Maurice's stomach was growling. He never felt so hungry in his life, well, his after-life, if one wanted to call it that. He and Oscar were assigned to watch the gate for any trespassers trying to enter the foundry. It wasn't a complicated job. All he had to do was sit there. But after awhile, he started to get hungry and restless. The lust for blood was unbearable.
"I'm starvin' to death. We should hit a drive thru or something later. Them fast food clerks are usually delicious." He suggested to Oscar.
Oscar looked up from his nap, and shook his head.
"Nah. They're all greasy, high cholesterol. They give me gas."
Before they both knew it, the gas barrel behind them exploded. The two of them were thrown from the impact, dusting in mid-air from the flames that emitted from the explosion.
Spike and the Scoobs stepped over the growing flames.
"Subtlety, not one of your strong suits is it Spike?" Buffy smirked.
"Subtle or not, we're in." he said, shrugging his shoulders.
"I gotta admit, that was pretty cool." Xander said, awe struck.
"Just stay close, and wait for my signal." Spike said to Buffy, ignoring Xander's comment.
Spike dashed off, his leather duster flapping in the wind. The rest of the gang followed behind. Willow turned and gave Buffy a small wave. Buffy returned the gesture, silently wishing them all good luck.
The Scoobs followed Spike through a hole in the fence to the right. Buffy waited till they were gone before she proceeded.
Buffy jogged on ahead, looking for any signs of activity. She caught a glimpse of a burly vampire up top inside a control booth. She jumped back against the wall. She sat the bow down and took out a stake. She coughed loudly, hoping to get the vampire's attention.
"Who's there?" the vampire called from above.
Buffy held her breath and waited patiently. The vampire appeared from around the corner. Buffy drove the stake home before he had time to react, reducing him to ash.
She picked up the crossbow and went on ahead, jogging up a set of steps to the control booth. She climbed the ladder up to the booth and entered to find a simple console inside. She pressed the power switch, and a small walkway slid from underneath the ledge on the other side and connected with her side.
She climbed down and crossed the tiny makeshift bridge, onto the next ledge and into the warehouse. She crossed through the warehouse, and opened up the door ahead into a small break room. A vampire was glancing idly out the window. Buffy took advantage of this opportunity and picked up a chair. She chucked the chair across the room, and it struck the vampire in the back. The vampire crashed through the window and landed below.
She peered out the window and saw the vampire lying by shards of broken glass, he was out cold. She aimed the crossbow down and fired. The arrow found its mark, and he dusted.
Buffy exited the break room and jogged into another dank room. Inside she found a huge conveyor belt, blocked off by a pile of boulders. If she could get the belt to work, she could see where it led. She found a switch next to the system, and pushed it. The belt did not budge.
"Power's been shut off to the conveyor belt. Does NOBODY pay their electric bills in this town?"
It was then she realized the keyhole underneath.
Great, I need a key. I knew this would be too easy.
Buffy went back into the break room and tried the next door by the broken window. The door opened up onto a small balcony with a broken rail. Up ahead, was another balcony that led into another building. She jumped off the balcony, onto the roof of a small security office. She jogged across the roof of the office and leaped onto the next balcony. She crawled through the open window of a building, into another break room. The whole room was a mess. Blood was smeared all over the walls. A body of a man lay propped up against a large overturn table, his eyes gouged.
Buffy winced. Even though she knew he probably died awhile ago, she still felt responsible. She felt she could have been there sooner.
Buffy saw a small glint shimmer by the man's leg. She took a closer look to see a set of keys. She snatched the keys up and turned away from the body. She heard a loud screech outside, and a spiny demon skittered in through the open window. Buffy acted quickly. She grabbed the demon by its neck and spun around, releasing it. The demon flew and landed smack into one of the protruding legs of the overturned table. The demon kicked and swiped in agony, then gave up the ghost, assuming demons had ghost, Buffy didn't want to dwell on it.
She jumped through the window, onto the balcony. From the balcony, she leaped onto the roof of the security office. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, three demons similar to the one she just killed hoped onto the building simultaneously. Buffy swung her crossbow violently, smacking into the frail body of the one in front of her. The demon flew off of the building, into the waiting flames of the fire below. Buffy spun around and fired a bow into the next one. The demon fell off the roof from the impact, and died almost immediately. She turned to face the last one. The demon leaped off the roof and ran through the alley of the foundry. Buffy took aim and fired. The arrow flew into the demon's skull. Green blood and brain matter splattered over the building ahead.
"Nothing like a spot of demon slaughter to make a girl's night."
Buffy hoped off the roof and jogged past the break room, into the conveyor room. She inserted the key and pressed the switch. The conveyor belt started with a loud hum. The boulders carried up the conveyor belt, out of sight. Buffy felt reluctant to hop on. She was eager to continue her journey, to find the Master, kick his ass, and get him out of her ex-boyfriend's body, but she wasn't too sure what was up there, and she was afraid she didn't really want to find out.
---
The gang acted immediately. Giles and Willow fired their crossbows. Giles dusted one vampire successfully. Willow's aim was a little off. Her arrow struck into the gut of another vampire. Giles fired at the vamp as it doubled over, dusting him. He would have to train Willow more with the bow when they all got through this.
A handful of vampires made their way near. Spike and Xander ran out at them. Xander swung his axe, cleaving through the neck of the nearest vampire. Giles took the boy for granted. Xander proved to be quite skillful in combat when the time called. Spike pounded into a vampire savagely, beating him down to a pulp. For the first time tonight, Giles was glad Spike was on their side.
Spike continued to beat the crap out of a vampire. He busted his kneecap with a swift kick, taking him out of the fight. He spun around and unleashed on another pair of vampires. He took them down easily. He reached into his duster and pulled out one of the stakes that Buffy gave him.
"Never want to be the receiving end of one of these." He thought out loud.
He drove the stake into the downed vampires. He turned back around and drove it into the back of the other down vamp as he tried to crawl away. Up ahead, Giles and the Harris boy were holding their own with another group of vampires.
"Help!"
He looked around for the frantic call, and saw Willow against the wall. Her bow laid on the ground, broken in two. She shielded her face as a vampire lunged for her. Spike acted quickly. He ran up to the vampire and smashed his fist into the back of the vampire's skull. He rammed the stake into the vamp's back, dusting him. Willow looked up at him, wide eyed.
"Tha...thanks Spike. He almost had me for a sec."
Spike almost felt grateful for Willow's gratitude. The feeling was making him sick. He hated the witch for that.
"Don't get yourself killed, witch! We need you for the bleedin' ritual! If you run into a problem again, I'll finish you off myself. It will almost be worth it when your friends try to dust me afterwards." He tossed her a stake.
"Now sod off!"
Willow stared at him fearfully and got back up to her feet. She ran off to help Xander.
I didn't come here to bleedin' babysit the Slayer's friends tonight. This better be over soon or someone's gonna have to pay. And I don't care who.
---
The cold was a problem earlier, but it was nothing compared to this. Buffy thought as she walked through the hot, stuffy chamber of the melting chamber. She stood on a walkway, overlooking a giant pool of molten metal. Buffy hated to think how hot the stuff really was, and what would happen if one was to fall in…
"What was it that Giles always said?" she thought aloud. "Avoid fiery molten metal. It's really really hot, and will kill you dead."
A vampire stood above, controlling the pool of molten metal. Every once in awhile, a large amount of metal poured from a huge vat above and into the pool. Buffy needed to leap to the other side, but the metal-fall was preventing her from doing it, not like she really wanted to.
She aimed her bow at the vampire and fired. The arrow found its mark successfully. The vampire exploded into a pile of ash, and the fall ceased.
Buffy backed up and starting running to gain momentum. She leaped across the gap, and onto the next platform. She jogged through a hallway and up a ladder to the second floor. She looked through the grated fence that covered the second floor hallway, and saw a huge support beam than ran along the length of the chamber. The beam stopped at a vent on the far side. She would have to climb through the ventilation system in order to reach the Master.
One of those irritating spiny demons scampered along the beam. He noticed her, and with a graceful and powerful leap, jumped off the beam and through the fence.
That takes care of that problem I guess.
As the demon reached her, Buffy grabbed it by the head and snapped its neck. She took a running jump through the broken fencing and onto the beam. Another demon jumped in front of her almost out of nowhere. Buffy head butted it, and it jumped backwards, losing its footing, and into the molten metal pool below, screeching the whole way.
"Music to my ears."
Buffy was suddenly knocked forward by a violent force. She lost her balance and fell off the beam. Her crossbow fell out of her hands, and into the pool. She was about to join it, but instincts took over. She grabbed the edge of the beam and held on. The demon screeched and approached her. It clawed at her hands, tempted to knock her off. She let go with one hand, grabbed the demon's ankle, and pulled. The demon fell forward, plummeting into the metal below.
Buffy gathered up her strength and hoisted herself up onto the beam. She walked carefully along the beam to the ventilation shaft. She yanked the grate off of the vent, and entered.
---
Xander, Giles, and Willow walked tiredly behind Spike, who was walking swiftly through the foundry. They all managed to take down all the vampires, well some got away, but that's not what he planned to tell Buff when they caught up with her.
Xander still didn't trust Spike, why should he? Even though Spike helped them out throughout their visit to the foundry, he was still evil. And Spike definitely wasn't doing this because he liked them, no way. Once they stopped the Master and got Drusilla back, he was sure Spike would kill them all. Xander was terrified of that thought, but he wasn't gonna go down without a fight if Spike and Drusilla turned on them.
Spike suddenly stopped at a doorway, listening quietly.
"Why did we stop?" Xander asked.
Spike put a finger up to his lips.
"Quiet, Harris." He whispered angrily. "Laibach's inside, I can hear him. You three stay in here, I'll take care of this."
Xander didn't like taking orders from Spike, but he kept quiet. No sense in getting himself killed tonight.
Spike disappeared inside the room. He heard signs of a struggle, followed by a loud crash. Moments later, Spike appeared from the doorway.
"Come on you lot. We got a ritual to do."
Xander, Giles and Willow entered into the chamber. Drusilla's frail, pale body lay limply on a table.
"So, how 'bout it then? Laibach's gonna be out for awhile. Gotta admit, I'm kinda disappointed, thought he would put up more of a fight." Spike said, looking down at Dru.
"Right, yes, of course." Giles said, putting his glasses back on. "Willow, you have the talisman, correct?"
Willow nodded her head.
"Great. You know what to do. Good luck."
"Don't worry, Giles. I got it all under control."
Willow walked on ahead, into a secluded area, the talisman in hand.
Giles extended his hand out. Xander took the duffel bag off his shoulders and handed it to him. Giles reached inside and pulled out a bunch of candles, and some funky looking masks.
"Let's get to it then." Giles said, handing him one of the masks.
---
Buffy came in with a series of punches, followed by an uppercut. The vampire fell back in surprise. Buffy picked up her stake, ready to finish him off, when rough hands grabbed her by the waist from behind and lifted her off the ground.
"Give me your throat, bitch. I'll drain you quick." The vampire said from behind her.
The vampire in front of her came back in.
"Feisty little thing, ain't cha?" the vampire taunted.
Buffy kicked out at him with both legs, and at the same time, headbutted the vampire that held her up, releasing from his grip. Buffy landed on the ground, and slid under the vampire's legs. She came up from behind him and drove the stake into his back. When the dust cleared, she was staring at the wide-eyed face of the other vampire. Buffy drove the stake into his chest, dusting him before he had a chance to react.
Buffy took in her surroundings. To her right, was another pool of molten metal, but this one was much smaller. Up above, was a walkway that led to a hatch. To her left, stood another control panel, which she guessed was used to open it. She just hoped she wouldn't need a key.
Buffy climbed the ladder behind her, to the high platform from which she came from. She took a running leap and jumped the gap between the ledge and the booth.
To her luck, no key was required once she reached it. She just simply flipped the main switch on the console, and the hatch slid open.
"That hatch may be my ticket out of here. Sure, a dirty and potentially lethal ticket, but a ticket just the same."
She jumped over the gap once more, and jogged across the walkway, through the open hatch.
After twisting and turning through various hallways, she reached a vast open chamber. Boxes were scattered along the huge floor. Buffy walked into the center of the room. Suddenly, all the doors around the room began to close. She heard various clicks follow afterwards as each of them locked. An evil laughed echoed through the huge chamber. It was a trap.
---
Spike waited impatiently as Giles chanted the spell over Drusilla. He and Xander looked bloody ridiculous with those stupid masks on, waving their fingers about. Spike was starting to get skeptical.
"This had better work. You two have seen too many Hope and Crosby "road" movies." He said.
"I assure you, it will work. Now shut up and let us finish." Giles replied sternly.
Yeah right old man.
---
Willow sat cross-legged in another room, the talisman clipped to her shirt. She went over the chant carefully in her head, trying her best to keep out any other thoughts that would interrupt. As she repeated the chant, she began to feel her control over the talisman growing stronger and stronger.
---
"Welcome Slayer. I've been wondering when you would arrive." The Master's familiar voiced echoed. "After all, you and I are meant to be together."
The Master materialized in front of her, still in Angel's body. Buffy choked back, trying her best to remember that that was not Angel speaking.
"And oh, by the way, I think it's your turn to die. The time has come Slayer. I've been waiting for this all my death!"
Before she had time to react, the Master was on her. He delivered a lethal combo, which sent her tumbling to the hard floor of the chamber. It all felt too similar. Mixed emotions from her fights against Angelus and her past fight against the Master flooded in her mind. She jumped up and charged her emotions too deep to think about what she was doing. The Master extended his arm, and she was suddenly lifted from the ground and tossed like a rag doll from a powerful force.
"Come on you little bitch, time for round two." He taunted.
That line was all it took for Buffy to remember who he was. That definitely wasn't Angel she was fighting. She knew what she had to do, but she had let her emotions get the best of her. Anger built up inside her. The Master took her life once before. She remembered how he nearly sucked her dry, and left her for dead, her face buried in a puddle where she drowned. And now he was back, threatening to take Angel away from her. She wasn't ready to lose him again. The Master made a huge mistake that Spike and Drusilla made awhile back when they tried to run Sunnydale. Nobody messed with her boyfriend.
She jumped back up to her feet and faced the Master, her jaw set.
"You should have never walked into my Slayground."
Buffy charged at him. He lifted his hand up once more. Buffy rolled to the ground, dodging the mystical attack. She rolled up towards the Master and kicked her legs out. His legs gave out under impact, and he fell to the floor.
Buffy rolled up onto her feet and pummeled him with kicks and punches. The Master ducked out of the way in the middle of her attack and rolled. He came back in with a sweep attack, but Buffy was ready. Buffy leaped up, dodging his attack. She landed back down and kicked him in the side of his face. The Master fell back and held his face in agony. Buffy brought her foot down into his throat.
"If you can hear me, Angel, please stay down." She called down to him.
---
"Spike?"
Spike ran up to Drusilla at the sound of her voice.
"Hello poodle. How're we feelin'?"
"I could feel a man dancin' around in me head. I can still feel him. He is very cross with you, Spike. But he promises to leave."
"It's alright, pet. I'll take care of you when we get out of here. Then I'll promise you I'll take you to Spain."
Drusilla smiled broadly at the idea. Spike lifted her up to her feet and held on to her as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
"All your talk about priorities and you still helped me out with Dru right off. I'm not gonna forget that." He said to Xander and Giles. "Time to go play hero. Oughta be good for a laugh, eh?"
---
The Master shoved Buffy's foot off and rolled out the way. He stood up from the ground, and faced her, keeping his distance.
"Like your lover, girl, you are gifted with remarkable endurance. That does not make you a warrior. Don't you see that you cannot win? In this battle either you die, or Angel does. But whatever the result, I will survive."
"Know what, Spanky? Even if I was fighting this battle alone, I'd take that bet. But the thing is, I'm not alone." She smirked.
---
The spell was complete. Willow could feel the power of the Tedarke talisman grow weaker. She wrapped her mind around it, taking control of its power. She concentrated on Angel. She could feel him struggling to retain control of his own body. Willow used some of the talisman's power to give him enough strength to gain full control over his body. Angel pushed himself back out. She could feel the Master trying to fight back. Willow lent him more strength, and Angel was able to defeat him. Angel was back.
Willow recited another spell that would keep the Master from going back in. She then concentrated on Spike and Drusilla, and repeated the same spell. The talisman's power boosted her magickal abilities, and she was able to complete the spells successfully.
Willow let go of the power, satisfied with her work. She laid on the ground, worn out from the effort. She managed to weaken the enough so Buffy would be able to control it herself when the time came for it.
"Will? You okay?" Xander called as he came running in.
"I…did it, Xander. I got Angel back."
"Normally something I, personally, wouldn't celebrate about, but, great job Will."
"Thanks."
"Can you stand up?"
"I can try." She replied tiredly.
Xander helped her up to her feet. Willow was a little wobbly at first, but she regained her footing.
"Let's go watch Spike "play hero." This is something I have to see to believe."
He and Willow caught up with Giles, and followed Spike and Drusilla out into the cooling area, where the fight was taking place.
---
"What? What is happening?" the Master asked as mist began to form around Angel's body. Angel suddenly let out a pained scream, and the form of The Master rose from his body, floating above him, a look of defeat implanted on his misty, demonic features.
"No! This body is mine!" he yelled.
Spike jumped down from above, landed near Buffy. He faced her and gave her a small nod.
"Glad to see you're in one piece, Slayer. Wouldn't want to be accused of not holding up my end of the bargain."
Buffy nodded back in return. A small form of respect came between them for a moment. Spike broke his stare to address the spectral form of the Master.
"And you, gramps. I had enough of Angelus and Darla orderin' me about in my day. Did you honestly think you could knock me about like some bloody village idiot, hold my girl for ransom, and not be watching your back?"
The Master growled in anger.
"Spike! Betrayer! Though as not pleasing to the eye, your flesh would suffice as my vessel while my plans are complete!"
He floated towards Spike, stretching his misty form out into small tendrils, attempting to take over his body. The Master was stopped by an invisible force. He jumped back in surprise, wondering what was going on. Spike grinned and flashed him the middle finger.
"Put a little crimp in your plans, I'm sorry to say. Sod off." He replied.
The Master floated higher up. He turned around and floated towards a vent on the high wall, cursing on his way out.
"Damn you! Damn you all!"
The Master was gone, for now.
Through all the drama between Spike and the Master, Buffy had almost forgotten about Angel. She saw him kneeling there in the same spot, clutching himself in pain.
"Angel!"
She ran up to him and helped him up to his feet. Angel stared at her tiredly.
"You have to stop them. The Master…the Order of Aurelius…he sent them away with the Deglon Sphere. They've gone back to the sunken church. You have to…stop them."
"Then it isn't over." She replied.
"It's over for us." Spike butted in. "I help up my end. Now it's time for Dru and me to be on our way. We don't fancy waiting around for the Order of Aurelius to exact their revenge."
"You got your girlfriend, don't come back." Buffy replied.
"Not to worry, Slayer. Dru and I have better things to do, and far more pleasant destinations. Good riddance to this horrid little town."
Spike grabbed Drusilla by the hand, and the two of them made their way out of the foundry. Buffy silently wished him thanks.
She wrapped her arm around Angel's broad shoulders, and the two of them limped behind Xander, Willow, and Giles as they made their way back to the library to go over their next set of plans to stop the Master.