A/N: Hello all. Just thought I'd tell you that I have a LiveJournal, it's very interesting...if you're me. I don't think this site let's you have links so just go to the live journal home page and then search jamesmfan as the username. Shameless Plug Over.
This chapter is mucho confusing. I wrote this fic just for me. So I get it. Chances are you will not. My mind is weird.
Rated "R".
Without further ado -
14
The doors crashed inwards, again, and flew off their hinges. Evil Angel and Evil Giles stood there looking suitably evil and threw two Molotov cocktails in Buffy and Angel's direction. Buffy shoved Angel out of the way and the bottles hit the wall setting the floor alight in a roar of fire. The whole living room was in flame now and Evil Angel and Evil Giles entered, coat's swishing.
Just like she had expected Evil Giles went for Angel and Evil Angel went for Buffy. She heard the back door crashing open and the footsteps of Willow and Giles as they rushed to help them.
"Hello, again" Evil Angel smiled.
"Hello," Buffy pulled her ax up "I'd like to say it's been a pleasure but..."
Evil Angel lashed out and though she blocked the attack he hit her again with an uppercut that made her bite her tongue. He walked up to her grabbed the handle of the ax and they both tugged on it. Buffy, out of habit, tried to kick him but her foot hit an invisible barrier.
"We both know pleasure would do me no good" Evil Angel smiled viciously "That didn't stop you though, did it?"
Buffy ignored him as he tried to get to her but she had to wonder how these demons seemed to know everything about them. Evil Angel used her tight grip on the ax handle to swing her around by it and throw her off so she hit the floor on her butt hard. Buffy flew into the living room and narrowly avoided the flames; the heat made her instantly sweat. She picked herself up and jumped headfirst through the fire, landing in a roll on the floor. Buffy landed at Evil Angel's feet. She looked up and he grinned before he kicked her in the face, splitting her lip and making her fall on her back to the floor.
Evil Angel laughed and stepped over her so that each foot was on a different side of her body. He leaned down and picked her up by her jacket, lifted her high from the floor and threw her again. Buffy's body careened into the stair railings splintering wood and possibly something in her back.
Buffy heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Giles and Willow rushing to help them, also she could hear fighting at the back door. Willow knelt beside her as Buffy watched in dazed admiration as Giles launched himself off the stairs onto Evil Giles' back, actually hurting him and giving Angel a much needed assist.
"Help Spike and Xander" Buffy rasped to Willow as she pulled herself up.
Willow nodded and ran down the stairs and through the room to the back entrance. Evil Angel approached, boots pounding on the floor as his face lit up with that smirk. Buffy's head was still swimming and her back felt like it was broken but she knew it wasn't.
"Well, well" Evil Angel arched an eyebrow "Looks like –"
Suddenly his head fell away from the rest of his body and with a thud landed on the floor, a second later the body wavered on it's feet and fell with a louder thud too. Buffy looked up in shock to see Angel with an annoyed look on his face.
"He didn't have the charisma, you know?" Angel sighed then he swung the ax down deep into the chest of the body that had once belonged to Evil Angel.
Buffy got onto her feet and though her back still hurt she grabbed up that ax and was about to run and help Spike, Willow and Xander when Xander came flying into the foyer and skidded along on his back until he reached her.
"Hey, Buff" He smiled, wincing up at her.
A moment later Evil Willow sauntered in and looked at Buffy "Well, nice to finally meet you"
"Wish I could return that" Buffy twirled the ax around, which got a laugh from Evil Willow.
Evil Willow picked Xander up and threw him back the way he had come then approached Buffy.
"Willow!" Buffy yelled.
"Oh, bloody hell!" Spike fell into the room then got up straight away and tried charging at Evil Xander but fell back from the force field.
Evil Willow smiled "Wanna do this?"
"Sure you don't want to make sure your boyfriend is okay?" Buffy stepped out of the way revealing the decapitated Evil Angel.
Evil Willow's eyes bugged out and she looked like she was about to cry "No! How? You bitch! Now you die!" She started to charge her but stopped in shock as she looked down at her chest to see the pointy end of a sword sticking right through where her heart would be.
The sword was pulled out and Evil Willow fell to the floor dead beside her evil boyfriend. Willow stood there panting, blood sprayed all over her and looked at Buffy slightly disturbed.
"You called?" The witch managed before she looked down at the body "I killed myself!"
Suddenly another Molotov cocktail flew in from the direction where Spike and Xander were still fighting and Angel, Buffy and Willow jumped out of the way as it started the stairs burning.
"Will, can you do something about the fires?" Buffy asked.
"I'll try" Willow approached the stairs.
Evil Giles and Giles were still grappling on the floor when Giles got backhanded and then a kick sent him into the nearest wall where he hit his head and fell unconscious.
"Buffy, watch it!" Came Spike's voice.
She jumped out of the way as a crossbow bolt flew past her cheek and embedded into the wall. Buffy ran to where she heard the fight still raging and saw Evil Xander drop a crossbow and punch Spike viciously around the face. Xander was picking himself up and ran, slamming into the side of his evil counterpart. Xander had lost his weapon a long time ago, Spike picked up the shotgun and handed it to him. Xander pistol-whipped the demon with it.
"That's not how it's meant to be used" Spike groaned.
Buffy started to say something when someone grabbed her from behind and threw her back to the foyer where she landed next to Evil Angel's decapitated head. It was all very disturbing. His glassy eyes stared at her, his mouth open as if he were trying to say something to her. Evil Giles walked up to her and grabbed her by the hair pulling her along so painfully she wanted to cry out. Angel tried to help her but got a vicious punch in the face and stomach for his troubles.
"Come now, Buffy. Have I not trained you better then this?" Evil Giles asked as he pulled her up by her hair and slammed her into a wall, wrapping his hand around her neck he began to throttle her.
Buffy didn't want to die having to look into the eyes of a man she respected so much and who was like a father to her.
"You didn't train me at all" She gurgled.
Buffy glanced out of the corner of her eyes Evil Xander fighting with Angel and Buffy feared that Xander might be seriously hurt. Buffy saw purple dots and she struggled but to no avail.
"I'd let her go if I was you, mate" Spike said suddenly standing to the side of them, shotgun rested against his shoulder.
Evil Giles laughed "Or you'll do what?"
"Oh, not me. Rupert" Spike pointed to somewhere behind them.
Evil Giles dropped Buffy and spun readying himself for an attack when he noticed Giles was still out cold. He turned back to Spike and got a shotgun blast in his face. Though the bullet shattered against the force field Evil Giles was so shocked he bolted out of the front door.
"Coward!" Spike yelled after him then turned to Buffy who was rubbing her neck "You all right, luv?"
"I think she's grand, don't you?" Evil Spike strolled arrogantly through the doorway, taking a deep puff of a cigarette as he looked around "Place is looking a little worse for wear, though"
Spike aimed the shotgun "You're just a rip off. I'm the real thing"
"Really? I like to think of myself as the new improved model" Evil Spike smiled dropping the cigarette on the floor and he pulled out a Molotov cocktail "Drink?"
Spike pulled the trigger but Evil Spike jumped out of the way simultaneously throwing the bottle at Spike and it hit his leg setting the vampire on fire in a whoosh of flames. Spike screamed as the flames soon covered most of his body. Buffy ran to help him as did Willow when Evil Spike charged him into the living room, which was still on fire.
Buffy could only watch as the two Spikes, both aflame but Evil Spike not seemingly bothered punched Spike in the face. The vampire was like a human torch now as he stumbled out of the living room on to the floor where he dropped and rolled trying to put out the flames all the while screaming in agony.
"Willow! Buffy yelled.
The witch began to hastily say a spell as the smell of burning flesh rose in the air and all Buffy could see was a gruesome, charred outline of Spike. Finally the flames disappeared and Buffy covered her mouth in shock at what lay beneath. His clothes had melted into his body and whole pieces of flesh were missing not to mention his hair was completely gone and one ear was burned so bad it looked like it was hanging off. Spike wheezed and it sounded awful when his chest rose bits of skin flaked off and he seemed unable to move. His lips were completely burnt away and Buffy could see parts of his cheekbones in his face were exposed so she could see the actual bone. His skin was completely red and charred black in some places so that the thing in front of them looked nothing like the Spike she knew. For Buffy the only tiny conciliation was that she knew he would heal fully and that he was unconscious.
The Evil Spike emerged from the flames, no longer on fire and with barely any damage, he grabbed the shotgun from the floor and the fire behind him made him look like the devil himself.
"Who'd you fancy more now, eh?" Evil Spike grinned looking at Buffy as the real Spike smoldered on the floor "I mean, I'm hot but that is just daft" The demon threw his head back and laughed Spike's laugh.
Buffy gripped her ax handle so hard that the steel bent and snapped making the demon stop laughing as he regarded her. The he shot at her. She was gone before the bullet left the gun. He turned to her ready to shoot again when he grinned and changed his mind aiming the gun at Spike.
"No!" Buffy leapt at him, she hit the force field and he pulled the trigger.
Buffy fell to the floor and watched in what seemed like slow motion as Spike's left arm was ripped away from his body, from the bottom of his shoulder. That would not heal. Spike's eyes burst open and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, as his voice box didn't seem to work. She watched in morbid shock and fascination as his arm slid along the floor splurging blood at everything with his hand still twitching.
Buffy heard Willow scream but could utter no sound herself, she just lay there on her front as Spike's blood gushed everywhere. She even heard the sound of the gun's hammer being pulled back but could not turn to stop it coming she couldn't move.
Angel appeared suddenly and careened into Evil Spike's force field sending the shot off guard and it hit the ceiling instead with it's deafening sound. Plaster rained down on everything and Evil Spike shot again, a part of the ceiling shook and the whole thing was about to fall down.
Evil Spike punched Angel out of the way and not wanting to get crushed by falling ceiling he ran out of the door whistling a jaunty tune. The ceiling fell and Angel was there scooping her up and throwing her and himself to safety. She landed next to Xander on the floor, who seemed to be bleeding from a cut on his head.
Buffy snapped out of it then jumping to her feet she yelled "Giles! Willow!"
"Buffy!" She heard from where the ceiling had crashed as the dust began to settle.
The Slayer ran into the room to see an entire portion of the ceiling had fallen and Willow lay clutching her leg as a heavy piece of plaster had fallen on it. Buffy ran to her, jumping over wood and other materials she lifted the plaster easily and Willow cried out.
Kennedy came running down the stairs "Willow!"
Other girls followed and the all made sounds of shock as Buffy ran to find Giles safe in the knowledge that Kennedy would tend to Willow. Angel entered and he started lifting bricks to help her find him. Eventually they heard his cries and found him bruised and bloodied under bricks and wood, blood was streaming from his stomach.
"Angel, get...get...Giles, Willow and Xander to hospital now," Buffy looked at him "Take my car"
Faith came down the stairs; she had been taking care of the girls with Robin who also appeared "Woah, B..."
"Faith, Robin help Angel get Xander, Willow and Giles to my car. Now!" Buffy called then ran to the middle of the floor frantically throwing bricks off.
She pulled away, bloodying her hands but she didn't care. Bricks, stones, lumps of plaster, pipes and then she found it – the arm. She found Spike's arm before she found him. It was severed jaggedly and still bleeding the hand open, reaching. Buffy retched again and again then she pulled herself together, she had to help Spike. She kept digging for him and found his charred body finally, she cleared the bricks away throwing them as far as possible. The girls started to get hysterical when they saw him and the arm.
Faith, Robin and Angel returned to get Xander and when they saw Spike they all stopped and stared, even Angel looked destroyed. Robin, who had learned Spike had killed his mother looked somber, not happy.
"Get Xander to the hospital, now!" Buffy screamed and they jolted back grabbing her friend and carrying her out then Buffy turned to the girls on the stairs "Wesley!" She yelled.
He came down the stairs and stopped, face a picture of shock "Oh my god...Buffy, I've been trying to k...keep the rest of the girls calm but..."
"Take them upstairs now" Buffy motioned to the other girls on the stairs.
Wesley nodded dumbly for a moment then snapped into action ushering the hysterical girls upstairs and finally Buffy was alone with him. Spike was unconscious. She found it hard to even think of him as Spike. She ripped the bottom of her shirt off, going into Slayer mode and forgetting that this was actually someone she cared about.
She wrapped the shirt tightly around the gaping wound that had once been his arm to cut off the blood pouring because although Spike had no circulation the cold, dead, blood would gush from him anyway. Buffy knew she had to move him but he seemed to be in such pain and the living room was still dangerous.
"Wesley! Fred!" She called up to them frantically.
The pair came running down the stairs and Fred covered her mouth at the sight that lay before her.
Buffy had to act quickly "Wesley can you do a spell or something to put the fire out?"
He nodded and ran upstairs swiftly to get a book and some materials.
"Buffy..." Fred whispered.
"I'm taking him to the dining room, I'm gonna need your help to cut his clothes off of him" Buffy said as she scooped Spike up under his shoulder, much to his dazed protestations and threw him over her shoulder like a fireman. He was warm to touch, as a vampire he was never warm.
Fred just stood there "I..."
"Fred, I need you" Buffy looked at her and the woman nodded, composed as Buffy turned on her heel and carried Spike down the hall to the dining room.
She kicked the door open and carried him through walking to the largest table she laid the burnt vampire down on it and saw he had fallen unconscious again. Fred followed her through and before she closed the doors Buffy heard Wesley chanting a spell to douse the fires.
The Slayer walked to the cutlery draws and pulled out some sharp looking pairs of scissors. She walked over and handed the brunette one pair of scissors; Fred pushed her glasses further up her nose and took a deep breath.
"Any idea how to do this as painlessly as possible?" Buffy asked.
"We should give him something, an anesthetic" Fred concurred.
"Don't have any lying around"
Fred took a moment "Brandy, whiskey or whatever will do"
Buffy ran back over to the kitchen area and peered over the counter finding Giles' bottle of malt whiskey she ran back and handed it to Fred. She placed the bottle to Spike's mouth, his lips gone, and poured it down his throat because there was no danger of drowning him as Spike didn't have to breathe. The whole bottle was downed so there was no margin for error.
"Buffy, his arm" Fred said cautiously "That...that won't heal, right?"
Buffy looked down "Let's just concentrate on the burns"
"Right"
Then a few minutes later to let the whiskey start its work the two women set about the gruesome job of cutting Spike's clothes off. They had been burned and melded into his skin and when they managed to remove sections pieces of gooey skin came with them. Spike was wearing denim jeans which was as bad as it got and Buffy pulled his half burnt off shoes off taking a lot of flesh with them. Luckily his T-shirt peeled off a little easier and after hours of work Spike lay naked and bloody in front of them. There was nothing sexual about his nudity; this was too painful so that Buffy didn't even want to watch. He was blistered and ragged even worse where his clothes had been ripped from his flesh and with a peeling head and no lips Buffy began to think he looked like a crash test dummy, a morbid, scary one.
"Have we got enough bandages?" Buffy said suddenly after their moment of silence "You're not suppose to let air get to burns right?"
"Right. We should get as many bandages as we have and some cellophane" Fred said.
Buffy nodded "I'll go to all the bathrooms and get the bandages you stay here, get the cellophane and start dressing the worst looking ones"
Buffy ran using all her Slayer speed to the bathroom upstairs ignoring the sounds of the girls talking she opened the cabinet and threw everything out pulling all the bandages that she could find and being that they had a lot of Slayer they had quite a few bandages.
"Buffy?" It was Dawn.
She stopped and turned to her, aware her hands and clothes were covered in Spike's blood "Dawn go back to your room"
"Let me help. It's Spike...right?" She bit her lip; worried "Is it true? About his arm..."
"I have to go. Stay here" Buffy turned and ran down the stairs then visited the other two bathrooms and pulled all the bandages from here and a few dressings for the minor wounds then she sprinted back to the dining room.
Fred had already started wrapping Spike's calf in cellophane and Buffy dumped the stuff on the table as she started to dress the more minor wounds on him, his other ear, a few of the marks on his chest and the one side of his torso weren't too bad. Then she picked up the bandages and wrapped his arm up in that too. Then she wrapped the bandages in a long winding wrap around his ribs as Fred had done his other leg and his feet.
"What about his head? And his lips?" Buffy asked.
"Can't do anything about the lips, we could wrap bandages around his head. As a vampire he won't need to be bandaged up for more then a day. He'll still hurt and won't be able to move too well but he'll be okay" Fred tried to sound positive "Shall we get him to a bed?"
Buffy nodded "My room. We'll shut the blinds, keep it dark and...okay, let's do it"
Buffy carefully as she possibly could lifted Spike again and he grunted then said nothing again, drifting in and out of consciousness. She lead them up the stairs and to her room thankful that none of the girls came out, including Dawn and she lay him down on her bed, this shell of the man she had known. Buffy walked around to the window and closed the blinds even though it was night she did not want Spike to get badly burned the next morning. She then closed the curtains for extra protection leaving the room so dark she could barely see.
Buffy left the room unable to look at him any longer and she shut the door sitting down outside Dawn did reappear then and she sat next to the weary Slayer on the floor.
"He came back just...just for this to happen" Buffy's voice was raspy.
"Buffy," Dawn said quietly "Spike will heal the burns, tomorrow he'll already feel better"
"What about his arm?"
Dawn was silent.
Buffy put her head in her hands then she ticked her eyes up, angry, cold "Those psycho face swapping demons are gonna pay so bad..."
A/N: Man, I. AM. EVIL. Ask me how!