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Chapter 13: Plans

Glory surveyed her surroundings. Normally, what she was seeing would have given her shivers of delight, but when someone mutilated her minions, it really meant war. They might be ugly, stupid, and next to useless, but they worshipped her, and that gave them one good quality.

She didn't care for them personally, who could when they looked like they were growing mould? And they never bathed. But they were hers, and she wasn't going to let some two bit freak vampire make a fool of her. It had to have been him. The Slayer had the power, but Glory doubted she had the stomach for it.

No, it was definitely the vampire.

That damn pathetic lying vampire, the Slayer's bloody lapdog. He'd painted this alley red with the blood of her demons, and taken the witch back. The witch who may or may not be they Key. Her fucking stupid minions had had her, and they'd lost her.

It didn't matter to Glory that they'd lost their lives as well. If she got the Key, they could all die screaming for all she cared.

But she didn't have the Key. That was the critical point. She. Didn't. Have. The. Key. She screamed in frustration and kicked an arm across the alley with such force that it hit the wall opposite her and the bone inside shattered with the impact, sending small particles of green flesh flying.

Somehow, the sight made her feel slightly better.

If the Slayer hadn't come and rescued that irritating vampire, none of this would have happened, and she might have had her Key.

What was with this Slayer? She had friends, family. She even had a damn pet vampire. What sort of Slayer associates with vampires other than to kill them? It was just weird, and it was really getting on her nerves.

She sighed. There was only one way to deal with this, and it all made perfect sense.

Vampire insults her.

Slayer rescues vampire.

Vampire rescues might-be Key.

Glory tortures and kills Slayer and vampire and all their friends, and takes Key.

Perfect.

Glory may have been insane, but her logic system was definitely direct.

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The small bell on the door tingled as Buffy and Spike entered the magic shop. Giles looked up from the book he was reading, and gestured to them to sit down. Without saying anything, he looked back to the book.

Buffy looked at Spike, who shrugged, indicating that he didn't have a clue either. They both walked over and sat across the table from Giles. Buffy tried to get a look at the book he was reading, but it was one that she didn't think she'd seen before.

After a minute or so, Buffy began to get impatient. Waiting had never been her strong suit. "Alright Giles, what's the sitch?" she asked. "Dawn said you'd called the hospital to tell us to come here, so spill. We hardly even had time to see Tara, so there'd better be a good reason. I feel really bad about just leaving her there. Even Xander got the day off work to stay with her and Willow."

Spike smiled slightly. Buffy was babbling, though nowhere near to the extent that Red did it. He could tell that the events of the past few days had affected her, and she was trying to be confrontational to prove to herself that she was still strong enough for anything she had to face.

Giles sighed. He had to tell them sometime, and he was really just putting it off. He'd read the book over and over, and he had no need to be reading it again. He just didn't want to tell Buffy the truth. He slid the book over the table to them, but Buffy just looked at him, and he sighed again. She would never read something if he could just tell her.

Easier for her, harder for him.

"Buffy," he began, strain evident in his voice, "you're not going to like this, but the Watcher's Council has found some new information, which they have just sent to me." He gestured to the book. "It seems that they're keeping their promise to help. When you read that, you're going to wish they hadn't."

Buffy folded her arms and lent back in her chair. "How about you just tell me? You can be specific when you want to be, and I want to know now, not in a week when I finally work out what the book means."

"I don't think you want to know at all," muttered Giles under his breath, but both Buffy and Spike caught it. Louder, he said, "That book contains details on the rituals that can be performed with the Key."

Buffy's expression instantly turned serious. If there was one thing that always held true for her, it was that she would not let anyone hurt Dawn. "What will Glory do to her?"

"Glory ain't touching the lil' bit," growled Spike, and Buffy almost smiled.

"No, she's not. Different question. What does Glory want to do with Dawn?" Buffy's tone told Giles that she wanted a direct answer, and he felt ill with what he had to tell them.

"There are a number of different rituals that can be performed using the power of the Key, and the one Glory needs to use is the most destructive. It will open all the doors between dimensions, and all possible realities will bleed into each other. Every creature on earth and in very other reality will suffer unbearable and eternal torment and death."

"Even demons?" asked Spike.

Giles shook his head. "The line's not that clear. Not all demons are evil, and some are not very powerful. The good and the weak demons will suffer along with humanity."

Buffy interrupted. "Hey, off track much? What will this do to my sister?" Giles fiddled with his glasses, and fear settled in Buffy's stomach. "It'll kill her, won't it?" She felt Spike stiffen beside her, and Giles nodded slowly. "That's not everything, is it?"

Giles shook his head. "I told you that you didn't want to know. The ritual is… it must take place at a certain time and location. Dawn's blood will open the portal, and they will close when the blood flows no more." He paused, "When Dawn is dead."

Buffy shook her head, not understanding, or not wanting to understand. "Why?"

Pain and sympathy were evident on Giles' face. "The Key was living energy. It had to be channelled into a specific place at a specific time. The energy causes the portals to open, unleashing all manner of hell, and Glory uses this time to get back into her own dimension. Now that the Key is human, the energy is in her blood. It had to flow to be channelled like the energy, and the only way to stop it is for Dawn to die."

Buffy didn't know what to say. Hearing that the only way to stop the ritual if it started was to kill her sister… it shocked her to the core. Spike's reaction was much more visible. He stood up abruptly, almost knocking the table over. His posture was straight and erect, anger clear in his stance as he paced the length of the table.

"None of this bloody matters though," he said, keeping his voice tightly under control. "Glory doesn't have the 'bit. We do, and we're not letting that hellbitch lay one soddin' finger on her. Who bloody gives a damn what sort of ritual it is? Nibblet is not getting involved."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, Glory doesn't have Dawn. We have to make sure she never gets her." She looked at Giles. "When can the ritual take place?"

Giles looked at his notes. "Nine-thirty Tuesday night, next week."

Buffy and Spike were both stunned. "Next week?" they chocked out together. It was Friday morning, so that meant there were only five full days before the ritual. Only five more days they had to worry about Glory taking Dawn.

"What happens after?" Buffy managed to say. "If Glory doesn't do the ritual, what happens?"

Giles gave her a small shrug. "I'm not sure. The Knight said that Glory was sharing the body of a human male, so I would assume that with no way to get home she would lose much of her power to break free from him and eventually be completely absorbed."

"So she wouldn't be a problem any more? We wouldn't have to deal with her?"

Giles shrugged again. "I can't say for certain, but I imagine she would no longer be a threat."

"Well that's good then, right?" said Spike. "I mean, if we only have to keep away from her for five days, that's easy. Why don't we just skip town until Wednesday? Think about it Buffy. You, me and the Nibblet. It's the safest thing we can do."

Giles shook his head. "I don't think that's a great idea. Glory is obviously getting worried. Why else would she attack Tara. Either everyone leaves, or nobody does."

Buffy nodded. "I can't leave anyone here with Glory around. But I don't think I can leave. Glory is a danger to everyone, not just our little group. I'm the Slayer. I have to protect people."

"But luv, the safest place for the lil' bit is as far away from Glory as we can get. We need to get her out of town." Spike's tone was worried.

Buffy nodded. "I agree with you. Dawn should leave, but I can't. I have to stay, can't you see that?"

"If you're staying, then so am I," said Spike.

Buffy shook her head. "No. You have to protect her."

Spike's expression was torn. He loved them both, and Dawn couldn't protect herself. But Buffy might be going up against the hellbitch, and he couldn't let her do it alone. He thought for a moment. "I have a plan."

Giles raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Anything was welcome at the moment.

"Right," said Spike. He cleared his throat, a little nervously. "We need to get the Nibblet out of town, right? But if one of us just takes off with her, Glory's going to know something's up. I say we send off everyone but you, me, and only one other. That way, Glory should believe we're pretending to send the Key away to get her off track of the real thing. She'll ignore them, and concentrate on us."

Buffy's expression was thoughtful. "But how do we know she won't figure out what we're doing?" she asked. "If she goes after whoever leaves, we won't be there to protect them."

Spike shrugged. "Glory's a moron."

Giles frowned. "I don't like it. Who's to say she won't go after us anyway? She'd probably kill us just to be certain."

"Red can protect them," said Spike.

"Willow?" said Buffy. "I know she's powerful, but what about Tara? She's going to be in the hospital for at least another couple of days. We can't ask her to leave her there."

"So why not pretend she's the Key. We'll keep her here with us, and protect her."

"Protect her? If Glory walked into that hospital to take her, there's nothing you or I could do, and you know it." Buffy's tone was so defeated, Spike couldn't stand it. "Let's face it Spike. Willow's the only one with the power to even get close to hurting Glory, and even she couldn't stop her. It's too dangerous for anyone to pretend to be the Key."

Spike opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when a strange expression flashed across Buffy's face. "Luv? What is it?"

"She's me," Buffy whispered. "She's me."

Spike was confused. "Who is?"

Buffy looked up at him. "Dawn. She's me. The monks made her out of me. My blood. If her blood can open the portal, and her blood is my blood…"

Giles shook his head, forestalling the rest of her sentence. "Your blood won't open the portal, Buffy. The energy for that is in Dawn's blood."

"I know that," said Buffy, waving a hand dismissively. "That's not what I meant. I meant that if Dawn's blood is my blood, then maybe Glory won't be able to tell. Maybe there's enough of what makes up Dawn left in me to confuse her."

It was Spike's turn to feel fear. "You're not pretending to be the Key. She'll kill you."

Buffy shook her head. "No she won't, don't you see? She can't kill the Key, because she needs it for the ritual. That's why those Knights who kidnapped Xander want to kill her. If she dies, the ritual can't happen. Glory won't kill me if she thinks I'm the Key, and by the time she works it out, it'll be too late."

"She won't believe it," said Giles. "She won't believe you."

"She will if she doesn't know that we know," said Buffy. Then her eyebrows creased for a second. "Did that make sense?"

Spike nodded, getting excited. "Sort of. I get it though. We find some of Glory's minions, and stage a conversation where we reveal you're the Key and the rest of us work for the monks or something."

Buffy gave him a grateful smile. "Something like that." She looked over at Giles. "Your thoughts?"

He just shrugged. "It's plausible, and from what we know of Glory, she'll probably believe it. But I don't want to put you in danger."

Buffy laughed. "Danger? Look at who you're talking to Giles. You've done nothing but put me in danger for five years. It comes with the job, remember?" When she saw Giles' expression she realised how harsh that had sounded. "It's not your fault Giles, and I don't blame you. Okay, I did for about a year, but I got over it."

Giles managed a weak smile. "It's your decision Buffy. I'll help in any way I can."

Buffy nodded. "Right, here's what we do…"

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Buffy and Spike were patrolling in one of the various cemeteries in Sunnydale. They'd spent the day in the hospital with Willow and Tara, but now they'd just spotted one of Glory's ass-kissing hobbits and were carefully making sure they were being followed.

They were walking slowly past some fresh graves when Buffy's Slayer instincts kicked in. She nudged Spike and pointed to a grave on her left. Spike nodded. "You're the Slayer," he said loudly. "You should be doing it."

Buffy sighed. Spike's acting ability sucked. "I'm not really the Slayer Spike. We both know that. The real Slayer's in jail in LA or somewhere, and I'm just made up. I'm surprised Glory hasn't figured it out yet. I mean, two Slayers? How stupid is she?"

"She's a moron luv, we figured that out a long time ago. But she's powerful, and we can't let her get her hands on you. Why do you think the monks made you a Slayer? You need to be able to protect yourself, and the rest of us are all here to help you."

Buffy smiled. Spike had actually managed to put feeling into that speech. "I know, I know. but it's so hard, don't you see that? I'm not even real, and I have to protect the world. How stupid is that?"

Spike didn't get a chance to answer right away. The grave to Buffy's left heaved as a newly risen vampire tried to find his feet. Buffy staked him as soon as he straightened up, and watched in satisfaction as he turned to dust. She turned to Spike, trying to appear curious. "That's something I've never worked out, you know. You're a vampire. Why aren't I supposed to kill you?"

Spike laughed. "Cause I work for the monks. It's my job to protect you. It's kind of a curse."

"That's all I am to you? A curse?" Buffy's tone was clearly indignant.

"Of course not," said Spike. "All of us, the whole group, we're all here because of you. We don't mind, but it's our job to make sure Glory doesn't get you."

Buffy started to get angry. "What does it matter? I'm not even real. Let her have me!"

Spike slapped her, and then cried out in fake pain, clutching his head. "She takes you and the world ends. We're not going to let that happen." Buffy just folded her arms and glared at him. "Okay pet. I think it's time we went home. You're obviously not feeling up to this tonight. I'm not meant to let you get killed either."

Buffy sighed and said loudly, "Right, wouldn't want to kill the Key."

They'd decided it was better to be on the safe side. Despite all their posturing, their stalker might have been thick enough to miss the message entirely. Subtlety really wasn't a strong point with most demons, and they wanted Glory to get the point.

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A slow smile stretch across Glory's face when she got the news. The Slayer was the Key? That explained so much, and she laughed with joy. There was no need to hurry now. She'd snatch the Slayer only a few hours before the ritual, and this time, she would not let her resist.

Glory was stronger, and she knew it. There was no way her plans could fail now.

A fake Slayer is no match for a god.

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When Buffy and Spike got back to the house, they almost fell over each other laughing. After they'd headed for home, they'd turned back and followed their stalker for a few blocks. It was so obvious that it had totally bought it.

Buffy hadn't laughed so much in a long time.

Spike watched her as she supported herself against the wall, finally calming down then bursting out into a fit of giggles again. She made a face at him which Spike found hilarious for some reason, and he collapsed on the floor, shaking with laughter.

The sight of Spike on the floor set Buffy off again, and she slid down the wall to join him. Spike wouldn't stop laughing, and Buffy looked around for something to throw at him. Her eyes fell on a handy pair of shoes, and she tossed one at him, hitting him lightly in the head. He looked up to see her expression, which only serve to make him laugh harder. Buffy couldn't help it as she started smiling again.

Dawn stood at the top of the stairs, and watched as her sister and Spike fell around laughing. She hadn't been filled in on the plan yet, so she had no idea what it was that they found so funny. She walked down the stairs and sat at the bottom, simply watching them. They hadn't noticed her yet, and she decided to speak up.

"So are you both completely slaughtered, or have you been hitting the laughing gas?" she asked lightly.

Buffy and Spike both looked up at her, identical expressions on their faces. Then they looked at each other, and dissolved into laughter again.

Dawn shook her head in disgust, but she couldn't help smiling. "Yep. You're slaughtered."

End Chapter 13