The bell rattled as Giles opened the door, allowing Buffy to enter the shop first. She stopped suddenly, causing her Watcher to smash into her and stumble a little.
The Slayer burst into a run to the stairs where Amy was kneeling in front of Tara, applying pressure to a wound on Tara's forearm.
"What happened?" Buffy asked urgently.
"Vampires. They came in and…there were just too many of them," Amy explained.
Buffy felt her heart stop beating. Spike heard it falter and begin to race. He put his hand on the small of her back.
"Where is she?"
Tara closed her eyes and looed down. "They took her."
Buffy looked towards Spike, praying that he would have answers for her.
"Did you know this would happen tonight?" she asked.
"No. I wasn't told anything, luv, I swear," he said.
Buffy nodded, knowing that he would never betray herself or Dawn like that. "Do you know where they would have taken her?" she asked.
Spike nodded. "They're holed up next to the old high school. It's an abandoned warehouse."
"That makes sense. They want to be close to the hellmouth when it opens," Giles explained.
"Weapons all around then. If they're taking Dawn, then they're gonna be doing the ritual soon," Buffy said. "Probably tonight."
Spike nodded his agreement and headed out to the training room, helping himself to a pile of weapons. The others followed his lead and quickly, without thinking much further than protecting Dawn, they headed towards the warehouse, desperately hoping that they would all come out alive.
Buffy let Giles lead the group, she and Spike hanging towards the back. She stopped suddenly and looked at him.
"Spike-"
"She's safe," Spike said. "I won't let anything happen to her. Not again."
Buffy nodded and they continued walking. She looked at him sideways and tried to stop her stomach from doing flip-flops. She had promised herself that when she had the chance, she would tell him that he wasn't a monster, that he wasn't beneath her. That never was a long time. That she loved him.
"Spike-"
"They're all safe, luv. I won't let anyone hurt them," he said, stopping and turning towards her.
"I wasn't gonna say that, but…it's nice to hear it anyway," Buffy said.
Spike licked his lips nervously, wishing that the tight constriction in his chest wasn't hurting so much. "What did you want to say then?"
"I just…I've been wanting to tell you something since I got back. Something about what you said to me the night that…well…when we were at my house getting weapons. You said that you knew I'd never love you and that you're a monster. Well…I just…I needed to tell you that…you were wrong," Buffy said.
Spike looked at her, his eyes full of hope. Was she really telling him the words that he had desperately longed to hear for so long?
"I just thought that you should know that," Buffy said.
She went to keep walking but felt a gentle hand on her wrist. She turned to him and saw his head duck forward, a soft kiss brushing over her lips.
"So you do? Love me?"
She nodded and saw him smile.
"Say it for me? Just so I know I'm not imagining things," he pleaded.
Buffy smiled and kissed him softly. "I love you."
Spike breathed in deeply, revelling in her words. He smiled and brushed her lips with his.
"We've got a little sis to save," he whispered, taking her hand.
~*~
Buffy looked through a tiny crack in the disintegrating wood that the warehouse was built of. The rest of the gang was gathered behind her, all of them fearful about ambushing the place without a plan. But, what other choice did they have?
"What do you see?" Giles whispered.
Buffy squinted through the knothole in the wood.
"I can see six vamps standing in a semi circle. There's…I can't see properly, but it looks like there's six sets of chains coming from the roof. I can't see what they're holding, but I would bet my life that it's the sacrifices," Buffy said.
"Can you see Court?" Spike asked.
Buffy shook her head. "Can't even see Christian. Oh, wait…there's another three vamps walking into the room. One of them…he's kneeling down on the ground. He looks like he's drawing something."
"They're starting the ritual," Giles said.
Buffy moved over so that Giles could look through the tiny hole.
"It'd be best to make our move now, the ritual's only just begun. If we can get in there before Court becomes invincible, we'd stand a much better chance," Giles said.
Buffy nodded and took in her surroundings.
"There's a back door. It looks like you'd come into the room just to the left of where the six people are being chained up," Buffy said. "Spike, take Tara, Amy, Anya and Xander round the back. At the moment, our biggest priority is stopping the ritual. If we take away the sacrifices, they can't finish it."
Spike nodded and looked to the group that had been assigned to him.
"What's the signal?" Spike asked.
"You wait until we're inside. Wait until we've taken down three vamps. Spike, you're with them cos I know you'll protect her," Buffy said.
Spike nodded, thanking her for giving him a second chance to prove that he could protect Dawn. Without another word, Spike led his group around the back.
"Will, Giles, you're with me."
"What about me?" came a voice from behind.
Buffy spun around to see her ex-lover standing behind, holding a crossbow and a stake.
"Angel-"
"Buffy, you're sister was taken. You're not gonna be able to take out all the vamps in that room with only three of you fighting," Angel said.
Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember how to breath.
"Okay, fine. Here's the plan. Angel, you and Will go in through the front. They'll be expecting more, which is fine, but they won't be expecting three different points of entry. Giles and I will come in from the stairs," Buffy said, taking in the fire escape that looked as though it had never been used.
Angel and Giles nodded while Willow could only try not to look too terrified.
"Will, if you don't wanna do this, I totally understand," Buffy whispered.
"No, I'll be fine. But…why am I with you guys. You're the fighters, not me."
"Are you kidding me?" Buffy asked. "After what I saw you do to Glory? You've got some serious power Will. And if all else fails, I know you can conjure up some fog for us."
"Oooo, I could try that sunlight spell," Willow suggested.
Buffy looked towards Angel, but her thoughts were with Spike. "Probably not too good an idea. Considering we've got two vamps fighting with us."
"Oh. Fog it is then."
Giles saw Buffy nod, a grave look on her face.
"Willow, you researched closing the hellmouth, didn't you?" Giles asked.
Willow gave a small grin. "Don't worry Giles. Between Amy, Tara and myself, that hellmouth is as good as closed."
Buffy nodded and hugged her best friend quickly.
She turned back to Giles and Angel. "Let's go."
~*~
Giles clambered up the fire escape, turning to give his hand to the Slayer who accepted his help and swung deftly onto a metal platform.
"Are you certain this is going to work?" Giles asked.
Buffy shrugged. "It has to."
Giles nodded, fearing that he was going to lose her again. "But whatever happens…it'll work out in the end."
Giles nodded and brought his stake out from his pocket.
"This is it."
Buffy nodded and kicked in a window, jumping onto the ground and rolling swiftly. A single vamp had been guarding the room, his body turning to dust before he could even sound the alarm.
Giles jumped down from the platform into the room and stood behind his Slayer.
They cautiously made their way down the corridor, stakes and crosses at the ready.
Buffy stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down.
She held back a gasp as she saw her younger sister chained to the wall, her hands bound, tears on her cheeks.
Giles put his hand on her shoulder softly.
"We'll get her out of this."
Buffy nodded and without another word, they made their way down the stairs. Deliberately, Buffy jumped four stairs, landing at the bottom with a thump.
She grinned as all six vampires turned and made their way towards her. She had taken the entire group away from the sacrifices.
Giles saw the smile and understood that this was the way that Buffy had planned it, without ever really knowing for sure if it would work out that way.
Buffy stood in her defensive position, the first position she had ever been taught as a Slayer. Her fists at the ready, her legs ready for flight or fight, her stake poised to kill.
Giles could only think that they were lucky not to have been ambushed. These vampires may be working for the one person, but they were not working as a team.
Buffy easily dusted one without even trying. Several of the remaining five took unconscious steps backwards. Buffy could only grin as she launched herself into the group, Giles watching her back and taking out another vampire as he did.
He saw two doors open simultaneously, Angel in front of Willow, Spike in front of Tara, Anya and Amy.
The four vamps turned to look at the distraction, two vamps continuing the fight with the Slayer and Watcher, one going to stop Angel and Willow from entering further, and the other going to stop the sacrifices from being rescued.
Spike easily dusted the vampire that went to stop the rescue plan. Xander went to help the six people chained to the wall, his eyes falling first to where Dawn was chained.
"STOP!"
The room froze, unsure of where the command had come from. Buffy, however took the opportunity and dusted the two vampires that had been fighting herself and Giles.
Buffy looked up and saw a tall vampire in the centre of the room. He wasn't wearing his game face, and she could suddenly see why Xander would be threatened by Court taking Anya away from him.
Court walked towards Buffy who stood, glaring defiantly at the vampire who had taken over the city of vampires so easily.
"You are perhaps the Slayer that Christian was telling me about," he said, his voice was soft and clear, much like Angel's.
"You learn quickly," Buffy replied.
"Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name's Court, and…soon I shall be invincible. You may not want to piss me off honey."
Two doors flung open, and Buffy's vampire senses went into overload. She looked around the room and saw at least a dozen vampires enter through each of the doors.
Court turned to look at the group of vamps to his right. "Is the ritual complete?"
One of the vampires nodded and Court smiled sadistically. Buffy looked towards Giles, panicked. She hadn't counted on the ritual being completed already.
Court saw Buffy's frightened expression and took another step closer to her. "You don't honestly think that we would wait for so long to do the ritual, do you?"
Buffy went to answer, but instead, she was thrown to the ground, Court moving towards her so swiftly that neither Buffy nor Giles had a chance to move. Giles raced to her side, helping her to stand up again, but his effort was futile.
The ground began shaking underneath them and Court laughed maniacally.
"It's begun. You can't stop it Slayer. None of your little friends can stop it, and…as soon as I become invincible, all of you will pay dearly," he said.
Court turned away from Buffy and walked across the trembling ground to where Spike was holding Tara and Amy up, Xander and Anya clutching to each other for support.
"Spike, I knew from the first that you wouldn't have it in you. But, honestly, I thought that you might be stupid enough to think that we believed you were on our side. We just wanted you here so you could see your beloved Key taken away from you," Court said. "Plus, the added bonus of staking you."
Spike glared at him, and in a bold move, he pounced towards the larger vampire, fangs beared.
Six vamps ran forward to protect their leader, struggling to get Spike off Court, and then throwing him into the ground.
Before the vamps could begin a harsher attack on the blonde vampire, the trembling of the earth stopped. Court looked up towards the pentagram that had been drawn on the floor.
"Here he comes," Court whispered, almost reverently.
Buffy stood quickly and tried to race over to Court, a stake raised, but the group of vamps that had been about to pound on Spike turned towards her.
"No!" Court yelled, seeing the intent to kill the Slayer written clearly on their faces. "Not yet."
Court quickly shut his mouth as the floor encompassed within the pentagram gave way, creating a gaping hole. Buffy took a step back and could only watch helplessly as Yhidnamanna rose from the ground.
~*~
Spike looked up from his position on the floor and saw Buffy's look of dismay. The demon that was rising from the ground was big. Mayor big. Tentacles were waving wildly around the room, threatening to hit anyone who dared to come near the creature.
The room became deathly quiet as the rumbling of the ground stopped.
Vampires and humans alike stared at the creature in fear and fascination. Court was the only one in the room to move closer to the demon.
"Yhidnamanna, I summoned thee, my sacrifices are pure, my intents are not. It is my will that you should open the hellmouth, that all creatures will bow before me, that I will be invincible as the demon in human form," Court said.
The demon turned one of its two heads to look at Court, his game face finally showing.
"You wish to be a Korickana," the demon said. His voice was low, raspy, threatening. It seemed to echo throughout the room.
Court nodded and waited for an answer.
"And the sacrifices?" Yhidnamanna asked.
Court pointed to where Dawn and five others were being held, a group of vampires standing between the sacrifices and the Scooby Gang.
The demon looked them over, keeping two eyes on Court and looking at the frightened people chained to the wall.
"You have brought me the Key."
"Yes."
"Your sacrifices are pure, your intent is not. By the power of all that is below, I give you what you desire."
Court grinned and Buffy could only watch as his fangs and the ridges on his face faded away.
Buffy heard Giles swear, his whispered tones breaking her thoughts away from what Court had become.
Buffy cast a glance towards where her sister was chained to the wall. Dawn was looking at her desperately, hoping that Buffy could somehow rescue her. Buffy closed her eyes, trying to think clearly.
Giles put a hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her thoughts. He pointed towards something and saw a group of vampires gathering around Yhidnamanna. Each vampire seemed to be carrying an axe and what looked like the Initiative's taser blasters.
"I think Anya was right. She said that Court was probably going to try and break free from the control that Yhidnamanna has on him," Giles whispered.
Buffy looked at Giles, wondering if he had silently been suggesting what she had thought.
"So, we have to stop Court from killing Yhidnamanna, is that what you're saying?"
Giles nodded, wishing that there were some other way to do this. Going up against a group of vampires holding axes and blaster was not going to be easy at all.
Court looked up, his eyes glowing a bright red colour. "It is finished," he proclaimed loudly, his voice seemed to have become lower, more menacing than before.
Yhidnamanna nodded with both heads and turned to look at the sacrifices.
"Now, the rest can begin."
Yhidnammana looked back at Court only a moment before all hell broke loose.
~*~
Vampires were rushing towards the towering demon from all angles. Shots fired out and suddenly, a fog filled the room. Buffy looked towards where Willow stood, but she was looking as shocked as everyone else.
Court rushed towards the Slayer, his eyes flashing with violence. It took everything she had not to tumble to the ground as Court delivered a sharp kick to the side of her head.
She was having trouble seeing through the fog, and Court kept getting the better of her.
Her eyes were stinging and watering badly. She hesitated, but closed her eyes and honed in her hearing. Everything seemed to slow down, and without warning, everything that was the Slayer kicked into action.
Her punches were direct, hitting Court with an accuracy that Buffy hadn't had before. Her attacks, however, were in vain. She knew she couldn't kill this demon, but there had to be a way to weaken him.
"Buffy!"
She opened her eyes a little, trying to see what was happening, trying to work out who had called her name, but the fog was still thick around her.
Without warning, she felt her body fling backwards into the staircase, the stairs cracking under the force that had thrown her backwards. She tried to stand but felt the sole of huge black boots crushing her left hand. She winced in pain and looked up.
"That the best you got Slayer?" Court asked.
She winced as he twisted his foot and heard the bones in her hand break. She tried to strike out at him with her free hand, but before she could even move, he had kicked her upside the head with his other foot.
She looked desperately around the room, but she could only see the white fog.
"Spike!" she cried out loudly, hoping that his vampiric hearing would hear her cries above the noise of the fight.
"He won't save you honey," Court whispered to hear, his mouth so close to her ear that she could feel the breath he used only to speak.
She felt a stab of pain in her neck and realised that Court was sinking his fangs into her neck, beginning the painful process of draining her body. She tried to cry out, but no sound emerged, the pain from her neck and her hand about to send her body into a state of shock.
She suddenly felt nothing, the boot lifted from her hand, the demon removed from the stairs. She looked up vaguely, her head throbbing and saw someone standing in front of her protectively.
"Xander!" she cried, thankful that he had removed Court from her hand and neck, but wishing that he had kept away from the fray.
She moved to stand up before Court could regain his balance, but the vampire-turned-demon was standing in front of Xander, a challenge written across his face.
"You dare to challenge me over what is rightfully mine?" Court hissed.
Xander glared at him hatefully, knowing there was no way he was going to let Buffy be defeated by this demon. He would protect her or die trying.
Buffy saw Court's eyes flash a purple colour. She weakly pushed Xander aside and stood in front of Court, never for a moment thinking that if she died, then no one in this room would stand a chance.
"You're fight is with me," she said, ignoring the pain that shot through her hand with every movement, ignoring that the room seemed to be spinning.
Court grinned and gave a single nod before grabbing her around her waist, lifting her from her feet and throwing her into the banister, breaking the shabby wooden frame and falling onto the stairs.
Court jumped up to where Buffy had landed and promptly gave a swift kick to her stomach, punching her face quickly as her hands went to protect the lower half of her body.
Buffy could taste the blood in her mouth, could feel her split lip and realised that her right eye was becoming swollen from Court's attacks. She raised her injured hand instinctively to protect herself, but Court grabbed hold of it, squeezing the bones tightly and twisted the arm behind her back, effectively trapping her other hand under her fallen body.
Without even thinking, she moved a leg and managed to clip Court's leg, making him lose balance and let go of her hand. She quickly took it back, clutching it to her chest in pain.
"Broke your hand did I?" he asked, grinning maniacally as he quickly regained his footing and kicked her chest, taking hold of her arm again.
She glared defiantly at him, grasping at an unknown source of power, and pulled away from his grip. "Got another," she stated, pushing him violently down the stairs as she punched him with her good arm.
She jumped over the top of the fallen demon, pulling Xander with her as they raced through the battle zone towards where the sacrifices were being chained.
It seemed as though neither Yhidnamanna or Court was terribly worried over the sacrifices, and Amy and Tara were trying to magick the shackles off the six frightened teenagers.
Buffy looked up as she heard the demon Yhidnamanna give a loud shriek, sounding much like Richard Wilkins had when he had been torched with flame throwers at graduation.
Spike was beside Buffy in an instant, her Slayer senses noticing him before he touched her shoulder to get her attention.
"We have to stop them from killing that demon. If we don't…well…the hellmouth will open, and Court's gonna be extremely happy," Spike said.
"You mean the hellmouth isn't open?" Buffy asked.
Anya came to join the Slayer and the vampire. "He never was one to be patient. Yhidnamanna didn't have a chance to complete the ritual, and Court didn't realise it until it was too late."
"There are other ways of opening it though," Buffy said through clenched teeth. Her hand was throbbing and she wasn't sure how much longer she could stay in the fight with only one good arm and a considerable amount of blood loss.
Another shriek came from the demon, tentacles flailing through the air. It was defending itself by trying to trip the vampires who were shooting at it with bullets, and tearing at it with swords and crossbows.
"Let's just stick to saving this bloody demon for now, pet," Spike said.
Buffy nodded and pushed herself to ignore her hand and neck. She produced her faithful stake that Kendra had given to her before she had been killed by Drusilla.
"Let's do this," she said softly.
Spike nodded once and began running towards the battle.
Angel and Giles had been attacking vampires, trying to take their attentions away from the giant demon in front of them. The vampires only began defending themselves when they realised that the group was defending the demon in the middle.
Buffy easily dusted a vampire and found herself nose to tentacle of the giant demon. A vampire hit her in the back, and she stumbled forward, gaining the attention of one of Yhidnamanna's heads.
Buffy fought with the vampire, knocking the crossbow out of its hand. Behind her, Yhidnamanna raised a tentacle, intending to squash the Slayer, but as the Slayer dusted the offending vampire with her injured hand, she grabbed the fallen crossbow and stood defensively in front of the demon. Yhidnamanna hesitated and directed it's flying tentacle at another vampire.
The fog suddenly lifted altogether and everything became clear.
Spike and Angel were fighting back to back against three vampires, Spike taking on two and Angel taking the other. Tara, Amy and Willow had succeeded in a spell to take off the chains that were binding the intended sacrifices, and Xander was protecting the group from being attacked by vampires.
Court was standing arrogantly at the stairs, watching the battle. Christian stood beside him, leaning against the banister, a bored look on his vamped face.
Buffy raised her cross bow, as though she were about to shoot the vampire in front of her, but quickly staked the vampire through the heart as she pulled the trigger of the crossbow, pain coursing through her broken hand as she staked the vampire.
Christian looked up in surprise as he felt the bolt hit his chest directly in the heart.
Court looked down at his right hand man, frowned for a moment, and then shrugged as the young vampire turned to dust.
Buffy turned her attentions back to defending the demon, and saw that the vampires were beginning to diminish in numbers. It occurred to her suddenly that her Watcher was nowhere to be seen.
Panicked, she looked around her, thinking he may have gone to help Xander and the others get the sacrifices out, but he was not with them. Xander saw her panicked look and gave her a questioning look which she ignored, still looking around the room.
"Where's Giles?" she called above the noise.
Spike turned to look at her, dusting a vampire that had leapt to attack him.
"He was with you on the stairs last time I saw him," he replied.
She looked around again, trying desperately to see where her Watcher had gone.
She saw a movement on the stairs and watched as Court jumped from the fifth step onto the bottom landing.
"Missing someone?" he asked.
Buffy glared at him and poised the crossbow at his chest, hoping that the bolt would at least weaken the demon.
In her distraction, she had stopped fighting and all of a sudden she felt something pierce her stomach. She looked down and saw a bolt from a crossbow, Court holding up the bow which had caused her injury. She hadn't even seen him holding the weapon.
She struggled not to fall to her knees, clenching her teeth to ignore the pain. She stared at him, and aimed the cross bow again.
"Too bad you weren't watching your Watcher," he commented snidely. "You would have seen where Christian took him. Now…young Christian is gone, and…it looks like I'm you're only hope in finding him. Or finding him alive at any rate."
Buffy shot off the crossbow, hitting Court directly in the heart. Court gave a small grin and yanked it from his chest, snapping the arrow in half over his knee.
"Nice shot, Slayer. Too bad I'm invincible, cos…otherwise, that might have actually hurt, but…I guess from that lovely arrow of mine sticking out of your stomach, you'd know that. But, I think I'd like to finish what we started so long ago…that would be me killing you by the way."
He stepped forward, keeping an eye on the Slayer and on the demon that she was protecting. Yhidnamanna wasn't invincible like Court, and Buffy could tell that the large demon was struggling to stay alive.
Buffy saw out of the corner of her eye that Spike and Angel were facing the last three vampires that Court had requisitioned to help him open the hellmouth. She saw Spike dust one, and after that, the other two were easy for Spike and Angel to finish off.
The odds were considerably better now that it was the entire Scooby Gang, plus one giant pissed off demon, against an invincible Korickana.
"You forgot one thing," Buffy said.
"Oh…and what's that?" Court asked, smirking, knowing that there was no way the Slayer would walk out of the building alive.
"I can kill you," came a raspy voice from behind Buffy.
The Slayer breathed in relief as Court looked up at the giant demon.
Buffy felt her knees weaken and the room began to spin once more. Everything went black, and suddenly she collapsed in a heap on the floor.
"Buffy!"
The blonde vampire was at her side in an instant. Court momentarily forgot about the demon he had offended and grinned at the sight of the crumpled Slayer.
"You have betrayed me," Yhidnamanna continued, bringing Court's attention back to the issue at hand.
"No, sire…I wasn't to know," Court began.
"You thought you're minions could dispose of me, and you could reign over the hellmouth. For your treason, not only will you be executed, but the hellmouth will not be opened for you or anyone else," Yhidnamanna said.
Court took a step back, fearing what his creator could do to him.
"For your betrayal," Yhidnamanna started, holding up an injured tentacle in the air.
Spike watched as a single drop of the demons blood fell onto the newly made Korick. Court fell to the ground in pain, covering the skin that the blood dropped.
"The spilt blood of your creator burns deeply in you. So deeply, that you're body will burn and your flesh will melt. From dust you were made man. From man, you were made vampire. From hell, you were made demon. And from demon, you were destroyed and returned to the dust," the large demon chanted. "As from below, you were created, so from below, you will be shattered."
Spike watched as Court writhed in agony for a moment longer before he seemed to burn from the inside, finally becoming dust on the ground.
Spike breathed a sigh of relief and focused on the fallen Slayer. Angel raced over to him, kneeling by his ex-lovers side.
"She's unconscious," Spike said softly.
Angel nodded and stood up, going to leave Spike and Buffy alone again.
"No!" Spike said. "Take her with you, she needs a hospital. I have to find her Watcher."
Angel paused but nodded, bending down to pick the Slayer up in his arms.
"Just hurry," Angel cautioned. "This building looks like it's about to collapse."
Spike nodded and watched as Angel walked away, holding Spike's love in his arms. Spike swallowed hard and turned back, only to be faced with the realisation that the large demon hadn't returned to its realm.
"You knew that Court would betray me?" the demon asked.
Spike nodded. "Not much we could bloody do about it. Not without getting our throats ripped out."
"Then I must repay you for what you have done today," the demon said.
Spike shook his head, wanting to find Buffy's Watcher and get out of the collapsing building.
"No thanks needed. Just tell me where I can find the Watcher. British bloke, bout ye high," Spike said, indicating a little higher than himself.
"I saw a young vampire take him up the stairs. He'll probably be in one of the rooms," the demon said.
"Right. Ta mate," Spike said, going to move around the demon. A tentacle came down in front of Spike, blocking the stairs.
Spike looked at the demon, silently telling it that he was not in the mood for games. The tentacle lifted up and Spike went to walk under it. The tip of the demon's limb touched Spike's head softly, and Spike felt a sting of electricity flow through his body, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"What the hell was that for?" he cried, indignantly, trying to stand up.
Yhidnamanna gave a wry smile with both faces. "That was a thank you."
Spike suddenly realised what had happened to him. The chip. He had removed the chip.