Chapter 21 – Light Show
Their break from Glory was short-lived. Ten minutes after she had
disappeared, she seemed to come out of nowhere as Buffy caught a square hit
to the jaw. Staggering backwards, Buffy fought the stars that were dancing
in front of her eyes as Glory advanced on her again. “Did you really think
that would work?” she asked, kicking Buffy in the stomach, sending her flying
into the brick siding of the house.
“I think it worked just fine,” Buffy replied, painfully climbing to her feet
as Angel grabbed Glory from behind while Spike managed to get some hits in.
“Come on, Willow,” Buffy murmured, joining in the fight again.
Gunn and Cordy did their best to draw Glory’s attention away from her main
threats, but they were failing. Buffy gasped as Glory grabbed both Spike
and Angel by their necks, spinning slightly to throw them as
far away as possible.
“Your boyfriends are getting on my nerves,” she said, raising an eyebrow at
Buffy.
Ducking a punch, Buffy swept her legs out from under her, proud when she
knocked her off her feet. “First of all,” Buffy started, landing a hard
kick to her head and smiling. “Only one of them is my boyfriend.
Secondly,” she continued with another kick. “If you would just die, like a
good little Hellbitch, then we could all go on our merry way.”
“You can’t kill me,” Glory said with a laugh, catching Buffy’s foot and
throwing her backwards.
Buffy managed to flip herself, landing upright to stand face to face with
Glory again. She could see Spike and Angel, painfully trying to get closer
without being seen, but everyone soon became distracted as lightening
flashed dangerously close to them.
“Here we go,” Buffy said softly, knowing what she had to do as a portal
began to open.
“Buffy!” Spike yelled as Buffy advanced on Glory again, punching her in the
jaw before taking a few steps back, needing to distance herself for the time
being.
“What’s this? A little light show?” she asked with a sardonic smile.
“Something like that,” Buffy replied, watching as the portal got bigger.
Taking a deep breath when it reached its full-size, Buffy began running at
Glory, seconds before she felt the wind knocked out of her as she landed on
the ground. “Spike?” she asked in confusion as she looked around before
her eyes widened at the sight before her. “SPIKE!”
She jumped to her feet as Spike managed to wrap both arms around Glory’s
waist, using his momentum to propel them both into the portal.
“NO!” Buffy screamed as she ran for it, screaming when she felt Angel tackle
her to the ground as the portal closed. “Let me go!” she screamed, trying
to struggle out of his strong grasp.
Angel checked to make sure it was closed before releasing his hold. Buffy
ran for the area that Spike had disappeared, dropping to her knees, her body
shaking with sobs as she clutched at the grass.
The rest of the group ran toward them worriedly.
“Did it…” Willow trailed off as she looked at Buffy. “Oh Goddess, what
happened?”
“Spike,” Cordy mumbled as everyone stared in shock. “Spike jumped in…took
Glory with him.”
Buffy suddenly seemed to realize everyone was there as she jumped up, tears
streaking down her face. “Willow! You have to find him. You and Tara, you
can do it, right? You can bring him home?”
“Buffy,” Giles said gently, taking a step forward to put a hand on her
shoulder. “We chose that particular portal because there is no way to
return from it.”
“It’s possible that he…” Wesley began, taking a deep breath before he continued.
“It’s possible he didn’t even survive.”
“No,” Buffy said firmly, shaking her head. “You can find him, Willow,
please,” she begged, her body convulsing in tears again. “Please!”
Tara whispered something to Willow, who nodded her agreement.
“Buffy,” Tara began, swallowing hard as she continued. “We can see
where he is…if he survived. But there’s no way to bring him back.”
Buffy took a shaky breath as Xander wrapped a comforting arm around her
shoulders. “Do it,” she said forcefully.
“Buffy, you have to understand, it will practically be a glimpse,” Willow
said gently. “We’ll be lucky if we can keep the spell working for more than
five minutes.”
“Please, Willow,” Buffy begged. “Please just find him.”
Willow, Tara, Wesley, and Giles quickly arranged the crystals they had used
for the earlier spell as Willow brought out a book of spells.
Several minutes that felt like hours to Buffy, passed before they began
chanting. Buffy nervously wrung her hands as she began pacing, silently
willing them to work faster. After ten nerve-wracking minutes, Willow
gasped as she looked into the area the crystals were surrounding. “Oh my
God.”
“What?” Buffy asked, practically flying toward the group. “What?” she asked
again, the desperation evident in her voice.
“He’s not in the dimension,” Tara murmured as they struggled to keep the
spell working.
“Where is he?” she asked as Angel came to stand behind her, looking over her
shoulder as they stared at a very confused Spike, who was pacing in front of
a strange-looking man and woman.
“Where the bloody hell am I?” His voice had a tin-like quality, as if they
were listening to him through a wall- which they technically were.
Buffy let a small smile come to her lips, happy that he survived and
didn’t seem to be in any immediate danger.
“The Oracles,” Angel said in shock.
“The what?” Buffy asked, turning to face him for a brief second.
“They’re kind of…they’re like the spokespeople for the Powers That Be.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Buffy said, looking at Spike’s image. “Is he in
danger?”
“I don’t think so,” Angel said softly as he watched.
“Shhh,” Wesley commanded as they began listening to the conversation.
“You have done a very noble deed, lower being,” the woman said, circling
Spike slowly.
“Is that right?” Spike asked skeptically as he kept an eye on both of them.
“What’s it to you?”
“To us?” the man asked. “Nothing. The question you should be asking is,
how does it affect you?”
“Alright then, I’ll bite…how does it affect me?”
“You have sacrificed yourself to save the woman you love,” the woman said
with a bored expression. “For a soulless demon such as yourself, this is a
huge accomplishment. For it, you shall be rewarded.”
Spike raised his eyebrow skeptically. “So…do I get to be a real boy?” he
asked in a mocking tone. “Get to go all Shanshu, like Peaches is always
going on about?”
“No,” the man replied. “The Shanshu prophecy is for the vampire with a
soul. You have no soul.”
“What’s in it for me, then?” Spike asked, still doubtful.
“We have an offer for you.”
“You mean I don’t get to pick what I want?” Spike asked with a smile.
“Perhaps,” the woman said. “But our offer is this: you live out the rest of
your days with the woman you love.”
“And when she dies?” Spike asked, his brow furrowed.
“When she dies, you live on. The offer is not to become human…merely to
exist again.”
“Is this the only option?” Spike asked.
“Here is another,” the man replied. “You live. When she dies, you die as
well.”
Spike closed his eyes, clenching his jaw. “And be separated for eternity?”
“That is not for us to decide.”
“What is your answer?” the woman asked.
Spike stared down at the ground, his jaw tightening as he came to a decision. “No.”
Buffy felt as if her heart was stopping as the spell broke. “Can you get it
back?” she asked desperately, already knowing the answer. The group was
exhausted. Willow would be lucky to do a simple levitation spell the way
she looked.
“He said no,” Buffy murmured, her tears returning in full force. “How could
he say no?” she asked, turning away as she nearly collapsed.
Angel quickly caught her in his arms, seconds before she lost consciousness.
* * * * *
Buffy opened her eyes, feeling the pain tear through her heart as she looked
around her old house.
“Are you okay?” Willow asked nervously.
“No,” Buffy said, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks as she sat up to face
everyone in the living room. “I’m not okay…how could he? I thought he
loved me,” Buffy whispered as her body shook. Willow and Tara quickly sat
on each side of her, offering her all the comfort they could.
“I’m sure he had his reasons,” Cordelia said softly, leaning forward in her
chair as a soft knock sounded on the door.
Giles went to answer it. “Dear Lord!”
Everyone turned in time to see Spike walk into the living room. Buffy
stared in shock, seconds before leaping to her feet and flinging herself at
the blonde vampire. He caught her, bringing her close to his body and
wrapping her in a tight hug as his face buried in her hair.
“You’re here,” Buffy said softly, pulling back slightly to look at him as
everyone stared in surprise. “It’s really you?”
“It’s me, baby,” he whispered, his voice sounding exhausted. “Can we talk
outside for a few minutes?”
Buffy nodded, walking out of the house with him, waiting until the door shut
behind him before letting a punch fly to land solidly on his nose.
”Bloody hell! What’d you do that for?”
“I saw you,” Buffy cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I saw
the…whatever they were, make you an offer. TWO actually, and you turned them down.”
“I’m here, aren’t I, luv?”
Buffy let the tears continue to fall as she pulled him closer to her,
sobbing into his chest. “You scared me to death,” she whispered.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“You should be gone, Spike. You jumped into that portal, and you had no
intention of coming back. How could you do that?”
Spike pulled back to cup her face in his hands. “Because I couldn’t let
you do it…not again.”
“Then how are you here? Are you human?”
“No,” Spike said, shaking his head. “That wasn’t part of the deal. In
fact…I’m still one hundred percent vampire, nothing was done to me.”
“Then…what was the deal?” Buffy asked in confusion.
“It was for you,” he said softly, almost ashamed.
“For me?”
“Buffy, I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I didn’t even stop to think about-“
“Spike! What was it?” she asked, turning his eyes toward hers.
“You’re Immortal.”
A/N Aaah, so many beautiful opportunities for a cliffhanger (the most tempting, being after Spike said ‘No’). However, I didn’t want an angry mob crowding my lawn, so I opted for the one you might like a little more. Please review, I’d love to know what everyone thinks!
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