Chapter 10: Soul Mates

It only taken Buffy fifteen minutes to reach the Magic Box, her breathing shallow and rough as she kicked the door in. She knew something had happened. Something was horribly wrong. The whole shop looked like a huge battle scene. She walked in, her face feeling with horror as she looked to see Willow and Tara brushing themselves off in one corner. Dawn was hiding upstairs in the restricted section, but quickly climbed down as soon as she saw Buffy. Xander had moved to Anya, who was holding her arm trying to keep the blood from dripping onto the floor. Buffy felt Dawn's arms wrap around her as she huddled into her chest. Buffy pulled her away and spoke to Dawn, her voice shaking.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"Buffy, I'm fine...They weren't after me...They were after Giles."

"Where is he, Dawn?"

She spoke, her voice becoming deeper and raged as she shook her sister. Dawn pulled away and kept crying, running to Tara and Willow. Willow walked over to Buffy, as Buffy frantically looked around the shop. He wasn't anywhere to be seen. Where was he? Where was Giles? She could feel a few tears falling down her face as she looked up at Willow, her eyes pleading with her friend for her to tell her what had happened.

"Buffy.....they took him. The demons...We couldn't stop-"

"Who were they? Does anyone know?"

"They were Glory's demons..."

Tara spoke, holding Dawn in the corner. Buffy's face turned into a face of anger. She turned and kicked the bookshelf she was standing beside, watching it fall to the ground behind her. Her anger boiled inside of her. Dawn and Tara moved from where they were standing beside Willow with Xander and Anya following close behind them. She took a deep breath, moving her hands to her head as the stress began to build inside of her. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, she wanted to kill everything in sight. So many emotions ran through her head, and she almost hadn't heard Xander speak.

"Buffy, it will be okay. We will find him. I promise. But you have to calm down."

After Xander spoke to her, he stepped forward placing a hand on her shoulder. It was all her fault. Giles had been taken because of her. She knew it. Somehow Glory had figured out one of her deepest weaknesses. And it would only be a matter of time before she discovered about Dawn. She felt her anger dropping down into a level of depression as she fell to the floor, crumpled and crying. Dawn ran to her sister, hugging her. Buffy's voice finally resurfaced after a few minutes.

"I can't lose him, Dawn....not now. Not after Mom.."

"Buffy, we will find him. We just need to find where Glory lives."

Buffy pulled away from her sister, nodding slowly with the tears still falling down her face. She knew Dawn was right. She couldn't let herself get too overcome by worry now. She needed to put on a brave face, and find him. If she did nothing but cry, he really could be killed before she could get to him. Buffy couldn't live with herself if he was to die. She was already blaming herself on the inside. If she had been there, instead of at home in the bed with a headache and sleepiness bothering her, Giles would be okay and not at the mercy of a hell goddess. She took a deep breath before allowing herself to speak once again. She had a plan, and she didn't have a lot of time to enact it.

"Okay...I need you all to search for those little...demons. Find them, and get the location of Glory's house. I know about where she lives, I just don't know exactly. Dawn, I want you to go home.."

"Buffy – I"

"Just go back to the house and I will be there soon. Tara could you - "

"Go with her? Yeah."

"Thanks. Will, if you and Xander and Anya can't find any of those little demons, use one of those spells I know you know."

"Okay...What are you going to do?"

"Going to go and get some muscle."

She turned and made her way out the door, not letting her friends give her a second word in. If they knew who she was talking about, they would have objected to it. But, Buffy knew she needed his help. She would go and see Spike....and pray that he would want to help her.

It didn't take Buffy long to find the crypt that Spike had made into his home. She opened the door, seeing him pouring out a glass of blood into a cup. She shook her head and he put the glass down, walking over to her and closing the door she had left standing open. He walked back over to his counter where he had left the blood, drinking a sip before turning to her, his eyes narrowing.

"What do you want? Why aren't you out with Nancy-boy snogging all over the place?"

"So, I take it you heard about me and - "

"Yeah...I heard. Or I might have saw it...Doesn't matter though, does it? I see where your tastes now lie."

"Spike...I really didn't come here to talk to you about my personal life. He is in trouble...Glory's little scabby minions took him."

She stopped talking as her lips began to quiver again, turning her back to him. She couldn't cry again. And she defiantly couldn't cry in front of Spike the vampire that had been practically stalking her for a long time now. She sighed, before turning back around to face him. She had to be strong, and she wasn't going to put up with Spike's crap any more. She sat down on the stone grate over a coffin behind her, her eyes looking up at him.

"What do you mean took him?"

"They broke into the shop, and took him. From what the gang said, there was 8 or 9 of them. The other's couldn't stop them, and because I wasn't there, he's gone... Spike, I need to find him. I can't do it alone...and I want your help. There isn't anyone else to ask. "

"Well, we can't have the watcher dying on you now, can we?...Not after your mom and all."

"Thanks, Spike..."

"I'm not doing it for him. Right now I would love to see Glory's tear him apart"

"Right..."

She rolled her eyes and stood up, trying to turn her back to Spike. But, he caught her by the arm, forcing her to swing back around and look at him. She tried to pull free from his grip, not liking the look that had suddenly emerged from his eyes.

"Spike, I don't have time - "

"I'm just going to say this once...If he hurts you....I'll still be here."

"And if anyone hurts anyone it will be me hurting him, as always. So, lets move on from this touchy feely moment and get back to the shop. "

Buffy pulled her arm away from him, and turned her back to him, knowing he would follow her out the door as he always did. She knew Spike had only meant to be comforting, but Buffy knew his little fantasy about them being together would never happen. She led the way back to the shop, hoping that the others would have found Glory.

Giles had awoken from the head wound to find that he was tied to a chair in what looked like a lavish apartment. His head ached from the pain, and his already bad vision was beginning to take affect on him. He didn't see anyone at first, and thought that he had just had a horrible dream or a massive hangover. But, Glory soon appeared before him with her wild blonde hair sticking out in places. She wore a red dress, an outfit that was becoming a trademark to her. She stood in front of him, her arms crossed with a smirk forming on her face.

"Oh look, fellas. Lover boy is awake..."

She took a step forward, grinning down at him. He couldn't make much out, and his head throbbed, making his vision blurry. She shook her head as she studied the back of his head, finding a bruise and a few spots of blood. She hadn't wanted them to do this much damage, but that just meant that the torture would be easier for her to get information out of him.

"That looks like it hurts. I'm sorry the boys had to rough you up, but I have a few questions I need answering and you don't seem like the type who is willing to help a girl out...at least not anyone who isn't Buffy."

He groaned as Glory finished speaking, feeling her standing beside him. He felt Glory grab his head, and pull it back, causing more pain to the back of his wound. Buffy. He could remember her cries through the phone. Was she safe? Had Glory hurt her as well? His mind was filled with confusion as Glory spoke, trailing her free hand up his shirt.

"Now, Mr. Watcher, you are going to tell me what I want to know, or you're going to have a lot more wounds over your delicate little body. Does that sound like a plan?"

She let go of him and he felt his head fall, the whole room spinning. Glory walked over to stand in front of him, pulling his face up by his chin. She spoke a few moments later, the scary grin still formed on her face. Glory wasn't going to give up until she found the Key, and Giles would take all the abuse in the world to protect Dawn from her. He would die for both of the Summers' girls before he gave in to the psychotic hell god's demands, no matter how much torture Glory had inflicted on him.

"Now, I'm only going to ask this once....which one of Buffy's little Slayerettes is the Key?"

"You're insane if you think I would tell you.."

The smile that had been formed on her pale face had removed itself, and she became angry. She grabbed a metal crowbar and placed it near his right knee cap, looking down at him it the same crazy grin on her face.

"Are you sure about that? Because I think you'd like to keep your kneecaps in place. I could be wrong though.."

"I won't tell you..."

"You'd rather have your kneecaps broken than tell me what I want? Is she that important to you?"

"I'd die--for her."

"Well, love does do crazy things to people."

Glory shrugged her shoulders, taking a deep breath before she raised the metal crowbar and slammed it down onto his knee. He screamed, feeling it break under the strike from the hell goddess. The pain surged through his body, and threatened to knock him unconscious. He knew he couldn't give in though. No matter how much she hurt him, he would not tell Glory who the Key was.

"Now, I bet that stings just a little....I could do the other one to make it match, but I really don't want to. It looks like you've had enough..."

She spoke as she shifted to the other side of him, placing the crowbar on the other kneecap. She leaned down and whispered into his ear as she spoke, her hand closing around his left arm, causing more pain to him.

"You know, I hate doing this....I can make the pain stop. All I want is for you to tell me who the Key is, and all of it will end."

"Never....You disgust me, Glory....I will never help you."

His voice was shallow after every word that spoke. She squeezed down on the arm, feeling the bones cracking under her fingers. He didn't let her see how much pain he was in, and kept his mouth shut. The pain had increased with every breath that he took, and hiding it from his enemy. She moved back away from him, standing in front once again.

"You know, I actually believe you. No matter how much I do to you, you're not going to tell me what I want. That's the thing about you watchers. Loyal to their slayers till the bitter end."

She flicked a piece of her blonde hair from her face as she turned around, looking back at her minions and whispering to them in a voice that Giles couldn't quite make out everything that she was saying. Besides the fact that his head was aching so bad the only thing he could hear was his heart in his head, pumping faster and faster. He knew he had to try and make an escape now while she had her back turned. His arm had slid out from the ropes after she had broken it. His other arm had also slid out of the ropes shortly after. He moved to untie the ropes from his feet, hoping he would remain unnoticed. After he was free, he lifted the chair behind him and crashed it against Glory's head, watching her stumble for a second.

He turned and hobbled towards the door, his right knee protesting the movement of his leg. He crashed through the door, her minions following close behind him. He pushed a few of them away, making his way to the elevator and luckily the door was opened. He slumped to the floor as the door closed, knowing that they would be following after him very shortly. He had to get out of their. He had to find his way back to the others, his way back to Buffy.

And just as the elevator reached the bottom floor, it opened to emerge the blonde-haired beauty that was his Slayer. Her eyes lowered to him, as she shuffled to his side.

"Giles?"

"Buffy.....is that you?"

He felt her arms wrapping around him, her lips pressing against his forehead. He felt safe once again. It was strange for a man to feel safe from danger in his woman's arms, but Buffy was more than just a normal woman. She spoke to him, her voice soft and shaking with every word.

"Sshh now. Its over. We are going to get you out of here."

She helped him up off the floor, letting him lean onto her shoulder. She was glad to see he was still alive, even if he had been through hell the last few hours. All of the wounds and injuries that he had received helped to fuel her rage against the hell goddess. Spike and Xander stood by the door, bickering to each other. They both fell quiet as she approached with Giles.

"Guys....get him out of here. I'm gonna go and take care of Glory."

"Buffy....that's..."

"Dangerous, I know..just please do what I ask, Xander. I'll go show Glory she's gonna have to learn not to mess with the people I love...It just makes me angry."

"Buffy...I-"

"Sssh, Giles. It's okay. I'll be okay. You'll be okay. Everyone is gonna be okay. Please, don't worry."

"You sure you don't want any help, Love?"

"Spike....this is my fight. I'll handle it. Just do what I ask."

Buffy turned, walked towards the stairs, making her way up to the apartment and to Glory. Giles wanted to stop her. He was afraid she was walking towards her doom. But, he knew he couldn't be much help to her. He let Xander and Spike lead him out of the room before passing out as they carried him down the hill. Xander and Spike reached the bottom of the hill of leading to the condo, where Willow was waiting for them. Xander turned to Spike, his eyes filled with concern.

"Go after her, Spike....She's not thinking straight."

"Right...just get him to a hospital. Buffy will have all our heads if he isn't put back together again."

Spike made his way back up the hill, as Xander and Willow made their way to his car, praying that Buffy would be okay.