Buffy, Spike, and Giles were all waiting in an abandoned factory, waiting for Angelus, Dru, and Faith to get there. An hour earlier Buffy had sent a message through a minion to Angelus that no one thought he'd be able to resist. She'd taunted him and basically said that he wasn't man enough to fight them without different tricks up his sleeve or having the obvious upper hand, like say, having one of theirs held prisoner. Angelus wouldn't be able to let that hit to his pride go unanswered. They were all aware, however, that when he did come, he would definitely have a few tricks up his sleeve. It was okay because they did too. Giles was hiding out of sight with his crossbow and a bag of prepared spells, waiting for his time to make himself known. Lawson was there somewhere too; he was going to come out not long after the three got there.

The plan was to take Faith out of the fight as soon as it started; that way, it would be three against two with the good guys in the lead. They knew there were probably more minions as they doubted that the minions Spike had rounded up and sent out to get more had been able to convince all of them to jump ship. Still, though, they figured Lawson would make quick work of taking them out while Spike and Buffy tried to take down Dru and Angel.

Spike still felt a shiver of dread go down his spine every time he thought about his ripe wicked plum not making it through this battle, but he'd made his choice. He came to the realization that he couldn't keep trying to save her. If he was going to be on Buffy's side, that's where he had to stay—he couldn't put any energy into saving his maker. If he did, it'd be as good as betraying Buffy and it was now clear to him that it would take the energy away from her side. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

Buffy was feeling pretty good about the upcoming battle. There was one thing that she felt was wrong and that she didn't know how to fix, and that was The First. They'd done a lot of research and looked for anything that even hinted about it as soon as Giles had figured out that that was who Angelus was working with, to no avail. They knew just as much about The First Evil as they had when he was torturing Angel a few months earlier, which was pretty much nothing. Because of this, Buffy couldn't feel confident in her plan; she knew that what she had planned would normally take Angelus and Drusilla out with no problem but how could she know what The First was bringing to the equation? God, Buffy hated math and this felt like one math problem that she wouldn't find the answer to until the teacher gave it to her. Why did she have a feeling that the teacher in this situation was The First?

Buffy shook her head. No, she'd done everything she possibly could to have this battle come out in her favor. There was just one wild card and there was no reason to think that that wild card would change everything. Buffy was about to go down another spiral of bad thoughts when Spike grabbed her hand.

"Don't fret, Kitten. You're the best Slayer I've ever seen. This 'First Evil' is going to regret the day that it went up against you. And I'm not so bad either, if I do say so myself."

Buffy chuckled, "No, Mr. Big Bad, I wouldn't want to go up against you either. You're right. Thanks. The Buffy brain was just having a major freak fest, which tends to happen before big battles."

Spike leaned in and kissed her softly but it wasn't long before it became more demanding and sensual. It was easy to forget her Watcher was there, able to see them, just out of sight. The clearing of his throat didn't even make it through their fog of love and lust, no; that was the opening on the factory door, signaling that Angelus, Dru, and Faith had arrived. When Spike pulled back, he gave her one loving look full of his faith in her before turning to face their enemies.

"Oi, aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Or is it a sore for the eyes? Yeah, think that's what I meant."

Buffy wanted to giggle and roll her eyes at the same time. As far as Spike's taunts and insults went, this one wasn't his best but it was still worth a chuckle.

"Willie me boy, I'm surprised the Slayer is even able to look at you after you tried to desert her just last night."

This time Buffy did roll her eyes. "You and I both know that's not true, Angelus. Unlike some people I could name, Spike is loyal and doesn't leave when the going gets tough."

Buffy still didn't know exactly what had gone down the night before or what Spike was trying to do with Dru but she thought she had it mostly figured out; Spike was trying to save Drusilla by getting her out of town, but he had no intentions of going with her. Now, they'd still need to have a talk about it but Buffy wasn't going to let Angelus mess their relationship up or get either of their heads out of the fight, which is exactly what he was trying to do. Buffy shot her eyes to the side to look at Spike, wanting to make sure that he wasn't letting Angelus get to him either. He looked worried, probably worried that she was going to get mad at him, but he didn't look guilty. Well, that wasn't true, he looked a little guilty but somehow she could tell it was just because he was feeling bad about not talking to her first, not because what Angelus said was true.

"Oh poor, sweet, innocent, Buffy. What a fool you are, you believed I wasn't inside my souled counterpart, leading him along, and you still believe that this stupid fool isn't devoted to his sire. You'll never get it, Buffy. Well, not unless you're turned, anyway. You can never get over your sire, you can never choose another over them. That is, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Oh lover, I see that look on your face! You're going to say something about me staking Darla—that's one of those extenuating circumstances I was talking about, you see, she left me first. That changes things."

Buffy felt a second of doubt before she ruthlessly squashed it down. Angelus was probably lying. Even if he wasn't, Drusilla made it a habit of leaving Spike all the time, especially when her 'Daddy' came calling. So Buffy fake yawned. "Are we done the 'trying to get us to doubt each other' portion of the banter? Because I'm really getting bored."

Angelus's eyes turned gold and it was clear he was working hard to keep control over the demon in him. It didn't take long for his eyes to go back to normal and for a smile to come over his face. "Sorry, Lover. I did not mean to bore you. Although, let's just call it payback for that snore that was supposed to be considered sex. For a Slayer, you really should be more flexible and more inventive."

Buffy tried hard not to let the words affect her but they did. She didn't let it show though. She then thought about the night before with Spike; there was no way he felt the same way. From his words alone it was clear he really enjoyed their time together and what she did. No, she wasn't going to let this monster's words get to her.

"Look who's talking, you're a vampire, shouldn't you be able to tell when someone is faking an orgasm?"

Spike choked out a laugh, it was clear he wasn't expecting Buffy to say something like that. Angelus's eyes went yellow again, and this time, his face changed along with it. Even Drusilla had to hold back a chuckle.

Angelus lunged at Buffy. Normally, Spike wouldn't dare try to take a kill from his girl but the ponce all but ignored him. For Angelus to lunge at Buffy, he had to go right past Spike. Well, Spike wasn't going to ignore that insult and pass that opportunity up. So, as Angelus was soaring past Spike, he uppercutted him in the stomach. Angelus let out a groan of pain and landed on the ground, nowhere near Buffy. Buffy looked at Spike, clearly annoyed at him for taking her fight, but there was a twinkle in her eye that said she would have done the same thing. Angelus didn't stay down long, though, and as he was getting up, Dru started to speak.

"Go have fun my little Dollie, it's time for you to fight your sister and take your rightful place as the leader."

"Yes." Though it was clear that Faith was following orders, you couldn't ignore the want in her eyes. She clearly wanted Buffy gone so she could be The Slayer, not the other Slayer. That made Buffy feel sad; she had hoped that Faith had been under thrall long enough that most of the damage she'd done wasn't her fault, but plainly that wasn't true. Faith was still not afraid to take Buffy and the good guys out to get what she wanted.

Faith ran right at Buffy as fast as she could and threw a punch with all she had. Buffy dodged but Faith was fast, she used her leg and kicked Buffy on the knee. For a second, Buffy thought it was broken, and it took all her willpower for her to stay on her feet. Buffy knew she had to fight with all she had until Giles used the magic because Faith was out for death and it wasn't just the thrall.

Spike noticed that Angelus wanted to join in on the fight between the Slayers, so again Spike intercepted him because he couldn't let his girl get double-teamed. Then again, it looked like Dru was getting ready to attack too. He wasn't too worried though; it was a lot different than it had been 100 years earlier, when the whole family used to partake in the "Kick the Spike" game. He was actually strong enough and had enough fighting knowledge to hold his own against the two of them at the same time. He didn't have to worry about that, though, because after only a few thrown punches and a few dips and dodges, Lawson walked into the room like he owned the place. The Slayers were too deep in their own world to notice but all the vampires stopped everything.

"Hey Dad, did ya miss me?" Lawson asked sarcastically.

Before Angelus responded, Drusilla started laughing, clapping, and spinning around. "Yay, the family is all here now, the real party can start, we're all together again!"

"Dru, luv, we've never all been together before, what are you talking about?" Spike asked.

"But don't you see my sweet William, you're wrong. It has happened in my dreams, just like this, over and over and over. Everybody is in their place now, the play can begin!"

Spike felt a shiver of dread go down his spine. What is that barmy chit talking about? Whatever she's on about, it can't be good. "What play, Dru?"

"Oh, you shall see my sweet boy, we all shall see!" Spike wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Lawson, right? What are you doing here? Come here to help your dear old da take care of his wayward granchilde?"

"I just came to reconnect with you, but sure, if you need help taking out the trash, I'm here for you."

"That's my boy. I know my souled counterpart didn't do right by you but I'll make up for it; once we're done taking care of these disappointments, Dru and I will teach you how to be a real….." He trailed off when he noticed that Lawson's version of "taking out the trash" was to attack Drusilla. "What are you doing, childe, she's mine, she's your sister."

Dru was putting up a good fight, which surprised Lawson. He knew she was Spike's sire so she was older than both of them but he always got the impression that Spike spent most of his time keeping her safe, and from the looks of things, she could take care of herself just fine. "You and her are no family to me, the only one in our line who took the time to help me was Spike. He taught me how to be a vampire, he kept up with me, and was there when I needed help. He's more of a sire to me than you ever were. I'm only here for one reason, to get my revenge on the guy who turned me, abandoned me, then threw me out into the middle of the ocean to literally sink or swim and try to beat the rising sun." Lawson went into game face because he was so angry just thinking about how he'd been treated.

Spike decided that was enough talking. He let Sam take care of Dru—he really didn't want to be the one to fight her anyway. Instead, he went after Angelus, who was the one he wanted to take out anyway. Yesterday when they'd fought, Spike was too angry to use all the fighting skills he'd learned over the century. Tonight, though, he had all intentions of putting them to use. Angelus was a better fighter than Angel for the simple fact that he didn't mind playing dirty. Spike liked that, however, so he was ready for whatever Angelus threw his way.

Buffy was wondering what was taking Giles so long. Shouldn't Faith be asleep by now? That made her think that maybe something had happened to Giles, he was hiding out of sight so she couldn't check to make sure he was okay. She tried to look over to where he was hiding, but nope, she couldn't see him. Unfortunately, that gave Faith an opening and she used it to punch Buffy in the face with all the strength she had. It was strong enough to throw Buffy back into a table by the wall; she broke it on her fall, and the toolbox that was on it fell on her head. She couldn't see straight or focus for a few seconds but got up anyway. She knew she was in danger until her faculties were in order.

Spike saw that Buffy had been left vulnerable and wanted to make his way over to her but Angelus wasn't making that easy for him. He was also wondering and starting to worry about the Watcher, which was a foreign feeling for him, worrying about other people. Spike hit Angelus with a right hook to his head and was able to follow it up with an uppercut to his chin. He then grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him down while bringing his knee up to hit him right in the suplex. Though vampires didn't need to breathe, the pain of losing one's breath was still the same. Angelus fell to the ground and Spike knew this was his chance to stake him and he'd probably be angry with himself later, but he left him lying there and went to hold Faith off until Buffy was back to herself—that had been a hard hit to the head.

Lawson was pretty beat up but Drusilla wasn't doing much better. She was a much better fighter than he gave her credit for but he had military experience and training on his side. The hardest part for him was to not look her in the eyes because Spike had warned him about her thrall. He also had to watch out for her claws and teeth because she used them more than punching or kicking. He was not used to fighting someone who fought like that. Drusilla clawed Lawson's face but thankfully he closed his eye in time so she wasn't able to get it. Unfortunately, he was bleeding from his eyebrow down to his mouth and blood kept getting in his eye so he wasn't able to see well. Drusilla was using that to her advantage, she kept circling, almost dancing around him and slashing where she could. Lawson had the stray thought "Death by a thousand cuts."

As Faith was walking up to Buffy, who was still disoriented with a stake in her hand, ready to kill her like the creatures she was made to end, Spike ran and dove at her, pushing her away from Buffy. When they landed, Spike was on top of Faith, straddling her, and she had the stake in her hand ready to dust him. He thought about going for her neck to take a fighter out of the battle but he knew Buffy wouldn't like that; in fact, she'd probably feel the need to dust him. As Faith went for his heart with the stake Spike grabbed it and used all his strength to grab it and turn the stake so it was facing sideways instead of towards either of them. They were at a stand-off, Faith as a Slayer was a little stronger than him but Spike had a position of advantage so neither was winning.

At that point, Spike realized Angelus was getting up and preparing to come over to them, Lawson was holding his own against Dru but was looking tired, and Buffy had her hand on her head, still looking a little dazed.

"Buffy, luv, you alright?"

She shook her head again to clear it and thankfully, was able to see straight again, that's when she noticed what was happening and that she was needed. She decided that if Giles wasn't going to make Faith unconscious, she was just going to have to handle it. So, she strode up to them, bent over, looked Faith in the face, and offered her a "sorry" before punching her in the head, which knocked her right out.

Spike breathed an unneeded sigh of relief when the opposite pressure on the stake stopped. "Thanks, kitten."

She nodded but didn't take her eyes off Angelus who was making his way over to them. Spike stood up and stood right next to Buffy to wait and see what he'd try now. "I knew you didn't have it in you, Willie. Just couldn't do it, could you? When push came to shove, you couldn't end me. You're weak, a weak pathetic excuse for a vampire, just like I've always said."

Spike was used to hearing words like that from Angelus but this time they didn't affect him like they usually did. He knew he could have ended Angelus, and the only reason he hadn't was because Buffy's safety was more important than his revenge. "Wanna bet? Just got a mite distracted is all, promise it won't happen again."

"Are you sure that's what happened? Or maybe you were getting a wee bit sentimental and couldn't go through with it. Do you want to know what I think? I think you'd miss me too much," he said smugly. Spike could tell Angelus truly believed what he was saying.

Enough of this, Spike thought. He'd wasted too much of his unlife dealing with Angelus and he was beyond ready to be done with him. As soon as Angelus got close enough, Spike jumped forward with the stake that was almost used on him in hand, aiming for Angelus's heart.

Angelus jumped back just in time and his eyes grew wide at the realization that Spike wasn't fucking around. He was about to counter Spike when Buffy jumped into the fray with her stake out and ready too. He was starting to get an uneasy feeling about the situation; he wasn't sure if he could see a safe way out of it for him and his childe. He couldn't even turn his head to check on her because they were coming at him so fast. He wasn't even able to go on the offensive, spending all his time blocking them.

Both Spike and Buffy knew they couldn't let up, they just had to keep attacking. Eventually, one of them would get an opening to end this. Spike flicked his eyes over to Lawson for a second and cringed—he really couldn't tell who was winning that fight. He wanted to end this one as soon as possible to get over and help Sam, even if that meant staking his sire. Spike mentally shook his head because now wasn't the time to think about that, now he had to focus on Angelus. Spike hit him with a left hook, which was strong enough to send him to Buffy who had her stake aimed right at his heart. When she tried to push the stake through his heart, he grabbed her hand to fight against her. Buffy pushed with all her weight to finally end him but it wasn't enough.

Spike used a sidekick to Angelus's knees to knock him down. With the fall, Angelus lost his leverage on the stake and Buffy was finally able to end Angelus's reign of terror. Buffy stood there in shock for a few seconds. She was almost numb. Part of her was happy, she'd finally done it, finally stopped Angelus. Another part of her was sad, as this meant that there was no way that Angel would ever be back. When Buffy had sent Angel to hell the previous year, she'd sent his full body. But there's no coming back from dust, so he was really gone and never coming back. She shook her head, now wasn't the time to think about that, just because Angelus was dead didn't mean the battle was over.

"You go check on Watcher man, I'll go help Lawson," Spike suggested, and Buffy nodded.

Spike straightened his back before making his way over to the fighting duo. It didn't surprise him when Drusilla turned around with a smile on her face before he even made his first step over to them.

"Oh Sammy look, my sweet William has come to play with his Mummy." She looked sad a second later. "No, that's not right, he's come to end my fun, forever."

Spike shivered at her words. Is this the way it's gonna end? Can I really kill her? he wondered while making his way over to them. From the outside, however, no one could tell of his warring emotions because he kept his face resolutely blank.

"I really wish you woulda left yesterday, Poodle. There's only two ways this can go now."

It became clear that just then she realized Angelus wasn't visible. She sounded like a lost little girl when she spoke. "Where– Spike, wh-where's Daddy?"

"He's gone, Dru."

"He left without me? He left his princess behind?"

"No, pet, he didn't leave you. Not by choice, anyway."

Her eyes cleared as she understood. She put her hands down and lost all her fight. "Can you do one last thing for me, my Spike?"

"What's that Dru?"

"Can you be the one to do it? Can you be the one to send me back with my Daddy?"

Spike made a choked sound even though he tried to keep it in. He hated her a little in that second for what she was asking of him but eventually, he nodded.

"Yeah, Dru, I will." He'd like to think she wasn't going to hell like her sire. After all, she could barely control herself after what Angelus had done to her when and before she was turned. He didn't think she should be held responsible. No, he wanted to think she was going to see her sisters again and finally have a quiet, peaceful mind.

"Do you promise to treat her as good as you treated me?"

"Course, I'll do all I can to make sure the Slayer's happy."

"Good." She nodded.

For maybe the first time ever, Spike thought that Dru looked like she was at peace as she stood there with her arms to the side, waiting for him to end her. He choked back another sob, pulled the stake back, and plunged it through her heart. He fell to his knees as the dust fell on the ground and all he could do was stare at it. He didn't know how long he'd stayed there on his knees, but he figured it had to be a while. Lawson just stood back and let Spike do what he had to; he might not have liked Dru or how she'd treated Spike, but he knew how much the vampiress meant to him.

"Spike!" Buffy yelled and that snapped him out of his grief. He had to get to his girl and figure out what was wrong.