Chapter 3

The heat from the three suns was horrible, and the rocky ground acted more as a frying pan than a shelter. But what were far worse were the voices.

"WORTHLESS! USELESS! LIAR! SLUT!" They all melted together and shook the earth around her. The worse thing was that Buffy knew each and every voice. It was the people who she knew and had died because of her.

Buffy crouched in the middle of a field, her hands clamped over her ears in a desperate attempt to quiet the accusations. And her eyes were glued shut with her tears so she wouldn't have to face the people she had failed.

But it didn't last. One of them landed a vicious slap on her cheek that knocked Buffy down. She finally opened her eyes and saw Jenny Calendar standing over her with a look of absolute contempt. "Rupert and I would have been happy if it wasn't for you, you selfish, petty little..." Jenny's rage strangled out the last of her words.

"I'm sorry," Buffy whispered, but the apology just incensed the ghosts more and another took Jenny's place.

"People accepted that I was gay," a familiar voice said. Buffy looked up and saw Larry, who was just looking at her in pity. "I was going to college, even had a scholarship. Slaying demons was your job, but you couldn't deal. So I died trying to help you." He turned his back on her, too disgusted to even touch her. "You were the hero, not me! You're the one who should be dead!"

Buffy wrapped her arms around her legs and cried into her knees. "I'm so sorry."

She heard the familiar swish of a leather trench coat and knew who it was without even looking up.

"Death is your gift," Angel said. "Death for everyone who touches your life. I loved you and you sent me to hell. You're the one who deserved to be here, not us."

"Angel, please," Buffy begged.

"Angel please," another voice mocked. "Angel dis, Angel dat. If you'd killed Angelus when you were supposed to I'd still be alive, Blondie."

"Kendra?"

The Jamaican Slayer glared at her in disgust. "Dat's right. Surprised you remembered. After the way you'd left me to die. You ain't worthy to be a Slayer."

Buffy buried her face into her knees and wept. She cried so hard that she didn't notice the accusing voices die down. But she jumped when she felt the hand on her shoulder. When she saw who it was she almost died. "No. Mom, please, I can't…"

"Shh," Joyce Summers said as she knelt down next to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her. She held Buffy tight to her as Buffy wept into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, mommy."

"For what?" Joyce asked as she pulled Buffy away so she could see her daughter's face.

"For not being there when you needed me."

"You were always there," Joyce said with a kind smile as she wiped away Buffy's tears. "Not even you can change when its time to go, Buffy. But I love you and your sister, so I'm never really gone."

Buffy looked around the suddenly empty desert. "How? Willow sent me to hell?"

Joyce shook her head. "No, she didn't. This is just an illusion."

Buffy's heart sank. "Then you're?"

Joyce smiled as she pushed a lock of Buffy's hair back behind her ear. "An exception. A friend of yours got me."

"Who?"

"You'll see."

Buffy turned back to her mom and looked away in shame. "What is it, honey?"

Buffy didn't know where to begin. "I've… I'm in a relationship."

"With Xander and Anya. I know."

Buffy looked at her mother in shock. "And you're not mad?"

"Do you love them?"

Buffy nodded. "With all my heart."

"Then why would I be mad?"

Buffy hugged her mom again, but finally Joyce pushed her away. "I have to go."

Buffy sighed. "Do you haveta?"

"Curfew. Not all of us get to climb out a window," Joyce smirked, but that faded and she just looked sad. "You have to get up, Buffy. Xander and Anya, they need you right now. More than you know."

Buffy rubbed at her arms, which were starting to throb in pain. "But, Willow… She's my friend."

Joyce sighed. "I wish this wasn't up to you, Buffy. I wish that you had a normal life."

"So do I."

"But you have to stop her. And be careful. I want to see my granddaughter born this Christmas," Joyce said as she touched reached out and touched Buffy's stomach.

"Granddaughter?" Buffy asked in disbelief as she wrapped her hand over her mother's.

"Trust me on this one, sweetie. And tell your sister I love her," Joyce said as she leaned forward and kissed Buffy on the forehead. Then she was gone.

Buffy blinked, then tried to shield her eyes from the bright light that filled the room, but her hands were still held to the wall. So she squinted and realized that there was something in the glow. A woman, a very… "Cordelia?"

"What?" Cordelia asked as she dimmed her glow to just blinding. "You really think I'd forget about you? Besides, the Powers owed me a favor for updating them on the latest fashion trends. I mean togas are so over."

"You're an angel?" Buffy asked, the disbelief clear in her voice. "I don't remember Willow hitting me on the head…"

"Har, har. Looks who's almost developed a funny bone. I'll have you know I make a stunning angel. Like I wasn't all ready."

"I don't suppose you could get me down?"

Cordelia sighed. "Sorry. I can only do so much."

Buffy nodded and grinned at the unlikely angel. "Thank you."

Cordelia beamed. "My pleasure. And could you do me a big one? Tell Angel," she began, then shook her head. "Never mind, I'll tell him myself." With that she vanished.

But Buffy didn't have to wait long.

"Slayer, you all right?" Spike shouted as he limped into the living room, holding his arm and looking around with his one good eye.

"Kind of," Buffy said as she waited.

Spike took one look at her trussed up on the wall and grinned as much as he could. "Now that brings back memories."

"You're a pig."

"And proud of it," Spike said as he walked over and started breaking the vines that held her to the wall. Finally he helped her down. "You alright?"

Buffy nodded even though she felt shaky. "I think so," then she glanced at his beaten face. "What about you?"

"What, this? A couple of days and a few dozen pints and I'll be fine. Better than you, anyway. This is gonna hurt," he warned as he started to unwrap a vine from her around wrist.

Buffy whimpered as she felt the thorns pull out of her skin. "Where's Tara?"

"Over here," Tara whispered. She had her arms wrapped around herself and looked pale.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"Red's a dead woman, that's what happened," Spike whispered as he pulled the vine from her other. "She could beat me up all she wanted, seems to be a White Hat's job." He glanced over at Tara, who wasn't looking at anything in particular. "But no one touches my girl."

"I'll be fine, Spike," Tara whispered, but the way she was shivering called her a liar. Spike ripped off the vine that held Buffy's legs, this time without being gentle about it, then went and wrapped his arms around Tara. He tried not to look hurt when she pushed him away. "Don't touch me!" She shouted and backed away. "Please?"

Spike growled and tried to slip into his game face, but his face was too hurt to make the change. "Where is she, Buffy?"

"I don't know. She hung me out to dry and killed Warren. The last thing she said was one down."

"Two to go," Spike finished. "We better get to the prison for Warren's mates before she does."

"She isn't going to the prison," Tara said.

Buffy closed her eyes. "The hospital?"

Tara nodded and looked sick. "I never knew she was so angry, Buffy. We were together for two years and I never knew."

"We have to stop her," Buffy said and took one step forward and fell flat on her face when her legs gave out under her.

Spike pulled her back to her feet. "This isn't anytime for bloody games."

"Don't you think I know that?" Buffy said as she looked down at her legs, which were shaking with fatigue.

Spike glared at her, then sniffed the air. He frowned and grabbed Buffy's arm to look at her still bleeding wrists, then at Buffy's still open blouse. "You aren't healing. What'd the witch do to you?"

Buffy pulled her hand free and buttoned her blouse with shaking fingers. "She fed off me, like Glory used to. Said she wanted to see what Slayers tasted like."

"So we have a power-mad witch backed up with Slayer strength? You know, Mexico isn't that far off."

"No. She stuck her fingers into me," Buffy said as she put a protective hand over her stomach and the gift she carried within, "but she said she didn't get anything."

"So the cavalry's a beaten Vampire, a powerless Slayer and a Wicca in shock? The Light Brigade had a picnic compared to us."

"We have to get moving," Buffy said, trying to focus the other two. Tara didn't seem to hear her, but Spike did.

He shrugged. "What the hell. Immortality's gotten dull anyhow." It took them five minutes to find a car, and another two for Spike to hotwire it. So nearly twenty minutes had passed when they finally got to the hospital.

"Place is still standing, that's a good sign," Spike said as he stopped the car right outside the hospital, completely ignoring the bright yellow no parking signs. He glanced back at Buffy through the review mirror. "You better let me go first," he said as he opened the car door and stepped outside. Then there was a rumble that shook the car and every window in the second, third and fourth floors of the hospital exploded out. Tara and Buffy ducked down into the cheap blue seats as the glass rained down on the roof, some heavy enough to dent the thin metal.

"You just had to jinx it," Tara said when the glass finally stopped raining down.

"Silly me," Spike whispered as he drug himself into the car.

"Oh, my God, Spike?" Tara said in horror.

There were dozens of bloody cuts on his face and hands and his trench coat was all but shredded. "Might take a bit longer than I thought to get better, Slayer," Spike said as he collapsed onto the front seat.

Tara pulled him over to her lap, her earlier fear gone now that she had something else to focus on. "Just hold on, I'll make you better."

"Already made me better," Spike said, his voice was weak but he somehow still managed to sound cocky. "Made a man out of me."

Tara grinned and brushed the glass out of his short, burnt blond hair. "He was always in there. I just let him out. Now hold still." With that she closed her eyes and started to chant.

Buffy opened her door. "Take care of him. I have to…"

Spike nodded. "Go. We'll catch up."

Buffy didn't look back, she ran all out to the front door of the hospital. But her all out wasn't what it used to be, it seemed like she was crawling along, and it didn't help that she had to dodge the biggest shards of glass that covered the asphalt. She slowed down even more when she was inside. The hospital was in chaos with screaming patients and doctors and nurses running around with all the grace of headless chickens. Buffy ignored it all as she made her way to the staircase.

She also ignored the tearing feeling in her legs and the way she was gasping for breath after she raced up the three flights of stairs and came out on the intensive care ward. She pushed her way past the hospital staff as she followed the trail of destruction to the epicenter.

Which was a patient's room. She knew it was the right room because its door was blown across the hall and was lying in shambles on the floor. She doubled her pace and ran into a man who stepped out of the room right next door. .

"Excuse me," Buffy said as she tried to step around the man, but suddenly stopped. He looked familiar, even though the dark jeans and shirt didn't seem to fit. She glanced up at his face and blinked twice, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating. "Giles?"

"Terribly sorry… Buffy?" Giles said as he looked down in wonder. Buffy didn't answer, she just threw herself in his arms. "Thank God you're all right," he whispered into the top of her head.

She finally pulled back enough to see the tears in his eyes. "What happened? Where's Dawn? Are Xander and Anya…?"

Giles nodded to the room he just stepped out of, and Buffy saw Dawn lying on the bed, her eyes closed and unnaturally still. "Dawn's in there, sleeping off a spell Willow put on her, and as for Xander and Anya - they're… they're as well as can be expected."

"And Willow?" Buffy asked as she steeled herself for a fight, then she saw the look in her eyes and felt something wither away inside her.

Giles shook his head and pinched his nose. "I thought I could save her. What happened while I was gone, Buffy? She was going to kill Xander."

"What happened?" Buffy repeated.

"I arrived too late," Giles said and he sounded so old. "She was going to curse Xander to the darkest of hell dimensions and I had no choice..."

"Why?"

"He cut her throat Buffy, but she didn't die and I was too late to stop her. So I overloaded her with the power of an entire coven."

"Then she's dead?"

Giles nodded. "Yes. The much magic all at once was far too much for a mortal to handle."

"Xander," Buffy said and went to the door. But before she went in she looked back at her Watcher. "Don't go anywhere."

"I won't," Giles promised.