A/N : Thanx so much to you glorious reviewer type people; Girl version of Chandler, Moonjava, EMBER91, sheilamarie, demonica mills, Mony19, bella-lover, and OnlyHaveEyesForYou. You make my day with your kind words and comments. Here's the last part of Hellbound re-written!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 7

"Yes!" Fred called triumphantly as she swung out the door of her office and down the steps, "Angel, I think I've got it!" she said with a grin as she reached the gang that were all still researching in various parts of the lab.

"You have a way to stop Pavayne getting Spike?" Buffy checked hopefully and Fred nodded.

"Better, I have a way to recorporealise both Spike and you" the scientist told her and the Slayer would've smiled if she were not so worried about her love, "If you two are back to solid form Pavayne can't harm you"

"And it'll work?" Angel asked, making the grin fall a little from Fred's face.

"Well, I had to extrapolate a new variation on interdimensional plasma dynamics on the fly, but if the math holds..."

"Okay" the souled vamp nodded "First we'll try to get Buffy and Spike corporeal, then we'll deal with Pavayne"

"Wait" Wesley interrupted as he looked over the calculations Fred had made "Surely for this to work, it's going to require a massive surge of dark energy to catalyse the process"

"How massive?" Buffy checked, looking worried, already considering letting them just corporealize Spike to save on needing so much power.

"The equivalent of nuclear evil" Fred admitted.

The gang looked thoughtful before finally Gunn spoke up.

"I might have an idea..."

"Think you're so grand and mighty" Pavayne sneered, holding Spike's arm up behind his back and preparing to throw him into the black portal that writhed in front of them, "The vampire who sought out his soul. Doesn't undo what you did, boy, how much you must suffer to atone"

"Didn't do it for the glory, you stupid son of a bitch" Spike growled, trying to get free of the other ghost's grip and finding it impossible.

"Ah yes, the girl" The Reaper grinned evilly, "All for love, so you say. Now you find it makes no difference, hell still wants to take you. My wish to feed you to the fire, allows me the privilege" he laughed as he made to push the vampire forward.

Spike dug his heels into the floor, struggling to keep away from the mouth of hell. Pavayne's words rang in his ears, the image of Buffy was burned into his mind. He had to fight to stay for her at least, if he wanted her enough surely he could... He stopped mid-thought as realisation dawned. Concentrating hard he found he could shrink the portal which would swallow him whole, decrease it's size until it disappeared altogether and with all the force he possessed he pulled himself free from Pavayne at last.

"You dare!" the evil spirit yelled and Spike grinned.

"Quite a bit actually, mate" he told him "Reality bends to desire. That was it, right? That's why Buffy and me could touch each other all this time, why she saw me when no-one else did. All we had to do was want it bad enough" he glared "And guess what I want to do now, you prissy son of a bitch!"

"Make sure it's calibrated to minus .058" Fred told Wesley as he fiddled with some controls and Angel put the last piece in place to make the circle on the ground. Buffy paced up and down hating feeling so useless. As a ghost she couldn't help at all with building the machine that would re-corporealize herself and Spike, she only hoped it'd work so they could be together again, and that Pavayne wouldn't take Spike before they had a chance to save him.

Gunn returned from the White Room with a flask of black liquid, Buffy could only assume it was the dark energy the gang had been talking about. It reminded her of the evil beings that ran Wolfram & Hart and the terrible things the company was capable of. She so wanted this process of Fred's to work so she and Spike could get out of here, she just hated being stuck at Evil Inc, and she hated Angel a little bit for making the decision he had in taking over such a place.

"I think we're almost ready" Fred interrupted the Slayer's thoughts and she turned to her.

"How do we let Spike know?" she asked and it was Wesley that answered her.

"We won't have to, the power this releases will be enough to attract any spectre's attention" he explained, encouraging Buffy to stand next to the circle, ready for Spike's arrival. They would have to get into the ring together at exactly the same moment or one would be left behind, incorporeal whilst the other would gain their solidity once again.

As Fred flicked the switch and lights flickered all around Buffy closed her eyes and concentrated, hoping maybe Spike could hear the words she spoke within her head. The amulet had tied them together, maybe they had a mind link or something. She had to hope, it was all she had right now.

"Come on Spike" she whispered, and thought he didn't hear her, he was trying as hard as he could to be back at her side.

"You bloody wanker" he yelled as he smacked Pavayne across the face once again.

"The vampire wishes to fight" the enemy gasped, as he reeled back, "Then fight we shall" he grinned, coming back at Spike with gusto. With no blood to spill, injury was not apparent on either ghost but the strikes hurt as much as if they were both solid. They crashed silently through the door of the lab and Buffy opened her eyes when she sensed Spike's presence in the room.

"He's here" she told the gang, so happy to know she could see him now, "And so is Pavayne" she added, running from the edge of the circle to join the fray. Without thinking she swung a fist at the enemy and made contact with a sickening crunch.

"Concentration, luv, 's all it takes" Spike told her joyously as they pummelled the evil spectre. The vampire threw the Reaper across the room but he never landed, instead disappeared.

"Think you're clever, do you, boy?" his voice chuckled from an unknown space as Spike stepped forward into the space where Pavayne ought to have been.

"No" Buffy cried as he appeared behind her and grabbed her in a choke hold that even the Slayer couldn't get out of.

Spike looked panicked as he watched, only reacting when Fred called to him.

"Spike, Buffy, get into the circle, and hurry!" she urged, "We've only got one chance at making you corporeal again!"

"Well then, time to make a choice" Pavayne grinned, "Your girl, or your flesh?" he asked.

"'S not a choice" Spike shook his head, running full pelt at Pavayne and Buffy, throwing them both into the circle, "Was always going to be Buffy" he added softly as a huge flash of light made everyone in the room turn away.

A moment later Buffy stood up from the circle, stumbling as she tried to get out. Angel reached to catch her and did so with ease, confirming she was indeed corporeal again.

"No! Defilers!" Pavayne screamed as he scrambled to his feet "I'll cut you into nothing! I'll feast on your brains. I'll swim in lakes of your own blood!"

"You'll shut the hell up" Buffy snapped, finding her strength was back as she spun kicked him into a cabinet across the room.

"Don't kill him" Spike called as he came back into view and Angel strode angrily over to the ex evil spirit, pulling him up by his shirt "If he becomes a spirit again, we'll never stop him.

"Fine" Angel conceded, "No killing. Just a whole lot of bruising" he grinned as he punched Pavayne in the face, sending him unconscious with ease.

Buffy glanced back at the destroyed equipment that had brought herself and the enemy back to solid form, than she glanced at Spike. Everyone was aware of the sacrifice Spike had made, to save his woman and everyone else. The pair needed to be alone now, that much was obvious, and the gang slowly dissipated taking Pavayne's beaten form with them.

"Look at you" Spike smiled when they were gone, "Not a ghosty anymore, Slayer" he said pointlessly, "Not tied here to this bloody awful place...or to me" he added somewhat sadly, scuffing the toe of his boot on the ground.

"Spike" Buffy sighed, moving to stand in front of him, "Don't you understand that I want to be tied to you" she told him before making a face, "Okay so that came out way more bondage than I meant but...you know what I mean"

"What life can I offer you, pet?" he sighed, "Even less now than I could as a vampire"

"I don't care" Buffy shook her head, "We'll find a way to bring you back, we will...and even if it's not possible, I still love you, and I always will" she promised him.

"Love you too, Slayer" he reminded her, "'S why I saved you instead of my own worthless hide, cos you mean more to me than life itself"

Tears ran down Buffy's cheeks at the sound of his beautiful words and part of her wished she were still a ghost, at least that way they were solid to each other.

"I so wanna touch you right now" she cried and Spike hated to see it.

"'S not impossible" he told her gently, concentrating so hard as he lifted a hand to her cheek and wiped away a tear.

Buffy closed her eyes, wishing the slight contact could be more but loving anything she could get right now.

"Like I told you, pet" he explained, "You want it bad enough you can make it happen"

"Here she is then, big brain herself" Spike smirked as he found Fred alone in her office sometime later. He'd convinced the Slayer to get some sleep, the effect of the re-corporealisation had really taken it out of her. He felt the need to thank Fred for her part in bringing back the Slayer and for trying to help him too.

"If my brain were big enough I could have brought you back too" the scientist sighed, "I'm sorry" she apologised.

"Don't s'pose there's any chance of you building another of your fancy machines then?" Spike asked her as he walked around the desk.

"Most of the pieces I used on this one were practically non-existent to start with. Even if I could replace them, the chances of finding another power source..." she trailed off feeling terrible for the vampire-ghost who she felt deserved so much better than this.

"Don't worry about it, luv" he told her "I made my choice, saved Buffy. Wouldn't change it for the world" he assured her.

"How's she doing?" Fred asked after the Slayer and Spike sighed.

"Not much better than me" he admitted, "Got used to being close to her, closer than I ever really got before and now...might as well have an ocean between us"

"I really am sorry" Fred apologise again and Spike rolled his eyes.

"Will you stop bloody apologising" he complained good-naturedly, "It's not your fault, okay? 'Sides, I picked up a little trick amongst all the fun and fighting" he demonstrated by connecting and picking up her coffee mug, handing it to her.

"'S not much" he shrugged, "Better than nothing though. Probably the one useful thing that Pavayne ever did was teach me that little wonder...speaking of, what happens to the git now?" he checked.

"Oh, Angel took care of it" Fred assured him, "We have a kind of...storage facility under the building. It'll hold him in a kind of stasis forever, which is icky really" she considered, "but we can't let him die again"

"Buggers never stay dead" Spike shook his head, "And believe me, I should know" he smirked.

"You're not a bugger" Fred told him, "Whatever that is" she frowned when she realised she had no clue, "You're a good man, Spike. You put Buffy and all of us before yourself"

"What can I say pet" Spike shrugged, "Must be goin' a bit soft in my old age"

To Be Continued...

A/N2 : I really don't have a whole lot further to go with this fic, it was only ever gonna be short and we are getting pretty close to an end already, but don't worry I have lots more Spuffyish ideas that I personally think might be even better than this one, and that will definitely be much longer fics. In the meantime please review this chapter and let me know what you think and I'll post more soon.