Flying Leap
Buffy hauled herself out of the sewer. The manhole behind the hospital made a great entrance, but lacked the necessary requirements for exit, namely a ladder. She bent over and looked down into the dark hole. "You comin'?"
An irritated English accent yelled back, "Just gimme a second. Don't get your knickers in a twist."
She backed away from the manhole and crossed her arms. "Fine. But I'm not helping you if you're gonna have that attitude."
"Works for me," She heard him call back just before a grunt echoed from below. His hands appeared a moment later, gripping the edges of the hole, and he pulled himself up. "Think this is the only unkempt sewer in town?" He managed to grit out between his teeth as he brought himself up out of the earth.
"No," she grinned at him. "There's one just west of the magic shop. Always gives me a headache." She remembered using the same 'run and leap' technique he just had.
He gave her a look of pure hate. "You mean I got my jacket covered in your bleeding muddy foot prints for no reason?!" He nearly growled, more out of habit than actual anger.
She walked away towards the street. "Yup."
"Women," He mumbled under his breath.
"I can hear you." She sing-songed.
"Soddin…" He caught up with her in a few quick strides. "You know I love this thing," He said as he picked at the mud on his sleeve.
"And mud washes off. It'll live. Besides, I didn't want to waste time. I want to be sure Dawn's ok." Buffy said, making her destination clear as she lead him back to The Magic Box.
It took no time at all for them to get back. The secret turns and twists of the town were well-known to the practiced demon hunters. They'd memorized each street and alley long ago.
Buffy rang the bell overhead as she opened the door. Anya was seated at the research table reading a book Buffy recognized as Sam's diary.
"Where's Dawn?" Both women asked at the same time.
"She isn't here yet?" Buffy said and looked around the store frantically.
"No. Willow called a little bit ago. She and Tara ran into Faith, and Faith said she'd look for her." Anya closed the book and walked to Buffy. "But Buffy, with everything going on... I have a bad feeling."
"How long ago?" Spike interrupted.
"What?" Anya asked.
"How long ago did Red call?" he repeated.
Anya looked at the clock. "About a half hour ago."
"It shouldn't take this long," Buffy said. "One of them should be here by now."
The bell behind them rang and in came Xander, Willow, and Tara.
Willow led the pack in. "I couldn't go to class, not if Dawn's still missing."
"Is Faith back yet?" Tara walked in beside Willow.
"Yeah, they said something about Dawn being gone. Are we thinking another 'sticky fingers' phase?" Xander moved to Anya's side and saw the faces of gloom surround him. "Oh. Good. It's worse."
"Faith isn't back yet, Dawn still isn't here." Buffy ran off the things in the column marked 'not good'. She looked over the faces all waiting for a plan and turned to Willow. "Ok, where did you see Faith?"
"Right outside of Body Shop. She was just getting off work."
Tara looked at Willow. "And Faith said Dawn stopped in." She turned to Buffy. "She left quick though, to come here."
"Oh God," Buffy said to the ceiling. "Ok. We should start there then."
"Body Shop?" Spike asked.
"Yeah. It's all we have. Dawn doing a little shopping and being late, I can see. But not this late. And I don't think Faith would look for her this long. Not without calling."
"Unless she's trying to prove something," Anya said.
Spike nodded in agreement. "She might be tryin' to find the Bit alone. Show she's changed. Reliable and all."
"Best case scenario," Xander threw out halfheartedly.
"Or Drusilla took them. Maybe using them for bait to get you," Anya said plainly.
"Yeah, Buffy. What if we go there and find the Big Bads, just to have all the bad stuff we're trying to avoid, happen?" Willow said worried. "The only ingredient they don't have is you."
Buffy turned to Willow, then to Spike. "Both of you know, if they have Dawn, I have to go."
Spike tilted his head at her, then straightened himself up. "Right." He turned to Xander. "Get the axe."
"Since when do you give me orders, bud?" Xander stood up straight and eyed his friend.
The peroxide blonde shrugged. "You like the axe, figured I'd let you have it this time."
Caught off guard, Xander simply said, "Oh," Before heading into the training room.
Anya watched Buffy turn to her, but beat the Slayer to the punch. "I know. Closing the store early." She turned to the door and headed up the few steps. "Again." she called out.
Buffy couldn't help but let a grin grace her lips before she turned back to Willow. "What else did you find out about the crystal?"
"Not a lot. I was looking through Sam's diaries since you guys mentioned her, and there's the whole 'time' element here. But there wasn't anything about a crystal, not that I could find anyway. A lot of apocalypses-erm apocali, or… whatever“ She shook her head to clear it “Anyway, a few vampires being dusted, a whole slew of demons, a few talismans, but no crystal," Willow explained.
"So we got nothing."
"Pretty much. Yeah," Willow said solemnly. "Sorry."
Buffy took a deep breath as Xander came back in with the axe. "Everyone suit up. Weapons, weapons, weapons." She turned back to Spike as they gathered items for dusting. "We have to kill them. Both of them. And if they hurt Dawn or Faith..."
"We'll dust 'em. Good an' proper, luv. The Bit's fine. So's Slayer junior," He said as positively as he could muster.
Buffy nodded. "They're fine." She looked back at the group, now all armed with crossbows and stakes, well hidden in packs and under jackets. "We just need to find them." And with that final statement, she led the group out into what was left of the day.
~~`~~
Michelle sat up slowly as she woke, trying t get a hold of herself when the truth of her destiny came to the forefront.
"Mr. Giles," she spoke into the deadly quiet apartment. "I need to see Mr. Giles."
She stumbled to her front door, still in her pale blue nightgown and walked out onto the balcony.
It took her a moment to push the fear of truth aside, but soon she was on the lift and walking through the commons. She headed through the exit of the living area and walked down the hallways that led to the Head of the Council's office.
The passages through the immense underground headquarters were empty at this time of night, and it wasn't until she was more than halfway to her destination before she realized he wouldn't be there. He'd be in his apartment for the night.
This time, she ran. Past the faces, past the mirrors, past the seats in the commons and to the lift once again. She felt as though she moved at a snail's pace before stopping on the sixteenth floor. He still stayed in the apartment he'd shared with the vampire.
Her fists banged loudly on the door in quick succession. "Mr. Giles!" She called through the wood. "Mr. Giles! Hurry!"
Other doors in the complex began to open. Some from the same floor, some from above, some from below.
Calls of "What's that all about?" and "What's the ruckus?" came from all around, but she wouldn't answer, not until Giles opened his door.
Quickly, the door was thrown open by a very distraught Rupert. "Michelle?" He said as he placed his glasses in their assigned position on his nose.
"Mr. Giles, it happened! It shouldn't already. Something happened. She's dead."
Giles shook his head in confusion. "What?"
~~`~~
Dawn's head hurt. That was the first thing she noticed. The pain. Then she felt another twinge, this time in her hand. She tried to open her eyes, but they felt immensely heavy. Like lead was tied to her lashes. She tried to turn over but found herself achy all over. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
She wanted to scream, or call out for help, but stopped herself when she heard the voices over her.
"How much longer?" A whiney voice asked. A voice she knew as Harmony's.
"Until the bell is rung, we must wait with the children," Another voice, Drusilla's, said.
"But I'm still hungry. Seriously hungry. Can't I just go get a homeless person or something? There has to be something."
Heeled footsteps clicked quietly beside Dawn's head. "Shhh. If you wait, a meal worthy of only the likes of us will be served."
She heard another whine.
"Oh, alright. But I hope she tastes as good as she smells. I don't think even the Slayer smelled this good."
She felt someone lean down close to her and inhale.
Dawn tried to be calm but knowing she was being discussed as a dinner option wasn't helping. She could feel the beat of her heart pounding in her chest
"It's alright, l'il one," Dru's voice said softly. "Much too early for our meal. We must wait until the stars play with the moon."
Dawn let her eyes open slowly, some of her strength having come back.
She looked at light brown tiles used to form a ceiling above her. Turning her head was a more difficult task, but she was soon able to look over at her captors, now sitting beside her.
"Wh-" Her throat cracked, and she tried to clear it. "Why am I here?" her voice was raspy but clear.
Dru leaned in close to her, but Dawn didn't even try to pull away. The insane vampire traced Dawn's features with her long red fingernails. "Pure energy." She cooed warmly.
Dawn shook her head with some effort. "No. No, I'm not." She felt a tear try to escape. "That was… I'm not. Not now."
She was gaining back her resolve. This couldn't be right. It couldn't be true. Not now.
"Yes." Drusilla looked lovingly at the frightened teen. "Energy poured into you, drip, drip, drips out of you."
Dawn tried to sit up, but all she managed was balancing on one elbow. Her strength was coming back, especially now that she knew why it was gone. "Poured?" She looked at the still seeping wound on her hand.
"Yeah. She bled you, sweetie, not a lot, not too much, but enough." Harmony chimed in. "Normally someone would probably tell you you'll feel weak for awhile." Harmony licked her lips. "But you won't have awhile."
Dawn sat up the rest of the way, knowing each painful pull of her muscles would be holding her back any other time. "But it was Buffy." She shook her head, causing her to get dizzy.
"Buffy?" Harmony couldn't help but laugh. "Since when is Buffy pure?"
A disgusting look from Dawn came with her answer. "My sister is the Slayer. The Slayer is pure by right."
"Even that one?" Harmony pointed past Dawn, who turned to see Faith's dead body a few feet away. She easily saw the raw tears marring the fallen slayer's neck
Dawn's eyes widened and another bout of fear encompassed her. "Faith?"
~~`~~
"But what are we going to do?" Xander asked for the third time. He was used to some kind of a plan.
"I don't know," Buffy said simply as they turned a corner. "Get Dawn and Faith, kill Dru and Harmony. Seems like the best I can do right now."
"Right," Xander said. "Sorry, I just-"
"We're not real sure what we're doing here, Buffy," Willow offered. "I mean, yeah... what you said, but if they took Faith and Dawn, they have to know we'll all come after them."
"Red's got a point, Slayer. They know we're comin'" Spike kept up his pace with his lover, despite the discussion.
They were less than a block from their destination, and Buffy stopped and turned. "Look. I don't know, ok? We have to stop them from doing whatever they are doing with the crystal. We still don't know if it's time or dimensions for sure. We have to save Dawn, Faith too, while killing Dru and Harmony. It's the only plan I have, and it's going to have to do."
The whole group was silent. Buffy was in it deep and they weren't helping.
Spike looked over his shoulder as the others spoke.
"I'm sorry, Buff," Xander said.
"We're all just worried about Dawn," Tara said.
"And Faith," Willow added.
"And the world exploding," Anya pointed out.
"Well, we're almost there. If they're around, Spike-" She looked at him but saw he wasn't paying attention. "Spike?"
"They're close."
Buffy turned and faced him. "How close?"
Spike turned and faced the direction he was being pulled to. "I'd say a block, no more."
"That's right around the Body Shop," Tara said. "Where could they-?"
"Oh God," Xander said. "I know where they are. It's the only place that makes sense."
Without hesitation he began to lead the group. Spike followed close behind, confirming the direction.
~~`~~
Dawn had managed to sit up, but she couldn't attempt standing if her life depended on it. Which, right now, it did.
She watched helplessly as Harmony held a strange green and red crystal in her hand and drew a circle with the vampiric blood running from the blonde vampire's sliced fingers.
When the circle was complete, she picked up a piece of paper, stood back, and began reading as she held the empowered crystal in her other hand. Her palm faced up as it rested against her skin. "A devoted childe calls. A devoted childe begs. A devoted childe wants. A devoted childe cries," she said calmly. "I ask for those who help destiny to change that which has already happened. For this task, I make an offering." She stopped and dragged Faith's body to the center of the circle. "I beg for a way, and I provide the means."
The blonde vampire took a step back as Drusilla began clapping. "Ooohh. The party's starting."
Dawn watched horrified as the remains of Faith smoldered, then burst into flames. Each burning light digging its way deeper into the flesh of not yet fully redeemed slayer.
Dawn couldn't watch and turned away crying. "Buffy." she whimpered. "Please?"
Her plea was cut short by a crackling sound. She looked up to see a swirling mixture of white, red and green pulsing out from the crystal, still balancing in the center of Harmony's outstretched hand. The energy now cutting into the floor where Faith's body had been.
Dawn could only watch as the floor opened and took in the magic. An opening now seemed to push the ground aside, enlarging the newly formed entrance. The air swirled above the glowing hole, causing the inside of the room to feel and sound as though a centralized tornado was working its destructive ways.
Harmony smiled. "Now?" She asked Drusilla.
The brunette mistress walked slowly to Dawn. "A lovely meal before we leave."
Dawn watched in horror as Drusilla crept towards her. The exhausted teen tried to push away with her feet, but she couldn't move with enough speed. Soon Drusilla's hair was tickling Dawn's face as the demented vampire leaned down.
Dawn prepared herself. Said a silent prayer for her family and friends and waited for the pain.
But it didn't come. A flash of black crossed her vision, and then the back door was thrown open. Buffy stood at the door while Spike held Drusilla from behind. The sun was too low for light to come in, but the crew with The Slayer was determined to destroy the two vampires in it's absence.
"Buffy!!" Dawn screamed. "They did it!" She pointed at the mass of light on the floor.
Buffy quickly scanned the portal. "Well, guess I'll have to kill 'em." She ran towards Harmony who was still standing with the crystal now tightly held in her hand.
The young vampire and Drusilla were supposed to take the crystal back in time. Make sure a particular demon got a hold of it. There would be no time for that now. No way to change anything, not unless she could do something. Quickly, she formed the only plan she could think of.
Harmony gripped the crystal tightly and took the onslaught of fists and feet that Buffy offered. Each one hurt, but Harmony had learned a bit since she'd last been back. Not enough for a real fight, but enough to put off the inevitable. She tried to block and spin so that some of Buffy's blows would miss their mark.
Willow and Tara ran to Dawn's side and were now helping her out of the room.
"Faith," Dawn whispered as she leaned on both of the women.
"What, Dawnie?" Willow asked.
"They killed Faith."
Xander heard Dawn's words as he came through the door, set to help. "They killed Faith." he said behind clenched teeth.
"Xander," Buffy pleaded as she held Harmony down against the ground, ready to stake her. She knew only Spike would dust Drusilla, just like only she could kill Angelus.
Spike watched Xander walk towards Drusilla with murder in his eyes. "You killed her, just when she was getting it." He stopped just in front of her. "I guess Angelus really did one hell of a number on you."
Spike spun, putting himself between his old mate and his new friend. He gripped Drusilla tightly with one arm and grabbed Xander's arm with the other.
A look crossed Xander's eyes when he looked down at the hand causing pain below his shoulder, then back up at the former vampire. "I know you want the honors, but I got to do this."
Spike nodded, and turned back around.
Xander looked back at Dru. "Normally, I don't hit women." He looked at her bloodied face, figuring Faith probably got a few good hits in before her death. "At least she went down fighting," He whispered, then punched her already broken nose, and then walked to Buffy and Harmony.
The blonde vampire had stopped her struggling, but Buffy was still straddling the undead woman.
"You," Xander said, "I think I owe." He looked dawn at Harmony, who seemed suddenly very sorry for ever being mean to him in school.
Willow and Tara came back in and stood near the edge of the swirling light that had formed in the floor. "We need to figure out how to close it. Where's the crystal?" Willow said.
"I don't know." Tara looked past the others, then worriedly at the vortex. "We can't close it," She called back.
"I know I can't do the magic, but if we have the crystal you can." Willow told Tara.
Tara looked at Dru, limp in Spike's grasp. "Where is it? Where is the crystal?"
Dru pulled her head up and faced the woman. "You're golden. So pretty."
Tara studied her and decided to play along. "You see the gold?"
Dru smiled and morphed into her demon. "Honey and cakes. Golden honey. We knew you wanted the cakes. But we didn't make extra. Only for two," she giggled.
Tara looked at the portal. "Oh."
Spike spun Drusilla around "We came. Now close it."
Dawn managed to crawl back inside the doorway. She was no longer in danger now that the gang was here. Dru was too hurt herself to harm anything and Harmony was currently in no position to do anything
"Only two can close it," Dru said as she stared into Spike's eyes. "Only two may enter."
Spike, now holding her upper arms, looked down at Dru. "Pet, don't you have a way to close it?"
Her crazy giggles filled the room. "Naughty Spike." She shook her head. "I have an obedient childe."
Harmony twisted her head around so she could see her sire.
"When I am gone, she will still be able to change. One toss, and it all changes." Drusilla grinned. "And we will be," she smiled wickedly at him, "a family."
Harmony thought of the crystal. The one still gripped in her hands. "One toss," she whispered.
Buffy looked back down at her. "What?"
Harmony gazed up at her captor and let slow smile make its way across her lips.
Spike studied the dark eyes that had filled his dreams and his thoughts for a century and realized she only knew little of what she'd done. She knew the plan, but she wasn't all knowing. She had no idea how to stop what she'd started. She never intended to stop it at all, and neither had Quentin.
Like always, she'd taken her cues from the voices that gave her orders, and they were obviously not willing to help him now. "Dru," Spike said and let the stake he had up his sleeve fall into his fist. "You showed me so much." He smiled lightly.
"William?" Dru looked at him, now curious.
"Rest well, pet." And with movement too quick for the others to trace, he pressed the wood into her.
Her dust fell at his feet, but he was unmoving. Xander stood still and watched the man who'd slowly become his friend grieve for a person he was no longer in love with, but who had brought him to the one place he could live fully.
Willow and Tara remained silent as well. They hadn't expected him to do it. Not so quickly anyway.
Buffy watched him as well. Some part of her wanting to be jealous but a bigger part relating to him as it never had.
"Spike?" Dawn's small voice broke the former vampire's reverie, and he looked from the ashes to Dawn's pale face.
"Nibblet? You alright?" He leaned down to her as she nodded.
"She was right, you know?" Harmony looked back up at Buffy who'd loosened her grip on the young childe.
Buffy sighed. "About what?"
Harmony brought up her arm, having just enough room to free her hand. "One throw, and it all changes."
Harmony gave it her best effort and tossed the crystal towards the gaping hole in the unused store's center.
Buffy's eyes widened when she saw the flash of green and red fly through the air. She leapt up, ready to catch it.
Harmony tried to take the opportunity to run out but was stopped by a strong hand. "Oh, no you don't," Xander said and brought back his arm. Gripped in his hand was a stake.
Buffy swiped her hand at the crystal just as it headed to the light emanating from the ground but missed it as it bounced off the edge of the floor and into the chasm of illumination and blinked away, disappearing.
Without thought, she leapt in after it.
"Buffy!!" Dawn screamed as loudly as she could, joined by Willow and Tara.
Xander had just finished off Harmony and fell beside the tunnel. "Buffy!"
Spike looked at it, now just an empty swirl of light, then looked back at Dawn before running and leaping into it himself.
The Scoobies could only watch as two of their members seemed to fill with light, then flash and disappear. Just as Spike's blonde hair vanished, the vortex blinked away.
Dawn crawled to the space her sister had disappeared into. In its place was a pile of ash. The remains of Faith.
"Noooo!!" The teen fell onto her stomach and wailed.
The other's crowded around her, trying to soothe her fears.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
As the end comes, i remember how my mid ran thourhg the next few oprions I had when I wrote this.
Chapter End Notes:
So, here's the deal. I had the oprtion to find a way to end the series here. Instead I decided that I really liked the character of Sam I had created in my head, and wondered to myself... how would she have been? What would she have lived like. So.. theres a book 4 and only one more chappie in this one. Let me know how u feel. I'll take all evil comments and hatred.