There were screams filling the hallway. Buffy and Spike ran out to see everyone running around amok. The sound of glass breaking was heard all around them accompanied by screeching sounds from outside. Buffy ran to one of the windows and noticed that there were people running from the hotel lobby and out into the streets. Away from here. That may be a wise thing.

Giles came out of his room with Dawn and Andrew. Willow, Issa, Kennedy and Xander stood down the other end of the hallway.

Xander ran up to them exhausted. "Guys... there's a dragon. A dragon. Out there! Did anyone know there was going to be a dragon? Cus I didn't!"

"Angel knew, he wanted to slay it," Spike sneered.

They all turned to Spike. He rolled his eyes. "What? It was here in the beginning, then it left, I thought it was gone!"

Faith came running out of her room, Robin close behind her. "Yo! Did you guys see that thing? It's wings are like bigger than this building! It's wicked cool! I think it's even breathing fire!" Faith yelled. She was actually excited about it.

Buffy had to think of a plan and quickly. The sun was about to rise, which meant, no vampires outside. There's always the sewers. She laughed in her head at the fact she knew all about sewers.

"Faith, take your the girls to the lobby. Use the stairs. Xander I need you and Giles to find out where the nearest sewer entrance is from here . Wil and Issa, get to high ground. Do whatever magicks you have to. Andrew, Dawn, follow Giles. Where's Angel?"

"Uh Buff, I really don't want to be separated from Issa, can't I just..," Xander protested.

"Fine Xander. Stay close to them. Robin, can you go with Giles? Where's Angel?" she asked again.

Spike turned around to see an upset Angel and Illyria holding Gunn. Gunn was pretty bloody but he was conscious and that's always a good sign.

"How ya holdin up there, Charlie Boy?" Spike asked him.

"I'm healing. Thanks to Willow," Gunn remarked.

Willow smiled. "No problem Gunn, but we all need to get out of here." She turned to Angel. "Can you manage to carry Gunn downstairs?"

"Yea." Angel said, still seeming disturbed.

"Great," Buffy said. "Let's go!"

They piled into the stairwell, running, tripping over each other. Spike stayed close behind Buffy. She looked back at him noticing they were still in their pajamas. She couldn't help but to chuckle. He saw what she was looking at and chuckled himself.

"Nothing says 'Dragon Slayer" better then Golf Ball jammies," Spike joked.

Buffy laughed louder. The echo from the stairwell was deafening. She cupped her hand over her mouth and laughed softer.

Spike smiled all the way down the steps. "I love this part. This excitement before the big fight."

"That's because you're insane, Spike" Robin joked.

The alley was still damp from the night of rain. Trash cans littered the ground. It was that moment before dawn, that twilight zone. The sun would start rising soon. She had to get Angel and Spike into the sewers. She could still hear the loud shrieks of the dragon. What was it doing? Why was it just flying around making noises?

Giles came from around the corner. He kept looking up at the sky, fearing the dragon's swoops. "The sewer entrance is right around here," Giles shouted.

Buffy nodded to Spike. Angel, Illyria and Gunn ran past them towards Giles. Faith rallied some of the girls to follow them. The rest would stay behind with her and Buffy. Buffy turned to Spike again. He was staring at the dragon.

"Spike, you need to follow them. Go!" Buffy demanded.

Spike moved in close to her. "No," Spike protested.

Buffy was shocked. What did he just say? "No? Spike, the sun's coming up!"

"Buffy, I can help. When the sun rises, I'll go into the sewers, I swear to you. But let me help the first wave."

"Spike, look at you. You're shirtless and in pajama bottoms! You don't even have shoes on!"

Spike looked down at his feet then to Buffy's. Hers were bare too. She noticed this, then rolled her eyes.

"Okay, but Spike, I swear. If you die again, I'm going to kill you!"

Spike smiled at her as she handed him one of her swords.

The girls waited for the signal. Buffy, Faith and Spike went ahead onto the street with weapons in each hand. Buffy had her trusty Scythe in one hand and an ax in the other. Robin came running after them, crossbow over his shoulder. Buffy turned to him and motioned for him to stay back . She wanted a lead on this thing before anyone else joined in.

She heard someone run along side her. Angel. God, what's with these vampires?

"Angel, What are you doing here?"

"You think I'm going to let you guys have all the fun? I claimed the dragon way before any of you did," Angel said cattily.

Buffy sighed. She didn't have time to argue. Illyria caught up to them and kept her gaze on Buffy. Buffy felt her eyes on her, but ignored it. The shrieking was getting louder, which meant the dragon was closer. Willow, Xander and Issa climbed up to the roof top. The night sky was still dark, but the hint of sunrise was there. Willow motioned for Issa to get ready. Xander was worried. Being on the roof meant being closer to the dragon. He saw the thing flying up above. It was huge. Bigger than anything he has ever seen. Even bigger than the Mayor Snake. It looked mad, hungry, and it wasn't leaving without killing someone, or all of them.

Willow and Issa would take care if that though. As they started a chant, a glowing green barrier circled them. Xander smiled. "That's my girls!"

Willow stopped. "The barrier should hold for a while. We'll be practically invisible to the dragon."

Robin neared the sewer entrance where Giles was guarding. Giles nodded at him and handed him a satchel full of arrows for his crossbow. Robin grabbed it, then made his way down the street. He waited, ready for the dragon's descent. The dragon flew down and swooped at Buffy and Spike. Buffy squatted and pulled Spike down with her. The dragon let out an awful shriek, then flew back up.

"Come on bastard. You want some of this..?" Faith instigated.

"Ya know, It probably doesn't understand you," Spike informed her.

"Yea, well, how do you say 'dead meat' in dragonese?" Faith joked.

The dragon swooped down again, this time not near them, but to where Robin stood. Faith looked in horror. Robin was alone. What the hell was he doing. She started to run towards him. He frantically began loading up his crossbow, his hands shaking as he did so. He shot an arrow at the dragon as it neared him. It just bounced off of it. Robin stood there frozen.

"Oh that worked well," he sneered.

He had to make the best at what he had, so he loaded up another arrow. As he aimed, the arrowhead lit up into a big flame. He saw Willow on the rooftop of the building across the street. He smiled a thanks to her.

"Now, that'll work" He shot the arrow at the dragon. The flame licked it's side. The dragon shrieked and drew back. It soared back up towards the sky.

Faith caught up to him. "What the hell are you doing by yourself?" Faith yelled.

Before he could answer, the dragon swooped down at them. He fired another 'flaming' arrow at it. It was doing some damage, he could tell. "Staying alive. " He told her.

Faith looked over to Spike, Angel, Illyria, and Buffy who were standing ground, watching the dragon. The rest of the girls came out to help.

The dragon decended, this time breathing fire towards Kennedy. She ducked the flames then ran in and stabbed the dragon's claw. It flinched, but it didn't seem to effect it. It lifted the wounded claw and kicked Kennedy clear across the street. She was knocked hard, but rose up ready to strike again. Vi and Rhona joined in and both grabbing the dragon's other claw. It kicked them into the building. The dragon backed off and flew back up. Kennedy limped over and joined Faith and Robin.

"Hey, B, next time it goes down, slice it's wing, if ya can!" Faith yelled out.

Buffy nodded and leaned into them. "Guys, here it comes, ready?"

Spike smiled. "Always."

Spike bent down as Buffy jumped onto his back for leverage. She jumped off and whacked the dragon's wing with her scythe. She got it! The dragon swung around and knocked Buffy into the side of the building.

Spike straightened out then looked in horror. "Buffy!" He tried to run her way, but was blocked by the dragon's tail coming in a full sweep. It knocked Spike in the opposite direction. He was slammed into a wall, then his body fell into a trash bin. Unconscious.

Angel helped Illyria onto the dragon's back. She gave it a swift jab then fell to it's feet. Faith and Robin ran closer to it, as Robin shot arrows at it. Faith threw one of her axes at it's head. It just bounced off.

"What the..?" she mumbled.

Angel watched the dragon closely. They had to duck fireballs coming from the rooftops. Good ol' Willow.

"Hey, Wil, careful with those!" Angel yelled.

The fireballs seemed to do something though. The dragon flew up, trying to spot where it came from, but couldn't find them. Then it focused it's eyes back onto the street. The dragon flew down again and knocked a few girls to the ground. They were okay, they got back up and dusted themselves off.

Illyria ran over to Buffy. She offered her hand. Buffy accepted and allowed Illyria to help her up from the wet pavement. She held her head, feeling something sticky under her fingers. Blood. She searched for Spike. Where was he? She spotted Angel, Faith, Kennedy and Robin. No Spike.

"Guys, where's.."

Faith turned to Buffy. "Buffy, watch out!"

Before Buffy could comprehend, the dragon snatched her up with it's claws. Illyria tried to catch it's toe when it flung her into the side of the building, cracking the cement. Illyria fell like a rag doll.

Buffy lost her breath. This thing clutched her tight. As it soared higher into the sky, Buffy struggled. The more she wriggled, the tighter it squeezed. "Crap." She said when she realized she dropped her scythe.

As Issa held her hand up to let loose another fireball, Willow stopped her. "Wait, it's got someone. It's to risky."

"No, Buffy!" Xander cried out.

Angel paced, eyes turned to the ground, then back to the dragon. "We have to do something. Fast," he demanded.

"Yea, got that, but what?" Faith asked him

Spike awoke in darkness. What in the bloody hell is that smell? He struggled to get to his feet. He noticed he was in a trash bin. Great! As he climbed out, he saw an empty alley. He still heard the excitement of the dragonfest, so he followed the sounds. He spotted Faith staring upwards. There it was, clutching something. Someone. Buffy! He looked frantically for his sword. He couldn't find it but he didn't care. He needed to find a way up to the roof so he could jump onto that dragon's back and somehow help Buffy. He noticed the fire escapes along a building, so immediately made his way over to it. Angel came after him, sword in each hand, offering one.

"Spike, here. Let's kill this thing!"

On that note, Spike grabbed the sword and they both climbed up the fire escape. It was still wet and slippery, but that didn't slow them down.

"Half breeds!" Illyria yelled from below.

Angel and Spike stopped and looked down. She stood there looking broken, but alive.

"What Illyria, we don't have much time," Angel asked.

She cocked her head to one side and smirked. "Don't forget the heart!" she shouted.

Spike and Angel's eyes met. "The heart," Angel whispered.

Spike understood and continued up. Once they reached the rooftop, Angel ran to the other side. He can clearly see everyone on the ground. Spike stood behind him, looking for the dragon. A loud shriek came from behind them.

There it was, holding Buffy in it's claws. Anger built inside Spike. Angel felt it, then lay his hand on Spike's shoulder. Spike turned to him, confused.

"We'll save her Spike," Angel assured him.

Spike nodded. He was unsure of Angel's intimacy. But regardless, they had a slayer to rescue.

"Hey dragon! Come on, more vittles over here..! Come on!" Spike yelled to get it's attention.

He knew it didn't understand him, but he had to think of a way to attract it. It worked. The dragon snapped it's head in their direction. It's wings spread, then flapped violently.

"Here it comes," Angel warned.

Angel and Spike got into position as the dragon approached. It hovered in between the roof they were on and Willow. It just remained there, in mid air, flapping it's wings. They weren't sure what it was doing.

Then Spike saw Willow directing her attention on the dragon, holding out her hand firmly. She must have found a way to get it to be stationary.

"Bloody brilliant," Spike said to himself. He turned to Angel. "Ready?"

Angel nodded and they both took off. They ran fast to the edge of the roof. In unison, they jumped, yelling loudly. Almost in slow motion, they slammed into the dragon, both swords plunging into the skin of it's chest. It's heart. The dragon let out a deafening roar, then it released Buffy. She fell hard onto the pavement.

Spike and Angel slammed onto the ground next to her. The three of them lay on the pavement, looking up at the dragon. The dragon made a few jerky movements, then fell limp. It came crashing down right next to them. Angel had to move Buffy out of the way to ensure it didn't land on her.

As the three of them tried gather their senses, Faith, Robin and Giles came to check on them, Dawn and Andrew behind them. The slayers all watched in amazement. That was probably the coolest thing they will ever see.

Angel rose helping up a still dazed Buffy. She thanked him, noticing him looking down past her. She followed his gaze at Spike. He was bending down towards the ground, hyperventilating.

Angel ran over to him, Buffy following. Spike could barely catch his breath. Wait...breath?

"What's wrong with him?" Buffy shouted. She looked at Angel.

Angel seemed genuinely concerned. He bent down to help Spike up. Spike turned his head towards Angel. He looked confused, sick. A single tear ran down his cheek.

The sun was slowly peaking through the horizon. Angel knew at that moment what had happened to Spike. Spike was breathing.

He was alive.