Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Katy, Michelle, and Morgan.
CHAPTER 30-TENDER MERCIES
Willow couldn't help but smile as the song started, remembering first trying to study with Buffy before Xander had interrupted, begging them to come and dance with him. They had reluctantly agreed and so the events of that night, the first night that they ever met Spike, had been thrown into motion. She knew immediately who had requested the song and why. Despite his sometimes brisk and uncaring exterior she had come to know very well that Spike was an insane romantic at heart, whether his was beating or not. He had taken an almost instant liking to Dawn and until that night with Buffy in the bathroom had served as almost her older brother. With the deepest of sincerities Willow hoped that after the battle was over and that the spell was cast and Wolfram and Hart had lost this particular battle that Spike could be Dawn's big brother again, and for herself someone to talk to about anything and get an honest answer.
"Is this spot okay," Michelle asked with a timid and out of place look on her face as Willow could easily tell that the young slayer had not spent much time in clubs before becoming a slayer. In truth Michelle reminded Willow a lot of herself when she was younger, minus of course the whole being a slayer.
"It'll do, good job Michelle…really," Willow replied with a reassuring smile on her face as she nodded to Michelle and patted her on the shoulder.
"Thanks, so what's next," Michelle said back at first with a very happy smile on her face as she was close to tears before she settled down and started to unpack the spell supplies and laying them on two tables that she had pulled together.
"We try not to die," Willow answered with a nervously hopeful smile on her face as she shrugged her shoulders and then began to set up the spell.
"Is that them, down there beside that really fat guy," Morgan asked with a tense and anxious look on her face as she slid up next to Connor, who looked like he was having anything but a fun time, and gingerly looped her very sore arm around his waist.
"I think so, I've never seen pictures of any of them so I only know them by their descriptions," Connor replied back with a calm tone to his voice before he noticed which arm that Morgan had slid around his waist and he scowled at her until she pulled her arm back and took out the sling for it.
"I thought it might look dorky," Morgan said softly in her defense with a sad pout on her face as she maneuvered the sling back into place and slipped her arm into it before Connor leaned over and kissed her on the lips.
"Well it doesn't, now stay here while I go and say hi," Connor said with a sly smile on his face before he got up, did his best to hide his sword do his pants, something that forced him to walk with one straight leg, as he made his way down the stairs. He ambled over to where he guessed that two of Buffy's group were standing. He had decided this after seeing the scared and nervous look on one of their faces while the other looked about ready to throw down with the first person that looked at her wrong. "You come here often," He asked the more scared of the two with the kindest and most innocent smile that he could muster, using an old line that he had heard in one of the few movies that he had seen. He knew that it was a lame attempt but his outlook brightened up a big when he saw the mystery scared girl smile and seem to relax a bit while the other girl seemed to be sizing him up to see if he was a threat or not.
"N…no, not…really," Vi replied softly with a timid and scared look on her face as she scrunched down in her chair a bit and glanced over at Rhona in an attempt to both keep from locking eyes with Connor and to see what the other slayer thought.
"Well then I think that I should show you around, it'd only be the nice thing to do," Connor said back with a pleased and kind smile on his face as he calmly and casually took Vi's hand and pulled her up to her feet.
"Vi…you sure about this, we don't even know this guy," Rhona said with a cautionary expression on her face as she also stood up and laid a hand on Vi's shoulder.
"You're right, you don't, perhaps then I should introduce myself," Connor started to say with a very apologetic tone to his voice before in one swift motion he yanked his sword free from its confinement, side kicked Rhona through a thin wall, and then smashed the hilt of his sword into an astonished Vi's jaw.
"Rhona," Kennedy yelled with a stunned look on her face before she swung into action and charged at Connor.
"Not a smart move," Connor shot back with a calm smile on his face before he began to easily dodge each and every one of Kennedy's punches and kicks.
"Kennedy's in trouble, we have to help her," Maria shouted in alarm before she hefted up her mace and hurried to defend her fellow slayer.
"No…Maria wait," Buffy started to shout with a worried look on her face as she started to go after Maria but stopped when she saw Connor use Maria's sudden interference in the battle to his advantage and the two slayers ended up violently colliding and crashing back into the nearby table.
"Buffy, it's him, it's Connor, Angel's son," Xander exclaimed with a very serious look of surprise and slight fear on his face as he took a step towards the fight but then stopped and stepped back behind Buffy.
"He's made the first move, alright men…move in and clear the premises," Robin loudly announced over an intercom before the music was abruptly shut off and the soldiers of the Initiative quickly emptied the club, leaving the large space bathed only in shadows.
"He's only one young boy, you didn't have to," Giles started to argue with an unhappy scowl on his face before Dawn walked out of the shadows and into the middle of the only spotlight left on.
"Buffy, please…stop this, you don't understand," Dawn started to interject with a scared and pleading look on her face as she looked at the end to be nearly at tears before Buffy cut her off.
"What I don't understand is how you could do this to me, just go and leave with Angel without telling me…without calling, I was worried sick about you," Buffy snapped back with an angry and greatly relieved expression on her face as she hurried forward to embrace her little sister.
"I'm sorry Buffy, but you have to let them cast the spell," Dawn started to say with a very earnest look on her face before she was cut off by Robin.
"We don't have to let them do anything Dawn, you hear me demon, no matter what evil spell you have planned we will not let you succeed, your fiendish plans end here tonight," Robin shouted out to the seemingly empty club as he took the safety off of his weapon and ordered the soldiers of the Initiative to secure the area.
"Heh…who says fiendish anymore, jackass," Katy mumbled under her breath with a sly grin on her face as she tossed her jacket back behind one of the speakers on the stage and then stepped out of the shadows.
"Stop right there," A soldier said to Connor as he lowered his weapon and pointed it straight at Connor's left temple, complete with the laser light leaving a small red dot hovering on the side of his head.
"I don't think so," Morgan growled with an angry sneer on her face as she took aim and then pulled the trigger, sending the bolt of her crossbow flying straight into the chest of the soldier that was aiming his gun at Connor. A second before her bolt struck him the soldier squeezed the trigger on his weapon and fired off a shot. Luckily having expected the soldier to shoot at anything Connor had been waiting for the right moment and when it came he dropped to the floor, going down so hard that he split open a nice gash on his chin in the process. Rhona climbed back through the hole in the wall and back into the large room just as the soldier fell over backwards with the crossbow bolt embedded in his chest.
"That's it, we wanted to keep this from getting out of hand, but now you've forced our hand monster," Robin shouted out, once again into the darkness, with a furious but eerily pleased scowl on his face before he was interrupted.
"I didn't force anything little man, you can say what you want but you never planned on anything but this, you wanted death, you wanted mayhem, you needed something to blame on me, to keep your own conscience clear," Angel argued with a calm and collected but yet very serious look on his face as he slowly walked out into the light on the second level, finally stopping at the top of the stairs that led down to where Robin was standing, gun at the ready.
"More lies from a master," Robin growled back with a completely unconvinced look on his face as he took aim with his gun, placing the crosshairs directly over Angel's heart.
"Robin no…wait…Angel, stop this…please," Buffy pleaded with a quickly overwhelmed look on her face as she hurried to Robin's side and looked up at Angel.
"Spare me Buffy, you could have changed this weeks ago, but now we have no choice but to be here…and now, and the spell will continue no matter what you say," Angel said back with a defiant expression on his face as he got to the bottom of the stairs and stared straight ahead into Robin's eyes.
"Look around Angel this is crazy, you're outnumbered, please think of your son and come along quietly," Giles offered up with a hopeful and nervous look on his face as he stepped in between several members of the Initiative and Angel.
"You are right this is crazy, however my father knows the risks and had you actually taken the time to…you would find that he was willing to do anything to save those that he loves," Connor interjected with a very serious look on his face as he slowly backs up towards another of the staircase's, being confronted by several of the crimson dawn soldiers.
"Do not listen to him, he only wishes to take everything that you hold dear," The Immortal stated with a very confidant and certain tone to his voice, as he seemed to materialize out of the darkness and glare straight at Angel. Angel was about to answer when what few lights there were went out and then screams echoed out from almost every corner of the club before the lights finally came back on and they found that all of the Initiative soldiers that had been holding everyone at bay moments before were now gone, with a literal amount of blood on the floor.
"What just happened," Katy asked with a scared and confused edge to her voice as she turned around and looked up at Angel, who did his best to remain calm and impassive, portraying an image of strength and resolve.
"I evened out the odds a bit," The Immortal answered finally from out of the silence before he turned to Buffy and smiled at her.
"In other words you killed every one of the Initiative soldiers that Mr. Wood brought along with him to swing the balance of power in his favor…really…I'm touched," Angel added with a sarcastic smirk on his face as he turned and fully faced The Immortal, doing his best to hold his anger in while hoping that his ace in the hole was fulfilling her end of the bargain.
"You bastard…," Robin snarled back at The Immortal with an absolutely furious expression on his face as he spun the aim of his weapon away from Angel and to The Immortal. He had only raised the sights of the weapon up to Angel's neck when his vision clouded and his life ended as his head was severed cleanly from his body after a bright flash of light.
"Oh God," Dawn exclaimed with a terrified and sickened look on her face as she crumpled to her knees and fought back the terrible urge to throw up, with Buffy immediately crouching down beside her, as first Robin's head rolled away from his body and then the rest of him crumpled to the ground, with blood spattering everyone close to him. Hidden deep in the shadows Faith's heart skipped a beat and she froze as her former lover's head rolled away from his body, but then the smell and heat from Wesley's body directly behind her calmed her nerves and slowed her breathing before she was able to manage a weak smile back at him as she could see it in his eyes that he was concerned about her.
"I'm okay," Faith softly whispered back to him with a very nervous and slightly skittish look on her face before Wesley reached out, gently cupping her cheek, and pulling her back into a meaningful kiss. They only stopped kissing when David lost his lunch into a backpack that someone left behind. Holding back their laughter Wesley interlocked the fingers of his left hand with the fingers on Faith's right hand and gave it a squeeze.
"What do you think you're doing," Giles started to exclaim with a shocked and furious scowl on his face before Angel surprised everyone by rushing forward and tackling Giles to the ground, just barely avoiding a flash of metal that would have beheaded him had it landed.
"Sabatin demons, the shit's really going to hit the fan now," Connor grumbled with an unhappy scowl on his face as he fell back up the steps until he got to Morgan and she ducked behind him while Rhona pulled a frightened Vi off of the main floor and Kennedy did her best to get to Buffy and keep her guard up.
"Why, why did you," Buffy demanded with an angry glare on her face as she wheeled around on her boyfriend, ready for anything.
"He was going to kill all of you, this way not everyone has to die, I'll be seeing you," The Immortal replied with an honest smile on his face before he turned and left, taking two sabatin demons with him as Angel and the others watched closely.
"You are disgrace to our ranks," An angry voice stated from out of the darkness, causing The Immortal to momentarily stop in his tracks.
"Who's there," The Immortal demanded with a look of little patience on his face as he turned around and searched the shadows in front of him.
"An old friend, it's been awhile, you look different than I remember you," Illyria said with a less than thrilled look on her face as she slowly walked out of the shadows and glared at The Immortal, tailored down to something that looked more similar to what she had worn onto the stage back at the Orange Crush.
"I'm sorry…you must have me mistaken with someone else, though if you give me your number I'll be sure to call you back Ms…," The Immortal said with at first a mocking grin on his face before he began to slowly walk around Illyria, checking out each and every angle and curve.
"Illyria," Illyria stated with much satisfaction before she surprised The Immortal, as his eyes grew wide at her name, by smashing her fist into his jaw, an act that sent him back through the nearest wall.
"We don't have to do this Angel, there has to be another way out of this," Buffy said with a hopeful look on her face as she stood up and turned away from Dawn.
"Sorry Buffy, but you're not going to stop me, the spell has to be cast to stop Wolfram and Hart, otherwise nothing that we do here matters," Angel said back with a very serious look on his face as he noticed that several more slayers had come into the club behind Buffy, looking to make the odds easily in her favor.
"I'm not going to let you bring any more demons to this world," Buffy countered with a look of great sincerity and fear on her face as she clenched her hands into fists and glanced over at Katy, who now stood with her sword at ready, hoping that the shit wasn't about to hit the fan.
"Those were an accident, they were never supposed to happen," Angel said with a very serious and regretful look on his face as he started to walk down the stairs but stopped on the middle step.
"But yet they did, tell me Angel, what is the price of the spell that you're going to cast now, what will you have to give up to accomplish this mission, are you really that stupid," Giles quickly cut in with an accusing edge to his voice as he stepped forward and aimed his crossbow at Angel's heart.
"Sod off Rupert," Wesley announced with a very bitter sneer on his face as he walked out of the shadows and onto the second step down from the top, one of his pistols aimed directly at Giles' head. The floor nearly fell out of Buffy's world at the sight of Wesley. Not because she had any special connection with Wesley but because for the last several days she knew him to be dead, very dead, but yet now here he was standing not fifty yards away from her pointing a gun at the forehead of her watcher.
"Bringing people back from the dead Angel, that's risky business," Giles debated with a very stern and disapproving expression on his face as he looked back and forth between Wesley and Angel.
"Through the greatest risk comes the greatest rewards though G," Faith said with a skeptical frown on her face, one that quickly changed into a grin as she stepped up into the light beside Wesley. Before anyone could acknowledge her being there she turned to Wesley and pulled him down into a kiss that left everyone speechless, if only for a short time.
"Faith, what are you…," Buffy started to ask with a bewildered look on her face as she scratched her head and helped Dawn back up to her feet.
"Evening out the odds a bit B," Faith answered over her shoulder with a sly grin on her face as she still had both arms wrapped tightly around Wesley's neck.
"This is stupid, we outnumber you three to one Angel, surrender now and we'll talk about all of this, surely together we can come up with a way out of this, one that doesn't result in," Giles started to explain with a very serious and almost condescending frown on his face as he took a step forward towards Angel before he was interrupted by Katy.
"That's far enough old man," Katy declared with a very serious look on her face as she stepped in front of Giles and stopped him in his tracks by placing the point of her sword just underneath his chin and looking ready to skewer him at a moments notice.
"Get that out of my face, this isn't a game," Giles said with a rather stern and scornful scowl cast Katy's way as he reached up and pushed the point of her sword away from his throat.
"Damn right it ain't," Katy shot back with a very serious and determined scowl on her face as she swung the point of her sword back to Giles' throat.
"Don't hurt him Katy, just keep him there," Angel said with a commanding expression on his face as he started to walk towards Buffy, but she did the unexpected and walked up to him.
"Why Angel, so that you can finish your spell and unleash hell on Earth," Buffy demanded with a very frustrated and angry scowl on her face as she balled up her fists and glared straight up into Angel's eyes, wondering how she ever thought that they were beautiful and haunting.
"If only…finally, it's about time you showed up," Angel started to say back with a sly smirk on his face as he visibly relaxed and leaned back a bit, causing both Buffy and Giles to wonder exactly what was going on. Xander was about to ask what was going on when Buffy felt an odd tingle rise up the back of her neck. She furrowed her brow in confusion and disbelief before she felt someone ever so gently brush the hair away from the back of her neck. Her head screamed for her to turn around and defend herself, but her body revolted and stayed as unmoving as a mountain. What came next was certainly unexpected. With a softness and tenderness that she hadn't much experienced a trail of soft kisses was laid down from the back of her neck around to her collarbone and then up towards her chin. Despite her best efforts to remain strong Buffy softly moaned under the attack and closed her eyes as her knees began to turn to jelly. All was going well until a shrill male voice called out, startling everyone, "Oh my God, Spike, you're alive!"
END OF CHAPTER 30