Chapter 18: Surgery

Okay, I think some people jumped to conclusions…

Chapter 18: Explosions, Surgery, and big-ass Hammers

Buffy watched from her new vantage point as Spike started his mad attack against Glory. But she didn't have time to stay and enjoy the show. She needed Spike's distraction to get around to the wall on the other side of the room.

New plan, different tactics. Now, instead of beating things up, they were blowing stuff up. Less exertion, and a hell of a lot of fun. Buffy had been shocked at the amount of explosives Spike had pulled out from under his duster. He said he'd swiped it from the construction site on the way in, but… who thinks like that? Really? Picking up explosives on the off chance they might be needed.

Spike loved causing random destruction way to much.

Maybe she should be worried. No, she decided, it was just all part of what made him Spike. It also made him slightly crazy, but she could overlook that. Especially considering the arsenal of weaponry that she was packing. Anyone impartial looking at her and Spike would have a hard time deciding who was more violent, dangerous, and destructive.

Actually, their friends would have a hard time deciding that.

Buffy jumped down off a platform, and found herself outside a door. Pressing her eye up to the crack, she saw Anya's back, and a blur that looked a bit like Spike. She was in the right place.

Punching a panel out of the wall next to the door, she crawled into the gap. When she estimated she'd reached halfway along the wall she unbridled herself of the explosives strapped to her midsection. As she fumbled to get them set up she wished Spike could have been the one to do this, since she knew jack all about explosives, but it wasn't like she could really rush into the room and attack Glory while the robot was still in there.

Sort of defeat the purpose of the whole 'let's trick Glory' thing.

It took her a while in the dark, but she finally got everything set up. Crawling out of the hole she trailed a fuse behind her, leading it out of the wall and along the hallway a bit. She was bending to light it when her senses screamed at her, and she dropped to the ground, kicking a leg out behind her in an effort to fell her attacker.

She connected with something, and she bounded to her feet and back a few paces, ready for another attack. As she straightened up, she realised that it was that creepy old man demon guy who had tried to attack her. Her eyes widened as she saw a tail flick back behind his legs and disappear.

"Okay," said Buffy, "that's just creepy."

The old man smiled. "Slayer. How nice to finally meet you face to face. I've been waiting a long time."

Buffy shrugged. "Well, here we are. And now, I kick your ass. How's that sound for first impressions?"

"Just a moment," he took a slow step towards her. "I'm a little curious. How is it you're out here when you're also in there," he gestured to the room, "fighting Glorificus? Now, I know that the Slayer in there isn't the Key, it really was a little obvious."

"Not to Glory," muttered Buffy.

Doc smiled. "Quite. But you intrigue me. You feel like the Key, but it's subtle. Either the monks were better than I expected, or it isn't really you. Now," he took another step forward, "Glory seems to have reached the conclusion that it is your fellow Slayer that's the real Key."

Buffy's mouth twitched, trying not to smile. "Really?" she asked blandly.

"I can see the thought amuses you," said Doc. "I thought it rather unlikely, myself. But now I have to wonder who it is that really is the Key. They must be connected to you in some way, or you wouldn't have the residue of the energy of the Key in your blood."

Buffy stiffened. He was too close to the truth. She forced a laugh. "You have absolutely no idea what you're on about," she said. "We pretended I was the Key because Glory's just dumb enough to believe it. She wouldn't know the Key unless it snuck up on her and bit her on the butt. She even had him once, and she let him go," she smiled. "Hey, here's a question, how daft do you have to be to be a deity?"

Doc sighed. "Admirable effort, I do commend you. But it is impossible for the Key to be a vampire. It must be pure."

Buffy tried to look confused. "Vampire? Who said it was a vampire? I never said it was Spike." She clapped her hand over her mouth.

Doc smiled again, and his eyes flashed black for an instant. "Spike. I had wondered why he wasn't affected by sunlight. And a vampire working with a Slayer, it is rather unprecedented."

Buffy shook her head. "It is so precedented. Angel helped me for years."

"Angel. Yes, well, he was a rather special case."

"Well, Spike's special too."

"Yes. He is, isn't he." It wasn't a question.

Buffy decided that she'd had enough. She couldn't afford to leave Spike on his own for too long. He was an expert at getting people mad, and who knew how far he could push Glory before she snapped and really tried to kill him? And this Doc guy was getting on her nerves. There was just something about him that made her want to wipe that smug look off his face.

"Look," she said. "Are we going to fight? Because if we are, can we get on with it? I have another appointment."

Doc shook his head. "A fight? Hmmm… no, I think not. All I wanted was the identity of the Key, which I do believe I have. While it would no doubt be an interesting confrontation, I'm afraid I have another engagement. When I bleed the Key… well, let's just say I don't need to waste the effort on you now." He winked, then turned and walked away, disappearing around a corner.

Buffy stood staring for a moment. "I swear all the evil guys are getting thicker," she said to herself. "Maybe whatever Glory has is catching or something." She shrugged and bent to light the fuse. Once it was burning, she quickly ran back around to her original position near the outside of the building.

Crouching down between the boxes again, she estimated that she had about 20 seconds before it reached the explosives that she'd rigged. Looking through the missing panel in the wall, Buffy could see Glory and Spike standing facing each other, and Spike was rubbing his throat. She could tell that Glory had just asked him something, because he was doing this thing with his eyebrows that he always did when he was trying to think of a good lie.

The moment the first words left his mouth Buffy groaned. When she'd said 'keep her occupied' she hadn't meant 'piss her off until she stakes you'. But apparently, that was what Spike had heard. And he was doing a really good job of it too. A stake appearing in Glory's hand, but Buffy couldn't move. There was no way she'd get there in time, and she was frozen with horror.

It seemed like everything slowed down as the stake descended towards Spike's heart. She forced herself to move, pushing herself off the ground and intending to break right through the wall in front of her.

She didn't even get the chance. In mid-air in her leap at the wall she was thrown backwards into the solid brick behind her. It was only after she hit the ground that her mind registered an ear shattering bang, and belatedly she realised that her explosives had just detonated.

Scrambling to her feet, Buffy pulled the Troll hammer off her back. That explosion might have dazed Glory, but she had no illusions that it would do any more than that. Taking a quick look at her rearranged surroundings, Buffy realised that it had actually been a flying piece of wood that had pushed her back, not the force from the explosion itself. There was a gaping hole in the wall in front of her from flying debris, and she could see clear to the opposite wall where she had set the charges.

Most of it simply wasn't there any more. She hadn't known it was going to be that powerful. She was going to have to have a few words with Spike about keeping her in the dark on certain matters.

If he was still alive.

Forcing herself through the wall, Buffy looked around for Spike and her friends. Giles, Xander, and Anya were crumpled up over near the door, but they were moving, obviously just a little stunned. Turning a full 360, Buffy couldn't see any sign of Glory or Spike.

Her mind raced. She wouldn't see any sign of Spike if he was dead, but Glory should be around somewhere. Oh god, if Spike was… she forced herself to concentrate. Her gaze fell on a large pile of rubble in a corner of the room. Hope flared in her chest, but it warred with caution. Spike might be stuck under there, but Glory could be too. Her thoughts conflicted as she tried to assess whether it was worth the risk.

Damn right it was.

If Spike was buried under there, then judging by how close they'd been standing before the explosion, Glory would be in there too. If Spike was alive, she wasn't going to leave him buried in a pile of rubble with Glory so she would have another chance to kill him. She just had to hope she found Spike first, and that maybe a piece of masonry had stapled Glory's head to the floor.

Buffy dropped to her knees in front of the pile of rubble and began to dig, using her Slayer strength to throw bricks and wooden support beams out of the way. She ignored a yelp from Xander as a piece of drywall almost hit him. She could feel… something. There was this sense of urgency. Spike was alive, she knew it, but if she left him buried too much longer he probably wouldn't be by the time she found him. Or found an extra dusty spot, anyway.

Her hand scraped something softer than masonry, and she frantically began to clear the surrounding area. Shifting a rather large piece of wall, she uncovered a leg, complete with combat boots and black jeans. She quickly cleared the rest of the rubble off Spike's body, and found herself looking at an unconscious, and very dirty vampire.

One with a rather large hole in his chest also.

It wasn't so much a hole as a gash. Spike had a deep furrow across his chest, and she could see his ribs. It looked to her like the wound had missed his heart by mere inches, and instead Glory's strength and the forced of the explosion had dragged the stake all the way across the right side of Spike's chest. Despite her revulsion at the severity of the wound, something forced Buffy to look closer. She found the point where the stake had pieced his chest, and saw something that made her blood run cold.

Embedded right next to Spike's heart was the jagged edge of a snapped off stake.

One little movement could drive it home. Just one wooden splinter shifting in his chest could end his life. She had to get it out before she could move him, and she had to do it quickly. If Glory was buried under the rubble and tried to move, it could all be over. She refused to let that happen.

Pulling a knife from a sheath strapped to her leg, Buffy carefully positioned herself above Spike, making sure she didn't touch him. She hoped he wouldn't regain consciousness until she was done, if he moved he could very well end his own life. Taking a deep breath, Buffy prayed that it was true that metal through the heart wouldn't kill a vampire, and that he couldn't simply die from too much pain.

'Cause this was going to hurt.

Steeling herself, Buffy slid the knife into the side of Spike's heart, keeping it close to the stake. Spike screamed, but his body didn't move. Buffy was thankful for that, as this was hard enough as it was. Carefully she twisted the knife, cutting away everything that surrounded the stake, making sure she didn't miss anything. Gritting her teeth, she used the knife to pry out the stake, and pulled it out with her spare hand.

Shuddering at the feel of Spike's flesh in her hand, she tossed it away form her. Inspecting the wound again, she couldn't see any sign of any splinters or the like, and breathed a sigh of relief. Spike wasn't all dusty, and she'd managed to finish the operation without throwing up. There were some parts of her friends that she just didn't need to see, and those included dead organs and anything that she had to dig out with a knife.

Buffy carefully slid her arms under Spike's body, and lifted him from the pile of rubble. He was a dead weight in her arms, and she ignored the way the feeling unnerved her. She carried him over to where Giles was standing, and placed Spike at his feet. He gave her a sympathetic look, and nodded at the order in her eyes.

"We'll take him," was all he said, but it was enough.

Buffy gave her friends a grateful smile, and was relieved by their understanding. Giles and Xander bent to pick up Spike, and with one last look at her they carried him as carefully as possible out of the room. Anya hesitated a moment before following, and something in her body language told Buffy that she wanted to give her a hug or something, but wasn't sure if she should. Buffy appreciated the thought, especially coming from Anya, but turned away to look at the pile of rubble she had found Spike buried in.

She heard Anya leave, but didn't turn away. Her nerve-endings were tingling, warning her of danger. Slowly, small pieces of brick and wood began to slid off the heap, and Buffy stood waiting patiently. She wanted this over, but she wasn't in any hurry. Glory was the one with the deadline.

Suddenly the debris began to shift faster, and without much warning the entire pile was virtually thrown aside. Doubt began to creep into Buffy's mind as she was reminded of Glory's strength. Somehow, she'd managed to convince herself that Glory would be weakened, or disabled in some way.

Damn optimism.

Well, it didn't change her mind. She had one thing to do, and she was going to do it even if Glory was stronger than a vampire feeding on the Chinese Olympic swim team. Picking the Troll Hammer up off the floor where she'd forgotten it temporarily, Buffy readied herself to fight.

She watched as the pile suddenly heaved upwards, and took a step back before she could control herself. She was so on edge, and it wasn't taking much to make her jump. She forced herself to stand and wait, apparently unconcerned, keeping her face expressionless as Glory freed herself from the rubble and stood up slowly, brushing herself off.

"Okay," she said, "now I'm really mad. Nobody tries to blow me up and gets away with it," she paused when her mind finally registered Buffy. "So you're the real one this time?" Buffy nodded. "Good. I'm afraid I'm tired of your little games. This ends now, and I will have my Key before the night ends."

Buffy shrugged. "Well, if you manage that I'll be impressed. You've got… what, like half an hour? I'm afraid you're going to be stuck here for a very long time," she stopped for a second, a thoughtful look on her face. "and, since I'm not keen on having you anywhere near me… I'm afraid you've got only two choices."

Glory decided to bite. If the Key really was the other Slayer, then she really had no chance. "And those are?" she asked with fake indifference.

Buffy smirked. Glory was so transparent. "I'm warning you, you're not going to like them," she said. Glory growled, and Buffy decided to let it go. "Oh all right, if you're going to be that way about it… First choice: you can give up your control of Ben's body, and never try to take dominancy from him again."

"Or?" Glory was not impressed.

"Or I kill you."

Silence followed Buffy's statement. Glory wasn't sure how to react. Normally, attacking would seem to be a good response, but something about the Slayer was creeping her out.

Creeping her out?

She shuddered. This damn dimension was even invading her vocabulary. She forced herself to concentrate, and for the first time noticed that the annoying little fingers that had been digging at her mind had disappeared. Her mind took in the amount of weaponry Buffy was packing, but she dismissed it as inconsequential. Weapons weren't a danger to her.

So how did the Slayer think she was going to kill her?

Her. Glory. A God, when she was just a common old Slayer. What was she worrying about? She might not be able to get her Key, but that didn't mean she couldn't kill the Slayer and rule this dimension herself, even if it was rather… primitive.

She smiled with enough malice to make Buffy's confident stance waver a little. "New choices, little girl," she said. "And this time, I make the rules."

Buffy didn't say anything. Glory wanted to hear the sound of her own voice, and listening to her was less painful than fighting.

Sort of…

Glory glanced down at her dress and frowned. Pulling off the dusty, torn rag it had become, it was instantly replaced with another that was clean and, to Buffy's mind, slightly whorish. Typical Glory, really.

Glory wasn't put off by Buffy's lack of reply. "Now here's your choices, sweetcheeks." Buffy kept her face impassive, and simply raised an eyebrow. "First choice: We fight. You die. I kill all your friends, then I go and get the Key. I may not be able to use it to get home, but it can still destroy your dimension."

Buffy tried not to let the image in her mind get to her. "And my second choice?" she asked coolly.

Glory smiled. "You get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness. You tell me where the Key is, and I don't kill your friends. You still die, but I'll make it quick."

Buffy laughed. Talk about being petty. "I don't think so, Barbie. Whatever you do, you're finished. You can't get home, so there's no point to anything you're doing. And honestly? The choices you gave me, they kinda suck."

Glory gaped. "And the ones you gave me are any better?"

"Sure. You still live in one of them."

"Fading away is not living!" shouted Glory.

"Fine. Ben still lives in one of them. Personally, I like that choice."

Glory forced herself to calm down. Shouting at the Slayer wasn't going to get her anywhere, and she got the feeling that Buffy wasn't really intimidated. "Do you think I care about Ben? He's been my only restriction since I entered this dimension. If it wasn't for him, I'd be ruling this miserable backwater by now."

Buffy shrugged. "Technically, he's all that's keeping you alive. Doesn't that just make you sweat? To know your existence is in the hands of a weak, pathetic human? You're living on his charity, Glory. You're a parasite."

That did it. Glory snarled and lunged straight at Buffy, who sidestepped, sending Glory crashing into a wall.

"So I guess you're choosing option two, huh?" asked Buffy. Glory didn't say anything, and Buffy decided she could still push her a little more. "That was the one where I kill you, if you couldn't remember."

Glory's back stiffened, and her gaze went hard. Enough was enough, and she'd had more than enough of the Slayer's taunts. How dare she mock her? If she was going to be stuck here for eternity, she was damn sure going to make the Slayer pay. And, since she wasn't in any hurry any more, it was going to take some time. Torture was an art, and one she enjoyed practising.

Baring her teeth in an imitation of a smile, Glory leapt forward to take on the Slayer. Buffy was ready for her, and brought the hammer into play. She dodged Glory's first few punches, and when she saw her opening she wasted no time in exploiting it.

Glory got the shock of her life when Buffy's hammer came out of nowhere to slam into her head. Even more surprising was the fact that it actually hurt. The force of the blow sent her flying across the room, where she hit the floor and rolled back until she slammed into a wall.

Forcing herself to her feet, she carefully felt the area around her jaw. It felt… well, it hurt. And that wasn't supposed to happen. Not to her. She was a God, and puny little mortals weren't meant to be able to harm her.

Before she realised it, Glory was again decked by Buffy's hammer. Too dumbstruck to move, she had no chance as Buffy stood over her, hammer raised for another strike.

Glory forced herself to speak. "You're just a mortal. You couldn't understand my pain."

Buffy didn't care. "Then I'll just have to settle for causing it." She brought the hammer down into Glory's chest, repeating the action and hearing a sickening crack every time she connected. For Glory, the pain was too much, something she shouldn't have to handle. She let go of the restraints she always had to hold onto when she was in control, and Buffy watched warily as Glory was replaced by Ben.

He groaned in pain. It looked like Glory's injuries must have hurt his body as well. Which made sense, since if Ben died, Glory died. That didn't mean she had to like it though. He hadn't done anything wrong. It hadn't been his fault he'd been saddled with the world's worst split personality disorder.

It looked like he was having trouble breathing, but he managed to gasp out her name. She couched down next to him, and he looked up at her with pain filled eyes.

"Ben," she said, "I need to know. Can she come back?"

Buffy hoped not. She knew what that would mean for Ben, and what she would have to do. And she wasn't sure if she could. She'd been over this before, and she'd come to the conclusion that she couldn't kill an innocent man. But now… if she didn't, Glory could come back, wanting revenge, and who knew what she would be capable of. Buffy couldn't risk leaving Glory free to kill her friends and family, but she couldn't kill someone.

A thought flittered across her mind, and she chased it away immediately. Spike could kill Ben, and she had no doubt he'd do it once he found out that she wouldn't. He'd do anything to protect herself and Dawn, she knew that. But if she just let him, pretended she didn't know, what difference did it make? If she was going to let that happen, she may as well just kill him herself. It all amounted to the same thing.

Ben coughed, and Buffy could see blood on his lips. When he spoke, his voice was rasping, and she could hear the pain it was causing him to talk. "I don't know. I feel… different… but it's hard… it's hard to tell with… with all the pain... I… " he trailed off, unable to continue.

Buffy pushed down a surge of guilt. She'd been hitting Glory, not Ben. It wasn't her fault that he got hurt too. She couldn't have known that. It wasn't her fault.

For some reason, that really didn't help at all with the whole guilt thing.

"Ben, please. I have to know." If she had to kill him.

He closed his eyes. "I don't know."

Buffy sighed. It didn't matter anyway. She couldn't kill him, even if there was a chance Glory would come back. He was human, innocent. And she had more immediate matters to deal with. If Glory was coming back, she wasn't doing it before she managed to regain all the energy she had expended. And Buffy thought it was unlikely she'd try until Ben's body had healed. She was too much of a coward to deal with the pain.

"Ben," said Buffy quietly, "I have something I have to do. Just lie still, and I'll come back with people to help you as soon as I can."

Ben managed a groan that Buffy took as an understanding, then she stood up and secured the hammer to her back again. She didn't know if she would need it, but it was a kick-ass weapon, and she wasn't keen on leaving it lying around where anybody could find it.

Taking a last look at Ben to make sure he was alright for the time being, Buffy strode out of the room in the same direction Giles and the others had taken Spike. If Doc really was as gullible as he had seemed, Spike was in danger.

Again. Still. Whatever… could this guy not stay out of trouble?

Buffy carefully overlooked the fact that most of it was her fault. Denial's a lovely place to live.

Considering the state Spike was in, she didn't think his body would be able to handle any pain. Vampires supposedly wouldn't die until you staked, beheaded, or exposed them to sunlight, but she was reasonably sure that cutting them into little pieces would have the same effect.

All she knew was that the ritual for the Key required blood at the right place at the right time. So that didn't mean that Doc would necessarily hurt Spike more than he already was. All he needed to do for blood at the moment was put Spike face down on a platform, and it would drip out of that gaping hole in his chest.

Still, not fun.

Buffy started running. The only places she could think of where they'd take Spike would be her house and the Magic Box, and on a hunch she headed for home. Spike had blood there, and he'd definitely need some. Not caring if anyone saw her, Buffy took the quickest route possible, jumping fences and cutting through people's backyards and over their houses where necessary.

Running up the steps to the porch, she grimaced at the sight of her front wall. She'd almost forgotten. For a second she wondered how it was possibly that nobody had noticed it yet and called the police, but she didn't really care. She entered the house to find Anya in the kitchen, and raced upstairs without bothering to say anything.

She reached the top of the stairs and stopped before the door to her mother's old room. Spike's now, really. Not that he'd probably be spending much time in there if they ever got through this. She forced herself to calm down before she opened the door.

The sight that greeted her when she entered the room was little different from the best-case scenario she'd had on her head on the run over. Spike was in the bed, asleep or unconscious, and Giles and Xander were standing over near the far wall, talking quietly. The both looked up as she came in.

Giles spoke first. "Buffy, is…"

Buffy nodded, then shook her head. "Sort of. I beat her up real bad, but then she changed back into Ben, and I couldn't kill him. He was hurt pretty bad, but I had to leave him there. I don't think he'll be able to move until we go back for him. And I don't think Glory can come back either. At least not for a while. But we have bigger problems right now. And how's Spike doing?" She said it all on one breath, wanting to give them enough that they wouldn't ask questions.

Xander raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment on the rush. "We don't know," he said. "He's not dust, which I suppose is a good sign," Buffy glared at him, "but he hasn't woken up. We cleaned him up as best we could, and bandaged his chest so his heart wouldn't fall out." He tried to joke, but Buffy wasn't in the mood. "And what do you mean by 'bigger problems'?"

"Doc," said Buffy. "You know, creepy old man demon guy."

"What about him?" asked Giles.

"Have you seen him?"

Giles shook his head. "Not since he was with Glory."

Buffy cursed. "I think I might have convinced him that Spike was the Key. Are you sure he wasn't following you?"

Giles shook his head. "I'm quite certain he wasn't, Buffy."

Buffy swore again. Maybe Doc was smarter than she had given him credit for.

End Chapter 18

You really thought I was going to kill Spike? How many times has he almost died in this story already? Okay, so it was a bit of a cop-out. But at least you got some amateur open heart surgery. If you think about it, it's really quite disgusting… can you tell I'm not a doctor?

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and everything. It's nice to know people like what you're writing enough to care that you're killing someone off. Not that I was, but still…And hey, I get chapters out faster when enough people tell me to get my butt into gear. Well, that and when I'm meant to be studying…