Chapter Five
Blood

For all her preoccupations with the Slayer, Elizabeth had come to Sunnydale for a purpose other than vengeance.

As much as it consumed her, the master vampire was not foolish enough to allow it power over her. For four hundred years, she had sat in her prison, dreaming of vengeance while fighting to remain sane and she had crafted a beautiful and elegant vengeance that when delivered would be complete and damning. Her confidence in being able to bring about what no other vampire, since the beginning of the long battle between light and day, had managed to accomplish was next to supreme. She knew that she would have the Slayer, of this there was no doubt in her mind. Already the pieces for this particular gambit had been set in place, awaiting the rest of the board to be similarly prepared in order for the game to begin.

In this instance, the board was the Hellmouth and to begin the game, she need only roll the dice.

The spell was older than time and its exact origins were beyond the memory of even the most ancient recordings of human civilization. She had come upon it in the days when she was still human when she dabbled in the dark powers and collected oddities from the far corners of the earth. Her servants went far and wide searching for what they did not know, only compelled to find the most bizarre and exquisite for her. The Grim Moire was unlike any other in existence, mostly because its pages were made from human skin and the language was little more than a primitive cuneiform.

At first, she had nearly driven herself mad attempting to find someone who could translate this long-dead language. Locked in its pages, she was certain was the darkest secrets of magic craved by all who practised the arcane arts. Yet, it was denied to her because the tongue in which it was spoken was a language lost to the world. Elizabeth was beside herself in frustration when an accident with a smashed cup during one drunken fit of anger, suddenly gave her the answer. She remembered the gash that had been cut across her hand from the broken fragment of ceramic, how it had trickled down her hand and landed on an open page. She expected to see an angry stain, obscuring further what she already could not read. However, there was no such blight upon the old, leathery surface

The blood had seeped into the page and suddenly the words became clear. The book in itself was alive and it was hungry. To offer her the world, it needed a sacrifice in blood.

It was a need Elizabeth was more than capable of satisfying, even before she took the journey into sunless lands and became a creature of the night. In truth, becoming a vampire was the culmination of a journey that she had been travelling all her life. While some might find it devastating to be stripped of humanity, Elizabeth found it liberating. In one instance, she had everything she would ever want, immortality and eternal beauty, she accepted that power was something she would have to acquire herself. The Grim Moire would be the key in which she used to rule the night.

And feed it she did during her reign as Countess of Csejthe. With ignorant peasant girls ripe for the purpose of feeding her and the book, she had almost been able to fulfil her desires to split the earth in two and release those within its darkened innards that would worship as its master for the freedom she had delivered to them. It would have been a glorious new age, a testimony to Armageddon. She had been on the verge of making it a reality when her preoccupation to her cause had allowed a Slayer to enter her fortress and defeat her.

There were rules as old as time between hunter and prey and who was who when she and the Slayer faced each other was unclear but she accepted that she could be killed, that defeat was possible. She was a daughter of a Magyar clan who understood all too well that death came when one was weaker than the Enemy. If the Slayer had just killed her, Elizabeth would have accepted it. But the Slayer did not do that and even by vampire standards, what the Slayer had done to her was a living hell from which she spent the next four centuries trying to escape.

The Slayer had broken the rules and so would Elizabeth.

When she opened the Hellmouth, the Slayer would be her offering to her new minions. She would offer the eternal soul of the Slayer for their feasting pleasure, to ensure that the young woman named Buffy who was a vampire slayer would also be the last of her kind.

Tonight, however, was not about the Slayer. Tonight was about the Hellmouth.

Sweeping into the remnants of what used to be the Sunnydale High School, Elizabeth was confronted by a vision of destruction. According to her human agent Alexander, this chaos had been the result of a battle between the Slayer and the Mayor of Sunnydale. The Mayor who aspirations of ascension into demon hood had died a quick death when he was led through the labyrinth of the school halls to several tones of explosives. Elizabeth had little sympathy for a man who would spend the last two centuries preparing himself to ascend to a new level of existence and then risk the entire procedure by making his final transition in front of the entire student body and the Slayer.

"So this is the gateway to the Hellmouth?" She asked, her gaze moving across the destroyed library. Blackened fragments of paper and binding littered the floor with debris that was composed either of rock, plaster, wood and even ashy remains of the Mayor.

"This is it," Xander replied, kicking a piece of wood out of his way as he followed her to the large fissure that ran through the floor of the room. "This is where the magic happens." He said nervously.

Elizabeth studied him for a moment and noticed that there was genuine fear in his eyes and she could very well understand it. She sensed the power emanating from deep within the earth beneath her. It whispered to her, drawing her to its darkness, the way it had no doubt drawn so many creatures to it in the years of past. The human named Xander was finding it difficult to be in this place, not simply because it was the mouth to hell but also because of its place in his memory. He had told her that this was the hub from which the Slayer and her friends launched most of their assaults upon the demons and vampires of Sunnydale, much of their time was spent here in the wall of this library. When it had been destroyed at the end of their high school year, it had not merely been an ending but a symbol of the youth they were leaving behind.

"I thought you weren’t ready to open the Hellmouth," Spike asked as he saw Elizabeth pause near the crack, with one of her minions standing behind her, holding the book she claimed carried the spell needed to open the Hellmouth like a ripe egg.

"I can open it whenever I like," Elizabeth said coolly, becoming accustomed to his sardonic manner to know the question was not meant to be derisive. "I only do so if it is worth my while and that is what we are here to find out."

"How do we do that?" Spike asked, almost afraid to ask.

And frighten him she did. As much as he wanted her, as much as he would kill anything in this room, even to tearing open the Hellmouth with his bare hands for her, she did scare him. Very few things frightened Spike and Elizabeth with all her power, with her striking beauty capable of bending any man’s will to suit her needs, certainly fell into that category. He knew that part of the reason for his conflict was that tiny human voice inside of him, that had become very quiet when he had faced Buffy in the tunnels as if it had withdrawn in horror at what he had done. He should have been thrilled to submerge the humanity in him at long last but he was not. He felt this uneasiness clawing at his inside, growing malignant with each breath he drew. He did not understand and he dared not confess it to Elizabeth, in case she thought him weak.

So many things around him were becoming harder to tolerate. Watching Xander staring vapidly at Elizabeth, his eyes so full of adoration that he had helped one of her minion’s lure a girl into captivity. A promise of a date and a smile had brought a teenager, not that much older than Dawn into Elizabeth’s grasp. The young nameless waif was presently resting on the dirt-covered floor of the destroyed library, unconscious and mercifully unaware of what awaited her tonight. Spike saw Xander and felt this inward twinge to do something to snap the human out of it even though it made no sense that he should. After all, he did not even like the human and tolerated him because he was one of Buffy’s friends.

Buffy.

Each time the name surfaced inside his mind, there was that feeling of disquiet that would not go away. When they had faced each other in the sewers, he could have killed her and he still did not understand why he did not. For sure, he had given the excuse that Elizabeth had plans for her that would be ruined if he killed the Slayer but since when did anyone’s plans get in the way of his desires? He had done worse in his life and risked the wrath of Angelus and even the Master himself, by his recklessness and that never stopped him. He had loved Buffy, he had been willing to do anything for her but she had not cared. She had rejected him again and again, he had every reason to kill her and he could not.

But that was going to change, he told himself resolutely. He was no longer anyone’s creature. He had a new lady in his life and she was going to make things better. She was going to make this chip in his head disappear and return him to what he was. He was going to be the Big Bad again and no remnant of humanity or love for a Slayer was going to change that.

Elizabeth had not answered his question because she had retrieved her Grim Moire from her minion. She opened the book next to the fissure, spreading apart the leathery pages. Spike could smell the faint odour of the flesh the book was made of. It brought to mind the smell inside the crypt. When she had allowed him a glimpse of the much-guarded book, Spike had been unable to read anything. The language was beyond him and he was the product of a gentleman’s education with something of an understanding in languages. She had not told him how it was to be read but judging by the presence of the human offering Xander had brought her, Spike suspected they were about to find out.

"Bring her," Elizabeth spoke to the tall, European vampire named Vargas. He was clearly of East European descent, with an inclination towards Ukraine regions. Big and fierce-looking with heavy eye ridges even for a human, Vargas was as formidable as he appeared and he was completely loyal to his Countess.

"You need the girl to open the Hellmouth?" Spike asked again, hoping he would receive a more satisfactory answer than what he had so far acquired.

"Patience my love," Elizabeth replied as Vargas brought the girl to her. She was still unconscious, oblivious to the dark proceedings in which she was about to have a most central role. Elizabeth had kept her in something of a stupor, claiming that it was so much expedient if they did not have to worry about the fuss that came with unnecessary screaming and struggle. "All will be revealed soon enough."

Vargas propped the girl up on her feet though she was incapable of standing upright without his assistance. She was a pretty thing with blond hair and peaches and cream skin. Spike tried to ignore that she bore a little bit of resemblance to the Slayer because it would only make what was about to happen all the more difficult. At her feet was the Grim Moire and as she stood over it, held upright by the vampire behind her, the first stirrings of life began to return to her limps. Her eyes flew open at the return of her senses but it was a futile awakening.

No sooner than she opened her eyes, Elizabeth’s lovely face changed into a vampiric mask and the Romanian countess sunk her teeth into the girl’s neck. She reacted with pain but the scream never left her lips and as Elizabeth drank enough to ensure that she would not live, the vampire stood back and let the flow from the torn jugular spill out from her ruined flesh onto her clothes. Wiping the spurts of blood from that powerful artery, Elizabeth stepped back and saw the crimson tide seep down the body of its owner, running down in thick streams to her feet before culminating as pregnant drops against the page. The blood trickled steadily and suddenly the book seemed to change right before their eyes.

Old and worn became new and crisp.

Words that were unintelligible became clear and a sound that could have been the satisfied groan of something that had been terribly hungry echoed through all their ears. Elizabeth was smiling as her victim died in front of her, each drop of blood giving strength to the Grim Moire that was the source of her dark magic and the instrument in which she was going to bring about Armageddon. Spike watched in mesmerized horror as the book took on a life of its own and he wondered what it origins were and then prayed he never found out because the thing scared the hell out of him. By the time Vargas had dropped the girl to the floor, the book was slowly absorbing every drop of blood that had been spilled out of her veins.

Once it was done, Elizabeth bent over and picked it up. She did not even look at its pages as her hands cupped the covers on either side as if it were a hymnbook and she was about to utter a prayer. Her eyes did not cast its gaze upon heaven. She had something else in mind. In a language that Spike could not understand, Elizabeth began to speak, not merely reading from the book by channelling the words through her being. Her eyes began to glow with red fire and the cool indigo darkness inside the room warmed with amber radiance.

In the name of the dark powers

Through the barrier that separates the worlds

I reach into the chaos to seek the One

The one to whom resides as master beyond the Gateway

I call to Thee!

For an instant, there was nothing and Spike almost though the spell had failed for all the chillingly spoken words that came from Elizabeth. There was a stillness so overpowering that Xander found himself pressed up against the wall of the library, his heart pounding so loudly that to any vampire in the room, it could have been church bells ringing. Vargas and the other vampire whose name Spike had not bothered to learn appeared similarly apprehensive but their fear had largely to do with the fact that their mistress's eyes were glowing like embers of hot coal. Spike had seen powerful magic being performed and while it was nothing like the conjuring he had seen Willow performed, he had to confess that he was a little anxious as well.

The air was charged with something but for a few minutes after Elizabeth had uttered those challenging words, nothing had happened and Spike began to think that this was all some big exercise in futility. Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering sound that made the dilapidated walls of the library shake from its intensity. Pieces of mortar and debris that had not been dislodged during the initial explosion that had reduced the structure to its present state, crumbled to the debris-covered floor. Xander dropped to his knees, preparing to throw himself on the ground and shield himself in case the unsteady ceiling chose to make its final descent. There was another explosion of sound and the space in the middle of the room before Elizabeth started to shimmer. The fissure leading to the depths of the sealed Hellmouth began to discharge something akin to smoke though the stench was death and brimstone.

Through the shimmer, Spike something forming. Its dimensions filled the room and to look at its face, they had to look up. It was hard to describe what it was exactly except that it was the embodiment of the Hellmouth and the darkness that it seemed to attract. He saw teeth that would have cleaved a person in half and eyes that glowed with as much hellfire as Dante could have ever written about or imagined, its hands were claws and its body misshapen and clearly something that lurked in the corners of every nightmare. Looking at the creature made Spike want to turn and run. It was the first time when running away seemed like the most sensible thing to do.

However, Elizabeth stood her ground as she faced it fearlessly, a smile on her lips as she waited for the creature before her to make the opening bid in her negotiations.

When it spoke, it felt as if the thunder had developed speech. It was a low, resonating sound that seemed to make the walls, as well as their bones, shudder in reaction.

"Who summons me?" It asked.

"I do," Elizabeth replied, "I summon thee oh great lord of the underworld."

"Who are you?" It looked down at her with near impatience and Spike was almost tempted to run, but not without dragging Elizabeth away from this place as well. "Who are you half breed, that you dare to summon the hosts of hell like a servant?"

"I am the one who can open the gateway," Elizabeth replied confidently.

It stopped short for a moment, pulling its massive head backwards until it almost knocked itself against the ceiling.

"We should go pet," Spike warned, not about to leave her as the creature considered her words. He moved towards her slowly, trying to avoid capturing the notice of the thing she had summoned from beyond the Hellmouth.

"Another half breed," the denizen of the underworld snorted, pivoting its head slightly as it examined Spike with its fiery eyes. "This one is an even lesser being than you. Worthy to be tortured but not worthy to carry demon blood."

"He is mine to do with," Elizabeth declared haughtily. "I summoned you here because I have a proposition."

"A proposition?" The thing laughed as if highly amused by the whole notion of being able to need anything that a vampire could furnish. "What is it do you think you have half breed, that might warrant my attention?"

"The gateway is closed to you," she replied coolly, ignoring Spike’s attempts to reach her. "I can open it."

Naturally, the hell beast did not believe her and laughed even harder. It was rife with derision and Spike half expected to see Elizabeth react to the obvious contempt at her abilities but she did nothing of the kind. Instead, she closed her eye and uttered a few more words and the ground beneath her started to quake with such violence that Spike had trouble remaining on his feet. The building continued to express its protestations with an increase of falling debris until Spike was no longer certain that it would be able to remain standing if the violent tremors were allowed to continue. However, the fissure itself suffered the most effect as it began to widen slightly.

The creature that Elizabeth had summoned from beyond the Hellmouth started to have substance, instead of mere wraithlike consistency. The more the two worlds began to connect, the more it became real in the world above. The beast appeared to examine its clawed hand by making a fist and then swinging it through a light fitting that had miraculously managed to remain hanging despite bomb and fire damage. Unfortunately, this investigative effort proved to be the more than the beleaguered object could tolerate and the slight nudge was all it took for it to plunge to the floor and land unceremoniously with a noisy crash. However, its destruction was a point well made to the creature attempting to test the credibility of Elizabeth’s words.

"That is only the beginning," Elizabeth cried out now that she had its complete and undivided attention. "I can bring all of you to this plane of existence and give you the rite of passage to do as you will."

"And what is the payment for this?" The beast asked, its glowing eyes fixed on her now. "What would you want from us in exchange of this passage?"

"I want to rule this world," Elizabeth said icily. "If I give your passage, will you make that possible?"

The beast seemed to consider it for a minute before replying. "Anything is possible. If you open up the gateway, the hosts of hell will be more than happy to make this realm a fiefdom and there is always someone in need to protect our interests here. That person could be you."

"That person will be me," she said sharply. "This is not a negotiation. These are my terms. You will comply."

"Maybe it's not such a good idea to make demands of it Luv," Spike finally found his voice enough to say.

Neither Elizabeth or the beast paid any attention to him and for a few minutes, nothing but silence followed. Xander had risen off the floor and was standing next to Spike. Perhaps with everything taking place around him, he needed to be near someone familiar, even if that someone was Spike. They watched Elizabeth and the beast from hell staring at one another, trying not to show weakness. Elizabeth appeared confident however and Spike knew even if the silence was might lead them to think otherwise, that in the end, she would have her way. The beast was just trying to find the right way to tell her that she had won. After all, image was everything.

"The terms are acceptable," the creature finally rumbled, its head held high as if it had made a concession to the vampire witch, not forced to oblige her because it craved badly what she offered, a chance to maim and pillage a new world. It was a world full of fresh ripe soul, all pure and untouched by demons, which would suffer the ecstasy of agony and sing it songs in delightful arias of screaming.

"You will open the gateway and the hosts of hell will see to it that you are placed at the head of our fiefdom," the beast responded.

"I will open the gateway two days from now," Elizabeth replied, a broad smile crossing her face, full of triumph. "There is a matter I must deal with before you and your kind are freed to walk this earth."

"What matter is important enough to delay our arrival?" The beast hissed in demand. Its eyes blazing ones again and the anger it is voice make the wall tremble further.

"The Slayer."

The beast sucked in its breath even though it was mostly incorporeal and had no breath to speak off. "We know of the Slayer. We see all from even these depths. We know that she is the reason the gateway remains barred to us. Kill her for us and we will reward you with more than you have ever dreamed imaginable. Destroy the Slayer and the world will be yours."

Elizabeth smiled, "I will present you her body when the gateway is open. This I promise you."

"Two days past," the beast growled, "or we will see it to it that you know our displeasure."

And with that, he disappeared. The shimmer in mid-air through which the beast was given form faded away from sight, like smoke evaporating into the air. The ground stopped trembling and the scent of fire and sulphur abated for the moment. The book at Elizabeth’s feet seemed to grow old and withered once more but there was no longer any blood on the floor. Not one drop of it remained after it had flowed from the dead girl’s veins. The room returned to its iridescent darkness as Elizabeth’s eyes lost their amber fire and all for the moment anyway, seemed back to normal.

"Pet!" Spike hurried to her when he saw Elizabeth swaying unsteadily on her feet. Vampire or not, the conjuring she had just performed was powerful magic indeed and it would have taken its toll upon her. Spike caught her in his arms and though she did not collapse, he noted that she accepted his support without question. Vargas and the vampire also approached but they gave Spike the freedom to act, aware that he was the Mistress’ favourite for now.

"I am fine," Elizabeth replied, stroking his face gently as he provided her with his strength for her time of need. "It appears that the time has finally come to kill the Slayer."

"Kill the Slayer?" Xander asked anxiously. Spike could not tell whether or not his fear was based on his loyalties for Buffy or his fears for Elizabeth.

"Yes," Elizabeth nodded once her strength returned to her and she was able to disengage herself from Spike to stand on her own. "Its time for your Buffy to meet her destiny but not yet, I have to prepare for our eventual meeting. I will need a few things."

"What sort of things?" Spike asked, remembering that her plans for Buffy did not merely mean killing the Slayer but destroying the essence of her so that she would never be able to resurrect herself in the body of another girl.

Elizabeth stared directly at him and Spike knew he was not going to like the answer.

"Blood," she replied. "I need her blood."

***********

Deciding that it was best to remain in the one place after what both she and Anya had endured at Spike and Xander’s hand respectively, what remained of the Scooby Gang gathered at Buffy’s house. After her grievous miscalculation regarding Xander, Buffy was not risking any more of her friends or her family by playing odds. She had hoped Anya’s insistence to keep Xander at home would have sent her enchanted old friend straight into the arms of his master. It had never occurred to her that Xander would be so violent. After all, he had not behaved in such a manner when he had become Dracula’s agent. Whatever spell Elizabeth had used to make Xander her creature did not alter the fact that Buffy had placed Anya’s life in danger and the Slayer was not about to make that same mistake again.

Despite the Slayer’s ability to heal rapidly, Buffy found that there was no way she could go to work with the injuries she had sustained during her battle with Spike without a number of uncomfortable questions begin raised at how she had acquired them. Somehow, she did not think her supervisor was going to accept the explanation that she had fought a vampire under the sewers of Sunnydale who also happened to be her lover, with any kind of rationality. Who could blame her, Buffy thought ruefully as she walked down the stairs later that evening after spending most of the day in bed, she could scarcely believe it herself.

The day had passed by lazily after the chaos of the morning with Dawn being forced to stay home from school because Buffy feared her roaming about alone when Spike and Xander were out there. As much as it pained her to admit it, she feared Xander almost as much as she did Spike, more even because he had no chip preventing him from harming humans as Spike did. Dawn had not protested much about staying away from school for the day but Buffy could not help thinking that she was going to pay for it the next time a welfare worker chose to drop by and evaluate their living arrangements. This would all be so much simpler if Dawn was eighteen.

She could hear the chatter of others emanating from the kitchen downstairs and the smell of what appeared to be macaroni and cheese, the only meal that Dawn could safely claim to have mastered. Her stomach leapt at the prospect of a warm meal, even if it was macaroni and cheese, anything was better than double meat burgers which had become a staple of the Summers household lately. She entered the kitchen to see Anya resting on the sofa, appearing a good deal healthier than Buffy had last seen her. Although she appeared rather sedate, still recovering from her brutal treatment at Xander’s hands, it was good to see Anya up and about.

Dawn and Tara were bringing out dinner to the living room from the kitchen and Buffy ran straight into Willow who was emerging into the hallway.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed when they almost collided

"Hey Will," Buffy greeted.

"I was just coming to get you," Willow explained as they looked at each other. "Dawn and Tara’s made dinner."

Willow’s expression was one of clear happiness and she was practically glowing from the fact that Tara was here. Buffy was glad that the relationship between the two was on the mend, especially when the reason for it was due to Willow’s attempts to curb her addiction to magic. Buffy was glad for Tara’s presence because her knowledge of magic and spells would prevent Buffy from turning to Willow for the source of her answers. Elizabeth’s spell over Spike and Xander was based on magic and as much as she wished she could stake the vampire like all others she had encountered, Buffy knew the spell had to be lifted first or they might be trapped by it forever, even after her death.

"Dinner’s good," Buffy smiled as she returned into the living room with Willow and saw that the others were gathered around the coffee table, either on chairs on the floor, preparing to dine informally on the meal. If the situation were not so dire, Buffy would almost call it a slumber party of sorts.

"Hey Buffy," Dawn smiled, glad to see her sister joining them. "You feel better?"

"Yeah," Buff nodded. "I’m good."

It was true. The injuries still ached but for the most part she was more or less fully healed. Buffy was in better shape than Anya who still sported a multitude of bruises not to mention the bandages over the cuts and lacerations she had incurred when Xander had thrown her through to glass coffee table. So far Anya had deigned not to tell them what Xander had said to her other than the fact that he was going to Elizabeth. However Buffy could tell that there was some private anguish that she was keeping to herself and if Buffy’s own encounter with Spike was any comparison to the emotional wounds she had suffered, Buffy imagined she had a good reason for her silence.

"Here," Dawn came to her with a plate of food. "Fresh from the stove."

"Thanks, Dawnie," Buffy gave her little sister a loving smile and stroked her hair gently, remembering that in her life so filled with darkness of late, there were glittering moments and Dawn was one of them. Buffy took the plate and sank to one of the floor cushions next to the coffee table while Dawn returned to her own place.

"I can’t believe I slept for most of the day," Buffy looked out of the window at the darkness in the street outside.

"I called the Double Meat and told them you had the flu," Dawn said helpfully.

"Thanks," Buffy smiled, thinking that Dawn was becoming more grown up by the day and realizing for some reason, she was not as happy about that as she thought she would be.

"There’s been no sign of Xander or Spike," Willow said softly.

"You haven’t been out there looking?" Buffy stared at her in shock, not wanting any of her friends out there alone.

"No," Anya responded quietly. "Willow just made a few calls to Xander’s work."

"He’s probably with her," Willow volunteered. "After what happened with Anya, she wouldn’t be dumb enough to let him wander around, not when he could lead us back to her."

"This vampire is using magic?" Tara asked.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded. "Some kind of heavy mojo that affects both humans and vampires."

"That’s pretty damn powerful," the Wiccan stated. "There aren't many enchantment spells that could take both humans and demons. Most of them are pretty specific."

"You should have seen them," Dawn retorted since she was at this point the only one who had ever actually seen Elizabeth. "They were all over her, like puppies. Spike too but Xander was just out of it."

Buffy saw Anya flinch instinctively at Dawn’s description. Dawn noticed it as well and quickly faltered in her speech, not wishing to hurt Anya’s feelings any more than it already was.

"Well if it’s a spell we should be able to break it," Tara replied.

"But it's going to be hard finding the right one," Willow said hesitantly. She had thought the same thing but she had no wish to be the one to attempt it. It had taken this long for her to reach this level of resolve in her efforts to abstain from the use of magic. In order to lift the spell from Xander would require active participation and she was afraid that if she made the attempt, she would not be able to stop. "And then someone’s going to have to actually perform the dissolution ceremony. I don’t…."

"I’ll do it," Tara said firmly so that there was no mistake on this issue. Willow exchanged a grateful look with her former lover before Tara spoke again. "It won’t be easy though. We need one of them here."

"Xander is probably easiest to handle," Willow remarked.

"What makes you say that?" Anya immediately declared, her eyes full of anguish and frustration.

"Well he’s human," Dawn retorted.

"That makes him the most dangerous of all," Anya returned. "None of us will hurt him because we still think that’s he’s the Xander we love." Her voice cracked a little and the though mask she had been wearing started to waver. "He’s not. He’s a stranger that’s not afraid to hurt any of us. At least Spike has the chip, the only one he can hurt is Buffy. Not Xander, he can come in here and kill anyone of us if she tells him to do it."

"She’s right," Buffy put a stop to Anya’s tirade before it got any more heated. "It can’t be Xander. It has to be Spike. If Spike fights us too much, we can stake him. We can’t stake Xander."

"I don’t want you to stake Spike!" Dawn exclaimed staring at her sister in dismay that they were even contemplating such a thing. "I want you to make him better, not kill him."

"Dawn, it may not be possible," Buffy argued, wishing once again that the vampire had never come near her sister. Spike did not deserve Dawn’s devotion and it infuriated Buffy that she should care so much for him, even now.

"It may not be possible to save Xander but you’re not talking about killing him." She pointed out.

"Xander’s human," Buffy pointed out.

"Spike may not be human but he’s my friend and I don’t want to see him killed. I want us to help him too." Dawn replied, refusing to believe for one second that Spike’s lack of soul made him undeserving of mercy. The man who had kept her safe all summer, who held her when she was afraid and who tried to be there for her in the days following Buffy’s death would never be a monster to her, no matter how much Buffy disliked him.

"Look this is pointless," Buffy sighed. "We’re not doing anything just yet. We don’t even know where they are." It was an effort to diffuse the situation because she did not want to have to force the reality of their predicament down Dawn’s throat until the time came for her to act against Spike.

"If she wants revenge, why hasn’t she came after us yet?" Willow asked, trying to change the subject. "I mean she grabbed Xander but so far she hasn’t come after Buffy."

"What about Spike and what he did to her?" Anya pointed out.

"No, I get the feeling Spike was only there because I was following Xander," Buffy mused, seeing the point that Willow was attempting to make. "I mean I know that she’s got to want me dead. After what the Slayer back in Translyvania did to her, I’m not surprised. Frankly, if someone locked me up for four hundred years in a dark smelly cave, I’d be pretty damn pissed off too.

"Maybe she’s here for something else?" Tara suggested.

"Like what?" Willow asked.

Tara was about to respond when suddenly there was a wild knocking on the door.

For an instant, none of them spoke and they all exchanged glances, sending signals across the room at who could that be at this late hour and whether or not they should be answering the door to let it in. Buffy rose to her feet first, gesturing the others to be silent as she padded silently to the door. She cursed the fact that her stake was upstairs in her weapons chest and she had not the foresight to leave it down here in case of instances like this. Telling herself that if it were a vampire, it would not be able to come into her house without an invitation and Tara had done a de-invites spell for Spike the minute they had brought Anya over this morning.

Taking a deep breath, she wondered what new danger awaited her and opened the door.

The danger was not at all new. It was very old in fact, one with whom she had been courting for some time. Spike stood at the doorway, not bothering to enter, appearing as if he knew that he was not welcome. His eyes softened at seeing her and Buffy took an instinctive step backwards as he swallowed thickly, appearing as if he had no idea what to say to her.

"Buffy," he said softly.

"Come here to kill me?" Buffy asked venomously. "You’re not going to get the chance. I am going to do what I should have done ages ago. I’m going to kill you."

"I don’t blame you," he met her eyes. "I almost killed you."

"You never came close to killing me Spike," Buffy retorted. "You just got lucky."

"You’re probably right pet," he admitted readily. "I love you, I always have but I don’t know what happened. Suddenly, she became the only thing I cared about, I couldn’t think of anything else. I wanted her so badly; I was willing to do anything to have her. Slayer, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was on my way out of town, I was going to leave you, to let you get on with things and then I saw her and everything got muddle up. I didn’t know what came over me."

"Spike, I’m not buying this," Buffy retreated into the doorway. "I don’t know why you’re here but you can crawl back to your hell bitch and tell her that I’m going to find her and rip out her heart before I stake it."

"I want to help you, Buffy," Spike pleaded with her earnestly. "I don’t want to hurt you any more but she’s got plans Buffy, big plans. She wants to open the Hellmouth and I’m not sticking around to fall under her spell again. I’m leaving before I become more of a threat to you than I already am. I just came to say goodbye."

Buffy did not know what to do. Every ounce of reason inside her body told her that this was a trick. This was the vampire that had almost killed her in the sewers earlier today, no matter how she might try to deny it to him or to herself. He had almost defeated her once and for all and yet, now she was expected to believe that the spell that had made him a killer again was gone? That he was himself again and the vampire who was devotedly in love with her? She watched him turn away when she did not respond and her heartfelt that similar anguish when she had entered his crypt and found that all traces of him had vanished.

"Spike," she halted him in his tracks and stepped beyond the threshold of the doorway, aware that she was probably going to regret this bit of foolishness.

He paused and turned around. "Yes, Luv."

"You should go," she admitted softly. "You’re still dangerous while she’s around. I don’t want to stake you."

Spike took a step back to her and was encouraged by the fact that she held her ground. He crossed the small space between them and they were staring at each other, face to face. There was real affection in Buffy’s eyes when she pressed her lips against his and for a second, nothing of the life and death struggle they had engaged in earlier today remained as they kissed each other. She felt his arms slide around her waist felt her arms encircle his neck and for the first time, Buffy really kissed him and tasted him. Before it had only been sex a hard driven lust that was more sensation that real emotion. It wasn’t like this. She felt her head swim. When she had first taken him, she had felt like this and the feeling had never repeated itself since.

When she pulled away, she stared into his eyes and for a second, she saw the love he felt for her surface in shades of colour that turned his blue eyes into all the colours of the rainbow. However, the glittering starlight reflected in them soon faded away into nothingness and he started to smile.

"Got you Cutie."

This time he pulled her to him and there was nothing emotional about it. The kiss was hard against her mouth and Buffy heard movement behind her. In an instant, she understood with soul crushing anguish that she had been tricked. Tricked utterly and completely. Letting out a strangled cry, she tore her lips away from him and spun around, just in time to see Xander disappearing through the door.

"Bastard!" She screamed, tears running down her eyes.

"Oh Slayer," Spike grinned. "Did I ruin that pretty little moment for you?"

Buffy did not bother to answer, running toward her house and hearing an explosion of sound that was unmistakable in its sharp, mechanical resonance. Buffy jumped startled as it tore through her ears and the screams she heard following it, made her bolt through the doorway, leaving Spike beyond the door, laughing even harder.

Buffy ran into the house and found Xander standing behind Dawn, holding a gun to her head. Willow lay on the floor, clutching her shoulder. There was blood flowing from the wound as Tara tried frantically to stem the bleeding. Anya was weeping openly while huddled into the corner of the sofa, watching the unfolding drama with horror and shock. Dawn on the other hands was surprisingly calm even though her eyes were trying to catch a glimpse of the barrel pressed to the side of her head.

"Stay right there Buffy," Xander ordered and Buffy had little choice but to obey.

"Xander don’t hurt her!" Buffy pleaded, more tears running down her face.

"That’s entirely up to you," he said coldly. "You can think you move fast enough to keep me from pulling this trigger?" He taunted her by jabbing the cold steel against Dawn’s skin with even more insistence. Each reaction from her little sister made Buffy’s heart skip another beat.

"No!" Buffy quickly responded. "I won’t try anything! Just take it easy!"

"Xander stop this!" Anya wept, trying to reach him on some level but they all knew that it was impossible. Whomever this stranger was standing before them, it was not their Xander.

"Do you know what the best thing about all this is?" He glared briefly at Anya, the gun never wavering in his grip. "Is the fact that I never have to listen to another whiney thing you say again."

His venom drew out a strangled sob from Anya, who was once again reliving the terrible thing he had said to her today. She continued to weep harder and Buffy ached for her, understanding how she felt perfectly because she had been just as hurt by Spike and his deception.

"What do you want Xander?" Buffy demanded. "You want me is that it?"

"Don’t flatter yourself," Xander retorted. "I’m not really that much into vamps leftovers. I’m here because she sent me."

Buffy swallowed thickly, forcing the sting and the rising humiliation of his vicious words away from his mocking gaze. Right now, the only thing that mattered was Dawn. "What do you want then?"

"Blood," he hissed, rifling through his coat and tossing a small jar in her direction.

Buffy caught it with one hand and stared at him in astonishment. "What?"

‘You heard me!" He barked again. "Fill her up?"

"You want Buffy to give you blood?" Tara stared at him.

"Hey look decided to join the party," he said sarcastically. "What’s the matter couldn’t stay away from all the fun?"

"What do you want with my blood Xander? Buffy asked suspiciously. The last time someone had needed her blood it was Glory to lower the dimensional walls. Spike had muttered something about Elizabeth wanting to open the Hellmouth. Was this why she needed it?

"That’s for me to know and for you to find out," Xander giggled deliriously as he strengthened his hold on Dawn. "NOW DO IT!"

Buffy jumped at the force of his words and debated what she could do. "Xander, please," she stared at him almost begging. "Don’t do this."

"Didn’t you learn your lesson with Spike?" He looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "I’m not your Xander anymore. Not good ol’ reliable Xander who’d come through no matter how much you looked the other way, no matter how many monsters you picked over the man? I’m through running after all of you!" His eyes swept across the room, briefly connecting with the faces staring back at him in shock. "Now fill that jar up or I swear I’m going to splatter her brains all over your nice, clean walls!"

To prove his point, he cocked the gun and forced a cry of fear from Dawn’s lips. Dawn was staring at Buffy helplessly, uncertain whether or not she wanted her sister to do as Xander asked because the reason for acquiring the Slayer’s blood could only be for the purpose of evil if Elizabeth wanted it so badly. Yet Dawn was also terribly afraid. Despite how she had come into existence, she was real as any being born of the womb and she wanted to live just as badly.

"Buffy," Dawn swallowed and found herself speaking. "Don’t do it. Don’t give him what he wants."

"SHUT UP!" Xander snarled in her ear and jammed the gun against her skull making everyone in the room flinch. "Don’t try me," he glared at Buffy. "I shot Willow, don’t think I couldn’t do it little Dawnie here."

Buffy saw her sister in Xander’s grip and knew that she could not allow this to happen. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, cursing her weakness, wishing Giles were here so that he could tell her that the choice to save a life over the fate of the world was wrong because she could not make the distinction herself. She had been unable to do it when Glory had required Dawn’s blood to bring about dimensional collapse and she was unable to do it now.

"I’ll do it," she whispered softly, anguish etching her face as she saw Tara lying there, trying to stem the blood flowing from Willow’s wounds, Anya’s devastation as the man she loved committed unthinkable acts with equally unthinkable words to wound them all. She saw her sister, the only thing that was left of her mother and knew that she could not let any more harm come to them. Sucking her breath, she reached for the letter opener on the table and held it to her wrist.

"Buffy no!" Dawn cried out.

"Do it!" Xander silenced her with that sharp bark.

Buffy closed her eyes and tore open her palm, watching the blood spill out of the sliced skin. A scarlet trickle ran down the contours of her cupped hand, running a thin rivulet into the jar given to her for the purpose.

"That’s it," Xander said with a triumphant smirk. "That wasn’t so hard was it?"

Chapter Six
Little Victories

A curious thing happened while Buffy was watching her blood fill the jar in her hand.

She got mad.

She watched the crimson fluid roll down her wrist, trickling viscously into the glass container and she thought about how she had allowed things to deteriorate to this point. Since Spike had attempted to leave town, she had done nothing but ruminate and admonish herself for all the things that were wrong with her and their relationship. She spent so much time analysing things that it seemed nothing else filled her thoughts these days. Now she was in the position where one of her best friends was threatening to end her sister’s life with a gun no less, while she stood by helplessly, allowing herself to be bled like a stuck animal.

No more, a small voice spoke inside Buffy’s head, its tone weary and impatient. No more.

Once again, she had allowed Elizabeth to gain the upper hand because she had been wallowing in self-pity, abusing herself over the things she had done wrong and letting it plague her thoughts to such an extent that she had been unable to focus clearly on anything else. There comes a point in everyone’s existence when they are faced with a crisis of faith but for Buffy, that point had become a way of life since her resurrection. What happened after this would happen but she was going to deal with it in a better fashion then she had been doing everything lately. For the moment however she had a more immediate problem to tend to.

Buffy should have known that Elizabeth would use Xander. After how he had attacked Anya, there was every reason to believe that he was dangerous. She had been so focused on Spike and her guilt regarding their relationship that she had completely ignored the threat that Xander posed, even after the others had brought it up. It made perfect sense that Elizabeth would use him in this manner, after all, Spike had severe limitations put upon him thanks to the chip while Xander was bound by none of them. How many times had it been proved that the existence of a soul did not mean a human was incapable of being as thoroughly vile and brutal as any vampire or demon?

"That’s all you’re getting." She stated coldly snapping out of her reverie once she had reached that watershed moment. The jar was almost half filled and Buffy ignored the throbbing pain in her arm at its extraction. The Slayer was uncertain how much had been drained from her but fortunately, it was not enough to leave her dizzy or weakened.

"I said fill her up," Xander ordered, not like the sudden change in tone of her voice.

"No," Buffy shook her head, giving Dawn a silent look that told her younger sister she knew what she was doing and not to panic.

Dawn, aware that Buffy would never knowingly hurt her, offered Buffy a look of trust as she remained calm in Xander’s grip, ignoring the certain death that would come if he pulled the trigger. She put on a brave face, determined to rise to the occasion not only for her own safety but also for Buffy because she knew the dark uses that could be wrought with Slayer’s blood. Glory had been able to tear down the barriers between the dimensions because of her blood, the blood the Monks had fashioned out of Buffy’s genetic makeup when they sought to make the Key a sister she would love and protect. Elizabeth was probably not attempting anything that ambitious but Dawn did not intend to be the reason that she was able to do so.

"Maybe you didn’t understand me but this isn’t a negotiation," Xander sneered at Buffy, his voice full of derision as he tried to gain the upper hand again.

"No, it isn’t," Buffy returned, nonplussed by his efforts to reassert himself because this version of Xander was a small man borne of all his insecurities that could not be masked even if he was given free rein over Xander’s kinder side.

"You’re going take what I’m giving you and leave here," Buffy stared at him, starting to feel in control for the first time since this whole nightmare began. "If you play this out by trying to shoot Dawn, I will definitely kill you and that’s going to bite if you any ideas of sharing the happy afterlife with your master, the skanky vampire bitch."

Losing his life did not displease Xander as much as losing Elizabeth and the thought that with his death, he might displease her. The idea of upsetting Elizabeth sent real waves of panic through him as well as anguish that screamed from the depths of him. For a second the thought of failure was so powerful, its intensity was almost a physical pain. Against his will, he was forced to remember Elizabeth’s instructions regarding the Slayer, that he was only required to bring back her blood, nothing else. Revenge and death would come later because Elizabeth would settle all accounts with the Slayer once Buffy’s blood was hers to use. There was no need for any violence before that final reckoning.

"You talk a good deal Buff," Xander responded, smiling inwardly when he saw her flinch at the affectionate nickname used by that other version of him, the weaker one that had always played second fiddle to the women he considered his friends. "You’re lucky that the mistress wants you alive or this might have turned nasty. Now give Dawn the bottle and don’t try anything stupid. I don’t think you’re faster than my trigger finger." He warned with a sinister gleam in his eyes.

Buffy swallowed thickly and approached them cautiously, her eyes watching Xander closely as she did. She no longer saw her friend, the one that had been at her side through the best and the worst times of her life. She understood that Xander was trapped in the same place Angel had been when Angelus was allowed to break free. If it was humanly possible to set him free, she would do so but until then, he was the Enemy and she would treat him accordingly.

Buffy saw Dawn trying her best to keep calm and noticed the tension in Xander posture as his gaze remained fixed on her, knowing that without his gun, he was completely vulnerable and was feeling extremely self-conscious about it. Buffy’s arm still stung from the pain and the bleeding had yet to stop. She trailed spots of red as she closed the distance between herself and Dawn. She knew from experience that Xander was good with a gun and he was unafraid to use it so if she had any plans of wrestling the gun away from him, she would have to be extremely sure of herself. Despite her resolve to stand her ground against Elizabeth, Buffy had to endure this final act of submission because Dawn’s life depended upon it.

"Take it," Xander hissed in Dawn’s ears when Buffy was close enough to reach and the teenager quickly liberated the bottle from her sister’s grip.

"Now we’re going to the door," Xander responded once Dawn had his prize and using his grip around her waist, started steering her slowly towards the door. Once he was out of the Summer’s household, he would be within reach of his companions who were waiting for him to emerge. They would ensure that Buffy be kept sufficiently distracted while he returned to Elizabeth with the Slayer’s blood. Their feet shuffled awkwardly across the floor as Xander retreated towards the doorway, ensuring that his eyes were fixed on the slayer the entire time. Now that he was so close to escaping, he was not going to let it go to ruin by making careless mistakes.

"Anyone tries anything funny and Dawn here is going to regret it," he added menacingly for good measure even though no one had made a move. Not that there was any reason for it. Anya was not looking at him. She could not bear to do so. Willow was mercifully unconscious in Tara’s arms while Tara seemed absorbed with stemming the flow of blood from her wounded shoulder.

"You’re not going anywhere with her," Buffy warned sharply, wanting Xander to understand that if he intended on leaving the house with Dawn, not even their long friendship was going to save him from her wrath.

"I still got the gun," Xander glared at her and reminded with a sneer. "I think I still have the advantage."

Buffy’s lips thinned because he was right. For all her bluffing, she was not prepared to risk him killing Dawn and while he was trapped under Elizabeth’s spell so completely, Buffy did not underestimate what he was willing to do to protect his mistress if he thought for one instant Elizabeth was compromised. All she could do was watch as he reached the door with Dawn doing her best to suppress her tears of fright, her eyes silently begging Buffy to do something.

Buffy did nothing because, in all his posturing, he had forgotten one thing.

He had forgotten Tara.

Although Tara had seemed completely concerned with Willow’s injuries, Buffy could tell that the witch was aware of everything that was taking place between her and Xander. Buffy had not been able to signal the Wiccan for help but she was steering Xander to give Tara an opening to use her magical powers and diffuse the situation before things deteriorated even further. Buffy only hoped that Tara could recognize her efforts. At first, it did not seem that Tara was paying Xander much attention and Buffy felt her heart sink at the thought that she had made another misjudgement, that Tara did not understand what she was trying to do. Xander’s expression was one of confidence as he reached the door and looked through the doorway.

"Spike!" Xander called out and suddenly Spike appeared on the Sommer’s porch. The de-invitation spell that Willow and Tara had put upon the house this morning ensured the vampire could not enter the premises but that was not required when Xander was free to come and go.

"Hello ladies," Spike stepped up to the door as close as he was allowed by the parameters of the spell and gave Buffy a suggestive wink. "Looks like a party."

"Let her go!" Buffy hissed at Xander. "You got what you want!"

"I sure do," Xander grinned and snatched the bottle away from Dawn before tossing it through the door into Spike’s waiting hands. "Full of slayer goodness."

"Well I’d stay," Spike grinned as he stared triumphantly at them, "but it looks like this party is over. See you later Cutie," he said finally as he moved away from the door, cradling her blood in his hands like the prize it was. Buffy brushed the hurt away because he was not her Spike. If he had ever been.

"Well this has been fun," Xander brought her attention back to him when he started edging away from Dawn, appearing as if he was keeping his word to leave now that he had what he wanted.

He was about to step through when suddenly, Tara looked up. Her eyes were dark as she faced him for the first time. She uttered words that were incomprehensible to Buffy but their effect was immediate. The door behind Xander slammed shut with a powerful bang. Xander jumped, startled by the noise but not long enough. Dawn scrambled away from him and he tried desperately to regain his hold upon the teenager but she was out of his reach in seconds. Reverting to his baser instincts, he aimed the gun at Tara preparing to fire. The witch did not flinch at the sight of the gun barrel and said invoked another spell.

Xander’s gun flew from his hands and Buffy raced forward, tackling him bodily before the weapon had a chance to fall on the floor with a loud clatter. They both went over in a loud and coordinated heap, with Buffy on top. Xander’s head hit the floorboards hard but he was far from weakened. As she tried to subdue him, Xander’s fist lashed out and struck her on the chin. Fortunately, Buffy was used to taking punches from vampires and she shook off the blow as if it were nothing and returned one of her own that Xander would not be able to dismiss as easily. All it took was one jab, straight across the jaw with everything she had and he was out like a light. She had no wish to hurt him but at the moment, Buffy wanted him out of commission so that he could be restrained until they had time to deal with him.

"Dawn?" Buffy called out to her sister when she moved away from Xander who was lying unconscious on the floor.

"Buffy!" Dawn ran into her arms and held her in a tight embrace, grateful that she was alive. For a few minutes, Buffy held onto the frightened teenager, trying to mimic their mother’s gentle embrace that always seemed capable of driving away all the ills in the world. Dawn had not seen the things she had in her lifetime and for this Buffy was grateful because the ability to cry was a precious thing and she did not look forward to the day when Dawn outgrew that so very human trait.

"Its okay Dawn, its over," she crooned gently in Dawn’s ears as she tried for a brief time to be more sister than slayer. Unfortunately, it was a role she could not continue to play for too long because the aftermath of Xander’s presence here required immediate attention. After helping her overpower Xander, Tara had turned her attention back to Willow. Anya was on her feet as well, searching for something with which to bind Xander and ensure he did not cause any further mischief. It was not long before Anya had bound Xander’s wrists with his own belt.

"How is she?" Buffy asked, disengaging herself from Dawn’s arms and hurrying over to Willow.

"He shot her in the shoulder," Tara replied, searching for something else to hold against the bleeding wound since the table cloth that she had used for the purpose was soaked through.

"Willow?" Buffy dropped to her knees next to her best friend.

"I’m okay," Willow said weakly, managing to emerge from her unconscious state long enough to respond. "I’m just a little swimmy in the head that’s all."

"I’m going to call 911," Dawn declared, hurrying to the phone.

"Wait!" Anya exclaimed as she started towards it. "What about Xander? We can’t tell them he shot her!"

Buffy thought quickly, wishing to protect Xander as much as she could despite his present condition but Willow needed immediate medical help and she needed it now. They would have to think up a story once Dawn had made the call but there was no way Buffy was going to waste any time while they tried to decide how they were going to resolve this situation.

"Dawn, make the call," Buffy ordered and saw Anya about to protest when she cut off anything the vengeance demon was going to say by adding further, "Anya, get the gun and wipe the prints off it. You and I are going to put Xander down in the basement for the moment. After the paramedics are gone, I’ll go to the hospital. It’s a gunshot wound, they’re bound to be questions. "

"What are you going to say?" Tara stammered as Dawn went into the kitchen to make the call.

"I’m going to say that someone tried to break into our house, Willow tried to stop him and he shot her. We didn’t see it, we saw a car driving away when we got home and that’s when we called the paramedics." Buffy hoped that would suffice the curiosity of the local police. In her own opinion, it was a flimsy story but on such short notice, it was the best that she could come up with.

"Will that work?" Anya looked at her uncertainly.

"It has too," Buffy replied. "Anya, you need to stay out of sight. With all those bruises on you after what Xander did, I don’t want the paramedics thinking that there’s more going on here then what we’re saying."

"Hey it’s a plan," Willow whispered, her face etched in pain but she was trying to be brave.

"Don’t talk honey," Tara hushed her immediately, the lovely Wiccan’s face projecting her own pain in barely concealed panic.

"I can’t believe he did this," Buffy shook her head as she started towards Xander. "He was going to kill Dawn."

"It's her!" Anya swore angrily. "She’s making him do this!"

Anya picked up the gun and felt terribly intimidated by the weapon. The steel felt alien against her palm and she wanted nothing more than to be rid of it. Gingerly, she examined the weapon and almost jumped out of her skin when she snapped the chamber open. The bullets fell onto the floor one after another, rolling in all directions as they scattered from the fall. She cursed slightly and dropped to her knees to collect them so that she could get rid of the odious things.

"What do we do after you come back from the hospital?" Anya asked. "We can’t keep him down in the basement for long."

Buffy tended to agree with Anya that it would not be suitable even as a short term course of action. She recalled what they had spoken about earlier, regarding the spell of enchantment that had made Xander and Spike Elizabeth’s creatures. Buffy turned to Tara.

"You said that you needed one of them here to undo the spell they’re under. Can you do that now?"

Tara tore her gaze away from Willow at Buffy’s question and needed to focus for a few seconds before she was capable of answering "I can find out what kind of spell he’s under but I can’t promise that I’ll be able to break it. Spells aren’t easy to lift especially by someone who isn’t the original caster. It could be dangerous. Its obvious Elizabeth is into some pretty heavy magic, there might be consequences to Xander that we can’t predict."

"We have to do something," Anya declared. "We can’t leave him like this."

Despite Anya’s fear for the man she loved, there was also a more basic concern; he had proven how dangerous he could be to all of them. While she wanted her fiancée’ back desperately, she wanted the threat he posed to them gone even more.

"We have to risk it, Tara," Buffy said keeping a close eye on Xander even though he was unconscious. "Anya’s right, we can’t leave him like this."

"You can do it," Willow whispered, her eyelid fluttering intermittently as she tried to remain lucid. "I know you can," she smiled at Tara encouragingly.

"Alright," Tara nodded finally. "I’ll do what I can."

"Thanks, Tara," Buffy smiled at her. "We need to get him back. It’s the only way we’re going to find Elizabeth and stop what she plans to do."

"With the blood?" Tara looked at her.

"No," Buffy shook her head, remembering what Spike had said earlier, "the Hellmouth."

***********

It was still dark when Spike returned to Elizabeth’s luxurious suite with his prize. He had assumed that Xander would be right behind him but was not terribly distressed to learn that the human had never left the house. After all, they had successfully taken a good sample of the Slayer’s blood and beyond that Spike could not see what other use Xander could be to Elizabeth unless she was prepared to turn him. Spike did not relish the idea of Xander living an eternity when he could barely tolerate him with a normal life span. Still, Spike did not relish telling Elizabeth that her pet had been taken by the slayer who was no doubt be determined to exact the location of Elizabeth’s hideout from him.

"What do you mean you lost him?" Elizabeth glared at Spike when she was told the news that Xander had not come back with them.

"I mean he didn’t get out of the house," Spike said impatiently, unable to see what the fuss was all about.

"You should have gone after him," she insisted angrily.

"It would have been a bit hard since I couldn’t even get through the door," Spike grumbled. "I was right about the house. She has put some kind of de-invite spell on the place so I couldn’t get in."

"He was useful to us," Elizabeth frowned in annoyance at losing the human.

"Well, the witch was there," Spike replied. "She knows some pretty powerful magic. More than enough to keep him there if he tried to leave."

"Magic?" Elizabeth raised a brow. "Magic is subjective. I’m saying the best that she can manage is some two penny spell. I am not interested in her parlour tricks."

"I thought it was better to leave with the blood than to hang around okay?" Spike retorted sharply, becoming angry enough with her insistence about Xander’s safety that he was honestly wondering why he was even bothering himself with either of them, Elizabeth included. "I thought that was our main priority."

Elizabeth smouldered as she chose to respond to him. "It is," she nodded after a moment, her lips nothing more than a thin line. "I just found him useful. But I suppose that you are right, that he had to be sacrificed."

"The Slayer may learn where we are from him, Mistress," Vargas spoke up for the first time.

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at her trusted minion, "I seriously doubt that," she said confidently. "Lest them trying to tear his mind apart, their ability to break my enchantment is weak at best."

"Tara’s pretty good at the magic," Spike reminded. "Willow too."

"Not that good," she replied with a little smile.

He stood before her, glad that her sour expression soured at the knowledge of the human’s departure, had passed and was Spike was glad to see the other vampires present showing the same indifference he felt to Xander’s capture by the slayer. He supposed that it was something of an inconvenience losing Xander since he was able to go where most of them could not during the day, not to mention being one of the Scoobies gave him a decided advantage over Buffy because she would not willingly hurt him. Still, Spike could not help feeling a little jealous that Elizabeth cared so much about Xander’s welfare. She was only supposed to care about him. After everything, they had been through together.

What exactly had they been through together?

A small voice whispered that in his ear with such subtlety that Spike straightened up immediately as if he had been invaded by something offensive. For a moment, Spike could only stand there; searching for the reason this intense feeling of puzzlement had overcome him at his devotion to Elizabeth. He stared at her for an instant, a vision of beauty and felt once more the safe emotions of desire and love he felt for her come rolling back upon the uncertainty that had just crossed his mind. Spike took a deep breath, trying to steady himself after that bizarre episode when Elizabeth’s words snapped him back to reality once again.

"William!" She called out. "Did you hear me?"

"Yeah Luv," Spike looked up at her, still somewhat distracted by his momentary lapse. "I heard you."

"Bring it to me," she ordered, staring at the bottle in his hands.

Spike shook his head of the remaining disorientation and crossed the floor towards Elizabeth who was waiting for him in the centre of the room.

"Here you go," he muttered as he handed her the bottle.

She caught his wrist in hers and pulled him forward so that their bodies would meet. Her other hand gently cupped his face and she looked him straight in the eyes and whispered softly as she leaned towards him, "what is it, William?"

"What is it?" He pulled away defensively. "Nothing."

She took the bottle from him first and motioned Vargas to come forward. Handing it to him, she gazed at Spike once more, her expression serious.

"You seemed troubled William," Elizabeth pointed out. "What upsets you so much?"

"Nothing pet," Spike tried to produce a smile but it did not quite reach his eyes. "I just had something of a funny turn that’s all," he confessed after a second. "Nothing too earth-shattering."

"Really?" She stared at him, unprepared to dismiss it as easily as all that. She knew that he was different from any other vampire that she had ever met. On the surface, he was everything a vampire should be, hungry and aggressive for the hunt and the kill even if he was chained by the infernal mechanics in his head. However, beneath the demonic visage that was his outer self, there was more and it was not demon spawned, not at all. Here was a vampire that had stayed faithfully by the side of another for a century because he loved her, it was not merely unheard of, it was almost unprecedented. Even in her time, she had come across vampires like him but they were like diamonds in the dirt, too few to be even considered random.

Thanks to the Grim Moiré, when she had become a creature of the night, she had not driven her soul to the afterlife. She had kept hers intact but the truth was, her soul had always been black as hell’s deepest depths. It mattered little if it was encased in the human flesh of vampire skin. She was still the same person. William had managed to maintain a great deal of his human self, amalgamating the two into one unique creature, whose existence could not be. When she had met him for the first time, it had been relatively easy to use her skill to entrance him because his heart was an open wound, craving affection so desperately. Much of her power was the ability to fill the needs of men whose hearts were in one way or another longing for more than even they dared to admit.

Yet she could see it in his eyes that the spell might be waning and she had no intention of losing him to the Slayer.

"Was it hard seeing her William?" Elizabeth as she drew closer to him and pressed her lips against his mouth.

Spike did not have a chance to answer because he became lost in the wonderful taste of her lips. His mind began to swim and more and more that terrible uneasiness that had gripped him briefly began to fade away. Replacing him was this feeling of freedom, of all things that he wanted to be. As he sucked in his breath and was treated to the scent of her glorious hair, he could not imagine why he had even questioned what she meant to him. She was everything. Everything that he had always wanted.

William, she isn’t real.

Spike froze and pulled away from her. His eyes were wide with fear. "I have to go." He whispered.

"No, you don’t," Elizabeth replied, refusing to let him escape her as she regained her hold of him. She understood perfectly well what was happening and inwardly she felt her outrage build at the knowledge that he might be breaking free of her spell. She allowed no one to escape. She captured his mouth in a bruising kiss and poured every ounce of her power into the kiss in order to reinforce the enchantment. She felt the arms that were trying to pull her away succumb to the pleasure of her lips and smiled in satisfaction at knowing he was once again hers.

"No I don’t," Spike murmured, wondering what he was thinking to even consider leaving her. "I must be crazy leaving you pet," he raised his head so that he could look her in the eyes.

"You’re not crazy," she smiled, pleased that the spell had worked and that he was hers again. However, she made a mental note to keep a close eye on him. After all, if the spell was capable of breaking down, then she did not wish it to do so at a highly inconvenient time. "Don’t worry my handsome William," she gazed into his eyes warmly. "I won’t let her stay too long inside your head. Thanks to the blood that you’ve gotten for me, I’ll be able to free you of her once and for all."

"Then get to it," Spike found himself saying with uncharacteristic vehemence. "I want it over and done with!"

"It will happen soon enough," she smiled as she took her hand and led him across the floor of the room. "Right now, I think its necessary for us to spend a little time together."

Spike followed her as she led him to the direction of her bedroom, feeling all at once excited to be invited to her bed again and yet strangely reluctant. The elation he felt as Elizabeth his hand seemed to die away because his attention was elsewhere. It was on the voice that was whispering softly in his ears, the one crying out secretly that this was all wrong.

***********

Tara and Buffy were allowed to ride with her in the ambulance as it sped through the streets of town while paramedics tended to gunshot wound Willow had suffered. As expected the paramedics’ report to the hospital that Willow had been shot had resulted in the police being notified. After arriving in the emergency ward, Tara and Buff were relegated to the waiting room while Willow was whisked away by doctors and nurses to have her wounds treated. It did not take long for a dour-looking police officer to find them there and begin the interrogation process of how she had been involved in the shooting. Buffy and Tara recited the story they had concocted at home in accordance with Buffy’s plan and though the officer did look somewhat sceptical about their explanation, had decided not to press the matter.

Buffy was rather grateful for that fact after his departure. She knew that the police in Sunnydale was not as oblivious as one might think to the fact that the town was built over a Hellmouth with a more than healthy demon population. The Mayor had cultivated an atmosphere of silence through the town that had yet to be shed even after his death three years ago. She was certain that it was the habit of the Sunnydale local government to disguise any demon-related activity as a conventional problem experienced by any small American town. She was almost convinced that if she told the truth that Willow was been shot by someone who was overcome by the hypnotic influence of a female vampire she would not necessarily be disbelieved.

After jotting down their statement for his notes, the policeman made some obligatory remark about being questioned further even though Buffy guessed by his cynical attitude that it would not be anytime soon. The policeman was just as happy to put the incident behind him as they were. Once he was gone, Buffy and Tara resumed their waiting, which fortunately was not as long as Buffy thought it would be, which was a good thing. Buffy’s memories of Sunnydale Hospital were not exactly her best recollections. She had been trapped in a waiting room very much like this one when her mother had been wheeled away to have a biopsy performed in order to determine if her brain tumour was fatal or not.

She remembered how grateful she had been when the doctors told her that Joyce was going to be all right, in a room very much like this one. Until then, she had lived with the horror that she might lose her mother and hearing the doctors say that Joyce was going to be alright was possibly the best news she had ever heard. Of course, they never mentioned the cerebral haemorrhage or the fact that it could overcome her mother with a snap of a finger. Now she was waiting here to hear if Willow was going to be okay and even though Buffy knew her wounds were not that serious, the biopsy had been reported as benign and still she had lost her mother.

Of course Buffy made none of these comments known to Tara who was sitting next to her because Tara was worried enough about Willow as it was already. Despite the circumstances, Buffy felt some measure of confidence that Willow and Tara were not done with each other quite yet and that reconciliation would happen sooner or later. Probably sooner in light of what has happened. Buffy felt happy for her friend for finding such a soul mate in Tara who not only made Willow extremely happy but was also a good friend to her personally.

"She’ll be okay," Buffy said soothingly as Tara hugged herself on the chair, trying not to look any more fearful than she already was. Buffy flinched seeing the blood on Tara’s clothes and shuddered at the realization that it was Willow’s.

"I know," Tara replied with a grateful smile at Buffy’s effort to make her feel better. "Willow’s strong and we got her help in time."

"I let this whole situation get out of hand," Buffy found herself remarking. "I’ve been so wrapped up in myself lately that I’ve forgotten everyone, not just Spike."

"It's not your fault," Tara tried to be sympathetic but she could not deny that there was truth to Buffy’s words. "You had a lot to deal with."

"That’s not an excuse," Buffy said firmly, not about to exonerate herself so easily. "I don’t know where I’ve been lately but it stops now. I’m going to finish this thing with this vamp."

"What about Spike?" Tara asked gingerly.

"If I can help him, I will," Buffy said resolutely. "I owe that much at least but if he tries to hurt anyone of us like Xander did, I’ll stake him."

Tara wanted to comment but the opportunity to do so faded with the arrival of a tall black man in a doctor’s coat and a uniform. "I’m Doctor Keeley," he introduced himself. "Are you the ones who came with Willow Rosenberg?"

"Yes," Tara immediately stood up and gave the man her full attention. "Is she going to be alright?"

"Yes, she is," the doctor answered immediately ending that misery for them. "There’s been some loss of blood and muscle damage but we were able to extract the bullet without it causing any further problems to the rest of her system. She’ll need to stay here for a few days but she should recover completely."

"Oh thank god," Buffy exhaled loudly, grateful for that much. "Can we see her?" She asked him since Tara was too overcome with emotion to articulate the desire.

"Not at this time," the man said firmly. "She’s been in surgery and should be allowed to rest. The best that you can do for her is to go home and get some rest yourselves."

"Please," Tara stared at the man. "I’d really like to just see her."

The doctor was about to protest when Buffy added. "Look, it couldn’t hurt if she sees Willow for a second? I mean she can go in alone. Please? They’re very close."

The doctor nodded in understanding, now that he was made aware of their relationship. "I see," he answered and turned to Tara. "I’ll tell the nurse to let you in there but you can only stay a minute. She has been in surgery," he reminded her. "She needs all the recuperation she can get so soon after."

"I won’t say a word," Tara assured the man who promptly called one of the nurses walking by to show Tara to Willow’s room.

"I won’t be long," Tara told Buffy as she was led down the hallway.

"Thank you," Buffy said gratefully.

The doctor accepted her thanks before he too went on his way, leaving Buffy alone in the hall. The slayer took a deep breath and reminded herself that when Tara returned, they would have to get home to deal with the crisis awaiting them there, now this one was averted. One of her two best friends in the world was going to survive to see the morning.

Now she and Tara had to try and see the same happened for the other.

***********

She did not like seeing Xander who once had been the object of her pre-teen crush lying on his stomach, his arms bound behind his back with his own belt while his mouth was filled with a gag. Anya, who only a few hours ago looked as if her spirit had been crushed underfoot like the shattered remains of an egg, was watching her fiancée closely. Dawn had come downstairs after the police had come and made an obligatory sweet of the crime scene where an intruder had supposedly broken into the house and shot Willow. Tara and Buffy had given a good enough performance for the policemen to believe that all the activity that night had been centred in the living room. Dawn had surprised herself by her ability to successfully maintain this illusion for them.

They took the usual dusting of prints and examined the blood on the carpet before giving her a card and some advice to keep the doors locked and other such precautions before they went off on their merry way. Once they had gone, Dawn had hurried down the basement, hoping that Anya had managed to keep Xander subdued as Buffy had instructed. When she reached the foot of the stairs, she noticed that he was no longer unconscious. She could tell that he was aware of her arrival by the way he sought to crane his neck and look in her direction as she came down the steps. Anya had taken the precaution of tying up his feet as well, not wishing him to have an opportunity to return to his mistress.

"Do we have to tie him up like that?" Dawn asked as she met Xander’s eyes.

He looked at her as if he were begging for help, oblivious to the fact that only a short time ago, he had attempted to kill her.

"Yes," Anya said icily, glaring at him.

Dawn shuddered at the coldness in her voice, remembering that it was only a short time ago that Anya had been huddling on the sofa with her injuries, appearing as broken as the coffee table that Xander had flung her into.

Xander attempted to make a muffled sound through the gag in his mouth but it never formed enough coherence to become words. He seemed to be imploring Dawn to be released but Dawn knew that it was most likely a ruse. For his own sake as well as their own, it was best that he remained incapacitated for the duration until Buffy arrived home. Anya’s manner towards Xander frightened Dawn a little. There was a hard edge in her eyes as she stared at him as if he were an alien creature that had seized control of the man she loved and had earned her severest hatred because of it.

"Maybe we should take off the gag," Dawn suggested as she sat next to Anya, mostly because the silence made her uncomfortable.

"Trust me," Anya said still staring. "You don’t want to hear anything he has to say. It won’t be nice."

"Maybe he’ll tell us where Spike is," Dawn replied.

"He won’t," Anya retorted even though Xander had started to make sounds to the contrary regarding that particular point. "All he cares about is her. He’s under an enchantment spell. Until we find a way to break it, he belongs to her and he’ll say and do anything to get to her."

"I guess," Dawn shrugged. "I still like to know why he wanted Buffy’s blood though."

"Buffy said they were going to try and open the Hellmouth," Anya ventured a guess, "maybe that’s what they need it for."

Dawn shuddered at the thought, remembering what happened the last time someone had tried to open a dimensional portal using blood. It had taken Buffy’s death to stop it from happening. Dawn hoped it would not come to that a second time.

"That’s what I’d like to know," Buffy’s voice suddenly filled the basement and Dawn felt a flood of relief at her sister’s presence.

"Buffy!" Dawn looked up to see Buffy and Tara coming down the stairs. "How’s Willow?"

"She’s going to be okay," Tara answered and Dawn shared her relief by embracing Tara happily at the news.

"The doctor says she’s going to need a few days in the hospital," Buffy explained as she reached the floor of the basement, her gaze fixed upon Xander as she spoke.

"I’m glad," Anya sighed, clearly relieved that Xander had not caused irreparable harm to his friends. Xander considered Willow his best friend. If he had injured her any worse than he had, Anya knew that when he emerged from this spell that Elizabeth had cast over him, the knowledge of what he had done to Willow would destroy him. "Now can we fix Xander?" She asked in typical form.

"That’s the big question," Buffy sighed as she walked to him and drop to her knees. Xander glared at her and even though he did not speak, the hatred in his eyes not just for her, but for all of them was clear. She sucked in her breath, bracing herself inwardly for all the thing that would come out of his mouth when he was given leave to speak and prepared herself for the worst.

"Brace yourself," Buffy gave them all a warning look as she reached for his gag. "Elizabeth’s turned him into a real charmer."

Xander did not speak for a few seconds after Buffy removed the gag. The enforced silence had left him thirsty and unable to speak in anything more than a hoarse tone for a few seconds. Anya was mercurial in her expression and though her gaze was fixed upon him, she had come to the firm conclusion that anything he said was merely a cruel reflection of the part Elizabeth wanted him to play. Dawn was finding it uncomfortable seeing him an enemy, even after he threatened her life. To her, he was still her first crush, the guy who babysat with her when she was little and Buffy had to patrol, who still drove her to school. Tara did not have the attachment that the others did and her thoughts were focused on the spell she was about to cast upon him, to free him from Elizabeth’s enchantment.

"Tara," Buffy looked at her. "Can you help him?"

"I’m going to have to learn what kind of a spell she put on him," Tara explained.

"Its obviously some kind of enchantment spell," Anya suggested.

"I’m guessing that most of her magic probably has Eastern European origins," Tara remarked as she approached Xander cautiously reached into the small leather bag that was slung around her shoulder. On the way back from the hospital, Buffy and Tara had made a brief stop at the Magic Box in order to acquire some of the supplies she would need for the procedure. "I’m going to try some of the Unmasking Rituals they would have to use. It should be able to tell us exactly what she did to him."

"She didn’t do anything to me, you bitch!" Xander snapped viciously. "I love her!"

"Sure you do," Buffy retorted derisively. "And I’m guessing instead of going all traditional to endear yourself to her, you decided together a pint of my blood instead of flowers. A very bold choice."

"You can laugh now," Xander glowered at her. "But when she rips the soul from you and gives to the Hellmouth as the door prize, I’ll be the one laughing."

"So she’s going to use my blood to open the Hellmouth?" Buffy replied nonchalantly as if this was nothing she had heard before. "Original."

"She doesn’t need Slayer blood to open the Hellmouth!" Xander boasted, his ‘love’ for Elizabeth loosening his tongue. He saw Tara forming a circle around him with the ochre-coloured powder from the vial she was holding and began to get anxious as what the Wiccan was planning.

"Oh come on," Buffy returned his attention to her again. "Every time someone opens the Hellmouth or tear down the dimensional walls, there’s always gotta be blood or bodies, or strange amulets involved. This time, I guess I got stuck with the bill. I mean she is a vamp, after all, its gotta be blood with her. Probably bathes in it like the books say she does."

"Elizabeth is more powerful than any vamp you’ve ever met Buff," Xander stared at her icily. "She doesn’t need your blood or any trinket to open the Hellmouth. She’s got the power to do it without all those things."

"Then why hasn’t she done it already?" Anya asked, seeing Buffy's strategy as Tara continued to prepare him for the ritual. "If she’s so strong why aren’t we up to our ears in hell beasties?"

"Because she promised them that she’d deliver the Slayer first!" He hissed.

"I like to see how she’s going to do that," Buffy looked him in the eye with challenge. "She doesn’t even have the guts to come at me face to face. All she’s done is send her little toy boys after me. She couldn’t even come after me for the blood, she sent you, a human. I mean how lame is that? "

"She doesn’t have to come after you," Xander returned, smouldering with so much rage that his body shook "Once she has your blood, she only needs to perform the ritual. She’ll tear the spirit of the Slayer from your body and destroy it. When that’s gone, you can kiss your slayer strength goodbye and forget about any other slayer coming after you. You’ll be the last slayer of all time and she wants you to remember that when she turns you into a vamp."

"Is that possible?" Dawn looked frantically at Buffy. "Can she destroy all the slayers? Even the ones that aren’t made yet?"

Buffy did not answer. She was too busy trying to hide her shock because she had no wish to give Xander the satisfaction of seeing her horror.

"Do it," Buffy ordered Tara who had reached into her bag once more and produced a sprinkling of herbs that rained own over Xander. "Break the spell. If that’s her plan, we’ve got to find out where she is."

Xander started to breathe hard, terrified by the notion that his love for Elizabeth might be taken away from him. "You couldn’t even stop her even if I told you!" Xander shouted. "She’s already beginning the ritual!"

Buffy did not need to be a mind reader to know that he was trying to bluff his way out of his predicament. "Do it now Tara! It’s the only way he’s going to tell us the truth."

"You don’t need to do that!" Xander’s resolve shattered at the thought of losing his beloved. "I’m not afraid of telling you where she is! It's not like you could stop her anyway!"

"Nice try," Buffy said shaking her head in disgust. "You’re not so brave now that we’re going to have you fixed. Like you’d tell us the truth on your own."

"She’s at the empty mansion in Shadowbrook Road!" Xander spat. "You can go see for yourself."

"Shadowbrook Road?" Buffy stared at him sceptically. "You expect me to believe that?"

"I’m not afraid of telling you the truth," he said defiantly. "Are you? Maybe you know you’re not good enough to beat her, that’s why you think I’m lying."

"Actually," Buffy gave him a little wink. "We’ve been lying."

"What?" Xander’s eyes widened.

"I think that will do," Buffy grinned standing up.

"I didn’t think it would work Buffy," Tara returned her smile as she stopped what she was doing immediately and retreated away from Xander. "I didn’t think he’d fall for it."

"Fall for what?" Dawn stared at them with about as much shock as Xander as he realized how utterly he had been played.

"We found out that the spell she’s probably used on Xander can’t be broken unless she does it herself," Tara explained.

"So we thought a little play-acting might get Xander to tell us what he knew, without resorting to any spell. Gotta say I didn’t think it would work so well."

"You tricked me!" Xander shouted enraged and started to scream in fury.

"Oh looks like its time for Mr Gag again," Buffy retorted and immediately replaced the gag his mouth, stifling any further howls of indignation.

"I’m impressed," Tara could not help smile even though she was just as stunned as Dawn. "But now what?"

"Now," Buffy said with a loud sigh, her elation beginning to descend now that Anya had reminded them that this little victory was merely one step in a larger battle. "Now we get ready because its time I meet Countess Elizabeth."

Chapter Seven
The Pain of Love

A hard rain had begun pounding the earth when Buffy set out for Elizabeth’s mansion lair on Shadowbrook Road. The grey clouds above seemed to know something she did not for their rumblings resembled a rising discontent that would soon become a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms did not worry the slayer for they were apart of the natural order. However as the wind began to wail like a banshee in the night and the lands seemed to heave with protestations of some coming darkness, Buffy was gripped with a sense of urgency as she and Tara drove towards their confrontation with the Countess. It was a sense of unease that translated into the Wiccan beside her for Tara seemed no less comfortable than she did. Of course, facing a vampire of Elizabeth’s calibre should have been enough to shake even the strongest constitution but Buffy had a feeling it was more than just that.

At the time, they had presented a brave front to Xander because, in his current state of being Elizabeth’s creature, they had no wish to give him the impression his boasting about his mistress’s plans had frightened them. In truth, however, Buffy was shaken to the core. This was the first time that an enemy had tried more than just to kill her but to kill all the Slayers that had ever been and would be. She wished that Giles were here because he would be able to tell her if this was possible or not. She did not want to believe that it could be true but Elizabeth had good cause to hate the Slayers. Buffy supposed if she had been trapped in a dungeon for four centuries, she would be similarly inclined to desire such an extreme vengeance. However, whether or not that desire translated into ability was another thing entirely.

Unfortunately, Buffy could not take the risk because she was not merely fighting for herself but for all the Slayers that would come after her. The vampire had already proven herself to be formidable enough to steal away Xander and Spike from her. Despite her difficulties of late with Spike, she never believed he was capable of truly hurting her until now. It was a stark reminder of how fine a line he walked by loving her and though she admired his ability to curb his baser instincts until now, Buffy understood that it would only take a nudge for him to turn on her.

Xander was even worse if that was possible. Spike she could kill because he was a vampire and when they strip away all the other complications between them, the fact that he was a demon gave her absolution should she ever take that path with him. However, Xander was her friend. She did not love him as she loved Angel but her feelings for him were just as strong and it had taken Elizabeth a second to turn them both away from her.

If she was capable of that, then she was capable of opening the Hellmouth and destroying the slayers.

As it was, Buffy was not terribly happy about leaving Dawn and Anya alone to guard Xander. Despite her sister’s protestations that she was old enough to take care of herself as well as accepting added responsibility, Buffy still saw her as her little sister and could not help feeling the need to protect her even though she had to give in to Dawn’s argument this time. With Willow in the hospital and Xander needed watching until the threat of Elizabeth was dealt with, Buffy could not afford to expend the resources to guard her. In truth, she was leery of attempting to deal with two master vampires alone and was grateful that Tara was by her side. Although supposedly not as powerful a witch as Willow once was, Tara seemed to have better control of her magic and was quite formidable in her own right.

Buffy was not so arrogant as to think that she could take on Elizabeth and Spike on her own. The way she had been the past few months might have made her inclined to believe that she needed none of her friends but she had reached a watershed tonight and her road to healing had begun by her ability to ask for help. Unfortunately, that moment had coincided with the fact that at this precise instance, the friends who could help her were in no position to do so. Unlike herself, the others did not have super fast healing ability as she did and both Willow and Anya were in no shape to fight the enemies rallied against them tonight.

By the time they reached Shadowbrook Road, the rain was pounding so hard against the car it was almost difficult to speak through the sounds against its steel. Buffy gazed out the window and saw the sky was hidden beneath a blanket of grey and lightning bolts lashed out periodically, followed closely by thunder. The last time she had seen a night as fierce as this, it had been the day that the hell demon Glory had attempted to bring down the dimensional walls and while it had not rained, the air was charged with the same atmosphere of unrest. She hoped that she would survive the outcome of this battle in better condition than she had during that occasion.

The house on Shadowbrook Road was not hard to find since it was the one surrounded with high gates and manicured lawns that seemed to go on forever before one actually laid eyes upon the house itself. As Buffy and Tara approached it, she wondered what sort of justice it was that had a vampire leaving in such luxurious surroundings, while she, the Slayer, was forced to make ends meet by shovelling French fries and greasy burgers to an unsuspecting public. Sometimes there was just no justice in the world. Unfortunately, at the present moment, their troubles were a little more involved than the socio-disproportionate economic status of vampire and slayer, the steel gates appeared quite formidable and short of ramming through them with a car, they were not going to get past it.

"I’ll have to go in alone," Buffy replied once the two had emerged from the vehicle, which was parked a little more than a mile away from the house. There was no point in giving Elizabeth any more of a warning that she already had since the vampire would have reason to suspect her secret hideaway would have been compromised the moment Xander was overdue from his errand to retrieve Buffy’s blood. No doubt there would be sentries ensuring that intruders did not enter the grounds unnoticed.

"No," Tara shook her head, not about to entertain that idea in any shape or form.

"Tara, I can climb over the gate," Buffy insisted.

"And I can open it," she stared at the slayer.

"Oh," Buffy remarked with some measure of surprise. "Well, why didn’t you say so?"

"I didn’t think you were going to try and leave me behind," Tara retorted as the two of them started down the slick road.

"I wasn’t trying to leave you behind," Buffy gave her a look, feeling the rain soak through her supposedly waterproof coat in a matter of seconds. "I didn’t think you could climb over the thing."

"Okay, okay," Tara remarked with a smile. "I just don’t want you to think that you have to do this alone."

Tara remembered how it felt to be alone and of the belief that she was beyond anyone’s help. She had for the longest time, believed she was part demon and thus submitted to the will of her father and her brothers out of some fear that no one else would care about her if they knew what she was. Willow had shown her that she was worth loving but it was Buffy who made her truly feel apart of the Scooby Gang. When her father had come to take her home despite her own wishes, Buffy had stood up for her and called her family. She had almost wept from the intense gratitude of Buffy’s gesture but the Slayer never expected thanks because she really meant what she said; Tara was family and one did not thank family for simply being that.

"I know," she swallowed. "I’m glad you’re with me."

The high gates seemed to surround the entire mansion and with the rain the way it was, Buffy had trouble spotting any vampires that might be keeping watch for trespassers. She assumed that Elizabeth had to know that she was coming. What else would explain Xander’s absence? Unfortunately, Buffy had no choice; she had to act whatever the risks. The only thing that gave her hesitation was Tara’s presence. However, the Wiccan was not going to allow that the reason hindered Buffy in what she had to do. Deciding against entering through the main gates, the found a smaller gate after walking for ten minutes around the steel fence. It appeared to be a service entrance of some kind and though it was padlocked, Tara dispatched it effortlessly.

"You ready for this?" Buffy gave her a look.

"As I’m ever going to be," Tara swallowed.

Buffy sucked in her breath, trying to control the fear she felt at what they were about to face and prayed silently that she did not fail this like she had failed everything recently because this was one battle she could not afford to lose.

***********

Tonight the Slayers would die.

Not just the one who presently inhabited Sunnydale but the entire wretched line of all vampire slayers for all time. Since the beginning of time, since the emergence of the first vampire, there had been a slayer there to fight it. For all the centuries since that day, a war had been fought in secret that most never knew existed and for every slayer that had fallen, hundred of vampires and demons had died first. If what she did tonight succeeded, then that war would finally end with the slayer being vanquished and Elizabeth gaining the revenge she had dreamed about for four centuries of horrific enslavement.

As she stood in the centre of the hall where the ritual would be performed, she continued the preparations, making good use of the blood that Spike had returned to her after their evening’s encounter with the slayer. It disturbed her mildly that the human Xander had not returned to her but then Elizabeth had sent her minions forth to retrieve him so she anticipated that his absence would not be for long. Of course, there was every possibility that Xander could have betrayed her to the slayer but Elizabeth was unconcerned by this as well. Vorgas and the rest of her foot soldiers were patrolling the grounds, ensuring that she was uninterrupted while she proceeded to conduct this ritual.

She allowed only Spike – William, to remain because he needed to have the slayer’s hold upon him broken. The irony of a vampire loving a slayer was not lost upon Elizabeth but she wanted him for herself and would endure no rival for his affections. His love for the slayer was strong, even the spell of enchantment Elizabeth had placed over him was finding difficulty remaining in place without constant reinforcement. It was fortunate that with this one spell, she would be able to eliminate the competition but also the Enemy.

Beyond the walls of the mansion, the rain was starting to beat down upon the earth with greater intensity. Elizabeth had not quite begun the ritual but the components of the spell could be felt upon the supernatural world. The realm of shadows had its own way of reacting to the currents running through it and this violent thunderstorm was only the opening act of a larger play tonight. Spike was seated on the wide sill of the window, staring into the darkness as if he were not entirely there with her. He was an introspective creature, she noticed, full of deep thoughts that were not customary for a vampire. He was something more though how that was possible was beyond even Elizabeth’s vast knowledge. Whatever it might be, Elizabeth was certain that it was closely linked to the slayer.

"I am about to begin William," Elizabeth responded as she mixed in the final ingredient of the spell to the earthenware bowl filled with the slayer’s blood.

Spike turned away from the rain and dropped off the sill. "What do you need me to do?" He asked quietly.

"There isn’t anything left to do William," she said silkily. "You accomplished everything when you brought me her blood."

"Oh," he nodded softly. "Then its all right to go then."

"Yes," Elizabeth smiled. "All you have to do is bear witness to history unfolding before your eyes. Tonight will be the last night of order. Tomorrow, we and chaos will rule the world."

With that, she poured the contents of the bowl into the pedestal of fire before her and watched the fluid hiss, turning the amber flame into blue.

***********

Buffy and Tara had just come within sight of the house when suddenly, they were beset upon a trio of vampires. They were all big stocky men that seemed to tower over her and would have been very formidable even before they were turned into creatures of the dark. Buffy had faced far worse and stronger when she had fought demons and so she did not even think twice when she rushed in to face them, stake brandished and prepared to kill with extreme prejudice. Tara stepped out of the way. In the past, the Scoobies had a set pattern of instructions when they accompanied Buffy on patrol. Most of the time, they were to stay out of her way unless the odds were such that she needed assistance but that was usually clear after the first few blows were struck. If she needed aid, they would try to help her but if not, they were to stay out of way in order to ensure that they did not become more of a liability than aiding her.

Buffy caught the fist coming at her and grabbed it in mid punch, using it to immobilize her attacker as she planted several deft kicks in his sternum. The vampire hissed in pain as ribs cracked under her boot before the slayer shifted position and hurled him over her head. He landed flat on his back at her feet and Buffy wasted no time in landing on top of him and slamming the stake right through his heart. He burst into dust before she had even stood up to face her next opponent. This one was cautious not to engage her directly and Buffy soon realized that it was because he was distracting her for the other that was sneaking up behind her. She could sense his approach in the back of her mind even if she could not see him and quickly mapped out her attack strategy as he moved in for the kill while the other pretended to attack.

She swung around just as he was about to grab her and threw a forward kick that connected with his jaw. The vampire staggered back clutching his mouth before she swung around in a tight circle and struck the other who had been doing the distracting. He dropped to his knees and Buffy let her legs do most of the work, slamming her heel into his shoulder and driving him into the damp grass. He looked up at her briefly, his face covered with rain and his demonic visage hissing with rage at his eminent defeat before Buffy drove her stake through his back and ended him for all time. The pounding rain quickly dissolved the cloud of dust left in his wake.

Buffy rose to her feet, preparing to deal with the last vampire that was coming at her when suddenly she was gripped with something unexplainable. It could almost be considered fatigue. She had little time to ponder this because she felt a fist slam into her cheek that sent her flying across the grass. In the background of ringing pain, she heard Tara call out after her in fright. Buffy landed hard and when she did, it felt like every joint in her body was screaming out in outrage over such punishment. For an instant, she was stunned why this was hurting more than it should. However, there was little time to consider it deeply when she felt herself being dragged up by her shirt.

The vampire was staring at her in triumph, its teeth bared and preparing to sink its fang into her flesh when Buffy broke free and threw her upturned palm into his nose, shattering the bone there and searching the ground for her stake. She need not have looked far because suddenly he exploded into a cloud of dust before. When he disappeared, Buffy saw Tara standing behind where he used to be, holding Mr Pointy in her hand after using it on the vampire.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked immediately.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded, wiping the blood and water away from her nose. "I don’t know what happened there. I just suddenly got really weak."

"You were hurt pretty badly by Spike," Tara pointed out anxiously. "Maybe it just caught up with you."

"Maybe," Buffy nodded but she could not help thinking that it was something else.

***********

Dawn hated this.

She never told Buffy how much because it would do nothing but worry her sister even further but Dawn could not hide the truth. She hated this endless waiting whenever Buffy was out there facing untold evil. It was not so bad when her mother was alive, at least the two of them could wait this out together but with Joyce gone, there was not even that small comfort. Of course in truth, none of this had ever happened because the memories she had of the event were fabricated for her benefit and those of others by the monks who desired to make her fit into the slayer’s life. Nevertheless, the memories felt real and the reality she was enduring now even worse.

Anya was still in the basement, keeping watch on Xander in case he tried to escape. Dawn would have remained with her except that Xander was saying such mean things, especially after realising how Buffy and Tara had tricked him into revealing Elizabeth’s lair. Dawn did not know how Anya could tolerate his vile words but she decided she could not and had opted to leave the vengeance demon to her fiancée. Hopefully, before the night was out, Buffy would have staked Elizabeth and the enchantment spell that Xander insisted he was not under would be broken. However, sitting here on the couch was not a better proposition either because she could not occupy her thoughts with anything other than how Buffy was faring fighting not only Elizabeth but Spike as well.

After flipping through one of her favourite teen magazines and finding that she could read nothing because her mind was to set on Buffy, Dawn tossed it aside and reached instead for the remote to the television set. She hoped there was something better than infomercials on because she could really use the distraction. When the screen finally flickered to life, Dawn discovered that there was evil greater than even the Hellmouth and it was late-night programming for she was soon staring mutely at a TV evangelist delivering a fiery speech about hellfire and damnation.

She wondered what he would think if he knew that hell was already here and it could open sooner than he predicted.

Unfortunately, she had little time to ponder that question when suddenly, a loud crashing sound filled her ears as the door fell forward, trailing splinters of wood and before slamming hard against the fall. Dawn let out a short cry of fright when she saw what came through. The demon resembled the creature Buffy had encountered at the bank a few months ago when she tried to get a loan. It was big, ugly and it was looking straight at her.

"Where is he?" The demon roared.

Xander! Dawn thought involuntarily as the demon advanced upon her, threatening to intimidate her into giving him the information with his bulk and aggression. Despite herself, Dawn knew he was succeeding spectacularly.

"I don’t know," she stammered, wondering what was in her mind when said that.

The demon roared angrily, revealing a mouthful of teeth that made Dawn climbed up the sofa in a bid to escape.

"WHERE IS HE!" It demanded again. "Tell me or I’ll rip you apart!"

His sharp voice made Dawn shoot a sidelong glance to the basement door and the young woman cursed herself when she saw the demon catching that sudden shift in her eyes. His lips pulled back into a triumphant grin and he moved immediately for it. As Dawn saw the demon’s massive hand rip another door off its hinges, she thought quickly what to do. If Buffy was here, it would be simple; she would stop him. However, her sister was not and Dawn knew that if Xander was taken back to Elizabeth, then Buffy would have one more obstacle to worry about other than Spike and Elizabeth.

She had to do something.

She heard Anya crying out from the basement and scuffle before she was prompted into moving. Running into the kitchen, she looked around for the items she needed and found them in good measure just as she heard Anya crying out, probably trying to stop the demon from taking Xander. Dawn felt her stomach lurch when she heard a noisy clatter erupt a second later and hope Anya was alright. She hurried out the kitchen and stood by the basement door when she heard the pounding footsteps of the demon coming up the stairs. For a brief instance, Dawn wondered if she was insane. Was she really going to do this and risk her life?

Then she thought of Buffy and what the slayer had to endure all the time and had her answer.

When the creature’s face appeared in the gleam of the fluorescent light over them, his eyes widened briefly at the sight of Dawn. He had picked up Xander and tucked him under his arm like the human was a sack of rice. The positioning, however, ensured that Xander would not hurt. Dawn had no idea if this would work but she had no choice but to try. There was an instant between Dawn and the demon when the creature glared at her challengingly with his yellow eyes daring her to act. She knew that if she faltered, she was dead and so she did the only thing she could, she pushed down the nozzle of the oven cleaner in one hand and ignited the spray that escaped it with the stove lighter in the other. A strong spray of whooshed into being as the fluid not ignited splattered on the demon’s face and brought the fire with it.

The demon howled in agony, releasing Xander as he tried to douse the flames that had engulfed his skull. Staggering backwards, he fell down the staircase, rolling into a ball of amber flame becoming landing hard on the floor. There was a loud crunching noise as he impacted and Dawn hurried down the stairs past Xander who had been knocked unconscious when he was dropped so unceremoniously. Anya was picking herself up from the collapsed remnants of the shelf she had been thrown into when she tried to stop the demon from taking Xander.

"What did you do?" Anya demanded as they stopped a foot away from the demon’s prone form. He had stopped struggling but the flames had spread to the rest of his body and were burning his flesh away. The unusual angle of his neck indicated that he had broken it but that was never any assurance where demons were concerned.

"I used this trick I saw in a movie once," Dawn stammered, shaking so badly that she had succeeded without getting herself killed that it was really quite astonishing. She showed Anya the can and the lighter, allowing the former vengeance demon to extrapolate the rest. "I didn’t think it would work."

"It looks like it worked to me," Anya replied, her eyes darting around the room before resting on the object she wanted. Picking up the axe, she walked towards the creature and gave Dawn a warning of what was to come. The teenager decided she had seen enough grisly tonight and turned away as Anya swung the blade over her shoulder and the sound of metal striking flesh shuddered through her body. Only when she heard the sound of Anya dropping the axe did she turn around and after that, she was spared the horror of more carnage when Anya dropped a layer of canvas over the dead body to douse the flames.

"Just to be sure," Anya replied.

"Oh," Dawn swallowed and glanced up the stairs. "That’s one less thing for Buffy to worry about," she sighed.

"Yeah," Anya nodded as she walked towards the stairs and stopped short in her tracks.

"Dawn, where’s Xander?"

"Buffy are you alright?" Tara asked, noticing her silence as they slipped through the rear door that emptied into the kitchen. The kitchen was larger than her living room, Buffy thought as they passed the countertops and stove.

"Yeah," she nodded as they moved into the adjoining corridor, "I’m not as bad as I was a while ago," she confessed but knew that it was something of a lie because they could not test her strength until she fought another vampire.

"Can you hang on?" Tara asked anxiously as she looked about her and wished the place did not have quite so many shadows. She wondered why mansions were generally kept so much in the dark. It was almost a prerequisite that they are as creepy looking as possible.

"I think so," Buffy said with a confidence she did not feel.

There was a light at the end of the passageway and Buffy stiffened with caution as she gave Tara a brief glance that conveyed to the witch to stay close behind her as they made their way up the path. She could hear a chanting voice filtering through the corridor, the language was nothing she understood but it was undoubtedly female. For some reason, the word filled Buffy with dread even though she could not understand any of it. It was a cold fear that struck her right to the core, in a primeval way that she had not felt since she first realized that vampires were real and demons walked the earth.

"Buffy that’s a spell," Tara whispered, recognizing some of the words being spoken but not all of it.

"What kind of spell?" Buffy asked as they neared the light.

"I don’t know," the witch shook her head. "I’ve never heard some of the words she’s using. I recognise some of them. I think it’s Romanian or maybe Latin."

"Its Magyar actually," a voice said behind them both.

The two women spun around swiftly and found themselves facing a vampire whose bulk was big and towering. No sooner than those words left his lips and called their attention to him, he swung out his large hand and swatted Tara away like a fly. The Wiccan slammed into the wall hard, her head making a fair whack against it.

"Tara!" Buffy cried out and stared sharply at the vampire, determining to end him for what he had done. She ran forward with her stake brandish preparing to throw a punch when he caught her fist in his hand and twisted her arm behind her back. Buffy tried to break free but it was a struggle to gain even the slightest advantage when the vampire shoved her forward. She stumbled like a child, unable to gain her balance until she had almost hit the floor. The fatigue that had gripped her earlier had returned, only this time it was worse.

She managed to get to her feet and saw the vampire rushing at her, taking the offensive. He lashed out with his fist and Buffy managed to block it briefly, her bone shuddered from the powerful blow. She returned one of her own and put everything she had into it. The vampire staggered. Knowing that she would die here, tonight, if she did not dispatch him quickly, Buffy poured everything she had into the fight. She kicked him in the chest when he was off-balance, sending him further down the corridor. Somehow, she had still managed to keep a tight grip of her stake so she was not completely unarmed. The vampire hissed in fury as she punched him hard against his jaw, ensuring something cracked when she did.

Buffy remembered her training, especially the fighting techniques that did not require a great deal of physical strength and had their greatest effects on vulnerable points. She kicked out again, shattering ribs with such force that the bony shards sliced through organs. She saw the vampires face contorting with agony as he clutched his body where she had struck. Taking advantage of his disorientation, she slammed her foot into his knees and brought him down. Even kneeling, he was tall and Buffy had to use all her strength to deliver a spinning kick that landed him flat on his back. She did not even bother to risk coming closer and flung the stake into his heart as she stood above him.

He doubled over when the wood sunk into his flesh and it was in this pose that the vampire named Vorgas disappeared into nothingness in a burst of dark cloud. His ashes scattered the floor where he had been but Buffy did not stay long enough to observe his demise once the stake had done its work. Instead, she hurried towards Tara and was relieved to hear a strained groan. The Wiccan was starting to regain consciousness, stirring out of the blackness forced upon her into the dark of the corridor.

"Tara," Buffy quickly hurried to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Tara nodded after a while. "My head’s throbby but I’m fine."

"You have to get out of here," Buffy insisted. "Something’s wrong. My powers are weakening…."

"It’s the spell," Tara said firmly, suddenly slipping out of her dazed state with that awareness filling her mind. "She’s doing the spell now Buffy."

"I thought that might be it," Buffy nodded, somewhat unsurprised. "Can you stop it?" She looked at Tara hopefully.

"I’m not sure but if we can stop her before she can complete the spell, that could reverse the effect on you," Tara replied.

Buffy took a deep breath and stared past Tara into the light at the end of the passage, certain that Elizabeth was there and waiting for her arrival. Unfortunately, Tara was right. Whatever happened would happen.

"Let’s do it then." She said firmly and strode out the passage, determined to finish this one way or another.

After sharing so many intimacies with her, Spike was familiar with every scent her body produced, desire, happiness, fear and most frequently, sadness. He wondered what she would think if he knew her so intimately. She would probably think it was another reason why he was so pathetic, he thought ruefully before he recanted that she probably would not because he would never tell her. Elizabeth was well into the ritual with the slayer’s blood which probably indicated that the spell was already having marked effects upon Buffy.

That she still lived was nothing short of a miracle because Elizabeth had sent most of her vampires after the slayer. Then again, Buffy was always notoriously difficult to kill. He knew that from experience.

"She’s here," Spike announced even before he heard the commotion. Elizabeth had sent Vorgas to deal with the slayer but even with her spell taking effect, Spike had serious doubts about the vampire being able to take on Buffy. Being the slayer was never just about having the strength to fight evil, it was also about having heart and cunning. Buffy had proven time and time again, she had an abundance of both.

"Then you can finish her off," Elizabeth stared at him pointedly.

Spike held her gaze for an instance, aware that she was testing his loyalty. He did not flinch in response to her unrelenting stare because he had no doubt about being able to face Buffy. No doubt at all.

"No problem Luv," he replied coolly and walked to the far end of the room because he could smell her coming down the hall.

He was making his way across the floor when he heard the human inside him whispered again.

William, don’t do this.

He faltered only briefly because there was desperation in that plea.

Don’t do this or you’ll regret it forever.

I’m not hearing this, he told himself. She doesn’t mean a thing to me!

You know that’s not true.

Even if it isn’t, it doesn’t matter. I’m with Elizabeth now, the demon inside him argued harder.

Because of a spell Spike. You’re with her because of a spell. You’ve been a slave to a chip, do you want to be a slave to a spell too?

Spike closed his eyes, trying to ignore that voice inside of him. He had a chance to be free of Buffy and the weak, pathetic creature his love for her has made him. He was not going to squander. When Buffy arrived, he would kill her.

The first thing that Buffy saw when entered the room was Spike.

The vampire stood before her as if he knew she was coming and Buffy supposed that it should not surprise her that it would come down to this. That Elizabeth would use him against her like this. No doubt Spike would have painted every lurid aspect of their relationship to the vampire witch and she probably thought that using him against Buffy would stop her from killing him. He stood before her boldly, the usual arrogance in his demonic face, not at all like the Spike she had come to care about on some level. She supposed, in the end, it was always going to be like this. Their relationship what there was, to begin with, was always going to be a tragedy written in stone. She should have known from her experiences with Angel that being with Spike was going to end the same way as it had when she had to send Angel to hell.

At least this was not going to be that hard.

"Hello cutie," he replied dispassionately.

"Spike," Buffy replied coolly and shifted her gaze towards Elizabeth and found that Dawn had not been exaggerating. The woman was extremely beautiful. It was no wonder that the men had fallen under her spell as they had. It would be an easy enough feat for her to manage without the use of magic. "So you’re the Countess."

Elizabeth rose her eyes from the crucible to meet Buffy’s gaze. "And you’re the slayer. How nice to finally meet you." Her face vamped into its demon visage as she smiled. "You brought the little witch with you."

Tara swallowed hard as Elizabeth stared at her.

"Pretty ambitious," Buffy said casually, belying the fear she felt as she saw Elizabeth carrying out the spell that would deprive the world forever of slayers. "Most people just try to kill me. You’re the first one who's tried to wipe slayers of the map."

"I have my reasons," Elizabeth replied. "Do you think the little witch can stop me?"

"She doesn’t have to stop you," Buffy returned coldly, her eyes narrowing. "I am going to." Buffy took a step towards Elizabeth only to have Spike bar her way.

"I don’t think so Slayer," Spike replied, clearly throwing down the gauntlet.

"Spike, don’t make me do this." She pleaded not as much demanded. "Don’t make me kill you."

"I’m not the one who’s withering away under a spell," he laughed. "And I showed you I could beat you the last time we met."

"The last time we met, I had written you off as a lost cause," Buffy replied sadly.

"Why William," Elizabeth smiled. "Maybe the girl does have some feeling for you."

Buffy turned scarlet with embarrassment for showing that weakness. "Don’t count on it."

With that she threw a punch in his face, he flinched but remained rooted to the spot. Spike rubbed his jaw and smiled before he lashed out at her. Buffy felt his blow in her cheek and was unable to keep herself from falling.

"Feeling a little under the weather, Slayer?" Spike grinned and pulled her off the floor by the hair. Buffy let out a small cry of pain as she wrenched herself free and threw a flying kick at him. He caught her foot in mid-air and twisted sharply, bringing her down on the hard floor. Her entire body ached from the impact and she knew that she had lost at least half her strength since entering the room.

Tara saw Buffy being beaten and knew that she had to act. She turned to Elizabeth who was still continuing her spell, draining Buffy further of her strength. With her face framed in smoke, Elizabeth continued her recital of the invocation, causing the smoke that rose from the mixture of blood and ingredients to swirl in a vision of colour. Tara had to stop her before she completely drained Buffy and killed her.

"Desist!" Tara cried out and sent Elizabeth flying backwards. The vampire was flung away from the crucible of flame.

Spike turned around at the sound of his mistress ‘ cry and started towards Tara when Buffy swept his legs from under him in a drop swing. The vampire tumbled to the floor as Buffy moved in, straddling Spike as she grabbed his head and smashed it hard against the stone. The vampire hissed in pain and then bucked hard, throwing Buffy off him. She collected herself quickly before rushing to keep him from resuming his advance on Tara. Placing herself between him and Tara, Buffy raised her fists to fight, intending to do everything possible from protecting the Wiccan.

In the meantime, Tara was standing before the fire, intending to upend the contents of the crucible before Elizabeth recovered enough to retaliate for her attack. She stared momentarily at the swirling contents and the gagging stench that came from before opening her mouth to upend the red hot stand the crucible was perched upon. However the chance never came as she was hit by something hard, it surged through her bones with pain and forced her to scream. Tara fell to her knees and looked up to see Elizabeth approaching, her yellow eyes narrowed with unrestrained fury.

"I’m going to turn you into my slave for the next ten thousand years!" She roared as she grabbed Tara by the hair and exposed her neck for the bite.

"TARA!" Buffy shouted and tried to get past Spike who yanked her back when he realized what she was going to do.

However Tara was not done yet, she sunk her nails into Elizabeth’s face and raked thick red lines across the vampire’s face. Elizabeth screamed in outrage, as she felt the skin taken off her face and immediately let Tara go. The Wiccan scrambled away as Elizabeth clutched her bloody cheek and felt the wounds torn through her skin. She knew she had to act fast when suddenly she felt something behind her. Tara turned around just in time to see Xander’s fist coming at her. There was little time to react as the blow slammed into the side of her head and everything went black.

Buffy saw Tara go down after Xander’s punch and knew that she was outmatched.

The witch lay on the floor completely unconscious, with Xander standing maniacally over her, wearing a triumphant expression on his face.

"Well done Alexander," Elizabeth beckoned him over and Buffy could only watch stricken, as Xander padded over to her like a well-trained animal. The look of adoration in his eyes was enough to sicken Buffy and she wanted to weep at having failed everyone in this room.

"I love you Elizabeth," Xander whispered. "I would never let that bitch hurt you."

Elizabeth rewarded him with a kiss before returning to the crucible. "Now Slayer, watch your future end."

"NO!" Buffy struggled to reach Elizabeth as the vampire resumed her spell.

Spike grabbed her by the waist and flung her against the wall. Buffy slammed into it, back first, her head hitting the stone and was still dazed when she realized he was throwing another fist at her. She caught it but barely kept it connecting with her jaw. Her strength was waning and she knew it would not be long before it would go completely. It was not possible for her to use the tactic she had on the other vampire in the corridor because Spike knew all the same tricks. He had been able to take down two slayers in his life because he knew to outmatch their skills. She kicked him away from her, forcing him away but for a moment. The margin of a few seconds was enough for her to catch her breath.

"Getting tired Slayer?" Spike sneered as he saw her struggling.

"I’m just peachy," Buffy retorted, refusing to let him see that she was exhausted. She threw a succession of punches at him, most of which he shrugged off easily because the strength to hurt was not in her possession any more. She knew that she could never reach Elizabeth before she completed her spell and destroy whatever was in her to pass on the seed of the next slayer. A wail of anguish rose up within her that she had failed yet again, even though she had tried so hard to be strong this time. What was worse than just her death would be to know that there would be no other slayer after her and that Tara would die right alongside of her.

"Not for long," Spike replied and punched her again and did not stop.

Spike continued bombarding the slayer with blows until she could not move and had fallen to the ground at his feet. Her stake was snatched out her grip and finally, she was completely defenceless. She raised her eyes and he saw the blood running out of her nose and her lips. She was battered and bruises and just about done. It should have pleased him but it did not. Her blue eyes stared at him and it was not betrayal he saw in her eyes. It was acceptance. The same damned acceptance she had worn throughout most of the year. He knew instantly that she did not care about dying, just about failing everyone else.

"You always hurt the one you love," she whispered and blinked. A tear rolled down her eyes.

Spike froze as those words impacted upon him. He had said those very words to her when she had been all fired up to confess her guilt about killing that girl. Spike had tried to stop her and in the process borne the brunt of her savage fury. He had lain there, bleeding like a pulp after letting her pummel him to such a state and uttered the same words to her, telling her that it was alright, that he understood that she needed to purge herself of all her demons. Did she really believe that she was returning the favour?

Spike had no time to ponder this question because suddenly an ear-piercing scream filled his ears. He looked down and saw that it was Buffy. She was lying on her back, tearing at her skin as something wraithlike began to emerge from her body. Her blond hair had come loose and she was tossing her head from side to side like a wild banshee. Elizabeth was smiling as the phantom struggled as much as its human counterpart and for a split second, Spike could only watch as the essence of all the slayer that ever was and ever would be was torn apart by Elizabeth’s spell.

William, this is your last chance.

That inner voice whispered again. Spike tried to ignore it but its tone was desperate and compelling.

The wraith was being drawn out of Buffy’s body and the more it emerged from under the skin, the more her face contorted in a rictus of agony. She was half sobbing, half-screaming, a sound that should not have mattered to him but sliced through all his consciousness nonetheless. He saw Elizabeth, smiling with pure ecstasy of the moment, relishing the unparalleled joy of completely destroying her enemy. Spike could see Tara stirring, trying to crawl towards Elizabeth to stop this from going any further but her progress was hampered by Xander striding promptly over and bringing his foot down on her hand. The girl cried out in pain but the sound of agony was drowned out by Buffy’s screaming.

William, you can be more than you ever imagined. You are more than just a vampire, you know that. Deep inside in that hidden place where I am, you know that.

This is bullshit! He shouted back at that voice with fierce denial.

You’ve always known that. It’s why you never let the Judge touch you. He said you had love in you, did you never think that was odd? Vampires don’t love William, they never have but you do and you made Drusilla love you.

But I can’t make the Slayer love me, he answered himself weakly.

If she dies you will never have that question answered, you will know if there is a possibility of it because she will be gone. Can you live with that?

Spike closed his eyes and the answer came to him like some misbegotten creature that had been trapped in the darkness and had been climbing for so long to reach the light. He took a step away from Buffy and turned towards Elizabeth again.

"I guess this is it for us," he remarked sadly.

"Don’t worry William," Elizabeth smiled at him. "In a moment, it will all be over."

"Yeah," he met her eyes. "It will be."

Without saying another word he slammed an elbow into her face and sent her staggering backwards, before kicking out and upending the crucible and all its contents.

"What the hell are you doing?" Xander shouted at him but move to intercept when Tara came to live on the floor near him.

"Drop!" She hissed and suddenly Xander's feet were swept away by some invisible force. The human fell down face first. His skull impacting hard against the floor and knocking him unconscious.

"William!" Elizabeth glared at him in fury, appearing no longer beautiful. She was no longer wearing her demon mask and yet the dark hatred in her eyes was beyond description. "Are you choosing a human over one of your own?" She hissed.

"Yeah, I guess I am Luv, " Spike swallowed. "Maybe what I feel for her is gonna get me killed and isn’t worth the bloody paper it's written but at least I know they’re my feelings and not because someone put a spell on me!"

"It was more than a spell," Elizabeth shook her head in disappointment. "I care about you William, I will care more than she ever will."

"Leave Elizabeth," Spike stared at her in the eyes. "Don’t make me do what I have to."

"You can’t kill me," she took a step towards him. Her voice was suddenly silky again. "You care about me William, don’t you?"

Spike saw her face melt into an expression of beauty that had captured him when he had tried to leave Sunnydale days before when this had all began. Her eyes danced with hidden promise and he could smell that intoxicating scent filter into his brain. He could become lost in her again, it was so easy. She raised her lips to his and he tasted her cold mouth again. She felt heavenly against him as he breathed in the powerful perfume of her skin. He knew that he could love her. He could easily be drawn into the world she wanted to create, where vampires ruled the night and he would be the Master Vampire who carved himself a reputation as William the Bloody. He could be the Big Bad again.

"I do care about you Luv," Spike responded softly in her ear. Closing his eyes as he spoke, "that’s why I gave you the chance to leave."

"I won’t leave," she replied. "Not without accomplishing what I came here to do."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," he replied, blinking slowly before he thrust the stake in his hand deep into her heart.

She tensed in his body as the wooden shard pierced her skin, letting out a cry of pain escape her. There was no time for the sound to escape her lips because she exploded into black dust while still in his embrace. When she finally dissolved around him, the stake clattered to the floor and he felt tears running down his cheek. He kept his back turned away so that the others in the room would not see what remained of Countess Bathory drifting around his feet.

He stood in place for a moment, staring at the dust and the stake, wondering what it was inside of him that could make the choices in his life so impossible. He could still smell her lingering smell against her skin and knew that the scent of lavender would always inspire her memory until the day he met his end She was four hundred years old and a Countess and she had in her way loved him. If he was less than what he was, he might have loved her too but as it stood, too much of what the chip and the slayer had done to him, made it impossible. He was on a road to damnation and his course was set. He could not alter his path even if he wanted to.

"Spike," the silence of the room was broken by Tara’s soft voice.

He turned around to see the young witch rising off the floor, clutching her injured hand.

"Yeah, Luv?" He walked towards her, remembering how she had saved him the trouble of fighting Xander since it could only end badly if he had tried.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I’m fine," he whispered softly, unable to meet her eyes because the witch was pretty smart. She’d guess the truth.

"I’m sorry," Tara offered, seeing real anguish in his face even though he was trying to hide it. He passed up the opportunity to be loved for all time, with someone who would not become used up in a number of years. Whatever her thoughts about Elizabeth, Tara knew that could not have been an easy decision for him.

"I’m sorry too," he said abruptly and turned to Buffy. "You better see to the whelp there." Spike remarked glancing at Xander, "I’ll see if Buffy is okay."

Tara nodded slowly as Spike walked over to Buffy.

The slayer was very much unconscious and after her ordeal who could blame her? It was not every day that someone had their soul nearly torn from their bodies. Spike lowered himself next to Buffy and cradled him in his arms as he tried to rouse her from her dark sleep. It took a few insistent pokes and shakes before her eyelids fluttered open and Buffy was staring at him. Surprisingly enough, after everything that had happened she did not try to lash out at him, merely staring at him in anticipation of what torment he was about to visit upon her.

"You okay Slayer?" He asked quietly.

"That depends,’ she replied. "Am I still me or are you prolonging this nightmare so you can watch me in pain again?"

"You’re still you," he replied meeting her eyes. "Elizabeth is dead."

Her eyes widened at the news and she tried to sit up. "What happened?"

"I killed her," Spike answered.

"Tara broke the spell?" Buffy’s brow knotted weakly.

"No," he shook his head. "I did."

"You did?" She exclaimed. "How?"

"By realising that I still love you," he looked away into the window and the twilight beyond it. "That I will no matter what, even when the days comes when I lose you."

Buffy opened her mouth to respond but did not because he was right. They were reaching an end, he could feel it and she knew it for certain. There would be no recovery after this. Perhaps a few more fleeting encounters stolen before the final end came but it was done between them. Perhaps it was always meant to end in tragedy and Spike just realized it now. Or maybe he had always known and wanted to take a chance on an impossibility.

However, for the moment they held each other close, taking what remaining fragments of comfort that was left between them and savouring it until it diminished forever.

Epilogue
Endings 

Xander Harris felt as if he had been in a dream.

It was not unlike the dream he had six years ago at Halloween, where wearing the costume of a soldier had been the impetus for a spell that turned him into one. He had liked that dream because, in the guise of Lieutenant Harris, he had been strong and resourceful. At a time in his life where the main figure in his life was a blond girl who fought vampires and demons while he watched impotently on the sidelines watching, it had been good to feel strong and in charge of his destiny. When he finally returned to himself, Xander was almost pleased that he retained some memory of that person for he was able to use it in future days in the battle against evil he seemed destined to fight alongside Buffy.

The memory of this dream was one Xander did not wish to keep.

Around him, the wreckage of what he had done lay sprawled before him in an ugly mess. The destruction to the room he shared with Anya, the bruises to her face, the knowledge that he had shot his best friend and had almost been responsible for the utter annihilation of the Slayer. These were memories he did not need and yet they lingered on his mind, a great weight pressing down on his chest so hard that he could not breathe. He wanted to die from the shame of it. Unfortunately, death eluded him as easily as it had eluded Buffy since her return from the grave.

Anya had said little about the cruel words he had taunted her with while he had been under Elizabeth’s spell but the mark of them could be seen in her eyes. There was a sadness there that had not been before and Xander knew nothing he said would make that change. He had his own bruises but there were inconsequential to the damage he had done to her. When he had first awakened and found that his mind was his again, he had wept at the sight of his brutality upon her. Begging her forgiveness even when the words sounded shallow to him, Anya did what she always did when he was cruel, accept his apology and shrugged it all away. There were times when he wished she did not let him off so lightly.

Now they were here at Buffy’s place to see Willow and Xander hoped that Willow was less forgiving than Anya. There was a part of his brain, which believed that he needed to pay for what he had done, that the understanding that was being shown to him was ill-deserved. He knew this because inwardly, not everything he said was merely a product of Elizabeth’s enchantment. Some of what he had said had come from the deepest, darkest corner of his psyche, in the place where he kept hidden the most unbearable and unpalatable feelings that he was ashamed to feel. Elizabeth had allowed that Pandora’s box to be opened and now that it had, he could not believe what evil he had committed when allowing those dark emotions to be unleashed.

"You okay?" Anya asked as they stepped through the door, noticing the clear anxiety on his face.

"Yeah," Xander nodded sedately, not knowing what else to say. After the things he had done to her in the past 48 hours, he was not going to burden her with the knowledge that not everything he said to her was entirely the cause of a vampire’s spell. "I’m just not too eager to face her after what I did."

"It wasn’t you Xander," Anya gave him an impatient look, more eager to brush aside his aberrant behaviour as it were the product of some terrible dream she had rather than conceive that some of what he had said might have a kernel of truth behind it. "It was that bitch’s spell."

Xander flinched but forced it away. Instead, he sucked in his breath and started walking up the stairs when he was halted in mid-step by the sight of Buffy emerging from the living room. Xander froze in his step at the sight of the bruises on her face and felt as if he had awakened to this nightmare a new. It was bad enough when he had opened his eyes and his memories came flooding back to him, reminding what an animal he had been to Anya and later to all his friends. Seeing Buffy with fading bruises on her skin brought that disgust back to the surface again and he knew it was only going to be a prelude to what he would feel when he finally saw Willow.

"Xander," Buffy offered him an encouraging smile, perfectly aware of what anguish he must be feeling right now. She knew how Angel had felt as he had returned from his time as Angelus, remembering all the terrible thing he had done. While Xander’s actions had not been that extreme, the guilt of what he had done had to be weighing heavily upon his soul and Buffy had no intention of making it any harder on him that it had to be. Besides, in each other’s shoes, he would be showing her a great of compassion, whether or not she deserved it.

"Hey Buffy," Xander said softly. "How you doing."

"I’m better," she said warmly. "Can’t beat slayer strength for healing bruises."

"Yeah," he tried to grin but it did not quite reach his eyes. "Buffy, I’m …."

"Xander," Buffy cut him off, "it’s alright. I know it wasn’t your fault. You’ve been through too much stuff for me to think that you were anything but under a spell. Everything is okay between us."

Xander swallowed thickly and nodded imperceptibly before asking in a softer voice. "Is that how it is with Willow?"

Buffy’s expression dropped a little because she was not so sure about that. Xander had after all taken a gun to her and almost killed Willow. As much as Buffy thought that Willow would forgive him, she did not dare take it upon herself to give Xander that hope until he heard it from Willow’s lips herself. "Why don’t you go up and see her?"

"I will," Xander answered with hesitation and Anya reinforced her support by squeezing his arm behind him. "Thanks, Buffy."

"Xander," she called out as he resumed walking. "It’s going to be okay."

Xander met her gaze and nodded slowly but somehow it did not look as if he was terribly convinced. Buffy did not know what else to say to him and let him go, realizing that there were some things that not even a slayer could repair, not with super strength or rapid healing tendencies. Once he and Anya had disappeared up the hallway, Buffy returned to the kitchen where she had been preparing lunch.

Dawn was seated at the kitchen counter, flipping through one of her teen magazines, apparently, the flavour of this month was the dishy elf from the new Lord of the Rings movie. Buffy looked at her sister with a little smile, glad to see that no matter how much evil and danger that seemed to come knocking at their door, Dawn still managed to remain and teenager and not grow up too fast. When she had seen the demon lying dead in the basement following her return from the house at Shadowbrook Road, Buffy had been horrified that Dawn had been alone when the demon had come calling. Yet somehow Dawn had managed to deal with the beast herself and that had been a sobering experience for Buffy because, for the first time, Buffy was faced with the realization that Dawn was growing up.

"I think I like him better with the dark hair," Buffy pointed out as she looked over Dawn’s shoulder at the image of the heartthrob on the printed page.

"Gee, wouldn’t have guessed from Angel." Dawn teased as Buffy went to stir the contents of the pot. It was never wise to leave macaroni and cheese for too long to simmer.

"Funny," Buffy gave her a look before coming to the conclusion that the meal was ready and reached for the bowl waiting at the side of the stove. After dishing out a healthy portion for the growing teenager and herself, the two sisters sat down to eat.

Buffy found herself watching Dawn, trying to wonder how someone who had been created less than two years ago could suddenly become the world to her. Despite all the hardship her life had endured of late, this quiet moment between the two of them seemed to be worth all of it. Buffy wondered if it had to do with the watershed she was reaching in her life and knew that in some small way it was.

"Will you stop that," Dawn gave her a look noticing the scrutiny. "You’re acting wiggy."

"I’m allowed," Buffy said huffily. "I’m your big sister."

"You’re a big pain," Dawn shrugged in typical teenager fashion and went back to her meal.

Buffy smiled, wondering how Joyce had not staked her when she was sixteen if she was half as obnoxious. Instead, she ran her a hand over her sister’s hair and caught Dawn’s bewildered expression when she made such a personal gesture.

"Okay, what is it?" Dawn asked finally. "Am I dying or something?"

"No," Buffy rolled her eyes. "I’m just really proud of you."

"Oh," Dawn said somewhat startled by the compliment and could not help smiling. "I should kill demons more often huh?"

"No," Buffy laughed. "But you’re growing up and you’re starting to take care of yourself. I’m starting to feel very ineffectual. Soon you won’t be needing me at all."

"Sure I will," Dawn smiled, relishing the moment with her sister because it was rare they had talks like this. "I’ll always need you to stake the odd vamp and save the world."

"Thanks," Buffy grinned. "That makes me feel so much better."

"How was Xander?" Dawn asked when they both stopped ribbing each other.

"Shaken," Buff’s expression sobered. "I think he’s going to need time to get over this."

"But it wasn’t his fault," Dawn declared. "I mean it was Elizabeth right?" She looked to Buffy for confirmation, in case she was mistaken or left out of the loop in some important piece of information, which was not unusual since everyone was always trying to protect her.

"Yeah, it was Elizabeth," Buffy answered. "But I think a little of it was Xander too."

Dawn’s eyes became saucers of astonishment before Buffy quickly explained. "Dawn, we all have issues we don’t talk about because most of the time we deal with them on our own. They don’t see the light of day and most of the time they’re not meant to. I think when Elizabeth put Xander under that spell, she made him say a lot of things he didn’t mean even if did feel them at some point. Now that his himself again, he can’t help but wonder how much of it was a spell and how much was how he really felt."

"Oh," Dawn frowned, feeling sorry for Xander and what he was going through. She waited for a moment before asking, "are you going to stake Spike?"

"What?" Buffy’s eyes met her sister in shock.

"Are you going to stake Spike?" Dawn repeated her question.

"Of course not," Buffy replied. "Why would you even ask that?"

"Because he did turn on you," Dawn pointed out. "I mean I know he saved you and all but you know how you are with Spike."

Buffy bristled because it was a valid statement and considering how she often called Spike a loose cannon that could turn on them at any second, it was not unfair that Dawn would think such a thing. Buffy had managed to shunt Spike to the back of her mind because she did not want to deal with him yet but Dawn’s statement had reminded her. She knew sooner or later, she would have to confront him but she did not want Dawn to think that she would arbitrarily stake him when he had fought the spell Elizabeth held over him and saved her life.

"I’m not going to stake him, Dawn," Buffy assured her. "Despite everything that happened, he managed to snap out of it and save me when it counted the most."

"Well duh," Dawn retorted. "He’s in love with you."

"Yeah," Buffy sighed.

It should have made things simpler but somehow it was not. It just made things harder.

Xander entered the room after being given permission to enter and found himself standing before Willow and Tara. Tara was still asleep in the chair next to Willow’s bed. The witch looked tired and Xander felt another wave of guilt as he stared at the two women, Willow first and then Tara. He could see his handiwork on both of them. On Willow, it was the gunshot would that had almost taken her life and on Tara, it was the bruises that he had inflicted during their fight at Elizabeth’s lair. Xander had come to the conclusion that if there was a hell; he was presently in it.

"Maybe we should come back," Xander started to say because both women looked as if they were fast asleep and after yesterday’s activities, who could begrudge them the rest.

"Xander?" Willow’s voice suddenly drifted to his ears.

Xander swallowed thickly and found himself staring at Willow, who was resting gently against the pillows, her gaze fixed on him. Her skin was pale and her lips were a thin white line that made Xander wince just looking at her. He had not seen her so hurt since the night that Angelus had attempted to resurrect Acathla and sent his vampires after them. In the attack that followed, Willow had slipped briefly into a coma and Xander had come damn near close to losing her. However, knowing that a vampire had hurt her was nowhere as terrible as knowing that her present state was his responsibility alone. Xander had never thought he could feel so wretched in his entire existence.

"How are you doing Willow?" Anya spoke first, trying to test the waters for her fiancée.

"I’m better," Willow said trying to sit up. She let out a groan that woke both Tara up and had Xander hurrying to her side.

"You should stay put Will," Xander said meekly. "God knows I hurt you enough without you making yourself worse on my account."

"Stop it, Xander," Willow said suddenly, with a tone of voice that forced her to look at him. "I know you didn’t mean to hurt me and nothing I say is going to change that but I’m not angry at you. I know you were under a spell and you’ve got puppy dog face enough for me to know you’re feeling like you’ve been kicked up the block and back."

"After what I did to you?" He stared at her, wanting absolution but unwilling to allow himself or anyone else to let him feel it. "How can you be so forgiving?"

"Because I love you stupid," Willow said as a matter of factly, taking her hand in his. "And will always love no matter what dumb thing you do."

"I’ll hold you to that," Xander smiled wryly, glad that she was still his friend. He did not think he could stand it if he had lost her friendship. In some ways, even losing Anya would not be as terrible as losing Willow.

"Is that the safe platonic kind of love?" Anya found herself asking, tactlessly as usual and often during a tender moment.

"Yes," Willow gave her a look. "Remember, gay now?"

"You’re too good to me Willow," Xander replied softly, holding her hand in his and wishing that he could forgive himself as easily as she had forgiven me. "You too Tara."

"Actually," Tara shrugged. "I haven’t forgiven you. I was going to turn you into a worm later."

"Thanks," Xander laughed and this time it reached his eyes. "Are we okay?" He looked at Willow seriously.

"You know better than to ask that," Willow replied and looked at Tara with a smile because it seemed as if it was not just okay between her and Xander but also between Tara and herself. They had a long way to go before they were truly okay with everything that had happened these past two days but it was a start and after a low point like this, there was only one way for their friendship to go.

Up.

***********

Buffy was on her way out of the house when she saw Tara descending the stairs and decided she could not leave without speaking first to the Wiccan who had been of such great help to her during this whole situation with Elizabeth. However, it was not just Tara’s magic skill and her support during the battle that Buffy valued so greatly but the friendship she had extended to the slayer in the months before this. Buffy whom at present was filled with such doubt and confusion, had been grateful for the support and sensitivity of a friend who would not judge her decisions. If it had not been for Tara, Buffy would have been left to struggle completely alone in her dealings with Spike and things would have turned out far worse then they already were.

"How are they doing up there?" Buffy asked as she waited at the foot of the stairs for the Tara to reach her.

"Okay, I think," Tara answered truthfully. "I think Xander’s still pretty shocked at how he behaved."

"We all are but it's not his fault," Buffy shrugged. "How’s Willow about it?"

Buffy hoped that Willow was not too hard on Xander because he was really feeling badly about what had happened and it was not his fault. Elizabeth’s spell had overtaken a vampire with ease, there was no way a human was going to stand up to it. Still, Willow and Xander were friends for as long as they had been alive and Buffy very much doubted that Willow would make Xander feel too badly about what happened. Besides, Willow knew perfectly well how easy to fall prey to the influence of forces that altered one’s behaviour. After that whole episode with Rack and almost getting Dawn killed, Buffy was certain that Willow would view Xander with a good deal of empathy.

"She was good, "Tara said with a smile, remembering the relaxed atmosphere she had left behind when she stepped out of the room. "Xander’s doing it tough and I think she knows that."

"What about you two?" Buffy asked, hoping that this incident might have gone some ways to see a reconciliation between Tara and Willow.

Tara smiled and her cheeks tinged with colour a little, confirming that things between the duo were definitely on the mend. "It’s getting there."

"I’m glad," Buffy said happily and squeezed Tara’s hand in a gesture of support. "Look, I’ve got to go out for a while. Do you mind keeping an eye on Dawn for me? Not that she needs it really. After taking that demon down, she’s feeling very empowered."

"Sure," Tara nodded as Buffy resumed her journey out the door. "You going to see Spike?"

Buffy paused in her footsteps and cast a look over her shoulder. "Yeah," she answered quietly.

"Buffy," Tara said after a moment, debating whether or not she should speak her mind but then realizing that was what Buffy needed from her and threw caution to the winds. "Take it easy on him. He’s hurting a lot."

To her surprise, Buffy found herself answering, "I know."

She wondered whether this was a good idea.

He probably did not wish to see her after everything they had been through lately but somehow, Buffy knew her will power where Spike was concerned was non-existent. In truth, Buffy had no idea what to say to him. After he had dusted Elizabeth and ensured that she was alright, he had left without a word. As angry as she was with him, she knew that he had made a terrible sacrifice by killing Elizabeth for her and she also knew that the vamp had really cared about him. Elizabeth could have given Spike everything that he had ever wanted, love and self-respect but he had turned it all down to save Buffy’s life.

Buffy reached his vault and did not have to search far to find him. He was seated on top of the crypt, staring at the sunlight he could only see but could not feel against his skin. His expression was sad and seeing him anything but cocky and arrogant tore a hole in her heart even though she knew she did not love him and that was an admission that was becoming easier and easier to make as time went by. Buffy wondered if it was wise being here in light his choice and the loss he had suffered because of it. Even though it was a spell that had made him turn against her, Buffy knew that was a part of Spike that wanted to be loved desperately and Elizabeth looked as if she really did care for him as more than just another minion.

"Come to finish me off for good?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"If I was, you would never have made it home last night," Buffy retorted, pausing at the edge of the crypt and looking up at him. "I came to see how you were."

"Like you care," he retorted mercilessly.

"Hey quit giving me the attitude, you were the one who went all evil, not me. I should stake your ass to keep something like that from happening again," she declared hotly.

"But you won’t," he replied coolly. "You still want me."

"Don’t flatter yourself," she shook her head in disgust, wondering why she had bothered to show up here in the first place. Compassion was not an emotion to be wasted upon the likes of him. Buffy was about to turn around when she realized that if it was not for his compassion, for his feelings, she would be dead now and there would be no slayer to fight the hell that Elizabeth would have let into this world. That realization made her hold her ground because, despite his ambivalence, she knew he was hurting.

"Why did you leave?" She found herself asking.

The question took him by surprise because he did not honestly believe she cared enough to wonder why not anymore. "I thought it was the best thing to do."

"You didn’t even say goodbye," she accused. "Not to me, not to Dawn. Why?"

"Because I’d never be free of you if I had to stop and say that. I wouldn’t be strong enough to go." He answered honestly, all pretext and dignity having slipped from his face like a veil falling.

"You don’t have to leave," Buffy said feebly even though she knew it was not true. He did have to go. They were a temptation to each other and would never be really free of one another unless there was distance separating them.

"Yeah I do," Spike nodded. "Not now, not today but I’m going to have to, soon."

"We could go on like we are…" she offered softly, fearing to lose him even though she knew it was for the best and the time would come when she would be the one to discard him. The selfishness that made her think that she wanted to be the one to do away with him when she no longer needed Spike, shocked her to no end.

"No, we can’t Luv," Spike replied softly, his voice starting to break and he would not let her see him in real pain ."I can’t go on this way. I love you and I will always love you but its impossible and I may think otherwise later, but right now I know it’s the truth. It's not just you pet, it’s me too. I had a chance to be everything that I ever wanted to be, without having to worry about this bloody chip in my head turning me into some kind of neutered animal but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t get past loving you to take the chance. She loved me, she really did. It wasn’t just a spell to her. I wasn’t just a spell and yet I killed her anyway, her and the only chance of happiness I could ever have had."

"Spike, I’m sorry," Buffy whispered, seeing real anguish in his eyes and knowing that he spoke from the heart, a place she too often told herself he did not have. "Thank you for what you did. I know that’s a small comfort but I want to say it anyway."

"Yeah well, you’re welcome." Spike shrugged and climbed down from the crypt.

"Spike," Buffy called out as he started towards the orifice that led down below to his real home in the vault. She went to him and caught his hand. Strange how cool it felt under the palm when there was so much passion inside his dead skin. She pulled him to her and kissed him softly against the mouth, wanting to make him feel some pleasure.

"Don’t," he said pushing her away. "Let me walk away with some dignity."

But Buffy was not willing to let go of him and she wrapped her arms around him and crushed his lips in a bruising kiss. His resistance was brief because the scent of her was an easy salve to soothe the pain in his heart and he returned her kiss with as much heat. For a few seconds, their tongues duelled in passion until she had to tear her lips away to catch her breath.

"You know we’re living on borrowed time don’t you?" He asked her when she stared into his eyes, her lips swollen from his ministrations.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded. "I know."

And with that they came together in passion once again, bodies consumed in heat that was slowly dwindling, both filled with the terrible knowledge that one day, this strange relationship they had between them would end and what came after was a mystery. It was almost already over and they both knew it.

It was just the end that had not been written yet.

THE END

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