They rushed to an abandoned looking gas station, Giles gravely injured on his side, Spike about to get fried in the sun and all them looking for some kind of shelter to rest for a minute. Things kept getting worse and worse. Their vehicle was trashed, the only way to get far from there somewhat efficiently, and their father figure was badly hurt, bleeding profusely. All of them sustained some kind of bruise or cut, but nothing like Giles.

Still, they couldn't just give up. They had a hell god and a religious order on their tails. There was no time to rest and relax. No way of getting to safety. No goal for them but to protect Dawn and stay alive.

It was all that mattered.

Spike and Xander set Giles on top of a counter, Willow pressing a rag to his wound, worried sick about their father figure. Buffy was fretting over Dawn, then moving onto her Watcher, while Ally approached the vampire. The slashed on his hands were covered with rags, tied tight and stained with blood.

"How are you?" She asked quietly, not wanting to bother the rest. They would obviously not like the fact that she cared for the bleach blond's wellbeing, even if he had come to help protect them, saved her from getting a sword embed into her skull and walked outside during day time covering himself with a blanket that didn't prevent him from smoking.

"Been better. They'll heal." He shrugged, playing cool. "Had worse."

"I bet you have." She smirked and turned around, taking in everything about the building. There wasn't much that could be useful in case of an attack, it was deserted, basically. No chairs, knifes, anything.

Just then, a lit arrow broke through one of the wooden planks covering the windows and ended up on the inner wall, sending them all into a frenzy. Buffy got Dawn to cover behind the counter while Ally got the arrow out and extinguished the fire, more coming from across the windows. The witches crouched, trying to get as safe as possible, and the dark haired male looked out, assessing the threat. "We've got company. And they brought a crusade."

The Slayer and vampire, working together, moved a vending machine to block the door. Meanwhile, the redhead searched for a spell that could be useful and Ally jumped over the counter to get to the teen when Dawn started screaming. The knights were drilling holes in the walls and windows to try to get in, one even coming from the back when Buffy tried to get to her sister, punching her and sending her to the ground. Spike charged against the knights that had gotten in, but the rays of sunshine coming through holes and slits made it even more difficult for him.

It was madness.

Luckily, Buffy soon recovered from the hit and knocked the knight out with a couple of strikes, just barely having time for Xander to take him away before another man, dressed in slightly different clothes that the rest of the knights came into the room, pointing a sword at the Slayer. "The Key." He demanded, yet seemed to know he wasn't going to get it that easily and started swinging his blade, only for it to be take out of his hand by an maze, courtesy of the Chosen One. She made quick work of him, soon lying on the ground, in time for Willow to raise a magical barrier that prevented any others from getting in.

The Gang then had their leader.

The Slayer approached her best friend, still breathing fast from the fight. "Will? How long will it hold?"

Willow looked uncertain, frightened. "Half a day maybe." With that, she went to look outside through a slit, the back at the group. "Or till Heckle and Jeckle punch a hole through it."

Ally and Dawn, who had been behind the counter most of the time, the former protecting the teen from the hands coming through the wall, approached their sister, Spike coming nearer to look at the head of the Gang. "So. What's the story with these role-playing rejects?"

"Let's find out."


They had tied their prisoner to a pillar at the back room of the station, Buffy in front of him, Spike to his right, Dawn and Ally to his left, further away from him should anything happen. All of Ally's instincts shouted 'Stay with Dawn' in her head, she didn't want to let her out of her sight.

The man didn't seem very eager to talk to them, glancing from one to another as if assessing them.

"You sure Scarface here can habla the english?" Spike asked, looking bored and a bit annoyed.

"He understands me." Buffy assured, staring at the medieval clad man. "Don't you?"

"You were warned we would return, Slayer." He said solemnly, staring right back at her.

She stayed calm, arms crossed over her chest, like a boss. "Took you long enough. What are you supposed to be, some kind of chief?"

"General." Ally would have sworn he held his chin higher at the title, as if it mattered any in his situation.

"General. In charge of what, getting captured?" Taking a step forward, the Slayer mocked, holding the general's gaze.

He didn't seem to cower before it, though, as he stated. "You do not frighten me, child." Then he looked over at Dawn. "The instrument of chaos must be destroyed."

The Slayer and Potential shot forward, the former grabbing the general's head between her hands to avert his gaze from her sister. "Look at her that way again, and she will be the last thing you ever see." She hissed, although the Potential would have preferred to snap his neck. They needed him alive, they needed information. A leverage.

The man barely even flinched, glancing at the eldest brunette for a moment, taking in her protective stance in front of the Key. "As I've been told, you protect the key of the beast."

She was not Glory's. Ally couldn't even imagine her little Dawnie as that, a Key in the possession of the hell bitch. She wanted to shout at him, tell him they were never going to take her sister, because she would kill anyone that so much as looked at her the wrong way.

Buffy was more calm though, at least on the outside, walking a couple steps away from the prisoner, then turning back to face him. Her voiced dropped, almost to a whisper. "It's not that simple."

The General at least seemed to acknowledge that. "Yes. The key has been transformed, given ... breath, life." He paused, lightly smirking, cruelly, passionately. "Yet, this makes no difference. The key is the link. The link must be severed. Such is the will of god."

The eldest of the sisters almost lost it there, upset, her voice trembling. "She doesn't remember anything about being this key you're all looking for. The only thing that she remembers is growing up with a mother, and a sister that love her. What kind of god would demand her life for something that she has no control over?" Taking a small breath, she calmed her voice, taking a pleading tone. "We are not your enemy. Tell your men to stand down."

"No." He flatly replied, glancing back at the teen.

"It is not her fault!" Ally burst, unable to take it anymore, him watching Dawn as a target, an evil thing to destroy. "She's human now!"

"The key is too dangerous ... to be allowed to exist." It was obvious that the belief was deeply ingrained in him, yet he did have something akin to humanity in him, empathy, as he sounded upset for a moment. "No matter what form it has been pressed into."

"I will not let anyone tell me..." Buffy had started again, only to be interrupted by someone wailing in the other room, making them all head over.

The room was dark already, the night sky visible through the cracks and slits on the walls. Ally hadn't slept in close to sixty hours already, and she could feel the weight of her eyelids triple, letting her know it was sleepy time.

But she couldn't right then. Tara was shouting and running around the room, throwing herself at the windows, trying to see something outside. She kept repeating 'Time' over and over again, until Willow restrained her and she seemed to run out of energy. It was a sad sight to see, the former powerful and kind witch acting like a child, a baby, lost in her own mind.

What could they even do?


Ally sat on the floor, back to the wall, hugging her knees to her chest while Buffy talked to Giles. Dawn as next to Anya and Xander, sat on the counter, safe for now. The Potential had barely taken her eyes off her baby sister, scared that if she even closed them for a bit too long she would be gone, the knights or Glory would get her, and she would die.

"How you holdin' up, Ally Cat?" The vampire came close to her, sitting right next to her.

She tore her gaze off her sister to glance at the bleach blond for a second, noticing his hands still wrapped, and leaned her head on his shoulder, watching over her sister again. What could she say? She was exhausted, terrified, on the brink of crying. But she couldn't show it. She had to be strong. She had to protect her friends.

And he was there with her all the time, risking it all. Ready to give his life to help her and the ones she loved.

Instead of speaking, she slid her hand on top of his, brushing the back of the pale skin and ragged cloth before entwining her fingers through his. He stayed frozen for a couple seconds before tightening his fingers around hers, giving her strength yet once again.

Then, Buffy called her, explaining that they had to talk to the knights about getting Giles medical assistance. He wouldn't last long if they didn't. She had to go out with her, in case of a fight, or just to hold Buffy back if she could control herself.


The cute doctor from the party arrived at the station some time later, his medical kit with him. Ally had to admit, Buffy had some useful contacts. And pretty attractive too. She was sitting on the counter, a few feet away from Giles while Ben treated his wound, Spike standing next to her, and could barely get her eyes off the doctor. Hot damn, her was good looking, but there was also something else to him. He was obviously a good doctor, yet... she felt like the was something dark beneath. Still, how could she judge him for that? Everyone had their dark side. Her best friend was a vampire and she herself had been meddling with pretty dangerous demonic underground stuff in the past. Heck, the last three years of her life were basically a journey through the dark side of society.

Then he looked up, catching her staring, and lightly smiled before focusing on the stitches again. Not two seconds later he glanced at her again, looking doubtful.

"I... We haven't met before, have we? I-I've seen the others a couple times now, but I don't remember seeing you around then." He got back to his task, yet she knew he was expecting an answer.

"No. I'm kinda new to the group. I saw you at the spring break party, though. I'm Ally, by the way." She smiled, watching his hands move with precision, soon done stitching the gash.

"Nice to meet you." He returned the smile before wrapping a bandage around Giles' middle.

Spike abruptly left right then, stalking off to the back room, making the Potential frown. What was going on with him? She shook her head and looked back at Buffy, next to Ben, staring at her with a confused expression. Ally just smirked, gestured towards Ben with her head and gave the Slayer a thumbs up, making her blush furiously just in time for said doctor to finish pulling the blanket over Giles' torso.

The brunette hopped off the counter, nodded at Ben and strode out of the room and into the backroom, where her vampire was trying to light a cigarette, cursing at his injured and wrapped hands for not being able to make the lighter work. He only glanced at her when he heard her come in, turning his back to her.

Okay, he was annoyed at something. She was pretty sure it was her gawking at Ben. Did he really expect her to be blind all of a sudden? She would have to clear things up for him.

She walked around him and snatched the lighter, making him growl, but it was nothing like when she took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it on the floor, placing the lighter in her pocket. "Oi! What's that for...?" His complaints died when she grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him on the lips, closing her eyes and tilting her head.