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Chapter 22 – Final Confrontation


Willow led the group to a side door of the factory, quickly doing a spell to unlock the door while Spike stood further away, the shadows of the night concealing him from prying eyes. Buffy could hear his grumbling about not being the first to go in and had to smile.

As Willow got the door unlocked, she carefully opened it and let the others go in first. Giving Spike a nod, she followed them and quickly scaled a ladder to the balcony with Fred, wanting to have an advantage over Cassidy. Willow was busy performing a spell to counteract the thrall with Fred’s help. Though Spike was immune to it now that he was dead, it could still cause trouble for the rest of the living members of the group. Spike slipped through the door and stayed close to the wall of the tiny hallway.

“Okay, anyone see Cassidy?” Buffy asked as they looked at more than fifty vampires milling around the main floor. Most were napping or playing cards while a few walked the perimeter of the building.

“I don’t think she’s in this part of the factory,” Spike whispered.

“Makes sense. I don’t think she’d want to lower herself to talking to her workers. As long as they take orders, she's probably holed up in a more luxurious setting,” Buffy commented.

“I don’t think anything in this neighborhood would be considered luxurious,” Cordy said, wrinkling her nose.

“Second,” Gunn agreed with a nod.

The group froze when a vampire walked by the small entrance. Before he could turn and check the hallway, the blade of Buffy’s sword flew through the air, turning him to dust before he could see them. Looking up at Willow, who was ten feet above them, Buffy received a thumbs up that they hadn’t been noticed.

“Okay, guys. I think we’re just gonna have to jump in and do this,” she said, looking at the group.

At her nod, Angel and Cordy followed her out of the hall, and each immediately were thrown into a fight. Gunn, Fred, and Wesley took the opposite end of the building as Spike watched, frustrated that he couldn’t come out of the shadows. He kept a careful eye on his friends, but his attention was focused on Buffy as she fought.

‘If she gets in trouble, sod the plan,’ he thought, gritting his teeth as he watched Buffy elegantly swing the sword at two vampires. The group began to thin to two dozen vampires, and Spike saw a door swing open to his left. Watching as Cassidy emerged and felt like his jaw was going to break as he held himself back from attacking her himself.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Cassidy said, watching the group attacking her minions. The remaining dozen quickly made their way over to their leader as Cassidy stared at Buffy. “I’ll give you credit- I never thought you would escape, but now that you have, you shouldn’t have come back.”

“Go shove it, honey. I don’t run away from a fight,” Buffy replied with a falsely sweet smile.

“Oh,” Cassidy replied. “So that’s why you ran away to L.A.”

Buffy smile broadened at Cassidy’s weak attempts to get under her skin. “Everyone needs a vacation. A little fun in the sun, I’m sure you can understand,” she replied in a mocking tone.

“You don’t seem too upset that your lover died.”

Shooting a quick glance at Spike’s hiding place, she gave him a small smile, seeing him smirk and wink at her. “What can I say,” Buffy said with a shrug. “You win a few, you lose a few.”
The six quickly rushed the group of vamps as Cassidy stood stunned at the words that came out of Buffy’s mouth. Buffy watched Spike come up from behind and stake two vamps before they knew he was there. As the group dwindled, he staked another while Buffy fought four, and the others quickly worked on disbanding another three.

Tapping Cassidy on the shoulder, she turned and was met with a fist to the jaw. Quickly got to her feet, she stood in shock as she stared at Spike. “You’re dead.”

“You’re a clever one, pet,” Spike said as he hit her again. “I could have staked you already, but I wanted to make sure you knew it was me that was turning you to dust. Kind of poetic, don’t you think?”

Cassidy began to fight back as Spike landed a kick to her side. Feeling someone come up behind him, he turned and began fending off another vampire. Quickly staking him, he turned to face Cassidy again, looking around the room, confused that she wasn’t there. Catching a glimpse of movement, he turned and saw her holding Buffy with a knife to her throat. Running over to the pair, Spike heard the anger in Buffy’s voice. “That won’t kill me.”

“No,” Cassidy said. “Maybe not, but it will incapacitate you long enough for me to stake you. Or I could simply keep cutting until you’re dust. Which do you prefer?”

Rushing toward them, he stopped when Cassidy pulled a stake out of her pocket and held it to Buffy’s heart. “Uh uh, Spike. You don’t want me to do something impulsive now, would you?”

Staring at Buffy in panic, he watched as she looked up to the next level and gave a brief nod.

“Separate!”

Hearing Willow’s voice, Spike smiled when Buffy and Cassidy were propelled twenty feet apart. Rushing to Cassidy, not wanting her to get away again, he landed a level kick to her head, bringing his stake out and plunging it into her heart. “How’s that for dramatic irony,” he said to her shocked face just before she exploded into dust. Rising from his kneeling position, he brushed off his hands and turned to face the group. Frowning when he saw Buffy still laying on the floor, Spike ran over to her.

“Buffy, are you…”

Trailing off Spike cut himself off when he saw the blood pooling out onto the dingy floor around her. “Buffy!”

At the sound of Spike’s frantic voice, the others ran over to the couple. Gently raising her head, he saw the gash that covered more than half her neck, feeling panic grip him. “Buffy! Answer me, baby!”

“Spike, we need to get her out of here,” Cordy said gently from behind him.

He heard Willow gasp as she came up behind them. “Oh goddess! The knife must have gotten her anyway. I’m so sorry,” she cried as tears streamed down her face.

“Okay!” Angel shouted. “Everything is going to be okay- she just needs blood.” Turning to Willow, he continued, “Willow, I need you to go get some blood. It’ll help her heal faster. We need to…”

Angel trailed off when he noticed everyone staring at something behind him. Turning to see a semi-conscious Buffy propped up by Spike and sinking her teeth into his neck- everyone watched entranced at the intimate display as Buffy sucked hungrily from his neck, taking in several swallows of blood before slowly pulling away and reverting back to her human features.

Breathing in unneeded gulps of air, Spike pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re going to be okay, baby,” he said in a weakened voice.

“Spike, you shouldn’t have done that-”

“Shhh,” he whispered, looking into her eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

Groggily watching Spike take off his duster and rip the long sleeve off the shirt he was wearing, she gave him a gentle smile when he folded it in half and pressed it against her neck, tenderly holding it in place.

“Come on, guys. Let’s go,” Cordy said, helping Spike to his feet and bracing him between Wesley and herself as Gunn helped Angel pick up Buffy.

Once they were all safely in the car, Buffy snuggled closer to Spike, even though she was sitting in his lap. “I love you,” she mumbled as her eyes closed.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he kissed the top of her head, he sighed. “I love you, too. Get some rest.”

Smiling when she burrowed closer to him and yawned, he waited a few minutes until she drifted off to sleep before pulling the cloth away from her neck to inspect the damage, breathing a sigh of relief that it was already starting to heal. Putting the fabric back in place, he wrapped his arms around her. “You’re going to be just fine, love.”





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