Chapter Ten: The End of the World. Angel's soulless, and Spike makes a mysterious decision to join forces with Xander and the rest of the Scoobies to make sure that the Judge doesn't wipe out humanity.

Someone pointed out to me that Xander could smell Spike and Angel together, but Angel couldn't smell Spike on Xander. Which I admit is a mistake, but in my defense I'll say that Joss was never particularly consistent about vampire's senses. They could smell and hear better when it was convenient for them to, and when it was necessary for them to not know something, they magically couldn't sense anything.

"-And it turns out that Ted was a psychopath, but he was a serial-killing robot that was made by the original Ted, who was such a sickly loser that his wife left him, and so the robot Ted kept marrying her and killing her, over and over again."

"Even for me that sounds incredibly depressing," Spike said. "And pathetic."

"Not getting any argument from me. Willow's in awe over the robot, though. Says that Ted- the original Ted- must have been a genius. Can't say as I argue- I didn't even smell a whiff of metal on the guy, and I was around him for hours. Is there a way to simulate scent?"

"If someone has enough time to create and program a 'bot like that, I'm sure he could figure out a way," Spike pointed out. "If he's as genius as Red says."

Xander laughed suddenly. "I called Willow that recently."

"What, Red?"

"Yeah, she gave me the weirdest look."

"Just imagine what she'd look like if she knew where you got the name from, then," Spike said with a laugh. "Bug-eyes? Steam from her ears?"

"You watch too much tv," Xander said. "Definitely too many cartoons."

"Hey!" Spike said. "'S'not my fault that I watch the bloody things, is it?"

"Whose fault is it, then?" Xander challenged.

"Dru's, of course."

Xander paused to consider that. "Okay, that I'll give you. Cartoons are probably right up her alley."

"Too right they are. She stays up Sunday mornings, when any sensible vamp would be asleep. She's addicted to the bloody things."

"They probably even make sense to her."

Spike got an arrested look on his face suddenly, and glanced over at Xander. "We're having a conversation."

Xander looked confused. "Yeah?"

Spike looked pointedly around the cemetery- they were leaning against the wall of a crypt. "We're together, in a public place, and we're having a conversation."

Xander shrugged. "It's not the first time." He paused. "Is it?"

Spike nodded solemnly. "That it is, pet. Usually you're paranoid that the Slayer's gonna show and kick my shiny white bum."

Xander snorted. "Like she needs more reasons for that?" More seriously, he added, "She's with her mom. We're fine."

"Oh, well, in that case," Spike said, and hauled Xander over to kiss the hell out of him. Xander made a pleased noise at the back of his throat and kissed him back, gripping a double handful of Spike's t-shirt in his fists.

Spike pulled back, his eyes pleasurably unfocused. "My place or yours?"

"Yours. It's closer."

Angel was just relaxing into his chair with a good book when he heard the knock on his door.

Sighing, he marked his place and got up to answer it, wondering who the hell was coming to his apartment at- he checked the clock on the wall- three thirty-two in the morning.

It was Buffy, he discovered when he opened the door. She was looking a little frazzled, and considering the most recent turn of events with her mother and Ted, he didn't really blame her.

"Buffy," he said. "What is it?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep, is all. Thought about patrolling, but, well, Xander's covering it. You mind?"

"That you came here? Of course not." He stepped back and gestured towards his chair with the book propped on the arm. "I wasn't doing much of anything anyway."

She smiled at him, and settled down on the couch. He took one look at the very short couch, and opted to sit in his chair.

She sighed and slumped in her seat, sliding downwards till she could roll her head back and rest it on the back of the couch. She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. "Long day, you know? What with Willow going on and on about Ted the genius because he built Ted the robot, and mom still freaked out."

"Can you blame her?" Angel asked gently.

She opened one eye. "Are you kidding? Of course I don't blame her. I know that he's melted down into bits- well, the bits that Willow didn't keep, anyway- and I'm still freaked. She thinks he's out roaming loose. I'd have to be on medication, in her place."

Angel half-shrugged, lifting one shoulder and giving her a little smile. "Lucky you aren't in her place, then."

She smiled back at him. "Yeah. Besides, my boyfriend's way less psycho. I have nothing to fear."

He stared at her for a moment, caught by the word boyfriend. Of course, he'd known that they were together, but she'd never said it, not where he could hear, anyway.

"Angel? What is it?"

"Just- boyfriend. You hadn't said it, before."

She paused, then pulled herself up from the couch and crossed the room to him. Seconds later she was curled up in his lap, looking up into his eyes.

"I love you. You know that. I'm sorry I never said it before, but I do. I love you. And you are very definitely my boyfriend."

He let his head fall forward, so that his forehead was pressed gently against hers. "I love you, Buffy," he whispered, and she smiled her brightest smile and kissed him.

"Ohmigod, you said it! Oh wow, oh wow! You mean- you said the words? Out loud and everything? And he said them back?"

"Breathe, Wills," Buffy said, laughing a little. "Yeah, I said the words, and he said the words. I love him, he loves me."

"You sound so blasé about it," Willow said. "Aren't you a little stoked?"

"Well, I already knew and everything, and... and oh god yes, I'm stoked! It's the most amazing feeling in the world. I love him! And he loves me! There's not enough adjectives in the English language to describe how good I feel right now."

Willow grinned at her, and leaned over to give her a big hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"But what about you?" Buffy said. "Is there anyone in the Willow love-horizon?"

"I think you mixed your metaphors there, but, well, kinda."

"Ooo, who is he? Do tell."

"Well, you remember Oz?"

"The cute guitar player who saved your life?"

"Yeah. Well, I think I'm interested, and I think he's interested, but I'm not really sure."

"Well, we'll get to him in a minute, but let's start with you. You think about him a lot?"

Willow bit her lower lip, blushed, and nodded. "Yeah. He has nice hands."

Buffy grinned at her. "Attention to insignificant detail- that's a big ole check in the 'Willow is interested' column."

"But what about him?" Willow said anxiously. "How do I know if he's interested? You know, as more than just friends, and everything."

"Well, that's a no-brainer. Ask him."

Willow gaped at her. "You're joking, right? Please tell me you're joking."

"No, I'm not." Buffy put on her stern face. "Wills, just go up and ask him out. If he says yes, then he wants to be with you. It's not that complicated."

"Yes it is! It means that I have to... ask him, and stuff! What if he says no? I'm left there looking like a fool while he pats me on the head and feels sorry for me."

"He's not going to say no. Look- he's sitting over there on the table, and he's watching you. He's definitely interested. Now all you have to do is ask him."

Willow pouted. "Do I have to?"

Buffy smiled, and gave her a one-armed hug. "Yes, you do. Now- go!"

Trying out one last, pathetic pout, Willow went.

"So how is the life of Xander?"

Xander looked up from the book in front of him. "Hey, Buff. Pretty good, actually. How's the world-saving business going?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" She settled down in the seat across the table from him. "Since you were on patrol last night, and everything?"

"Oh, that. Didn't see any nasties to be killed, which was a welcome change. How was your mom night?"

Buffy sighed. "A little tense, but otherwise okay. She's still wigged about Ted coming back, and I can't really tell her that he won't, because she'll ask me how I know. I just make agreeable noises and nod and pat her arm. Then I couldn't sleep last night, so I hightailed it to Angel's."

"Ah, late-night boyfriend visits," Xander said. "Not that I would know anything about that, of course."

Buffy snorted. "Right, about that. I officially renounce pretending that I don't know what's going on."

He gave her a panicked look. "Uh, what?"

"You and this mystery guy? We know you hooked up. It's been all over you for weeks. You might as well have walked around with a neon sign that said, 'Xander got laid.'"

He blinked. "Oh, that. Um, yeah, we're together."

"So? Dish."

"Well, he's a hottie. We're together. Smile and be a happy Buffy, because that's more than you knew before."

She pouted at him. "C'mon, Xander, who loves you? Who stands by your side when things get tough?"

"Who's a nosy little so-and-so?" Xander rejoined. "Maybe you'll meet him. Someday. A day that is very far from now."

Her pout grew in intensity. "Xan-derrr," she whined. "I wanna know about your boyfriend. You know all about my boyfriend."

"Yes, I do. And believe me, when you two first hooked up, I didn't want to."

"Fine. I know about Willow's soon-to-be boyfriend, then, and I won't tell me unless you give me the lowdown on this hunk you're dating."

He looked torn for a moment, then smiled at something behind Buffy's head. "She's coming this way, and she's bouncing, so believe you me, you won't have to tell me anything, because she's about to spill it all."

"Ohmigod! He said yes! Buffy, can you believe it, he actually said yes!"

"Who said yes to what, Willow?" Xander asked, smirking at Buffy.

"Oz, you know, the guitar player? I asked him out for a date, and he said yes!"

"Where are you going, Will?" Buffy said, glaring back at Xander.

"The Bronze, of course. Oo! You can bring Angel, and it'll be a double-date!"

"Great idea! And Xander can bring his snuggle-bunny so we can inspect him and decide if he's good enough for our Xan."

Willow looked from Buffy to Xander. "We're not pretending anymore?" Buffy shook her head. "Cool! Xander, bring him! We want to meet him!"

"And to that I say, a world of no."

"Why not?" Willow pouted. "Are we not good enough for him or something?"

"Not that at all. Buffy, you'd kill him seconds after meeting him."

"He's evil?" Buffy demanded. "Xander, are you dating someone evil?"

"He's that annoying," Xander said evasively.

"Then why are you dating him?" she demanded, smacking him on the arm. He winced, rubbed his arm, and offered, "The sex?"

"Ew!" Buffy said, and smacked him again.

"I second that ew, and raise you a 'bad Xander!'" Willow said, and smacked him on the other arm. That one didn't really hurt, but he winced again and rubbed it anyway, to make her feel better.

"What? You two knew we were doing it, apparently, so what are you smacking me for now?"

"That was when we thought that you had a deep and meaningful relationship that wasn't just about the sex!" Buffy said. "Xander, how could you?"

He stared at her. "Buffy, I am a seventeen year old male. My dream relationship is one where it's all about sex."

She turned her back on him and stuck her nose in the air. "I don't think we want to meet this guy anyway."

"Good, then I'll just skip the Bronze group date tonight!" Xander said. "Thanks, Buff. I knew you'd understand." He scooped up his bag, gave Willow a kiss on the cheek, and was gone before she could reply.

Xander sighed as he settled back against the pillows. Spike hadn't shown up yet, and Xander was both relieved and disappointed at the thought that he might not come tonight.

Relieved, because Spike was an incredibly exhausting and evil person, and disappointed, because Spike was an incredibly exhausting and evil person that he'd grown attached to.

Well, that and the sex.

But thinking about sex was counterproductive to actually catching up on his sleep, which was what he was currently trying to do. Patrolling for the Slayer, training with Buffy and with Angel, fairly frequent research parties and school on top of regular sex with Spike didn't leave a lot of time for sleep. Which is why he took every opportunity to do so, after his pre-relationship fiasco with Spike obsession.

Not that he was any better now, if his current state was anything to go by. He and Spike had settled into a pattern of Xander finding Spike when he was out on patrol and Spike coming to his house when he wasn't, and that meant that it was Spike's turn to show up. One or the other of them was often busy for some reason, so it wasn't that big a deal if they missed each other for a night or two. Life rolled on, and sex could always be had the next time they met.

Which worked fairly well for Xander, actually. Casual sex and some laughs- it was any guy's dream relationship, just like he'd told Buffy. And most of the time he could even ignore the squishy emotional stuff.

It was when he was alone that it hit him. Unfortunately, alone time for Xander was usually naptime, and it was interfering with his beauty sleep, which was not okay.

Finally giving up, he climbed out of bed and crossed the room. He looked guiltily at the window, as if making sure that no evil vampire was going to show up and mock, and then pulled open the bottom drawer of the chest of drawers.

Inside, balled up at the back, was a shirt he'd stolen of Spike's when his own had been ripped to shreds in one of their more... passionate encounters. Spike had seemed to have forgotten that he'd lent it to Xander, and Xander wasn't about to remind him.

He pulled out the shirt and smoothed it out with gentle hands. Then, very carefully, he pulled it around his shoulders and held it closed across his chest.

Wrapped in Spike's shirt, he crawled back into bed and settled down again, with a contended sigh. Then, surrounded by Spike's scent, he was finally able to fall asleep.

It was an even sunnier than usual morning in Sunnydale the next day, and Xander felt somewhat blinded when stepped out into the sunshine. Privately, he thought he was spending just a little bit too much time in the dark, but that was a thought for another day.

He made his way to the library for the usual morning check-in, and waved cheerfully to Willow when he came in. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, Xander has entered the building."

Willow, and Buffy, along with Giles, Cordelia, and Ms. Calendar, all of whom he'd just now spotted, all turned to him with disquietingly sober expressions. He stopped in his tracks. "What happened?"

"Spike and Drusilla managed to put the Judge back together," Willow explained quietly.

"And the Judge would be?"

"Big, scary demon," Buffy said. "Can't be killed by any weapon. Giles will fill you in on the rest."

She turned on her heel and stalked off into Giles' office. Giles cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. The Judge is an ancient demon, who, well, to shorten it, he burns humanity. It's said that he can't be killed by any weapon ever forged. An army was sent against him, and most of them fell, but eventually they succeeded in chopping him into pieces. They locked the pieces in separate boxes and the boxes were hidden at the farthest corners of the Earth. Buffy got the last box away from them last night, but she and Angel were attacked, and they now have all the pieces."

"How do we know?"

"Buffy and Angel tracked them to the factory, where Spike and Drusilla are staying. We had thought them out of town by now, of course, since we haven't seen hide nor hair of them for weeks, but apparently we were wrong. They reassembled the Judge, and Buffy and Angel were almost killed by him."

"You said that the Judge burns humanity. What happens if he isn't stopped?"

"He will probably need another day or two to gather his strength, but after that, well, he will go forth, and incinerate the human race."

"He needs to be stopped, then. And fast."

"Yes, quite."

"What do you need me to do?"

Giles pointed at the books, which Willow and Cordy and Ms. Calendar had gone back to reading. "Research, I'm afraid. There isn't much, but we need every scrap of information that we can find."

"I'm on it."

Xander settled down at the books, turned his chair away from the others, and let go of the leash he'd been holding on his rage. So that's what Spike had been doing the night before. No wonder he hadn't bothered to show up at Xander's place.

He'd been brewing up an apocalypse.

Spike stared at the back of the Judge's head, and wondered why he was doing this.

It wasn't his idea. On that point he was firm. It was Drusilla's, of course, because his sweet Dru was just mad enough to be enthralled by the idea of ending the world. He, on the other hand, was a bit more concerned about their food supply, and how vampires like them were supposed to survive when all the humans were ash.

He was wondering if there was a way to actually get rid of the Judge without hacking him up into little tiny pieces when he heard a very familiar voice behind him.

"You know, you really should learn to watch your back."

"And why should I bother," Spike said without turning around to face Angel, "when I've got my very own watchdog?"

He turned around and jerked his thumb towards the Judge, who was slowly rising out of his kneeling position. "It's not like I'm real worried about what a Caped Crusader like yourself is going to do to me."

Angel just stood there and smirked. And said nothing. Which, really, for Angel, in any incarnation, was odd. He was all about the taunt, the witty and mocking comment. He never just stood there like the big useless lump he was, which was unfortunate, but at the moment it was making Spike wonder what the hell was going on and what Angel was planning.

The Lump didn't even move when the Judge right up to him and pressed a gauntleted hand to his chest. Spike leaned back against the wall, anticipating with great pleasure the sight of Angel burning to ash, but there was just... nothing.

"What are you doing, you twit? Burn him!"

"Gee," Angel said. "Maybe he's broken."

The Judge dropped his hand and shook his head. "I cannot burn this one. He is clean." When Spike stared incredulously at him, the Judge added, "There is no humanity in him."

The Judge wandered off, seeming somewhat disgusted with the whole thing, and still Spike just sat there and gaped. Angel- what? It couldn't be.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Angel said, with a little quirk of his lips as he shrugged his shoulders and tugged on his coat to straighten it. Spike heard a little gasp from behind him, and knew without looking that Dru had entered the room.

"Angel?" she said in a tiny, hopeful voice.

"Yeah, baby," Angel said, and yeah, there was that sneer that Spike remembered all too well. "I'm back."

Well, bugger, Spike thought. How am I supposed to stop the Judge from burning up my food supply with this wanker running amuck?

Time for Plan B.

Xander checked to make sure that Buffy was in the office and safely out of earshot before turning to Willow and whispering, "What's up with Buffy? Besides the apocalypse thing, I mean."

"She's all wigged about Angel disappearing," Willow whispered back. "We're all worried that the Judge might have gotten him or something."

"You mean we don't know where he is? I thought Buffy said that they got out of the factory okay."

"They did. Apparently they went back to his place, and he disappeared sometime this morning. Buffy thinks that he maybe went after the Judge on his own."

"He's not that foolish, Wills," Xander said, but he had a very bad feeling. Something had happened to Angel.

On the heels of that thought, he heard a voice say his name. He spun around in his seat and then, after blinking for a moment, he ensured that he wasn't hallucinating, and it was, indeed, Spike who was standing in front of the doorway to the library.

Buffy came rushing out of the office, stake in hand, but Xander caught her wrist before she could throw it. "Spike. Why are you here."

"We have a problem."

"We?" Buffy demanded. "Xander, why'd you stop me from killing him?"

"What kind of problem?" Xander asked. He didn't let go of Buffy's wrist, and he didn't take his eyes off Spike's face. Something there clued him in. "It's Angel, isn't it?"

"'Fraid so, pet. He's turned. I dunno how, but he did it."

"What the hell are you talking about, Spike?" Buffy angrily wrenched her wrist free of Xander's grip, and glared at her friend. "Why are you talking to him, anyway?"

"Because I think he's about to save our asses, Buff," Xander said quietly. "Angel's turned. As in, he no longer has a soul. He's evil."

"What? That's stupid. He's missing, not evil. You're not taking Spike's word on this, are you? He's probably just trying to cause trouble again."

"I wish I was, Slayer," Spike said. "Believe me, there's nothing I like more than trouble. Unfortunately, it's the truth. The brooding poofter has left the building, and in his place is Angelus the blood-happy psycho. So to speak."

"You're talking like me," Xander said, when Buffy refused to respond. "Stop it."

"I had you saying 'wanker' last week, remember? Turnabout's only fair play."

Willow stood up. "You two know each other? As in, you know, know? Speaking to each other, not trying to kill each other?"

"Something like that," Xander said quietly. "It's complicated."

"No," Buffy said fiercely. "It's not. Spike's evil. You kill him. There's nothing complicated about that."

"And what if Angel's evil, Buffy. Let's just say, for example, that it's true. You think you'd be able to kill him?"

"That's different! I love Ang-" She stopped, and went ashen. "Oh, god. Don't tell me. Please don't tell me."

"Fine," he said. "I won't. I don't have to. You've already guessed it."

Willow came up to stand beside Buffy, who looked like she wanted to collapse. "Xander? You and Spike are... involved?"

"That's one way of putting it," Spike said, seeming not to realize that speaking up now was not the brightest idea he'd ever had. Xander smacked him on the back of the head to silence him and Spike growled at him, but did nothing else but rub the back of his head.

Unfortunately, the little byplay just emphasized the intimacy between them, and Willow was getting paler, now, too. "Oh god. The guy. The guy you said you were with. It's Spike. Oh my god. You've been having sex with Spike!"

Xander winced, but nodded. "Yeah. I have. For weeks now. Since the night with Eyghon."

"You've lied to me." That was from Buffy. "You've lied to all of us. For weeks. You lied right to our faces, and we believed you."

Xander nodded again, his face solemn. "Yes, I did. And yes, you did. You had every reason to. Now you know better. And while I'm sure that there's nothing you'd rather be doing than hating me, you've got bigger problems. Namely, your boyfriend. Something happened to Angel- I knew that before Spike walked in the door."

"And why should we believe you?" Willow said. Her expression was closed off, but her eyes were bitter and cold, and Xander wondered, inwardly, if his life would ever be put back together.

"Because I don't want any of you hurt."

"Spike does," Buffy snapped.

"Yeah, well, he's evil. And according to him, so's your boyfriend."

"I don't believe you," Buffy said. "I don't believe Spike. I don't trust you, and I certainly don't trust Spike. I want him out of here before I kill him, and Xander? How about you do the same."

He stared at her for a long moment. "You're making a mistake," he said.

"I don't think I am."

"Then we're all doomed," Xander said, and walked out of the library. Spike glanced around at the rest of the Scoobies, shrugged, and flipped them a merry two-fingered salute before following Xander.

Xander waited until they were in the sewers before he said anything. "We have to do something," he said. Then he looked at Spike as if he was remembering who he was talking to. "Well, I have to do something. Unless- why are you here, Spike? Helping?"

"Want the Judge gone, pet," Spike said. "He's out to get rid of humanity, right? If you hadn't noticed, humans are pretty much what we eat. We'd starve, turn on each other, kill each other off, and just generally suffer. Not a pretty vision of my future, pet, and one I'd rather not experience for myself."

"So why did you put the Judge together in the first place?"

Spike shrugged. "Because I can't say no to Dru?"

Xander stared at him for a minute. "You need counseling."

Spike just shrugged again, and Xander started to pace after a minute. "We have to stop the Judge. That's the first priority. Stopping Angel is the second priority, preferably without killing him. Putting his soul back? Do we even know how to do that?"

"I don't know how to put the soul back," Spike said. "Personally, I'd just as soon dust the wanker, but if you want him alive, we keep him alive. I do know Olde Rumanian, though, so if you can get a written copy of the curse, then we're in business."

Xander smiled at him- a tired smile, but Spike was just grateful that Xander was with him, instead of ignoring him, denying everything, and staying back with his friends in the library. "Okay, so we've got the second part done, if we can find a copy of the curse. Right. We can find that eventually- we'll have to immobilize Angel first, though, and that means that we'd have to catch him. But that's for later. Right now, the Judge. Any ideas?"

Spike shook his head, and Xander went back to pacing. "No weapon forged," he muttered to himself. "So a sword or an arrow wouldn't pierce his heart. But he could be cut up into little pieces, so he's not totally invulnerable." He paused, his eyes widening for a moment as he got an idea. "Wait. Oh. That might work."

Spike waited a second, and when Xander didn't say anything more, he grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him. "What might work?"

"Well, they said that no weapon forged could kill him. But that was centuries ago, right? Weapons are so much more advanced now. We've got, say... rocket launchers."

Spike was absolutely still for one long moment. "Pet, I knew there was a reason I spent time with you."

Xander grinned at him. "You mean it wasn't because of my devastating wit and blinding charm? No, don't answer that. There's a military base nearby, right?" When Spike nodded, Xander said, "Could you break us in?"

Spike grinned back at him, pleased as always at the promise of mayhem. "Of course."

Buffy wondered if this was what it felt like when your heart was breaking.

She'd thought her heart had broken before. When she found out that Angel was a vampire. When she found out that he wasn't evil, only to hear that he wasn't going to hang around. When she'd thought she was going to die. When she'd found out that Angel had had sex with her best friend. But this... this was so much worse than any of those times.

She felt like she was bleeding on the inside, and she wasn't sure she was ever going to stop crying. She'd gone back to his place, to look for him and because Spike's warnings had scared her more than she'd admit, and he was there. But it wasn't him. She could see that now.

The things he said... He'd been so hurtful. Deliberately so. And try as she could to deny it, she knew that Spike had been right. That somehow, Angel had lost his soul. And she knew that somehow, she had done it.

Her feet were barely lifting off the beige tile of the school floor. She didn't have the energy to move any faster. Everything in her felt like she was dying, and it was all she could do to keep herself from collapsing into a ball and bawling her heart out. But there was an apocalypse to stop, somehow, because there was always an apocalypse, somehow. And she wasn't sure that this one could be stopped.

Merely pushing open the swinging doors to the library took all the strength she had. All her friends- minus one that she wasn't going to think about now- looked up from something they'd been clustered around on the table.

"Buffy!" She didn't think she'd ever seen Giles so relieved. "Buffy, are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, and even to her own ears her voice sounded funny. Weak. Hoarse. "Spike was right. Angel lost his soul."

Giles took a deep, shocked breath, and Willow rushed to her side. "Buffy, are you okay?"

"No," she said. "No, I'm not okay. But I'll live. What have we got on the Judge?"

"Well," Willow said. "Um, you should look at this first."

She drew Buffy over to the table where a long wooden crate sat. Willow glanced at her to make sure she was watching, then opened the lid.

Inside sat a rocket launcher, two and a half feet of gleaming metal and death. And on top of it sat a note.

Hey Buff- thought you might be needing this. If the Judge can be cut up, he can damn sure be blown up. We've also got some ideas about Angel- if you can get a copy of the curse, Spike can translate it. Don't ask where he learned to read Olde Rumanian, because he won't tell me. I know you probably don't want my help, and you damn sure don't want Spike's. But if you do need us, we're here. I'm here. Beyond that, the best I can give you is this- tomorrow night is when it's going down. Spike says the Judge will be at full strength by then. He'll hit somewhere populated, where he can get a lot of people at once- I'll leave it up to you to figure out where. And Buffy? Don't let any one of you go off by yourselves. Angel will be looking to take out anyone he knows you care about, just to weaken you. Be careful. X.

And written underneath the signature was his cell phone number.

She took a deep breath, it catching in the back of her throat on a choked sob. Willow immediately put an arm around her shoulders, and Buffy looked up at Giles, tears shining in her eyes.

"I need to use the phone."

"Hey," Xander's voice said in her ear, and Buffy sighed out his name.

"Xander."

"Guess you got my birthday present. Like the color?"

He surprised a laugh out of her. He always could. "It's perfect. You said that you would help, and, um, Spike too? He's actually helping?"

She heard his laugh, warm against her ear, and she felt some of the deadness inside her clear out again. "Yeah. He doesn't want to kill all the humans."

"This is Spike we're talking about, right?"

"He doesn't want to have nothing to eat," Xander said dryly. "You need us?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"Nearer than you think," he said, and it took her a split second to realize that his voice had come from behind her, rather than the phone. She turned, and there he was, standing in the doorway with Spike standing slightly behind him.

She took a deep breath, then ran across the space between them and hugged him as hard as she could. Instead of gasping, as most people seemed to do when she hugged them, he hugged her back just as hard.

"Don't go away again," she told him, and he murmured back, "Not even if you tell me to."

She smiled against his chest, then decided that emotional time was over, and it was time to get down to business. "Okay," she said, pulling away and walking resolutely towards the table. "Time for the plan of action. We need to figure out where the Judge will hit, and we need to make sure that we get there before he can. We have to find a copy of the gypsy curse, because Angel is our greatest threat, after the Judge. Spike, you can translate Olde Rumanian?"

"Er, yeah," Spike said, obviously surprised that she'd spoken to him directly. "Not well, mind you, but I can in a pinch."

"This qualifies as a pinch," she said. "Giles, do you know where we could start looking for the curse?"

Giles shook his head, but to Buffy's surprise, Ms. Calendar slowly raised her hand. "I do," she said quietly. When they all turned to gape at her, she repeated, "I have it. I took it with me when I left my tribe to come here."

"Tribe?" Buffy demanded. "You can't mean..."

"Gypsies. Yes. It was my people who cursed him. Gypsies have a finely-honed sense of vengeance, and I was sent here to watch over him, and to make sure that the curse still held."

"Then you know how it was broken," Buffy said desperately. "How did he lose his soul?"

"A moment of perfect happiness, no matter how short, is all it takes to end his punishment."

Buffy absorbed this blow and turned away from everyone, wrapping her arms around her middle. "It was my fault, then."

"How could it be your- Oh." Willow stopped. "That."

Shocked silence fell heavily after her words, interrupted by, of all people, Spike. "Well, this is lovely an' all, but I didn't come here to laugh at the Slayer. It's mostly just a side benefit."

Xander smacked him on the back of the head again, hard enough to send him staggering forward. "Spike, you're an asshole," he said, but it came out almost fondly, as if he'd said it so many times that he couldn't even inject any real venom into it anymore.

"He's right, though," Giles said. Everyone turned to look at him, and he flushed and added, "Not about the side benefit, about needing to work on the plan."

"I didn't say anything about a plan!"

"It was implied," Xander informed him, and then looked at Buffy. "Buff? What is the plan? You're the general of our motley little army."

Buffy took a deep breath and turned back to face them all. "Alright. Ms. Calendar, we need a copy of the curse. How quickly can you get it?" Her voice sounded like it wanted to waver, but she managed to hold it steady.

Ms. Calendar pointed at the computer. "I scanned it."

"Great. Spike, you're translating. Any materials we need, we're going to have to get them tomorrow." She glanced down at her watch. "Today, rather. We need to figure out where the Judge is going to hit, and we need to formulate a plan of attack to prevent him from mass barbeque. We need to figure out how to incapacitate Angel so that we can return his soul. And we need to keep together while we do all this, so that Angel can't pick any of us off." She took another deep breath and looked at Giles. "How am I doing?"

"Wonderful," he said supportively. "I can't think of anything to add, myself."

"I know where the Judge is going to hit," Willow said, speaking for only the second time since Xander had walked into the room. She looked remote and closed off, not like her usual Willow self, and she was very carefully not looking at Xander.

"You do?" Buffy said. "Where?"

"The mall," Willow said. "Where else are there that many people in one place in Sunnydale?"

Buffy smiled at her, wondering if she looked as frayed around the edges as she felt. "That's great, Wills. At least we have a place to start."

"The curse looks simple enough," Spike said from behind the computer. Xander was leaning against the back of his chair, one hand resting casually on Spike's shoulder. "Some herbs, some chanting, and an Orb of Thessula. That might be a bit hard to find- don't carry many of those these days."

"The magic shop three blocks over has one," Giles said. "We can send someone tomorrow to purchase it and the necessary herbs."

"I'll go," Willow said. "When the sun's up."

Buffy frowned at her. "Wills, even in the daylight, it's not really safe..."

"I'll go with her," Xander said. Willow shook her head quickly, but Xander just stared at her. "I'll keep you safe," he said with quiet intensity. "You can trust me that far, at least."

After a long, silent pause, she nodded.

"What do you want me to say?" Xander asked, hours later as he and Willow made their way to the Magic Box in very bright daylight.

"There's nothing you can say, except to tell me that it was all a hideous dream, and I know that that's not going to happen."

Yeah, she sounded bitter, alright. And hurt, which was far, far worse.

"No, that's not going to happen. I can apologize for lying to you, if it helps."

"No, it doesn't!" She stopped walking and whirled to face him. "Xander, you lied to me. You've never in your life lied to me, but this time you did."

"I lied to everyone, not just you."

"Is that supposed to make it better?" She shook her head. "Look. I don't get why you're with Spike. I don't want to get why you're with Spike, if we're being honest about it, which would be a nice change for you, so don't try to explain. I don't forgive you, and we're not okay. But I'm setting it aside for the moment, because we have bigger things to deal with right now, like an impending apocalypse. So I'd appreciate it if you'd just shut up and walk faster."

Xander stared hard at her for a moment, then shut up, and walked faster.

It was a good plan. Xander knew it was a good plan. Buffy showed signs of being a truly brilliant strategist, and while there was always something that could go wrong with any plan, this one was relatively lacking in holes.

That didn't make it any easier to wait down one of the side corridors with Spike, trying to ignore the shoppers milling around them and trying not to think about what was going to happen in the food court.

He knew that Angel was bringing the Judge and a bunch of minions through the main entrance, because Angel's ego was big enough that he'd have to come through the main one, instead of through one of the department stores. He also knew that Buffy was waiting for them with a rocket launcher.

Giles was with her, of course, and Cordelia and Oz, who Xander recognized from the couple times his band had played at the Bronze. They were backup in case the vampires didn't get blown up too, and also to pick up any Judge-pieces that might be lying around. Ms. Calendar was back at the library with Willow, trying frantically to prepare for the upcoming rensoulment spell they were going to have to do, which was as simple as Spike had said, but not exactly a cakewalk for a casual magic user.

And Xander was waiting in the side hall with Spike, waiting for Angel to come running through. Buffy was a good enough shot that she could aim it away from him, and if Angel didn't get blown up in the rocket blast, it was a sure thing that he'd get away from the scene of his defeat as quickly as possible. And there was only one main passage out of the food court, as Buffy had been delighted about when she'd remembered, so it was an easy matter for Xander and Spike to stand there and wait for Angel.

It did, in fact, turn out to be that easy. They both winced at the loud explosion from the rocket, which hopefully had exploded the Judge into tiny pieces. And sure enough, less than thirty seconds later they saw him, running like the hounds of hell were at his heels and completely oblivious to the chains in Spike's hands and the tranquilizer gun that Xander held in his arms.

One shot, and Angel was down, lying sprawled on the floor and getting stepped on by fleeing shoppers. Xander moved into the fray and pulled him to the side, where Spike gleefully wrapped chains around his wrists and ankles, perhaps a bit tighter than they needed to be. Xander opened his mouth, then closed it, since it wasn't worth the energy of protesting.

Buffy came running around the corner, and she skidded to an abrupt halt when she saw Angel chained on the floor. "You got him," she said unnecessarily, but Xander nodded anyway.

"The Judge?"

"All blown up. Giles and the rest are picking up the pieces now."

Spike perked up at that. "Pieces? There's pieces?" He turned to grin at Xander. "Think I'm gonna go take a look, pet. Wanna come with?"

Xander glanced over at Buffy's strained expression as the girl stared down at the unconscious and thoroughly chained love of her life. "I think I'll help Buffy get Angel out to the car. I'll find you later, okay?"

Spike shrugged and sprinted off, delighted at the thought of the carnage and destruction that something as big as a rocket could inflict. Xander glanced at Buffy and shrugged. They shared a tired smile before grabbing Angel by his shoulders and feet and starting to carry him out of the building.

An unearthly howl stopped them. Xander dropped Angel's feet and took off in the direction of the noise, knowing that it was Spike, not knowing how he knew, and not particularly caring.

He found Spike up on the landing where the Judge must have been standing, due to the amount of smoke and the large hole that was blown in the floor. Spike was crouched off to the side, heedless of the water that was just starting to pour out of the sprinklers, clutching something to his chest and rocking back and forth.

Xander made a beeline for him, and crouched down next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. A gentle hand managed to pry apart Spike's death grip what he was holding, and Xander saw that it was a doll.

One of Drusilla's dolls, as a matter of fact, and there was a small pile of dust on the ground by Spike's feet, quickly being washed away by the downpour from the ceiling.

Xander drew in a shocked breath. Drusilla had been here? Of course she'd been here. The whole thing was her idea. And apparently she didn't have sense enough to get out of the way of a rocket, or maybe she'd just been standing too close to the Judge. Either way, she'd clearly caught fire, and staggered to the side before dropping her doll, and burning to ash.

Xander looked at Spike's face, and didn't even try to deny the stabbing pain in his chest at seeing the tears streaming down the vampire's cheeks. His face was contorted in an agony of grief, and all Xander wanted to do was make it go away, to care for Spike like Spike had cared for him that night that everything had started before them. All he wanted was to make him feel better, to ease some of the pain, and he knew that he couldn't.

So he just pulled Spike closer, and held him tight against his chest as he sobbed.