Chapter Twelve – The Church

Buffy stood in front of the door staring at the knob. She wanted to check on Spike, but she didn't want to wake them up. She could turn the knob and push the door open with something, but she wouldn't be able to close it again. They'd probably be waking up in a few hours, and they had the barrier, so having the door open for a couple of hours shouldn't be a problem, right?

Buffy turned the knob then used a wooden spoon to push the door open. Her hand hit the barrier and the spoon clattered loudly to the floor. Buffy winced and looked at the bed. The boys hadn't moved and she stood looking at them for several minutes. Spike was on his side in the middle spooning Andrew, whose knees were pressed against the wall. Xander was on the other side of Spike and had rolled to his back with one leg hanging off the bed. Spike's back was pressed against his side and his arm was under Spike's pillow. "They need a bigger bed."

She walked to the cabinet next to the fridge and started sifting through the random assortment of items stuffed into it, finally coming up with a small notepad, but she couldn't find a pen. She stopped suddenly and rolled her eyes then stuffed the notepad back into the cabinet. "It's the digital age, dumbass. Text them." She pulled out her phone and sent a group text to Xander and Andrew. 'Order a new bed. The biggest one that will fit in your room. Bedding to go with. Use the household card. -B-'

She tucked her phone away then pulled it out again. 'Order Spike a phone and add him to our plan. -B-'

Messages sent, she walked back over to the door and looked in. Spike was looking at the open door and he smiled when she stepped into view then mouthed, "Good morning, Mistress."

She smiled back and mouthed, "Go back to sleep, my pet."

He nodded and dropped his head then closed his eyes and hugged Andrew tighter to his chest with a contented sigh. Buffy watched for a moment longer then left the kitchen and headed down to the basement for the next act of their play.

Faith glanced over her shoulder when Buffy stepped into the room then turned back and flicked the whip across the bleeding back in front of her, saying over the low moan, "Mornin', B. How's the boys?"

"Still sleeping. Texted them to order a bigger bed since it's looking like they'll be in there a while and they're crammed into theirs like a bunch of sardines."

"I think I'll have my regular cup of coffee before we head out. You want one?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I think that would be safe enough. We'll both be in the kitchen and with Wil's wards up and running, we'll have enough warning to get them back into the room." She nodded at Angelus. "He saying anything useful?"

"No, so I stopped asking him questions a while ago. Now I'm just trying out my new whip." She flicked the whip again and Angelus moaned. "Seems like he likes it. I'll have to soak it in holy water next time." She hung the whip on a hook and started for the door, tucking her phone behind the pile of manacles on her way out.

Buffy turned to follow her. "They've got to be in town somewhere. Somebody has to know something. Which demons haven't we beaten information out of yet?"

Angelus barked out a hoarse laugh. "You'll never find them but go ahead and keep looking. One of these nights, they'll break down your wards and overrun this place and then you'll never find those boys… alive, anyway. I might send you parts of them, though. Guess which parts I'll send first?"

Buffy snatched the whip off the hook and walked around to the front of the body suspended from the ceiling. She cracked the whip across his cock with a snarl then smiled as Angelus screamed. When he'd stopped, she stepped close and said, "You'll lose yours before they lose theirs." She tossed the whip onto a table. "Let's go find some demons to beat on."

XXXX

Once they were out of the basement with the door shut firmly behind them, Buffy asked quietly, "Think he bought it?"

Faith nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure he did, but I'll go back down and grab my phone before we leave to make sure so we're not walking into a trap."

Buffy smirked. "How does she not know that we can sense her standing in the tunnel and that we knew she was there before she even figured out what room Angelus was in?"

"I don't figure he taught her much about what vampires can or can't do, and the other one probably isn't sane enough to train anybody. Did you really tell the boys to get a bigger bed?"

"Yeah. They won't be stuck in there much longer, but Spike will probably crash with them sometimes or go down for a fuck now that he's all about 'shagging blokes', as he puts it. A bigger bed will be more comfortable, and we should've gotten the boys a bigger bed already. I think Xander's shot up about four inches since he moved in here, and I'm not sure he's done growing."

Willow and Amy's scrying spell had finally worked and they knew exactly where the enemy scourge was holed up. Willow had also taken the wards down as soon as the event was over because they knew one of the enemy scourge would try to infiltrate the mansion to locate Angelus and find out what Buffy and Faith were planning and how much they knew. Faith's phone had recorded the younger vampire's conversations with Angelus, and their consensus was that Willow had forgotten to ward the tunnels, so they were planning to attack from there in a few days, once they'd turned enough minions to keep Buffy's scourge busy while Angelus was freed. Once he was, he'd lead half a dozen humans, that Buffy and Faith assumed were their thralls, upstairs to go in after the boys.

Faith headed for the kitchen. "Think the boys are awake yet? I could use some coffee before the dusting party. Are we gonna tell Angelus when his scourge is ended?"

"I'm not going to say anything, but he'll probably sense it. If he doesn't, then let him think he's gonna be rescued until it's clear he won't be. I just don't get why he showed up here in the first place with only four minions to help him out. If he'd brought his women with the minions, he probably could have beat us."

"You know how he is. He overestimates his abilities and underestimates ours. He probably thought a bunch of girls were no match for five guys."

"I'm still trying to figure out why he showed up at all. It's been what, 200 years? We've run across him how many times since we beat his ass and he's never done anything, so why now?"

Faith stopped and threw a smirk at Buffy. "You really don't know?"

"No, I really don't."

"It's Spike, dumbass. Angelus is pissed because you have a new pet. You've finally replaced him and it broke his stupid brain. And the funniest part is he thinks all the boys are your pets. That's why he decided on a frontal assault with four newly turned minions instead of building up his scourge and hitting us six months or a year from now. You know he's been keeping tabs on us, right? That's why he eventually turns up wherever we are. One of them probably saw one of us out somewhere and followed them back here. Or he found the website. Who knows?"

"So how does he even know about the boys? They're not on the website and I've only had Spike out at night a couple times, and that was a while ago. If he'd seen Spike then, he would've attacked then, wouldn't he?"

"I'm pretty sure he staked out the mansion from the church across the street and saw the boys leaving or coming back. I checked it out the first night we were hunting and could scent him all over the place, and as far as he knows, you'd be the one most likely to have pets out of the two of us. The boys went grocery shopping a couple of days before the attack, so it probably took him that long to find and make the minions and then he dragged them over here as soon as they were all awake. The fuckwit didn't even give them a few days to figure out their new strength and how to use it effectively in a fight."

"One of them still managed to grab Spike, and if Anya hadn't heard the fight and climbed off Travis long enough to see what was going on, he might have gotten away with him."

"He wouldn't have gotten far. His only goal was getting through the door, but I don't think he'd planned any further than that. If he'd made it outside, we'd have gone out the back door and caught him dragging Spike through the back yard, since dragging a naked teenage boy down a busy street would draw the kind of attention he didn't need."

Buffy smiled tiredly, "I'm the older one and should have figured this out already, but my brain feels like it's been run through a blender."

"You're still freaked out about almost losing Spike. I can scent it all over you. Once we've dusted them, you can take him upstairs and spend a week in bed if you want. Reassure yourself that he's fine and not going anywhere. Now let's go make coffee and give that chick time to get the hell out of our tunnels so I can go get my phone."

XXXX

The boys were still asleep when they stepped into the kitchen. Buffy leaned on the wall by the door and watched them while Faith set up the coffee maker to brew. When Faith walked past her to the table, Buffy turned and followed her. "You want me to wake Xan up?"

"Nah, let them sleep. It's a little early for them to be up and they need more sleep than we do."

Faith got up when the coffee was ready and poured two cups. She dug in the fridge for some blood and doctored the cups then carried them over to the table. "Not Spike's blood, but it'll do, I guess."

Buffy took a sip. "Which one is this from?"

"The one closest to the stairs, I think. I don't really know. Xan has them on some sort of rotation."

"How many minions do you suppose they've turned?"

"Amanda's contact in the police department hasn't come up with more than three or four missing people since the attack, so if they have more than that, they're getting them from out of town."

"Unless they're turning homeless people, who probably wouldn't be reported missing."

Faith smirked. "I think you're giving them way more credit than they deserve. You know the four Angelus brought with him?" Buffy nodded. "Amanda searched missing person reports for the names he gave and the dumbass kidnapped a damn band. They'd come down here from LA for a show at one of the nightclubs and he apparently ambushed them as they were loading up the van with their gear. If he'd waited five more minutes before driving off, he'd have gotten the drummer, too. He was still packing up his kit and went outside to find his bandmates and their van missing with guitars and whatever scattered all over the alley."

Buffy sighed. "Yeah, he wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but damn, did he look good."

"Spike looks better, I think, and he seems to have a functioning brain in his head."

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, he's way hotter than Angelus, and he's smarter, too. He'd never be stupid enough to kidnap a band." Buffy shook her head with a chuckle. "For fuck's sake. A band. That a bunch of people had just paid to see. I'm surprised he didn't yank them right off the stage and turn them in front of the crowd."

Faith laughed. "Maybe he was late to the show." She drained her cup and stood up. "It'll be dark soon. Let's go gear up to dust some dumbasses. I'm gonna go grab my phone."

Buffy nodded and drained her own cup then stood up and walked over to the door to look at the boys again. Spike was sitting up between two still sleeping boys. He scooted to the end of the bed and stood then walked over to the door and stepped into the kitchen, wrapping Buffy in a hug as soon as he was across the threshold. Buffy hugged him lightly, careful not to put too much pressure on his back, and Spike murmured into her hair, "You can hug me, Mistress. They don't hurt much anymore."

She tightened her hold on him and said, "You should be asleep."

"I know, but I needed to touch you." He leaned back and raised a hand to cup her cheek. "I've missed you."

Buffy leaned into his hand, her eyes drifting closed. "I've missed you, too, and this will be over soon. We're going to end that scourge tonight."

"Please be careful. I don't want to lose you, either."

Buffy opened her eyes and smiled. "I promise I'll be careful." She leaned up and kissed him then turned him around and pointed him at the door, eyeing the lash marks as he stepped away. "When the boys wake up, all of you get dressed in case you have to get out of here in a hurry. Xander knows where to go. We're not sure how many they've turned or when for sure they plan to attack, so be ready to move if you hear a car horn coming from the basement. Willow's set an alarm ward on the basement door that will sound off if someone who isn't a resident of the mansion opens it, and they have their own thralls set to come in and get you, so go right out the front door and get gone as fast as you can while they're still fighting to get down the hallway."

Spike turned around after he'd crossed the threshold. "I don't have any clothes down here, Mistress."

"I'll bring some down before I leave."

Faith stepped back into the kitchen and waggled her phone. "New info. They think they have enough minions to handle whoever will be staying behind while the rest of us hunt, so they're planning to attack just after midnight." She came to an abrupt stop and smiled. "Oh, hey, Spike."

He chuckled, "Hello, Miss Faith."

Buffy turned to face her. "So instead of plan A, we're going to plan B?"

Faith nodded. "Yeah. We'll leave like we planned, but only go about one block over then send Vi and Fred to their lair to make sure this is good info. If it looks like they're gearing up to go, one of them will text and we'll hunker down and wait for the alarm to sound then come in and get stake happy while they clear out anybody still in the lair. If the info isn't good and they're still holed up making minions, then we'll head over there and get stake happy."

"Okay. Who's staying behind?"

"Willow. She'll be able to throw up a force shield that'll hold them in the hallway long enough for the boys to get out and for us to get in."

Spike asked, "What about the boys on the third floor?"

"Travis will protect them. He'll bottleneck the stairs if they try to come up, but I don't think they're even aware those boys are up there. They're after you three."

Buffy started for the servant's stairs. "I'm gonna get ready and grab Spike some clothes. Spike, wake the boys and fill them in. I'll be back in a few minutes."

XXXX

Spike took the t-shirt off the stack of clothes Buffy had set on the counter and tugged it on. Xander and Andrew were already dressed and sitting nervously on the bed, each clutching a stake.

Buffy nodded at the stakes. "I don't want you to fight, I want you to run."

Xander nodded. "We plan to, Miss. These are in case there's a vampire in our way."

Buffy watched as Spike pulled his jeans on and tucked himself in before doing up the buttons. "Okay. We're heading out in a few minutes. Willow will be in the foyer keeping an eye on the basement door. If you hear the car horn, get out. She'll hold them back long enough for you to get down the street at least. The priest knows you might turn up, so stay with him until one of us comes to get you."

Andrew stood up and stepped into the kitchen as Spike sat down at the breakfast table to put on his socks and boots. "The priest is expecting us? He knows what we are and where we live?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, he knows what you are and what we are. We're not welcome in his church, because of the vampire thing and also because of what we do, but you're humans with souls that can apparently still be saved, so he promised to shelter you for however long we need him to. Just don't get all Jesus-freak on me if you're there for a while, okay? After the week I've had, I will lose my absolute shit if one of you starts preaching at me."

Spike finished lacing up his boots and stood up with a chuckle. "I promise I won't preach at you, Mistress." He picked up his jacket and slid into it then pulled Buffy into a hug. "I rather like what you are and what you do, especially when you do it to me."

Buffy squeezed him tight then pulled him into a kiss that left him nearly breathless. "Keep yourself safe, Spike."

"You as well, Mistress."

Buffy reluctantly let him go and left the kitchen. Spike and Andrew went back into the quarters and sat down on the bed to wait. They didn't have to wait long.

XXXX

Faith looked down at her phone when the screen lit up. "It's a go. They're on their way here."

"How many?"

Faith texted Buffy's question then waited for a response. "The two women, five thralls, and eight minions. They left one minion and one thrall in their lair. Vi and Fred are heading in to take care of them now and they'll get over here as fast as they can."

"Almost two to one in their favor if the thralls don't fight. Three to one if they do. Kind of wishing we'd let Harm loose."

"She wouldn't be any help. She's pissed at you and all three boys. When I fed her just before we left, she told me she's going to kill the boys as soon as she gets the chance if Angelus doesn't get to them first."

Buffy goggled at Faith. "Why is she pissed at the boys?"

"Her reasons weren't clearly stated, but if it was me, I'd be pissed at Spike for being off limits, Andrew for snitching to you about what I did to him, and Xan for sticking his dick up my ass any time he gets the chance. I'm not fucking crazy, though, so her reasons might be completely different. Bottom line is she wants them dead."

"Is she stupid? She knows you'd tell me that, right? And she knows what I'll do as soon as the rest of this shit is handled?"

Faith nodded. "Yeah, she knows. I think the punishment broke her mind. She's been getting more and more squirrely for the past couple of weeks."

Buffy sighed. "Some vamps can handle it and some can't. I guess she's a can't. I'll stake her after we're done with this."

A car horn blared from inside the mansion and Buffy snarled, "Showtime," then sprinted forward, gripping a dagger in one hand and a stake in the other.

Faith was on her heels, followed closely by Amanda, Anya, and Amy. They pelted across the back yard and burst through the back door then pounded down the hall into the foyer. The front door was hanging open and Willow was straining to hold her shield against the force of the blows being rained down on it from the nine vampires on the other side. Buffy slid to a halt and counted again. Nine. The crazy one wasn't there. Buffy turned to Faith and yelled, "Where's the crazy one?"

"I don't know. Maybe she's in the basement with Angelus."

"Willow, are the boys gone?"

Willow nodded briefly. "Yeah. They ran out of here like they'd been shot from a gun just after the alarm went off."

"Okay, drop the shield and let's do this."

Willow barked, "Amy, ready a fireball. Throw it as soon as I drop the shield."

Both of Amy's hands were suddenly wreathed in blue flame as she stepped up beside Willow and shouted, "Now!"

The shield dropped and the minions surged forward, only to be driven back by a wall of flame that burned and charred their flesh but didn't mar the paint on the walls or the wax on the floor. The three closest to the flames went up in screaming pyres as the rest were driven back down the hall until they were cowering in the basement doorway. The flames suddenly guttered and died and Amy dropped to one knee, her head dropping as her arms twitched and trembled. "That's all I've got."

Faith stepped in front of her. "You got three of them. We'll get the rest."

Buffy smiled and raised her stake then waved it at the vampires down the hall. "Sometime today would be awesome. Some of us have other shit to do."

Five minions poured through the door and sprinted down the hall. Willow used force to slide Amy out of the way under the stairs then turned the force on a sprinting minion, sending her tumbling ass over teakettle back down the hallway. One of the male minions ran at Buffy like a linebacker, his head down and his arms wide, intending to tackle her, she guessed. She waited in place, bouncing on the balls of her feet, then spun just as he reached her and slammed her stake into his back. He exploded into dust and she turned and flung her stake down the hall at the vampire Willow had knocked back. That one exploded into dust, too, and Buffy's stake continued its trajectory and embedded itself into the wall.

Anya's sword was flashing back and forth as another minion darted close then backed off, never getting close enough for Anya to cut him. She was getting frustrated with his antics and suddenly stopped moving, dropping her sword to her side. He darted forward again, and she swiped up with her other hand, neatly decapitating him with the long dagger she'd been holding against her forearm. She kicked his dust and muttered, "Idiot," then twirled her sword and headed toward the huge minion who had Amanda backed up against the stair railing.

She'd managed to drive a stake into him, but it had missed the mark by roughly two inches, and he had his hand around her throat as he pulled the stake from his chest and started to raise it to drive down into hers. Something bright flashed just in front of Amanda's eyes and the vampire crumbled to dust. Anya stood in the cloud with her sword still raised. She lowered the sword and said, "You're welcome."

Faith was kicking and punching the last minion, driving her toward the front door. She shouted over her shoulder, "I've got this one! Get downstairs and find his women!"

Buffy, Willow, Anya, and Amanda ran for the basement doorway and barreled down the stairs. The food was all dead, their throats torn out, and the thralls they'd brought were huddled in the corner, chained together by their wrists. They were a sorry looking bunch, underfed and dressed in what could only loosely be called clothing. There seemed to be more holes than cloth and two of them looked sick enough that Buffy thought they might just up and die while she was looking at them. Buffy stepped closer and scented the terrified humans then inspected their necks for a claiming bite. None of them had one. They all had bite scars in numerous places, but none of them had the feel of a thrall claim. Buffy turned around. "These aren't thralls, they're food."

They all turned toward the sudden frantic noises coming from the playroom. One of the women shouted, "Why won't this come off you?"

Buffy walked calmly to the playroom doorway and leaned against the frame. "It's magicked. Can't be removed except by me or Faith." She reached a hand back and Amanda pressed a stake into it.

The woman turned toward her with a snarl. It was the younger one. "Let my sire go, bitch."

Buffy smirked. "I'll take things that aren't going to happen for 500, Alex. Where's the crazy one?"

The woman showed her fangs and snarled, "She's going after your pets. Probably has them by now."

Buffy's demon came forward with a growl and she spun, shouting, "Dust that bitch!" as she sprinted back up the stairs.

Faith was brushing dust off her clothes and heading for the basement when Buffy ran into the foyer. "The crazy one's after the boys!" Buffy sprinted out the front door and across the lawn, heading for the church as she scented the air for the boys.

Faith spun and raced after her, catching up when Buffy stumbled to a stop and started inspecting the ground. She stepped off the street and into the yard of a house, walking toward a row of bushes along one side that extended into the back yard. She found Xander stuffed under a bush. He was alive. Bleeding, but alive. He'd been savagely bitten, his flesh ragged and torn as his blood dripped onto the ground beneath him. Buffy tugged him out from under the bush and knelt beside him then did what she could to seal the bite. She looked at Faith. "Get someone out here to get him and take him back to the mansion. I'm going after Andrew and Spike." She bolted to her feet and took off through the back yard.

Faith pulled out her phone and tapped a few buttons then put it to her ear. "Xan's hurt. He's on somebody's lawn not too far down the street. Blue house, number 1803. Come get him. I'm going after B." She hung up and shoved the phone into her pocket then followed Buffy.

Buffy found Andrew three streets over shoved into a rolling bin in front of someone's garage. His arm was broken and he'd also been bitten, but not quite as badly as Xander. He was conscious, covered in blood, and holding his good hand to the bite to stem the flow of blood. Faith skidded to a halt just as Buffy was setting Andrew down on the ground. He looked up at them and sobbed, "Where's Xan? Is he dead? You have to get Spike. She's gonna kill him. She's already bitten him and he's lost a lot of blood." He nodded to the blood he was covered in. "Most of this is Spike's."

Faith squatted next to Andrew and waved Buffy on. "Go. I'll get him taken care of then follow you." She sealed the bite then pulled her phone out and handed it to Andrew. "Call Willow. She's getting Xan back to the mansion. He'll be fine." Andrew nodded and clutched the phone in his bloody hand as Faith sprinted after Buffy.

Buffy didn't even have to scent to follow Spike's trail. She followed the drops of his blood splashed on the sidewalk and street. At this rate, he was gonna bleed out before she got to him. The trail ended on the steps of the very church they'd been sent to for safety, but the body sprawled awkwardly across them wasn't Spike, it was the priest. Buffy looked up at the doors then started up the stairs.

Faith got to the church just as Buffy stepped through the door. She sprinted up the stairs, jumping over the dead priest, and pulled the door open. Buffy was racing down the aisle toward a body draped across the altar. Spike.

A blur of motion to her right drew Faith's attention away from the altar and she spun, barely blocking the sword whistling through the air toward her neck. It sliced through her leather jacket and cut a large gash in her forearm. The crazy vampire drew the sword back then drove the point forward, aiming for Faith's stomach. Faith easily parried it aside and drew a dagger from a sheath at her waist. They circled, each looking for an opening, then jerked their eyes toward the altar when Buffy wailed in anguish.

The crazy vampire threw her head back and laughed maniacally. "Pretty pet's in the stars now, he is. Flying away like a bird."

Faith lunged forward with the stake she'd pulled from her jacket pocket and buried it in the crazy woman's chest. "Now you're flying, you crazy bitch." She waved the dust away from her face and ran to the altar.

Buffy had pulled Spike down onto the floor and was cradling him to her chest as she rocked back and forth. He was extremely pale from blood loss, but he was breathing. Barely. His blood was soaking into Buffy's sleeve from a ragged hole in his neck, his collar was gone, and his claiming bite had been obliterated.

Faith dropped to her knees beside Buffy. "He's still alive, B."

Buffy turned a stricken face to Faith. "He won't survive! He's lost too much blood, Faith! He's dying!"

Faith reached across Buffy and seized her wrist then lifted it to her mouth, savagely slicing it open with a fang. "Then sire him! Do it now!" She pressed Buffy's wrist to Spike's mouth and he started sucking weakly at it, but the blood was flowing so fast that he stopped sucking and just swallowed.

Buffy was shaking her head violently as she sobbed, "No… not again… No… I can't! He'll come back wrong! I love him and he'll come back wrong!"

Faith kept Buffy's wrist pressed to Spike's mouth and grabbed her chin with the other hand then shouted, "No, he won't! He's not Angelus! Spike loves you! Now stop fucking blubbering and get this done or he's dead!"

Buffy blinked in shock and hitched out one last sob then nodded weakly. "Okay. Yeah. Okay. Get it done. Okay." She closed her eyes and focused on the blood flowing from her wrist, trying to figure out how much she'd already given him. She thought he'd had enough but let him keep swallowing until she started to feel like she was nearly drained before pulling her wrist away.

Faith lifted Buffy's wrist to her mouth and sealed the wound then nodded to Spike and said quietly, "Finish it."

Tears were dripping down Buffy's face as she bent forward. She gently kissed Spike's bloody lips and whispered, "I love you," then sank her fangs into his neck and drank until his heart stopped.