Ring on her Finger

By Nickeltaffy

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Joss for the use of his characters. They are still his and will never be mine. (heavy sigh).

…

Chapter 26

In the dark, Willow and Giles were working feverishly cutting up some of the bushes that were part of the landscaping outside his apartment complex. They had already gathered a number of branches that were laying a loose pile between them. Wearing heavy leather gloves, they were busy, cutting more branches from the holly bushes and stripping them.

"Giles, Are you sure this is going to work?" Willow asked as she gingerly reached into the holly bush to grab another stem to cut with the shears in her other hand.

"Willow, we can only hope. There is very little that we can fight with in this dimension against the Diye Carigoyor. Spike said it was a deceiver. A Deceiver is a term used for old evil. Holly has a mystical purpose of overthrowing old power." Giles responded. He cast a look toward some lighted windows on the bottom floor and muttered. "Speaking of old, I just hope my landlady doesn't look out her window and see us doing this. I'll never be able to explain it."

…

After nearly five minutes of unsuccessfully navigating the gleaming corridors of the Initiative, Xander stopped to catch Spike as the vampire faltered beside him. Looking around anxiously, Xander had become increasingly frustrated with the search for an exit out of the complex. Every corridor looked exactly the same and gave no indication of an exit hidden amongst the many doors. Every doorway, they discovered led to another lab or holding area. As time passed, Xander felt the situation getting desperate. It was just a matter of time before that corpsman or the doctors woke up in that lab and sounded an alarm.

"Oh. Come on! How did this place ever pass a fire code? There are absolutely no fire exits! When I get back to Giles, I am calling the Fire Marshall about this!" Xander complained as he stretched his neck to peer down the corridors.

Resting for a second, Xander took a deep breath and then choosing a direction, determinedly charged ahead pulling Spike along with him. In the next moment, he had managed to bumble across a major intersection of hallways to his surprise. Xander could tell from the sound coming down from one direction, that there was a lot of activity and people that way. Reasoning that area may be their only avenue of escape, he decided that they may have to bluster through to get out of this place. Xander bolstered Spike up a little more on his feet.

"Okay, Deadboy. We're going into the heart of the hive. It may be the only way out. Time to look scientific!. Remember, no vamping! Do your best to look hurt." Xander muttered, adjusting Spike's lab coat. After a moment, looking over at the incapacitated vampire, he added. "Good job!"

Xander hauled Spike along down the corridor, toward the noise. Abruptly, they were approached by a pair of the camouflaged covered commandos who towered over Xander by, at least, four inches. The soldiers stood in front of Xander and Spike, blocking their path. Seeing the lab coats, the soldiers looked questioningly at them. Xander yelled that one of the test subjects had gotten out and attacked them in the hallway. He was busy taking his coworker to Medical. He frantically waved his other arm back indicating the hallway behind him, sending the soldiers charging away down the corridor.

"Okay, Spike. That worked. We gotta keep moving. Stay with me." Xander muttered under his breath.

Xander took another breath and began to move them forward. Spike made a small noise at the back of his throat, signaling his agreement. They began to ungainly move across the main annex when they were again stopped by another soldier.

"Out of my way, soldier! I am taking him to Medical." Xander commanded in an officious tone. He was surprised when the soldier did not move.

"Yeah! See, here's the thing. Medical is the other way." The soldier sneered, ominously crossing his arms and staring at Xander.

"Oh, well. I must have gotten turned around." Xander bluffed, with a raise of his eyebrows.

Xander ungracefully turned Spike around and was starting to walk away, when he felt the clap of the soldier's hand on his shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere. I recognize that vampire. He's the one we just brought in tonight." The soldier stated, pulling Xander back roughly. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You know, if you had a natural hair color, we'd be outta here by now." Xander muttered as he let Spike slip to the floor and turned to wrestle with the soldier.

…..

Anya saw the gleam of Spike's hair jump out at her as she peered through the vent hanging overhead of the annex. There was something familiar about the other figure that made her look closer at the pair entering the annex. Wasn't that Xander? Wow, she thought, he is just always full of surprises. Bumping Buffy with her elbow, she pointed out the pair moving slowly into the annex to the Slayer.

Buffy's eyes instantly became riveted on the pair. She saw the pair being stopped and Xander speak briefly to some soldiers who then ran on past them. She saw that Xander and Spike were both wearing lab coats in order to pass themselves off as part of the staff. They were trying to escape, but there were a lot of soldiers down below and the odds did not look good for the pair.

She gasped as she saw the state of Spike. His head was hanging down and he was just barely moving the toes of his boots forward as Xander pulled him along. What had they done to him? The thoughts of someone harming Spike caused her to seethe with malevolence toward the Initiative or anyone associated with it. A red ball of anger began to build in her as she watched Spike stagger beside Xander in a state of near collapse.

When the second soldier stopped the pair, all her attention fixated on that exchange. She saw Xander trying to bluff his way past the solder. She saw Xander try to turn around but was stopped by the soldier holding him by the shoulder. When she saw Spike slump to the ground as Xander began to fight the soldier, she almost lost her mind.

"Get back up ground!" Buffy gruffly commanded Anya. "I got things to take care of here."

With her fiercely determined look in her eye, Buffy sat back and kicked out the vent screen with her foot. The screen swung down and hung for a second on the corner, before it clattered to the floor far below. Buffy dropped down through the opening, catching her hands on the edge and holding on as she dangled in the air over the surgical theater. Intimidated by the whole warrior princess action by Buffy, Anya turned with a yip and scurried back down the vent toward the access shaft on her hands and knees.

Looking down at the scene below her, Buffy kicked her legs until she got enough momentum to swing over to land on the balcony that surrounded the surgical theater. Flinging her body away from the ductwork, she landed in a crouch on top of the vehicle with a large boom. Her eyes were latched on to the soldier wrestling with Xander, she growled as she flew down the vehicle toward them. Grabbing the soldier by the back of his coat, she roughly pulled the soldier off Xander. She used such force that the solder was tossed like a rubber ball about twenty feet away. His body slammed up against the wall near the entrance of the holding pens, crushing the panel of buttons that controlled the pens.

All the doors of the holding pens of the demons held by the Initiative immediately opened. The demons and vampires came pouring out as alarms and red lights were flashing. More soldiers poured into the annex and began to fight arm to arm combat with some of the escapees, while other soldiers began to shoot at others. The demons violently fought for their lives and freedom, taking out as many soldiers as they could in their effort to escape.

The grin that Xander gave Buffy when she turned toward him spoke volumes about how glad he was to see her. Conscious of the danger surrounding them, Buffy hurriedly motioned toward Spike and pointed to a space away from the violence. Buffy and Xander pulled Spike over to the protection of some large crates that were standing over to the side. She quickly looked at Xander who nodded at her that he was okay. She then turned her attention to the disoriented vampire who was barely moving between them. She seemed at a loss as she held her hands over him, looking frantically up and down for wounds, not wanting to add to his pain.

"What did they do to him?" She asked Xander, looking up from Spike with hurt and concern in her eyes.

"I don't know, but it was pretty ugly." Xander responded as he ducked down behind the crate. "Look, we gotta get out here. This is not going well for either side."

"Spike?" She said as she gently smoothed his hair and cupped his chin in her fingers. He began to move his head back and forth and blearily blink his unfocused eyes as he tried to come to full consciousness.

Xander peered around the corner of the crates at the fierce fighting that was now occurring a few feet away from them. He quickly turned and knelt down as he looked at Buffy and Spike.

"I don't think now is the time for grand reunions." Xander said , looking back and forth trying to measure the situation. " I think we'd better get..OW!"

A large mottled colored demon had come up behind Xander and seeing his lab coat grabbed hold of him. The demon quickly pulled Xander about twenty feet away from the crates. The demon growled as he grasped Xander around the neck, suspending him in the air. Xander's eyes were huge as he ineffectually batted at demon's arms to let go. The Demon laughed and was about to tear his head from his body when Buffy slammed her fist into the back of the demon's head. The demon slid to the ground unconscious, releasing Xander in the process. Buffy looked up from the demon while a very relieved looking Xander tried to control his breathing as he put a hand to his neck.

"You okay?" Buffy asked, breathlessly.

Xander nodded. Buffy turned to go back to Spike. Xander followed, but not until after he gave the demon a well placed kick.

"Okay. Let's get outta here!" Buffy commanded as she jogged back to retrieve Spike from behind the crates.

As Buffy turned the corner to the area where she had left Spike, she froze in shock. Spike was no longer lying there. He had disappeared.

"Buffy, we gotta get outta here!" Xander yelled as he came up behind her. The air was filled with the sounds of gunfire and demon screams.

Standing, Buffy's head whipped around as she desperately looked for a sign of her vampire. She was now frantic with worry. Spike was not even conscious when she had left him. The thought of a demon getting him or worse yet, the soldiers, sent a chill down to her bones. She could not leave until she found him and had him safe in her arms.

"I can't find Spike! I'm not leaving without him. You go!" She said as she pushed Xander toward the double doors.

Xander bounced on his heels, watching the Slayer, knowing that there was nothing he could do to change her mind. He turned and ran toward the doors, dodging the remaining soldiers and demons that were still fighting.

Climbing up on the crates to see if she could locate Spike, Buffy grumbled with frustration when she did not see a sign of him. Climbing down, she began to run through the annex, ignoring demons and soldiers as she made her way through the chaos. Single minded in her task, she called Spike's name as she continued to madly look for the vampire. Any demon or commando that was unlucky to hinder her search found themselves knocked aside by the overstressed Slayer. Every moment that Buffy did not find Spike, increased her fear that something dire had happened to him.

Suddenly, a blinding flash obliterated all objects in her field of vision in front of her. Temporarily blinded by the flash, Buffy staggered over to the middle of annex, catching her toe on a body lying on the floor. She lunged forward for a few steps before she was able to right herself. Squinting in the unnaturally bright light, she continued her desperate search for Spike. To her dread, she heard an alien voice chanting, something she realized she had heard before. The Diye creature had appeared once again.

As her eyes begin to focus again, she witnessed the chaos swell to new heights around her. The demons immediately began to surge away from the portal that had appeared above the surgical theater; however many were not quick enough and were slowly being dragged back to disappear in front of her watering eyes. She watched a vampire release a soldier it had pinned to the ground and attempt to flee from the creature. The vampire brushed past Buffy and made it a few feet before it too started to be drawn back toward the portal. Buffy could see the fear in the vampire's eyes as it fought against the inescapable pull. It clawed at the floor, screaming until it was suddenly not there anymore.

The entire annex was under siege from the creature. The soldiers were retreating to regroup against this new threat. They began firing at the Diye, finding that their bullets to have no effect, only melting away at the entrance of the portal. Demons used whatever skills they had to attack the Diye, but it served to bring the creature's attention to them. Soon, they too were fighting a losing battle against the inexorable pull of the portal. A cacophony of gunfire, demon screams and the creature's chant filled the air till Buffy held her hands over her ears, trying to shut out the unrelenting buffeting noise.

All of a sudden, an unearthly quiet settled on the annex. Buffy slowly pulled her hands down from her ears to see what had happened. Distracted by the sudden change, she was knocked off her feet by a retreating soldier. With a grunt, she felt her chin slam against the concrete as she landed on her stomach. Pulling in her arms to brace herself, she pushed up from the floor as she looked toward the portal. There, in front of the portal, was a silhouette of a man standing there with his head down. The demons ceased to be pulled toward the portal. The chant is no longer hanging in the air. Everyone's eyes are trained on the lone figure.

Buffy focused her eyes against the bright light coming from the portal to look at the figure standing there challenging the Diye creature.

It was Spike.