A/N I own nothing from the source material, songs, or oc's from MyraValhallah's story. Just doing this for fun.
P.S. Starlight by Muse might be a good idea to check up on. Just saying. For further enjoyment of this fic and all that.
Chapter 18
"It sounds like you got yourself a problem with the First." Spike sat in the Goblin King's throne room. Correction in the Goblin King's throne. A cigarette dangling from his mouth as he went to light it. "Buffy and her Scooby white hats had gone and offed it and I got left in a pile of dust. Toasted and ghosted. Like I told the Great Ponce, not bloody fair, is it?" Sarah looked at Jareth but the King knew this ensouled vamp had quite the basis of comparison.
"You seem pretty corporeal to me." Sarah put out a tentative finger to poke him, just to make sure, but was caught at the wrist by a fairly miffed Jareth the Goblin King.
"It's proof enough that he's not the First seeing as he was poked and prodded by our Gallifreyans here. Don't you think, pet?" He glowered at the vampire in a way he hoped conveyed an indefatigable sense of 'mine'. The king may know of the torch bearing for a certain Slayer but the images of a bubblegum vamp named Harmony that had happened since said torch was lit justified Jareth's actions in his own mind.
"Problem is pet, with your little friend H.G. over there how can you be certain the First won't be takin' the opportunity of your voodoo to hop in as his dopple?" Spike stomped the unlit cigarette out on the stone floor. Much to the chagrin of said floor's owner. The vampire stomped two more without even lighting them. "Really should stop the nasty habit, shouldn't I?" He leered at the women. "Did try when I was around Peaches. Thought I could get a fix outta annoyin' 'im." He got quiet then and Jareth knew why. The Slayer didn't appreciate his 'nasty habit' but being here meant he would probably save the universe from evil again and he'd never see the woman who made him want to change. Well, Jareth may not appreciate the vampire's sense of humor but he was not going to let a single person suffer in this apocalypse. No way. No how.
They all sat in the library while Spike groaned that they were worse than Rupes. Whoever that was. Sarah had grown used to the references to the punk's unlife no matter how weird that seemed. They knew what had brought him here. Jareth had admitted to having thought about Sarah as a champion and Rose had shamefacedly come clean about thinking of the Doctor in leather during the ritual to call forth the Human Doctor. Spike had muttered about 'the Bleeding Powers That Be' and them finding every 'buggering' loophole they could to put him 'through an unliving hell'. At this umpteenth use of foul language the Doctor had shrunk into his research on closing dimensional rifts.
"You try stopping the blood?" Spike yelled from the oddly glittery arm chair while examining his black fingernails. He had meant it as a snide inside joke but it caught their attention. What if by calling in a human Doctor they just killed him? A pillar of fire hadn't harmed Spike much but he was already dead. What if pulling the Meta-crisis through, harmed the human form and just left them with the corpse of a person that could have helped? What if he didn't want to help? He had been pretty quick to leave Rose. They couldn't think of that though. They had to try.
They went into the Escher room and did it all again now with an audience that continued sing-songing 'you put your left 'and in, you put your left 'and out'. It wasn't annoying. No, of course not. Spike wasn't the only one with a look of surprise when the Doctor was both standing and sittin'. He was, however, the only one to walk up, quirk a scarred eyebrow, and punch the newest guest square in the jaw. "He isn't the First just so you know." He shook out his hand and sauntered back to his bedazzled seat.
Jareth and the Doctor picked up the konked out double and dragged him to a seated position against a wall. Now, they waited.
The Meta-crisis awoke just shy of an hour later and pulled away from the slightly putrid stench of a goblin perched on his chest. The goblin, Pritch, hopped off the prishner to tell the Shampooing that he was awake.
The quintet appeared and stared down at their new house guest. He stared right back up at them. "Where am I?"
"Whence." Sarah looked down her nose at the sleeze. She looked very royal in that moment if Jareth were allowed to say so himself. "And you're going to help us save the universe."
They expected a fight. An argument. They did not expect the reaction they received. The Meta-crisis broke out in a relieved smile. "Finally."