This is The Immortal.” The Immortal leads them to a chest in one of the inner rooms and unlocks it. Alkindi takes five candles from the chest and arranges them in a pentagon. He then takes two bottles of Black Lotus extract from the chest, places the crystal from the Babylon portal in a bowl in the center of the pentagon, and pours the extract into the bowl. Finally, he takes two more bottles of Black Lotus extract from the chest and places them next to the pentagon.
Willow pauses a moment to calm herself, then sits near one of the candles. She concentrates and begins to softly chant as Alkindi lights the candles. Her image appears inside the pentagon of candles and the crystal starts to glow. Alkindi picks up the Black Lotus bottles and holds them so the image can absorb the extract. The image seems to grow fainter and then vanishes into the floor. Willow stops chanting and Alkindi sits down near her.
The Immortal remarks “I’ve always disliked magic.”
Alkindi replies “I know. But this is necessary.” He pauses. “She said she could keep herself anchored here and protect us at the same time. A ritual called Visiting the Shields.” He pauses again at the sound of fighting in the distance. “I will watch over her. Warn me if anyone tries to enter.”
Alkindi watches for several hours until Willow says quietly “I see them.” He reaches out and she takes his hand. She seems to become less solid for a moment but Alkindi concentrates and helps hold her steady. Willow says shakily “I-I almost...” then calms herself again. Shortly afterwards, she reports “I’ve got them” and Alkindi lets go of her hand. Several minutes later, Willow’s image reappears with several stone tablets. Willow breaks concentration, takes the tablets, and puts them in the chest next to the remaining bottles.
The Immortal comes back into the room and gives Willow the key to the chest. She closes and locks the chest and Alkindi tells her “You should get this back to Sunnydale.”
Saturday April 10, Early Morning: Summers’ Residence
Buffy and Tara are standing in the basement. Willow teleports in carrying a locked chest.
Tara asks “The Dup Shimati?”
Willow nods. “And some bottles of Black Lotus extract.”
Tara looks startled. “B-Black Lotus?”
Willow confirms “Black Lotus.”
Sunday April 11, Afternoon: Summers’ Residence
Willow, Tara, Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Melissa, Anya, Xander, and Faith are meeting in Willow and Tara’s room. Willow reports “We’ve learned more about the Dup Shimati. For one thing, they work in Sumerian. We also found information on using them to answer questions. Mostly it takes blood. A lot of blood.” She pauses. “Mordiggian did say we could trade off blood for power.”
Giles adds “We didn’t find much on using the greater powers of the tablets. They apparently can only be used by someone with godlike powers. We did find references to the powers being ‛locked away’ and to ‛green energy’ that was drawn from the tablets and can be used to activate them. And combined with Fred’s message about ‛the Key to the Keys’...”
Buffy interrupts “No. Dawn is off limits.”
Giles responds “We need to know how the tablets can be used. Even if we’re not willing to use them in a certain way, they could fall into the hands of someone who has no such scruples.”
Willow glances uneasily at Giles and Buffy. “I h-have to agree with Giles. We need to learn everything we can about them.”
Buffy says firmly “As long as everyone understands that no one hurts Dawn.” She pauses and her eyes narrow. “Wait a second. How did Fred know about the tablets?”
Melissa answers “Anyone who knows what to look for could find out. Mordiggian knew about them even before Willow had them.”
Sunday April 11, Night: Summers’ Residence
Willow and Tara are in their room. Willow glances nervously at the chest containing the Dup Shimati. Tara asks “Worried about the tablets?”
Willow shakes her head. “Worried about trying to use that much power. Worried about how it might change me.”
Tara reassures her. “You’ll be fine. We can handle this.”
Willow says quietly “I hope so.”
Sunday April 11, Night: Melissa Johnson’s Residence
Xander is dreaming. He sees Willow don black armor and a black helmet and mask. She looks just like Darth Vader as she raises a lightsaber to strike.