Chapter 69

The Sacrifice

Tina's hands had started to turn numb after her wrists were bound to the arms of the chair she was sitting in, thick rope cutting into her circulation. She bowed her head in exhaustion, blood and sweat staining her face and dripping from her hairline. She couldn't tell how long it had been since she woke up in the dining room of Snix's new lair. Time was a foreign concept when minions were breaking her fingers and tossing her around like a ragdoll.

"You know, you can stop the pain any time you want," said Snix, leaning down to grab Tina's eyes, resting her hands on her knees and showing off a gratuitous amount of cleavage.

"Please," Tina croaked.

"Tell me what I need to know," Snix said softly.

Tina grimaced. Even with her mind muddled, she knew the kindness in Snix's voice sounded wrong. The vampire was desperate. She would try anything to get Tina to help her.

"To be worthy..." she said as Snix leaned in, eager, "You have to perform the ritual... in a tutu."

Tina watched Snix's face contort from a sweet smile into a nasty grimace. She stood up straight and narrowed her eyes at the bound girl, who was working up to a weak grin.

"Alright, that's it. Someone get me a chainsaw," Snix put her hands on her hips.

"Now, now," Spike rolled into the room in his rusty wheelchair, a playful grin on his face, "It wouldn't do you any good to lose your temper."

"Keep out of it, Sit 'n Spin," Snix spat, without looking at him.

"You cut her up, you'll never get your answers."

Snix whipped her head at the vampire, her glossy black hair swaying to one side of her shoulder. "Since when did you become so reasonable?"

"Right about the time you became a Bond villain. You have your way with that bird and you'll never get to end the world. And I don't fancy spending the next month picking Oriental out of the floorboards."

Snix pursed her lips and folded her arms. "So what do you suggest, oh wise one?"

Spike smirked and eyed the doorway. "Drusilla, sweetheart," he called out.

Drusilla glided in in a sweeping gray gown and a diamond lavalier, a dark red smile on her pale face. She looked down at Spike, expectant and provocative.

"Do you want to play a game?"

xxx

Buffy walked through the police tape, letting it fall to the floor. Will's office was exactly how they left it, but without people. White strips were taped around the spot that Sunshine died and her blood was still not quite dried into the carpet. Buffy shuddered at the metallic smell.

"Keep away from the crime scene, Ms. Summers."

She turned back to see Figgins outside the open office door, his arms folded in a tweed blazer with patches sewn into the elbows. He had his lips pressed in a stern, straight line but his eyes looked full of concern.

"I didn't do this," Buffy's voice croaked, "The police will figure this out."

Figgins nodded, some form of sympathy flashing briefly across his face. "I sincerely hope so. Unfortunately, you've proved to be a liability to this school, Ms. Summers."

Buffy flinched. "What are you saying? Are you expelling me?"

Figgins cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "I don't want to make any final decisions without scheduling a meeting with your mother, but... it seems we might be heading in that direction."

Buffy exhaled. She was unwelcome in her school and in her home. She bit down hard on her lip until she thought she might draw blood.. There was only one thing she knew she had to do, before she could figure out where to go from there. She bent down and picked up the long hull that Sunshine had carried around and pulled out the longsword, inspecting it's fine edges. Figgins took a frightened step back as Buffy stood, shoving the sword through the leather belt in her jeans. She walked past him with purpose. Once he was alone, he took his cellphone from the inside pocket of his blazer and called the first number in his contacts list.

"It's Figgins. Tell Mr. Remington I have important news."

xxx

Drusilla bowed down to Tina, a gentle and intrigued look on her face as Snix and Spike watched from the doorway. Tina's neck burned and she could barely hold her head up as Drusilla ran her fingers through her hair, shushing her like she was an infant. She pushed Tina's hair out of her face and wiped the blood off of her brow with the back of her hand.

"Is that better? My poor angel..." she cooed and put her hands over Tina's head, "Let's see what's inside."

She clutched Tina's skull until it hurt and the tips of her fingernails made little pin pricks on Tina's scalp, making the girl wince.

"Of course..." she said, easing her grip and letting go.

Tina sighed with relief and opened her eyes. In a daze, Mike's face started to register in front of her and she realized it was her boyfriend standing in front of her, leaning down with his face so close to hers she could smell his musty scent of blood and lavender. He was strange, like a dream, but Tina welcomed it.

"Mike..."

"Tina," he smiled, and embraced her in a hug, careful not to brush over her cuts and broken bones before he quickly started undoing the tight ropes around her wrists and ankles, "Slowly. You're weak. Did you tell Santana about the ritual?"

"No," she croaked as he lifted her out of her chair, "We have to get her away from Acathla."

"Why? Is she close to figuring it out?"

"We have to find Buffy," said Tina, pulling his hand and trying to move towards the door.

"Wait," said Mike, tightly grabbing her wrists and holding her close, "Please, Tina, tell me what to do. You can trust me. I love you."

"Get Snix away from Acathla."

"Why? Is she the key?"

"Her blood. She can't... She can't..."

"Shh. It's okay." He leaned forward and kissed her, his hand on the back of her head.

Snix and Spike tore their eyes away from Drusilla, who was feverishly kissing Tina after putting her under a glamour-like daze, and looked at each other.

"Blood! Du-uh!" Snix rolled her eyes, "It's so obvious. It was right there in front of me the whole time. The blood on my hands must be my own. It's almost poetic. Well, that is a load off my shoulders. 'Kay, kill her."

"Wait," Spike said quickly, "What if she's lying?"

Snix raised a suspicious eyebrow at Spike. "Why would she lie? She thinks she's talking to her hot Mathlete boyfriend."

"Maybe she sees through the daze," said Spike, "She's supposed to be a bloody genius, isn't she? She could be toying with us. Wasting our time."

Snix narrowed her eyes for only a moment more before nodding. "Good point. This is kind of cool, having you watch my back. We're quite the threesome, huh?"

Spike clenched his jaw. "This is not a threesome."

"That's what you think," Snix laughed under her breath and glanced back at Drusilla, still making out with Tina, who was clutching feebly to the woman's dress, "Uh, Dru..."

"We're finished here, duck," Spike called to her.

Drusilla pulled away from the kiss and grinned sheepishly at her cohorts. "Sorry. I was... in the moment."

xxx

Mike met Buffy at sunrise in front of the impressive McMansion on the edge of Lima.

"You're not here to fight," she said instead of hello, "We save Tina and the both of you run like Hell. I can't protect you." She took the sword out of her belt just to catch the sunlight on the blade. "I'm here to end it once and for all."

Mike nodded, looking uneasy.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The others... Quinn, Rachel, Jesse... they wanted me to give you a message."

"What?" Buffy asked warily.

Mike pursed his lips, pausing for a few seconds. "Kick her ass."

Buffy clenched her jaw. "I'll do a lot more than that."

xxx

Will stood outside the hospital room, his eyes shifting between the passing nurses until he was sure they wouldn't be disturbed. He walked back in to find Quinn walking around the small room waving burning sage around the room with the windows shut tightly.

"I'll take over," he offered.

"Thanks," said Quinn, handing him the sage and joining the others around Rachel's hospital bed.

The brunette sat up and held out her hands for Quinn and Jesse to take.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Are you sure?" asked Jesse, glancing between the two girls, "Are you sure we should do this without Shelby?"

"We don't have time," said Quinn, "We have to do it now."

"No-one's ever done something like this before, not that we know of. And you... are kind of a novice-"

"I am not!"

"This isn't an ego thing, Quinn!" Jesse snapped, looking deadly serious, "This is powerful magic. Dark magic. And you're asking important spirits and gods to do your bidding. If you can't handle that kind of power - and I'm guessing you can't - you might not ever come back from that."

Quinn clenched her jaw. "If you're too scared to do this, you can leave."

Jesse stared at her steadfast and sighed. "Rachel?"

Rachel looked down at the Latin incantation scrawled on a piece of tissue paper on her lap, as well as the orb of Thesulah, while Will lit candles around the three of them. "Quod perditum est, invenietur," she chanted.

Jesse glanced at Quinn. "Age before beauty?"

Quinn pursed her lips, ego slightly bruised. "Ladies first," she said to him sternly and looked down at the translations Angel had written up, "Not dead, nor not of the living..."

xxx

Drusilla handed Snix the knife, rippling with excitement as Spike watched from the doorway, leaning back in his wheelchair with a stern frown on his face. The statue of Acathla stood at the end of the empty room. Snix nodded at Drusilla and pressed the blade of the knife against her own hand, drawing a small amount of blood, so dark it was almost black.

"Acathla will be free," she said, staring at her own hand as blood started to pool into her palm, "And so will the rest of us."

She stepped forward as something crashed unexpectedly through the floor-to-ceiling window, glass shattering against the floor as the thick black curtain fell in a heap. The curtains were pushed aside to reveal Buffy rising from under them with a shining longsword in her hands, sunlight streaming from outside and bathing her in gold.

The vampires jumped back from the deadly rays and gaped at the slayer. She stepped forward, unphased, as one of the minions ran toward her in attack mode. She extended her sword and with one swift movement, beheaded the vampire and watched him turn to dust.

"Hello, lover," she said chipperly, looking at Snix.

Snix frowned, anger bubbling inside of her. "I don't have time for you."

"You don't have a lot of time left."

Snix let out a barking laugh. "You're a cute little pitbull, you know that? As if you could take us all on your own."

"You're probably right about that," said Buffy, her eyes shifting over Snix's shoulder to Spike as he rose from his wheelchair, a nasty looking iron fireplace poker in his hand.

He brought it down and slammed it into the back of Snix's head, knocking her to the ground with a loud thud. Buffy ran forward with her sword as Snix was sprawled on the hardwood, but another minion came from the side and tackled into her, sending her sword flying into the wall. Drusilla looked at Spike, aghast, and did the same, tackling him to the ground and scratching wildly at him with her fingernails.

Spike kicked her off and hopped up, breathless. "I don't want to hurt you, baby..." he said, lifting his open hands in surrender as Drusilla stood, her chest heaving, Buffy still sparring vampire minions on her own.

Drusilla reached for his throat with her blade-like fingernails and Spike instinctively punched her in the jaw as hard as he could.

"Doesn't mean I won't," he shrugged.

Meanwhile, Mike ran through the house trying door after door and keeping himself quietly away from the bustle of battle down in the barren dining room. He found a locked door and rammed his shoulder into it. On the third try, the wood split and he kicked his way in to find Tina lying against a wall, her wrist tied tightly to a radiator, blood and sweat on her skin and her dress torn.

"Tina!" he gasped and ran toward her, taking out a pocket knife and cutting the rope.

"Mike?" she looked up, out of touch with reality.

"Can you walk?" he asked her as he threw the heavy-duty ropes away and tried to lift her.

"Are you real...?" she sighed.

"Of course I'm real. Come on, we have to go."

"They got inside my head. It's a trick."

Mike put his hand on each side of her face and looked into her eyes. "Tina. This isn't a trick. I'm real. My name is Michael Chang, Jr. and I love you. Now, we need to get out of here. Please."

Tina gave in and collapsed against his arms, letting him pick her up and carry her out.

xxx

Buffy stuck her sword into a minion's gut while kicking at another one, slaughtering the dozens that came at her. As Spike and Drusilla tackled each other, she looked over at the spot where Snix had collapsed to find only a smudge of blood on the floor. She widened her eyes and looked over at the statue of Acathla that Snix was hobbling to, holding her hand out.

"No!"

Buffy dived toward Snix just as the vampire pulled at the hilt of the stone sword that was stuck into Acathla's chest. Buffy blinked and reeled back as light filled the room. The brightness died down and light swirled around Acathla like a mystical whirlpool. Snix turned around and smiled at Buffy.

"You're too late, Barbs."

"It's not over yet," Buffy gritted her teeth.

"My boy's about to wake up. You're going to Hell."

"Save me a seat."

Buffy lunged her sword at Snix just as the vampire pulled Acathla's out of its chest and swung it, their metal blades clanging together.

xxx

"Gods, bind her, cast her heart from the demon... realm... return her..."

Jesse and Rachel nervously eyed Quinn as beads of sweat collected on her forehead and dark rings formed under her eyes. After a while, it seemed like a chore for the words to leave her mouth.

"I can take over," Jesse offered, squeezing her hand and looking nervous.

"No," she coughed, "I call on... I..."

"Quinn?" Rachel frowned.

Suddenly, Quinn's body tensed and her head snapped back, her eyes open wide and trained on the ceiling.

"Te implor Doamne, nu ignora accasta rugaminte!" she said quickly and purposefully in a language she'd never spoken, "Să orb fi vasul pentru a transporta sufletul ei să-i."

"What's happening?" Rachel asked Jesse, panicked.

Will gaped at them from where he stood at the door. "Is this good?" he asked aloud.

Jesse just looked at Quinn, his eyes wide and his mouth open. "I don't know."

"Este scris, aceasta putere este dreptul poporuil meu de a conduce," Quinn continued.

The orb caught Jesse's eye as it began to glow.

xxx

Spike had his hands pressed hard against Drusilla's neck, holding her against the ground. He straddled her and punched her hard in the head, knocking her unconscious. Buffy and Snix had stumbled into the next room, Snix herding the slayer away from the sunlight that was pouring in through the broken window.

Spike looked down at Drusilla, pale and elegant, and picked her up. He peered into the next room and watched Snix back Buffy into a corner and kick the sword out of her grasp.

"God, she's going to kill her," Spike remarked, worry tensing his face. He shrugged and fled the scene with Drusilla in his arms.

Blood ran down Buffy's arm as she tried to escape the corner, but Snix moved with her, smiling, playful, and wielding a sword while Buffy'S sword was lying on the floor across the room, dusty after slaying Snix's minions. Snix hovered the end of the sword near Buffy's face as she bit her lip and cowered from the blade.

"Well, I am loving this," she shook her head, "Cute little Buffy with her friends and her weapons and her doting watcher. Take all that away and what are you?"

Buffy closed her eyes, breathing calmly as she sank to the ground against the wall. Snix just threw her head back and laughed, before lunging forward with her blade, pointing it straight at Buffy's face. Without opening her eyes, the slayer clapped her palms together and caught the sword between her hands. She opened her eyes again, staring hatefully at Snix. "Me."

She jerked the sword backward and hit Snix in the nose with the hilt, lifting herself off the ground and kicking Snix in the chest. She hit back at the vampire, shepherding her back into the dining room and towards Acathla, strategically avoiding the stream of sunlight coming in through the broken window. Buffy knew what she had to do. Blood started it. Blood would stop it. Snix dropped to her knees in front of the statue and Buffy raised her sword to plunge into the vampire's chest, just as Snix let out a tortured scream.

Buffy jumped back, bewildered, as Snix opened her eyes wide, her irises glowing yellow. The vampire gasped as the light in her eyes died down and she looked up, disoriented.

"Buffy?" she said, looking up at the slayer.

Buffy's mouth dropped open and she backed away, cautious.

"What's going on?" she asked, alarmed, as she stood up, blood and sweat staining her dress, "Where are we?"

Buffy put her arm back to her side, holding the hilt of her sword uncertainly in her hand. "Santana?" she called in a very small voice.

"You're hurt," Santana croaked, looking at Buffy's arm, "Jesus, Buffy, what happened?"

Buffy stared at Santana with her mouth open, until warmth flushed to her face and she stumbled forward, embracing Santana with her free hand. It was really her. She was back.

"Buffy..." Santana said, her mouth against Buffy's hair.

Buffy squeezed her eyes tight and when she opened them, the light around Acathla's statue was glowing brighter over Santana's shoulder. The statue's mouth was opening wide, a vortex swirling into it and emitting a low grumble.

Santana turned, her arms still around the slayer, and looked at the statue. "What is that, Buffy? Talk to me."

"It doesn't matter," Buffy said quickly and pulled Santana back to her by her shoulder, "I love you."

She pressed her lips against Santana and breathed in deep through her nose. Santana pulled away, her eyes over Buffy's face, trying to assess the situation and failing.

"I love you..." Santana finally said, pursing her lips tight together.

"Close your eyes," Buffy said gently.

Santana complied, tired, serene and trustful. Buffy kissed her softly and pressed her forehead against Santana's, a tear squeezing it's way through her closed eyelids. She knew what she had to do. Blood started it. Blood would stop it. The slayer pulled back, thrusting her sword into Santana's chest, through it and into the chest of Acathla.

An unearthly roar sounded from the stone demon and Santana gasped, looking down at the sword that impaled her, blood dribbling from around the blade. Her eyes were open wide, shocked and betrayed when she looked back up at Buffy. Tears were streaming down the slayer's face, though she didn't sob and her chest didn't heave with the weight of her final loss. The vortex pulsed outwards and closed around Santana, sucking her back into it and swallowing her into the statue.

In a blink, she had disappeared. Buffy squeezed tears out of her eyes. For only a moment, Santana had been with her. Now she was gone. Forever. The slayer looked around at the empty house. Now that she had done what she needed to do, she didn't know where to go. Not home. She dreaded having to see familiar faces again. She wanted her life to end and a new one to begin.

She sniffed once and made her decision.

xxx

"So, no word?"

Tina shook her head as she and her boyfriend walked alongside Kurt and Blaine on a sidewalk in Cherry Hill, one of Lima's nicer gated communities.

"It's been three weeks," said Blaine, looking concerned, "What happened?"

Mike shrugged. "All we know is that she stopped the world from ending, because... here we are."

"Mr. Schuester went back to the house and found Acathla dormant. No-one else was there," said Tina. Buffy had gone missing the night she had decided to stop Snix. The scoobies knew that Mr. Schuester was crushed by his slayer's disappearance and so was Buffy's mother, who'd seemed quiet and guilty whenever they saw her.

Kurt pressed his lips together, thoughtful. "I keep wondering if I hadn't been concentrating so hard on finals at Dalton, maybe I would seen something in a vision or been able to help-"

"This isn't your fault, Kurt," Tina shook her head, "Maybe they were able to save Santana and they just wanted to be alone for a while. Besides, Buffy is bound to come back sooner or later. School is gonna start."

"I guess so," shrugged Kurt, "Just... maybe I'd be a little bit more in the loop if I was back at McKinley."

Tina and Blaine looked at him, surprised. "You're coming back to McKinley?" she asked.

"I didn't say that... but I'm considering it. Dalton might not be a perfect fit."

"How'd you do in your finals?" asked Mike.

"He aced every test," Blaine said proudly, "Too academically demanding my ass."

Kurt smirked and slid his hand into Blaine as the four of them approached a tall colonial house. They hopped up the porch steps and rang the doorbell. A moment later, LeRoy Berry answered, looking a little perturbed.

"Kids, nice to see you," he said hastily, "Quinn and Rachel are, um, upstairs..."

He stepped back to let the four of them in. They glanced at each other and made their way upstairs, Tina leading the way. Rachel's bedroom door was open and the preppy brunette was inside, standing on her pink carpet and looking at the closed door to her en suite bathroom.

"Quinn, I'm so sorry!" she cried, looking red in the face and panicked.

"Rachel, it's fine," Quinn's muffled voice came from the bathroom.

"What's going on?" asked Tina as the boys walked in behind her.

Rachel looked over at them and sighed, guilt written all over her face. She sighed as she explained. "Quinn was trying to teach me some spells. Like, the spell she uses to color her hair."

Tina nodded. "Right. Easy stuff."

"Sure," Rachel swallowed, close to tears, "And she tried to let me do her roots. She said to think of butter yellow and I tried, but I guess I was looking at my room and my room is so pink and... Quinn, I'm sorry!"

"Rachel, it's fine!" Quinn said kindly as she came out of the bathroom, the others gaping at her new hairstyle.

Long, wavy tendrils of bright pink reached the small of her back and illuminated her green eyes.

"Besides, I kind of like it," Quinn shrugged.

"No, you don't. You should just fix it yourself. I'll leave it alone," Rachel shook her head.

"Rachel, seriously, I like it. What do you guys think?" asked Quinn, "Tina, you've experimented with hair dye. And Kurt, you're our resident fashion guru."

Tina and Kurt glanced at each other.

"Well, it's a lot more effective than actual hair dye," Tina shrugged.

"It's a little... Princess Bubblegum. Maybe you should cut it. Right above your shoulders. You have the bone structure to pull it off," said Kurt.

Quinn smiled and caught Rachel's eye. "Sounds good to me."

a/n: The last chapter of Season 2. *sighs* We've come a long way, guys. I started this story two years ago and the absolute only reason I kept writing this whole time is because I knew you guys were reading it, so thank you for being apart of the process. It's been a lot of fun. I hope the addition of a cute scene at the end balanced out an angsty enough chapter.

I'm not sure when I'll be starting Season 3, but I probably won't waste a huge amount of time. I already have a bunch of ideas and I'm pretty excited to share them. Thanks for reading and reviewing!