This has to work. If it doesn't then we're all screwed.
B and I make our way over to Pike where I sit down next to him. He seems unsure about what's about to happen. I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder.
"It's gonna be okay babe. This shouldn't hurt you at all."
B decides to be up front about things.
"But just so you know, there is a chance that if he hurts himself, you might be harmed too."
Sometimes B's too honest about this stuff.
"He needs you to survive though, so anything he does threatens his own life. And he's too self involved to risk his own life just to spite us."
There's a long silence before Pike says anything.
"What do you need me to do?"
This is where B comes in.
"There should be some kind of emotional trigger for you. Something that will transform you from who you are now, into Wrath."
Xander chimes in with the obvious.
"Well, he is called Wrath. Maybe we should try... anger as the trigger?"
Pike, B and I look at each other for a moment.
Seems like as good a plan as any.
He closes his eyes and concentrates. It isn't long before he gets an angry look on his face.
Okay, let's hope this works.
There's a long silence where we wait but nothing actually happens.
Maybe he needs a little help.
"Anything?"
He takes a few more moments, then opens his eyes.
"Not that I can tell."
B and I look at each other before I focus on Pike again.
"How angry did you get?"
"Pretty angry. I just thought about everything that Dawn has done and how he screwed up all your lives for her own fun."
Probably should do it.
B has a thought.
"Maybe anger isn't the trigger?"
Connor asks what we're all thinking.
"What is it then?"
Pike takes a deep breath.
"I have no idea."
I take his hand firmly and we look at each other.
"It's gonna be okay babe."
He smiles at me.
"I know."
All of the sudden, he starts to shake in his chair. I put my hand on his shoulder to try and settle him down.
"Pike? Are you okay?"
He stops and freezes before everything shifts, turning him into Wrath. It takes me a second to realize it, but then I pull back, standing up and giving myself some space. So does B. Wrath moves, quickly getting his bearings before settling down and looking at both of us. Almost as fast, he gets a smile on his face.
"Hello..."
Jumping at us, he tries to use his strength and speed to attack us but it doesn't work. He falls onto the table which holds up under him.
Well that's something at least.
After he takes a second to realize what's going on, he looks up at us.
"What did you do?"
I smile at him and lean back into a confident stance.
"We neutered you."
B makes her own joke.
"More like made him a eunuch."
Oh that's good.
"Good one B."
Wrath straightens himself out and sits back in Pike's chair.
"I'm obviously not here because you're going to hurt me. If you were, I'd be dying already. So... what do you want?"
The guy's smart, I'll give him that.
B and I look at each other and I know we're on the same page.
"Information."
He watches us for a while.
"Something's going on with The Key."
My fellow slayer gets upset by that.
"Her name is Dawn."
Keep it together B.
Wrath doesn't react to B's words.
"What's going wrong?"
Might as well just come right out and say it.
"The world."
That has him giving me a curious look.
"The world you're in right now? Dawn created it with the power of The Key."
He gives the room a once over.
"I can see that."
Wait, what?
"What do you mean?"
He smiles at me.
"You might have found a way to take my powers away somehow, but I'm still from another dimension. I don't see things the way you do."
My fellow slayer and I look at each other.
"Good to know."
"So... you're looking for a way out then."
He said that with a lot more confidence then I figured.
B is the first to respond.
"Basically, yes."
He smiles at B, apparently enjoying this moment.
"You know, if you'd just let me get my revenge, this wouldn't have happened to you."
"I wasn't going to let you kill my sister."
"And how'd that work out for you?"
That has B not saying anything.
Okay, let's just get to it.
"We're not here to be all mopey and think about what we should've done. Let's just deal with what is. How do we fix this?"
He smiles at me.
"Well if I had my powers back, I could do it for you pretty easily. All it would take is one quick motion."
Is he talking about...?
"You're saying we kill her?"
He shrugs.
"It's the easiest way."
B pushes back.
"And just happens to be giving you what you want. Yeah, right... you really think we're that gullible?"
"Well you did let someone you decided was just a girl remake your entire existence."
That has us both silent for a while.
"Tell us about The Key."
He chuckles.
"She's your sister isn't she? You tell me about her."
"Not my sister, the thing she was before becoming my sister. The energy force that Glory wanted."
There's a long silence before he actually says anything.
"The Key is energy that was discovered not long after the beginning of the universe. No one is really sure where it came from."
That seems like a lie.
"Even you?"
He smiles.
"When Glory created me, The Key already existed. It was the first thing I saw after Glory herself. They used it to travel to different dimensions and establish other hell dimensions or form alliances with other rulers of existing hell dimensions. It was the work she did and the power she gained that ultimately lead to her downfall."
How is this important?
"Thanks for the history lesson. Why are we listening to it?"
"Because of what happened next. The battle between Glory and the other two gods was over control of The Key. Glory rightfully wanted it for herself but the others wouldn't allow it. So they fought. Glory was able to get control but the others managed to use another energy to wrestle it away from her."
Hmm...
B asks first.
"What kind of energy?"
"The energy from The Seed."
B and I look at each other, kinda confused. I get there first.
"That's not a reference to what I think it is, is it?"
He takes an annoyed deep breath.
"No... it's The Seed of Wonder."
Wrath kinda pauses for some reason.
"Which is?"
"The Key opens the doors between dimensions. The Seed is what it opens."
We could use that.
"So... if we control The Seed, we control The Key's energy."
B follows that up.
"And Dawn's ability to control us."
"It's a workable plan. If we can find it anyway."
She pushes the issue.
"Speaking of which..."
We keep our focus on Wrath. Eventually he gets the idea.
"Where do you think it is?"
Where do we think... wait... maybe?
B gets there first.
"The hellmouth."
Xander jumps in.
"The one that's currently closed?"
Wrath answers before the rest of us.
"Yes, that one."
We all look at him, somewhat confused.
How does he know?
"I'm from a hell dimension. You don't think I can tell when a portal to hell is nearby and open? I can feel the energy of it but only just barely. It's obviously closed. Which is a problem for you."
Willow clues in on why.
"Because The Seed is inside the hellmouth. To get to it, we'd have to open up the hellmouth."
Well that sounds like fun.
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