SoulmatesBy Miranda
Part 5
Dawn staggered after Drusilla, the vampire’s grip on her wrist about as escapable as a handcuff. The hold wasn’t painful, however, and when Dawn tripped over a curb, Drusilla kept her from falling and continued their journey at a slightly slower pace.
That didn’t make Dawn any less terrified. The only thing keeping her from yelling for help was the knowledge that anyone other than Buffy, Spike, or maybe one of the witches wouldn’t stand a chance. Even though Drusilla seemed to want to help her at the moment, Dawn wasn’t willing to risk another person on the vampire’s unstable good will.“Where are we going?” she gasped as they entered the park.
Drusilla regarded her with unreadable dark eyes. “Underneath.”
That tells me a lot.
“Look,” she tried, keeping her voice as friendly as possible. “You were great back there. Seriously. But you’ve probably got stuff to do, so why don’t I get out of your way, and…”
Cool fingers pressed against her lips, and Dawn nearly swallowed her tongue. “Shhh.” Drusilla said reprovingly. “Be good or you’ll have no cakes. Little sisters should be seen and not heard.”
Geez. You and Buffy have a lot in common.
As they passed the deserted playground area, the swings moved and thrashed against each other in the wind as if ridden by invisible children, and Dawn shuddered.
“Don’t be frightened, Anne. They’re only ghosts who want to play. Can’t hurt you.”
Her eyes grew huge as she realized Drusilla had picked up on her thoughts, and she tried very hard to think of nothing much at all.
A thicket of trees lay toward the back of the park. In other towns, it would have been a prime make-out spot, but Sunnydale inhabitants learned quickly to avoid areas that didn’t offer a clear view of their surroundings.
Drusilla drew Dawn in among the trees and paused, sniffing the air. “Metal. Plastic. Pretty little soldiers, all in a row underneath the ground ‘til the Slayer routed them out.”
She released Dawn’s wrist and bent to sweep aside a layer of sodden leaves. Dawn thought about running, but Drusilla would undoubtedly catch her before she got two feet.
And if talking gets me no cakes, I don’t want to think about what happens if I run away.
Drusilla finished brushing away the leaves, and Dawn saw that they had concealed a metal circle about the size of a manhole cover set into the ground. At the vampire’s pull, it slid aside with a sigh of air, revealing a ladder. With a swallow, Dawn obeyed Drusilla’s gesture and began to descend.
Buffy, hurry.
They climbed down through a darkness that became absolute when Drusilla pushed the cover back into place. Dawn clutched the ladder frantically and sighed in relief as her feet touched solid ground. Drusilla moved with utter silence, and Dawn yelped when cold fingers closed around her wrist again.
“Poor little sister. Eyes all clouded,” her voice breathed from the darkness, and Dawn shuddered as fingers brushed lightly down her forehead and across her eyes. “I’ll keep you from being lost.”
A tug at her wrist got Dawn moving down the hallway, but before they had gone very far, she tripped and fell, dangling from Drusilla’s hand.
“Wicked machine.” Drusilla said crossly, and Dawn heard a thud that indicated the machine had been kicked.
Better the machine than me.
The vampire released her, and Dawn was left huddled alone on the floor for a few minutes until a faint glow showed Drusilla returning with two flashlights which she handed to Dawn with a pleased smile.
“Thanks,” Dawn muttered, stuffing the other flashlight into her pocket and trying to figure out what was going on. She could remember the timeframe when Spike and Drusilla had rampaged around Sunnydale, but the memories didn’t include much about the actual vampires. She had only been 10 or 11 then, and Buffy had barely let her out of the house in daylight, much less after the sun went down, especially after Angel went bad. However, nothing she could recall suggested helpfulness on the part of Drusilla.
Her being insane could account for a lot, and she had apparently decided Dawn was her sister, which was creepy, although it was keeping her alive at the moment. Still, Dawn was sure something else was happening. Weird comments aside, Drusilla was showing a pretty good grasp of events for somebody who talked to stars.
“Come,” Drusilla said with a frown, cocking her head as if she were listening. “It doesn’t want us to stay here.”
They moved carefully through the underground complex, avoiding the smashed computers and equipment that lay everywhere. Gouges and burns covered the walls and ceilings.
Buffy sure did a job on the Initiative.
Even though her situation was still beyond grim, she felt a little better. She had light and wasn’t being dragged anymore. Also, it was dry, and not being pounded into the ground by the rain was a definite plus. As they passed a ruined lab, Dawn stepped aside, careful to keep the movement casual and un-escape-like and retrieved a couple of lab coats that were lying on the floor.
“We can use them to dry off,” she explained, tossing one to Drusilla and applying the other to her own hair and face.
“Science,” the vampire muttered, eying it suspiciously, but she wiped the coat down her thin arms and leaned down to scrub at her legs.
Dawn followed the movement and gasped at the sight of the other’s cut, bleeding feet.
“Doesn’t that hurt? Where are your shoes?”Drusilla shrugged. “Gave up her tail to walk on land but it was like walking on knives.”
The phrase was familiar, and after a moment, Dawn made the connection. “You’re talking about The Little Mermaid?”
“Change hurts. But she had to make herself strong. Him too.”
“Mom says that story means you shouldn’t make yourself different for somebody. That they should love you for who you are.”
“She doesn’t know.” Drusilla said. “Sometimes you have to. If you’re not done yet. Not what you’re supposed to be.” Her voice was dreamy, and she walked slowly down a hallway that was lined with what looked like cells although there were no bars. She paused in front of one of the cells and raised a hand as if caressing the air.
“My poor William. Took his bite, his fire. Almost took his spirit.” Her eyes closed. “Hurts to change. Hurts so much.”
She whirled suddenly, and Dawn jumped back at her glare. Drusilla stalked toward her until Dawn was pressed back against the wall. “The Slayer’s fault,” she snarled. “She hurt me too. Took my face!”
“Not on purpose,” Dawn choked. “Buffy didn’t do it on purpose. She’ll give it back if you just tell her.”
“My turn to cause hurt to the Slayer.” Drusilla smiled as her features morphed, and she stroked Dawn’s cheek. “Grandmother wasn’t good company, but you’ll be my little sister. I’ll be better to you than Slayer-sister was. I’ll dress you prettily and we’ll have tea parties.” She leaned in, her hands implacable but oddly gentle on Dawn’s shoulders.
She’s going to make me a vampire. What if I kill Mom?
There was probably something she should do, something she should say to keep this from happening, but the only thing that came out of her mouth was, “Please don’t! Please don’t!” as tears rolled down her face.
There was an endless moment as Drusilla bent over her throat, and Dawn waited, shaking and crying, expecting the bite to come at any moment.
At last, Drusilla pulled back a little, her features human again. “Poor Anne. No one to help you. Like before.” Her face clouded. “My fault. Wouldn’t have come if not for me.”
She wailed suddenly and staggered, almost falling, her hands flying up to hold the sides of her head as if she were afraid it might explode. For a long instant, she stared straight ahead into nothing, then crumpled, sobbing, hands still plowed into her black hair.
I should run. She’s not paying attention.
But somehow she couldn’t bring herself to abandon the other woman in her grief. Instead, Dawn cautiously touched Drusilla’s thin shoulder. “What’s the matter?”
When the vampire at last raised her head, Dawn was startled at her expression. Drusilla’s eyes swam with tears, but they were clear and focused, and her face looked somehow firmer with a determined set to her chin.“It had to happen,” Drusilla whispered. “All of it. So past and present could join and save the future.”
________________________________________
Never thought I’d be walking hand-in-hand with the Slayer.
Not that this occasion was anything to inspire poetry. The sensation of her hand in his was heady, but Spike wasn’t terribly sure Buffy knew he was there. He felt rather like an ambulatory walking stick, serving as a guide that helped her control the images of her past lives and track whatever signal Dru was sending. He didn’t sense anything, but the Slayer was certainly focused on something, and it wasn’t her physical surroundings – at one point, Spike had to yank her aside before she walked directly into a lamppost.
Buffy stumbled, and her eyes cleared a little as she looked at him and realized what had happened. Her hand tightened around his for an instant, then they were off again with Willow and Tara half-running to keep up. Glory being on the move driving all of them even more than the knowledge that Dru had taken Dawn.
Xander was staying behind to help Giles and Anya. He had been hurt at not being included in the main fight, until Buffy had revealed her task for him as she sorted weapons.
“Glory may try to take Mom and use her to bring me and Dawn out. Take her somewhere safe, ok? We’ll meet up later.”
He had straightened then, and even managed a smile. “Yeah, Buff. I’ll look after them.”
Giles hadn’t looked all that happy about being left in Xander’s care, but the Watcher hadn’t said anything beyond a heartfelt “Be careful.”
She had considered leaving the witches too, but their spells had worked against Glory before, and they might need all the help they could get. Besides which, both day and storm practically screamed ‘occult event’, and Spike was just as glad to have someone along who might know what to do about it.
Speaking of the storm, he was beginning to think being fried by the sun would be a pleasant change. The streets were flooding, water sloshing over their ankles even on the sidewalk, and all of them were utterly drenched. Some remnant of gallantry made Spike contemplate offering his duster to one of the women, but he couldn’t see the point. Even with it, he wasn’t any drier than the others as water worked through the seams of the leather and went down his collar. The Slayer’s hand didn’t feel much warmer than his own, and he fervently wished they were both wrapped in a blanket in front of a fire somewhere. Hot chocolate wouldn’t come amiss.
Not much chance until this gets sorted out. Probably not much chance afterwards either.
Worry over Dru and what she might be up to filled his mind. He couldn’t shake the image from his vision of both women collapsed in that ballroom.
It's not going to happen. Not while I’m here.
The four crossed a street, the water up to their shins in some places, and then they were slogging through the mud of the park. “Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Spike called. “Or how far ahead she is?”
“Underneath,” Buffy said absently.
The hair stood up on the back of his neck when a slight British accent colored her words. “Stop that,” he said firmly, giving her arm a shake. “You’re not Dru, you’re the Slayer. Stay on top of it, or you won’t do anyone any good.”
She jerked a little and nodded. “Sorry. We’re close, really close…. There.” She pointed toward a thicket at the back of the park. “They went through there.”
They worked their way through the trees and found a metal covering in the middle of a disturbed pile of leaves.
“We’re on top of the Initiative,” Buffy said. “This must be one of their old entrances.”
He tensed at the thought of having to re-enter the Initiative, but there was no one there anymore, and at least it would be dry. Buffy took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a moment, then dropped his hand and knelt to seize the ring set into the circle.
“Are you ok?” Willow asked worriedly.
“Yeah,” the Slayer answered. She shook her head a little. “As long as I focus, I can keep up with which one’s the current me.”
“Just liked holding my hand, did you?” Spike teased and was pleased when the resultant eye-roll was pure Buffy.
The cover slid aside, and Buffy stepped onto the top rung of the ladder that lay underneath.
“Will and Tara, come after me. Spike, you’re last. Watch our backs.”
He nodded, having to fight to keep a smile off his face even in their current situation. She trusted him to watch her back. Abruptly, he found that he had no problem scowling as the witches smirked at each other and then at him. He wouldn’t have been overly surprised if one of them had patted his head.
________________________________________
Buffy descended the ladder, every fiber of her being wanting to run through the corridors, screaming Dawn’s name. The past lives weren’t helping calm the panic either as her worry over her sister tangled with Sarah’s over her husband or Nathaniel’s over his crew.
No, Spike’s right. I’ve got to stay on top of this. Remember who I am now.
There, that was a good way to keep everything separate. None of her other lives had included an interfering vampire. He hadn’t shown up for Drusilla until later.
She stared up and down the hallways, using her night-vision to watch for anything that might be lurking as Willow and Tara followed her down. Spike came last, pulling the metal circle back into place as he began his climb. She was a little surprised over her automatic assignment of him to watch their backs. There had been a time, like a couple of weeks ago, when she wouldn’t have trusted Spike chained up in Giles' bathtub. Buffy wasn’t even sure if it was the chip that was making the difference.
After casting a light spell that illuminated the hallway for several feet in either direction, Willow and Tara had conferred quietly while Spike climbed down the ladder. As he reached the bottom, Willow said, “We’re going to do a fast spell to put the leaves back over the cover. That way,….”Her words faded, the hallway faded, and Buffy was suddenly looking down at Dawn.
“What are you staring at?” her sister asked nervously. Buffy felt a little irritated that Dawn didn’t seem at all happy to see her rescuer.
I wasn’t expecting everlasting gratitude, but a hug might have been nice.
Wait a minute. She was looking down at her sister, who always took great pride in being taller than the Slayer.
“Dawny,” she interrupted and saw the younger girl’s eyes go huge at the inflection and nickname. “It’s Buffy. I’m at the foot of the ladder where you came in. Run. Run NOW!”
There wasn’t time to see if she obeyed or not for something dark and snarling swirled up from inside her and struck a blow she didn’t know how to avoid.
Buffy was abruptly back in her own body staring into Spike’s furious, panic-stricken face, his fist cocked back to strike. She reacted without thinking, knocking his arm aside and then seizing it to use as a pivot to spin and shove him against the wall in turn. “What the hell are you doing?” she growled leaning her arm into his neck. Her head felt as if it was going to burst open, but the pain came from everywhere at once, not a single area, and she didn’t think Spike had hit her already.
“Trying to bloody well help you,” he snapped back. “Which seems to be my primary job description at the moment.”
Willow tugged at her shoulder. “You left again, Buffy. More than before. You weren’t here at all.”
She released Spike, put a hand to her throbbing head. “I know. I…I swapped with Drusilla for a minute. Drusilla now, not then. I saw Dawn and told her to run this way. Then something happened. It felt like something, I don’t know, hit my mind, and I was back here with you trying to slug me.”
Her headache was clearing now, and she straightened, trying to remember what she’d seen other than her sister’s face. “They’re somewhere in a hallway with lots of little rooms built into the walls.”
“The cells,” Spike said with a twist to his mouth. “I know all about those little rooms.”
But he didn’t know their location in relation to where they were at the moment. Grimly, Buffy reached out and took his hand again. It was embarrassing hold onto Spike, and even more embarrassing to need to hold onto Spike, but she would do it to find Dawn. And she wouldn’t even think that his hand felt sort of good in hers.
“So what happened on this end?” she asked as they hurried down the corridor, the illumination spell casting an eerie glow around them.
“You turned really pale,” Willow said. “And I thought you were going to cry. You kept saying that it all had to happen, everything had to happen. Then, Spike grabbed your arms, you fell against the wall, and you were, well, you again.”
Buffy shrugged, having no idea what ‘it all had to happen’ meant. She slid a sideways look at Spike and sighed inwardly at his cold expression. His hand held hers securely enough, but the grasp was loose.
“I’m sorry,” she said under her breath, hoping their footsteps would cover the sound.
“Waking up about to be punched sets off the Slayer reactions.” She swallowed. “I appreciate what you’re doing.”“Not before time,” he muttered back, but his shoulders relaxed, and Buffy thought the pressure of his hand increased a little.
“What will we do when we find them?” Tara asked softly.
“Get Dawn away from Drusilla, and then I’ve got to get us out of town and away from Glory as fast as I can.”
“You can’t kill her,” Spike said flatly.
“I don’t want to,” Buffy said, and it was true. She knew too much of what the other had suffered to wish her any more harm, even though Drusilla’s human self was already dead. “And I won’t if I can get Dawn back any other way.”
“I don’t mean that. I mean you can’t kill her. You’ve got to….”
A high-pitched shriek, followed by a growl from somewhere ahead cut off whatever Spike was going to say.
“Dru!” he called sharply and ran forward, dragging Buffy behind him a few steps until she got her feet back under her. They charged around a corner and almost crashed into Dawn who was coming around the other side.
“Buffy!” Dawn gasped in relief and threw her arms around her sister.
Buffy released Spike to give Dawn a swift hug. “I’m so glad you’re ok,” she whispered.
“Me too,” Dawn muttered. “Thanks for coming after me.” She craned her head around to include the rest. “All of you.”
She pulled back and Buffy let her go. “Glory knows I’m the Key.”
“I know. We’re going to get out of here and meet Mom and the others.”
“I’m sorry,” Dawn said to Spike. “There’s something wrong with Drusilla. She’s being pretty off, even for her. One second she’s like sane, and then she goes vamp, but I don’t think she’s controlling it.”
Buffy watched Spike’s face tighten as Dawn spoke and understood that whatever he felt for her, now, he still cared for Drusilla.
Well, why shouldn’t he? They were together a long time. And it doesn’t hurt. At all.
He swallowed, cast her a quick sideways glance, and she also understood that he would choose to stay with them and help, no matter how much it hurt him. Buffy made a decision and rifled through the weapons satchel until she retrieved her cell phone.“Here,” she said, tossing the phone to Spike. “Go look after Drusilla. I’ll get Dawn clear. We can get in touch later.”
“Buffy…”
She forced a quick smile as she rezippered the bag and stood, her fingers going to the ring. “Giles’ phone is 1, Will’s 2. Hurry up. This rain will stop sometime, and you don’t want to be trapped down here.”
“We can’t split up. That’s what I was trying to tell you before. You and Dru have to…”
“I spy with my little eye, something beginning with K.”
Immediately, Buffy and Spike each grabbed one of Dawn’s arms and shoved her behind them before turning to face Glory. She stood with her minions behind her about midway along the corridor, swathed in a huge cloak and hood that glimmered wetly and looked as if it were made from something involving scales. She shrugged it to the floor, revealing one of her usual short dresses.
“Aren’t you a bunch of drowned rats?” Glory said as she strolled down the hallway. “Not that this weather is good for anybody’s looks. Even my hair got a little frizzy, and I’ve got a dragonskin cloak. But there’s no way rats are going to get between me and my Key.”
She grinned at the witches, who were chanting as they retreated toward Buffy and Spike, their fingers weaving intricate patterns. “Nice move about putting the leaves back, but my girl here,” she dragged one of the minions forward, “Is a tracker. And I think we’ve had enough with the spell-casting. Get them!” she shouted, and the minions charged Willow and Tara even as their spell finished.
Black fire shot from the witches’ hands, arcing toward the hellgod, but two of the minions threw themselves into the paths of the fire and fell twitching to the floor.
Buffy didn’t wait to see anything else. Willow and Tara would have their hands full with the minions. She desperately hoped they would be ok, but the most help she could give would be to defeat Glory.“Protect Dawn!” she shouted over her shoulder and dropped into a cartwheel. One flip, two, and the Slayer’s booted foot snapped into Glory’s head, knocking her back a few steps.
“You bitch!” Glory shrieked. “You SKANK!” Almost frothing with fury, she swung a roundhouse that Buffy managed to duck, followed with a punch to the gut that she didn’t.
It was like getting hit with a small, localized wrecking ball. Every ounce of air went out of Buffy’s lungs and she bent double, gasping and wheezing for breath. However, as Glory started past, Buffy clutched at her, holding on with all her strength.
Glory snarled, “Oh give up already!” and tried to shake her off.
“No chance,” Buffy gasped and swung her own punch, landing a blow that made the hellgod stagger in turn.
She reared back to strike, and Buffy braced to meet her, but Glory spun on her heel and headed for Spike and Dawn. Spike was keeping Dawn behind him as he helped the witches against the minions, and as Glory charged, his head snapped around, fangs descending.
He leaped to meet the attack and their collision sent them both to the ground. Before Buffy could reach them, Glory was on her feet again, dangling Spike by the neck.
“I think I’ll pop you like a big fangy zit,” she said pleasantly and began to squeeze.
Buffy landed on her, putting everything she had into breaking Glory’s hold on Spike, but the hellgod was deep into bloodlust and didn’t even seem to feel Buffy’s attack. Vaguely, she could hear the witches’ voices as they tried to finish off the minions and come to her aid, but it wasn’t going to be soon enough.My God. I’m not going to be able to save him.
Glory couldn’t choke Spike to death of course, but Buffy was afraid that she just might be strong enough to actually tear his head off with her hands.
“NO!” the shriek echoed through the hallway, and suddenly Drusilla was tearing into Glory from the other side, long fingers raking her skin and darting for her eyes. The combined attack was enough to make Glory drop Spike, and he reeled back, clutching at his neck. Dawn grabbed his belt, hauling him out of the fight.
“You must be the one who messed up my minions,” Glory sneered. She grabbed Drusilla by the arms, slung her into Buffy, and advanced to stand over them as they sprawled on the floor. “That’s ok. This way I get two for the price of one. And you can die, knowing that I’ll have the Key and you failed.”
Drusilla had ended up on top of Buffy, and as they struggled to disentangle and stand, their hands touched. Strength poured into the Slayer and for an instant, her vision split so that she was simultaneously looking out of her eyes and Drusilla’s. She heard the vampire gasp.
Then, both rose smoothly to their feet and stepped toward Glory in perfect rhythm with each other.
The hellgod’s face clouded. “What’s with you two?”
Buffy’s punch sent Glory flying 10 feet down the corridor. Drusilla laughed, and Buffy felt the giggle rise up in her own chest. Everything else in the room came to a stop as the minions’ jaws dropped over the blow dealt their mistress.
“The power!” one of them shouted. “They’re the two halves of the power! Past and present, joining!”
“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Spike wheezed through his crushed throat. “If you work together, you can beat her. Which you seem to be doing,” he added as golden and dark heads turned in unison to look at him.
Buffy advanced on Glory intending to finish this for once and for all, when she felt the link shatter between her and Drusilla, and her extra strength drained away. Whirling, she saw the other’s face twisted into demon shape, and the vampire moved toward Buffy, snarling.
“Dru, no!” Spike shouted. He caught at her arm, ignoring her attempts to shake him off.
“Betrayer!” Drusilla growled. “Chose the Slayer over me!” She started to strike at him, but her features shifted back to human, and she stumbled, only Spike’s hold keeping her upright. “I can’t stop it,” she gasped. “Can’t control…”
“Oops. Looks like trouble in paradise. I know all about that,” Glory grinned. She started to rise, but Buffy kicked her in the chest, knocking her back with the last remnants of that strange energy.
“Run!” the Slayer shouted. “Everybody go!”
The others obeyed, Spike leading the way and pulling Drusilla by the arm. The witches swept Dawn in front of them and Buffy brought up the rear, keeping an eye on Glory as the two remaining minions bent over her.
At least I don’t need Spike to keep all the lives separate anymore.
Drusilla’s presence seemed to be enough to let Buffy more or less stay in her own head, although she occasionally found herself seeing out of the other’s eyes. The ring was apparently affecting the vampire as well. Dawn said she had seemed sane sometimes, and she had certainly had it together during the fight with Glory, until the end when the demon surfaced.
They raced through the Initiative, but Buffy knew they wouldn’t be able to outrun Glory. The fight was going to have to be here and now.
Giles, I really wish you were here.
The illumination spell cast light into one of the larger labs and revealed what looked like a working door. Buffy skidded to a stop and called “In here!” She was under no illusions that the door would hold Glory, but at least it might give them a little time to make a plan.
As soon as they were all inside, Willow and Tara backed to the wall, pulling Dawn with them, and dowsed the illumination spell, pitching the room into darkness that the humans couldn’t penetrate. Buffy and Spike started dragging equipment against the door, and after a moment, Drusilla joined in, her strength an odd contrast to her spider-leg thinness.
When the door was as secure as they could get it, they joined the witches and Dawn, the Slayer carefully putting herself between Drusilla and the humans, just in case she went off again.
“Ok,” Buffy whispered. “What’s going on? I get Drusilla and I being the past and present thing, but what does that mean? And what do you know about it?” she added to Spike. “How did you know Drusilla and I had to work together?”
“I had a vision,” he whispered back. “I saw your pal the First Slayer, and Astral Girl here,” he prodded Tara in the arm, making the blond witch jump, “Said there were two possibilities. One showed you and Dru sort of moving toward each other, working together, I suppose. The other showed you both dead.”
“Buffy…” Dawn whispered, and Buffy squeezed her hand.
“Ok, so we work together,” she squinted at Drusilla. “How come you’re suddenly on board with this? What happened back there?” There were so many more questions she wanted to ask, so many things she wanted to say, but there simply wasn’t time. Glory would find them at any second.
Drusilla was staring at the ring. “I didn’t understand it before,” she said wonderingly, in a voice that was so clear and sane that it was almost unrecognizable. “It’s my soul you’ve got, not my face.” She laid a hand against her heart. “Calling to the bit of my soul that’s left.” She shuddered and her face flickered from human to vampire and back again.
“And the demon’s fighting for control,” Spike said softly. “Can you hang on, Pet, long enough to fight the hellbitch? Or we’re all finished.”
Buffy chewed her lip. Even if Drusilla could control her demon self, she wasn’t sure it would help all that much. Yes, that last punch had hurt Glory, but she had still gotten up unmarked.
She looked up to meet the vampire’s steady, dark eyes and saw the slow shake of her head.
“You’re right,” Drusilla said calmly. “It isn’t enough, even if we both strike her at once. The soul must be joined, not split.”
There was dead silence, then everyone started talking frantically at once, completely forgetting to whisper, with Spike’s “Wait just a bloody minute!” overriding the others. Buffy didn’t even hear them as she and Drusilla stared at each other.
If only there was another way…but there wasn’t. She knew it, and so did Drusilla.
“All right,” Buffy said at last and before she could think about it, caught her sister in a tight hug. “I love you, Dawny,” she whispered. “Look after Mom. Will, Tara,” she touched the witches’ hands. “Tell Xander and Giles…well, you know. Spike,” she took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. About…about everything. And thanks.”
She took Drusilla’s arm and stepped swiftly away from the group, avoiding Dawn’s searching grasp. “Make it fast, ok?” she said, pulling aside her collar and twisting her neck to bare her jugular.
“What are you playing at?” Spike lunged toward them, but Buffy wasn’t surprised when he crashed into a barrier that had sprung up around Slayer and Vampire. This moment was...weighted..., the feeling of omen and portent that had accompanied the storm strengthening until it was almost tangible.
A beam of light played over the two figures. Dawn had dug out the other flashlight Drusilla had found and was training it on her sister.
“Buffy, no!” she pleaded. “Don’t do this!”
“I have to,” she said briefly. “Or we’ll all die. And probably a lot of other people depending on what Glory does. Go ahead,” she added through clenched teeth.
Vampire features replaced human and Drusilla yanked Buffy forward as Dawn screamed and Spike swore and hammered his fists against the barrier. The witches were quiet, although tears ran down Willow’s face.Fangs pricked her neck and stopped. Drusilla pulled back, struggling against her demon self. “No. There’s another…possibility,” she gasped and reached to touch the stake in Buffy’s belt.
“I can’t do it.” Buffy said flatly. “I can’t hurt you anymore.”
“You must.” Drusilla’s voice was resolute. “If you die, who knows what will happen? I’m only sane because of the ring. I could ally with Glory.”
“If we join, you’ll have a soul, and you won't be insane anymore. You might not even be a vampire, or you’d be like Angel. Anyway, I can’t kill you, so do it already! Glory’s going to be here any minute.”
Drusilla shook her head. “I am past, you are present. You are what I was supposed to become.” Her voice gentled. “You know I’m right. And I’ve hurt so long. Let it end now.”
And she did know. Swallowing hard, Buffy pulled the stake from her belt, as Drusilla laid a hand against the barrier.
“You were right, my William,” she said softly. “Spike was the intended form from the beginning. It all had to happen. Even the chip was a step in what you must become. You had to walk on knives for a time.”
“Dru…. Oh, Love, I never wanted this.”
Buffy could hear the tears in his voice, and could feel her own starting, but she couldn’t meet his eyes. Drusilla turned back to her, face calm and serene.
Her hand shaking on the stake, Buffy drew back her arm, swiping her hand across her face.
I’ve got to make this a one shot. I can’t miss.
The door exploded inward.
“So, here’s where you're hiding!” Glory said cheerily. "You know, I really expected more of a chase than this."
There was no more time to worry or grieve find another way. “I’m sorry,” Buffy said, and struck, hard and fast.
It was like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle falling into place. Strength swirled through her veins and images surged through her mind, whispering of the hunger for blood and the pleasure of the Hunt. The core of the Slayer rose up in opposition to the alien desires, and the two powers combined into a twisting double helix behind her eyes that blazed with energy.
When Buffy spun to face Glory, she thought initially that Willow or Tara must have recast the illumination spell before she realized that she was the one who was glowing, blue light standing out from her in all directions.
Glory’s jaw dropped, and real fear appeared in the hellgod’s eyes. She started to back away, but Buffy moved with a speed that had never been hers before, almost flowing over the ground. One of the minions caught at her, but she threw it off without noticing. It sailed across the room, and into the wall, cracks spreading out from the point of impact.
Glory struck at her, and Buffy caught her hand in mid-swing, halting it without difficulty.
“You can’t do this!” Glory howled as she strained against Buffy’s hold. “I’m a god!”
“Not anymore,” Buffy said coldly. “Now, you’re just dead.” With her free hand, she drove the stake home. She wasn’t sure if hellgods had hearts, but it didn’t really matter. Blue light poured down the stake and into Glory, and she began to scream.
Her features twisted, shifted, became one demon after another, creatures Buffy had never seen before, all of them fighting her. Through it all, she held on, letting the blue light carry her rage and her sorrow through the stake and into the god
“We could have worked something out. Maybe I could have helped her. But we didn’t have time. Because of YOU!”
The final form was a mass, without even a distinguishable head, but it had a mouth, which howled a final roar of frustrated rage before the whole thing dissipated in a thunderclap and a foul-smelling cloud.
Buffy slid to her knees, exhausted, the light extinguished. Willow murmured hastily, and the illumination spell once again filled the room. The remaining minions had died with their mistress, and Dawn almost tripped over one of their bodies as she ran to kneel beside her sister.
“Buffy! Are you ok?”
“I’m all right.” She put her arm around Dawn’s shoulder, resting her chin against the brown head. “It’s over.”
She wanted to lie down and sleep for about a year, but there was something else she had to do, so she hauled herself up, hugging Willow and Tara as she passed.
Spike was kneeling where Drusilla had fallen, methodically sweeping the dust of her remains into a neat pile. He looked up as Buffy approached, eyes hard and dry.
“Get out.”
“Spike,” she said softly.
“Get out.”
“Spike, Buffy didn’t want to slay her,” Dawn pleaded. “You saw what happened. She was going to let Drusilla kill her.”
“Yeah, I saw. And I’m glad Glory’s dead, and you’re all ok. The world got saved, and oh, good, the only loss was a vampire. Now, get out.”
He turned back to his sweeping, graceful hands gently seeking the last bit of dust. Dawn started toward him, but Buffy shook her head and turned her sister away. Tara’s eyes were troubled, and Willow’s bright with tears, but they backed out of the room at Buffy’s urging, and Spike was left alone.