CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Comrades-in-Arms



The next morning Anya packed Xander off to stay with Buffy. She'd thought about it overnight and she'd come up with an alternate plan to get herself reassigned to the job of vengeance demon. "This will get things moving much faster," she said. "I'll call for Agatha today and tell her we've broken up because we had a fight over rescheduling the wedding. With you out of the house, she'll be more likely to believe me. Then, knowing Agatha, she'll talk to Hoff before the day is out. Once that girl's made her mind up on something, she moves right away. That's why I'm picking her to talk to. By tomorrow, I'll be a vengeance demon again. Don't worry. We won't have to stay apart for long. And we can sneak in a couple of quickies here and there."

"But . . ." Xander said. He still wasn't happy about this. He didn't want to leave his comfortable apartment or his cozy fiancée.

"It's for Willow and Buffy," Anya said. "I think we need to move quickly, because Doc may be planning on undoing Buffy's resurrection spell before Imbolc. He might figure that with her out of the way, no one will interfere with the final leg of his plan."

How was Xander supposed to argue against that? He didn't want his friend to go poof back to the grave. There was nothing to do but sigh and go on to Buffy's. Anya called ahead to let them know he was coming. By the time he got there, everyone was already up and milling around. Buffy suggested that Xander bunk in with Giles. This really didn't appeal much to either of the men. But they figured it was only for a short time.

Buffy and Spike were both in good moods that morning. Buffy had persuaded Spike to get in touch with his inner William again and help with breakfast. As they worked they made their plans for that night, to introduce Tara to Speaker and the other Shadow leader and fill everyone in on the plan.

Giles watched the ease with which his hostess and her lover worked together in the kitchen, their culinary duties interspersed with an occasional intimate touch or playful nudge. He hadn't gotten the chance to meet William; however this little remainder of him was still amazing to Giles. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined Spike as a family cook and caretaker, even to this small extent. Giles looked to Xander to see if he thought any of this seemed strange. But Xander was lost in his own world of depression. He accepted the toast and eggs from Spike with nary a questioning glance.

Dawn smiled on cue and answered all the questions the adults put to her. But her mood was even lower than Xander's. She was dreading school because she was wondering how Zachary would treat her.

As it turned out, Zachary stayed away from Dawn entirely. He avoided her as much as possible and didn't even seem to look in her direction. Dawn was hurt, but she didn't do anything about it. She figured if he wanted to stay away from her, then that was that. She watched him surreptitiously from afar. But she didn't force him to talk.

When Janice saw Dawn eating alone at lunchtime, she decided to interrogate her. "So, did you and Zachary have a fight?" she asked, plopping her tray across from Dawn's.

"Not exactly," Dawn answered, avoiding her friend's eyes.

"Did you guys break-up?"

Dawn didn't know how the answer to that. It certainly seemed that way. But she didn't want to say that, at least not out loud. That would make it real. So she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, if he does break-up with you, he's an idiot and not worth crying over. That's what I say!" Janice lifted up her Diet Coke can and took a big sip, as if she were drinking to that sentiment.

"Yeah," Dawn said. She appreciated her friend's stalwart defense of her, especially since Janice didn't even know what it was about. But it still felt like the end of the world. It was the end of a lot of things, really. And the beginning of her being a full-fledged member of the Scoobies. She had to concentrate on that.

- - - - - - - - - -

While Dawn mourned the loss of Zachary, Tara maintained her vigil at Willow's side. She was there when Doc came to continue his brainwashing spell, pushing harder to convince Willow to undo Buffy's resurrection. Each time he came, Willow seemed more open to the idea. It was all Tara could do to control herself. But she knew attacking Doc on her own wouldn't solve anything. It would only make matters worse. So, she waited until he left and then she returned to Willow's side.

Occasionally Tara moved to physical form when she was sure they were alone. Touching Willow eased some of the ache at least. She would smooth back her hair, hug her, and kiss her. During the times she was invisible, she would whisper in Willow's ear, telling her that the spell she'd used to bring her back had worked, but that she'd foolishly put off letting her know because she was afraid it would encourage Willow to see herself as all powerful. "I should have told you before," she whispered. "Maybe then this whole thing with Doc could have been prevented. I'm so sorry." Tara also told Willow the truth about what Doc and Rack were trying to do. And that Buffy was happier now about her resurrection. "Buffy and Spike are obviously in love," Tara whispered into her lover's ear, "despite what Doc says. It's a snarky kind of love, but it's love. And everybody wants you back."

Tara didn't try to contact Willow's mind directly inside the barrier. She was afraid Doc might sense any magic used there. But there was no reason she couldn't talk to Willow. And that she did, almost non-stop.

At some point late in the afternoon, a lot of the Fire demons and witches started running around at the warehouse. Tara recognized Amy and followed her to the main floor. At that point, it was almost fully prepared for the Imbolc celebration. The abundant windows had been gently burred with some substance so as to let in light, but keep out prying eyes. There were orange banners against the walls and torches in-between. A myriad of orange and red ceremonial candles were scattered about as well, waiting to be lit. These flames were meant to welcome back to the sun as it pushed away the winter. They were also a welcome to the Hell fires of the portal they planned to open.

Several witches, including Amy, gathered in a circle within a great pentagram painted in the center of the floor. There was already one orange crystal at each point of the star. Tara assumed they were there to create and hold the magic barrier around the building.

The witches turned in their circle and whispered a spell, slowly at first, then picking up speed. One by one, they lit the orange crystals. And outside the building Tara became aware of a great light. She walked through the wall of the warehouse to see a protective flaming circle shooting at least ten feet up into the air around the building.

Of course fire couldn't hurt Tara, at least not in her invisible form. So she walked out into the parking lot and through the ring of fire. On the other side, was a collection of men in suits, along with several police cars, and three trucks of workmen. Tara wondered if the men in suits were representatives of the owners of the building. Had they come to do some renovations since the big fires on the Avenue had ceased?

They had probably been about to enter the building and couldn't because of the invisible barrier, so they called the police. That in turn made Rack feel he needed a show of force. So the circle of fire had been called up. Several minutes later, two fire trucks arrived on the scene. They tried to pour water on the fire. But of course it did no good. Magical fires can burn to the touch, but they cannot be put out with water.

The fire ring burned on and on through the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, showing no signs of abating or growing. Since there was nothing else for them to do, all but one of the police cars left. One of the fire trucks departed and one remained, just in case. For a short while, there was a news truck there.

The Scoobies met at the Magic Box early that evening to discuss what had happened. Giles had slipped back into his old job as Watcher and had just begun speaking when there was a knock on the shop door.

"Ignore it," Anya said, "I've got the closed sign up. They'll go away soon."

But the knocking went on.

"Anya, please," Giles said, gesturing to the door in exasperation.

"All right," Anya said, getting to her feet. "I'll get rid of them." She went to the door and looked out before she opened it. After all, it was Sunnydale. You never knew what kind of creature might be knocking. She hesitated for a moment when she saw who it was. Then she wordlessly opened the door and stood aside.

It was Zachary.

All eyes in the shop turned to look at him. A couple of expressions were on the hostile side, especially Spike's. He looked as if he might bite Zachary and drain him right there. Which of course he could, now that the chip wasn't working anymore.

Zachary stepped shyly into the shop. "Can I . . . Can I talk to you, Dawn?"

Dawn got up from her seat between Tara and Spike. "Sure," she answered. In as businesslike a manner as she could muster, she led him into the training room and waved to the others to go back to talking.

Zachary looked around the room wide-eyed. The walls were covered with varying weapons, all very dangerous looking. "What is this place?" he asked.

"We call it the training room," Dawn said, closing the door. "My sister works out here. She and Spike throw weapons at each other just for practice."

Zachary gulped. He'd seen gyms before. But this looked more like an armory.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Uh . . ." Zachary put his hands into his back pockets and tried not to notice all the different sized knives on the wall behind Dawn. "I heard on the news this afternoon . . . that place you mentioned yesterday . . . 666 Lindemann. They say a chemical fire got started there. That the fire department got it under control, but it needs to burn itself out. Is that true? Is it just a chemical fire? Cos I saw it on TV and the fire seemed to form a perfect circle around the building."

"Nope," Dawn said, leaning back on her heels. "It's not a chemical fire. The Sunnydale authorities are just in denial like always. It's the bad guys I was telling you about. They're planning this big ceremony on February 2nd. That's when they're going to try and open one of those Hell portals. They're holding Willow a prisoner there and they're planning to use her magic powers to help them do everything."

"And your sister . . ."

"She's going to try and stop them. Her and the rest of us. I'm going to carry a crossbow and keep the Fire demons from interfering with the magic Anya will be doing."

"Fire demons?"

"Yeah. They can shoot out these fire balls. The bad guys are using them as guards."

"And you're going to help out on this?"

"Yeah. I'm a Summers woman. We fight evil."

Zachary set his jaw and nodded resolutely. "Then I'm in," he said.

"What?"

"I'm in. You carry a crossbow . . . I do too."

Dawn shook her head. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Look," Zachary said, "I did a lot of thinking about it today. This is SunnyD. Things happen here. Most of the time everyone tries to ignore it. But sometimes you can't. I figure in a place like this, you gotta decide which side you're on. And I decided I'm on yours."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He took her hand and laced his fingers through hers tightly. "I'm with you. No matter what happens."

When Dawn and Zachary opened the door of the training room, the adults in the shop proper stopped talking immediately. Giles still had the floor. He had taken his glasses off and was gesturing with them.

Dawn led Zachary to the table. "Zachary's in," she said. "He wants to be on crossbow with me."

Giles, Buffy, and Anya all looked quite surprised at Dawn's words. They didn't think the young man had it in him. Tara looked proud, as if she had somehow caused it. Xander looked impressed. The young man had just gone up in his estimation by several points.

Spike, however, had the most understanding of the situation. His eyebrows rose momentarily. Then he smiled a secret smile. He knew exactly what Zachary was feeling. Summers women . . . Once you fell for one of them, it was bloody near impossible to turn back. No matter what happened.

"Well, this is interesting news," Giles said in his cautious voice. "You're sure, Zachary?"

"Yes, sir," the young man said moving forward with Dawn proudly at his side.

"Then . . . why don't you have a seat and we'll fill you in on our plans."

Spike gave up his seat to Zachary and took a protective stance behind his slayer. He kept his hands on Buffy's shoulders and occasionally let his fingers drift into her soft hair. No doubt about it. He understood exactly what the young man was feeling.

"I take it you haven't used a crossbow before?" Giles said.

"Uh, no sir."

"I'll give you and Dawn some lessons here in the training room starting tomorrow. You two will be with me outside the warehouse. We'll be in the safest area. But we need to be armed in case the Fire demons try and stop Anya and her demon coven from their chanting . . . Do you know what a Fire demon is?" The expression on Zachary's face told Giles that he did not. "Well, here's a picture of one here." Giles picked up a book from the store counter and handed it to Dawn. "Dawn's never seen one either. But she has seen a selection of other demons . . ."

Giles re-outlined the plan for Zachary's benefit and then continued on to explain the ceremony to Anya. After which, he asked if there were any questions.

"Are we going to be using Jonathan in any of this," Xander asked. "I'm still keeping an eye on him. Should I plan on dragging him along?"

"No," Buffy said. "I don't trust him. We used him when we didn't have Spike. But now that Spike's back, I don't want him around."

"Any more questions?" Giles asked. "No? Then I guess we can adjourn."

Zachary felt a little light headed and shaky as he got to his feet. He couldn't believe what he was getting into. Crossbows and demons? The only thing that kept him grounded was Dawn's hand in his.

"We'll meet you all at home," Dawn called as she led Zachary out.

"OK," Buffy said. "Spike and I have to go visit the Shadows. But Giles and Xander will be right behind you . . . Right guys?"

"What?" Giles said. "Oh, yes, quite."

"Actually," Xander said, "I thought I'd stay and help Anya close up the shop."

"Oh, no," Anya said. "You have to go with Giles. Agatha might be watching. We've got to pretend that we're not involved, that I'm absolutely furious with you, and can't stand to be around you."

"Sounds familiar somehow," Spike said, earning a shove from Buffy.

"But . . . but . . ." Xander said.

"I told you," Anya whispered, "we'll sneak in a quickie. Just not for a day or so. You go on home now with Giles. I don't want to talk to you!" She made the last words sound angry, just in case Agatha or her soon-to-be- boss were listening in. Then she picked up the money from the cash register and carried it off to the back room to put it in the safe.

"But . . . but . . ." Xander repeated.

"Know how you feel, mate," Spike said.

"It won't be for too long," Buffy encouraged.

"Yeah, but . . ."

"In the meantime, you've still got us."

"Somehow, that's not the same thing," Xander said.

"We'd better get on to the Shadows, Luv," Spike said, slipping his arm around Buffy's waist.

"Yeah, we'll see you guys at home," Buffy said.

"Right," Giles said.

Buffy and Spike left the shop hand in hand, leaving the two bachelors to themselves.

"So, I guess it's just us for dinner," Giles said. "Shall we pick something up on the way?"

"I guess," Xander sighed.

Outside the shop, Buffy and Spike had only gone about a block when they saw Dawn and Zachary ahead of them. They were kissing sweetly, just out reach of the street light.

Buffy pulled Spike into the nearest alley where they could see the young couple, but keep out of their way. "Aren't they cute?" she asked peering around the corner.

"Yeah," Spike agreed. "I'm glad those two are back together. Guess he's not such a wanker after all." He pressed her against the wall and nuzzled her neck. "Giving me ideas too."

"Stop it," Buffy said, pushing him back. "We've still got to visit the Shadows. Business before pleasure."

"I guess," Spike said with a sigh.

Buffy took his hand with a slight smile and led him through the back alley so they wouldn't have to pass Dawn and Zachary.

It was pretty late by the time Buffy and Spike got home. Dawn and Giles were already tucked away and asleep. Only Xander was sitting up, lodged on the couch, crunching on some crackers. With a house full of mostly women, there wasn't much in the way of junk food to consume. When Buffy came home hungry after slaying, she tended to want meat in the form of a sandwich or dinner leftovers. With things so much up in the air at that point, it was actually Dawn who had thought of buying groceries. She and Zachary had picked up some things on the way home. Giles and Xander had brought only their own dinners.

"So, how are things in the slaying world?" Xander asked as his hostess came in.

"Did a quick patrol after meeting with the Shadows," Buffy said. "Ohanzee was impressed with both Tara and the plan. The furry little Nazari almost knocked himself out bowing to us, he was so happy to be involved. Speaker says this is his big chance to be a hero like us. Ohanzee agreed to be in Anya's coven also, along with a few of the other Shadows. But he was more proper than the Nazari. I kinda think the Shadows are the most proper demons I've ever met. Although Ledic is pretty proper too."

"I'm glad everybody's so happy about Anya's coven," Xander said with a trace of bitterness.

"It won't be for long," Buffy said. "Be over before you know it. Is anybody else hungry? I could sure use a snack."

Spike smirked at his predictable little slayer. "Hungry? No. But I think I could use a beer. How about you, Harris? Wanna join me?"

"Sure. Why not? Haven't drunk myself into a stupor yet."

Buffy made herself a sandwich and ate it in the kitchen while Spike brought a couple of cans of beer into the livingroom for him and Xander.

"Know how you feel, Mate," Spike said, handing Xander a cold one. "Don't matter if it's only for a few days. No fun being away from your girl."

"Everything just feels so out of control," Xander said, hitting the arm of the couch for emphasis.

"Yeah, I know. Been thinking. If you and the demon girl need a place to sneak off to, feel free to use my crypt."

Xander almost choked on his beer. Had he come to this? Sneaking around to have sex with his fiancée . . . in Spike's crypt? He was horrified at the thought. But at the same time he knew Spike was trying to be nice. He didn't want to hurt the vamp's feelings . . . Or Buffy's for that matter, since he had the impression they'd both spent a lot of time there together before everyone found out about them.

"I know it's not the prettiest place around," Spike continued, "but it's private. I doubt any of Anya's demon pals will come snooping there."

"Yeah . . . Well, thanks, "Xander said.

"Buffy and I can go over tomorrow and clean up. We'll walk through the tunnels to keep outta the sun. We'll have the place looking all neat and posh for you."

"Again, thanks," Xander said.

"Anytime. Know what it's like to go sneaking around. Least it won't be for long."

At that point, Buffy had finished her sandwich. "I'm going to bed now, Guys," she said, coming in from the kitchen. "You coming, Spike?"

"In a few minutes."

"OK," Buffy said. She headed off in the direction of the stairs. "Good night, Xander."

"Night."

"You plan on sleeping down here?" Spike asked.

"Thinking about it. Not really comfortable with the idea of bunking in with Giles."

"Well, I can tell you the couch is comfortable. Never had any trouble sleeping on it when I thought I was William."

"I've been meaning to ask you, were you really a poet?"

"Dawn told you, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it's true. But don't let it get around. I'm evil now. You know, the Big Bad?"

"Won't say a word."

"You want I should get you some sheets or something?"

"No. Figure I'll just sack out here as is. Maybe the droning TV will eventually put me to sleep. I'm not used to being away from Anya."

"I hear ya, Mate."

Xander frowned wondering how he'd gotten himself into this. He'd let his girl go off and turn into a demon without even a fight. Or at least, not much of one. A big part of him was afraid he might lose her. And here he was, throwing back a beer with a vampire who called himself the Big Bad one minute and offered him sheets the next. Sad. "I told Anya all the reasons why I didn't want her to do this. But she didn't listen."

"Buffy never listens either. All you can do is pick your fights and scream loud when you have to."

"Maybe I didn't scream loud enough."

"Might not have made any difference. Face it, Harris. We like our women strong and independent. Which means sometimes they're gonna drive us balmy."

"Ya got that right."

"Well," Spike said, putting down his empty can on the coffee table. "Better be turning in now. Any beasties attack in the night or you need anything, just scream."

"Will do."

"And there's plenty more beer in the fridge if you need it."

"I'll keep it mind," Xander said, thoughtfully wiping away some of the dampness on his beer can.

Spike hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should thank Xander for leading the rescue party to Warren's and getting him out of there. But then he realized, maybe in a way he already had thanked him. There were just some things he and Harris would never say to each other. They were just understood.

When Spike got upstairs, he found Buffy sitting up in bed still fully clothed, reading from several sheets of bound typewritten paper.

"So, did you guys do the male bonding thing?" Buffy asked.

"As much as me and Harris can," Spike answered. "What'cha reading?"

"Dawn's composition about Mom. She left it on my bureau for me to read. It's really beautiful."

"I know." He climbed onto the bed from the other side and leaned back against the headboard.

"You helped her with it."

"Actually, William did that."

"Not exactly. I remember you talking about it before."

"Did I?"

"There's more William in you than you let on," Buffy said, looking at him slyly. "Especially in the kitchen."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Not exactly something I'd like to get out."

"Don't worry. We'll keep it in the family." She put Dawn's composition aside and curled into Spike's arms. "What happened to your mom?"

"What?"

"You talked about her a lot when you were William."

"After I died, she became a recluse. Didn't tell her what I was or keep in touch with her. I mean, I was trying to be the Big Bad and Big Bads aren't supposed to worry about their Mums. But I kept track of her. Visited her grave and all that after she died."

"Any regrets?"

"Some. Suppose that's why I liked hanging out with your Mum."

"I wonder what Mom would think of all this?"

"Of us?"

"Of everything. Of you and me, Willow, Zachary and Dawn. I can't help but feel Mom died too young."

"Can't fight everything, Slayer. No matter how strong you are."

"Guess not." She looked up into his deep blue eyes. "Do you know I love you?"

"Heard a rumor," he said pulling her closer.