Hello everybody! sorry its been so long but i have exams right now and im working two jobs again so life is kinda crazy. Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last few chapters i really liked hearing what you had to say. I would however love to hear more from you guys on my soul vs heart concept. Please review because it makes me happy!
DisClaimers:
For the first few paragraphs of this story i'm talking about natural disasters. I'm not trying to insensitive about Japan's current situation. I think what has happend to their country is heartbreaking and aweful and i don't mean forthese few lines about earthquakes and natural disasters in this chapter to be by anymeans offensive to anyone. Remember there are tons of ways to donate to japan if you so choose. (I don't really think anyone would be offended but i thought it was best to cover my bases...)
I own nothing except for the idea. Everything else belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy
Chapter 20: All We Know is Falling
"Natural Disasters are happening all over the world. Earthquakes are leveling cities, leaving many dead or wounded." The news anchor explained from what looked like a rock quarry, but in actuality was the remains of a Canadian city that as was pointed out wasn't even close to the boundaries of tectonic plates.
The Television cut to similar sights that were happening all across the globe. A few small cities in Russia had been hit, a Africa village, as well as a major city in Australia. All seemed to still be shaking from the after effects of the quakes.
"Scientists are astounded that these earthquakes are even happening." The anchors voice cut across the images of destruction. "According to the specialist there was no notice to any of these quakes, no reading on any seismograph. One scientist suggested that it was coming from the air around us because the ground seems not to be moving an inch."
"But whatever the cause of these quakes, the only thing that we know for sure is that people are suffering all over the world-"
Xander turned off the T.V and began to pace up and down the room While Giles Dawn buffy and Spike stared at the black screen. "Well what do we do now? The worlds falling apart at the dimensional seams!"
"We are going to have to work quickly," Giles pointed out, "there are too many lives in jeopardy."
"Isn't there always during an apocalypse?" Buffy reminded the Watcher as she stood from the couch were she had been curled up between Spike and Dawn as they watched the horrible scenes that flashed across the T.V. She began pacing letting her plan start to form in her head. Okay so we have to do some figuring out and bring on this battle as soon as possible. No more waiting around… Can we figure out where Wolfram and Hart is most likely to break through the walls?"
"Already done," Willow announced entering the room after another discussion with the Coven, "seems like Cleveland is the most likely place for all hell to break loose."
"Okay, good Will, but not good enough, I want to know exactly where in my town this is all going to go down." Buffy ran a and threw her blonde hair
"Pet, just might be me but isn't the hell mouth a pretty damn good place for the bastards to come charging through? Isn't it already weaker there anyway?" Spike pointed out with his usual charm.
"While I might not approve of Spike's language I believe he is right, "Giles nodded, "The hell mouth is the one point that was meant to travel to the dark dimensions it would make sense for Wolfram and Hart to try and come through there."
"Alright well then let's get the troops ready for battle-"Buffy was interrupted by Dawn who stood up so quickly that she hit her knee against the coffee table.
"Hey! Um we can't just start sending in the cavalry when I don't even know if I can close a dimensional wall yet!"
Buffy slightly blushed, "Sorry I forgot Dawnie, kind just really want to kill the bad guys."
"Its fine but I don't' know if I'm ready to close the walls yet… you saw how much energy it took me to just make my spear thing." Dawn half whined.
Spike smiled at his two girls and Buffy saw an idea forming in his eyes when he made a small laugh. "Uh oh."
"Not an uh oh moment love." Spike smiled, "but I figure the best way for Dawn to get more confident is to practice. And I know just where we can do that."
…
"This isn't about getting Dawn practice is it? This is about getting you some Jack Daniels." Xander asked as they rounded the final corner before the entrance to Willy's became visible.
"I see that as just an extra bonus for me." Spike smirked at his fortunes. Xander Buffy Dawn and Spike had headed of for Willy's as soon as the sun had set. This had left Giles Willow and Andrew to keep the Slayerettes under control while they were under house arrest. He understood why the slayer were in lockdown but Spike new he would be going crazy locked up like they were. But with all the baddies flocking to Cleveland it was the safest thing for them right now.
Buffy pulled the bars door open and entered with the others right behind her. The group walked right up to the bar where Willy was cursing, allowing many vampires and demons to sneak out into the night. "You're really doing a number on my clientele Slayer."
"Yeah well, it's one of the hazards of working on the Hell mouth." Buffy responded, "We need access to the back room."
"Can't. I've got a high rollers game back there right now and they keep ordering lots of drinks and blooming onions." Willy explained while stuttering over his words.
"I'd clear them out Willy if I was you or we'll just have to kill them," Spike remarked, "And that just cuts down on repeat customers."
"Spike!" Willy looked past the slayer for the first time to see the vampire Xander and Dawn. "Let me get you some Jack, and maybe one of them blooming onions? You bugged me enough about them back in Sunnydale."
"Go get the Jack Willy and clear out the backroom at the same time." Spike vamped out at the bartender while grasping the man by the front of his shirt lifting him off the floor a few inches, "Or else it might not be a good night for you."
Willy squeaked and once his feet were back on the floor ran off to get some Jack Daniel's and remove his highest paying customers from the back room.
"Does he always need so much motivation?" Dawn asked looking at the swinging back door that leads to the storage room and the crack in the dimensional wall.
"Spike was just putting on a show. Normally if you just hit him once he'll give up information." Xander explained, and then quickly added as he received disbelieving looks from both the vampire and slayer, "Or in the case of non-super powered individuals like ourselves, you threaten him with a punch from Buffy or Spike."
Before Spike could make a snarky comment Willy came back in to the front of the bar. "Alright they left out the back and I left the jack on the table back there. Now get out of my lobby."
"I'd be a little nicer to the people who are going to solve the gapping dimensional whole problem that you have." Xander pointed out as he followed Buffy and Dawn into the backroom.
"I'll be nice once you guys stop ruining an honest man's business." Willy replied stumbling over the last words as Spike glowered down at him as he walked into the back room.
When the back door swung shut Spike turned to see Dawn getting into position to remove Willows lock spell and to see Xander holding the bottle of Jack Daniel's. "Oi! That's mine!"
Xander started to say something about sharing when Buffy cut him off, "Boys! This is not the time."
Buffy rolled her eyes at the two men and turned back to her sister. "Are you sure you're ready Dawn? We can wait if you think that that's best."
"No time like the present," Dawn said trying to sound cheerful. "Besides Buffy we are running out of time."
Dawn turned towards the locked storage room and repeated the words that Willow had given her to unlock it. With an audible click the door unlocked and swung a fraction of an inch outwards towards them. Buffy took a deep breath and put her hand on the handle and slowly pulled the door open.
A small force suddenly pushed against the base of the door. Buffy barley caught sight of it. They were small, smaller than Carl had been and had no fur covering there body's. Instead they were covered in green scales with long tails that trailed behind them as the scurried across the floor on their four clawed feet. "Wait," Buffy stopped as she stared at where the familiar creature had slithered away, "Was that an iguana?"
"I think it was." Xander said in disbelief. "Who would have thought iguanas came from a demon dimension."
"They aren't from a different dimension you ponce." Spike sighed with disgust, "Certain demons think of them as a delicacy. I suspect that we just let some of Willy's imported Lebara demon meals escape. Has that Watcher not taught you people anything?"
"Eating habits are something we try to avoid unless necessary." Dawn explained. "But they weren't in here the last time we were here…."
"I bet they were but someone came in and let them out." Spike replied heaving his axe onto his shoulder, "Come on slayer lets go see what beasty we have to kill."
Buffy nodded and pulled the door open wide so they could see inside.
Broken glass was strewn across the floor from what Buffy assumed used to be an aquarium that would have held the lizards; the shelving was bent and broken, and at the far end of the storage room a demon was growling. It stood on four legs with a tail that reminded Buffy of a scorpion the way it curled back over the body of the beast. Drool fell from its fang filled mouth as the beasts yellow eyes moved over its future prey.
"Do you know what it is?" Buffy asked Spike quietly
"Besides ugly? Can't say I do," Spike replied, "I'd stay away from the tail."
Buffy looked at the tail to see that it was some sort of claw that snapped open and closed. Not only did it look deadly sharp but it looked to be coated in a liquid that Buffy would guess was some sort of poison. "Good plan. Classic beheading then?"
"As long as you remember whose head you're taking off." Spike replied as he made the first move against the demon. It snarled and blocked the axe with one of its claws and used its strength to send it flying. "Bugger."
Buffy came up behind the beast and almost didn't avoid the tail as it swung wildly. The tail swung at her again this time aiming for her feet, causing Buffy to jump. It wasn't high enough though and Buffy landed on the back of the demon with a thump and a screech from the demon.
Xander and Dawn watched the two warriors fight the demon from the other side of the doorframe. No matter how many times Dawn had seen the two fight together or each other she was always blown away by the pure elegance of how they moved together. When Dawn was placed with a slayer for the first time she hoped that she would be able to make them into half the warrior that Buffy was.
Having Buffy on the back of the beast was distracting it enough that Spike would have a clear shot at its head, that is if he could get to his axe that the demon had flung into the far wall. Xander called out and threw Spike his broad sword. The vampire caught it by the hilt and immediately swung it at the demons neck.
The blade slide like butter threw the flesh of the demon, until it hit the spinal cord. Spike gave the sword another forceful swing allowing the head to come free on the body and roll on the floor for a moment before disappearing into thin air.
When the demon disappeared Buffy fell ungracefully to the floor with a small shriek. "You alright love?"
Spike helped pull the slayer up to her feet while checking her over for injuries. "I'm fine. What about you?" Buffy said running her hand across the vampires face just below a new scratch had been etched across his forehead.
"It's nothing love," Spike smiled down at his slayer, "I swear it's already healing."
"Alright." Buffy conceded but not before she raised herself up on her tippy toes to give him a light kiss on the mouth. Hands were beginning to wander and the kiss would have gotten out of hand if Xander hadn't cleared his throat at an obnoxious level.
"Harris I'm busy." Spike growled from the crock of Buffy's neck. His breathe on her neck caused Buffy to giggle but she was completely sobered by Dawns words.
"We understand we'll just ask wolfram and hart to hold off on their earth invasion for a while so you too can snog!" Dawn said exasperated.
Buffy and Spike parted reluctantly and Buffy looked immediately sheepish from the looks she was receiving from her family. Spike on the other hand was looking quite proud of himself, mostly for teaching Dawn the word snog.
Xander walked past Buffy and put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "Wait till we get home and then you lovebirds can do whatever the hell you want."
When they all got to the back of the room where that hole in the dimensional wall all laughter and joking left the group. Before them lay a waste land of fire and death and blood framed by the walls of the storage room and the thin border of colorful dimensional wall that circled the opening. Buffy had looked into the eyes of some of the most evil being on earth and they seemed like nothing compared to the sight that was held back by a thin layer of magic.
It was like watching a war. A demon war, where it was a free for all and everyone was out for themselves. Buffy watched as a demon stabbed its claws through another's torso only to be eaten a moment later by a larger demon that reminded Buffy of the Mayor. And the destruction and pain were just on a loop. No break or hint of good anywhere on the other side of the walls. And all of that was trying to push its way into their dimension.
"Dawn, I think we need to work fast." Buffy whispered as if trying to not disturb the other side. Dawn nodded and cleared a spot for herself on the floor in front of the window into hell.
Dawn laid the Book of White open on the floor in front of her and raised her spear gently so it rested on the thin layer of glass. The spear immediately began to glow its rainbow of colors; a huge contrast to the death that stood on the other side.
Slowly Dawn began chanting and her energy was channeled up the spear glowing green and gold. The others watched the opening. It was like watching a shattered mirror fix itself. The magic slowly got thicker, blocking the hell with swirling colors of pure energy.
Dawn was sweating, her energy wasn't being sent back to her like it had when she had created the spear. It was being used up and kept in the walls as they regrew and sealed the opening. But Dawn kept pushing, sending out all that she could as she watched the energy and magic meld and become opaque, and then reflective.
Three shocked faces looked back at their reflections in the morphing mirror. Buffy stared back into her own eyes as she tried to comprehend what this meant for her family and the slayers. She was literally asking them to fight against hell. And Hell wasn't something you could win a fight against
Dawn let out a small cry as she threw up her final burst of energy to the wall. The walls crept into the mirror, making the glass turn into white walls of Willy's storage room. Buffy immediately turned to Dawn and kneeled beside her making sure she was okay before the sisters both turned their eyes back to the white paint that covered hell.
The silence was broken, by Xander, "It's kind of sad that no one else will see what we just saw.
Everyone gave him a curious looks before returning their eyes back to the blank wall, "Think about it, no one else is ever going to get to see that pure evil. And if you haven't seen the pure evil, how are you ever able to appreciate the pure good. With the worlds separated like this, hell on one side and heaven on the other regular people will never experience this."
Dawn gave a small smile at this then looked at her big brother with a serious look on her face. "That's it you've left me no choice. I'm getting you a cape."
"Your right Xander," Buffy nodded in agreement, "People will never really know the difference between pure evil and pure good if they don't see it for themselves. And the future slayers… they really need to see the difference."
Spike looked away from the spot where he had seen the real Big Bads and looked at Buffy idea in his head, "I've got an idea love. But it might be a little bit painful."
Buffynodded at Spike while helping Dawn up to her feet, "How are you feeling?"
"Wiped," Dawn stated, "I think I need to read a little more about how to keep my energy levels up while doing this."
"We'll figure it out, I promise." Buffy replied running her hand over Dawns brown hair.
The four Scooby's stepped over the glass and exited the storage room and made their way into the lobby. "You guys fixed it?"
The bartender didn't get a response from the Slayer or the Key they were clinging to each other as they walked out the front door followed by Xander a second after. Spike looked at the bartender, "The wall is fixed, I'm taking the Jack and you need to order more iguanas."
Spike walked to the door with slightly less swagger than normal, the hell dimension still playing over in his mind. He didn't even turn around when Willy yelled after him, "You let my Iguanas out!"
Spike just kept walking keeping an eye on his girls. Willy's iguana problem was the least of their worries right now; something worse than hell was knocking on their door and wasn't taking no for an answer. Willy could bugger off about his iguanas.
So i hope you all enjoyed that! Can't wait to hear what you think (hint hint please review!) I will try to have chapter 21 up soonish i'm having difficulties writing it. Chapter 21 is called PLANS.