New Horizons: Chapter Fifty-Eight
The Continuance
By Annie
2002-07-20
Dawn stared bewildered at the scene taking place where there had been nothing but a brick wall moments before, concluding that there must be some heavy magic in the air. She watched Spike run into the cemetery where he lived before, she watched him stop by the large headstone and then how he seemed to observe something with growing rage. Absolutely terrified she watched him change face from human to vamp.
Buffy's eyes were widening when she suddenly realized what had gotten him so angry, what had driven him too close to the edge to go back, the girl who looked like nothing less than Buffy's identical twin was leaning against a tree with a strange man leaning against HER.
"Spike, NO!" Buffy screamed when he suddenly burst out from his hiding place and ran towards the two people.
***
Spike watched with eyes tainted by his fury as Billy tore away from Buffy with a startled cry and Buffy stared at the approaching vamp as he met her gaze, her eyes quickly growing round with surprise. He stopped a few yards away from them, his chest heaving heavily and his gaze going from one to the other.
"What the bloody hell is this?" he asked, resting his eyes in Buffy's once more and she shook her head a little.
"I'm...sorry," she mumbled and he frowned slightly.
"You're WHAT?" he asked, voice hard.
"I'm sorry, okay?" she repeated, meeting his gaze. "I just needed to... feel something and you stopped giving me what I needed," she added harshly and he took a step back.
He stood absolutely still, all his senses on the edge and observed her for an eternal minute and then he said:
"You're not Buffy."
The girl looked at him for a moment before raising her eyebrows with eyes filling with mockery.
"Fine, you tell yourself that, sweetheart," she said sarcastically and now he smiled bitterly.
"Don't try my patience," he growled, moving in the blink of an eye to stand before her and she gasped as he pinned her to the trunk of the tree still behind her back. "Where is she?"
The girl glared at him before looking away, shaking her head.
"You're crazy," she stated. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, I'M Buffy," she added, looking into his eyes again.
Spike met her gaze for a long minute and then he let her go, taking a step back.
"Your eyes," he said, his game face retracting, "they're not the same as my lady's," he continued and the girl's eyebrows rose slightly again. "What? You don't think I've looked into her eyes enough times to know the color of them? They're green, and yours have brown specks in them, hers don't. Now you tell me what the bloody hell you've done with my girlfriend or I'll kill you and your little accomplice here, gladly," he added, gesturing towards a still shocked Billy.
Across town Torah stared at the scene taking place and then she shook her head.
"Dammit," she grumbled, moving one hand slightly and then sighing as she watched the girl playing the Slayer fall to the ground, Spike's eyes widening as he caught her before she hit the ground. "Not any use for her now," she added with a shrug.
Dawn stared at the fallen figure and then turned her head to the demon.
"What did you do to her?" she asked and Torah smiled a little.
"I took her life force away; but don't worry, she was already dead," she answered and Dawn's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, don't look so shocked my dear. I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm...evil," she added and Dawn's eyes grew hard.
"Who was she then?" she asked, her chest filling with pity for the poor woman.
Torah laughed coldly.
"You really wanna know, don't you? Well, I needed information a few days back and so I just...picked her brain a little, so to speak. Or to be honest, a LOT. All the little memories she had collected during her lifetime, all her little amount of experience...well, I just sucked it up...like your friend the vampire sucks human blood." She smiled a little. "Unfortunately when I do that I also kinda kill the one subject to it. Well, not 'unfortunately' this time since I actually needed a little doll to play the part of the Slayer," she then stated, shooting a glare towards Buffy. "Of course, NOW it turns out this brilliant plan didn't quite work out," she added and Buffy smiled a sweet smile before turning her eyes back on Spike, who was kneeling beside the slumped down body of the stranger.
Suddenly Buffy's features seemed to pull themselves off of the girl's face and her own emerged from beneath. Spike eyed the face closely and then he quickly checked for a pulse.
"No use, vampire," Torah murmured. "She's been dead for quite some time."
"You're a monster," Dawn whispered, her eyes filling up with tears as Torah turned her head towards the teen.
"Thank you, darling," she said, nodding. "That is a powerful label."
Dawn shook her head and looked away in disgust.
"So..." Buffy mumbled. "You were going to get Spike to think that I was cheating on him and...then what?"
"I was going to get him to forget all about this 'love' crap that he seems so hung up on," Torah answered, suddenly sounding tired. "It's just taking a lot more effort than I thought it ever could and NOW I don't know what the hell to do!" she exclaimed. "Now that I have you here..." she grumbled, shaking her head to herself and turning towards Karatka. "Any suggestions, my king?" she asked and he smiled a little.
"Only torture and death for all of them," he answered and she sighed once more.
"Well, that's your tune, isn't it?" she asked and he smiled wider. "I guess..." she then continued, looking from Buffy to Dawn. "I guess it is time," she then said wearly. "Game over."
***
"Okay, hold on a minute!" Xander exclaimed as Willow, Giles and Tara kept running around gathering up weapons and looking through books and bringing out maps and talking all at the same time.
"We don't have a minute," Willow answered as she swept by him, throwing down yet another heavy book on the living room table, Anya slightly insecure what to look for opening it and starting to look through it nonetheless.
"But, Wills," Xander started, Willow shaking her head and meeting Tara in the opening from the hall into the living room.
"Are those all you have?" she asked as Tara put three candles down on the desk to her right, nodding regretfully.
"I haven't done a lot of magic lately either," she mumbled and Willow smiled briefly.
"We need more to do a location spell, and we need to get something of Buffy's," she then said and Tara turned around to run upstairs to Buffy's room.
"Okay," Xander said to whoever might listen, "I get that Harot is Torah backwards, which makes her a demon and probably she's been planning this whole thing from day one, another long and painful way for us to die, that is. What I don't get is why you're running around like chicken who've lost their heads!" he yelled as Giles entered from the kitchen.
"There is something very serious going on here, Xander," he said calmly and Xander looked up at him gratefully, needing an explanation. "We do not only have the demons who have travelled here from the time of the Birth of Fire, we also have Torah AND this Karatka to worry about, and lest you have forgotten we also have a trio out there somewhere. That makes THREE enemies at once and now Buffy, as well as Dawn, is missing..."
"Buffy?!" Xander asked. "What, she just left to...go check up on a lead that Torah gave her. Right. So, you're assuming it's foul play?"
"Don't you?"
Xander was silent for a moment before nodding.
"Good point," he said, turning around and walking up to Anya to sit down beside her, grabbing one of the books.
"Really good point," Spike said, slamming the front door closed behind him as he entered the living room. "Buffy wasn't Buffy."
Three pairs of eyebrows were rasied at that and he shook his head.
"I caught up with her and she was with this other guy..."
"Buffy's having an affair?" Anya asked, looking slightly taken. "I never would have thought."
"No, she's NOT having an affair," Spike said. "It..."
"Well, I mean, I wouldn't BLAME her, your relationship must be terribly straining on her. She's the Slayer, you're a vampire...enemy relationships are pretty hard to have work out," Anya interrupted, tone of voice sober and Spike stared at her for a moment before shaking his head again.
"It wasn't HER," he then said and Anya's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Oh, I'm sure she felt like someone else when she did it, I mean, I'm sure most of her still really loves you," she conceded and Spike clenched his jaws together, drawing a breath.
"No, it was someone else, entirely. Another woman posing as Buffy, understand?" he asked and Anya nodded, looking at him comfortingly.
"Of course, Spike," she said with a look at Xander, before turning back to Spike.
Xander smiled a little, turning to the vampire as well who looked as though he was giving up, but then Giles said:
"If you're sure..."
"Of course I'm bloody well sure."
"...then we might have even less time than we originally thought. We must hurry with the location spell. Willow!" Giles yelled for the Wicca who quickly entered from the dining room. "We need to do the spell now," he said and she looked from him to Spike and then she nodded just as Tara came down the stairs with Buffy's brush in one hand.
Spike looked at it and then he turned away, shaking his head to himself and closing his eyes.
"Dammit," he grumbled. "Where are you, love?" he added, looking up and through the frame of the smashed window, a small breeze moving the curtains and sending scents of the summer night to fill his nostrils. "Hold on," he added silently.
***
"And then what?" Andrew asked nervously. "I mean what do we do with the...body?"
Warren shrugged slightly.
"We'll just throw it in the woods or bury it in one of the cemeteries or whatever...no one will miss him, right?" he answered and Andrew raised his eyebrows slightly. "Hey, you're not chickening out on me here, are you?" Warren asked and Andrew immediately shook his head.
"No, not at all. I think we...stick to the plan and just get...rid of him," he answered, trying to sound very sure of his stand point, but his voice was slightly trembling at the thought of actually killing Jonathan.
Just then the door to the small basement opened and the person in question stepped inside with a small plastic bag tucked under one arm and an unappreciative expression on his face. He closed the door and walked down the few steps to come and stand before the table where the other two were seated.
"What have you guys been up to then?" he asked as he put the plastic bag down.
"Not much," Warren answered quickly. "You know, just talking about stuff and...you know, stuff like that."
Jonathan nodded.
"Sure," he said, still nodding. "Of course."
Warren smiled a little, glancing at Andrew who was looking around the room, anywhere but at Jonathan.
Moron, Warren thought to himself. That nit is gonna get him suspicious!
"So, I got the merchandise," Jonathan said, walking around the table to sit on the only vacant chair before pulling the plastic bag towards him.
"You didn't!" Warren said disbelievingly and then his eyes widened slightly as Jonathan put his hand in the bag before pulling out a comic book that, by the looks of it, was quite old.
"I did," he said. "A first addition-signed by the creator-enhanced and absolutely priceless copy of The Phantom!" he then squeaked and Andrew and Warren both got off their chairs, all plans on dropping something heavy on Jonathan's head forgotten in the grandeur of the artifact now before their very eyes.
"As long as I live and breathe," Andrew mumbled, swallowing; his eyes growing huge.
"Isn't it..." Jonathan began.
"...beautiful?" the by now well known voice of their 'favorite' demoness finished for him and they all jerked their heads up, hearts in throats and she smiled. "Oh, boys, don't tell me you're still not quite used to these little visits of mine?" she asked before laughing. "It just breaks my poor little heart," she added, resting a hand on the place of the body part.
"Wasn't sure she had one," Andrew murmured to Jonathan who shushed him impatiently, inwardly agreeing.
Torah merely smiled wider as she made a small gesture with her head.
"Come with me," she said, turning around and walking up the steps of the stairs again. "There's something I really want you to see."
The Trio looked after her as she was swallowed by the night outside the door and then they turned to each other, not at all sure what the heck was the smart thing to do. Finally they slowly followed, deciding Torah would probably show exactly how little she appreciated being disobeyd, no matter how much they had to do with her being out of her prison.
The door to the place where she brought them wasn't at all far from their lair, something that almost terrified them once they were brought through it and their eyes met those of the Slayer and her sister.
Buffy stared at the three young men who now stood before her. She had to look up at them because she and Dawn were now both seated on a chair each, but under her gaze the Trio seemed to shrink slightly.
"You," she said in a low voice, shaking her head at them. "I should have figured," she added and Torah smirked a little as she walked up to stand beside Warren.
"It's time," Torah said and the Trio turned their heads to her, Warren to her left and Jonathan and Andrew to his right.
"For what?" Warren asked.
"For her to die," Torah answered simply. "I thought that since it is YOUR wish you might like to attend," she added, the Trio now starring at her dumb-founded.
Dawn felt her throat tie up as she turned her head to look at her sister, Buffy was keeping her eyes fixed on Warren however, who now was looking back at her with a diabolic smile spreading on his lips.
"Oh, yes, please," he said and Torah nodded.
Jonathan frowned slightly, looking at the Slayer and then at Dawn before turning to Warren.
"Maybe this should be enough, I mean maybe she's scared enough as it is," he said and Warren turned his eyes on him, shaking his head a little.
"She's not scared, look at her," he then said, turning to Buffy again. "She's enjoying this."
"The only thing I'll 'enjoy', Warren, is seeing you behind bars - for the rest of your life," she said coldly and Warren threw his head back and laughed loudly at her.
He finally calmed down enough to dry his tears and then he said:
"Then I guess you'll die not very amused, because there are no bars in here, is there?" he asked and she raised her eyebrows slightly, a smile growing on her face that was so self-assured it actually made him take a small step back, his own smile fading considerably.
"Warren," Jonathan said again and Warren turned to him with an annoyed glare.
"If you don't want to see our only mortal enemy die a horrible death just leave," he offered, pointing to the door. "I'll deal with you later."
Jonathan stared at him and then he turned and walked up to the door.
"I'll be in the lair," he said silently before stepping outside.
"Yeah, you be there then, you frigging loser," Warren grumbled, shaking his head a little.
Torah looked at him and then she tilted her head to one side.
"Who should we start with?" she asked and Warren smiled again.
"Her," he said, now pointing at Buffy and Dawn's eyes were filling with the expression of the rising panic she was experiencing.
"No," she whispered, her throat now very dry as one of the minions walked over to the low table she had observed earlier, picking up one of the knives and holding it up to the light of the bulb in the ceiling.
Buffy observed him as well and all she could think was that he could cut her anywhere he wanted, as long as he didn't cut her stomach. Anywhere, it didn't matter, as long as he kept away from her baby.
***
"It's not working," Tara sighed, sitting back a little, her legs folded under her as she was sitting on her knees in front of a small gathering of candles, a map of Sunnydale and with Buffy's brush in one hand.
"Why not?!" Spike growled and Willow placed a hand on his arm, he met her gaze and reluctantly grabbed a hold of himself.
He needed to explode, they had been doing this for far too long now and time was just running out for them.
"I-I don't know..." Tara mumbled, barely meeting his gaze and the look in his eyes softened slightly before he shook his head a little.
"It's okay," he said. "It's not your fault..." he added, recieving a rather surprised glance from Giles which made the vamp straighten his back slightly and turn away from the whole scene to look out through the window.
"I don't think she's out there..." Xander said silently as he came to stand beside him.
Spike closed his eyes, not really sure if he wanted to hit the human hard or simply ignore him.
"Thanks for sharing," he finally grumbled and Xander seemed to hesitate a moment before saying:
"What I meant was that you've spent a lot of time just staring out this window, like she's gonna come walking down the road any minute and you're scared you'll miss your chance to wave at her or something... I'm only saying that she won't do THAT, but that all of us in this room will die before she does. Okay?" he now finished gently but decisively, carefully placing one hand on Spike's shoulder and the vamp turned his face towards the human who met them with nothing but pure honesty.
"I know that," Spike said, voice coarse. "Thank you," he added as Xander removed his hand and the latter nodded.
"Anytime," he stated and Spike smiled a little. "Hoping not too many of THESE times will occur, of course," Xander added at that and Spike couldn't help but smirk, Xander smiling slightly back and then there was a knock on the front door.
"What the..." Spike murmured and walked past Xander, reaching out and grabbing the knob he opened it, jaw almost dropping when he saw who it was.
Then he grabbed the person and dragged him through the opening.
"You little weasel! You're bloody well gonna tell me everything you know or I'll..."
"T-That's why I'm here!" Jonathan exclaimed, trying to protect himself with his arms over his face. "Please, don't hit me! That's why I'm here!"
***
Buffy watched as the demon checked the sharpness of the blade before turning to her with a smile.
"This will hurt, pretty lady," he said, voice smooth as silk and she smiled a little back.
"A proffesional could make it not," she remarked and the demon smiled wider, nodding.
"If that's their trade," he retorted. "My trade is to bleed people slowly to death making them scream every last second of it."
She raised her eyebrows slightly at that.
"Guess you're gonna be disappointed then," she said calmly as he approached her, the knife gleaming in one hand.
"Really?" he asked, stopping before her and she nodded.
"I don't scream," she elaborated.
His smile widened even more at that.
"Please," Dawn whispered, her tears had spilled over a while back and now her eyes were glistening with fresh ones. "Please, leave her alone."
"Dawn," Buffy said comfortingly. "Slayer rule one: never, under ANY circumstances, beg."
Dawn looked away, shaking her head a little.
Buffy turned back to the demon who held her gaze for a moment before reaching back and grabbing her hair, pulling her head back a little he pressed the blade of the knife to the side of her neck and as it sunk into her skin millimeter by millimeter, travelling down, she closed her eyes and thought of Spike, of how his arms felt when he held her, of how his mouth felt when he kissed her.
The warmth of her blood slowly trickling down her back inside her top, the growing pain from the blade in her flesh, those were just facts unimportant in the scheme of things.
She saw Spike watching her, gentle smile on his lips; felt his hand in hers, comforting; he was there, he was always there...even now.
"I love you," she whispered, drawing a small breath. "She couldn't break...us," she added, a small smile curling her mouth as she opened her eyes and met Torah's. "You didn't win," she said slowly and Torah stared at her, eyes growing, before she walked over to the table with instruments, grabbing one of the smaller knives and then proceeding to walk over to Buffy she leaned down until her nose was almost touching the Slayer's as she said:
"Oh, I think so," before pulling her hand back. Buffy felt the tip of the knife cut through the skin of her left side and bury itself deep in her flesh long before she felt any sort of pain, any pain at all just came like a flash seconds later, and yet she didn't scream.
And the only thought coursing through her head was:
Spike, our baby...oh, God, I'm loosing her...I'm loosing our baby, Spike. Spike, our baby...
The Continuance
By Annie
2002-07-20
Dawn stared bewildered at the scene taking place where there had been nothing but a brick wall moments before, concluding that there must be some heavy magic in the air. She watched Spike run into the cemetery where he lived before, she watched him stop by the large headstone and then how he seemed to observe something with growing rage. Absolutely terrified she watched him change face from human to vamp.
Buffy's eyes were widening when she suddenly realized what had gotten him so angry, what had driven him too close to the edge to go back, the girl who looked like nothing less than Buffy's identical twin was leaning against a tree with a strange man leaning against HER.
"Spike, NO!" Buffy screamed when he suddenly burst out from his hiding place and ran towards the two people.
***
Spike watched with eyes tainted by his fury as Billy tore away from Buffy with a startled cry and Buffy stared at the approaching vamp as he met her gaze, her eyes quickly growing round with surprise. He stopped a few yards away from them, his chest heaving heavily and his gaze going from one to the other.
"What the bloody hell is this?" he asked, resting his eyes in Buffy's once more and she shook her head a little.
"I'm...sorry," she mumbled and he frowned slightly.
"You're WHAT?" he asked, voice hard.
"I'm sorry, okay?" she repeated, meeting his gaze. "I just needed to... feel something and you stopped giving me what I needed," she added harshly and he took a step back.
He stood absolutely still, all his senses on the edge and observed her for an eternal minute and then he said:
"You're not Buffy."
The girl looked at him for a moment before raising her eyebrows with eyes filling with mockery.
"Fine, you tell yourself that, sweetheart," she said sarcastically and now he smiled bitterly.
"Don't try my patience," he growled, moving in the blink of an eye to stand before her and she gasped as he pinned her to the trunk of the tree still behind her back. "Where is she?"
The girl glared at him before looking away, shaking her head.
"You're crazy," she stated. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, I'M Buffy," she added, looking into his eyes again.
Spike met her gaze for a long minute and then he let her go, taking a step back.
"Your eyes," he said, his game face retracting, "they're not the same as my lady's," he continued and the girl's eyebrows rose slightly again. "What? You don't think I've looked into her eyes enough times to know the color of them? They're green, and yours have brown specks in them, hers don't. Now you tell me what the bloody hell you've done with my girlfriend or I'll kill you and your little accomplice here, gladly," he added, gesturing towards a still shocked Billy.
Across town Torah stared at the scene taking place and then she shook her head.
"Dammit," she grumbled, moving one hand slightly and then sighing as she watched the girl playing the Slayer fall to the ground, Spike's eyes widening as he caught her before she hit the ground. "Not any use for her now," she added with a shrug.
Dawn stared at the fallen figure and then turned her head to the demon.
"What did you do to her?" she asked and Torah smiled a little.
"I took her life force away; but don't worry, she was already dead," she answered and Dawn's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, don't look so shocked my dear. I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm...evil," she added and Dawn's eyes grew hard.
"Who was she then?" she asked, her chest filling with pity for the poor woman.
Torah laughed coldly.
"You really wanna know, don't you? Well, I needed information a few days back and so I just...picked her brain a little, so to speak. Or to be honest, a LOT. All the little memories she had collected during her lifetime, all her little amount of experience...well, I just sucked it up...like your friend the vampire sucks human blood." She smiled a little. "Unfortunately when I do that I also kinda kill the one subject to it. Well, not 'unfortunately' this time since I actually needed a little doll to play the part of the Slayer," she then stated, shooting a glare towards Buffy. "Of course, NOW it turns out this brilliant plan didn't quite work out," she added and Buffy smiled a sweet smile before turning her eyes back on Spike, who was kneeling beside the slumped down body of the stranger.
Suddenly Buffy's features seemed to pull themselves off of the girl's face and her own emerged from beneath. Spike eyed the face closely and then he quickly checked for a pulse.
"No use, vampire," Torah murmured. "She's been dead for quite some time."
"You're a monster," Dawn whispered, her eyes filling up with tears as Torah turned her head towards the teen.
"Thank you, darling," she said, nodding. "That is a powerful label."
Dawn shook her head and looked away in disgust.
"So..." Buffy mumbled. "You were going to get Spike to think that I was cheating on him and...then what?"
"I was going to get him to forget all about this 'love' crap that he seems so hung up on," Torah answered, suddenly sounding tired. "It's just taking a lot more effort than I thought it ever could and NOW I don't know what the hell to do!" she exclaimed. "Now that I have you here..." she grumbled, shaking her head to herself and turning towards Karatka. "Any suggestions, my king?" she asked and he smiled a little.
"Only torture and death for all of them," he answered and she sighed once more.
"Well, that's your tune, isn't it?" she asked and he smiled wider. "I guess..." she then continued, looking from Buffy to Dawn. "I guess it is time," she then said wearly. "Game over."
***
"Okay, hold on a minute!" Xander exclaimed as Willow, Giles and Tara kept running around gathering up weapons and looking through books and bringing out maps and talking all at the same time.
"We don't have a minute," Willow answered as she swept by him, throwing down yet another heavy book on the living room table, Anya slightly insecure what to look for opening it and starting to look through it nonetheless.
"But, Wills," Xander started, Willow shaking her head and meeting Tara in the opening from the hall into the living room.
"Are those all you have?" she asked as Tara put three candles down on the desk to her right, nodding regretfully.
"I haven't done a lot of magic lately either," she mumbled and Willow smiled briefly.
"We need more to do a location spell, and we need to get something of Buffy's," she then said and Tara turned around to run upstairs to Buffy's room.
"Okay," Xander said to whoever might listen, "I get that Harot is Torah backwards, which makes her a demon and probably she's been planning this whole thing from day one, another long and painful way for us to die, that is. What I don't get is why you're running around like chicken who've lost their heads!" he yelled as Giles entered from the kitchen.
"There is something very serious going on here, Xander," he said calmly and Xander looked up at him gratefully, needing an explanation. "We do not only have the demons who have travelled here from the time of the Birth of Fire, we also have Torah AND this Karatka to worry about, and lest you have forgotten we also have a trio out there somewhere. That makes THREE enemies at once and now Buffy, as well as Dawn, is missing..."
"Buffy?!" Xander asked. "What, she just left to...go check up on a lead that Torah gave her. Right. So, you're assuming it's foul play?"
"Don't you?"
Xander was silent for a moment before nodding.
"Good point," he said, turning around and walking up to Anya to sit down beside her, grabbing one of the books.
"Really good point," Spike said, slamming the front door closed behind him as he entered the living room. "Buffy wasn't Buffy."
Three pairs of eyebrows were rasied at that and he shook his head.
"I caught up with her and she was with this other guy..."
"Buffy's having an affair?" Anya asked, looking slightly taken. "I never would have thought."
"No, she's NOT having an affair," Spike said. "It..."
"Well, I mean, I wouldn't BLAME her, your relationship must be terribly straining on her. She's the Slayer, you're a vampire...enemy relationships are pretty hard to have work out," Anya interrupted, tone of voice sober and Spike stared at her for a moment before shaking his head again.
"It wasn't HER," he then said and Anya's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Oh, I'm sure she felt like someone else when she did it, I mean, I'm sure most of her still really loves you," she conceded and Spike clenched his jaws together, drawing a breath.
"No, it was someone else, entirely. Another woman posing as Buffy, understand?" he asked and Anya nodded, looking at him comfortingly.
"Of course, Spike," she said with a look at Xander, before turning back to Spike.
Xander smiled a little, turning to the vampire as well who looked as though he was giving up, but then Giles said:
"If you're sure..."
"Of course I'm bloody well sure."
"...then we might have even less time than we originally thought. We must hurry with the location spell. Willow!" Giles yelled for the Wicca who quickly entered from the dining room. "We need to do the spell now," he said and she looked from him to Spike and then she nodded just as Tara came down the stairs with Buffy's brush in one hand.
Spike looked at it and then he turned away, shaking his head to himself and closing his eyes.
"Dammit," he grumbled. "Where are you, love?" he added, looking up and through the frame of the smashed window, a small breeze moving the curtains and sending scents of the summer night to fill his nostrils. "Hold on," he added silently.
***
"And then what?" Andrew asked nervously. "I mean what do we do with the...body?"
Warren shrugged slightly.
"We'll just throw it in the woods or bury it in one of the cemeteries or whatever...no one will miss him, right?" he answered and Andrew raised his eyebrows slightly. "Hey, you're not chickening out on me here, are you?" Warren asked and Andrew immediately shook his head.
"No, not at all. I think we...stick to the plan and just get...rid of him," he answered, trying to sound very sure of his stand point, but his voice was slightly trembling at the thought of actually killing Jonathan.
Just then the door to the small basement opened and the person in question stepped inside with a small plastic bag tucked under one arm and an unappreciative expression on his face. He closed the door and walked down the few steps to come and stand before the table where the other two were seated.
"What have you guys been up to then?" he asked as he put the plastic bag down.
"Not much," Warren answered quickly. "You know, just talking about stuff and...you know, stuff like that."
Jonathan nodded.
"Sure," he said, still nodding. "Of course."
Warren smiled a little, glancing at Andrew who was looking around the room, anywhere but at Jonathan.
Moron, Warren thought to himself. That nit is gonna get him suspicious!
"So, I got the merchandise," Jonathan said, walking around the table to sit on the only vacant chair before pulling the plastic bag towards him.
"You didn't!" Warren said disbelievingly and then his eyes widened slightly as Jonathan put his hand in the bag before pulling out a comic book that, by the looks of it, was quite old.
"I did," he said. "A first addition-signed by the creator-enhanced and absolutely priceless copy of The Phantom!" he then squeaked and Andrew and Warren both got off their chairs, all plans on dropping something heavy on Jonathan's head forgotten in the grandeur of the artifact now before their very eyes.
"As long as I live and breathe," Andrew mumbled, swallowing; his eyes growing huge.
"Isn't it..." Jonathan began.
"...beautiful?" the by now well known voice of their 'favorite' demoness finished for him and they all jerked their heads up, hearts in throats and she smiled. "Oh, boys, don't tell me you're still not quite used to these little visits of mine?" she asked before laughing. "It just breaks my poor little heart," she added, resting a hand on the place of the body part.
"Wasn't sure she had one," Andrew murmured to Jonathan who shushed him impatiently, inwardly agreeing.
Torah merely smiled wider as she made a small gesture with her head.
"Come with me," she said, turning around and walking up the steps of the stairs again. "There's something I really want you to see."
The Trio looked after her as she was swallowed by the night outside the door and then they turned to each other, not at all sure what the heck was the smart thing to do. Finally they slowly followed, deciding Torah would probably show exactly how little she appreciated being disobeyd, no matter how much they had to do with her being out of her prison.
The door to the place where she brought them wasn't at all far from their lair, something that almost terrified them once they were brought through it and their eyes met those of the Slayer and her sister.
Buffy stared at the three young men who now stood before her. She had to look up at them because she and Dawn were now both seated on a chair each, but under her gaze the Trio seemed to shrink slightly.
"You," she said in a low voice, shaking her head at them. "I should have figured," she added and Torah smirked a little as she walked up to stand beside Warren.
"It's time," Torah said and the Trio turned their heads to her, Warren to her left and Jonathan and Andrew to his right.
"For what?" Warren asked.
"For her to die," Torah answered simply. "I thought that since it is YOUR wish you might like to attend," she added, the Trio now starring at her dumb-founded.
Dawn felt her throat tie up as she turned her head to look at her sister, Buffy was keeping her eyes fixed on Warren however, who now was looking back at her with a diabolic smile spreading on his lips.
"Oh, yes, please," he said and Torah nodded.
Jonathan frowned slightly, looking at the Slayer and then at Dawn before turning to Warren.
"Maybe this should be enough, I mean maybe she's scared enough as it is," he said and Warren turned his eyes on him, shaking his head a little.
"She's not scared, look at her," he then said, turning to Buffy again. "She's enjoying this."
"The only thing I'll 'enjoy', Warren, is seeing you behind bars - for the rest of your life," she said coldly and Warren threw his head back and laughed loudly at her.
He finally calmed down enough to dry his tears and then he said:
"Then I guess you'll die not very amused, because there are no bars in here, is there?" he asked and she raised her eyebrows slightly, a smile growing on her face that was so self-assured it actually made him take a small step back, his own smile fading considerably.
"Warren," Jonathan said again and Warren turned to him with an annoyed glare.
"If you don't want to see our only mortal enemy die a horrible death just leave," he offered, pointing to the door. "I'll deal with you later."
Jonathan stared at him and then he turned and walked up to the door.
"I'll be in the lair," he said silently before stepping outside.
"Yeah, you be there then, you frigging loser," Warren grumbled, shaking his head a little.
Torah looked at him and then she tilted her head to one side.
"Who should we start with?" she asked and Warren smiled again.
"Her," he said, now pointing at Buffy and Dawn's eyes were filling with the expression of the rising panic she was experiencing.
"No," she whispered, her throat now very dry as one of the minions walked over to the low table she had observed earlier, picking up one of the knives and holding it up to the light of the bulb in the ceiling.
Buffy observed him as well and all she could think was that he could cut her anywhere he wanted, as long as he didn't cut her stomach. Anywhere, it didn't matter, as long as he kept away from her baby.
***
"It's not working," Tara sighed, sitting back a little, her legs folded under her as she was sitting on her knees in front of a small gathering of candles, a map of Sunnydale and with Buffy's brush in one hand.
"Why not?!" Spike growled and Willow placed a hand on his arm, he met her gaze and reluctantly grabbed a hold of himself.
He needed to explode, they had been doing this for far too long now and time was just running out for them.
"I-I don't know..." Tara mumbled, barely meeting his gaze and the look in his eyes softened slightly before he shook his head a little.
"It's okay," he said. "It's not your fault..." he added, recieving a rather surprised glance from Giles which made the vamp straighten his back slightly and turn away from the whole scene to look out through the window.
"I don't think she's out there..." Xander said silently as he came to stand beside him.
Spike closed his eyes, not really sure if he wanted to hit the human hard or simply ignore him.
"Thanks for sharing," he finally grumbled and Xander seemed to hesitate a moment before saying:
"What I meant was that you've spent a lot of time just staring out this window, like she's gonna come walking down the road any minute and you're scared you'll miss your chance to wave at her or something... I'm only saying that she won't do THAT, but that all of us in this room will die before she does. Okay?" he now finished gently but decisively, carefully placing one hand on Spike's shoulder and the vamp turned his face towards the human who met them with nothing but pure honesty.
"I know that," Spike said, voice coarse. "Thank you," he added as Xander removed his hand and the latter nodded.
"Anytime," he stated and Spike smiled a little. "Hoping not too many of THESE times will occur, of course," Xander added at that and Spike couldn't help but smirk, Xander smiling slightly back and then there was a knock on the front door.
"What the..." Spike murmured and walked past Xander, reaching out and grabbing the knob he opened it, jaw almost dropping when he saw who it was.
Then he grabbed the person and dragged him through the opening.
"You little weasel! You're bloody well gonna tell me everything you know or I'll..."
"T-That's why I'm here!" Jonathan exclaimed, trying to protect himself with his arms over his face. "Please, don't hit me! That's why I'm here!"
***
Buffy watched as the demon checked the sharpness of the blade before turning to her with a smile.
"This will hurt, pretty lady," he said, voice smooth as silk and she smiled a little back.
"A proffesional could make it not," she remarked and the demon smiled wider, nodding.
"If that's their trade," he retorted. "My trade is to bleed people slowly to death making them scream every last second of it."
She raised her eyebrows slightly at that.
"Guess you're gonna be disappointed then," she said calmly as he approached her, the knife gleaming in one hand.
"Really?" he asked, stopping before her and she nodded.
"I don't scream," she elaborated.
His smile widened even more at that.
"Please," Dawn whispered, her tears had spilled over a while back and now her eyes were glistening with fresh ones. "Please, leave her alone."
"Dawn," Buffy said comfortingly. "Slayer rule one: never, under ANY circumstances, beg."
Dawn looked away, shaking her head a little.
Buffy turned back to the demon who held her gaze for a moment before reaching back and grabbing her hair, pulling her head back a little he pressed the blade of the knife to the side of her neck and as it sunk into her skin millimeter by millimeter, travelling down, she closed her eyes and thought of Spike, of how his arms felt when he held her, of how his mouth felt when he kissed her.
The warmth of her blood slowly trickling down her back inside her top, the growing pain from the blade in her flesh, those were just facts unimportant in the scheme of things.
She saw Spike watching her, gentle smile on his lips; felt his hand in hers, comforting; he was there, he was always there...even now.
"I love you," she whispered, drawing a small breath. "She couldn't break...us," she added, a small smile curling her mouth as she opened her eyes and met Torah's. "You didn't win," she said slowly and Torah stared at her, eyes growing, before she walked over to the table with instruments, grabbing one of the smaller knives and then proceeding to walk over to Buffy she leaned down until her nose was almost touching the Slayer's as she said:
"Oh, I think so," before pulling her hand back. Buffy felt the tip of the knife cut through the skin of her left side and bury itself deep in her flesh long before she felt any sort of pain, any pain at all just came like a flash seconds later, and yet she didn't scream.
And the only thought coursing through her head was:
Spike, our baby...oh, God, I'm loosing her...I'm loosing our baby, Spike. Spike, our baby...