![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bktheirregularSo I'm still bitter. People talk about the World Series and the postseason as though it were a mighty triumph of Good over Evil. People even asked around for Buffy fic on the breaking of the Curse.
All I'm gonna say is, be careful what you wish for. Done in the space of two hours, without benefit of beta.
Sports Page: There Came A Great Voice
October 24, 2004
London, England
"It's bad and getting worse, Buffy. The coven, all the remaining Watchers, all our allies; everyone agrees that we may be looking at..."
"The end of the world?" Buffy shot back. "Been there, done that how many times, Giles?"
"Buffy, even when the First made its attempt, there weren't this many signs and portents. The balance in this world has been getting more unstable, year by year; you must have felt it."
"Come on, Giles. We survived Acthala, the Mayor, Glory, and the First; whatever's coming, we'll manage that too."
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed them with a shirt sleeve. "Buffy, the last time the Council saw so many signs and portents was during the Great War. The amount of effort it took to stave off the coming of the end was ... beyond calculation. And there are repercussions to that battle that are still felt to this day ... and may be to the end of time."
"And you're worried about something like that all over again? Relax, Giles. There's not going to be another world war. You didn't need to put in a panic call to everyone in the Scoobies."
Giles sighed. "I pray I'm wrong, of course. I hope there's some other explanation. But if something has come unbalanced--"
"Giles! B! There you are!" A dark, swiftly-moving shape streaked into the rooom, whirled around them, and planted a kiss on Giles' forehead.
"Faith, what happened?"
"Only the second most glorious victory over evil incarnate in known history, B!" Faith said, eyes shining. "Kicking the ass of the First Evil is tops, but this - this can't be far behind!" She brought out a newspaper and slapped it on the table.
Buffy looked at the paper, at the picture of celebration. "Didn't know you were a fan, Faith," she said with a smile.
"Are you kidding? This is about my home, it's in my blood! Come on, Giles, don't you have things like that for Manchester United or one of those cricket teams, or something?"
Buffy and Faith looked at Giles, ready to tease him over it, but stopped cold at the ashen, waxy look on his face.
"Oh, God," Giles whispered, and slumped back into a chair.
"Huh. Didn't figure Giles for a Yankee fan," Faith said, saying "Yankee" as though it were a curse.
"Oh, God," Giles repeated, staring blankly at the wall.
"Giles?" Buffy asked, prodding him with a finger. "Giles, what's going on? You're starting to scare me."
"You and me both," Faith said, her smile fading a little. "This have something to do with the big emergency you called us here for?"
Giles slowly looked down at the newspaper, then back at the wall. "It's too late."
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"Ditto that. The hell, Giles?"
"Exactly," Giles rasped. "The balance that kept the hordes away from the Earth is gone."
"And this has what exactly to do with the Red Sox?" Buffy asked.
"The Salem coven," Giles rasped. "They were at the forefront of the efforts to close the pathways from Hell, during the Great War. The blood being spilled in Europe, all the soldiers dying, it was strengthening the forces of Darkness to burst upon the world and consume all of humanity. The Salem coven managed to find a way to close the pathways, but as always, the magic exacted its price. Or did you think it was a coincidence that this so-called curse coincided with the end of the First World War?"
Faith blinked. "You're putting us on."
"I read of efforts to break that curse, but nobody on the Council ever took them seriously. Not when one considers the power of the magic that was used to block the demons' path to Earth. Mere sports fanatics couldn't have tapped into the power necessary to undo that. So we thought," Giles ended with a bitter, brittle laugh.
"So how do we re-establish it?" Buffy asked. "Come on, Giles. We've never given up before. We're not giving up now."
"If we gather up Willow, the covens in England, and every magic user walking the Earth today..."
"Then what?"
"It won't be nearly enough. It might have been enough if there was nothing standing in our way, but the efforts put forth into breaking the curse will be redoubled if we try to close the gateway. Especially since the side effects this time can't possibly be so small. No, I'm afraid we're left to grasp at straws."
"Come on, Giles. We're not doomed just because the Red Sox won the World Series," Buffy scoffed.
"Yeah, G-man," Faith said. "We do what we gotta do to hold it off. We call in all the markers, whatever. It's what we do, y'know?"
"Are you prepared to sacrifice your beloved Red Sox for it?" Giles asked, and amazingly, he made "Red Sox" sound like an ancient curse in the process.
Faith blinked.
"Bucky Dent," Giles said suddenly.
"What about Bucky fu-"
"That's what we're up against," Giles snapped. "A mentality like that, fueled by irrational love and hate, is what has brought us to the brink of doom. We must always be prepared to make any sacrifice to prevent the Darkness from prevailing. That is what we fight for - or have you forgotten?"
Faith sighed. "Yeah, sure. Whatever it takes. Unless-" She was interrupted by an elbow in the ribs from Buffy - one with Slayer strength behind it, which left her coughing.
"No 'unless'," Giles hissed. "Unless you are prepared to lose the entire world."
"Yeah, yeah," Faith finally said. "Just so long as it doesn't mean the Yankees win next year."
Giles paused, hand halfway to his telephone, and closed his eyes.
"Giles?" Buffy asked.
"I'm praying, Buffy," Giles said quietly. "I'm praying."
---
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
-Revelation 16:17
All I'm gonna say is, be careful what you wish for. Done in the space of two hours, without benefit of beta.
Sports Page: There Came A Great Voice
October 24, 2004
London, England
"It's bad and getting worse, Buffy. The coven, all the remaining Watchers, all our allies; everyone agrees that we may be looking at..."
"The end of the world?" Buffy shot back. "Been there, done that how many times, Giles?"
"Buffy, even when the First made its attempt, there weren't this many signs and portents. The balance in this world has been getting more unstable, year by year; you must have felt it."
"Come on, Giles. We survived Acthala, the Mayor, Glory, and the First; whatever's coming, we'll manage that too."
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed them with a shirt sleeve. "Buffy, the last time the Council saw so many signs and portents was during the Great War. The amount of effort it took to stave off the coming of the end was ... beyond calculation. And there are repercussions to that battle that are still felt to this day ... and may be to the end of time."
"And you're worried about something like that all over again? Relax, Giles. There's not going to be another world war. You didn't need to put in a panic call to everyone in the Scoobies."
Giles sighed. "I pray I'm wrong, of course. I hope there's some other explanation. But if something has come unbalanced--"
"Giles! B! There you are!" A dark, swiftly-moving shape streaked into the rooom, whirled around them, and planted a kiss on Giles' forehead.
"Faith, what happened?"
"Only the second most glorious victory over evil incarnate in known history, B!" Faith said, eyes shining. "Kicking the ass of the First Evil is tops, but this - this can't be far behind!" She brought out a newspaper and slapped it on the table.
Buffy looked at the paper, at the picture of celebration. "Didn't know you were a fan, Faith," she said with a smile.
"Are you kidding? This is about my home, it's in my blood! Come on, Giles, don't you have things like that for Manchester United or one of those cricket teams, or something?"
Buffy and Faith looked at Giles, ready to tease him over it, but stopped cold at the ashen, waxy look on his face.
"Oh, God," Giles whispered, and slumped back into a chair.
"Huh. Didn't figure Giles for a Yankee fan," Faith said, saying "Yankee" as though it were a curse.
"Oh, God," Giles repeated, staring blankly at the wall.
"Giles?" Buffy asked, prodding him with a finger. "Giles, what's going on? You're starting to scare me."
"You and me both," Faith said, her smile fading a little. "This have something to do with the big emergency you called us here for?"
Giles slowly looked down at the newspaper, then back at the wall. "It's too late."
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"Ditto that. The hell, Giles?"
"Exactly," Giles rasped. "The balance that kept the hordes away from the Earth is gone."
"And this has what exactly to do with the Red Sox?" Buffy asked.
"The Salem coven," Giles rasped. "They were at the forefront of the efforts to close the pathways from Hell, during the Great War. The blood being spilled in Europe, all the soldiers dying, it was strengthening the forces of Darkness to burst upon the world and consume all of humanity. The Salem coven managed to find a way to close the pathways, but as always, the magic exacted its price. Or did you think it was a coincidence that this so-called curse coincided with the end of the First World War?"
Faith blinked. "You're putting us on."
"I read of efforts to break that curse, but nobody on the Council ever took them seriously. Not when one considers the power of the magic that was used to block the demons' path to Earth. Mere sports fanatics couldn't have tapped into the power necessary to undo that. So we thought," Giles ended with a bitter, brittle laugh.
"So how do we re-establish it?" Buffy asked. "Come on, Giles. We've never given up before. We're not giving up now."
"If we gather up Willow, the covens in England, and every magic user walking the Earth today..."
"Then what?"
"It won't be nearly enough. It might have been enough if there was nothing standing in our way, but the efforts put forth into breaking the curse will be redoubled if we try to close the gateway. Especially since the side effects this time can't possibly be so small. No, I'm afraid we're left to grasp at straws."
"Come on, Giles. We're not doomed just because the Red Sox won the World Series," Buffy scoffed.
"Yeah, G-man," Faith said. "We do what we gotta do to hold it off. We call in all the markers, whatever. It's what we do, y'know?"
"Are you prepared to sacrifice your beloved Red Sox for it?" Giles asked, and amazingly, he made "Red Sox" sound like an ancient curse in the process.
Faith blinked.
"Bucky Dent," Giles said suddenly.
"What about Bucky fu-"
"That's what we're up against," Giles snapped. "A mentality like that, fueled by irrational love and hate, is what has brought us to the brink of doom. We must always be prepared to make any sacrifice to prevent the Darkness from prevailing. That is what we fight for - or have you forgotten?"
Faith sighed. "Yeah, sure. Whatever it takes. Unless-" She was interrupted by an elbow in the ribs from Buffy - one with Slayer strength behind it, which left her coughing.
"No 'unless'," Giles hissed. "Unless you are prepared to lose the entire world."
"Yeah, yeah," Faith finally said. "Just so long as it doesn't mean the Yankees win next year."
Giles paused, hand halfway to his telephone, and closed his eyes.
"Giles?" Buffy asked.
"I'm praying, Buffy," Giles said quietly. "I'm praying."
---
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
-Revelation 16:17
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-12-04 11:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-04 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-04 06:59 pm (UTC)The glee of Yankee-haters in the flush of victory is an ugly, ugly thing, and I hate to think it, but I'm afraid they may have ignited something similarly ugly and vicious within me...
no subject
Date: 2004-12-05 06:47 am (UTC)Well, gee willikers, BK
Date: 2004-12-04 09:17 pm (UTC)What are we in for with the Cubs, then? :-D
--
Banazir
Re: Well, gee willikers, BK
Date: 2004-12-05 06:48 am (UTC)