Resolution-
After Buffy had announced yet another apocalypse (what is this, like the 8th one??) the gang had explained everything to Spike, who was pretty confused, and split up and started researching how they could stop it. They didn't have much to go on, all they knew was that Lucidus, some uber - demon of the underworld wanted to open a portal that would bleed the worlds together, thereby ensuring his control over the human realm. Not a hard thing to do when said uber - demon has the power of mind control. Willow was on the computer searching several demony, apocalypticy data bases, Dawn and Giles were translating some huge book written in ancient Sumerian that Giles had sent from England, and Xander was reading another ancient book that had probably been published in 1254 BC. Buffy, on the other hand, was making an emergency trip to the butchers to get some pigs blood for Spike. He was starving, and looking kind of thin and pale.
Spike was in the kitchen rummaging through the fridge to try and find something more solid than his usual red liquid diet, he may be a vampire, but he still enjoyed real food. He wondered if they had any Weetabix, it might come in handy when Buffy got back with his blood. He had pulled out some cold chicken wings to put in the microwave when a familiar voice was heard coming in through the back door in the kitchen.
"Hey guys, I'm here! Ready to do research, and be grateful, cuz I'm missing TNG and it's the episode where the enterprise keeps blowing up and no one can figure out how to stop it until Data starts noticing all the signs, like the 3's that keep popping up and..." Andrew stopped speaking when he saw Spike standing in the kitchen.
"Andrew." Spike said.
"Help!!!" Andrew yelled. "Help! The First is back!! Get away from me spawn of Satan!" He said inching away up against the wall as if he would be more discrete that way.
"Andrew, I'm not the First. Stop yelling." Spike said calmly.
"Don't lie to me Spike slash the First! I wont fall for your tricks! We kicked your ass once and we can do it again. Do not try to mess with the forces of Good, for we can not be beaten!" Andrew said trying to sound as brave as he could. It wasn't working.
"What's going on in here!?" Dawn said entering the kitchen.
"Dawnie, I know you can't see him but the First is here in the form of Spike."
"Of course I see him Andrew. That *is* Spike. He's back." Dawn said, trying to be sympathetic but sounding more annoyed than anything.
"Oh." Andrew said, relaxing his muscles. "You're back eh?" he said to Spike trying to sound cool.
"Yeah." Spike answered, "I'm back." He said running his hands through his blonde hair.
"Oh well that's cool, good to have you back buddy, ya know, always good to have another fighter in the battle against evil and... I've missed you so much!!" he said as he threw his arms around Spike in an awkward hug.
"Bloody hell" Spike said looking up. "Andrew....ANDREW! Get off me!" He said pushing Andrew off him.
"Sorry." Andrew said backing away. "Got caught up in the moment...I think I'm just gonna get in there and start with the research. The battle against evil never ends. They're probably expecting me. Yeah..." He said as he walked into the living room to join the others leaving Dawn and Spike alone.
"Guess he's happy to see you." Dawn said.
"Yeah. Guess so." Spike replied. There was an awkward silence before Dawn threw her arms around Spike and hugged him. "I'm happy to see as well." She said.
"Me to Nibblit." He said letting her hug him. After a while she let go and looked at him. "Don't leave us again." She said.
"I won't Bit."
* * *
Buffy opened the front door after coming home from the butchers. "Hey guys, I'm back." she said, as she walked into the living room where everyone was sitting reading some kind of book or surfing the net, or just playing thumb war as Xander and Andrew were.
"Hey Buffy." They all mumbled, boredom obvious in their greeting.
"Guess demon research isn't exactly riveting is it?" She said as she handed the blood to Spike. He took it into the kitchen to drink it. Ever since he got his soul back he wasn't big on letting people see him feed. Especially Buffy.
"Well we know what Lucidus is going to do." Willow said trying to sound optimistic. "We just don't know how he is going to do it. Or when. Or where." She finished, her optimism fading.
"Well let's think about this." Buffy said, taking off her coat and sitting down on the arm of the couch. Spike returned and sat in the couch next to her. "We know he is going to open a portal from his dimension to ours. Giles?" she asked. The Watcher looked up at her. "What exactly would someone need to do that?"
"Well to simply open the portal they would need dark magicks, a spell." He answered. "Which undoubtedly Lucidus possesses being a Sovereign. And he would need a place of great power and mystical energy. But that would only open the portal, to actually bleed the world together he would need a key, blood, a sacrifice of some sort." Dawn shuddered at the mention of the Key, as did Buffy and Spike, and everyone else in the room. Except Andrew, who was bored, wishing he had stayed home to watch Star Trek. He loved that episode. And Picard was kinda hot.
"Like Glory needed?" Dawn asked.
"Yes precisely." Giles responded. "Only Lucidus is doing it from the other side." Giles continued.
"Don't worry Dawnie, Lucidus can't use you." Willow said reassuringly. "Can he?" She asked Giles worry evident in her voice.
"No... No." He replied. "Dawn is no longer active as the Key. And even if she were she would not open the right portal. She is of no use to Lucidus at this point." Everyone relaxed at that, especially Dawn who remembered what it was like when the demon Doc cut into her to open the portal.
"Wait." Buffy said, remembering something. "You said he needed a place of great power and mystical energy right?"
"Yes" Giles replied curiously.
"A place like the Hellmouth?" Buffy said.
"Why yes. That would do perfectly." Giles said. "Yes. It makes perfect sense. Lucidus could use the Hellmouths energy to open up the portal, and then drain whatever sacrifice is needed to bleed the worlds together. His dimension of thoughts and dreams and un-reality, so to speak, would seep into ours and he will rule over this dimension and his. Yes! That's it!" Giles said, proud that he could once again provide answers. It was almost like the good old days he thought nostalgically.
"Ok. Great! We know what psychic demon-boy is planning! So how do we stop him?" Xander said from his corner chair with a little wave of his arms.
"What if I went to him?" Buffy asked. "What if I went to his dimension and stopped him, I dunno killed him or enabled his sacrifice so he couldn't open the portal."
"Well yes, that might very well work, Buffy. But Phalein is a dimension run by a mind-controlling demon who can bend his dimension to his will. His dimension reflects his mind giving him the power to change it however he wishes, plus the fact that he has a great power over the human mind." Giles said.
"Still, this might be our only chance at stopping him. My dreams *did* say I had to go back. I think they meant I had to go back to the Hellmouth."
"I think Buffy is right, this may be our only chance at beating this." Willow said.
"Am I the only one worried about the whole mind control thing?" Xander chimed in.
"Actually I am to." Andrew said putting up his hand before lowering it hesitantly.
"I can handle it. This is the only way." Buffy said, determined. "Well guys. I guess were going back to Sunnydale."
After Buffy had announced yet another apocalypse (what is this, like the 8th one??) the gang had explained everything to Spike, who was pretty confused, and split up and started researching how they could stop it. They didn't have much to go on, all they knew was that Lucidus, some uber - demon of the underworld wanted to open a portal that would bleed the worlds together, thereby ensuring his control over the human realm. Not a hard thing to do when said uber - demon has the power of mind control. Willow was on the computer searching several demony, apocalypticy data bases, Dawn and Giles were translating some huge book written in ancient Sumerian that Giles had sent from England, and Xander was reading another ancient book that had probably been published in 1254 BC. Buffy, on the other hand, was making an emergency trip to the butchers to get some pigs blood for Spike. He was starving, and looking kind of thin and pale.
Spike was in the kitchen rummaging through the fridge to try and find something more solid than his usual red liquid diet, he may be a vampire, but he still enjoyed real food. He wondered if they had any Weetabix, it might come in handy when Buffy got back with his blood. He had pulled out some cold chicken wings to put in the microwave when a familiar voice was heard coming in through the back door in the kitchen.
"Hey guys, I'm here! Ready to do research, and be grateful, cuz I'm missing TNG and it's the episode where the enterprise keeps blowing up and no one can figure out how to stop it until Data starts noticing all the signs, like the 3's that keep popping up and..." Andrew stopped speaking when he saw Spike standing in the kitchen.
"Andrew." Spike said.
"Help!!!" Andrew yelled. "Help! The First is back!! Get away from me spawn of Satan!" He said inching away up against the wall as if he would be more discrete that way.
"Andrew, I'm not the First. Stop yelling." Spike said calmly.
"Don't lie to me Spike slash the First! I wont fall for your tricks! We kicked your ass once and we can do it again. Do not try to mess with the forces of Good, for we can not be beaten!" Andrew said trying to sound as brave as he could. It wasn't working.
"What's going on in here!?" Dawn said entering the kitchen.
"Dawnie, I know you can't see him but the First is here in the form of Spike."
"Of course I see him Andrew. That *is* Spike. He's back." Dawn said, trying to be sympathetic but sounding more annoyed than anything.
"Oh." Andrew said, relaxing his muscles. "You're back eh?" he said to Spike trying to sound cool.
"Yeah." Spike answered, "I'm back." He said running his hands through his blonde hair.
"Oh well that's cool, good to have you back buddy, ya know, always good to have another fighter in the battle against evil and... I've missed you so much!!" he said as he threw his arms around Spike in an awkward hug.
"Bloody hell" Spike said looking up. "Andrew....ANDREW! Get off me!" He said pushing Andrew off him.
"Sorry." Andrew said backing away. "Got caught up in the moment...I think I'm just gonna get in there and start with the research. The battle against evil never ends. They're probably expecting me. Yeah..." He said as he walked into the living room to join the others leaving Dawn and Spike alone.
"Guess he's happy to see you." Dawn said.
"Yeah. Guess so." Spike replied. There was an awkward silence before Dawn threw her arms around Spike and hugged him. "I'm happy to see as well." She said.
"Me to Nibblit." He said letting her hug him. After a while she let go and looked at him. "Don't leave us again." She said.
"I won't Bit."
* * *
Buffy opened the front door after coming home from the butchers. "Hey guys, I'm back." she said, as she walked into the living room where everyone was sitting reading some kind of book or surfing the net, or just playing thumb war as Xander and Andrew were.
"Hey Buffy." They all mumbled, boredom obvious in their greeting.
"Guess demon research isn't exactly riveting is it?" She said as she handed the blood to Spike. He took it into the kitchen to drink it. Ever since he got his soul back he wasn't big on letting people see him feed. Especially Buffy.
"Well we know what Lucidus is going to do." Willow said trying to sound optimistic. "We just don't know how he is going to do it. Or when. Or where." She finished, her optimism fading.
"Well let's think about this." Buffy said, taking off her coat and sitting down on the arm of the couch. Spike returned and sat in the couch next to her. "We know he is going to open a portal from his dimension to ours. Giles?" she asked. The Watcher looked up at her. "What exactly would someone need to do that?"
"Well to simply open the portal they would need dark magicks, a spell." He answered. "Which undoubtedly Lucidus possesses being a Sovereign. And he would need a place of great power and mystical energy. But that would only open the portal, to actually bleed the world together he would need a key, blood, a sacrifice of some sort." Dawn shuddered at the mention of the Key, as did Buffy and Spike, and everyone else in the room. Except Andrew, who was bored, wishing he had stayed home to watch Star Trek. He loved that episode. And Picard was kinda hot.
"Like Glory needed?" Dawn asked.
"Yes precisely." Giles responded. "Only Lucidus is doing it from the other side." Giles continued.
"Don't worry Dawnie, Lucidus can't use you." Willow said reassuringly. "Can he?" She asked Giles worry evident in her voice.
"No... No." He replied. "Dawn is no longer active as the Key. And even if she were she would not open the right portal. She is of no use to Lucidus at this point." Everyone relaxed at that, especially Dawn who remembered what it was like when the demon Doc cut into her to open the portal.
"Wait." Buffy said, remembering something. "You said he needed a place of great power and mystical energy right?"
"Yes" Giles replied curiously.
"A place like the Hellmouth?" Buffy said.
"Why yes. That would do perfectly." Giles said. "Yes. It makes perfect sense. Lucidus could use the Hellmouths energy to open up the portal, and then drain whatever sacrifice is needed to bleed the worlds together. His dimension of thoughts and dreams and un-reality, so to speak, would seep into ours and he will rule over this dimension and his. Yes! That's it!" Giles said, proud that he could once again provide answers. It was almost like the good old days he thought nostalgically.
"Ok. Great! We know what psychic demon-boy is planning! So how do we stop him?" Xander said from his corner chair with a little wave of his arms.
"What if I went to him?" Buffy asked. "What if I went to his dimension and stopped him, I dunno killed him or enabled his sacrifice so he couldn't open the portal."
"Well yes, that might very well work, Buffy. But Phalein is a dimension run by a mind-controlling demon who can bend his dimension to his will. His dimension reflects his mind giving him the power to change it however he wishes, plus the fact that he has a great power over the human mind." Giles said.
"Still, this might be our only chance at stopping him. My dreams *did* say I had to go back. I think they meant I had to go back to the Hellmouth."
"I think Buffy is right, this may be our only chance at beating this." Willow said.
"Am I the only one worried about the whole mind control thing?" Xander chimed in.
"Actually I am to." Andrew said putting up his hand before lowering it hesitantly.
"I can handle it. This is the only way." Buffy said, determined. "Well guys. I guess were going back to Sunnydale."