A/N : Okay so I kinda left this on a bit of a cliffhanger didn't I? Sorry about that but it kinda guaranteed you'd all come back for this chapter, now didn't it? Anywho, big thanx to all those that reviewed; Moonjava, u2fan2005, Freezyboncoolipants, RoleModelGirlie, Moluvsnumber17, sheilamarie, Spuffyfan4eva, Amandamanda3, spikespet2002, Syd, SpikesDreamer, Time Rowanwood, Demonica Mills, spuffy4eva. You've all been super patient, so here's the new chapter.
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 14

"Faith, Angel, this is it" Buffy told them as they came forward, both of them hugging Mandy tight before handing her over to Joyce. It took every bit of willpower they had to let go of their baby. This was one of the biggest fights they would face and the fear they might not come back hit them like a physical strike.

"We can do this, we can" Becky told herself with more confidence than she felt as her mother gathered up some weapons and the rest of the gang scrambled to help with the ritual to stop the demon that was coming sooner than anyone predicted.

"It'll be headed for the Hellmouth" Giles yelled over the noise that was rising in volume once again, the rumble of the earth as the demon's power became all too apparent.

"Then that's where we're headed too" Buffy told them, a sword in her hand and a battle-axe strapped to her back just in case. Becky stood with her, as did Faith and Angel all fully armed. They shared a look before heading for the door. Buffy looked back just once, glancing at Spike, telling him with her eyes only just how much she loved him, as he did the same.

"Good luck" Joyce called behind them, holding Mandy to her as the little girl screamed for her parents.

Spike hated to be left behind, hated being stuck here when his wife and daughter were out there fighting the good fight, but what choice did he really have. He glanced over at the rest of the Scoobies who were frantically clearing a space of the floor and trying to salvage books and ingredients from the mess the earth-quake had caused.

"Where do you want me, Red?" he asked Willow. He knew a little of the magicks, but not enough to be of any use unless someone told him what needed doing.

"Er, I don't know" Willow floundered, desperate not to lose it under the pressure but finding it difficult,

"Come on now, luv" Spike told her much more calmly than he felt as he took hold of her by her arms and looked her right in the eye, "Slayers' are countin' on you to do this, and we all know you can, right?"

"Right" she nodded taking a deep breath. Somehow he'd given her that little bit of confidence in herself that she needed right now, "This space isn't big enough" she realised, "The shelving that fell has taken a lot of the space..."

"No problem" Spike assured her, leaping carefully over the debris to the edge of the fallen shelving, "Harris!" he yelled, "Give a bloke a hand would you!" he called and Xander did as he was asked.

With Spike at one end and the joint effort of the Harris father and son team at the other, they managed to heft the wooden unit over against the wall. Giles and Cordy pushed the table back on the other side and the floor space near doubled in size.

"This is better" Willow smiled triumphantly, "Now we need..." she started, only to find what she was about to ask for appeared in front of her. She and Tara often worked like one instrument, especially where spells were involved, and they had an uncanny ability to predict the others next move.

"You ready, sweetie?" her girlfriend asked her, and the red-head nodded. Both witches took a bottle of coloured sand and step forward into the space on the floor. A glance to the rest of the group told them now was the time to back off, and they all did so, barring Spike. He had a part to play in this spell, and was grateful for once to have the demon inside him, without it he would be as useless now as the humans that huddled in the corner and waited for the witches to do what they must. The thick stench of the groups fear would've over-whelmed him if not for the fact he were too scared himself to really notice. One error in this ritual could result in something truly catastrophic happening, and things were bad enough as they were.

Buffy was feeling a million different emotions as they headed for the Hellmouth once again. She'd fought so many battles there, not to mention she'd been to High School there too. She was so relieved when the time came to rebuild Sunnydale High finally they chose a different location. Though it seemed the residents of the small town didn't know what really went bump in the night, nothing else was ever built atop the mouth to hell. The dilapidated school building was standing even less well these days and every fight the Scoobies had there usually caused another sector to fall. The library that had once housed the mouth to hell itself had lost it's roof completely years ago and the four walls that remained were crumbling a little more every day now it seemed.

As they reached the remains of the School the howling of something truly frightening could be heard within.

"You think that's it?" Becky asked a little worriedly, "You think the demon's making that sound?"

"Don't know" Faith shook her head, pulling her sword from it's sheath, "Don't care" she added as she charged towards the painful wailing. Angel, Buffy and Becky followed suit, eager to get this over with but also so afraid of the fact they might not come out of this building alive.

"Tempus, great God of time" Willow's voice boomed as she stood in the centre of the Magic Box, coloured sand laid out in a sacred pattern at her feet and Tara at her side, their hands gripped together, "We summon thee with our voices and our hands"

"We call upon thee to bind that which should not be free" Tara took over, her voice sounding strange to Spike and the others who rarely if ever heard the kindly woman speak louder than a whisper.

"We offer sacrifice" Willow continued, picking up a knife in her right hand and laying it flat on Tara's left as she raised it.

"The life-blood of one unclean for the stilled eternity of another" the blonde added, the slight nod of her head instructing Spike to come forward.

"We spill the blood in the name of thee, Tempus. Father of time. Brother of life" Willow said firmly and deliberately as she picked up the blade once again and sliced across Spike's wrist that he held out for her. He winced as the blade cut his skin, and blood ran from the wound onto the floor, slowly seeping into the sand that lay there.

"Tempus constrictum, Joh'ran Katama" the witches chanted together, "Tempus constrictum, Joh'ran Katama"

Their eyes fells shut as they concentrated and their joined hands rose as if of their own accord. Spike's blood on the ground was barely visible as the sand drew in the liquid. The symbols seemed to glow an eerie red as the witches continued their mantra and Spike backed up to the wall where the others looked on. Mandy was passed from Joyce to Cordy as the older woman tore at the table cloth and wrapped the material tightly around Spike's arm to stem the flow of his blood.

The earth shook once again and no-one was sure if it were the effects of the demon or the ritual that was causing it. In a few moments, they would know for sure.

The near-defeaning shrieking of something unknown was only getting louder as the four fighters approached the Hellmouth. No-one was prepared for what faced them when they got there. The demon wasn't really what they'd imagined. Perhaps just a foot or two taller than the average human but overly bulky and almost hunch-backed. It didn't look half so dangerous as they'd thought it might, but they knew appearances could be very deceiving and the noise that emanated from the creature was enough to make them all wince with pain before the fight had even begun.

It was momentarily silent when the presence of human beings became apparent. The large, hairless, and predominately blue coloured creature stared them all down like a predator eyeing up it's prey. The four stood strong, inching around until they had it surrounded. The Joh'ran didn't move just stared at each of them in turn, it's too large head bobbing around like a snake being charmed from a basket.

No-one seemed eager to make the first move, not the humans or the demon, not at first anyway. Buffy could have sworn the thing grinned before it lunged at her, sweeping it's arm at her legs. She jumped above it's swing, rolling away as Becky attacked the demon from behind. Faith and Angel soon joined the fray, all four of the gang hacking and slashing for all they were worth, but it seemed to do no good. The Joh'ran batted them away with a strength the like of which Buffy was sure she'd never witnessed before. It barely took any effort for the creature to send her flying fifty feet in the air and Becky screamed as she watched her mother hit the wall which such force she was instantly unconscious.

"You bastard!" the young Slayer yelled, pure rage taking over as she ran full pelt at the attacking demon. She forced her sword deep into what she assumed to be it's heart as it used both arms to knock Angel and Faith away.

The Joh'ran let out a scream even louder than it's previous noise and Becky was convinced she'd killed it. Angel got to his feet and looked over just in time to see the demon pull the sword from it's chest and flick it away as if it were nothing, but still it continued to make the terrible unearthly noise. The ex-vampires attention was taken by his wife as she looked terribly unsteady on her feet. Further over Buffy was bleeding profusely on the ground and Becky was about to get severely beaten down as she faced the Joh'ran unarmed and alone.

"Becky!" he yelled throwing her his own axe which she caught easily. She stood strong, read for attack just like Mom and Dad had always taught her, but the assault never came. The demon turned away from her and Angel was worried it was coming for him instead. He'd just given up his only means of defence, but the Joh'ran ignored him, wailing still as it thundered from the building at a moderate speed.

"I don't understand!" Becky yelled over the terrible noise, "I thought it wanted the Hellmouth open"

Angel watched in astonishment as the demon sprouted awkward-looking wings from it's back and took off towards the centre of the town.

"The Magic Box" he realised with some horror, "I think it's sensed the ritual happening"

Faith hissed from the pain all over her body as she dragged herself to her husbands side, "Angel, this ain't good" she said pointlessly as she allowed him to support her.

"I know" he agreed, "but there's nothing left for us to do" he realised sadly, "We can't out-run it"

"I'm gonna try" his wife defied his word, taking off at much less speed than she might have if she were less beat up. As Becky ran back into the ruined building to find her mother, Angel went after Faith. They had to at least try to get to the Magic Box and help, if only for their daughters sake. If the demon cold cause this much damage to super-humans, he didn't like to think what might happen to the others.

A sound like an unearthly scream permeated the walls of the Magic shop as Willow and Tara's chanting increased in volume and intensity. Spike took a usually unneeded breath and every muscle in his body tensed.

"Xander" he said turning to him, "Get everyone in the training room and barricade the door" he told him.

"What? Why?" the brunette wanted to know but Spike shook his head.

"Don't ask, just go" he yelled, "If you want everyone to live just go"

The Wiccas were too deep in their ritual to notice the commotion that went on around them. Xander did as he was instructed, bundling the rest of the gang into the training room, before he and Giles pulled equipment and furniture in front of the door. Spike had sensed what the humans couldn't. The demon had changed tactic, probably sensed the ritual being performed, and it was coming here.

The vampire's hand went to his back pocket, pulled out his wallet where pictures of both his wife and daughter resided. If he was going down it was with their images burned into his mind he promised himself. The chances of him killing the Joh'ran before it killed him were closer to zero than he would've liked but, but if he could just hold the thing back until the witches finished the ritual it wouldn't matter.

"Here it comes" he said to himself, grabbing a large axe and readying himself for the attack.

"Tempus constrictum, Joh'ran Katama..." the chanting of the witches rang in the vampires ears as he leapt from the counter top he'd climbed onto, coat billowing out behind him as he landed atop the demon that raged in it's attempts to dislodge him. The axe came down over and over onto the creatures head and shoulder, barely making cuts, but it didn't stop Spike trying. His game face slipped into place, bringing extra strength with it, but his weapon was lost as the Joh'ran threw him to the ground and the blade of the axe remained embedded within it's back.

With what could only be described as an evil grin and a war-cry, the Joh'ran flicked out one arm, a deadly looking spine shooting out from it's fisted hand. In one swift movement it thrust the spine down into the vampires chest, making Spike scream with terrific pain, more so when the needle-like weapon was removed.

As the Joh'ran raised it's arm to take a second strike, the ritual finally did what it should. The demon seemed to pause mid-swing and as Willow and Tara came out of their trance, completely exhausted, they were shocked by what they saw.

"Spike!" Willow called, moving to go towards him but Tara grabbed her hand to stop her, not yet trusting the stasis effect on the demon to hold.

The vampire on the ground shifted and pulled himself up painfully slowly as if the spell had got to him too. Even the slightest movement caused him agony that threatened to make him to black-out at any second, but this thing needed killing and he was the only one strong enough to do it. Climbing up onto the creatures humped back, he dragged the axe out of it's flesh and began to hack at the Joh'ran's neck with all the force he possessed. After ten or so swings, Tara counted, there was a terrible crunch of breaking bone and both witches turned away as the head of the demon rolled to the ground. The body slumped after it, the fact that the demon was dead, clearly ending the effects of the ritual.

The loss of blood coupled with the poisonous strike of the Joh'ran Katama had bad enough effects on Spike. Add to this the fact he had killed the demon on sheer will power alone, it was no surprise that when he fell from the back of the collapsing demon, hitting the concrete floor with some force, his world went entirely black.

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : I'm fairly certain I suck at action scenes but I did my best here and hope it wasn't too bad. My beta assures me it's very good but I eagerly await all your responses to this action-packed chapter!