Chapter 27
“You know, you were right? Very few actual smarts around here, but plenty of minds just waiting to be drained.” Glory turned to Riley, who stood at her side, like he was her right hand man.
“What is the meaning of this? What are you doing here? Finn, what happened to you?” Riley’s former commander stepped forward.
They were currently standing outside one of the buildings of the military in Sunnydale. Glory had easily burst through their defenses, as Riley opened the door. The commandos were standing there, weapons raised, completely caught off guard by the appearance of an A.W.O.L. Riley and a blonde woman dressed in men’s clothes.
“Tell you what,” Glory said to Riley, ignoring the man in front of her. “Whoever I don’t drain, I’ll let you turn. You can have your own little troupe to command while you work for me.”
Riley grinned back at her.
“Sounds like a plan. Even the Slayer will have her hands full with an army of commando vamps.”
The men gripped their weapons tightly.
“Finn?” The commander questioned again.
Riley turned to the man. The contempt written clearly on his face as he stared him down.
“Sorry. Glory here needs some minds to feed off. I suggested you guys since you really aren’t needed here for anything else. Those of you lucky enough to escape such a fate get to serve under me again, and before you argue, no, you don’t have a choice.”
He shifted into his vampire features and bared his fangs, causing the men to step back a bit. The last thing they expected was to see him return, least of all as a vampire, even if they’d suspected the nature of his late night activities. One of the soldiers who had served under Riley, found his voice. He’d never cared for the man, and he’d been more than happy to see the back of him after the disastrous mission Riley sent them on for his own personal vendetta.
“What makes you think you can take on all of us? In case you’ve forgotten we hunt things like you down. It was a very stupid move to come here.”
Riley snarled and leveled the man with a golden-eyed stare.
“You seem to have forgotten your place. Just for that, I don’t think I’ll be turning you. Have fun losing your mind. As for taking you all on, I don’t need to do much of anything. You really should’ve learned by now. Things on the Hellmouth aren’t what they appear. You’re not up against some average demon here boys. You’re up against a god. And my money. Is on her.”
“Haven’t we had enough chit-chat already?” Glory sighed and stared at her fingernails. “Some of us have people to kill, dimensions to cross, minds to absorb. I have a schedule here people.”
Riley gave her a toothy grin, and stepped back a bit, extending his arm, offering the men to her.
“By all means. Take them. Let’s get this show on the road.”
She took two steps forward.
“Finally.”
The men opened fire on her. Riley had wisely stepped behind her. Bullets wouldn’t kill him, but they would hurt like a bitch. Glory continued forward, the bullets bouncing off her. Riley had a brief image of Superman repelling bullets the same way and chuckled. People wouldn’t need comics if they knew what really existed out there. Of course, the villains were the ones with the real power.
Seeing the guns were having little effect, they switched to the tasers. They did nothing but cause little blue sparks to flicker across her skin while she rolled her eyes.
“Honestly, this is all really annoying. You’re just lucky I’m not wearing my dress. Now, enough play. I think I’ll start with you.” She pointed her finger at the guy who had mothed off to Riley.
The vampire watched, as in mere seconds, she obliterated an army’s sanity. The few she left alone were huddled in a little group, defenseless, staring at the blank-eyed men, moaning and clawing at themselves in horror. She stretched and did a little twirl, a happy smile on her face.
“Mmm, they’re all yours. Not much goin’ on up there, but man, there was enough to get me buzzed! That should hold me until the ceremony is over, then I won’t need them anymore. I’ll be as sane as I ever was back home. Chop-chop, I don’t have all day.”
Riley stalked towards the men. They had lost their weapons as Glory pushed them back and were now cornered by the vampire. He grabbed the nearest one, and hoisted him off his feet so he could look directly into his eyes.
“Count yourself lucky, and welcome to the group.”
He sank his fangs into the guy’s neck, draining him quickly. When the heartbeat was just about to fade, he bit into his own wrist and shoved it against the man’s mouth. Too weak to resist, the soldier was dimly aware of the blood entering his mouth before his life faded away. Riley dropped him, licked his lips, and turned to the next man.Glory watched as the vamp drained them. A little army of vamps wouldn’t do her much good, but they might distract the Slayer long enough for the ritual to be completed or at least, for Riley to snag her Key. To think, she’d been so close to the girl so many times, and never even knew. She could have taken her easily. Now, the Slayer would be pulling out all the stops to protect her. She’d fail of course, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be a thorn in the hell-god’s side until then.
***
Buffy woke up in Spike’s arms. She paused for a second, thinking how strange that was. She’d woken up with him before, sadly only twice so far, but it had been to him gently waking her up or him wrapping an arm around her while she slept. Normally, Buffy tended to lean away from the person she slept with. It was just something she did subconsciously, needing her space. She wasn’t much of a cuddler and surprised to find that she’d turned towards Spike in the night, settling her head on his chest with one arm and one leg wrapped around him.
And I asked him if he could be anymore caveman possessive guy. Now, look at me.
They’d sat together on the couch for a while after everyone left until Buffy announced she really needed sleep and couldn’t think about this any longer. Spike had offered to stay up and keep watch downstairs while she slept. Buffy knew Willow and Tara’s spell would alert them to danger. Xander had fixed the door, so it was secure, and she thought it unlikely that Glory would strike so soon, if she even knew about Dawn. Willow’s transportation spell had to have taken something out of the hell-god. She had asked Spike to join her upstairs instead, since she knew she’d rest easier with him close by. He’d been surprised, but agreed.Nothing had happened. They were both worn out, and their minds were too full of Glory and Dawn. So after removing his duster they had lain down together, fully dressed, and just held each other until they fell asleep. It seemed that even in deep slumber they didn’t want to let go of each other. After admiring his peaceful, contented look for a minute as he slept, she slowly eased up and extricated herself from the vampire. She smiled a little as he frowned and shifted onto his side, closer to the spot she had vacated, but he didn’t wake, and after leaning down to quickly kiss his cheek, she went in search of her Mom and sister.
She found them downstairs watching T.V. Dawn was huddled up on the sofa next to Joyce, who was stroking the young girl’s hair softly, while they stared at whatever show they were watching.
“Hey,” Buffy said as she entered and sat down in one of the chairs.
“Morning Buffy or well, afternoon anyway. My, almost evening. You must have been up a long time last night. When did everyone leave?” Joyce asked, never ceasing stroking Dawn’s hair.
Dawn looked over at Buffy, and gave her a half-hearted smile.
“I don’t really know. Somewhere close to sun-up. Spike and I stayed up a little longer, just to make sure everything was safe here though.”
“Did he spend the night?”
Buffy quickly looked up at her mother. She hadn’t thought about what she was saying. Joyce knew well enough Buffy was no innocent, but she still never approved of boyfriend’s spending the night if she and Dawn were in the house.
“Well yeah, but just so we knew everyone was safe, and I felt better with him around—”
Joyce held up a hand to halt what was sure to turn into another Buffy babble with an amused smile.
“It’s okay honey, you don’t have to explain. I’m happy he stayed here. Two super-beings in the house would definitely help a person to sleep better. Besides, I can tell from your apparel nothing happened. Relax.”
Buffy glanced down at her wrinkled clothes. It was obvious she’d slept in them. She was relieved and a little surprised by Joyce’s reaction. She supposed she could expect anything when it came to her Mom’s reactions about Spike.
“Okay then. Um, I’m gonna go grab something to eat and take a shower, then call the gang over here, and we can work out a plan.” She got up, preparing to head to the kitchen.
“Did you find anything?” Dawn asked, sitting up a little straighter.
Buffy faced her sister and saw the nervous apprehension on her face. Dawn wanted to know what she was meant for, whether or not they could stop Glory, and she was afraid of what would happen if they failed. She wanted answers, and Buffy had learned that while it might hurt, these things were better out in the open. She couldn’t protect her sister from all the badness in the world if she tried to hide it from her.
“There’s a ritual, two nights from now that Glory has to do to return to her hell dimension. If she misses it, she won’t be able to get home. If we stop her getting to you until the ritual’s passed you’ll be safe. We’re working on a way to do that.”
“What does the ritual—? I mean, what do I do? What am I for?”
Joyce cast a quick glance at Buffy. She might be willing to give Dawn answers, but there were some things the Slayer really didn’t want her to know.
“It’s your blood. She needs blood to open a portal to all the other dimensions. She won’t be getting it. I promise you, Dawn. You won’t be used like that. I won’t let her hurt you.” Dawn nodded, her mood somber. Joyce hugged her more tightly, and they turned back to the TV, their minds on other things. Buffy headed into the kitchen, though she wasn’t feeling as hungry anymore.I swear I’ll keep that promise Dawn. No one is going to hurt you. Not even to try and save the world.
***
Spike woke up in Buffy’s bed. He took in his surroundings, and a slow smile crept across his face. Buffy’s room. He’d held Buffy all night or all morning at least, in her room, and it made him happier than he ever could have thought. He frowned when he realized he was alone. He got up and ran a hand through his hair. A few of his curls had come loose from the gel, and he grumbled in annoyance. He’d have to try slick them back a bit before the Scoobies got here. No way was he going to let them see him like that. Buffy may like it, but she was the only one who was going to see it. He patted it down as best he could, grabbed his duster, and headed downstairs.
He could hear the shower going in the bathroom and his senses let him know just who was in there. The thought of Buffy’s naked body, all wet and soapy on the other side of the door, flitted through his brain, and he groaned. While he would be more than happy to give in to his desire to join her, and offer to scrub her back for her, there was no way he was attempting it now with Joyce and the Bit downstairs and a hell-god gunning for them. Adjusting himself slightly, he wrapped his coat around him and continued downstairs, forcing thoughts of wet, naked Slayer out of his head.
“Morning, Spike. Well, you know…Sleep okay?” Joyce asked the minute he stepped off the stairs.
He moved over to the doorway of the living room and smiled sheepishly.
“Uh, yeah. You?”
“Fine. Took a while, but fine. So, you’re getting a plan together today for holding Glory back?”
“That’s the idea. Soon as the others get here anyway.”
“Well, that’s, um, good.”
Neither of them knew what to say anymore. It wasn’t easy to make small talk when you were in the middle of a crisis. Spike thought it was even more difficult to have a conversation with your girl’s mother, while trying to hide the effect images of said girl in the shower were having on you.
“Spike, when was the last time you ate?” Joyce tilted her head as she examined him.
“Uh….” Spike blinked, the question catching him off guard. “Well, last night I guess…”
“No.” Joyce lowered her eyes before looking back at him, concerned and a little awkward. “I mean properly ate. As in—blood.”
“Oh.” Spike was even more taken aback. “Well, two nights ago, I think.”
Joyce nodded. He was looking tired. Of course, they were all exhausted after all the panic last night, but it wouldn’t do for him not to eat. He needed his strength.
“Right. I’ll call Willow and ask her to pick you up some blood on her way over here.”
Spike’s eyes went wide. Joyce was even more accepting of him than he’d thought if she didn’t mind him drinking blood in her house. He barely had time to utter a “Thanks.” as she went to get the phone and make the call. Dawn smiled at the obviously pleased vampire.
“Shouldn’t you have gotten over the fact that we all like you by now?” she asked.
“Don’t think it’ll ever stop surprisin’ me, pet. Been a long time since anyone was nice to me. Can’t expect a bloke not to get all chipper with a group of women fussin’ over him.” Spike grinned.
“I thought I was the only one you needed fussing over you,” Buffy said, as she came downstairs.
Spike turned to look at her and noticed how much more refreshed she seemed compared to last night. The worry was still there, but she had made an effort to look just as peppy as always, like she was ready to take on the world. He smiled and held an arm out to her, feeling the warmth flood through him when she approached and snuggled into his side, allowing him to drape his arm over her shoulder.
“You are, but havin’ the whole family do it is a bonus.” He kissed the top of her head.
“So what’s the fussing about this time?” Buffy asked, giving him a quick squeeze before leading him over to the couch, so they could sit down next to Dawn.
“Your mum’s callin’ Red to get me some blood.”
“Oh, that’s right, you haven’t eaten.” Buffy frowned.
Like mother like daughter, Spike thought, recognizing the concern in her eyes, although she didn’t feel awkward at the topic, and that made him even happier.
“I’ll be fine, luv. Red’ll get here soon an’ I can tuck in. Not gonna collapse just yet.”
Joyce came back in the room and informed them that Willow and Tara would be there shortly with Spike’s blood, and the others were on their way. Giles arrived right after she’d told them and rushed in to spread his notes and translated texts from the box Spike had obtained, on the dining room table, setting it up as command central. Xander and Anya were next, closely followed by the two witches. Buffy took the blood from Willow, disappearing into the kitchen. She came back with a mug in hand that she placed in front of Spike. He picked it up and realized, with pleasant surprise, it was warm.
“You heated it for me?”
“98.6, or as close to that as I could work out on the microwave. The rest is in the fridge. Not near our food, because still, ew…” She smiled at his mock-annoyed head tilt. “But in a drawer of its own. I should convince Mom to give you some freezer space, and we can stock up. Don’t want you to go short again.”
“Thanks, pet.” He pulled her down beside him, and wrapped his arm around her while he drank his blood.
Xander shook his head, a little grossed out by the comfortable way Buffy was handing Spike blood as though it was coffee, but for once kept his mouth shut and turned back to their research. Anya gave him a pat on the back, pleased that his behavior was at last improving.
Hours later, they still hadn’t come up with a satisfactory plan. None of the information they had shed any light on how to kill Glory or fight her, and the only thing that resembled a plan was the idea that they should flee, and go into hiding somewhere until the ritual was over. That was no good either. Glory wasn’t going to let anything get in her way and with the ritual approaching, if they high-tailed it out of town, she’d be on them in an instant. They needed to fight her somehow.
“It keeps saying the same thing. A bazooka won’t even help stop her.” Xander laid his head on the table, fed up with the circles they’d been making all evening.
The others were just as disheartened, but didn’t want to face giving up just yet. Night was approaching, and Buffy was getting edgy, expecting another attack. To be honest, she hadn’t wanted to hope they’d have this much time before Glory came after them. The quiet was getting on her nerves. She was sure the hell-bitch was up to something.
“Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way. Maybe something a little more basic—or not so much basic as old,” Anya piped up.
“Care to explain?” Giles asked taking his glasses off and rubbing his strained eyes.
“Well, instead of bazookas or other fancy weapons, maybe we should look at something that existed when people believed in these gods. I mean, she’s not from our dimension, but that doesn’t mean stuff that hurt the ancients in our world wouldn’t hurt her too.” Anya was practically bouncing in her seat thinking she had a good idea.
“What sort of old stuff?” Buffy asked, interestedly. It was the only lead they had at this point.
“Well, we have that Dagon Sphere that’s supposed to repel her, right? That was put here to be useful, maybe it can hold her off. Ooh, ooh, and the hammer! Olaf’s hammer! He was a sort of god. That should hurt. It hurt you after all.”
It most certainly did, Buffy thought, then again, she wasn’t a god, but it was plausible. Anya was making sense. It seemed to be becoming one of the ex-vengeance demon’s new habits.
“All right, so we may have found a way to hurt Glory, but none of this is guaranteed to kill her. Do you think you could hold her off long enough to stall the ritual?” Giles tried to reason.
“I don’t know, but I can try. Maybe if I hurt her enough she’ll turn back into Ben. A human shouldn’t be hard to deal with,” Buffy mused.
“What about Ben? I mean if Glory still hasn’t attacked maybe she’s still too weak. Why don’t we avoid her and go the safe route. Fight Ben? I mean, we could take out one human to save the world, right?” Xander asked, and paused soon after saying it.
An uncomfortable silence settled over the group, and they all cast glances around the room. Giles chewed on his glasses in thought, observing Buffy. She hugged herself tightly, thinking it over. She wanted to. It was smarter, but…she couldn’t do it. They didn’t hurt humans. She didn’t hurt humans. Xander lowered his head, knowing it was a bad suggestion. They couldn’t kill an innocent. Not even for this.
“You can’t and you won’t,” Spike said firmly, seeing the conflict waging within Buffy. “But I can.”
They all looked at him sharply. Giles lowered his glasses. The others got a little twitchy at the thought of him killing before they remembered the chip.
“The chip—” Buffy began but Spike cut her off, shaking his head.
“I could put up with the pain if I did it quick enough. Hell, if you beat Glory down enough to knock him out it would be easier. I’m not sayin’ it wouldn’ hurt like a bitch, but there are other, quicker means than biting. I’d do it Buffy. To protect Dawn, I’d do it.”
Silence settled over the group again. They watched as the Slayer and vampire stared at each other for a long moment. Buffy made her decision, and the Scoobies recognized her resolve. Giles lowered his head.
“No,” she said plainly.
“Buffy—” Spike started to argue, but she held up a hand to stop him.
“No, Spike. I know you could do it. I know to protect Dawn you’d be willing to…but I can’t let you. You changed. You’re trying to be a better person. I can’t let you throw that away, and I won’t. I won’t be responsible for a human’s death, and I won’t let you be either. Not anymore. We find another way, but you aren’t going to kill again. Not even to save the world. Understand?” She didn’t so much as blink as she stared at him.
Spike wasn’t sure it was the smartest decision, but he knew she meant it, and he could tell that it meant a lot to her and meant a lot for them. He understood why she couldn’t allow him to do that, and he was grateful she was trying to help him redeem himself. Spike didn’t believe in redemption the way his grandsire did. He knew the things he’d done outweighed any good he might do in the future, but he’d follow her lead. He wouldn’t kill again, not even if it seemed right. He’d earned her trust, and he was going to keep earning it.
“Okay then. No killing Ben. Understood, Slayer.” Spike nodded.
Buffy softened her gaze at him, telling him silently how thankful she was, and also how proud she was of him at that moment.
“So, I guess we make a trip to the Magic Box to pick up the mystical items we need then?” Willow asked.
“Yep. It means I’m going to have to leave here though. That hammer is too heavy for anyone else. Super-strength is required.” Buffy chewed on her lip.
“Well, we could stay here and make sure everything’s okay. I’m sure I could zap Glory away again if I had to, only I’d need some supplies. And Tara and I were thinking about this spell, a really strong one that we’re not sure will work, and will take a lot out of us if we can pull it off, but it might weaken Glory. We still aren’t sure, but we might be able to do it if you can distract her.” Willow was practically bouncing in her seat, thinking she could help fight the hell-god, if Buffy could weaken her first.
“What sort of spell?” Giles asked, curious.
“One that could help restore some of the minds she sucked dry. It would make her unstable, fuzzy. Her tie to reality would weaken,” Willow explained.
“Sounds good. Okay then, you guys go get your stuff, and get back here as soon as you can. Once you’re back I can head to the Magic Box and get the hammer and Dagon Sphere.” Buffy took charge of her little group. Pleased they had something to do at last.
Tara and Willow left almost immediately to fetch supplies. Joyce and Dawn came back downstairs. Dawn wanted to be at the meeting, but Joyce had decided it would be less of a worry for her to hear the battle plan, or lack thereof, until Buffy had worked out something concrete to tell them. Giles and the Slayer explained to the Summers clan what they were preparing to do, reassuring them that there was a high possibility they could come out of this on top. Spike watched with interest as his Slayer rallied her troupes, the fire back in her eyes, as she prepared for battle at last.
What they didn’t know was that the battle might have arrived sooner than they expected, as a number of shadowy figures approached the house on Revello Drive.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
So sorry for the delay. Took a while to get edited for various reasons, mainly mis-communication and scheduling difficulties, but it's here. I promise I'll do my best to get the final three chapters up much sooner, and keep the updates regular. I've missed posting and I can't wait to mark this fic as complete.
Thank you to Sanityfair for being a wonderful beta. Any mistakes left are mine and not hers. Thank you everyone who's been reading and reviewing and adding this to their favorites. It means so much to me, and I hope you enjoy the final chapters.
Thank you to Sanityfair for being a wonderful beta. Any mistakes left are mine and not hers. Thank you everyone who's been reading and reviewing and adding this to their favorites. It means so much to me, and I hope you enjoy the final chapters.