Title: Return
Author: Ivytree
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, UPN, Mutant Enemy, etc. Well, almost all.
Feedback: Please!
Summary: The Spike Show. An alternative ending for season 6. Souled-up (really souled-up) Spike, the Scoobies, and friends battle to keep the Hellmouth closed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
RETURN
Part 36. The Mightier Joy
"Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God," Dawn panted. She felt like she'd been running for hours. She did her best to ignore the stitch in her side as her feet hammered the pavement, but human speed and youth would only take her so far - she was tiring, and every step jolted her whole body. The vampires would catch her before long.
Soon after she left the house she'd noticed three of them following her, two tall men and a woman, none of them even attempting to hide what they were. Then, turning down a side street, she spotted two more male vamps approaching at a run. She tried to throw them off, darting through the familiar streets and alleys of Sunnydale's shopping district, but no matter what she tried they still pursued her, predatory and indefatigable.
She knew she should never have followed Willow. And if she had followed her, she should never, never have lost sight of her.
The night was inky black, without a star or cloud showing above, and she gasped for breath as the air itself grew thick and ominous. Distant thunder rumbled, and the echoes of tremors shook the ground. As a California girl - well, a pseudo-California girl - Dawn was used to earthquakes, but this was different. And not in a good way.
She wished she'd done as she was told, for once. Spike had specifically told her to stay in the house, and used his new powers to make it safe, but how could she just sit and wait when everyone else was in danger? But he was going to be SOOOO pissed at her... if they both lived.
* * * *
"Now for our way out," Spike said, scanning the cavern.
"Hurry," Willow whispered. He shot her a sharp look. Her face was white and taut; well, who could blame the girl for being scared? The cavern was foul smelling and dark, and an uproar of growls and shrieks from the hell-beasts that sought them assaulted their ears. It was enough to shake anyone's nerve. He didn't mind it so much - he knew for a fact it was better than an actual hell-dimension - but it was no place for a girl like Willow.
He crawled across the ledge where they huddled and pressed his palms to the dirt wall behind them; ripples of light spread out from his hands, disappearing into the soil. With a sudden grating rumble, a new fissure tore the earth, leaving an open passage about eight feet in diameter, lined with rocks and roots.
"Way to go!" she said, ducking to avoid being hit in the head by the shower of dirt, stones, and vegetation that followed. "Hey, I know where we are now; we must be right under the victory garden!"
Spike looked at her, brushing what certainly appeared to be cabbage leaves and carrot tops off the back of his neck. "There's a victory garden? In Sunnydale?"
"The Sunnydale Parks Department is the pride of Southern California," she said, lifting her chin.
"They'd sort of have to be, wouldn't they?"
"Uh, Spike? Do you hear what I hear?" Willow motioned towards the floor of the chamber.
Unfortunately, he did. The din from below had grown much louder. Peering over the rim of the ledge, he saw sooty black figures, of every conceivable size and shape - in fact, some of them were actually inconceivable - gathering at the mouths of various tunnels and passages leading into the main chamber. And there were rather a lot more of them than there were a few minutes ago.
"Balls!" he growled. "Oh, well, least they haven't seen us yet." Obviously, the enemy troops were massing, but so far they just milled about, rather than heading straight for the two of them. Score one for the good guys; phase one of his cunning plan had succeeded - so far.
Spike looked at Willow; she crossed her arms and hugged herself, probably to keep him from seeing her hands trembling. But the brain was still working, he noted with approval. She said, "You know, it can't be just them. They're too, well, too dumb. There must be someone - something - else giving the orders."
"Someone we'd rather not meet, I fancy," he said grimly. He'd hoped she wouldn't think of that.
The cries and bellows from beneath them were louder now. He reached behind her and hefted a sizeable turnip, big as a baseball. "Got another idea, Red. Want to collect some of these?"
She stared at him for a moment, her forehead creasing. The noise was really getting on her nerves; he could hear her heart pounding faster. Better get the girl out of here soon. But one more little diversion -
She scrambled across the ledge and helped him gather some good-sized vegetables into a small mound. "Now what?"
"Just keep passing 'em to me," he said, with a deliberately annoying grin. He concentrated briefly on the turnip in his hand, which took on a magical pinkish glow, and then forcefully pitched it far across the cavern. They heard a sudden cacophony of roars and growls from the unseen creatures beneath them, and the clatter and thud of inhuman feet.
"Did the same thing with rocks before," he said, holding out his hand for another missile, "but a moving target's better." He heaved it across the chamber and more clamor was heard from the hell-beasts as they turned in confusion to follow the new trail, stumbling and crashing into each other. Phase two of the cunning plan was working, it seemed. "See, I'm charging these with a bit of your magical spoor, so to speak, Will - no offense - and the dimwitted prats are running after it, thinking it's you."
"Neat!" she smiled, slapping a rutabaga into his palm like an OR nurse handing a surgeon a scalpel. "Confusion to our enemies! And that's, you know, literally, in this case."
"Confound their knavish tricks," he agreed, lobbing the mystically luminous vegetable in yet another direction. There was a satisfying chorus of howls from below, followed by a particularly resounding roar.
Their store of ammunition exhausted, Spike brushed off his hands, saying, "That should keep 'em busy - "
Suddenly she cried out. "Spike! They're turning back! They see us!"
* * * *
Dawn could hear snarls right behind her. Oh, God. Pain shot through her thigh muscles as she put on one last burst of speed. Maybe she could still lose them. (Yeah, right. Not like they had super senses and could hear her every move or smell her or anything.) She made a swift right turn into an alleyway she was pretty sure stretched all the way to the other side of the block.
One of them swiped at her, and she felt a gust of air across her back; still running, she scrabbled desperately in her bag for a small bottle and unscrewed the cap. She gripped the vial firmly, whirled, and threw it with all her strength at the closest vamp. His demonic visage contorted, and he screamed and pawed at his face as the holy water burned. Dawn took the split second this allowed her to race into the opening of another alley.
Damn! She thought she knew this street, but she must have gotten turned around - where was she? Gasping for breath, she turned back the way she came, and crashed into a stack of crates, stumbling to her knees. Struggling to her feet, she turned, and her eyes widened with panic - from the darkness glowed two pairs of demonic yellow eyes.
* * * *
"Well, then," Spike said, "I'll make it a bit more difficult for 'em, shall I?"
He stood suddenly, raised his arms straight above his head, and said in a penetrating whisper, "Fumio! Fumio! Fumio!" Then he dropped back down beside Willow. "Got this from one of the more theatrical types," he explained, "Some spirits go for a bit of a tap dance."
She managed a smile. That's the spirit, Red, he thought.
"Works for me; I always liked the showy stuff," she said.
He crouched near the edge of the precipice and nodded toward the hell-creatures. "Look."
Clutching his arm, she peeped over. Far beneath them, the fetid air seemed to thicken and turn cloudy, and yellow-gray mist rolled across the floor in waves, rising up the walls of the cavern. Their view of their opponents dimmed.
"Fog!" she exclaimed.
"Real pea-souper. Looks just like St. Martin's Lane circa 1895 down there, and you can take my word on that. Should hold 'em back for a bit. Now," he said, offering her a hand up, "let's scarper."
* * * *
Dawn stared paralyzed as the two vampires stalked toward her. One was a tall, burly guy, dressed pretty much like a biker - she wouldn't have wanted to be in an alley with him even if he were human - and the other a fierce looking woman in a red nylon jogging suit, of all things. They positioned themselves across the passage to prevent her getting by. A glance over her shoulder showed her there were two more blocking her escape at the other end. She backed up against the wall, feeling the rough bricks pressing against her back, and fished furiously in her purse for more holy water. She KNEW she'd taken more than one vial.
Sneering, the lead vampire said, "Led us quite a dance, didn't you, girly?"
Dawn's fingers discovered what they were feeling for. "Your friend's not dancing," she spat. "He's rolling around on the ground screaming. Didn't you notice?"
"That just leaves more for us," the woman growled.
"Maybe you should have what he's having!" Dawn yelled, and threw the second bottle. It hit the woman square in the face, and she stumbled back with a high-pitched cry. But at the same moment, the male vamp sprang for her and seized her arms in an unbreakable grip.
"Now I get you all for myself," he said, dragging her closer and baring his fangs.
* * * *
"If that means 'run away' - yes, please!" Willow said, scrambling to her feet. She picked up the axe, handing it politely to Spike. "Shall we?"
"After you." Thrusting the axe handle through his belt, Spike boosted her up ahead of him into the new passage. Finding plentiful footholds amongst the twisting tree roots and stones protruding from the earth, they began the climb to the surface, moving quickly upward. They were near enough to see the white shimmer of the sealing spell above them when a deep, rage-filled bellow echoed behind them.
"Hurry, Red!" Spike urged her on. "They've spotted us again - and it's not just beasties this time!"
"I am hurrying!" Suddenly the root she clutched seemed to come alive and twist itself out of her grasp. At the same time, he saw something snake around her ankle. Damn, damn, damn. He felt desperately for the axe.
"Yikes!" Willow cried as she was drawn back down the slope, scrabbling at the dirt with her hands. "Spike, help me!"
* * * *
Dawn kicked out desperately, and emitted an ear-splitting scream as the vampire bent his head toward her throat -
- And fell on her backside as he exploded into dust. All at once there was a confusion of shouts, demonic roars, and the clatter of more crates being knocked over; her eye caught the silvery flash of a blade as another vamp was decapitated and puffed into nothing. Then there was quiet, except for the painful thud of her heart and her own strained breathing.
Dawn stared up at three people - well, beings - she'd never seen before. Or had she? The young Merrin demon standing before her, with curly black hair and neatly curving black horns, was sort of familiar. Behind him was a taller, burlier version of himself, wearing a muscle tee, and a gorgeous, black-skinned, white-maned, spear wielding woman warrior; all looked down at her in concern. And all five vamps seemed to be - gone.
"Hi," the younger demon said shyly, offering her a hand. "Remember me? We met at Anyanka's wedding."
Dawn's brain kicked into gear and she placed him at last. The wedding. They'd compared family insanity. She took his hand and pulled herself up. "Sure I remember. It's Jeff, right?"
Even in the darkness she could see that he blushed. "Right. I didn't think you, like, noticed me. You were so busy."
"I think we were the only ones our age there," she said, brushing vampire dust off her jeans. "Was that weird, or what?"
"Oh, man, it took the first prize for weirdness. The weirdiosity was overwhelming."
"I WAS overwhelmed." Forgetting her troubles for a moment, Dawn giggled. "And I thought my sister was going to like totally lose it."
"You should have seen my - "
The older Merrin cleared his throat.
"Much as we're all enjoying the social chit-chat, maybe we should get a move on," he said gruffly, flexing his shoulders.
"Oh, sorry." Jeff said, abashed. "Dawn, this is Mezzi - " Mezzi raised her gleaming spear in salute, "and this is my brother, Al." He rolled his eyes slightly introducing his pugnacious sibling. Dawn knew just how he felt.
"Well, thanks, everybody, for saving me."
"Don't mention it, kid. Spike said to look out for you, so we did," Al said simply. "We should get over to the Hellmouth now, see what we can do there, 'cause I think we knocked off all the bad guys in this part of town. And I'm not tired yet."
"Come, let us join the Slayer at the scene of battle." Mezzi's orange eyes flashed, and Dawn gazed at her open-mouthed as she brandished her razor-sharp spear. She continued, "More blood will flow before the night is done!"
Of course, not a lot of blood actually had flowed, because they were killing vamps, which was pretty blood-free. But Al for one seemed entirely behind the sentiment, anyway.
"You said it, baby," he growled approvingly.
Jeff rolled his eyes again, as if to say, listen, I don't really KNOW these people.
TBC
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Why weep and wait for thee, though laggard, Morn,
With all thy joys of love and peace and light?
For us the mightier joy that rives the soul,
When, slaves no longer to a day unborn,
Our flag of war along the dark we unroll
For fell encounter with the hosts of Night."
William Gay
Author: Ivytree
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, UPN, Mutant Enemy, etc. Well, almost all.
Feedback: Please!
Summary: The Spike Show. An alternative ending for season 6. Souled-up (really souled-up) Spike, the Scoobies, and friends battle to keep the Hellmouth closed.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
RETURN
Part 36. The Mightier Joy
"Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God," Dawn panted. She felt like she'd been running for hours. She did her best to ignore the stitch in her side as her feet hammered the pavement, but human speed and youth would only take her so far - she was tiring, and every step jolted her whole body. The vampires would catch her before long.
Soon after she left the house she'd noticed three of them following her, two tall men and a woman, none of them even attempting to hide what they were. Then, turning down a side street, she spotted two more male vamps approaching at a run. She tried to throw them off, darting through the familiar streets and alleys of Sunnydale's shopping district, but no matter what she tried they still pursued her, predatory and indefatigable.
She knew she should never have followed Willow. And if she had followed her, she should never, never have lost sight of her.
The night was inky black, without a star or cloud showing above, and she gasped for breath as the air itself grew thick and ominous. Distant thunder rumbled, and the echoes of tremors shook the ground. As a California girl - well, a pseudo-California girl - Dawn was used to earthquakes, but this was different. And not in a good way.
She wished she'd done as she was told, for once. Spike had specifically told her to stay in the house, and used his new powers to make it safe, but how could she just sit and wait when everyone else was in danger? But he was going to be SOOOO pissed at her... if they both lived.
* * * *
"Now for our way out," Spike said, scanning the cavern.
"Hurry," Willow whispered. He shot her a sharp look. Her face was white and taut; well, who could blame the girl for being scared? The cavern was foul smelling and dark, and an uproar of growls and shrieks from the hell-beasts that sought them assaulted their ears. It was enough to shake anyone's nerve. He didn't mind it so much - he knew for a fact it was better than an actual hell-dimension - but it was no place for a girl like Willow.
He crawled across the ledge where they huddled and pressed his palms to the dirt wall behind them; ripples of light spread out from his hands, disappearing into the soil. With a sudden grating rumble, a new fissure tore the earth, leaving an open passage about eight feet in diameter, lined with rocks and roots.
"Way to go!" she said, ducking to avoid being hit in the head by the shower of dirt, stones, and vegetation that followed. "Hey, I know where we are now; we must be right under the victory garden!"
Spike looked at her, brushing what certainly appeared to be cabbage leaves and carrot tops off the back of his neck. "There's a victory garden? In Sunnydale?"
"The Sunnydale Parks Department is the pride of Southern California," she said, lifting her chin.
"They'd sort of have to be, wouldn't they?"
"Uh, Spike? Do you hear what I hear?" Willow motioned towards the floor of the chamber.
Unfortunately, he did. The din from below had grown much louder. Peering over the rim of the ledge, he saw sooty black figures, of every conceivable size and shape - in fact, some of them were actually inconceivable - gathering at the mouths of various tunnels and passages leading into the main chamber. And there were rather a lot more of them than there were a few minutes ago.
"Balls!" he growled. "Oh, well, least they haven't seen us yet." Obviously, the enemy troops were massing, but so far they just milled about, rather than heading straight for the two of them. Score one for the good guys; phase one of his cunning plan had succeeded - so far.
Spike looked at Willow; she crossed her arms and hugged herself, probably to keep him from seeing her hands trembling. But the brain was still working, he noted with approval. She said, "You know, it can't be just them. They're too, well, too dumb. There must be someone - something - else giving the orders."
"Someone we'd rather not meet, I fancy," he said grimly. He'd hoped she wouldn't think of that.
The cries and bellows from beneath them were louder now. He reached behind her and hefted a sizeable turnip, big as a baseball. "Got another idea, Red. Want to collect some of these?"
She stared at him for a moment, her forehead creasing. The noise was really getting on her nerves; he could hear her heart pounding faster. Better get the girl out of here soon. But one more little diversion -
She scrambled across the ledge and helped him gather some good-sized vegetables into a small mound. "Now what?"
"Just keep passing 'em to me," he said, with a deliberately annoying grin. He concentrated briefly on the turnip in his hand, which took on a magical pinkish glow, and then forcefully pitched it far across the cavern. They heard a sudden cacophony of roars and growls from the unseen creatures beneath them, and the clatter and thud of inhuman feet.
"Did the same thing with rocks before," he said, holding out his hand for another missile, "but a moving target's better." He heaved it across the chamber and more clamor was heard from the hell-beasts as they turned in confusion to follow the new trail, stumbling and crashing into each other. Phase two of the cunning plan was working, it seemed. "See, I'm charging these with a bit of your magical spoor, so to speak, Will - no offense - and the dimwitted prats are running after it, thinking it's you."
"Neat!" she smiled, slapping a rutabaga into his palm like an OR nurse handing a surgeon a scalpel. "Confusion to our enemies! And that's, you know, literally, in this case."
"Confound their knavish tricks," he agreed, lobbing the mystically luminous vegetable in yet another direction. There was a satisfying chorus of howls from below, followed by a particularly resounding roar.
Their store of ammunition exhausted, Spike brushed off his hands, saying, "That should keep 'em busy - "
Suddenly she cried out. "Spike! They're turning back! They see us!"
* * * *
Dawn could hear snarls right behind her. Oh, God. Pain shot through her thigh muscles as she put on one last burst of speed. Maybe she could still lose them. (Yeah, right. Not like they had super senses and could hear her every move or smell her or anything.) She made a swift right turn into an alleyway she was pretty sure stretched all the way to the other side of the block.
One of them swiped at her, and she felt a gust of air across her back; still running, she scrabbled desperately in her bag for a small bottle and unscrewed the cap. She gripped the vial firmly, whirled, and threw it with all her strength at the closest vamp. His demonic visage contorted, and he screamed and pawed at his face as the holy water burned. Dawn took the split second this allowed her to race into the opening of another alley.
Damn! She thought she knew this street, but she must have gotten turned around - where was she? Gasping for breath, she turned back the way she came, and crashed into a stack of crates, stumbling to her knees. Struggling to her feet, she turned, and her eyes widened with panic - from the darkness glowed two pairs of demonic yellow eyes.
* * * *
"Well, then," Spike said, "I'll make it a bit more difficult for 'em, shall I?"
He stood suddenly, raised his arms straight above his head, and said in a penetrating whisper, "Fumio! Fumio! Fumio!" Then he dropped back down beside Willow. "Got this from one of the more theatrical types," he explained, "Some spirits go for a bit of a tap dance."
She managed a smile. That's the spirit, Red, he thought.
"Works for me; I always liked the showy stuff," she said.
He crouched near the edge of the precipice and nodded toward the hell-creatures. "Look."
Clutching his arm, she peeped over. Far beneath them, the fetid air seemed to thicken and turn cloudy, and yellow-gray mist rolled across the floor in waves, rising up the walls of the cavern. Their view of their opponents dimmed.
"Fog!" she exclaimed.
"Real pea-souper. Looks just like St. Martin's Lane circa 1895 down there, and you can take my word on that. Should hold 'em back for a bit. Now," he said, offering her a hand up, "let's scarper."
* * * *
Dawn stared paralyzed as the two vampires stalked toward her. One was a tall, burly guy, dressed pretty much like a biker - she wouldn't have wanted to be in an alley with him even if he were human - and the other a fierce looking woman in a red nylon jogging suit, of all things. They positioned themselves across the passage to prevent her getting by. A glance over her shoulder showed her there were two more blocking her escape at the other end. She backed up against the wall, feeling the rough bricks pressing against her back, and fished furiously in her purse for more holy water. She KNEW she'd taken more than one vial.
Sneering, the lead vampire said, "Led us quite a dance, didn't you, girly?"
Dawn's fingers discovered what they were feeling for. "Your friend's not dancing," she spat. "He's rolling around on the ground screaming. Didn't you notice?"
"That just leaves more for us," the woman growled.
"Maybe you should have what he's having!" Dawn yelled, and threw the second bottle. It hit the woman square in the face, and she stumbled back with a high-pitched cry. But at the same moment, the male vamp sprang for her and seized her arms in an unbreakable grip.
"Now I get you all for myself," he said, dragging her closer and baring his fangs.
* * * *
"If that means 'run away' - yes, please!" Willow said, scrambling to her feet. She picked up the axe, handing it politely to Spike. "Shall we?"
"After you." Thrusting the axe handle through his belt, Spike boosted her up ahead of him into the new passage. Finding plentiful footholds amongst the twisting tree roots and stones protruding from the earth, they began the climb to the surface, moving quickly upward. They were near enough to see the white shimmer of the sealing spell above them when a deep, rage-filled bellow echoed behind them.
"Hurry, Red!" Spike urged her on. "They've spotted us again - and it's not just beasties this time!"
"I am hurrying!" Suddenly the root she clutched seemed to come alive and twist itself out of her grasp. At the same time, he saw something snake around her ankle. Damn, damn, damn. He felt desperately for the axe.
"Yikes!" Willow cried as she was drawn back down the slope, scrabbling at the dirt with her hands. "Spike, help me!"
* * * *
Dawn kicked out desperately, and emitted an ear-splitting scream as the vampire bent his head toward her throat -
- And fell on her backside as he exploded into dust. All at once there was a confusion of shouts, demonic roars, and the clatter of more crates being knocked over; her eye caught the silvery flash of a blade as another vamp was decapitated and puffed into nothing. Then there was quiet, except for the painful thud of her heart and her own strained breathing.
Dawn stared up at three people - well, beings - she'd never seen before. Or had she? The young Merrin demon standing before her, with curly black hair and neatly curving black horns, was sort of familiar. Behind him was a taller, burlier version of himself, wearing a muscle tee, and a gorgeous, black-skinned, white-maned, spear wielding woman warrior; all looked down at her in concern. And all five vamps seemed to be - gone.
"Hi," the younger demon said shyly, offering her a hand. "Remember me? We met at Anyanka's wedding."
Dawn's brain kicked into gear and she placed him at last. The wedding. They'd compared family insanity. She took his hand and pulled herself up. "Sure I remember. It's Jeff, right?"
Even in the darkness she could see that he blushed. "Right. I didn't think you, like, noticed me. You were so busy."
"I think we were the only ones our age there," she said, brushing vampire dust off her jeans. "Was that weird, or what?"
"Oh, man, it took the first prize for weirdness. The weirdiosity was overwhelming."
"I WAS overwhelmed." Forgetting her troubles for a moment, Dawn giggled. "And I thought my sister was going to like totally lose it."
"You should have seen my - "
The older Merrin cleared his throat.
"Much as we're all enjoying the social chit-chat, maybe we should get a move on," he said gruffly, flexing his shoulders.
"Oh, sorry." Jeff said, abashed. "Dawn, this is Mezzi - " Mezzi raised her gleaming spear in salute, "and this is my brother, Al." He rolled his eyes slightly introducing his pugnacious sibling. Dawn knew just how he felt.
"Well, thanks, everybody, for saving me."
"Don't mention it, kid. Spike said to look out for you, so we did," Al said simply. "We should get over to the Hellmouth now, see what we can do there, 'cause I think we knocked off all the bad guys in this part of town. And I'm not tired yet."
"Come, let us join the Slayer at the scene of battle." Mezzi's orange eyes flashed, and Dawn gazed at her open-mouthed as she brandished her razor-sharp spear. She continued, "More blood will flow before the night is done!"
Of course, not a lot of blood actually had flowed, because they were killing vamps, which was pretty blood-free. But Al for one seemed entirely behind the sentiment, anyway.
"You said it, baby," he growled approvingly.
Jeff rolled his eyes again, as if to say, listen, I don't really KNOW these people.
TBC
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Why weep and wait for thee, though laggard, Morn,
With all thy joys of love and peace and light?
For us the mightier joy that rives the soul,
When, slaves no longer to a day unborn,
Our flag of war along the dark we unroll
For fell encounter with the hosts of Night."
William Gay