Author's Notes:
I have to say, Spuffy fanfic writers are waaaaay better than regular romance writers. I've been reading a variety of popular romance authors for 'research' purposes, and half the time I can't even finish the book, they're so awful. We here in the Buffyverse are spoiled by the plethora of incredibly talented writers out there.
The first thing Buffy noticed was an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Cracked leather seat beneath her cheek. Smoky, boozy smell. Rumbling car engine. Hands and feet tied together.
She sat up with a gasp. The Slayerbot was in the back seat next to her, Spike and Dawn in the front. "I thought we were past this stage in our relationship," she groused. Looking out the window, she saw they were still in Sunnydale. She glared at the rearview mirror, where Spike's reflection should have been, and said, "You are so dead. Stop this car right now, unless you want me to beat you death".
"No".
"No?" she repeated incredulously. "I don't think I heard you right".
"No. The others are just going to get in our way. You want me to help you protect Dawn, you do it my way".
"Willow's the only one who's even been able to touch Glory. I need her! And Giles, with the research. And… And I can't leave them there. Glory will kill them!"
He didn't answer, only drove faster. Buffy began to struggle against the ropes, but the 'bot pinned her to the seat. "Get her off me," she growled.
Spike sighed melodramatically, lighting up a smoke. "Listen up. I don't give a rat's arse about any of your other bloody Scoobies. I'm here to keep you and kid Sis alive, that's it, and odds are much higher in my favor without a lot of pathetic hangers-on hanging on. Got it?"
"No! I don't!" She was practically screaming. "This is… this is the kind of plan a soulless monster comes up with! I don't leave people behind to their fate!"
Spike turned around in his seat, the car swerving as he let go of the steering wheel. Dawn squealed, grabbing the wheel as the vampire fixed Buffy with a cold look. "Yes, you do. You leave people to their fates all the time. Every day, when you decide to patrol one cemetery instead of the other, somebody dies because you weren't there. When you stay in Sunnydale instead of roaming the wide world, the people elsewhere don't have a Slayer to protect them, and they die". He turned forward once more, took the wheel back. "You subconsciously make a choice about who to save every day, because face it, Slayer. You can only save so many". Spike flicked the cigarette out the open window. "And the same goes for me. I made a choice".
"But… I love them. I can't let them get hurt," she responded weakly.
Spike turned around once more, this time with a sad smile on his face. "Exactly".
Oh. He'd picked the ones he loved to save. Much as Buffy would do. She did put her friends and family first, because, well, she had to. Spike was right, she couldn't save everybody.
The big difference was, he didn't care about the ones who were left to their fates. She did. She would always try to save as many as she could. As Angel's confused, freshly re-souled face flashed across her mind, she realized she would even put those others before her loved ones if she had to. Hadn't she proven that already?
"Dawn! Talk some sense into him!"
Her sister turned her tear-stained face to glare at Spike. "I tried. He's pretty determined".
They were on the outskirts of town now, vast stretches of empty desert along the side of the road. She wasn't going to let him leave Sunnydale, wasn't going to accept his decision. Buffy was about to argue more when – WHUMP! Something hit the car and it swerved, Spike letting out a "Bloody hell!" as he tried to wrestle the automobile back into submission, slowing it down.
"I think something popped the tire," Dawn said, peering out the open window.
"Dawn, down!" Buffy screeched, and her sister obeyed, an arrow suddenly whizzing through the space her head had just occupied and lodging itself in Spike's arm.
"What the bleeding hell is going on?" Spike bellowed as a bevy of mounted knights surrounded the car. He began to speed up again, but with an audible POP, the other tires were suddenly flat. He kept going, the car jouncing on its rims, but not nearly fast enough to lose the horsemen.
"Knights of Byzantium. They want to destroy the Key!" Buffy shouted. "Undo me, quick!"
"Do it!" Spike told the 'bot, then asked, "Destroy the Key? Wouldn't that mean…?"
"Yes, yes! We have to stop them!" The ropes were undone and Buffy reached forward, hauling Dawn into the back. "On the floor! You!" she told the Slayerbot, "On top of her, don't let anyone get to her!"
Spike wrenched the car to a spinning stop, turning it sideways so the broad side was to the galloping men who were now reining their horses in and whirling back towards them. "Only way out is to fight. Weapons in the trunk". He swiveled in his seat, taking stock of their opponents. "Slayer, I'm telling you right now, I'm going for the kill. Too many for you to be getting squeamish about human lives".
"Oh, God, no!" she cried. "We can't!"
"You can't. I can. It's us or them, Buffy," he told her as they crawled out of the driver's door onto the hot cement. "Who do you want to be alive at the end of this? Dawn or some role-playing reject?" He reached into the trunk, handed her a crossbow. "Personally, I'm not choosing the Knights of Hack'n'Slash".
"Maybe… maybe we can capture their leader instead. Maybe that would make them give up". She peeked over the top of the car. "My guess it's the extra-tattoo-y guy".
Spike suddenly grabbed her and kissed her hard. "I love you Buffy. Because of this. How you never give up, always try to do what's right. It's sick and it's wrong, but I swear, you are the most wonderful woman in the world".
Buffy couldn't reply. She stared at him, trying to catch her breath, stunned.
"Right". He gave her a wry smile. "Use the crossbow to aim for the horses, bring them down".
Buffy sensed him coiling to spring away and grabbed his arm. "What about you?"
"I'm going to go be a bloody hero". He leapt to the roof of the DeSoto. "Come on then, lads! Who wants to have a go with ol' Spike here?" he called out gleefully, swinging his broadsword in an arc.
She stopped thinking and went into Slayer mode, aiming for the horses with deadly precision, taking down as many of the twenty-plus that she could with a minimum of bolts. She didn't even register the sounds of wounded horses screaming. A few of the mounted knights had made it back to the car and Spike was taking them on, thrusting the sword and taunting them with equal enthusiasm.
One knight slipped past Spike, reaching in through the open window of the DeSoto. Buffy dropped the crossbow and moved to stop him, but the Slayerbot suddenly rose up from the floor of the car and snapped his neck with a twist of her hands. Buffy shuddered in horror and swallowed, trying to remind herself that this was war. People died in war. But she still couldn't get over the image of herself coldly snapping the man's neck or his lifeless staring eyes.
Death is your gift.
She really didn't want it to be.
Buffy shot the last of the crossbow bolts and then reached into the trunk for an axe. More than half of the horses were down, the others shying away from Spike with frightened screams. A dozen or so men were scattered about the road, dead or unconscious. The vampire had abandoned the high ground and was in the midst of the remaining knights, laughing in glee, yellowed eyes alight with the joy of battle.
Buffy couldn't feel any joy, only a sick dread in the pit of her stomach. If she failed, her sister died. It drove her harder.
Spying the man she'd picked as the leader at a distance from the others, she dove into the fray in front of her. Mr. Tattoo was still mounted, bellowing instructions to the others. Buffy wasn't too sure about horses, but she figured there was no time like the present to learn how to ride one. Placing a hand on a rider-less horse's sweaty rump, she vaulted into the saddle, almost dropping the axe as the horse bolted.
Spike saw her. "Grab the reins!" he shouted, and she did, yanking hard on them. The horse twisted and stopped. Recalling every Black Stallion book she'd read as a child, she nudged the horse with her heel until it was pointed in the leader's direction, then kicked it hard. It shot forward, Buffy almost falling backwards. Luckily she had Slayer agility, whether on the horse or on the ground.
She cautiously raised herself up so she was crouching on its back. As her mount approached the other horse, it began to shy away. Tensing, Buffy calculated the distance and leapt from her horse to the leader's, vaulting a distance that surprised even her. She wrapped her free arm around Tattoo and yanked him to the ground with her as she slid down the other side. His horse bolted away from them, and she quickly had him under control, the axe pressed to his neck.
"Hey!" she hollered. "I've got your, uh…"
"General," he supplied with a sneer.
"General! So lay down your weapons if you want him to live!"
"They won't, you know," he told her confidentially. "All that matters is destroying the Key so the Beast cannot attain it. My life is unimportant by comparison".
Buffy hardened. "Then they'll all die". She hoped not, she really did. But he had to believe she was capable of it.
He hadn't lied. Not a single knight stopped their attack. She couldn't bear just watching, so she knocked the General out cold and tied him up with the reins she'd pulled off a downed horse.
Joining Spike, she asked, "How you doing?" The vampire was still going strong, each cut he received healing instantly, each arrow lodged in his heart being pulled out without a second thought.
"Smarts a little, but these wankers are no match for me". He laid another one flat with a blow of his sword to the top of the knight's head. "You'll be glad to hear some of them will even live, Slayer".
She gave him a smile of gratitude and turned back to her own opponent, dodging the mace he was expertly swinging. Soon, the last knight was down, riderless horses milling about in confusion.
Dawn poked her head out from the back seat, the Buffybot sparking from various cuts beside her. "Wow. You guys are amazing".
Buffy gave Spike an admiring look. "Yeah. He kinda is, isn't he? Good thing he's fighting for us".
He closed the distance between them and looked down at her. Buffy shivered as he reached out and ran a hand through her hair. "Always. Never doubt it," he said, his voice rumbling.
She leaned into his hand for a moment, smiling sweetly at him, then let fly several punches in rapid succession, breaking his nose and driving him to his knees.
"Bloody hell! What was that for?"
"Kidnapping me again. Not listening to my orders".
Letting out an angry grunt, Spike climbed back to his feet, getting in her face. "I'm not one of your sodding little Scoobies to be ordered about, Slayer".
"You promised! To listen to me! To obey me when it came to moral decisions!"
"And you promised to stand by me and not write me off anytime you get pissed at me!"
"Yeah, well, I didn't really mean it did I?" She winced even as the words left her mouth.
Spike blinked furiously, his blue eyes stormy, the muscle in his jaw ticking. "Sometimes… I don't know why I bother" he said bitterly. She relaxed her posture, backing down, but didn't reply. "I can make plans too, you know," he ground out. "Have over a century's experience at staying alive, getting out of scrapes".
Buffy gestured to the carnage around them. "Uh-huh. I've seen how well your plans work out. What the hell are we going to do now?"
Dawn looked up and down the deserted road. "Start walking?"
Shaking her head, Buffy said, "No, we have to get out of here quickly. I'm not going to risk running into more of these knight guys". She eyed the horses.
Spike saw her look. "That might work for the rest of you, but they're not going to carry me. Vampire," he added by way of clarification.
"Not the best plan anyhow, considering this is the closest I've ever been to a horse. Can we drive your car back?"
Spike patted his DeSoto consolingly, assessing the damage it had sustained. "Not as fast as you'd like. But it'll be faster than walking, I wager".
They piled back in, Buffy hauling the General into the back seat. "We can question him," she explained. "See what he knows about Glory".
She wedged him between her and the still sparking Slayerbot. "Is she okay?" Dawn asked, pointing to the 'bot.
"I need maintenance, but I am functional," Robo-Buffy spoke up, startling them all.
"Well, Slayer, you get your wish. Only way to go is back," Spike scowled as they slowly bumped along.
It was just past dark when they finally jounced to a stop in the back of the Magic Box. Anya and Xander were there alone, sitting in the training room, surrounded by weapons. Xander's face was a mix of relief and dread when he saw them.
"Where have you been?" he cried. "We've been looking all over for you!"
Buffy glanced out the door at Spike dragging the General out of the car, but all she said was, "We ran into a pack of Knights of Byzantium and had a bit of a scuffle".
"And Glory?" Anya asked worriedly.
Shrugging, Buffy said, "We don't know. I pushed her into the front side of a speeding truck this morning, but something tells me that won't slow her down for long".
"It was awesome!" Dawn interjected, but Buffy silenced her with a look. She'd noticed Xander and Anya fidgeting nervously, far more than she would have expected.
"What's up guys?"
The couple looked at each other, clearly hiding something.
"You know, maybe we should wait for Giles and the others to get here…" Xander began, but Anya wasn't so reticent.
"You were right, a speeding truck was not enough. Glory has your mother".
Buffy stared at Anya, unable to process her words.
"What do you mean?" Dawn squeaked.
"We were – Willow went to your house to look for you, after the whole Glory incident…"
"We were looking everywhere. We were very frightened," Anya added.
"And your mom was at your house. She told Willow that she felt better and couldn't take hiding out anymore". Xander looked like he was about to cry. "Glory showed up looking for you guys too. Willow tried to stop her, but… she was kinda worn out from earlier".
"Glory told Willow she would trade. Dawn for your mother. She said it would be a good trade since Dawnie wasn't really your sister," Anya informed them matter-of-factly. "Of course, we don't feel that way. You are very real to us," she assured the younger girl.
Buffy sank onto the ground, white, trembling. "I can't… I… Mom?"
Spike had entered, the General in tow. "The Beast will stop at nothing to achieve her ends," the knight said. "She will destroy everything in this world, and the only way to stop her is to obliterate the Key".
Buffy didn't even react. She sat slumped on the ground, staring emptily at nothing.
Spike frowned at her and cuffed the General back into oblivion. "You shut up".
Dawn had run to Buffy and was holding her hands, looking into her empty eyes. "Buffy! Buffy! Come on!" She turned to the rest of them. "What's wrong with her?" she cried out in anguish.
"'Spect she's deep in thought, thinking up a clever plan, Niblet," Spike said, gently tugging her away. "Let her be, yeah?"
Giles came in at that moment, Willow and Tara by his side. "We've been everywhere," he began, and then caught sight of Buffy. "And she's right here".
Willow went up to her, but then frowned. "What's up with the blank stare?"
"I think we broke her," Anya said. "She didn't take the news about her mother very well".
Giles looked grim. "I see. It was probably one blow too many".
Buffy could hear them talking around her, but it was meaningless. For a second, just a moment, she had considered Glory's trade. Because… Mom. It was too much. And it did break her. She wanted to give up, let somebody else shoulder the responsibility and make all the hard decisions.
So she sat staring, tuning the others out, keeping her mind a numb blank slate.
Spike looked around, the assembled group panicking at the loss of their leader. Another glance at Buffy showed that the Slayer's mind was still on walkabout. He supposed he might be responsible for that. If they hadn't run, she would have been here and protected her mum. On the other hand, Glory might have snatched the Niblet instead, and they'd be far worse off. There was no time for self-recrimination. Somebody had to step up and take charge. He figured he'd have to be the one to do it.
Willow beat him to the punch. "Okay. Listen up. Buffy's not quite…" she trailed off for a moment, then regained her resolve. "She's taking a break. But that doesn't mean we should all just sit here, because Glory is out there. She wanted us to meet her in front of the old high school tomorrow at nine A.M. to make the exchange, but that's not going to happen. We all know Buffy would never be okay with a trade, and I'm pretty sure none of us here think that's the right way to go either".
"I do," Dawn whispered.
"Dawnie!" several voiced cried out.
"What? It's true. I'm not even real, and it's… Mom".
Spike spoke up. "Never make a deal with the devil, sweet thing. We're not the honorable type, isn't that right Anyanka?" Anya nodded and Spike went on. "You try to trade with Glory and she'll end up with you in her clutches and Mum dead before you can blink. Our best bet is to storm the castle, rescue Joyce".
"It's almost time! I have places to be!" Tara burst out in a dismayed voice. They all looked away, unnerved by her outburst.
"But how do we rescue Mrs. Summers? We have no idea where Glory is," Xander said, frustrated.
"I know. I went looking for her, after she hurt Tara, but I never found her. Locator spells did nothing," Willow confessed.
"The snake". Everybody turned to look, surprised. Buffy gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry guys. I was…"
"Taking a break," Willow said kindly. "Perfectly acceptable. But we're glad you're all recharged now. The snake?" she prompted.
Spike let out an internal sigh of relief. The Slayer was back. He moved a little ways away, lighting up a fag but still listening in.
"The giant cobra thing-y. It was headed for Glory. I bet she lived somewhere near where I killed it".
"That isn't much to go on, my dear," Giles began, but at the angry looks everybody shot him he quickly hurried to add, "but a good place to start searching. Perhaps Spike…?"
Spike would have rather been assigned to fighting duty, but he supposed if they did find Glory, he was the best one to stand up to her. "Yeah, sure, mate. Then what?"
"We need cell phones," Dawn said. "We should join the modern era".
"If the world doesn't end, it'll be the first thing on our to-do list," Buffy smiled. "Spike's right. If we do find Glory, what then?"
"We should make a list of assets," Anya said excitedly.
Spike snorted. "Buffy. And Buffy. And me. And Buffy. That's it".
"No, there's the Buffybot," Dawn added.
"And me," Willow said. "I'm ready for another round with the Hellbitch".
"But that's not enough. We've had all those things and we haven't stopped Glory yet," Anya protested. "We need more assets".
Giles rounded on her, annoyed. "Well what else do you suggest Anya? You don't bring anything to the table yourself except your un-infectious enthusiasm".
"Well… Oh! The magical glow-y Dagon's Sphere! We should have that downstairs somewhere. You said that slowed Glory down – it might drive her back or hurt her". Buffy nodded vigorously. "And…she's a god, right? You wanna fight a god, use a god's weapon! Like Olaf the Trollgod's enchanted Hammer!"
"Nah, that thing's too heavy!" Spike rolled his eyes in disgust, but Buffy ran from the room and came back carrying the hammer. "My mistake," he corrected himself with a smile. "Yeah. Good".
"I like this. Good heft to it. I bet I can do some damage with this. Great ideas, Anya," she praised.
The ex-demon blushed. "Here to help. Want to live!"
"Smart chicks are so hot!" Xander proclaimed, giving Anya a squeeze.
Willow pouted. "You couldn't have figured that out in tenth grade?"
"Enough children!" Giles snapped. "Indeed, those are wonderful ideas, Anya. What else have we got?"
"Slayerbot needs a bit of a tune-up after our run-in with the RenFest losers, but she's got the strength" Spike said.
"I'll take a look at her," Willow replied.
"Oh, and the General!" Buffy reminded them, pointing to the unconscious man. "I bet he can tell us a lot about Glory, since his whole life is devoted to stopping her".
"I know a fella, demon really, connected to the goings on of the underworld. Shady sort, but bookish, might have some useful info for us, maybe be able to suss out Glory's game plan" Spike contributed.
Buffy looked around. "Anything else?"
Willow looked at Tara. "I've been doing some research. Into how to reverse what Glory did to Tara. I know it shouldn't have been my priority, but…"
Buffy went to Tara and stroked her hair, the blonde leaning into her. "Of course it should".
Smiling gratefully, the redhead said, "I think if I can get close enough to Glory and Tara at the same time, I can reverse what she did, and it might hurt her. A little. Maybe enough to help. Or it might make our heads explode".
"That's a big negatory on the exploding heads, but I'm hip to the rest of it," Buffy said. She stood up and clapped her hands with renewed energy. "Strategy time!" Spike moved back closer to the group.
"Spike and I will go try to find Glory's lair. And maybe go visit the demon guy he was talking about. Giles, you see what you can get out of General Tattoo. Willow, you're on the Buffybot. Xander, Anya, you guys back them up".
She turned to Dawn. "I want you to go to sleep. Get some rest, because I have the feeling we're going to need it". She walked up to her sister and held her close. "Don't worry, okay? We'll find Mom and I will kill that skanky god for even laying a finger on her. Understand?"
Dawn nodded mutely.
Buffy hefted the troll hammer over her shoulder. "Come on Mr. Bloody. We've got a God to hunt".