2.7 Visions of Grandeur

Raveena: "A little dust here, a little dust there."

PeanutGalleryChase: "It's a little like gardening."

Raveena: "What do you have against Shiner?"

Chase: "This is one of those points where you think you're funny."

Raveena: "I've never dated a boy without a pulse before."
Harrison: "So would you consider it?"

Chase: "It's no fun playing hangman with a person who always chooses fifteen-letter names for obscure chemical compounds."

Chase: "Can we drop the khaki thing?" Gabe: "Not at the moment."

Gabe: "Let's go! We're here."
Raveena [muttering]: "I tell you . . . discrimination . . . 'cross species and 'cross dimensions . . . "

Raveena: "Maybe you can develop some kind of vampire fumigator?"

Raveena makes her usual evening patrol, this time through McKennit's shady warehouse district. As she passes one of the giant dark buildings, her spidey sense goes on full alert. Raveena slips inside quietly and sees an empty earthen floor marred by one thing - a lone figure sitting in a chair, his back to her, waiting. "Are you supposed to be here?" The figure turns to face her and it's ? Harrison. He gives her a cheery smile. Harrison explains that he's there to deal with some vamps that should be sprouting out of the ground any time now. Raveena stays to help. In the midst of the staking and smack-talk, Harrison suddenly buckles over in pain. Raveena quickly finishes dealing with the vamps and runs to help him. He's muttering softly, almost incoherently, a glazed expression on his face. Raveena can only make out a few words: "docks", "blue scales", "brown hair", "she's only 7", "river" ? Harrison is getting feverish, and Raveena calls Deaver for help. He calls Geoff and Chase, and they head for the warehouse. Raveena spends the next 20 minutes with Harrison's head in her lap. He comes in and out of lucidity, and is obviously in a lot of pain. The cavalry shows up and they help Harrison get to his feet. As he is struggling to stand, He looks around, says, "End of the world?" with a confused expression, and crumples again.

At the library, Deaver and Gabe do some exhaustive research while Geoff and Chase fidget. The Sisterhood of Jhe is a demon cult of sisters [duh] who wish to bring the age of demons back to the world. A very recent text notes that they were last seen in Sunnydale, California, where they tried to open the Hellmouth located under the town. Resulted in no more Sunnydale. Generally messy. As Harrison had also mentioned the dimension of Qal'dok, they look that up as well. Qal'dok is a barren wasteland of a hell dimension, teeming with "pure" demons, and the hypothesized holding pen for the truly demonic ancestors of the Jhe. Oh dear.

* * *

Raveena and Harrison are still in Gabe's room, feeling the pressure of time as they continue their conversation. Harrison brings up her involuntary confession during the musical craziness a few weeks ago. He wants to be sure she knows that he is most definitely NOT exclusively interested in her because of the slayer thing. Yes, it's a nice bonus. But he's known plenty of slayers for whom he felt no compulsion to buy drinks. Raveena isn't sure how to respond. They are interrupted by a cell phone call for Harrison. The spell has apparently worn off - Devon Boyd-Townsend is on the other end of the line. He's apparently complaining about Eric Laure. The guy is very unreliable, as has been proven by his inability to control Harrison's visions. Harrison says he'll come up with the people needed to keep an eye on him. After the call he tells Raveena that he may have a way in through the Boyd-Townsend brick wall that will benefit all of them if the gang is interested. He needs a talented chemist to work "with" Eric in the lab, and someone to "help" Eric in the Phillipi herb gardens who knows their way around plants. Raveena is reluctant to make any promises, but she tells him she'll ask around and see if anyone is interested. By this point Harrison looks almost dead [yuk, yuk], so Raveena insists that he get some rest. She gives him her cell phone number in case he needs anything. With that, she takes her leave.

* * *

Back at the library, Gabe and Deaver have moved from Qal'dok to ley lines, continuing their research. Geoff and Chase have moved from fidgeting to a high-spirited Hangman competition. Ley lines are fundamental to the practice of geomancy, and casting a spell along one of these lines would greatly increase its efficacy and magical properties. These lines rarely, if ever, cross. But where they do, the result amplifies magic almost exponentially. Raveena shows up at the library to see if she can help. A little more research and a few maps later, it is revealed that two lines might well cross directly under the Phillipi College bell tower. This prompts Gabe to call Rachel and begin researching how to close a portal of this nature ? just in case ?

Since Harrison's vision indicated that the Sisterhood had at least started their journey towards the intersection and potentially even opened the portal yesterday, the group decides to forego sleep (by now they've been researching all night) and heads directly for the Phillipi bell tower. They pick up magical supplies (although they need some hair from one of the Sisters - um), Rachel, and a little complementary juice from Brandon on the way.

They don't find any end-of-the-world happening on the ground floor of the tower, but the use of GEOmancy in all of this prompts them to descend down some stairs into the warren of tunnels that run underground below McKennit. They quietly move towards flickering light in the distance. As they get closer, the sound of chanting can be heard. Raveena and Chase sneak even closer and peek around the corner. They see the three sisters of Jhe sitting in a circle around a large, glowing disk. They continue to chant. The girls start back to tell the gang what they've got in front of them, when they are distracted by an ear splitting shriek from the portal. Spinning around, Raveena and Chase are in time to see a giant pterodactyl-like creature emerge from the portal and shake its wings menacingly. The sisters, rise, calmly behead the monster, throw it back through the portal, and are seated again. They are obviously waiting for one type of creature alone - their demonic ancestors.

The girls quickly return and gather the rest of the group, sneaking up on the sisters once again. Raveena fires a crossbow, nailing one of the sisters in the head. A big fight ensues. Geoff picks this phenomenally bad moment to pull Chase aside and tell her (seeing as how this may be the end of the world and all) that he loves her. Gabe and Rachel start casting the necessary spell to close the portal (and are quickly provided with a whole head of demon hair to use to their own ends). A few people get a bit banged up, but the crew makes surprisingly short work of the three demons. The spell to close the door will take about ten minutes. Not a good thing to realize when, as the last sister is killed, there is an earth-shattering roar from the portal. Turning slowly to face this new threat, the scoobies see a GIGANTIC blue demon approaching through the misty expanse of the dimensional doorway. Realizing that the demon will reach them before the spell goes off, the group springs into action. Raveena climbs up through the pipework on the ceiling to get a drop on the monster as it ducks to enter the room. Deaver breaks a steam pipe and points it towards the doorway, ensuring that the demon will be faced with scalding steam as soon as it starts to step through. The group takes few potshots through the gate, but it doesn't slow the demon down much. Gabe and Rachel chant as fast as they can. Raveena attacks as the demon climbs through the portal, recoiling from the steam. A mighty battle rages [read: it took about two rounds]. The demon falls. Gabe and Rachel are still. Going. The gang puts all of the demon carcasses back through the portal, and the witches finally get it closed. The glowing doorway shrinks to a pinpoint and then disappears entirely.

As the exhausted group leaves the bell tower, Raveena tells them about the job opps that Harrison has within the Boyd-Townsend machine, to help "keep an eye" on Eric Laure. Gabe readily agrees to work more closely with him under Devon's employ - as he already works in the gardens, it won't be that big a transition for the college to make. Chase and Geoff take their discussion of the chemistry lab position home. Negotiations eventually resolve to this: Geoff will take the job in Boyd-Townsend's chemistry lab, after getting Chase into his current position at the morgue - they will still need an in there, and for her it beats running coffee for the ER doctors.

* * *

A montage of scenes shows the next few days:

Gabe is pouring over a book of spells in his room. He looks annoyed when the phone ring, picks it up, shakes his head after a brief conversation, and hang up again. He turns back to his magic research.

Cut to Rachel, slowly hanging up the phone in her room, looking a little hurt.

* * *

Deaver is wearing an exasperated frown as he examines the microwave. Brandon put a fork in with his dinner. Oops.

* * *

Geoff is actually at work while the sun is shining. He breaks into a delighted grin, surveying the state-of-the-art chemistry lab in front of him. His smile softens a little as he put a picture of Chase down on the desk.

* * *

Chase is sitting at the desk outside the morgue entrance, sifting through some paperwork while talking to Geoff on the phone. There's a little bit of small talk and gossip about the idiots who Chase is now saddled with at the morgue. She suddenly shifts the conversation a little. "Oh, and by the way ? now that we've saved the world, averted the apocalypse, and I have no compelling reason to tell you this ? I love you, too." She quietly hangs up, smiling to herself as she goes back to work.

* * *

Raveena is out patrolling late at night. Surprise, surprise - she runs into Harrison. She's overall pleased to see him. As they walk along the familiar route, Raveena warns him that if anything happens to her friends, it's going to mean serious problems for him. Terminal ones, in fact. Warning issued and noted, he takes her arm as they continue her patrol route.

SEASON 2 FINALE