Chapter 26 - The Gandharvas

They had brought her out of Heaven against her will and set her down in Eden to mind after the babies that together harbored the first human soul. Semyaza was void of compassion but at his fellow angel Uriel's suggestion she had been given the status of Gandharvas, the guardian spirits who watched over humans as they went about their daily lives. At present she held the two children, cuddling them against her womanly body, loving them and protecting them as best she could. She knew not what they were named, but she knew instinctually who their mother was. She had no power to defy Semyaza, but her instincts told her that she could not stand by and let Buffy's children be murdered.

Every time Semyaza came to the part of the garden where the babies were she cast her eyes down and cowered from him. He came often to look at them, to say words that made her stomach turn. It was usually something vulgar about how he would enjoy slaughtering them and exploiting their souls. He stood again at the entrance to the tiny space, his cold black eyes sunken against bronzed skin and severe features. William and Allegra were in the Gandharvas' arms, snuggled close to her supernatural body, taking what comfort it gave them; but they still cried for their mother and father. He was about to begin another diatribe when Uriel appeared.

"Azazae has returned from Pandemonium...he has much to tell you of Mammon's progress," Uriel spoke, casting a sideways glance to the souled being holding tight to the children,"And I brought another Gandharvas as you requested." Semyaza turned away to face his disciple, allowing the second protection spirit to slip past and stand with the first.

"Tomorrow night we will take them to Mammon's city for the ceremony....vengeance will be ours, my brother......only a matter of hours. Come, Uriel, we will speak with Azazael." Semyaza abandoned tormenting the innocents for the time being. Uriel looked back at the first Gandharvas and nodded to her, signaling that it was time to set their plan in motion.

Once alone the original spirit abandoned her meek, harmless persona and returned to the strong willed and powerful woman she had been as a human."Do you remember me?" she asked of the new one. The other seemed confused and nervous, not surprising when considering she had just been removed from Heaven. The other woman looked up with fawn like eyes, studying the person before her and the two tiny babies she held in her arms,"It's okay if you don't...I haven't been gone from the Earth as long as you have, I still remember my name and my life before."

"I don't," the other replied, there was however a vague sense of familiarity between them,"What is your name? I don't know mine anymore."

"It's Tara....and you're Joyce."

"You know me?" Joyce asked trying very hard to remember the girl she stood facing.

"Y...yes, I'm Willow's friend."

"Willow?"

"Willow, she is Buffy's best friend. Try, Mrs. Summers, your daughter Buffy...." A brief glimmer seemed to spark across her face but she shook it off, confusion remaining,"You had another daughter, but she wasn't really your daughter....she used to be a green ball of energy. Her name's Dawn. Please...we don't have much time. Semyaza is going to kill the babies..." Joyce started visibly at Tara's words.

"The babies...why are they here? Why aren't they with their mother?"

"Because they were kidnapped, they're Buffy's babies, your grandchildren. Would you like to hold one?" Before she had a chance to reply, Tara was already insinuating the little boy into Joyce's arms. It took only an instant, upon his weight settling into her embrace, and all Joyce's memories came flooding back to her along with a deluge of tears. She looked back and forth between the two children and knew with all her soul that these precious beings had come from her daughter.

"Spike..." she breathed out.

"Spike? Vampire Spike? What about him?"

"He's the father....these are Spike and Buffy's children." Tara crinkled her face in disbelief, however on closer examination she could see a resemblance to the fondly remembered blond menace.

"Are you certain?"

"Absolutely. Tara, I remember now."

"G...good...we have a plan. Uriel and I...we're going to stop Semyaza from killing the twins."

"Tell me how...I'll do anything, take him on myself if I have to if he dares to think he can harm my grandchildren."

"Semyaza isn't always here, he goes off for hours and hours at a time. The next time he's gone we have to leave the twins alone with Uriel, he promises to keep them safe. Once we leave the Garden of Eden you and I become just souls again, no bodies. We...we must find new bodies, out in the city somewhere, someone who is willing to trade places with us - give up their body and ascend to Heaven so we can have it. Then we must come back to the Garden, he'll let us in...from there we each take a twin and make for Sunnydale. I'll go one way and you go another. Semyaza cannot begin the unraveling of the Sefiroth if he doesn't have both babies."

"What's the Sefiroth?"

"It's creation...Semyaza wants to uncreate the universe and to do that he needs to kill the twins and release their souls...they're special you see..."

"Of course they are, they're Buffy's." Tara smiled, for the first time in so long she couldn't remember when.

"You're right, they're very special. We must do everything in our power to s..save them." Uriel reappeared, soaring into the room with the true grace an angel should possess, with all that was bright and divine and spoke only of Heaven and purest love.

"He has gone, not to return until tomorrow evening...go now, I will care for them. When you have your bodies you may take the twins and put an end to all this madness."

***

There weren't enough tears sometimes, even though the fatefully departed deserved a flood's worth. Mariam Hussey had climbed the stairs of her high rise apartment building, all 30 stories. Somehow to her tormented mind it would have been unworthy of her sacrifice to have taken the elevator. She'd dressed herself in her favorite clothes, done her hair and folded a photograph around the locket she clutched in her hand. She'd already waited several days, but knew that she'd given this world too much of herself now as it was. It was a bright and beautiful day, but the air was crisp and cold being early spring. She could see the trees of Central Park from the roof, leaves supple and green and even the hint of blossoms forming in patches. She pushed angry tears from her cheeks, she resented this world from taking her sister from her, her identical twin sister in fact. They were two halves of one soul and with her other half out of reach there was no reason to suffer down here on Earth.

Mariam climbed up the ledge and looked down to the concrete below, swaying as the vertigo swarmed around her. She unclasped her hand and the photograph of them as children was caught in the breeze and carried away down into a spiral to land with the trash in the alley to the right. She looked briefly at the silver, Victorian styled locket and inhaled deeply, gathering her courage to make the leap.

"Maybe there's another way..." a woman voice spoke beside her, almost like the coo of a dove. Mariam cried out and almost fell at the shock of discovering she wasn't alone. She looked to her left to behold an apparition, a blond woman bathed in light and smiling.

"Who are you? Are you an angel?"

"No, nothing like that. I don't have much time....but I can help you be with your sister, and you don't have to jump to do it..."

"How...how?"

"Just give me your hand."

***

Nine in Nails stripped the walls of the homely pictures of a young couple in love with it's hard decibels roaring from the sound system. A twenty-two year old woman sat on the black and white checked tiles of her bathroom floor. Displayed out in front of her like a mad city of columns and obelisks were countless bottles of pills and meds. She'd tried desperately for months to get her fiancé to give them up, but coupled with the marijuana and the heroin, Tal had been a lost cause, even with her love to see him though anything. He had overdosed at a party two days ago, the morgue still had his body. His soul, she knew, however was free and in a better place. He'd been the sweetest, most loving man she'd ever know, just weak when it came to his vices. She hoped she had the courage to follow after him. She had the pills to consume before she'd cut into her wrists. Whether she bled to death or fell asleep and never woke again was no mind to her, so long as the pain of loneliness stopped. She was about to take up a bottle when her hand was intercepted.

"I don't think you want to do that," Tara cautioned,"There is another way."

to be continued.....

Chapter 27 - The Garden

From the dawn of time Uriel had stood as the sole guard to the gates of the Garden of Eden. Even now as the war between factions continued on, he manned his post with stoic pride. The number was too great to count of how many had come to implore for his permission to pass through. Without Uriel's leave, none could enter, especially low life minions of Lucifer's."Mr. Pitch, Mr. Battle, I had heard that a Bollion Dragon had swallowed you both up. At least I hoped," Uriel sighed when the two pale demons in long coats appeared before him.

"We crawls out of the belly, yes," Mr. Pitch explained, ever 's' coming out as an over-punctuated hiss,"Slices him open with our knifeses. Likes a pastry with jams, yes."

"Come now, Uriel," Mr. Battle asked, smiling with needles for teeth,"Lets us in...there be plump little babies we's been looking for on the insides...we wants them."

"You shall not have them!" the angel declared,"And you shall not gain entry to the garden. Be gone!" Mr. Pitch hissed and something obscured under his heavy coat jerked and flailed, then stalled while his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he let out a tiny euphoric sigh.

"Bad angel! Naughty angel! Gots worms for wings!," Battle shot back, picking at his knuckles and making them bleed. In response to their indignation, Uriel unfolded his wings and let his dim light shine as bright as all the heavenly hosts. Pitch and Battle shrieked like rabbits in leg traps and scuttled into the shadows with spiders in the wake of their footprints.

A few hours later, long before day break, Joyce and Tara returned to Eden, firmly ensconced within new bodies. Uriel let them enter and not a minute later both came back running, each holding a twin in their arms and some those loyal to Semyaza hot on their heels. Uriel went to their aid, confronting the wicked angels head on and letting the innocents all escape. The good angel looked behind him and saw each woman run in opposite directions of each other before returning to the brothers he had just betrayed - at the least he was confident that he had redeemed himself for the supposed betrayal to Michael when he'd aligned himself with Semyaza. He prayed that Michael would know the truth someday.

The Pitch and the Battle squirmed out of their hiding spot between two cement blocks, each trying to be the first and getting them both stuck."Lets us out!" Pitch hollered, hitting at his partner with limp wristed slaps.

"Bitch! Purple-hued malt roach! We'll play a medley on your ribs with our fists!"

"We haven't's gots any ribs! Cockscomb!" At last they popped out, stumbling and almost falling over. They shot each other admonishing scowls as they dusted themselves off."Where to nows Battle Battle...the fruitsies are gones from the Garden!"

"But now they be's vulnerable...we's can catch 'em now, lil' bumbles. You go gets the boy...The Battle wants himself a little girl...."

***

Michael had directed them to bypass the core of the city and head towards the docks. Buffy was having a hard time conceiving that the fabled Garden of Eden could grow in and amongst all the concrete, steel and chemical waste that lined the Hudson river. The vehicles came to a halt in a dusty field littered with industrial debris and before them was what appeared to be an abandoned ship yard. It was covered with obscene makeshift spires of twisted metal, reminiscent of Glory's tower.

When a sudden and violent explosion of fire and gasoline erupted with a black mushroom cloud in the center of the enclosed yard, Buffy screamed and dove out of the car. Without rhyme or reason, the Scoobies scrambled out of the SUV and Plymouth and ran blindly towards the Garden. Coming upon the chain link fence and its gate, they were met with an invisible barrier."NO!!" Buffy wailed, trying to force herself through even though it was as impossibe as a vampire entering a home without an invitation,"William! Allegra! Mommy's here! Mommy's coming!" Spike was with her now, confronting the same panic as his wife. The others were about to try their worth at penetrating the barrier when Michael's voice thundered all around them.

"URIEL!!!" the archangel sounded. From the black smoke and flames of the burning Garden, a lone figure hobbled out towards them. Buffy recognized Uriel from their brief encounter the previous year. His wings had been torn apart and he was a wash in his own blood and that of other angels. His body was marked with what would have been fatal wounds, but he still carried his sword. He dropped to his knees on the other side of the divide, finally letting go of the weapon, it clanged loudly upon the asphalt.

"Eden is no more," Uriel announced, looking at Michael.

"Let us the bloody hell in!!" Spike roared, trying to force himself through,"I want my children back, damn you!!" Uriel was laughing, or perhaps he was crying, it was only adding to Spike's fury.

"Let them in Uriel...for pity's sake, you cannot let these children die!" Michael ordered,"You are a son of the On High, once a loyal servant...."

"Enter then, you won't find what you think you'll find..." Uriel spouted, descending into a wayward spiral of madness over the destruction of the Garden that had been in existence since the beginning. At the angel's word the invisible barrier was no more, letting Spike, Buffy and the others pass. The parents ran into the black, followed by their friends, Dawn however remained with Michael. The two of them stood over Uriel, who by now had collapsed on to his back, barely conscious. The fallen angel looked at the pair and smiled sardonically,"I often imagined that you two would reunite...I remember a time when you were hardly separated."

"You and Michael fought side by side in the first war!" Dawn cried,"How could you betray him!? How could you side with evil!?"

"Do you hear the word still? The On High no longer speaks to me....you have no idea what a void that leaves. How that vampire survives from day to day without hearing it is beyond me...."

"The voice only left because you stopped listening, you lost your faith Uriel," said Michael,"I could forgive the crimes against me...but you aided Semyaza in taking the first soul and the children in which it lives - there is no reproach for that." Michael knelt to Uriel's side, laying his hand over the other angel's heart.

"I know, brother...and I forgive you also."

***

Buffy's heart was pounding so hard in her chest it was the only sound she could hear. They ignored the numerous corpses of the angels Uriel had slain, following the young mother to where her maternal instincts were guiding her. But when she came upon the ruined altar she knew they were too late. Giving no care to the encroaching fires or thick suffocating smoke, the Slayer sunk against the altar in tears,"My babies....my babies....We're too late Spike! We're too late!" Her husband stood hovering over her, his eyes closed and his hands reaching out around him. The vampire face rose to the surface and he inhaled deeply despite the smoke.

"No," he breathed out,"They were gone before the fires started, before the explosion. Someone else was here too, not an angel. It's familiar. Buffy....this way..." He took her hand and brought her off the ground and together they went out of Eden as quickly as they'd come in. The group took note of the now dead Uriel, his chest gaping and heart missing. The also were aware of the picture of Michael and Dawn holding each other. Spike separated he and Buffy from the rest, walking into the middle of the dusty field,"Can you feel them, Buffy? Their scent, their souls, their blood. There were right here, together, then they were separated. One went north, the other south."

"Separated? Then that means..."

"Angels don't have them, that's right, pet. I don't know what's happening, but there's someone else involved now. For good or evil, I don't know..."

"Take Xander and Angel with you...go south. I'll go north with the others. Spike this could be good, right?" He cupped her face, the demon's visage never so comforting before.

"Yes, my precious, my love. We're only an hour behind our babies."

"I can feel it too." She was crying, but her tears were flavored with hope. She reached for him, pulling him close and sliding her tongue along the jagged edges of his fangs and into his mouth. As their lips closed over each other's she deliberately let him cut the inside of her bottom lip. He melted into her, the blood quickening him and her pure sensuality filling him with the same hope. Buffy ran her hands over the ridges of his brow, there wasn't an angel in all of Heaven that possessed the beautiful heart of her demon.

to be continued.....

Chapter 28 - The City

One trip to New York City in college to visit the Metropolitan Museum and the Guggenheim wasn't quite enough for Joyce to be able to negotiate the city and find her and her grandson's way to safety. Fact of the matter was she had no clue where she was in the five boroughs, it could've been Manhattan or it could have been Hell's Kitchen. William had stopped crying and was breathing heavily and with a slant of panic. He was cold and hungry now that he'd left Eden behind and the woman holding him, though full of love and protective instincts for him, was not his mother. He clutched to the fabric of her blouse as she held him under her sports coat, hurrying fast in no direction in particular. The streets were relatively deserted, sunrise a couple of hours away. A random homeless person or two slept in a stoop or hid under an alcove. A man in a long black duster had come stalking down the street, and for a split second Joyce hoped it was Spike. The man never looked up or slowed his pace, other than that only the rare car sped by her and Joyce knew she was alone.

If a cab would happen by she'd hail it and make her way back to Mariam's apartment at Central Park West, but there wasn't one to be seen. After so many years of mothering the Vampire Slayer, Joyce Summers had learned a thing or two, particularly when there were vampires near. The group of four emerged from an alley and descended upon Joyce and William with fangs bared and game faces wild and feral. She didn't scream, but spun around on her heals and started to run as fast as her legs could carry them. When one got ahead of her and blocked her path, she darted down another alley and continued on. To her dismay and horror, it was a dead end. Not two hours after rescuing her grandson from the clutches of a most heinous evil, he was about to be eaten by vampires. Not one to ever give in easily, Joyce hoped for an ax, but settled for a makeshift stake in the form of a piece of wood broken off of a palette. One vampire advance on her, pushing her hard into a brick wall, nearly making her lose her hold on William and making the baby wail loudly, hopefully to wake all the neighbors. Bringing the stake up in between them, she got him through the heart and mercifully he exploded into dust. Realizing to woman had a clue about how to kill their kind, the three came for her all at once.

But from out of nowhere a flurry of fists and kicks assaulted the vampires. One by one they were taken down and destroyed. Getting to her feet with a jubilant sort of jump the young woman with two inch short overly gelled black hair and ruby red lips, patted the fresh vampire dust off her leather pants and then spun her stake around before fitting it in her back pocket. She turned to Joyce and eyed the attractive, possibly 30-something, African American woman holding the screaming baby to her chest."Nice improv with the plywood there hon, but you lost points for being a total idiot and being out on this neighborhood, especially with a kid. What were you thinking?" the dark woman admonished,"But hey, no need to thank me, action's my reward."

"F...Faith?" Joyce breathed out, yet again the elder woman was shocked beyond belief. The Slayer started visibly, obviously upset at being recognized, but shook it off and put on a bravado.

"Did I wear my underwear on the outside of my pants again? Where's the name tag?"

"Faith!"

"Okay...again with you knowing of my name. Who the hell are you?"

"Oh Faith....wait, you're supposed to be in jail...." William began to wail in earnest and Joyce began to think of doing the same.

"Lady...come on, we'll go to my place. Then I want the full meal deal on how you know so much about me!"

***

Thankfully Tara had thought ahead to take the keys to her body's apartment, as well as her driver's license and some money from her purse. She entered the studio apartment of one Carly Rhodes, a simple girl with a penchant for heavy metal, goth clothing and witchcraft. As Allegra now lay resting in the middle of the large bed, Tara took in her new appearance. She was rather tall, athletically built, possibly this girl had been a runner at one point. Black died, bone straight hair descended down her back to her waist and there was a tattoo of a pentacle on the right hip was visible over the waist of her low riding jeans. The face was fine featured, soft and unassuming, almost like a frail Jane Austen sort of heroine. Tara briefly allowed herself the wondering if Willow would like this new body.

Allegra began to whimper and Tara knew that she'd delayed long enough. She had to find clothes, diapers and food for Allegra and she had to get herself away from the city and back to Sunnydale. Searching around Carly's home, Tara found a large back pack worthy of touring Europe and began stuffing clothes, toiletries and all manner of magic items that were scattered around the place. Perhaps it was only coincidence, but the witch was eternally grateful that this new body was used to conducting magic, it would make the journey so much easier knowing she could rely on the supernatural if things ever got intense. When she thought she had everything she needed Tara gathered up all the money and jewelry of any value she could find as well as the woman's credit card and decided there was no time like the present to make a departure. It was then that a furious pounding was heard at the front door, causing the baby to be frightened and begin to cry.

"We know yer in there, Tal!!" a man heavy voice hollered,"Don't think you aren't gonna pay up!"

"Oh no," Tara breathed, immediately scooping Allegra up into her arms. She eyed the fire escape, but it was too precarious to try and safely maneuver with a baby in her arms, let alone a heavy backpack. Without warning the door was kicked in and off its hinges, three menacing thugs heading straight for her. Terrified, but keeping her wits about her, Tara tapped into the source of her power, both of her mind and of the new body and funneled it out through the wave of her hand and the utterance of,"Glacialis!!"

Tara negotiated her, the baby and the bag around the men that had been put in temporary suspended animation. She was on the street in minutes and heading downtown. As soon as she could hail one, she'd get a cab to take her to the Port Authority and then the plan was to head straight South, taking Buffy and Spike's little girl away from New York City, Semyaza and all the evils that threatened. She prayed Joyce could manage the same.

Chapter 29 - Divergence

Tara had purchased a touring bus pass for the United States, it had cost $300 on the credit card, but it meant she wouldn't have to deal with ticket agents with their questions and long line ups from now on. She'd hated to have to do it, but she'd also cast a sleeping spell on the baby. This was for the best, Allegra wouldn't be cranky, hungry or scared for a while and it gave Tara time to find all the necessities she needed to take care of her. As it was she found a Wal-Mart in Atlantic City and bought hundreds of dollars in baby needs; clothing and food for both of them and various items that could be utilized in magic. Lastly, she deliberately dropped the card on the pavement in hopes that someone would find it and use it, thus skirting the responsibility for all the purchases to someone else. The next stop wouldn't be until Wilmington, North Carolina, so Tara secured Allegra in her new car seat after clothing and feeding her a bottle of newborn's formula. They fell asleep to the quiet rhythm of the bus' wheels turning over the pavement, carrying them further away from danger.

***

Spike aimed the Plymouth south, down Highway 13 out of New Jersey. Xander and Angel sat in silence next to the blond vampire. Spike was convinced that his child, likely, almost certainly Allegra had already left the city and that he knew where to follow. The other two didn't question his paternal instincts, but wondered if this was the most prudent course of action after not even giving it a go in searching the city. He drove fast, too fast, jaw set firm and eyes cold. It was easy to see that without Buffy to temper or cajole his inner demon, that the new father was preparing, driven by his primal need to reclaim his own, to destroy whatever stood between him and his daughter.

***

Faith flipped on the lights as she entered her tiny apartment, revealing a surprisingly tidy and homely space. Given the disheveled building and shoddy hallway, Joyce was grateful for a safe haven, even if it was with Faith. "Have a seat," the Slayer invited, tossing her keys on the coffee table,"You're in luck, my roommate just bagged on me and left almost all their stuff - her baby's, we've got food, clothes and diapers."

"Thank you. He's sleeping, I think he's exhausted himself," Joyce answered as she relaxed on Faith's lumpy couch and brought William, naked as he was, from inside her coat, laying him on her knees,"Poor darling, he's been through so much." Faith handed her a diaper and a dark green sleeper,"Thank you, dear." The younger woman took a seat and looked the other two over carefully.

"So what are you doing with someone else's kid?" Faith wasn't much for tact or subversives, direct approach was always best, even if it got her into trouble.

"He was kidnapped, I got him away. Now I need to get him back home to Sunnydale."

"Hell Mouth Sunnydale!? Okay, time for you to start spillin'!"

"Faith..."

"Starting with how you know me!"

"This is Buffy's son." There was a two by four to the back of the rogue Slayer's head.

"Woah! B's got a baby!?"

"He has a twin sister, she's also been rescued. It's very complicated, but the people that had them were going to kill them, I couldn't let that happen to my grandchildren."

"Come again?"

"It's me, Joyce."

"Yeah right." The elder woman's mouth quirked into a smile.

"You of all people should understand about body switching."

"Okay, I'll bite...but I'm gonna quiz you later."

"You escaped from prison?"

"Yep! Got a little Shawshank Redemption of my own. I was wasted in that place and the guards were making my life hell because they couldn't intimidate me into anything. I'm a Slayer, I shouldn't be stuck in a box....besides, you know, vamps to kill, people to save."

"Is that really how it is now? You really want to help?"

"Yeah...prison makes you think."

***

Dawn had been elusive to the full scope of what was occurring between the two sides of Heaven's warriors and she wasn't ready to reveal all to her sister yet, but if ever there was a time when Buffy needed her it was now. The sun had risen on the sixth day of the twins being gone and it was painfully obvious how it was tearing her down. The Slayer looked as if she couldn't lift a sheet of paper let alone fight Hell's minions. He eyes were rimmed red and bloodshot from lack of sleep and too many tears; she'd barely eaten and without Spike around it was doubtful she'd be convinced to touch a bite of food. Surprisingly, Giles had spent a great deal of time in New York City before being assigned as Buffy's Watcher. Therefore he helmed the road weary SUV, weaving through the rush of morning traffic as Buffy felt the pull of her offspring in one direction or another. An hour ago the streets had been deserted, now they were teeming and thriving with millions of people. Finding the newborn baby of a Slayer and a vampire amongst them was feeling impossible. Willow had attempted to sense the location or even general area of where the baby might be, but NYC itself was so electric with mystical energies that nothing of any potency could be sustained. Michael was silent and introspective and no one felt they had the right to speak to him, there was a darkness shrouding this angel that hadn't been there before. Riley was still dwelling on the Highway. So they around drove in near silence, Dawn holding her sister's hand, being as it was the only thing she could do, and wondered if Spike was faring any better.

Chapter 30 - The Park

They'd scattered around Central Park after sunset, but not because Buffy felt a pull or inkling that her son was lost there. She was certain it was William that she was searching for, at least some of her instincts weren't dulled by exhaustion and despair. Spike had once told her a story about when he and Drusilla had first come to New York and his preternatural lover had danced in and amongst the bronze replicas of of John Tenniel's Alice in Wonderland illustrations. Buffy felt very much like Alice before the caterpillar, about three inches tall and lost in a strange world she didn't know or understand. She knew William was out there somewhere, waiting for her, but she hadn't the faintest notion of where to find him. She wept, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She prayed for a sign, again.

Dawn approached Michael warily as he stood alone on a bridge over a soothing flowing stream, the water signing as it moved over the rocks. The archangel gazed into nothingness with hollow, glassy eyes of pale green while gripping the wooden railings of the Japanese style expanse. She began walking to him, her footsteps clomping loudly despite her efforts to the contrary. She stood next to him, appearing much younger than the fact of her being even older than any angel. Her fingers crept until they'd insinuated themselves around his. Without precursor he turned and enveloped her waist with his arms and brought their lips together. Their kiss was hot and desperate, nothing Dawn had ever even come close to experiencing in her mortal body. Abruptly Michael brought them apart, sighed and rested his forehead against her's.

"I didn't mean to just do that," he whispered,"But it's been so long...I always thought I'd never see you again. The monks of Dagon had no idea what they were doing...if I'd only known..."

"You took me to them for safe keeping because they'd always been able to in the past. They had to make me a girl to escape Glory, there's no blame here Michael - and you found me again."

"I should have been there to protect you from the Beast...but the war was just beginning, Semyaza had just escaped..."

"And you were bound by your duty, I understand. It worked out in the long run, I love my sister, I love my family....and I still love you."

"I will always love you. Ever since we were nameless, shapeless energies, I knew we belonged together...we were attracted, drawn...I can still feel it."

"We have bodies now, makes things easier I think...hormones." She suppressed a girlish giggle, but Michael appreciated it, there was just something all the more mystical about his love now that she was flesh and blood."Buffy's gonna freak....actually, Spike's gonna freak even more. He's very overprotective-father-vamp as far as I'm concerned, but I don't think he'd keep us apart."

"I don't think I can leave you again...even if I'm called to Heaven."

"We'll deal with that later, right now we have to find my nephew. Can you feel anything?" Michael shook his head before releasing Dawn and pacing back and forth.

"The twins have been separated, it would be pointless to kill only one....so I must believe that at the least the Sefiroth is in not danger of being reversed. Threat does remain to the children...it's a dangerous world down here still. I can only pray that whoever has taken charge of their welfare is apt to the challenge. I know your priority is to reunite the twins with their parents, but I must not let my responsibility as the servant of the On High lapse. I killed Uriel, the angel that once sat by the Creator's side, I am now the primary and the remaining Sons of Light must follow my lead. Semyaza and the wicked will not yield, they will try something else and I must stop them."

"I want to help you...but getting William and Allegra back to Spike and Buffy is my priority."

"As where it should be, but I must exist on upon a wider plain. If Semyaza is not stopped it may not matter if the children are returned to their parents, Armageddon may still have come."

"Michael...if...if it all works out..." He came to her again, holding the side of her face in the palm of his hand.

"Then we'll stay together, yes." She stood on the tips of her toes to touch her mouth again to his.

***

"Buffy?" Riley spoke when he found her sitting on a bench with her face in her hands, leaning forward, still crying. She looked up and pushed her hair off her face to look at him."Can I sit?"

"Be my guest," she replied, exhaling her complete breath. He sat a little too close for comfort, she hadn't realized until now how uncomfortable he made her. Of course she had some very fond memories, but they had faded, seemed almost too vague to consider once real. In this instance she remembered Spike telling her about the plastic stake he'd received through his heart courtesy of Riley upon being found out for his predilection to visiting vampire whores to get some sort gratification. She made a point of thumbing her wedding ring, it was however completely innocent when she moved her hair to one side of her shoulders to reveal the two puncture wounds from her husband's bite. He didn't mean to, but Riley made a face of obvious disgust at the sight of them and Buffy noticed. She knew all too well what was being played over in his mind."I think it was a mistake to ask you to come Riley, I'm sorry."

"Nah, Buffy, I told you if you ever needed me all you had to do was ask."

"I need you to help me find my twins, Riley, not look at me like I'm unclean for letting Spike....well, do anything he wants to - he's my husband."

"I'm well aware of that fact."

"I don't let him bite me for the same reasons you sought out those women vampires. It brings us closer together, it's how I show him that I trust him implicitly, that I love him. When you see him with his children you'll understand, they're his whole world, have been since the very moment he knew I was pregnant. You don't really know Spike, Riley, you never did."

"What about the fact that he's still actually a monster...that he's dead flesh!? I know that he's schemed, betrayed, destroyed...."

"And then he changed because he loved me. You have no right to speak about my husband this way, I don't like it and it's insulting. How would you feel if I talked about Sam like that? Besides, you're being a hypocrite....can I remind you of a little something called the Initiative? But Riley, I don't really thing this is about Spike as much as it is about you."

"Pardon me?"

"Michael, the angels...religion. I know that's a big part of who you are. You went to church every Sunday."

"Buffy, it's not the priority here, I'm treating this like any other mission."

"It's not any other mission though for two very big reasons. You used to love me and now you're seeing me with another man, with his children....and because you're questioning whether or not everything your parents ever taught you about God is true...it's not any other mission. I think you'll do alot better if you stop yourself and admit it." Buffy got to her feet and let the cold of the early spring night finally invigorate her rather than chill her,"I'm going to follow my own advice...no more moping. None of us is wasting another second, not until I have my babies back where they belong."

"Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"Nev...neverermind..." She could tell he wanted to confide in her, in anyone. The words were caught in his mouth, but wouldn't set themselves free. She sighed, too tired to continue the heavy thoughts and conversation, best to shift the subject.

"You ever think you and Sam might do it one day? Have a baby?"

"No....military life...not the best situation."

"Neither is being the Slayer, or a vampire, but it's worth it. Even with all the pain right now, I wouldn't go back to how it was before....can't go back to having less love in my heart."

to be continued.....

Chapter 31 - Battle Wants

"Battle, battle, battle....the Battle wants his num nums...here num nums....comes to Battle, yes?" the white skinned demon spoke under his breath to only himself as he slithered back and forth along the pier at fairly deserted part of Daytona Beach, Florida. It was late enough that the majority of the tourists, what few there were for late March, to have gone back to their hotels for sleep. Only the odd pairing still walked out where Mr. Battle was cavorting. He'd been patient, very patient to his mind. As one of Lucifer's most favored hunters and trackers, he was certain, as an almost sixth sense told him, that his young prey would come before the sun to this place. But she wasn't here yet, so making like The Lord of the Dance, Battle frolicked over the planks of the pier, with the occasional random breakdance, singing gaily to himself, the barnacles, the brine and the fish.

When Tara had seen the sign on the interstate welcoming visitors to Daytona Beach she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked down at the baby girl in her charge and smiled. She was a delicate child with fine feminine features, but clearly her father's daughter with such blue eyes and sharp cheekbones. Tara couldn't wait to hear the story about how Spike the vampire managed to make Buffy pregnant. The thought that the pair may have also reconciled gave her a feeling of true hope for her own future. She had a life to live all over again and she wanted to try and make it through this time around, she also wanted to see Willow desperately. Trying to imagine the love of her life this past year only broke her heart, she couldn't even fathom what she'd been through. Tara disembarked from the bus with Allegra, slinging the full backpack over her shoulder and carrying the car seat in front of her in her arms. The night was tepid and breezy and vacant of people, that wasn't uncommon given the time of year, the following week , when Spring Break began would be another story. There were three motels in a row and Tara selected the one the far end, Flamingo Lodge. It was cheesy with pink stucco and neon signs, but it looked comfortable.

The front desk clerk was a rubenesque woman in likely her 60s with hair dyed blond and makeup something reminiscent of Lucille Ball's. She smiled pleasantly when Tara deposited the car seat on the counter and the baby gave a little squeal."Aren't you just precious!" the woman beamed, bending over Allegra to tickle her tummy,"What's her name?"

"Oh...um....Joyce....after a friend," Tara replied in haste,"We need a room please, I hope it's not too late."

"No, not at all honey, my husband Gary turns in at 10pm and I come on until two...like to stay up and watch Letterman, then Conan..." She gestured to the small television in the corner,"A room for the night is $30, check out's at noon...but you and the little one can stay until two, I'll tell our maid." Tara filled out the information, with a made up name, in the guestbook and passed her the money.

"If...if...you don't mind...um...there might be people following me, not th...that I think anyone will come looking here...but...just in case..."

"Ex-boyfriend? You on the run with your baby?" Tara quickly let the lie take shape.

"Yes...if you can understand...he..he was violent...."

"You're protecting your daughter. As far as I know, the person in room 127 is a balding salesman named Phil. My name's Mel."

"Thank you Mel..." Tara hurried her way into the room and shut the door behind, locking it. She dropped the heavy backpack in the middle of the floor and gently took Allegra from her car seat and cuddled her in her arms,"Bet you're hungry aren't you sweety? Let's see if you'll take your bottle this time."

***

Angel was lounging in the back seat of his own car, Spike insisting he continue driving. Xander was examining a map, he'd highlighted their journey in fluorescent yellow and was plotting the best road back to Sunnydale once they'd found Allegra. The young man had no doubts that the vampire was leading them to his daughter, he could feel the energies flowing through the father and how they reached out to connect with the child. It was truly a remarkable thing to behold. They coasted down the straightway along the shore with the top down, riding the wind, Spike all the while keeping his senses peeled for any inkling of the baby.

"Anything?" Angel inquired, sitting up and looking at their surroundings.

"Yeah," Spike answered,"Don't bloody know what it is, but there's something about this place that feels right. She's gotta be along here..."

"I'm sure she is..."

"She's just gotta..."

***

"Still no, baby?" Tara asked Allegra with a sigh. The baby kept her lips pursed tight, refusing another bottle. She'd taken it before, when her hunger became to great to refuse, but now she was being stubborn."Well, Auntie Tara's hungry and I think I saw a vending machine back by the office. What say we go and get a Snickers?" Leaving everything behind except the baby and the room key, Tara exited into the enclosed outdoor courtyard. She fished into her pockets for some change, supporting the baby over her shoulder.

"Is she all warmies?" the sinuous and slim man in the heavy coat asked with a sneer when he emerged from the shadows. As he continued to speak he brought up his hands and one by one tore off his fingernails down to the quick,"Been waiting for you, yes? Give us that, the little one...we have plans for her..."

"Who...who are you?" Tara tried to stall him, taking steps backwards very carefully.

"Oh my brother, my sister, my master! We are the quims n' the cocks! The twister and the gold! The button and the branch, we are the battle, Battle, BATTLE!!!" As he voice escalated into shrieking volumes he suddenly produced a long bladed knife with an ivory handle and slashed out towards the baby.

Chapter 32 - Breaking of the Waves

"Munimentum!" Tara shouted, raising her hand to repel Battle's knife. She was too late to prevent his assault completely, only dulling and capturing his slash in a dense field of her own energies. Nonetheless the tip of the blade dug into and sliced Allegra at her left eyebrow. Immediately the baby reacted with a violent scream and Tara turned on her heels and ran for the beach.

"So it be's a game of cats n' mices now, yes?" Battle licked his knife and moaned before following after the witch and the child.

***

Both Angel and Xander were lurched forward suddenly when Spike slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a dead stop. He'd vamped out and was breathing heavily in an apparent effort to get himself under control.

"What?" Xander asked, his own panic rising.

"Don't know....something's wrong....there!" He pointed to a pink building in the distance and then sent the tires squealing when he floored the gas pedal. In no time flat he'd pulled the Plymouth into the parking lot in front of the Flamingo Lodge,"God, I can feel her....she's right here...." He turned off the engine and leapt out of the car. Xander quickly caught up to the vampire and pulled him back,"What the bloody hell are you doing?!"

"Your face, you can't go in there all fangs and lumpies. Let me or Angel do the talking. Come on Spike...."

"Right, right..." Angel led the way whilst Spike regained his composure and his human face, then continued on. Mel looked up from her television when the three large men entered her office, mindful of where her gun was hidden under the counter.

"Awfully late to just be stopping for the night, isn't it?" she asked.

"Hi," Angel began, giving the lady a smile,"We're wondering if you could help us. We're looking for someone, maybe you've seen them."

"Oh yeah? No one's come through all night."

"Someone travelling with a baby..." The change in Mel's demeanor was obvious, especially to the vampires. Her heart beat faster and her muscles all tensed.

"No, sorry, haven't seen a baby."

"You're lying...." Spike seethed, stalking over to the desk and pushing both Angel and Xander out of his way.

"Spike..." Xander began to protest.

"Back off, whelp!" Spike snarled, then turned back to the woman behind the desk,"You've seen 'em, haven't you?"

"No, there's been no one."

"Bloody hell! Please! My daughter's been kidnapped!" Mel was getting ready to reach for her gun, refusing to give up the woman and baby to the man who had an obviously volatile temper.

"I said there is no baby." Spike was a fraction away from seizing the defenseless woman by the throat when he found himself being dragged outside by his companions.

"Get you hands off me!"

"Spike, get a grip!" Angel warned,"You were about to tear that woman's throat open!"

"Fuck you, Angelus! My little girl is around here somewhere and that bitch knows where! You think I give a bloody damn about putting a lil' fear on her to find out where?!"

"Guys, cool it," Xander interrupted,"Let's have a look around, okay?" Spike scoffed and left them in his wake, storming towards the row of motel rooms. Standing alone before the courtyard, with the wind rolling in off the ocean, Spike sought out the spiritual bond he and Allegra had shared, the one that had sparked the moment she'd emerged from Buffy. His body seized when he found it, she was in a horrible terror; she was in severe pain both physical and emotional. Then he caught a further telling of it on the wind, her scent....no, her blood! Soon he knelt in front of room 127 and touched the beginning droplets of a bright red trail. Angel and Xander were come his way and he held up his blood stained fingers for them to see in conjunction with the tears just beginning to fall down his shattered face.

"It's still warm...my daughter's blood."

***

Tara was sure she'd run 10,000 miles between the motel and the pier by now how exhausted she was. Her body was recovering quickly however. She hid them up close to the rocks and erected a strong shield around them, one hopefully strong enough to safeguard against the demon. Allegra was crying her lungs sore and bleeding profusely from the gouge on her face. Her new clothes were wet with it, as it had flowed down her face and neck. Tara didn't know where Battle was but she knew he couldn't be far off. If she didn't need her magic to flow fully into the shield, she'd have tried a healing spell to quell the blood, but lowering the field couldn't be risked. Her mind was racing to find some incantation or evocation to to defeat him, anything advanced like that would take too much there again. The baby's cries were deafening, even over the sound of the waves crashing into the columns of the pier.

Just as despair was taking a firm hold on the witch she caught flash of something white against the dark of the sand and ocean. She had been praying to see that unmistakable bleached head of hair and the vampire in the black leather duster it belonged too. He, along with what she discerned to be two other men were almost 100ft away down the beach. She wanted to yell for him, but knew it might draw the demon straight to them if the baby's cries weren't already.

"Come on sweety...daddy's right there, bring him to us," Tara whispered in the child's ear. Panic was renewed when she watched them turn and head back to the road. With little choice to do anything else, she left their alcove and ran after them, breaking the spell,"SPIKE!! Spike come back!"

"Nots nice to runs!!" Battle spat out as he moved in front of her, knocking her down to the sand and violently jostling the baby,"Filthy strumpet! Gives us our prize!!" The knife caught the reflection of the moon above as it hovered above, ready to stab, but suddenly it was gone as Spike tackled the demon and rolled him away.

The vampire had straddled Battle and began raining pounding fist after fist to the white face."Spike!" Tara cried again when Xander and Angel joining the fray. As the other two took hold of the demon, Spike clamored back to the unknown woman holding his daughter and reached for the baby.

"Give her to me! Give her to me!" He begged and the baby was passed to him. He choked out a cry the moment touched her. He lay her on his chest with her head tucked under his chin, his hands covering her entirely,"Shhhhh...sweetheart. Daddy's found you, daddy's here..."

to be continued.....