Chapter 16
Watching

Buffy was tired of waiting. If Spike had been able to show, he would have done so by now. It was time to alter the plans a bit. If Spike was still okay, he'd be doing something to help, so for the time being it was best to forget about him. He'd show up when she really needed him.

For now, she had to track Glory. She was the bait and the distraction all in one, and hiding wasn't going to be helping their cause. They had one and a half hours before the ritual, but Buffy couldn't risk Glory hurting her friends.

And she wasn't sure if she had Dawn or not. She was fairly certain that Giles, Xander, and Anya had been taken, but the others were a question mark. Theoretically, the best thing to do would be to hide, since Glory thought she was the Key, but there were factors at play that she didn't understand.

She hated that.

She jogged out of the house and toward the cemetery, keeping all her senses on the alert. She didn't want to be seen by anyone, demon or human. Considering the arsenal of weaponry she was packing, she was bound to cause comment.

She reached the gates of the cemetery without incident, and easily found the tracks of two of Glory's minions, and set about following them. They took her in a direct line away from the centre of town, and there had obviously been no attempt to cover their tracks. Someone else had been this way as well, but they had been much more careful. Buffy only caught signs of their passage once or twice, but it was enough to recognise.

Spike had been this way.

So at least that part of the plan had worked. Spike knew where Glory was, and he'd show up when he was able to. He wasn't the one she had to worry about at the moment. He could handle himself.

She slowed her pace when she heard noise ahead. Coming around a corner she stopped dead in her tracks, hardly believing her eyes. A tower of metal and scaffolding rose high above her, with a platform at the very top. People milled about, some apparently with purpose, others without. Buffy swallowed her rage when she realised all these people had been… what was it Spike had said? Brainsucked.

Glory had made all these people insane.

There were so many. Buffy hadn't realised just how many people Glory had used to preserve her own sanity. So many people she hadn't been able to protect.

Glory was so going to pay for this.

Buffy hated it when she failed people. And in her mind, she'd failed everyone there. So many lives destroyed because Glory wanted her sister. They weren't dead, but there are some things that are worse. Buffy had no doubt that what Glory left behind wasn't a whole lot of fun.

Glory was going to experience some major pain for this.

Shaking herself out of her daze, Buffy moved around the construction site, looking for a good place to enter unobserved. She hadn't seen Glory yet, but there were enough of her demons around the place that she didn't want to risk being discovered.

Finding a likely point she climbed through a small window and found herself in a corridor of sorts. One wall was solid, but the other had panels missing all over the place. The hall itself was deserted, but she could see movement on the other side of the wall. She crept along the wall until she reached the first empty panel at ground level, and then positioned herself so she could see into the room and along the corridor. She hid herself between two large crates, hoping that they were enough to hide her from casual glances along the corridor.

Fixing her attention on the room on the other side of the wall, Buffy tried to identify voices. There was a male voice she didn't recognise, but then Glory's piercing tones cut over him, and Buffy instinctively shrunk back a little, trying to make her presence small and unnoticeable. It sounded like there was an argument going on on the other side of the wall, but she couldn't hear anything clearly enough to make out the words. She concentrated, filtering all the other noise out of her consciousness, and slowly the words began to make sense.

"Get out of my body," the male voice, distorted with strain.

"You don't need it. Give me tonight, I'll make you immortal…" Glory.

"You can't… I won't let you… she's innocent," something about the voice tickled something in Buffy's mind.

"She's not even real. And if you don't help me, you'll die."

"I don't care… you can't…"

The wall in front of Buffy suddenly shook, as if someone had slammed into it. Looking through the gap in front of her, she could see someone's legs, but there was something weird about them. One second they were male, and the next, they looked female. Buffy recalled what the Lancelot-wannabe had told her about Glory, and everything made sense. Whoever Glory was using for her body, he was fighting back. If only she could remember where she'd heard that voice before…

"I can you little worm. You've got one more chance." There was no response, and Buffy could almost feel Glory's grin. "Finally Benjie, you've got the picture. That's my boy."

Benjie?

Oh god. Ben? Buffy had to lean against the wall behind her for support while she got her wits back. Ben was Glory's ride? Ben, the nice hospital guy who tried to ask her out? Who Dawn had said was nice to her when she'd tried to run away from the whole Key issue?

Ben?

There was something seriously wrong with this world.

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Turning a corner, Spike quickly increased his speed. He had about thirty seconds before whoever was following him could see him again. He had to do something to get away from this guy. Everything he'd tried so far had been completely ineffectual, and he really needed to get to Buffy.

He looked around, for something, anything, to hide him. A fence ran alongside one of the buildings, and he immediately saw his chance. He started to run, and jumped up onto the fence before leaping up to the roof. He paused a moment, listening, but he could hear no sounds of his pursuit.

Not that that told him anything, really. He hadn't heard anything behind him all night, there was just a feeling, something that told him he was being watched. That feeling was still there, and not for the first time did Spike wonder if he was imagining it.

He doubted it.

It was just too real, and the sense of danger too great. There was something familiar about it as well, but when you'd lived as long as he had a lot of things were familiar. There was nothing for it but to keep moving and hope whatever was following him got bored or lost him.

He prayed it was soon. He hadn't been caught, but he had a feeling that he was being kept out of the way.

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Buffy shifted her position to get a better look through the hole in the wall. All she could see was Glory - it seemed she had regained control of her body. Or Ben's body, depending on which way you looked at it. Glory was pacing, and cursing quietly. For a moment Buffy couldn't understand why, but then it hit her that Glory was just frustrated.

Buffy had to hold back a snigger. Glory was so unbelievably dense. She still hadn't worked out that she wasn't holding the real Buffy, or that Buffy wasn't really the Key. She could just see the Buffybot lying on the ground, apparently unconscious, and Glory still hadn't clicked.

Buffy could pretend to be the Key because Dawn shared her blood, was made from her. But the robot… Glory hadn't even noticed that it wasn't human. Buffy would have thought she would have tried to test to make sure Buffy was they Key, or something. Not pace and have an identity crisis.

It was really quite funny.

Well, it would have been if not for the fact that some new arrivals had just entered the room. She caught a clear glimpse of Xander, his hands bound behind his back, being virtually dragged into the room by one of Glory's diseased midgets. And if Xander was there, she could assume Giles and Anya were as well. Especially when Anya started mouthing off at Glory.

Okay, so it was still kind of funny.

Buffy heard Xander's voice quietly urge for caution, and Anya subsided. Glory gave a short laugh.

"You've got some brains on you boy," she said, he tone slightly mocking. "Not clever to insult your local god. Your pet vampire did, and I had to get a little creative. Wanna try?"

Buffy could see Xander stiffen. "I'd say you wouldn't have the guts, but I can't. 'Cause aren't you borrowing someone else's?"

Glory smiled, and it was pure maliciousness. "Guts are guts, honey. Want to see yours?"

"I'll pass thanks. Already seen 'em before. I'd like to see yours though, care to share?"

Buffy wanted to smile, but she was getting more worried by the minute. Xander's bravery was laudable, but it was quite possibly going to get him killed. He'd been smart enough to tell Anya to shut up, and then he went and pissed her off himself. Buffy really felt like giving him a good slap upside the head. Maybe it would knock some sense into him.

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Xander tried not to tremble. He'd managed it so far, but Glory was looking at him as though he was a worm and she'd like to go fishing. It wasn't doing much for his confidence, to say the least.

Glory smiled at him, and patted him on the cheek. "You're a darling, boy. I'd keep you around if I could." She sighed, and her next words sounded resigned. "But circumstances… I'm sure you understand."

Xander swallowed, and gathered his courage. "Understand? That you're going to ruin the world? Yeah, I understand. Something tries to do that at least once a week around here, so you get used to it. But," he glanced at the still form of the Buffybot, "I'm not going to let you kill my friend. In a fair fight, she'd probably kick your ass. But you have to play dirty, don't you? You're not strong enough to play it straight." He saw Glory's face cloud over. This was going to hurt.

Glory managed to stop herself from punching the boy across the room. She wasn't sure why, but something told her not to kill him. It was probably just Ben, but there was a possibility that the boy just might be useful.

Xander, Giles, and Anya just stared. It was obvious Glory had been about to rearrange Xander's facial features, and possibly a few of his internal organs as well, but something had stopped her. She smiled again, but this time it was all malice.

"You're lucky, boy" said Glory, still trying to keep control on her temper. "You get a few more minutes. There's no point killing any of you without the proper audience," she gestured toward the Buffybot, and if the situation hadn't been so serious Xander would have had a hard time not laughing.

That wasn't really Buffy, right?

Xander gave his head a slight shake. Of course it wasn't Buffy. How could Glory be this dense? Not only was the Buffy she had captured not the Key, she wasn't even human. Or alive, for that matter. It was ridiculous, and she was meant to be a god. Being friends with the Slayer meant you certainly met some odd people.

Meeting Glory kind of made you want to laugh.

Well, as long as she wasn't trying to kill your friends or end the world. Talking with her for long enough was reminiscent of talking to a Cordilia with a mental problem and psychotic tendencies. It almost made your brain want to dribble out your ears just to get away.

Xander caught a glare from Giles, and it plainly told him to keep his mouth shut. They were safe as long as the Buffybot didn't move, and it was meant to be programmed to stay unconscious until Buffy or Spike showed up or Glory worked out it wasn't the Key. Antagonising Glory would only be detrimental to their survival chances, no matter how satisfying it might be.

Glory had apparently had enough of them, as she turned her back and walked over to a chair on the other side of the room. After a moment Giles sat down, awkwardly because his hands were bound, and Xander and Anya did the same. Xander's gaze lingered on the Buffybot before he turned his attention to Glory, praying Buffy would be able to get them out of this alive.

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Spike had had enough. Whoever was following him was doing a damn good job of it, but they hadn't attacked him or even done anything to indicate they were actually there. He knew there was someone, but they obviously hadn't planned on making an actual visible appearance.

It was getting ridiculous. He had important things to do tonight, and whoever was following him was clearly trying to keep him away.

Damned if he was going to let something too cowardly to face him make his decisions. If someone really wanted to keep him away from Buffy and that tower where Glory was holed up, then they would attack him before he got there and he could deal with it if it happened. Anything had to be better than this. He'd been running around for over an hour trying to avoid whoever was following him, and nothing he had done had worked.

Anything could be going on. This wasn't a contingency that they had planned for. He knew that Buffy would have worked something out for herself. There was no way she would still be back at the house.

He figured Buffy would be wherever Glory was. She would have found out where she was somehow once he didn't show up on time. The Slayer never was one for sitting around and doing nothing. If he knew her she was probably getting herself into some very big trouble right now, and she had no right to be having fun tonight without him.

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Buffy watched through the gap in the wall until Glory moved out of her sight and she saw her friends sit down, apparently unconcerned with what might happen to them. She knew them better than that though, and their lack of fear was mostly faked. She couldn't tell, but she knew them. She was terrified, and she wasn't even in the room.

Glory had that effect on her. She had faced powerful enemies before, but none of them had wanted to kill her sister so they could get home and end the world in the process. She'd had emotional attachments to her fights before (can you say 'Angel'), but they'd been about her. No one else.

This time it wasn't about her.

All this was for Dawn. The world could take care of itself for all she cared at the moment. Dawn was the major issue, and Buffy was determined that she would not get hurt. So far it was looking good, despite Glory somehow capturing Giles, Xander, and Anya. At least Dawn was still safe with Willow and Tara, although Buffy didn't see how. If Glory had taken Giles' group, she surely would have tried with Willow as well.

Maybe Willow and Tara had been powerful enough to get away. Maybe Glory hadn't wanted to risk capturing witches. Buffy didn't care, as long as Dawn was safe and somewhere far away from here.

Spike was a problem. She had no idea where he might be or what had happened to him, but she was worried. She almost laughed at that - she'd been worried about him from the minute he'd been late. Well, not exactly worried so much as concerned. Spike could take care of himself, but she needed him here.

As if her thoughts had been a herald, Spike slung himself through the same window she had climbed through to get inside. He looked around as if death itself was at his heals, and in this town that could always be a possibility. He sensed her immediately, but hid himself away from her, up the hall.

She shot him a questioning look, and he inclined his head towards the window. Someone was following him. Buffy got the message right away. A minute passed, and she glanced at Spike. He shrugged his shoulders, and crept over to her position.

"Hey luv," he whispered. "How's it going?"

Buffy could have punched him if the noise wouldn't have alerted someone. How could he be that casual?

"Where have you been?" she hissed.

"Trying to lose my soddin' tail. Something followed me around for a bloody hour and I couldn't shake it."

"So you came here? What were you thinking?" What was he thinking? Was he mad?

"I was thinking, pet, that someone was trying to keep me out of the way. They'd had their fun long enough, and it was really pissing me off." Spike voice was a low growl.

Buffy just shrugged. He probably had made the right decision, so why argue? "Fine. Look, Glory's in the room behind that wall, and she'd got Giles, Xander, and Anya in there as well. And me," she added as an afterthought.

"She didn't take the Nibblet?" asked Spike, concern and worry clear in his voice.

Buffy shook her head. "She's waiting for me to wake up so she can kill them while I watch. I don't think I need to tell you how much I don't like that idea."

Spike chuckled softly. "It's getting pretty weird hearing you talk like you're two people, Slayer." Buffy glared at him. "Yeah, yeah. I get your soddin' point. What's the plan?"

"We wait. As long as possible."

Chapter 17
Insults

As it turned out, Buffy and Spike weren't able to wait for very long. After about five minutes of nothing but Glory muttering about the restrictions of the world's designer fashions, and Buffy trying desperately not to laugh, someone else entered the room.

Spike could tell immediately that whoever it was that had just walked into that room, it was the same demon that had been following him all night. His senses started screaming at him, and from Buffy's reaction, he could see that hers were doing the same.

Spike couldn't see a whole lot through the whole in the wall, but Buffy had managed to shift her position slightly so that she could now see a good deal of the room while still being hidden. Giles, Xander, and Anya were all still sitting together, hands tied behind their backs. From the death glare that Xander was giving the new guy, Buffy guessed that it had been the demon that had captured them.

Glory was still lounging in her chair, but she'd stopped her whining. As for the new guy, well, if it hadn't been for her 'spider-sense' trying to jump out of her skin and attack the guy itself, she wouldn't have given him a second look. From her position he looked human, and completely harmless as well.

Spike was growling low in his throat, but she ignored him and went back to studying the man. Her senses told her that he definitely wasn't human, but that didn't always mean dangerous. More dangerous, anyway. He looked like the kind of guy who would go out of his way to help people.

Her eyes definitely needed a check-up.

Anyone working for Glory was evil. Pure and simple, no arguments. The poor, brainsucked saps around the front of the building didn't count. But she couldn't get anything on this guy, and it was driving her crazy. She moved back and motioned to Spike to take her position.

Spike shifted around to get a good look into the room, and almost froze in shock. "Son of a bitch," he muttered under his breath. "That bloody bastard!"

Buffy punched him lightly on the arm. "Spike, shut up!" Spike continued to curse under his breath, and Buffy had to punch him again to get his attention. "Who is he?" she whispered.

Spike growled. "He's a bloody lying bastard, it what he is. He's the guy that told the 'bit how to bring back your mum, the soddin' bugger. I thought he was a fucking good guy."

"Well, if he's working for Glory, he's definitely not of the good," replied Buffy. "How'd you know that, anyway?"

"Not now, pet," said Spike, hoping to move her attention elsewhere. "Now's not the time. His name's Doc, and his a mystical bugger who's real big on the dead and how to make 'em, well, not."

Buffy just raised an eyebrow. Spike's descriptions usually tended to be a bit more… colourful that that. He obviously had personal reasons to be pissed at this guy. She was going to have to talk to him when this was all over. If she got the chance. That wasn't a thought Buffy let herself dwell on, and she turned her attention back to Glory and the demon Spike had identified.

"He what?" Glory's voice came through the wall clearly, and she was obviously having anger issues.

Doc's voice was quiet, and his tone was almost kind, and slightly patronising. "He got away from me. I tracked him for an hour, but he got bored and headed in this direction. I assume he is in the building somewhere."

"Here?" Buffy could feel Glory smile. "Perfect."

Buffy felt Spike stiffen beside her. She grabbed his arm, just in case he was planning on bursting through that wall and doing something very stupid.

"Spike, don't," she whispered.

He shook his head. "He already knows I'm out here luv. I can sense him, and I'm damn sure he can sense me."

Buffy's eyes widened. "He knows we're out here?"

Spike shook his head again. "He knows I'm here. You he's probably confused about."

Buffy thought quickly for a second as the conversation continued in the other room. She looked up and Spike, and he grinned.

"New plan?" he asked.

"New plan."

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Most people would expect that there wouldn't be many things that could startle a god. But then, when most people think of gods, they don't get an image of the fashion-victim, self-involved, neurotic headcase that Glory tended to be. Still, she's a god, so she should be like, hyper-aware of stuff, right?

Right?

Considering how high she jumped when the wall exploded and a bleach-blond mutated vampire came crashing through screaming bloody murder, Xander had to say no.

We don't even need to mention all the precedents.

From his position on the floor with Anya and Giles, all Xander could do was watch as Spike apparently went crazy. Glory was so shocked it was all she could do to fight him off, and the creepy grandpa-demon-man just stood there with a slight smile on his face.

It looked like Spike was attacking Glory for all he was worth, but Xander could see that his punches were wild and he had none of his usual form. He was vamped out, and through his mostly incoherent screams Xander could make out the occasional demand for Glory to leave Buffy alone. Or 'get the bloody hell away from her', in Spike's words, but it amounted to the same thing.

Xander chuckled slightly despite the situation, there was just something funny about the whole thing. Well, there was. But that was until Spike got whacked into a wall by grandpa's tail.

Wha-huh?

Tail? What tail? Xander looked at the demon-guy again, and couldn't see anything strange. Spike was slumped up against the wall, and Glory was still standing stock-still, open-mouthed in astonishment. Apparently she'd never had an insane vampire attack her before.

Surprising.

Glory finally snapped out of it and smiled. Now she'd get to torture the vampire. And in front of the Slayer too, when she finally woke up. Which she apparently had. Glory watched as Buffy stood up slowly on unsteady feet, and her smile stretched when she saw the vampire's expression as he looked at her. He knew he'd lost.

Finally, it got through to them. She was the god, she was more powerful, she now had the Key. And she was going to make it watch as she killed and tortured its protectors. Doc had been trying to tell her something before they were so rudely interrupted, but it probably hadn't been important. It was most likely only about his inability to find the Slayer's other friends, and they weren't a problem. It would have been nice to torture and kill them too, but you can't have everything.

She clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. "Alright kiddies, here's how we play the game. You," she pointed to Spike, "go over with the rest of the help. And," Glory turned to Buffy, "you get to watch while I practice my maiming and dismemberment."

Buffy gave her no reaction, and it pissed Glory off immediately. She stalked over and grabbed Buffy by the hair, pulling her in so they were face to face. "What is wrong with you? Did you like, leave your personality somewhere, or what?" she whirled around when Spike sniggered, and noticed that the needling little fingers had started on her brain again. She dropped Buffy, and suddenly appeared in front of Spike.

"It's you, isn't it? You're the one doing this to me."

Despite himself, Spike backed up a few paces. The memory of what Glory had done to him last time she'd gotten her hands on him (and in him) was still fresh in his memory. Needless to say, he wasn't keen on a repeat experience. Still, he wasn't going to let some psychotic reject hellbitch push him around without giving as good as he got. Better, preferably.

"Maybe. But c'mon baby, can't you tell? Thought you were a god."

Glory swung at him, but he managed to duck in time. "I am a god, you miserable little worm. I'm so far above you you couldn't even begin to comprehend."

"Right, right. Only if I'm hanging by my ankles sweetheart."

Glory was stumped. "Huh?"

Spike smirked, and behind him Xander, Giles and Anya all tried not to burst out laughing. They'd managed to get themselves free, and were standing near the door, unwilling to leave but feeling the need for a close escape route. Spike threw a quick glance back at them, and almost laughed himself. "Blondie, if the whelp over there got it, you must be really stupid."

Glory growled, and this time Spike couldn't duck fast enough. Glory's hand shot out and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him easily off the ground. Spike kicked her a bit, but she didn't even acknowledge it.

"Oh bugger," he muttered. His hands grabbed hers, trying to force them apart, but he couldn't even move a finger. Good thing for him he didn't really need to breathe, or he would have been passing out about now. He struggled a bit, if only to make sure she didn't get bored, but it was proved unnecessary when the Buffybot walked calmly up behind Glory and hit her over the back of the head with a plank of wood.

Spike dropped to the ground clutching at his throat, and Glory turned to confront Buffy. She still hadn't been able to sense her coming up from behind, and she was starting to get suspicious. She'd always been able to sense the Slayer before.

Buffy attacked her, and she had no time to follow the thought. Those irritating little needles were still poking at her mind, and it made it difficult to think properly. It also dulled her reflexes slightly, allowing for a more even fight.

That's so unfair.

It wasn't difficult for Glory to hold Buffy off, but for some reason none of her attacks seemed to bother the Slayer at all. Another irritation was the fact that Doc was just standing there, watching the fight but making no move to defend her. He should be willing to give his life for her. And what was he doing? Standing there, totally unconcerned. Not that she needed the help, but he was supposed to worship her. What kind of follower stands there with a small smile on his face while he watches his god fight a being with the potential to destroy every reality?

Unless… those clever little bastards.

This would be a good time to note that Glory's logic system was somewhat… unorthodox. It was really something of a mystery to her why everyone didn't bow down and grovel before her. It confused her that humans wouldn't just line up to be brainsucked. Therefore, the fact that Doc wasn't doing his best to protect her meant that there was something wrong with the person she was fighting. There was no way she would ever come up with the idea that maybe he just couldn't be bothered.

All the indications that something wasn't right finally came together. They'd tricked her. They'd done something to confuse her so she wouldn't notice until it was too late. The Slayer wasn't the Key - she wasn't even alive. But there had to be some truth in it, or she would have seen through their deception. That meant there was only one person who could be the Key.

Somehow, Glory managed to come up with an answer that was even more off the mark than being convinced it was Buffy.

"It's the other goddamn Slayer," she growled.

The Buffybot paused in its attack, and the present scoobies looked perplexed. Spike stared for a minute, then almost collapsed laughing. Glory glared around and everyone in the room, and noticed that Doc had disappeared.

"Why that wrinkly little…" she muttered under her breath. She dismissed him from her mind, and turned to the vampire that was laughing so hard he had to support himself against the wall. "What?" she demanded.

Spike just laughed harder. It was hard to believe that they'd been so worried about someone this dense, no matter how powerful she might be. He was forced to drop to the ground as Glory's fist passed through the space his head had just accommodated, and he shuddered when he saw the hole she'd put through a solid concrete wall.

Glory smiled down at him. "It's nice to finally see you grovel at my feet, vampire."

"Grovel? Hardly," muttered Spike as he pushed himself to his feet. "I just happen to think the floor's a damn sight prettier than you are." He had to dodge again as Glory took another swing at him.

Glory growled as Spike leapt out of the way. She took a step towards him then stopped, deciding on a far more satisfying course of action. Faster than anyone could see she moved and appeared in front of Buffy. She grabbed her by the neck and held her a foot off the ground. The Buffybot didn't struggle, waiting for an order from Spike, but Glory didn't notice. She looked over to the scoobies and smiled.

"Everyone say goodbye to the annoying little Slayer," said Glory in a light voice. She turned her eyes back to Buffy, and her smile widened. "Hope you go to Hell, sweetheart." Using her free arm, Glory slammed her fist into the side of Buffy's head. She laughed when as she watched the head fall to the floor, but her laugher trailed off when she noticed something odd.

She bent over and picked up the head, letting the body fall to the floor. Turning it over in her hands, she inspected the wiring coming out from the neck.

"The Slayer's a robot. Did everybody else know the Slayer was a robot?"

Spike started laughing again. As unsettling as it had been to watch Glory virtually tear Buffy's head off, the fact the Glory had still not clicked as to what was going on… there wasn't anything he could do but laugh.

Glory growled and threw the Buffybot's head down with the body. In an instant she was in front of Spike again, and her hand was around his neck.

"I've had enough. I what to know what it is that you find so funny, and if I don't like your answer, you're going to make this place a little more dusty."

As Spike clawed at the hand around his neck he desperately tried to remind himself that he didn't need to breathe. But even so, Glory's grip was so tight that any more pressure would snap his neck like a twig. He wasn't sure if that was enough to kill him, but he was sure it would be damn painful.

"Right…right…" he managed to croak out. "I'll tell you… just… bloody… let… go."

Glory dropped him immediately, and Spike tried to count how many times he'd found himself kissing concrete since coming into the room. He repressed a chuckle at the strange thought, wondering if maybe it was those sorts of thoughts that made Harris act the way he did in a fight.

He stood up slowly, taking as long as possible. He was in for a repeat of his own personal lesson in torture, he just knew it. It was fairly understandable that he wanted to put it off for as long as possible.

He finally straightened and found he was looking Glory right in the eyes. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed, waiting for his explanation. Her eyes flashed in anger when he didn't speak straight away, and her fingers twitched as if she couldn't wait to dig them into him again. He held up his hands in supplication.

"I'll talk, I'll talk. Just gimme a sec… Damn, woman. I was laughing because…" he trailed off, trying to think of a good story. "Sod it," he muttered under his breath. "I was laughing because you're a bloody idiot. You're dafter than that bloody robot, and about half as pretty. You're a whining, miserable excuse for a god, and I'm not surprised those other hellgods you ruled with kicked your ass out of the entire bloody dimension."

It took Glory a moment to process the insult, but it eventually sunk in and Spike could see her face darken. It twisted with rage, and in an instant Glory had a stake in her hand, and her arm was moving forward to strike.

Spike would have tried to dodge or something, but he knew it would be no use. Glory wasn't going to miss this time. He kept his gaze fixed on Glory, determined to leave the world standing tall and proud.

Maybe he'd see Glory again in Hell. Well, he could dream.

His eyes trailed the stake as it swung towards his heart. He couldn't help but close his eyes as pain lanced through his body.

He hadn't known it was going to hurt this much.

Chapter 18
Explosions, Surgery, and Big-ass Hammers

Buffy watched from her new vantage point as Spike started his mad attack against Glory. But she didn't have time to stay and enjoy the show. She needed Spike's distraction to get around to the wall on the other side of the room.

New plan, different tactics. Now, instead of beating things up, they were blowing stuff up. Less exertion, and a hell of a lot of fun. Buffy had been shocked at the amount of explosives Spike had pulled out from under his duster. He said he'd swiped it from the construction site on the way in, but… who thinks like that? Really? Picking up explosives on the off chance they might be needed.

Spike loved causing random destruction way to much.

Maybe she should be worried. No, she decided, it was just all part of what made him Spike. It also made him slightly crazy, but she could overlook that. Especially considering the arsenal of weaponry that she was packing. Anyone impartial looking at her and Spike would have a hard time deciding who was more violent, dangerous, and destructive.

Actually, their friends would have a hard time deciding that.

Buffy jumped down off a platform, and found herself outside a door. Pressing her eye up to the crack, she saw Anya's back, and a blur that looked a bit like Spike. She was in the right place.

Punching a panel out of the wall next to the door, she crawled into the gap. When she estimated she'd reached halfway along the wall she unbridled herself of the explosives strapped to her midsection. As she fumbled to get them set up she wished Spike could have been the one to do this, since she knew jack all about explosives, but it wasn't like she could really rush into the room and attack Glory while the robot was still in there.

Sort of defeat the purpose of the whole 'let's trick Glory' thing.

It took her a while in the dark, but she finally got everything set up. Crawling out of the hole she trailed a fuse behind her, leading it out of the wall and along the hallway a bit. She was bending to light it when her senses screamed at her, and she dropped to the ground, kicking a leg out behind her in an effort to fell her attacker.

She connected with something, and she bounded to her feet and back a few paces, ready for another attack. As she straightened up, she realised that it was that creepy old man demon guy who had tried to attack her. Her eyes widened as she saw a tail flick back behind his legs and disappear.

"Okay," said Buffy, "that's just creepy."

The old man smiled. "Slayer. How nice to finally meet you face to face. I've been waiting a long time."

Buffy shrugged. "Well, here we are. And now, I kick your ass. How's that sound for first impressions?"

"Just a moment," he took a slow step towards her. "I'm a little curious. How is it you're out here when you're also in there," he gestured to the room, "fighting Glorificus? Now, I know that the Slayer in there isn't the Key, it really was a little obvious."

"Not to Glory," muttered Buffy.

Doc smiled. "Quite. But you intrigue me. You feel like the Key, but it's subtle. Either the monks were better than I expected, or it isn't really you. Now," he took another step forward, "Glory seems to have reached the conclusion that it is your fellow Slayer that's the real Key."

Buffy's mouth twitched, trying not to smile. "Really?" she asked blandly.

"I can see the thought amuses you," said Doc. "I thought it rather unlikely, myself. But now I have to wonder who it is that really is the Key. They must be connected to you in some way, or you wouldn't have the residue of the energy of the Key in your blood."

Buffy stiffened. He was too close to the truth. She forced a laugh. "You have absolutely no idea what you're on about," she said. "We pretended I was the Key because Glory's just dumb enough to believe it. She wouldn't know the Key unless it snuck up on her and bit her on the butt. She even had him once, and she let him go," she smiled. "Hey, here's a question, how daft do you have to be to be a deity?"

Doc sighed. "Admirable effort, I do commend you. But it is impossible for the Key to be a vampire. It must be pure."

Buffy tried to look confused. "Vampire? Who said it was a vampire? I never said it was Spike." She clapped her hand over her mouth.

Doc smiled again, and his eyes flashed black for an instant. "Spike. I had wondered why he wasn't affected by sunlight. And a vampire working with a Slayer, it is rather unprecedented."

Buffy shook her head. "It is so precedented. Angel helped me for years."

"Angel. Yes, well, he was a rather special case."

"Well, Spike's special too."

"Yes. He is, isn't he." It wasn't a question.

Buffy decided that she'd had enough. She couldn't afford to leave Spike on his own for too long. He was an expert at getting people mad, and who knew how far he could push Glory before she snapped and really tried to kill him? And this Doc guy was getting on her nerves. There was just something about him that made her want to wipe that smug look off his face.

"Look," she said. "Are we going to fight? Because if we are, can we get on with it? I have another appointment."

Doc shook his head. "A fight? Hmmm… no, I think not. All I wanted was the identity of the Key, which I do believe I have. While it would no doubt be an interesting confrontation, I'm afraid I have another engagement. When I bleed the Key… well, let's just say I don't need to waste the effort on you now." He winked, then turned and walked away, disappearing around a corner.

Buffy stood staring for a moment. "I swear all the evil guys are getting thicker," she said to herself. "Maybe whatever Glory has is catching or something." She shrugged and bent to light the fuse. Once it was burning, she quickly ran back around to her original position near the outside of the building.

Crouching down between the boxes again, she estimated that she had about 20 seconds before it reached the explosives that she'd rigged. Looking through the missing panel in the wall, Buffy could see Glory and Spike standing facing each other, and Spike was rubbing his throat. She could tell that Glory had just asked him something, because he was doing this thing with his eyebrows that he always did when he was trying to think of a good lie.

The moment the first words left his mouth Buffy groaned. When she'd said 'keep her occupied' she hadn't meant 'piss her off until she stakes you'. But apparently, that was what Spike had heard. And he was doing a really good job of it too. A stake appearing in Glory's hand, but Buffy couldn't move. There was no way she'd get there in time, and she was frozen with horror.

It seemed like everything slowed down as the stake descended towards Spike's heart. She forced herself to move, pushing herself off the ground and intending to break right through the wall in front of her.

She didn't even get the chance. In mid-air in her leap at the wall she was thrown backwards into the solid brick behind her. It was only after she hit the ground that her mind registered an ear shattering bang, and belatedly she realised that her explosives had just detonated.

Scrambling to her feet, Buffy pulled the Troll hammer off her back. That explosion might have dazed Glory, but she had no illusions that it would do any more than that. Taking a quick look at her rearranged surroundings, Buffy realised that it had actually been a flying piece of wood that had pushed her back, not the force from the explosion itself. There was a gaping hole in the wall in front of her from flying debris, and she could see clear to the opposite wall where she had set the charges.

Most of it simply wasn't there any more. She hadn't known it was going to be that powerful. She was going to have to have a few words with Spike about keeping her in the dark on certain matters.

If he was still alive.

Forcing herself through the wall, Buffy looked around for Spike and her friends. Giles, Xander, and Anya were crumpled up over near the door, but they were moving, obviously just a little stunned. Turning a full 360, Buffy couldn't see any sign of Glory or Spike.

Her mind raced. She wouldn't see any sign of Spike if he was dead, but Glory should be around somewhere. Oh god, if Spike was… she forced herself to concentrate. Her gaze fell on a large pile of rubble in a corner of the room. Hope flared in her chest, but it warred with caution. Spike might be stuck under there, but Glory could be too. Her thoughts conflicted as she tried to assess whether it was worth the risk.

Damn right it was.

If Spike was buried under there, then judging by how close they'd been standing before the explosion, Glory would be in there too. If Spike was alive, she wasn't going to leave him buried in a pile of rubble with Glory so she would have another chance to kill him. She just had to hope she found Spike first, and that maybe a piece of masonry had stapled Glory's head to the floor.

Buffy dropped to her knees in front of the pile of rubble and began to dig, using her Slayer strength to throw bricks and wooden support beams out of the way. She ignored a yelp from Xander as a piece of drywall almost hit him. She could feel… something. There was this sense of urgency. Spike was alive, she knew it, but if she left him buried too much longer he probably wouldn't be by the time she found him. Or found an extra dusty spot, anyway.

Her hand scraped something softer than masonry, and she frantically began to clear the surrounding area. Shifting a rather large piece of wall, she uncovered a leg, complete with combat boots and black jeans. She quickly cleared the rest of the rubble off Spike's body, and found herself looking at an unconscious, and very dirty vampire.

One with a rather large hole in his chest also.

It wasn't so much a hole as a gash. Spike had a deep furrow across his chest, and she could see his ribs. It looked to her like the wound had missed his heart by mere inches, and instead Glory's strength and the forced of the explosion had dragged the stake all the way across the right side of Spike's chest. Despite her revulsion at the severity of the wound, something forced Buffy to look closer. She found the point where the stake had pieced his chest, and saw something that made her blood run cold.

Embedded right next to Spike's heart was the jagged edge of a snapped off stake.

One little movement could drive it home. Just one wooden splinter shifting in his chest could end his life. She had to get it out before she could move him, and she had to do it quickly. If Glory was buried under the rubble and tried to move, it could all be over. She refused to let that happen.

Pulling a knife from a sheath strapped to her leg, Buffy carefully positioned herself above Spike, making sure she didn't touch him. She hoped he wouldn't regain consciousness until she was done, if he moved he could very well end his own life. Taking a deep breath, Buffy prayed that it was true that metal through the heart wouldn't kill a vampire, and that he couldn't simply die from too much pain.

'Cause this was going to hurt.

Steeling herself, Buffy slid the knife into the side of Spike's heart, keeping it close to the stake. Spike screamed, but his body didn't move. Buffy was thankful for that, as this was hard enough as it was. Carefully she twisted the knife, cutting away everything that surrounded the stake, making sure she didn't miss anything. Gritting her teeth, she used the knife to pry out the stake, and pulled it out with her spare hand.

Shuddering at the feel of Spike's flesh in her hand, she tossed it away form her. Inspecting the wound again, she couldn't see any sign of any splinters or the like, and breathed a sigh of relief. Spike wasn't all dusty, and she'd managed to finish the operation without throwing up. There were some parts of her friends that she just didn't need to see, and those included dead organs and anything that she had to dig out with a knife.

Buffy carefully slid her arms under Spike's body, and lifted him from the pile of rubble. He was a dead weight in her arms, and she ignored the way the feeling unnerved her. She carried him over to where Giles was standing, and placed Spike at his feet. He gave her a sympathetic look, and nodded at the order in her eyes.

"We'll take him," was all he said, but it was enough.

Buffy gave her friends a grateful smile, and was relieved by their understanding. Giles and Xander bent to pick up Spike, and with one last look at her they carried him as carefully as possible out of the room. Anya hesitated a moment before following, and something in her body language told Buffy that she wanted to give her a hug or something, but wasn't sure if she should. Buffy appreciated the thought, especially coming from Anya, but turned away to look at the pile of rubble she had found Spike buried in.

She heard Anya leave, but didn't turn away. Her nerve-endings were tingling, warning her of danger. Slowly, small pieces of brick and wood began to slid off the heap, and Buffy stood waiting patiently. She wanted this over, but she wasn't in any hurry. Glory was the one with the deadline.

Suddenly the debris began to shift faster, and without much warning the entire pile was virtually thrown aside. Doubt began to creep into Buffy's mind as she was reminded of Glory's strength. Somehow, she'd managed to convince herself that Glory would be weakened, or disabled in some way.

Damn optimism.

Well, it didn't change her mind. She had one thing to do, and she was going to do it even if Glory was stronger than a vampire feeding on the Chinese Olympic swim team. Picking the Troll Hammer up off the floor where she'd forgotten it temporarily, Buffy readied herself to fight.

She watched as the pile suddenly heaved upwards, and took a step back before she could control herself. She was so on edge, and it wasn't taking much to make her jump. She forced herself to stand and wait, apparently unconcerned, keeping her face expressionless as Glory freed herself from the rubble and stood up slowly, brushing herself off.

"Okay," she said, "now I'm really mad. Nobody tries to blow me up and gets away with it," she paused when her mind finally registered Buffy. "So you're the real one this time?" Buffy nodded. "Good. I'm afraid I'm tired of your little games. This ends now, and I will have my Key before the night ends."

Buffy shrugged. "Well, if you manage that I'll be impressed. You've got… what, like half an hour? I'm afraid you're going to be stuck here for a very long time," she stopped for a second, a thoughtful look on her face. "and, since I'm not keen on having you anywhere near me… I'm afraid you've got only two choices."

Glory decided to bite. If the Key really was the other Slayer, then she really had no chance. "And those are?" she asked with fake indifference.

Buffy smirked. Glory was so transparent. "I'm warning you, you're not going to like them," she said. Glory growled, and Buffy decided to let it go. "Oh all right, if you're going to be that way about it… First choice: you can give up your control of Ben's body, and never try to take dominancy from him again."

"Or?" Glory was not impressed.

"Or I kill you."

Silence followed Buffy's statement. Glory wasn't sure how to react. Normally, attacking would seem to be a good response, but something about the Slayer was creeping her out.

Creeping her out?

She shuddered. This damn dimension was even invading her vocabulary. She forced herself to concentrate, and for the first time noticed that the annoying little fingers that had been digging at her mind had disappeared. Her mind took in the amount of weaponry Buffy was packing, but she dismissed it as inconsequential. Weapons weren't a danger to her.

So how did the Slayer think she was going to kill her?

Her. Glory. A God, when she was just a common old Slayer. What was she worrying about? She might not be able to get her Key, but that didn't mean she couldn't kill the Slayer and rule this dimension herself, even if it was rather… primitive.

She smiled with enough malice to make Buffy's confident stance waver a little. "New choices, little girl," she said. "And this time, I make the rules."

Buffy didn't say anything. Glory wanted to hear the sound of her own voice, and listening to her was less painful than fighting.

Sort of…

Glory glanced down at her dress and frowned. Pulling off the dusty, torn rag it had become, it was instantly replaced with another that was clean and, to Buffy's mind, slightly whorish. Typical Glory, really.

Glory wasn't put off by Buffy's lack of reply. "Now here's your choices, sweetcheeks." Buffy kept her face impassive, and simply raised an eyebrow. "First choice: We fight. You die. I kill all your friends, then I go and get the Key. I may not be able to use it to get home, but it can still destroy your dimension."

Buffy tried not to let the image in her mind get to her. "And my second choice?" she asked coolly.

Glory smiled. "You get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness. You tell me where the Key is, and I don't kill your friends. You still die, but I'll make it quick."

Buffy laughed. Talk about being petty. "I don't think so, Barbie. Whatever you do, you're finished. You can't get home, so there's no point to anything you're doing. And honestly? The choices you gave me, they kinda suck."

Glory gaped. "And the ones you gave me are any better?"

"Sure. You still live in one of them."

"Fading away is not living!" shouted Glory.

"Fine. Ben still lives in one of them. Personally, I like that choice."

Glory forced herself to calm down. Shouting at the Slayer wasn't going to get her anywhere, and she got the feeling that Buffy wasn't really intimidated. "Do you think I care about Ben? He's been my only restriction since I entered this dimension. If it wasn't for him, I'd be ruling this miserable backwater by now."

Buffy shrugged. "Technically, he's all that's keeping you alive. Doesn't that just make you sweat? To know your existence is in the hands of a weak, pathetic human? You're living on his charity, Glory. You're a parasite."

That did it. Glory snarled and lunged straight at Buffy, who sidestepped, sending Glory crashing into a wall.

"So I guess you're choosing option two, huh?" asked Buffy. Glory didn't say anything, and Buffy decided she could still push her a little more. "That was the one where I kill you, if you couldn't remember."

Glory's back stiffened, and her gaze went hard. Enough was enough, and she'd had more than enough of the Slayer's taunts. How dare she mock her? If she was going to be stuck here for eternity, she was damn sure going to make the Slayer pay. And, since she wasn’t in any hurry any more, it was going to take some time. Torture was an art, and one she enjoyed practising.

Baring her teeth in an imitation of a smile, Glory leapt forward to take on the Slayer. Buffy was ready for her, and brought the hammer into play. She dodged Glory's first few punches, and when she saw her opening she wasted no time in exploiting it.

Glory got the shock of her life when Buffy's hammer came out of nowhere to slam into her head. Even more surprising was the fact that it actually hurt. The force of the blow sent her flying across the room, where she hit the floor and rolled back until she slammed into a wall.

Forcing herself to her feet, she carefully felt the area around her jaw. It felt… well, it hurt. And that wasn't supposed to happen. Not to her. She was a God, and puny little mortals weren't meant to be able to harm her.

Before she realised it, Glory was again decked by Buffy's hammer. Too dumbstruck to move, she had no chance as Buffy stood over her, hammer raised for another strike.

Glory forced herself to speak. "You're just a mortal. You couldn't understand my pain."

Buffy didn't care. "Then I'll just have to settle for causing it." She brought the hammer down into Glory's chest, repeating the action and hearing a sickening crack every time she connected. For Glory, the pain was too much, something she shouldn't have to handle. She let go of the restraints she always had to hold onto when she was in control, and Buffy watched warily as Glory was replaced by Ben.

He groaned in pain. It looked like Glory's injuries must have hurt his body as well. Which made sense, since if Ben died, Glory died. That didn't mean she had to like it though. He hadn't done anything wrong. It hadn't been his fault he'd been saddled with the world's worst split personality disorder.

It looked like he was having trouble breathing, but he managed to gasp out her name. She couched down next to him, and he looked up at her with pain filled eyes.

"Ben," she said, "I need to know. Can she come back?"

Buffy hoped not. She knew what that would mean for Ben, and what she would have to do. And she wasn't sure if she could. She'd been over this before, and she'd come to the conclusion that she couldn't kill an innocent man. But now… if she didn't, Glory could come back, wanting revenge, and who knew what she would be capable of. Buffy couldn't risk leaving Glory free to kill her friends and family, but she couldn't kill someone.

A thought flittered across her mind, and she chased it away immediately. Spike could kill Ben, and she had no doubt he'd do it once he found out that she wouldn't. He'd do anything to protect herself and Dawn, she knew that. But if she just let him, pretended she didn't know, what difference did it make? If she was going to let that happen, she may as well just kill him herself. It all amounted to the same thing.

Ben coughed, and Buffy could see blood on his lips. When he spoke, his voice was rasping, and she could hear the pain it was causing him to talk. "I don’t know. I feel… different… but it's hard… it's hard to tell with… with all the pain... I… " he trailed off, unable to continue.

Buffy pushed down a surge of guilt. She'd been hitting Glory, not Ben. It wasn't her fault that he got hurt too. She couldn't have known that. It wasn't her fault.

For some reason, that really didn't help at all with the whole guilt thing.

"Ben, please. I have to know." If she had to kill him.

He closed his eyes. "I don't know."

Buffy sighed. It didn't matter anyway. She couldn't kill him, even if there was a chance Glory would come back. He was human, innocent. And she had more immediate matters to deal with. If Glory was coming back, she wasn't doing it before she managed to regain all the energy she had expended. And Buffy thought it was unlikely she'd try until Ben's body had healed. She was too much of a coward to deal with the pain.

"Ben," said Buffy quietly, "I have something I have to do. Just lie still, and I'll come back with people to help you as soon as I can."

Ben managed a groan that Buffy took as an understanding, then she stood up and secured the hammer to her back again. She didn't know if she would need it, but it was a kick-ass weapon, and she wasn't keen on leaving it lying around where anybody could find it.

Taking a last look at Ben to make sure he was alright for the time being, Buffy strode out of the room in the same direction Giles and the others had taken Spike. If Doc really was as gullible as he had seemed, Spike was in danger.

Again. Still. Whatever… could this guy not stay out of trouble?

Buffy carefully overlooked the fact that most of it was her fault. Denial's a lovely place to live.

Considering the state Spike was in, she didn't think his body would be able to handle any pain. Vampires supposedly wouldn't die until you staked, beheaded, or exposed them to sunlight, but she was reasonably sure that cutting them into little pieces would have the same effect.

All she knew was that the ritual for the Key required blood at the right place at the right time. So that didn't mean that Doc would necessarily hurt Spike more than he already was. All he needed to do for blood at the moment was put Spike face down on a platform, and it would drip out of that gaping hole in his chest.

Still, not fun.

Buffy started running. The only places she could think of where they'd take Spike would be her house and the Magic Box, and on a hunch she headed for home. Spike had blood there, and he'd definitely need some. Not caring if anyone saw her, Buffy took the quickest route possible, jumping fences and cutting through people's backyards and over their houses where necessary.

Running up the steps to the porch, she grimaced at the sight of her front wall. She'd almost forgotten. For a second she wondered how it was possibly that nobody had noticed it yet and called the police, but she didn't really care. She entered the house to find Anya in the kitchen, and raced upstairs without bothering to say anything.

She reached the top of the stairs and stopped before the door to her mother's old room. Spike's now, really. Not that he'd probably be spending much time in there if they ever got through this. She forced herself to calm down before she opened the door.

The sight that greeted her when she entered the room was little different from the best-case scenario she'd had on her head on the run over. Spike was in the bed, asleep or unconscious, and Giles and Xander were standing over near the far wall, talking quietly. The both looked up as she came in.

Giles spoke first. "Buffy, is…"

Buffy nodded, then shook her head. "Sort of. I beat her up real bad, but then she changed back into Ben, and I couldn't kill him. He was hurt pretty bad, but I had to leave him there. I don't think he'll be able to move until we go back for him. And I don't think Glory can come back either. At least not for a while. But we have bigger problems right now. And how's Spike doing?" She said it all on one breath, wanting to give them enough that they wouldn't ask questions.

Xander raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment on the rush. "We don't know," he said. "He's not dust, which I suppose is a good sign," Buffy glared at him, "but he hasn't woken up. We cleaned him up as best we could, and bandaged his chest so his heart wouldn't fall out." He tried to joke, but Buffy wasn't in the mood. "And what do you mean by 'bigger problems'?"

"Doc," said Buffy. "You know, creepy old man demon guy."

"What about him?" asked Giles.

"Have you seen him?"

Giles shook his head. "Not since he was with Glory."

Buffy cursed. "I think I might have convinced him that Spike was the Key. Are you sure he wasn't following you?"

Giles shook his head. "I'm quite certain he wasn't, Buffy."

Buffy swore again. Maybe Doc was smarter than she had given him credit for.

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and everything. It's nice to know people like what you're writing enough to care that you're killing someone off. Not that I was, but still…And hey, I get chapters out faster when enough people tell me to get my butt into gear. Well, that and when I'm meant to be studying…

Willow looked at her watch. Nine o'clock. They only had half an hour more before it was all over. They'd been hiding in a dorm room all night, and the usual occupant of the room was out of town. It had been Dawn's idea to stay in the building, and so far it seemed to be working out.

Willow was torn between going out of her mind with worry, and trying to be optimistic. The good news was that Glory didn't have Dawn, so the world wasn't going to end, but they had no way of knowing if everyone else was okay. None of the rest of the scoobies knew where they were, and they couldn't really leave to check if they'd been to Willow and Tara's dorm room.

Willow had considered calling Buffy's house a thousand times, but she wasn't sure if she should. At least, not until after nine-thirty. Hopefully if would be safe then.

The main problem was that they were bored out of their minds.

They'd had nothing to do since they'd entered the room. They had to leave the lights off, and they were afraid to move around in case there were demons watching the building or something. And the room the were in was supposed to be empty, so they had to stay quiet to avoid notice from the other students living on the campus.

They'd run out of things to talk about a while ago, and now sat in silence, worry settling into their minds. No matter how many times they tried to tell themselves that everything would be okay, they found themselves fretting.

After all the waiting, Willow wondered if maybe it would have been better if she'd been with Buffy, been there to do what she could with magic. Rationally, she knew she wouldn't have done much good, but it was just so frustrating.

Dawn was regretting her suggestion of hiding in the building. At least if they had gone somewhere she would have something different to look at. Dorm rooms really weren't the most exciting places in the world. She tried to keep her mind off the fact that her sister and the friendly neighbourhood vampire were out there risking their lives for her, but things like that tend to beat you over the head if you ignore them. She couldn't help but wonder if she was really worth all the trouble.

Oh, that's right. They had to protect her, or she'd cause the end of the world.

The thought was bitter, but Dawn had to admit that she wasn't really being fair. Buffy loved her, she knew that, and she was fairly certain that Spike at least liked her. Sometimes she wondered how much of that was for Buffy's sake, since he was so head over heals in love with her.

Once again, Dawn regretted the thought. Spike had shown her more than once that he really did care about her, and not just as Buffy's sister. Ever since he'd… changed… and started living with them, she'd had the opportunity to spend time with him without Buffy telling her not to. He'd even hugged her a couple of times. That had been a shock.

And he'd made breakfast. Spike had been surprisingly domestic during the last week. She suspected that it was mostly to help out Buffy, since she had been under a lot of stress lately what with Glory and a pending apocalypse and all that.

Dawn knew that there was a lot more going on between those two than they had let on to everyone else. They hadn't tried to hide it from her, and that meant more to her than she could say. She hoped that if they all got through this alive things could go back to the way they'd been this past week, just without the stress and fear. And maybe Buffy and Spike could do the whole 'tell the friends about the relationship' thing. Dawn really wanted to be there when they broke that news to Xander and Giles. She suspected Willow already knew something, and she'd be cool about it anyway. But Xander… she knew Buffy would kick her out of the room for that one.

Dawn took a moment to consider Tara and Willow. Tara was relatively new to the group, having only been around for a little over a year, but Dawn liked her. She was nice, and she never treated her like a kid. Tara hadn't known Dawn since she was a lot younger like the others, so she didn't treat Dawn like she was still 11 years old. Not that the others did it consciously, but what with their altered memories and all, they could help it.

Somewhere in all those false memories there was probably a 'protect Dawn at all costs' clause or something. It was like they were all her surrogate older siblings or something. But while it was nice to have people who loved her that much, it sometimes got annoying when they insisted on treating her like she was fragile.

Willow was a bit different. She still sometimes spoke to Dawn like she was younger than she really was, but she tried to help with older stuff. Willow had wanted to teach her some magic, but Buffy hadn't let her. Buffy was so over-protective, but it showed that she cared, and not just because of the memories in her head.

Buffy and Spike were out there tonight, risking their lives for her. And she was just sitting there, doing nothing. It was so frustrating.

"Hey, Willow," whispered Dawn. "We've waited long enough, don't you think? Can't we go back to your room so we can do something? I'm going out of my mind just sitting here worrying."

The sympathy in Willow's eyes told Dawn that she understood completely. "I wish we could, Dawnie," she whispered back, "But we have to wait to make sure. I know that the waiting's hard, but it'll only be about another half hour. It won't kill you. Moving might. And hey, end of the world, too."

"I get it, I get it," Dawn mumbled. "I just wish I knew."

Willow didn't say anything, but Dawn could she that she felt exactly the same. Tara probably did as well, but she was harder to read. Dawn settled back on the floor for another spate of waiting.

It was weird though. Something almost always happened to disrupt their plans. So far, they didn't know if anything had gone wrong. Were Xander's group okay? Were Buffy and Spike still alive? Although most of the thought probably came from fear, Dawn had been certain that someone would have tried to kill her or something before the night was over. So far, her fear appeared to be unfounded.

A bright light suddenly flashed in the room, and they were all momentarily blinded. Dawn could hear Willow and Tara scrambling around in their bags for anything they could fight with, but Dawn sat frozen. She couldn't see a thing, and she was rooted to the spot. Her last thought before something rendered her unconscious was that maybe her fear wasn't so unfounded after all.

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Spike groaned as pain flared in his chest. What was it with that crazy hellbitch and putting bloody great holes in his body? He was waking up far too often lately in too much pain and afraid he might have pieces missing. Still, he was waking up, so that meant he wasn't dead. Unless he was in Hell, which was actually a plausible possibility.

He opened his eyes slowly, almost afraid to find out where he really was. He sighed in relief when his mind registered familiar surroundings. The Slayer's mum's room. His room now, really. Not that he'd spent much time in there recently, but that was a happy memory for another time.

Now, Spike just wanted to know how he got back there. There wasn't anyone else in the room with him, and he had to fight down a sudden panic that rose in his chest when he thought of Buffy. Where was she? Was she just downstairs, or did something happen to her? What about the 'bit? If Glory had managed to get her… No, that hadn't happened. The world was still around.

Spike's thoughts were so filled with dread that he forced himself to move. Pushing away the pain he rolled off the bed onto his feet, and for the first time took a good look down at himself. His chest was covered in bandages, but they were soaked with blood. Considering that vampires didn't normally bleed profusely, Spike could tell the wound on his chest was very serious. The amount of pain he was in leant towards that impression as well, but he'd learned to deal with pain. It could be shut out when necessary.

He walked slowly over to the closet and got out a clean shirt. His one from earlier that night was nowhere to be seen, and he could assume it was probably in no shape ever to be worn again. If he kept being beat up like this he was going to have to go shopping.

Bloody hell.

Hearing voices outside his room, Spike quickly buttoned up his shirt and opened the door to find Giles and Xander arguing quietly. They both turned to him when they heard the door open, and Spike thought they both looked slightly surprised.

"Hey mates," he said, "What's doing?"

Giles gathered himself together a little more quickly than Xander. "Spike. You're, uh… up."

Spike smirked slightly, but Xander jumped in before he could say anything. "Evil dead. Awake. Good. Think you're up to running without your heart falling out?"

"Xander!" snapped Giles.

"Kiddies," said Spike slowly, "What's going on?"

Giles sighed and indicated to Xander that he was free to talk. "We brought you back here after Glory nearly dusted your ass. Buffy thought she'd convinced that creepy old guy that you were the Key, but now she's worried that he's worked out it's really…" he trailed off as Spike bolted down the stairs and out the front door.

------------

Crouched in a tree, Buffy scanned the campus grounds. There wasn't a demon to be seen, and considering that the place had been crawling with them earlier, she was fairly certain it was a bad sign. She wasn't sure if Will had gotten Dawn out, but she just knew that they weren't in there any more.

If Doc had taken Dawn, there was only one place he would be. One place, one time for the ritual. Buffy checked her watch. Twenty minutes, and it was going to take her at least ten to get back to the construction site.

She dropped from the tree and started running. If he hurt Dawn… oh, Doc was so going to pay for making her run all the way across town lugging enough weaponry to outfit an army. Buffy was just hoping she'd get a chance to use all of it.

------------

When Dawn came to she was lying on a concrete floor. She could hear the sounds of hammering and sawing coming from somewhere close by, but other than the noise, she was alone. She looked around to see if she could determine where she was, but the room was bare except for some wooden crates and a table shoved against one wall.

She got up and moved quietly to the door. It was locked, but she had expected that. She tried to peek through the crack between the door and the frame, but it was too thin to see anything. And there weren't any windows, either, and she needed to find a way out of there.

Moving over to inspect the table, Dawn rooted through the drawers, hoping to find something, anything, that she could use as a weapon. No such luck. Torn pieces of old paper, a snapped in half pen, and a hairbrush.

Dawn briefly considered trying to pull a slat out of one of the crates, but even if she had enough strength for it, it probably wouldn't do her any good. She didn't have time anyway, since someone was unlocking the door. She quickly jumped up onto the table, pulling her legs underneath her and trying to look like she didn't know what was going on.

Completely oblivious. Ignorant. If she didn't know she was the Key, then she wasn't the Key. Logic? Who needs it?

The door opened and Doc walked in. It took Dawn a moment to recognise him, then her eyes widened in surprise as it clicked.

"You… you can help me," she said. "Please, help me get out of here."

Doc gave her a small smile, and Dawn's heart sank. She just knew that this guy wasn't of the good. He'd just seemed so nice before. And Spike had taken her to see him, so… damn, why did everyone have to be evil?

Dawn steeled herself, and prayed that her voice would be steady. "Where's Glory?"

Doc's smile didn't change. "Well, she got a little… blown away by the turn of events."

"She's dead?"

Oh god, please please please please please…

Doc shook his head. "I wouldn't think so. Not unless your sister actually had the guts to kill her human host. But she's definitely indisposed."

"So why…"

"Why did I bring you here? What do I want with the Key? My own reasons, and strangely, not ones I'd care to share." His tone was so even, measured. It was starting to get creepy.

"You know my sister's going to stop you," Dawn said, trying to sound confident.

"The Slayer? No, I don't think she will. It would be interesting, but it is unlikely. After all, she believes that she's convinced me that the Key is really that vampire you were with when I first met you."

"Spike?"

Doc nodded. "Spike. Yes. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that she'll have a hard time finding him. Unless she's looking for dust."

"Dust… you mean… no, that's not…" Dawn forced herself not to cry. Spike wasn't dead, he was alive. Well, okay, not actually, but he wasn't dead dead. Nope, no way. Doc was wrong. Buffy would never have let Spike be staked.

Doc smiled again. "Don't worry about it, kid. Think of it this way. The world's about to end, and your vampire friend would have suffered torment and agony for all eternity. Now, he's just dead. It's really a blessing."

He paused, and looked at his watch. His eyes flashed black as he looked up at her. "Well, would you look at that. Time's up."

-----------

Buffy stood at the edge of the construction site. Nothing had changed drastically since she was there earlier, but she had only minutes before the ritual was meant to start. She had to find Doc before he laid a finger on Dawn. Once the ritual started, once Dawn started to bleed, there was no stopping it. Giles had been very adamant that she made sure the ritual was never started. The only way to stop it… she refused to think about it.

Kill Dawn.

Okay, so she was going to think about it. It was kind of hard not to. It's not like she would ever actually do it, but she just couldn't get the image out of her mind. Dawn dying… it was Buffy's worst nightmare come to life. She's let the whole world go to hell before she killed her sister.

Giles had told her what she hadn't wanted to hear. He hadn't liked it, but it was his job. He'd sworn to protect this world, like she had done, but Dawn wasn't his sister. Dawn wasn't created from his blood. Dawn was hers. And she wasn't going to let her die.

Her eyes swept over the construction site, trying to work out where the ritual would take place. She turned her gaze upwards, and she was able to make out a platform high up in the darkness.

Considering it a fairly safe assumption that the ritual would occur up on that platform, Buffy ran into the building surrounding the tower. The stairs in that massive tower were the only way up, and she wasn't going to let anyone get in her way.

-----------

Spike staggered into the construction site. This was the only place he could think to come, and he hoped he was right. Ritual was meant to be here, so if Doc had the Nibblet, then she'd be here too. The Slayer should be around somewhere as well, she was smart enough to work this out.

He stopped for a moment, his senses alert, trying to ignore the pain that had steadily worsened as he ran from Buffy's house. There was something… there! Buffy's scent. She'd been here just a few moments ago. He looked towards the large tower at the centre of the site, the darkness not hampering his enhanced vision.

There was someone moving up there. He couldn't see who, but he could guess. It was about to start, he hadn't been fast enough. There was no way he could get up there in time.

He just prayed that Buffy could.

-----------

This high, the wind was freezing. Then again, maybe that was just the fear. And the fear? Well, that could have something to do with the crazy demon guy standing in front of her holding a big-ass knife.

And the fact that she couldn't do anything about it wasn't helping. Dawn whimpered as Doc took a step towards her. The platform she was standing on ended about a foot behind her, but she couldn't move to jump off. Her wrists were tied to two poles sticking up from the edge of the platform, and she had very little room to move. She'd tried to fight when he tied her up, but for a guy that looked harmless, Doc was really strong.

Dawn closed her eyes as Doc moved closer. She wished she had been able to kill herself when she'd tried. She was going to die now anyway, but if she'd done it before, she wouldn't be causing the end of the world. If she could just get free to jump…but the ropes were too thick, the knots too tight, and she wasn't Buffy.

Buffy… why hadn't she come? Or Spike. But Doc said Spike was dead. Was Buffy so upset over Spike that she hadn't realised what was going on? How would she have known, anyway? Willow and Tara were meant to have taken her somewhere. How would Buffy even know that she had been taken?

Dawn couldn't stop a tear falling as she realised that nobody knew where she was or what was about to happen. It was hopeless. Finally, after all the fighting, after every time Buffy and her friends had battled the forces of evil to save the world, this was how it ended. The Slayer's sister. Bleeding on a platform a quarter of a mile high, opening a portal to destroy dimensions.

Damn. This sucked.

She felt the knife cut through her shirt, then slashing her shallowly across the belly. She cried out in pain, and only a few seconds later Doc made another cut. Dawn bit her lip to try and distract from the pain, and waited for the knife to return again.

It didn't come right away, and Dawn couldn't stand it. She opened her eyes, wondering why she couldn't just die already. The sooner she died the better, apparently. Doc was standing with his back to her, and it was only after he shifted a little that she noticed that there was someone else with them on the platform.

-----------

Buffy stood stock still, temporarily stunned. Had she made it in time? There were no big multi-dimensional portals around, and Dawn was alive. She couldn't tell if she'd been hurt or not. She glared at Doc. If he'd hurt her… well, she was going to kill him anyway, but she'd make it a lot more painful.

He smiled, and Buffy's anger took control. She strode forward, covering the distance between them in three large steps. He opened his mouth to speak, but he never got the chance. Buffy threw a punch that connected with his head, swept his legs out from under him, grabbed his shirt, and threw him from the platform with as much strength as she could muster.

Dawn cried out with relief as Buffy broke the ropes restraining her. As Buffy helped her away from the edge, neither girl noticed a few drops of blood drip down Dawn's feet, falling through the metal mesh of the platform. They were almost to the stairs when they heard the noise, like someone ripping fabric.

Buffy froze. Her eyes darted to Dawn, and for the first time she realised that she was bleeding. In one moment, her world was shattered. The portals had been opened. Doc had hurt Dawn, and there was only one way to save the world.

No. She wouldn't kill Dawn. That wasn't a way.

Apparently, Dawn didn't seem to think so. Her attention was focused on the rapidly widening portal, and as she looked over to Buffy she made her decision. Doc had been very forthcoming on the nature of the portal, for some reason. He was probably just one of those guys that liked to hear themselves talk. So the portal needed her blood to close? Well, she'd opened it, so it was only fair.

She had to do this quickly, or she'd lose her nerve. She took a moment to examine her sister's face. There was something… Buffy was trying to work it out. Dawn tore her gaze away. She had to do this now, before Buffy stopped her.

Buffy's eyes widened as Dawn tried to leap past her. She reacted without thinking, catching her, and holding her arms to her side. "Dawn, what are you doing?" her voice was filled with panic.

"Buffy, I have to. Please."

Buffy shook her head. "No. No, you don't. There has to be another way."

"There isn't, Buffy." Dawn pleaded. "Look at what's happening. Doc said it wouldn't close until I was dead. My blood opens it, my blood closes it. This is the way it has to be."

Buffy shook her head again, refusing to accept it. There was another way, there had to be. She racked her brain, searching. A memory surfaced, and she grabbed onto it, desperate for another solution.

<"It's Summers blood. It's just like mine.">

<"She's me," Buffy whispered. "She's me.">

"Who is?"

"Dawn. She's me. The monks made her out of me. My blood. If her blood can open the portal, and her blood is my blood…">

Buffy closed her eyes as realisation sunk in. There was another way, and she was it. Dawn's blood was her blood, and either would be enough to close the portal. It was her, Dawn, or the world, and it definitely wasn't going to be Dawn. Letting the world go to hell wasn't really an option either, so that really just left her.

What a drag.

She opened her eyes again, and gave Dawn a weak smile. "I'm not going to let you die, okay? It doesn't have to be you."

It took Dawn a moment to realise what Buffy was saying. Her eyes widened in shock and fear. "No, Buffy… you can't…"

"I have to. It's the only way."

"No…" Dawn choked as a silent sob racked her body.

Buffy put her hand over Dawn's mouth, silencing her. "Dawnie, listen to me. There isn't much time," she took a deep breath. "I love you. I've lived longer than a Slayer should, but you've only just been given your life. You deserve a chance to live it. I've done my time, and I'm okay with it. Tell Giles that, and tell him not to worry, or be sad, because I'm doing this for the people I love. Tell my friends… I don’t know. Make up something cool, tell them I said it," that seemed appropriate, for some reason, "And tell Spike… tell Spike that I love him, and that I'm not afraid any more."

Tears ran freely down Dawn's face. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't. She held a ragged breath as Buffy leant over and kissed her goodbye. This wasn't real, this wasn't real… Buffy took a step back from her, her eyes conveying the depth of love in her soul.

With a final glance, Buffy turned her back to Dawn and began to run. Her foot hit the edge of the platform and she dived, her arms spread wide. Dawn was afraid to watch, but she couldn't turn away. Her sister was about to die… was killing herself to save the world.

This wasn't right, things shouldn't end like this.

Suddenly something rushed past her, and after a shocked moment, she realised it wasn't going to.

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