Part Six - Now Or Never

Panic. That was exactly the right description for what she felt. Sheer and total panic that had risen inside her when Ben had turned into Glory right in front of her, and surely wouldn't stop with the goddess dragging her through Sunnydale's deserted streets. On their way out of the hospital, Glory had killed two security men, so that Dawn had stopped trying to get away from her, not wanting to put even more people in danger.

She's going to kill me, she's going to kill me, she knows that I'm the key, and she's going to kill me…

"Dawn!"

The familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned her head.

"Spike!"

The vampire snatched her out of the surprised god's grip, as Buffy flung herself at Glory. He grabbed the girl, and ran, stopping at a safe distance from the fighting pair, and turning to watch.

"Spike! You have to help her!"

He just shook his head.

"Sorry, pet. I can't."

Glory threw a series of punches at Buffy, but the Slayer avoided them. Instead, she answered with a powerful roundhouse kick that sent the goddess crashing into a car. Splintering glass cut through the red dress she had put on after the change, but didn't manage to hurt the flesh underneath. Still, she let out a cry of rage.

"Do you know how much this costs?!"

"Sure looks like something off the peg," came the answer that enraged her even more.

With a kick in the stomach, she sent the Slayer flying through the air, landing hard on the asphalt. Glory followed her, preparing for the final blow, but with a back flip the young woman brought herself out of her range. The god had changed to full-power mode, and Buffy knew that without help, she had no chance. Willow had managed to stop her, but the witch was not there, and Spike couldn't do anything with his chip going haywire. When Glory's fist hit her hard on the jaw, making her stagger backwards, she knew that this was going to be her end.

Spike watched the fight, clenching his fists. He hated the feeling of being helpless, doomed to watch his Slayer die by the hands of that bitch. There was no way Buffy could win. Glory was just too strong, and as a god, she was also immortal. If only there was something he could do! But even if he only thought of fighting, he could feel the headache approach him. It had to be the same way Ben felt when Glory took over his body. Only that killing something would now most likely kill the vampire himself, whereas Ben shouldn't have any problems with that. Ben… Spike's eyes widened as a thought struck him. Dru had called Ben Glory's human side. And humans were mortal. He only had to make the mortal surface again... Dawn! The doctor liked her, and she was the key. Even in human form, she had to have some power. Stop thinking, bloody well do something!

Spike turned to the girl next to him.

"Dawn! Call Ben!"

"What?" Dawn eyed the vampire as if he had lost his mind.

"Do it, Little Bit! Trust me!" he yelled.

The girl looked back at the ongoing fight. It was clear to see now that her sister wouldn't win. A powerful blow sent the Slayer to the ground, struggling to get up. Dawn cleared her throat.

"Ben," she called.

"Louder, kid!"

"Ben! Ben!" Dawn yelled as loud as she could.

Glory had grabbed Buffy at the collar of her shirt, raising her fist to discover the final blow - as she stopped. She let go, the panting Slayer collapsing to the ground, and clasped her head.

"No! No! Not now, you stupid idiot!"

"BEN!" the girl screamed on top of her lungs.

The goddess let out a cry of pure anger that turned into one of pain and confusion as a male voice took over, as the body changed. Ben stood there in Glory's tight dress, looking in terror at Buffy, who lay at his feet. And Spike took what he knew was the only chance he had. He leapt forward, crossing the distance between him and the young doctor with few wide steps. Before Ben could react, the vampire grabbed his head with both hands, and with a sharp turn broke his neck. A searing, blinding pain shot through his head, worse than anything he ever experienced before. He screamed in agony, and fell to his knees. The pain wouldn't stop, and suddenly it felt as if something in his head was on the verge of exploding. When it did, it sent out waves of blackness, and Spike surrendered. With a final cry, he collapsed, and lay still.

"Spike!"

Dawn ran over to the fallen vampire, shaking his shoulders.

"Buffy! What's wrong with him?" The girl looked over to her sister, who had finally managed to get back to her feet. The Slayer examined the dead young man lying in front of her, refusing to feel sorry for him. If he had told us… we could have done so many things different, if only he had told us… Then she looked at the unconscious Spike.

"It's his chip," she said finally. "It's been working wrong for some time."

"But he's not…" Dawn drew in a deep breath. "Is he dead?"

"No. He would be dust by now." The teenager swallowed at her sister's statement. "But he's killed a human. Even before, the chip would have reacted quite violently."

"What do you mean?"

Buffy looked the young girl straight into the eyes.

"I don't think he'll wake up."

***

Riley knew that something was wrong when he saw the broken door. During the short time he had known his Sire he already had realized that she loved to play. Her insanity turned every plan he made into a twisted little game, but even for her it was unlikely to destroy the entrance to their lair. Filled with suspicions, he neared the doorway, and peeked inside the factory hall. Seeing no one, he took the risk of stepping inside.

The chains that had held Spike were hanging loosely from the crane. Not far from them, dust slightly darker than the rest that filled the hall had settled. Not hard to figure out what had happened. While he had gotten rid of the danger that Major Ellis and his men had been, Drusilla's foolish plans of removing the chip before the kill had cost him his revenge.

With a force that was summoned by anger, Riley threw the useless map that contained the chip's every detail on the floor, and stormed out of the factory.

It was time for a new plan.