A/N : Is Angel really dead? Can Spike allow Buffy to be killed by the Order of Taraka? Can he end her days himself? Will Drusilla be cured? Read the chapter and find out!
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 17 - My World Came Tumbling Down
"Drusilla!" Spike called as he crashed back into he factory with a couple of his minions dragging a body behind them, "Got a surprise for you, luv" he told her as he entered the bedroom and the semi-conscious vampire was dumped on the floor at the end of the bed.
"Ooh, Daddy's home" Dru grinned with delight as Spike helped her up from the bed and brought her to see their hostage, "He's been a naughty boy, almost as naughty as William" she said, eyes shifting to the bleached blond, her stare hardening somewhat and unnerving her childe.
"Don't get too attached to your precious Daddy, pet" Spike warned her, "After all, his death will be your cure"
"A sweet release" she giggled, happy and childlike once again, "Such a pretty party will shall have, with cake and Slayer blood for tea" she told the other two vampires, neither of whom looked impressed at all. Angel of course should be on the side of good, given his soul, but Spike might have been more pleased about his natural enemies demise. In reality he found the thought of Buffy's death actually turned his stomach, and he hated himself for caring at all, even more so because it was upsetting Dru, his black beauty.
"You have some fun, sweetheart" he told her as she taunted the semi-conscious Angel, "Just don't let him die, not til the ritual"
"What fun shall we have, dearest?" Drusilla asked her sire, having heard Spike and yet not really paying him much attention right now, "Some nasty games you taught me, a long time ago" she suggested, fingers walking up his arm and shoulder where she suddenly brought back her hand and struck him across the face with an almighty force.
Spike smirked to himself, glad to see his old grand-sire suffer as he left the room. He'd barely made it through the door, and both Dru and Angel must've known it. Their conversation took a turn as he listened.
"Will the girl cry for you?" she asked, "Shed a tear for the Angel-Beast?"
"Buffy won't care if I'm gone Dru" Angel shook his head wearily, "If you think killing me will hurt her, then you're wrong"
"She wants to take my toys away" Drusilla said as she swayed slightly before her sire, "My precious what I made myself, for my very own... just like you made me" she grinned, "Made me suffer, then made me yours, and now you won't hurt me even just a little bit" she giggled, "But I can hurt you, spank you til you scream" she told him, hands running over his chest before halting as her nails dug into his flesh making him wince. He'd been through so much already, a fight with a girl with strength to equal his own and then hours cowering from the sun that would dust him when he was locked in the cage at Willys.
"Make you suffer, like you made me" Drusilla whispered near his ear, "Then I'll be strong again, and the Slayer will feel what it's like when a heart bleeds" she swore, eyes flashing gold her face contorting but not quite shifting completely to that of the demon she really was.
Outside the door, Spike swallowed hard and forced his legs to work so he could walk away. Seemed his sire had little faith in the Order of Taraka to kill the Slayer, perhaps because at least one of them was already dead and that left only two more. Drusilla would do the job herself if it came down to it, would bring the Slayer down, kill her in her own way to see the job was properly done. In a fight to the death between these two women, Spike couldn't honestly say which he'd be rooting for. Drusilla was his sweet death, his saviour, his creator, but Buffy, she was the light he missed so much as a vampire, the one person who made the world bright and vibrant even in the cold dark night. She made him feel like a human being, something he hadn't done in over a century, and he liked the way that felt. Still, Spike knew he never could be a human again. He was a demon and such he must remain, and it'd be a whole lot easier if the plan he and Dru had concocted between them went off without a hitch.
"And you say Willy told you Angel has gone away to recover?" Giles checked as Buffy and Kendra both took a seat at the research table in the library, looking a little tired.
"That's what he said" Buffy shrugged, "I know he's not the most trust worthy of sources, but he's all we have right now, and since there were no ashes anywhere around, I'd say Angel is at least still alive, or undead, whatever" she waved away her confusion with her hand, just wishing all this was over. There were too many things to worry about right now and little did she know one more was about to be reminded to her.
"Buffy!" Willow called as she came into the library, "You so need to get out there!" she pointed behind her to the doors, beyond which many students wandered around stands and stalls learning about possible careers they might enjoy in later life.
"Demons?" Kendra guessed, scrambling to her feet.
"Kinda worse" Willow made a face, "Snyder is looking for you Buffy, and he's not happy"
The blonde Slayer made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat as she pulled herself up out of her seat.
"The Order of Taraka wanna kill me, a vampire is trying to cure his sire who probably wants to kill me, and now if I don't show up to Career Day, Snyder is gonna kill me" she sighed, "Anybody not wanting to kill me today please raise your hand?"
Willow did just that and offered a smile to her friend who managed one back, but only just.
"Giles, I'll be back" Buffy called over her shoulder to him as she left, "Baby-sit my second for me for a while, okay?"
The Watcher was not given a chance to answer as the Slayer and Willow exited, leaving the doors to the library swinging wildly behind them.
"How you holding up, Buff?" the red-head checked a they headed off down the hall and passed through the Career Fair.
"I'm doing okay, I guess" the Slayer sighed, "I can handle the demons that are out to get me, I can even deal with Career Day, and my new little Slayer friend hanging around, I just wish..." she stopped when she realised how stupid what she was about to say really sounded.
"What?" Willow prompted and eventually her friend explained.
"I just wish that all this wasn't happening because of William" she admitted quietly, "I just, I really liked him, and I know the guy I fell for doesn't really exist, it was all a big act and Spike was just playing me, but... but I actually thought he loved me"
"He seemed so nice" Willow agreed, "I never thought he would turn out to be like this"
"I don't think you'll have the same problems I'm having when it comes to your guy" Buffy forced a smile a she spotted Oz a few feet away, grinning like an idiot when he spotted Willow. The red-head followed her friends eye line and blushed when she realised she was being admired.
"I should be... otherwhere" Buffy said absently, though she doubted Willow was listening anyway as she only had eyes for Oz.
"You must be... Buffy Summers?" the lady cop at the police stand asked the blonde as she consulted the clipboard in her hand.
"That would be me" the Slayer smiled, not expecting what happened next as the woman pulled a gun from a holster at her waist and made to shoot. Buffy leapt into action, grabbing the fake policewoman's arms, attempting to wrestle the gun away from her. As a first shot went off, piercing the ceiling, several people screamed and students and teachers alike began to scramble for cover. The commotion alerted Kendra and Giles, and the second Slayer came barrelling out of the library to aid her sister in arms.
In moments the two young women had the super-strength cop semi-conscious and with her arms held tight behind her back. Assuming the whole scene was a demonstration by now, several students began to clap as the two Slayers dragged the woman away to the library. Giles hurried after them and Willow made an excuse to Oz so she could follow.
As the red-head came through the doors she found Buffy and Kendra fastening the woman in the police uniform to a chair with rope.
"Is she a demon?" Willow asked nervously, keeping a good few feet back for fear of what might happen.
"Maybe" Buffy told her, as Giles checked the woman's hand and found a familiar ring on her finger.
"Another of the Order of Taraka" the Watcher informed them, "She was here specifically to kill you, Buffy"
"But she'll have information, right?" the Slayer checked, glancing at Giles then leaning over her hostage, "You know about this ritual to save Drusilla?"
The woman didn't say a word, just glared at the Slayers as they stood over her. The way her eyes glinted and flashed told Buffy she was far from the human she appeared to be, and Kendra wasted no time in doing what she did best.
"Tell us what you know!" she demanded, smacking the cop in the face.
"Kendra, please" Giles cut in, "I don't think that will help" he told the angry Slayer warily, "I doubt very much she has any idea what the ritual entails. Indeed, I'm quite certain she is only here to deal with Buffy. She may never even have met Spike or Drusilla"
"It's too late now" the woman suddenly began to laugh, "Dead or alive, you can't stop the ritual, it's too late"
"Kendra" Buffy said, though she was still staring at the cop, "Hit her again" she ordered as the second Slayer wasted no time in doing as she was told.
"Clearly you know a little more than Giles here gave you credit for" the blonde said nastily as she leaned in over the demon-woman bound to the chair, "Now are you gonna tell me about this ritual or do I let my friend here get real nasty?"
"I'm ready to die for my cause" the woman told her simply, just as Giles discovered something.
"That may not be necessary" he said as he brought a book from the table over to show Buffy, "I do believe I know what Drusilla's cure entails"
Pointing to the correct passage in the text he showed Buffy what he had found and she read it aloud.
"On the night of the full moon... from the blood of the sire she is risen, from the blood of the sire she shall rise again" she said, wondering what that really meant, "You know who Drusilla's sire is?" she asked Giles, who couldn't look at her.
"I was trying to find a way to tell you" he said awkwardly and the pieces slotted into place in Buffy's head.
"Angel" she said softly.
Now she understood.
"Eligor. I name thee. Bringer of war, poisoners, pariahs, grand obscenity. Eligor, wretched master of decay, bring your black medicine. Restore your most impious, murderous child"
Spike continued to say the words of the ritual aloud, holding the Du Lac cross in his hand, black leather gloves saving his skin from burning. From the base of the cross he pulled a knife as he advanced back down the aisle of the church towards the altar where Drusilla and Angel were stood, her right wrist bound to his left.
"From the blood of the sire she is risen" Spike said as he brought the knife back, "From the blood of the sire, she will rise again" he declared as he plunged the blade through the adjoined hands of his sire and grand-sire, a scream erupting from both of them as the magicks did their work.
As the power drained from Angel into his crazy childe, Buffy and Kendra burst in through the main doors of the church with Willy between them.
"What the bloody hell...!" Spike exclaimed as he spotted them. He vaguely heard Willy ramble something about thinking he'd done the right thing, after all hadn't the bleached blond vamp promised a reward for bringing the Slayer to him, and here he'd managed to bring two! Clearly he'd missed the part about the Chosen girls being dead on arrival for the deal to be a deal at all.
"I don't have time for this" Spike said to himself, knowing the main reason he would not fight Buffy was because he knew he couldn't deal with her himself, "Kill them" he told his minions who obeyed their master, running at the two Slayers from both in front and behind. The gang of vamps hadn't accounted for the Scoobies waiting right behind the door, armed to the hilt with crossbows, stakes, and axes.
As his gang were slowly turned to dust and the remaining Taraka demon had his little bug parts stomped on, Spike knew he had to get out and fast. Pulling the dagger out from their hands, he released Drusilla, leaving Angel hanging alone at the front of the church.
"Spike, I see the world so bright and beautiful again" Dru told her childe.
"That's good, luv" Spike told her absently, "But right now, we've got to get out of here"
The pair vamped out as they climbed down from the altar and headed into the fray. Drusilla was incensed and went straight for Buffy who had her back to her as she fought another vampire. It was Giles who spotted the attack and took aim with his crossbow, praying to all the Powers That Be he'd make his target. He sighed with relief as Drusilla convulsed with pain before exploding into ash.
"Bastard!" Spike growled, running at Giles, only to have Kendra intercept him and flip him onto his back. He was on his feet again before she barely had chance to breathe and the two fought, the Slayer's back to back as Buffy continued to fend off another of Spike's vampire minions.
The blonde could feel Spike behind her, knew how mad he must be after seeing Dru dust. As much as she'd loved William, the man she thought he was, she knew what she had to do now. Spike had to die and it had to be at her own hand if she was ever going to get over him.
"Switch!" she yelled to Kendra, leaning over so the second Slayer could roll over her back.
"Rather be fightin' you anyway" Spike said nastily, light glinting off his fangs and reminding Buffy all too well of what he really was.
"Mutual" she told him as she delivered a kick to his head, knocking him back. He retaliated, and the fight was on, punches and kicks being landed on both sides, but neither of them feeling as if the other were really putting their heart into it. In fact, it wasn't long before Spike was making plans to run. He saw the door was clear, the ashes of his sire littering the path to it. The sight made him wince, more than any blow and he knew he'd end up just as dead if he didn't get out of here. Maybe Buffy couldn't end his days, anymore than he could end hers, but one of these others might get a lucky shot in, or he could fall, there was a lot of broken wood lying around by now.
With a mighty roar he ran at Buffy, knocking her back into Kendra and bringing them both down. As they scrambled to their feet, Spike went for the door, but not fast enough. Kendra was up and ready, with a censer from the alter in her hand. Swinging it above her head she threw it towards Spike, smacking him in the back of the head and causing him to fall into the church organ. The entire structure groaned and collapsed on top of him as Buffy watched, her hand going over her mouth and tears filling her eyes.
The fight was over, Angel was saved, and it seemed both Drusilla and Spike were dead.
They hadn't mentioned him, not even once as they all left the church together and went to Giles' place to tend their wounds. It was a hollow victory for Buffy, and the gang all knew it. Even Xander, who's tactfulness was questionable, knew to keep his mouth shut on the subject of Spike, or William as Buffy had known him.
As stupid as she knew it was, despite all the awful things she'd learnt about him since then, she knew in her heart she still loved the man who was in fact a vicious vampire. He'd said he loved her, and whilst it seemed obvious that it was all a lie, Buffy couldn't help but wonder if it had all been so untrue, as she returned to the semi-burnt out shell of the small church and surveyed the damage that had been done.
The dust that had been Drusilla lie in the centre of the aisle and somewhere under the rubble of the organ, must be the same substance that was once William. Buffy cried in spite of herself as she walked over to the fallen instrument. It was only as she got closer she discovered something, a piece of fabric - black leather.
Shifting pieces of wood aside, she realised with mixed emotions that it was as she'd thought, part of Spike's coat. He was alive, or at least as alive as a vampire could be. The point was, he wasn't dust and though she knew she should be disappointed, Buffy felt relief and joy swell in her heart as she uncovered his body and pulled him free of the rubble.
As she laid him out on the floor, he shifted slightly his eyes flickering open as she knelt at his head, pushing his hair back off his soot-covered face.
"William" she said softly, swallowing hard.
"Slayer?" he breathed unnecessarily as he looked up at her, before his eyes closed again and he was gone, out cold.
Looking around, Buffy was glad to see she was still alone. None of the gang had thought to follow her. Nobody had seemed to notice the fracas that had taken place in this building.
Summoning all her strength she managed to pick Spike up off the ground, half dragging him towards the side door. With any luck she could get him somewhere safe before sunrise, and without anybody ever knowing about it.
To Be Continued...