Back Track9

Title: Back Track

Author: Nebula

Chapter: 36 of ?

Pairings: B/S, X/A, W/T, D/J

Rating: PG-13, occasionally R

Time Period: Post 'Get it Done' to ...?

Summary: In the midst of war, Buffy finds she's not the only one
that wishes the last year would just make itself all better. It
can't be done, unfortunately. Or can it?

Disclaimer: Who wants to guess what I'm about to say? ~_^ Joss
said I could write, so I'm gonna write, dammit! LOL Of course,
none of the characters are mine. They all belong to Joss.

< --- >

Screaming was all Willow could do as she stared at the limp form
of her lover. She'd failed. She had lost her all over again, and
it was because of Warren.
Her head began to pound, but she was only paying attention to one
voice in her head at the moment. The one that was saying to hunt
Warren down and kill him. He deserved to die a slow, painful
death. He'd taken Tara's light away.
Trembling with rage, Willow glanced down once more at Tara. Her
vision was turning red, or was that the blood spot on the floor she
was seeing? She had to make him pay. Hands clenched, she headed
out of the room and down the stairs to the magic books they kept in
the shelves. There was probably a nice burning spell in those books.
Then the thought hit her. Why not take all the powers from the
books? Accept them all. She might need them.
'Use magic,' her past crooned. 'Use magic to avenge her death.
Make him pay.'
Willow reached for a magic book, and her past self cheered.

Buffy froze for a split second after the screams had stopped,
before running through the kitchen, and racing up the
stairs. "Willow!" she called, desperate to find her friend. This
wasn't happening again. Not after they'd worked so hard to fix
everything. No, no, nononono...
Xander and Spike were right behind her, and soon they'd reached
the top floor. "Willow!" Xander yelled, following Buffy into the
bedroom. All three stopped at the sight of Tara crumpled on the
floor.
"Oh gods," Xander whispered, his eyes wide. "Tara..."
Slowly Buffy made her way around to the other side of the bed.
She knelt next to the figure of her friend, tears making their way
down her face. "I'm so sorry," she murmured, reaching out to take
Tara's hand in hers. "Tara, I'm so sorry..."
"Where's Red?" Spike asked, looking around the room. Anywhere but
at the fallen witch. The redhead was nowhere in sight.
Buffy and Xander exchanged horrified glances. "She wouldn't,"
Xander breathed.
"She would," Buffy said, shutting her eyes. This couldn't really
be happening. Someone wake her up, tell her she was dreaming again.
She was about to stand when she realized her hand was being
clasped. She gasped, causing Xander and Spike to stare down at
her. "What's wrong?" Xander asked.
"Tara?" Buffy whispered, praying. Please oh please oh please...
The voice was laden with pain, but it was there. "B-Buffy?"
In seconds Xander and Spike were down on the floor with
her. "Tara, just hold on," Spike said, reaching for the woman's
shoulders. Between the three they managed to turn her onto her
back, and found themselves staring into terrified eyes.
Tara tried to smile. "Must b-be bad. H-He used my real n-name."
Buffy laughed, tears spilling down her face. "Tara, we thought
you were dead. We thought you were shot!"
"She was," Xander said quietly, placing a hand on Tara's
shoulder. Blood pooled from the wound, the bullet still embedded
inside. He glanced up at Buffy, worry etched into his face. "We've
gotta get her to the hospital. It has to come out."
"I can get it out," Spike said. All eyes turned to him. Spike
gazed down at Tara, offering her a smile. "You trust me?"
Tara nodded without hesitation. Spike glanced up at Buffy, her
eyes clouded with concern for both of them. "Right," the vampire
said, steeling himself for the head pain. "Here goes." With that,
he bent down to the wound, and began to suck at the skin.
Tara tried to keep from flinching, in hopes that it wouldn't spark
his chip. Xander took her other hand and held on to it tight,
offering her support.
Spike pulled away with a hiss, spitting the bullet out. His head
was pounding, and Tara had tears in her eyes, but it was done.
She'd be all right.
Tara smiled wobbly. "Thank you," she whispered.
Spike cringed and grinned at the same time. "Welcome."
Buffy stood, heading to search for a First Aid kit, when Dawn
screamed from downstairs, "WILLOW!!"
Tara's eyes widened. "Is she all right?" she asked, trying to
stand.
"Lay down," Buffy ordered, helping the witch lay on her
back. "We'll go check it out, and be right back upstairs. Don't
move, all right?"
Tara had barely nodded before the three were running down the
stairs. They slid to a halt at the bottom, the scene before them
startling them into shock.
The teens and Anya were backed into a corner of the living room,
staring at the middle of the room. The object of their attention
happened to be a certain redheaded woman, a magic book in her hand.
Her eyes glittered between red and black, and she was floating a
foot off of the floor.
"Willow, wait," Buffy started, but never finished.
Willow whirled to face her, before snarling, "Get out of my way,
Buffy."
"Wills, don't do this."
Willow chuckled bitterly, never taking her eyes away from the
three newcomers. "I'm going to, Xander. You get in my way, you'll
face the same problems he'll soon be facing. I'm warning you only
once."
"Tara's alive!" Spike shouted, stepping in front of the other two.
For a moment, the black disappeared from her eyes. "What?" she
whispered. Then the black was back. "No. She's dead. He took her
light away."
Buffy shook her head. "Spike's telling the truth, Willow. She's
fine. She's safe. She just got hit in the shoulder. She doesn't
need you running out killing people; she needs you upstairs tending
to her. Willow, please," she pleaded.
Willow faltered, dropping the book to the floor. Her eyes changed
from pure black to their original color, then back again. "Tara?"
she whispered.
Xander stepped forward. "She's upstairs, and she's alive, we
promise you," he said in a calm voice. "You should go to her."
"But...the blood..."
"Just hit her shoulder, pet. Harris is right; go upstairs and see
for yourself."
Willow's eyes stopped flashing black, and lit up with joy. "She's
okay?"
Buffy smiled. "Yeah. She's okay."
The redhead smiled through her tears and headed for the stairs.
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING??'
Willow cried out and clutched her head. "No, no, not now," she
whimpered. "Let me see her, please..."
'Go after him!' her past self screamed. 'He doesn't deserve to
live after this. Use your magics. KILL HIM!!'
"She's alive," Willow whispered, her stomach doing flip-
flops. "She's..."
'He still hurt her! Go get him, make him pay!'
'NO!' her future self yelled. 'Go to Tara! She needs you. Don't
use your magics. You're stronger than this, and you know it. Think
about the coven. Think about the training you did, because of who
you hurt. If you start down that road, you're not going to stop...'
Her past self apparently didn't like that answer, from the attack
it launched. 'Kill him! Kill him! Make him pay for hurting her,
and your friends! USE YOUR MAGICS!!'
"Willow?!"
Willow looked up into the panicked faces of her friends. "Help
me," she whispered, before she stopped floating and fell to the
floor, unconscious.

She could hear the voice. The voice of the one she'd
lost. 'Willow?'
"Tara?"
'Willow, baby, hold on. We've got you.'
"Are you all right? Tara?"
'Hold on...'
Then she saw it. The light in front of her, beckoning to
her. "I'm coming, sweetie," Willow said, racing towards it. "I'm
coming. Just wait for me, Tara, wait!"
She wasn't getting anywhere, however. No matter how much she ran,
she couldn't catch the light. "Tara! Don't leave me!!"
'Wills?'
Willow stopped to listen to the voice. "Xander? Oh Xander,
sweetie, get me out of here..."
'Red, hold on.'
Willow smiled, despite the panic that was rising in her
chest. "Good to hear you too, Spike."
'Willow, hold on. Don't give up...'
"Buffy? Buffy, where'd Tara go? Hello?"
There were no voices now. She was all alone. Ignoring her tears
of fright she began to run again. She had to reach the light, but
she was getting so tired. She fell to the ground, exhausted, and
only going to close my eyes for a minute, and then I'll...
...open my eyes and see my ceiling?
Willow looked around, glancing around the room that had once
belonged to Joyce. The one that now belonged to her and Tara. She
was home.
Wait. Tara. Was she...?
Something brushed up against her arm, and she turned to see a
golden goddess smiling down at her. "Hey you," she whispered.
Willow's eyes filled with tears. "Tara?"
And then they were hugging and kissing and laughing, because both
of them were all right, and everything was wonderful again.
A knock at the door had them turning to see Buffy peek in. "Good
to see you guys awake," she said with a grin.
"She's okay," Willow said, before laughing. "She's okay!"
Buffy smiled. "Yeah, she's okay. And so are you. How's your
head?"
Willow shrugged. "It's been better, but I think the battles are
over. I don't have that really bad headache like I usually do. I'm
good again." Her smile fell as she said, "I'm sorry about down
there. Are the others okay?"
Buffy nodded. "Don't worry about it. The gang's fine, you guys
are fine, and Warren's as good as dead." Her smile broadened at
that last statement. "Take your time and rest, guys."
She'd hardly closed the door when Willow was sitting up,
inspecting the bandage on Tara's shoulder. "Are you okay?" she
asked quietly.
Tara nodded, placing a kiss on her lover's head. "I'll be fine.
It was you I was worried about, Wills. They brought you up here,
shaking and paler than Spike, and..."
Willow swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I was gonna use
magics again. I was just...I had to hurt him. Make him pay.
Warren hurt you, and..." She reached out to touch Tara's cheek,
before whispering brokenly, "I thought you were dead. You were just
laying there, and I thought he'd taken your light away..."
Tara pulled Willow into her arms, and the two sat there for
awhile, crying for the almost loss of both.
Buffy closed her eyes from her position behind the door. They'd
almost lost both of them.
"So much for 'nothing' today, huh?"
Buffy looked up at Xander and chuckled. "I guess not."
Spike joined them as the two headed down the stairs. "So,
nothin's gonna happen today, eh?" he said, his voice filled with
sarcasm.
"Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"Sweetie?"
"Yeah?"
"Bite me."
Spike laughed all the way down the stairs.

Chapter 37:

< --- >

Buffy glanced around the table at the faces before her. It was so
hard to believe that the first time around, half these people hadn't
been here.
She shook herself and stood, catching everyone's attention. So
much like the next year, too. Waiting for the word to go to war.
"Okay guys, this is it. Warren has to be put down, no matter what
the circumstances are. It's a matter of finding him, disabling him,
then taking him out."
Andrew raised his hand. "Uh, I thought we were gonna leave him to
the police and stuff."
Xander shook his head. "Warren's crossed a line. He's decided to
play with the big guns now, and he's stepping into an arena where
he's probably going to die. He's not dealing with scientific toys
now; he's messing with powers and magics. That's our region. He's
on our turf, so we have full rights to deal with him. Did I get it
all, Buff?"
Buffy smiled. "I think that about sums it up. Here's what I need
you guys to do: Spike and Xander are gonna go down to Willy's, and
see if Warren's deeds have caused a ripple in the demon community.
Willow and Tara, I need you on spell duty. Find him; even if he's
not in town, he can't be far."
"What about us?" Dawn asked, frowning.
Buffy took a deep breath. "Train. Get yourselves ready. Anya, I
wanted to talk to you privately, if I could."
The others exchanged glances as Anya nodded and headed into the
kitchen.
Buffy turned back to the group, her lips forming a tight
line. "This means war, guys. Do your jobs. Report back to me
ASAP. Got it?"
Everyone nodded. "Good. Go."
As Xander headed to grab small weapons for them, Spike headed over
to Buffy. Without a word she stepped into his embrace, savoring the
feel of him. "Be careful," she whispered.
"You too, luv." He pulled away to meet her lips in a soft
kiss. "We'll be back in thirty minutes. Promise."
"Okay." A pause. "I love you."
"I love you, too." With one last smile he headed out the door.
After giving Anya one last kiss, Xander hurried out of the kitchen
and after the vampire.
As the witches headed upstairs and the teens downstairs, Buffy
headed over to Anya. "We have a different mission," she said.

A little over fifty minutes later, the men returned. Anya jumped
off the sofa and threw herself at Xander, who happily accepted the
hug.
Spike wandered into the kitchen and found a certain blonde sitting
at the table, her head in her hands. In front of her was a
watch. "Hello, cutie," he said softly.
Buffy jerked her head up, before she leapt up and into his
embrace. "You said thirty minutes," she mumbled into his shirt.
He rolled his eyes. "I know, just a bit late. Got a header on
him, though. He should still be in town."
Buffy looked up at him, happy to have him home. When they hadn't
showed on time, she'd started to panic. She'd paced, then finally
taken Anya's advice to sit down. She'd been so occupied in watching
the time that she hadn't heard Spike come in. "And the verdict is?"
Spike grinned wickedly, and Buffy had to mentally tell herself to
not back up. "He's been goin' 'round, boastin' 'bout takin' out the
Slayer. I had to go in to a few bars and set the record straight."
Ah. No wonder he'd taken forever coming home.
"So you guys didn't see him, right?"
A shake. "No, but Willy did say that the boy was headin' off to do
somethin' nasty, now that he didn't have to worry 'bout you."
Buffy growled, and this time it was Spike who almost backed
away. "Oh, he'll worry about me, all right. I'll worry him to
death."
Xander poked his head in, his arm wrapped around Anya. "You guys
aren't gonna go all creepy on us, right? 'Cause, I gotta say, the
looks on your faces is making me want to head for the hills."
"Not yet. We'll deal with Warren, but no, we're not going to make
you guys target practice." Buffy almost giggled at the relieved
look Xander gave her.
"Thank Zeus for small miracles. Oh, and you should've seen
Willy's face when we told him you were alive and well." Xander
grinned at the frown on the Slayer's face. "He actually looked
pretty happy about it."
Buffy shook her head, though she did smile. Willy, however much
of a snitch he was, did genuinely care about the Scoobies. He
hadn't been at first, granted, but eventually he'd grown fond of
them, especially for Buffy.
The teens emerged from the basement at the sound of the voices.
Just as Dawn was about to welcome the men home, Willow came running
down the stairs. "We found him," she panted, watching Buffy's face
darken. Spike's grip on her tightened as he nodded.
"What are we waiting for?" Buffy said quietly, heading up after
Willow.

Hands were held, grips tightened, because letting go wasn't an
option. This was it. The four time-travelers realized that though
there had been a next year, much had been changed. There was a
possibility of no tomorrow if tonight went wrong. This could very
well be their last chance with their loved ones.
Buffy leaned against Spike, her grip on his hand tight enough to
break any normal person's bones. He was squeezing back with the
same intensity, unable to bear the thought of winning the fight.
Winning, only to lose the hero once more. A body falling, white and
pure, flitted through his mind, and he had to suppress a
shudder.
"You okay?"
Spike glanced down, worry marring the beauty of her face. He
smiled in an attempt to placate her. "Everythin's peachy. Trust
me."
Buffy nodded and looked anything but convinced. "We will make him
pay for everything he's done."
"Not doubtin' that. It's..." Spike sighed, frustrated at
himself. He was getting scared over something that probably wasn't
going to happen. She'd be fine.
She seemed to read his thoughts. "I know, sweetheart, I know.
I'm not gonna try to take a nose-dive off of a tower this time,
okay? I'm staying. I've got everything I could want, and nothing,
not even heaven, could pull me away from that."
He stared at her, before stopping her in her tracks with a kiss.
It was a desperate, 'don't leave me' kiss, as if this was their last
one. It could very well be, for all they knew.
"I love you," she whispered.
He smiled, refusing to cry. He wasn't going to lose her. "I love
you, too."
A throat cleared had them turning towards the group. "You guys
ready?" Willow asked gently.
Spike and Buffy exchanged a determined look, before turning back
to Willow and nodding. They'd sung it months ago, and they lived it
now. Nothing was going to tear them apart. Nothing.

"This is it?" Dawn asked, staring at the building with obvious
disapproval.
Buffy had to agree with her sister. It wasn't that much to look
at. A disheveled, old warehouse in much need of TLC was where
Warren had chosen to set up his base.
Andrew nodded, as if he was the coolest kid around. "That's just
the thing an evil master would do. It's done all the time in the
comic books. Such a tribute to the artists of the day."
All eyes turned to glare at him, and Andrew slumped meekly. "I
thought it was cool," he said with a sigh.
Buffy rolled her eyes. Andrew didn't change a bit from the year
she'd first met him to the next year with the First. A geek with a
little bit of hope of becoming a man. Just the tiniest bit, but
enough to keep Buffy from killing him.
Jonathan looked sheepish as he nodded with Andrew. "I should've
figured that Warren would pull something like this. An abandoned
warehouse for the final showdown...he may be insane, but he loves
his comics. This has got to be a direct part taken from a book."
"Wouldn't doubt it," Xander muttered, clutching Anya closer.
Buffy watched the emotions flit across his face. Fear. Love.
Hope. All for his bride. She agreed with him on all the feelings;
that's the way she was with Spike at that moment. A quick glance
over at the witches confirmed that Willow wasn't feeling much
different.
Buffy stepped forward, and the group formed a close
circle. "Okay, this is it. I don't know what traps Warren may have
set up, but watch yourselves. Wills, is it ready?"
Willow nodded. "Yup. Spell is ready and waiting. Though," she
added, a grimace on her face, "I hope we don't have to use it."
Buffy sighed. "Me too, Willow. Me too. Everyone have their
weapons?"
Heads nodded a various times as they inspected their instruments
of destruction. "Okay," Buffy said quietly. "Let's do this."
Following their leader, the group cautiously made their way inside.
The first thing Buffy noticed was the hole in the floor of the
second story. In fact, it was large enough to state that there was
no ceiling for the bottom room. She could see straight up into the
rafters, and she frowned. What was the purpose of that?
Windows were boarded up, but Buffy could see that they hadn't been
boarded well. As if someone had meant to leave huge holes in
between the wood. The wood was also jagged, and sharp points stuck
out everywhere.
"Damn him," she murmured, swallowing nervously for her lover. If
they weren't finished with Warren in the next hour or so, Spike was
out of the fight. Even if he could dodge the sunlight, one trip on
the objects strewn across the floor would send him tumbling onto a
point. No more Spike. Her heart clenched at the thought. It
wasn't going to happen.
Speaking of items strewn across the floor, Buffy noticed that
they'd make great obstacles in a fight, but couldn't really be used
in a fight. Feather-dusters, vacuum cleaners, piles of dust and
dirt...no use whatsoever. She briefly considered the bigger piles
in the room, the rocks, but it was probably just like Jenga. The
wrong one pulled, and they could all come tumbling down.
"Do you like my collection, Slayer?"
Buffy whipped her head up, Spike snarling behind her. Warren
hovered in mid-air, smirking at them all. Jonathan instantly took a
protective stance in front of Dawn, urging the insane geek to
laugh.
"You guys are pathetic. Honestly. But I'm not without
compassion," Warren said with a wicked grin. "She gave you a choice
once, and I offer it to all of you now. Join me, and I'll spare
you. It's actually not that bad. Money, fame, a title that will
make them fear you..."
"Like Warren the Wuss?" Xander offered, unable to keep the grin
off his face.
Warren glared at him. "Hardly. But it doesn't matter. I offer
you one last chance. Will you take it?"
Buffy glanced around at her comrades. Each one gave her a
confident smile, prompting her to turn back to Warren. "Uh, I think
your answer is no."
Warren shrugged. "Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't offer."
With that, he flew down towards the group.
They rolled out of the way easily as he flew up again, and they
prepared themselves for another attack. They weren't expecting him
to pull a key from his pocket. "What, are you gonna poke us to
death with it?" Buffy yelled up at him.
Warren stared at her, before bursting into laughter. When he'd
calmed down some, he chuckled and shook his head. "Again, hardly.
This is the..." He snickered, trying to compose himself. "The key
to your destruction."
Willow frowned, looking up at him. "And that'll do what?"
Warren smiled as he calmly said, "It will send you back through
time to where you belong."

Chapter 38:

< --- >

Staring seemed to be all Buffy could do. She could hear Willow
gasping and Spike snarling, this time from fear, and for some reason
couldn't hear Xander at all. She could feel someone grabbing her,
pulling her away from a cackling voice, and then the sound of
silence.
Tara was the first to recover. "What do you mean, through time to
where they belong? They belong right here, right now."
Anya frowned. "Is that the key of Janis?"
"What's going on?" Dawn asked, starting to shake. Her frightened
eyes sought out the four Scoobies, whose shell-shocked faces were
all she needed to see to figure it out. "He's telling the truth,
isn't he?"
Warren laughed, and the sound echoed through the room, causing
Buffy to wince and cover her ears. He wouldn't. No, he couldn't.
They'd worked this hard to get everything back, only to have Warren
stomp on them and throw them all the way back?
Not a chance in hell.
Buffy shook herself from her slight comatose state and
straightened, her eyes meeting Warren's defiantly. Her look alone
made him stop laughing. She knew she should be delighting in his
small bout of fear, but she couldn't. Not when their future and
fixed past was being threatened by a lame excuse of a person.
"You want to know what will happen if you use that key, Warren?"
Buffy's voice was calm, dangerously quiet. Xander could've sworn he
saw a fire burning brightly in her eyes. "I'll tell you what. You
hurt us, sure. But in the end, one seriously brassed off black
witch chases you through Sunnydale. She then proceeds to tie you to
a tree and torture you. When you manage to get your voice back and
start screaming for help, she fillets you. Alive. Then burns your
corpse to the ground while life still quivers in your body. Is that
how you want this to end?"
Warren looked shocked. Truly shocked. Xander used the time to
aim the crossbow at him and shoot.
The arrow grazed his shoulder, but traveled a little further to
hit one last object. With a hiss Warren fell to the ground, his jet
pack useless.
"Way to go, Xander," Dawn said, trying to smile. She still looked
uncertain, but apparently had let it go for the moment. There were
other things to deal with.
Anya wasn't so easily swayed. "I still want to know what's going
on! How do you guys know about that key? It's for time-travel
only."
Warren stood slowly, still grinning. "Let me explain things for
you. You see, they're not from this time. They came back to..."
The sudden rocking of the building stopped him in mid sentence.
Everyone ducked for cover as pieces of the warehouse came down from
above.
"Who ordered an earthquake?" Xander asked, reaching over to pull
Anya under him.
"I DID!!"
At Warren's shouted words, the gang turned to see him begin to
float again. "I thought you'd gotten rid of that jet pack of his!"
Spike yelled to Xander above the noise.
"I thought I had, too!"
"It's not a jet pack," Tara whispered, staring at Warren with
horror.
Slowly Buffy turned to view the hovering geek. His eyes were
glowing red, and a dark mist surrounded him.
Warren laughed, and it sounded horrid to Buffy's ears. "Welcome,
Slayer," he hissed. "This warehouse will soon be a tomb. Yours and
theirs!"
"Yadda yadda yadda, can we fight now?" she asked, her grip on her
sword tightening. Why did they always talk so much?
Another small quake had her stumbling onto the ground as Warren
began to float down towards them. "I've pulled out all the stops.
This is just a show of things to come, and then the world will
realize what power they're dealing with!!"
Dawn screamed as the building began to sway. "Get away from the
rock piles!" Buffy yelled, trying to crawl away from the madman.
The gang moved as fast as they could, alternately running and
crawling their way towards Buffy. "What do we do?" Willow cried,
staring up at the shrieking Warren.
"Do your spell. We don't have a choice! Anya, give it to them."
Spike frowned. "What are you..."
Anya reached down into her pocket and pulled out a small stone.
With great care she handed it to Willow. "Don't break that. It
took me awhile to get the right incantation."
Willow looked up at Buffy, confusion written all over her
face. "I don't..."
"Understand? That's the coven's power you're holding in your
fingers. We called them up and asked for their help. They
channeled their powers into a spell, and we put the spell into that
stone. There's your backup battery. Get that spell moving!"
The two witches nodded and clasped hands. "What do the rest of us
do?" Jonathan asked.
Buffy swung her sword a few times. "We protect them. Let's go!"
The gang rushed forward just in time to watch Warren descend to
the ground. He ran at them, not bothered in the slightest by the
tremblings. He raised a fist towards Buffy, blocked Xander's
attack, shoved Jonathan and Andrew down, then proceeded to throw the
entire gang off. In a matter of seconds.
"How is he doing that?!" Andrew yelled.
Buffy's eyes latched onto something glowing beneath his shirt.
She almost laughed. For all his genius, he'd forgotten to hide his
weakness in a different spot. She rushed forward in an attempt to
reach the orbs.
Spike seemed to realize what she was going to do. He jumped up
and swung towards Warren, trying to keep him occupied.
Surprisingly, the geek didn't move, and took the blow across the
head. Spike fell to the ground, clutching his head in agony as
Warren laughed at his distress. He wasn't laughing for much longer.
Warren gasped as Buffy managed to destroy one of the orbs. "You
bitch!" he yelled, throwing her off. She slid across the floor,
pushing herself up. She hadn't gone flying this time, and one of
the orbs was smashed. At least he was only at half strength.
Another rumble had her falling again, this time causing Warren to
stagger as well. Something fell from his pocket and skittered
across the floor with a small clang.
"The key!!" Willow screamed, watching in horror as it stopped,
teetering dangerously between two cracks in the plank floor.
Tara stared at the key, before finally deciding and leaping up.
She ran towards it, hoping to reach it before it fell and
disappeared forever.
Dawn seemed to have the same idea, because she was running full
hilt towards the key, knowing that if there was another rumble, it
would be gone.
The next few moments passed in what appeared like slow motion to
Buffy. The room began to shake, this time rattling the very bones
in her body as she tried to stand.
Warren began to shout in some demonic language, a last attempt to
try and stabilize the magics he'd lost control over. It backfired,
and suddenly he began to glow from the inside. He screamed as fire
consumed him from inside-out, then could only gurgle helplessly as
the flames leapt up towards his head. He stumbled backwards and
fell through one of the jagged pieces of wood left for Spike. It
pierced him through his head, and Warren was no more.
But the shaking didn't stop with the death of the madman. If
anything, it increased. Buffy slowly turned to see Tara grab the
key from its position on the floor. The witch spun around towards
Willow, then gasped as the shaking caused her to fall forwards. The
key bounced out of her grasp, and slid across in front of Willow.
Buffy watched in horror as Tara and Dawn fell through the weakened
floor, disappearing from sight.
Willow tried to stand, tried to run towards where her lover had
fallen. A shout from behind her had Buffy turning to see Xander
pulling Anya away from the wall. Her head was bloody, and from the
look on Xander's face, Buffy knew that she was gone. Tears rolled
down his face as he cradled Anya in his arms.
A rumbling made Buffy whirl around, but it wasn't a shaking sort
of rumbling. It was a 'something's going to fall' rumbling. Like
the pile of rocks that was positioned right next to Spike.
Spike. He looked dazed, and he was still clutching his head.
Buffy was sure she stopped breathing as she watched the rocks begin
to fall. The very sharp rocks that would have no problem slicing
his head off.
"LOOK OUT!!" she shouted, forcing herself to move forward.
Something fell from the ceiling, scraping her arm and leaving a
trail of blood. She didn't care. She only cared about Spike at
that moment. The rest of the world disappeared as she raced towards
him.
She was too late. The rocks tumbled and fell, crushing Spike
underneath them. She could only watch in silent terror as he
vanished from her sight, the rocks covering every single part of him.
Buffy stared, then realized that something was beginning to settle
on the floor underneath the rocks. She began to shake as she
finally figured out what it was. Dust. Dust, like you would find
from staking a vampire.
"NOOOOO!!!!" Buffy screamed, racing towards the rocks. She began
to push them aside, trying to tell herself that he was under there,
somewhere, and she would find him, and they would find Tara and
Dawnie, and they'd be okay, and Anya would complain of a headache,
and no, no, nononono...
"SPIKE!!!!"
She hadn't realized she'd started sobbing until Xander pulled her
away, practically dragging her away from the wreckage. She could
barely see Jonathan and Andrew staring down into the hole through
her tears as Xander finally let her fall to the ground. He dropped
beside her and joined in her tears, Willow not far behind them.
A tap on her shoulder had Buffy looking up, trying to swallow past
the lump in her throat. Willow held the key in her shaking hands,
wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve. Xander looked ready to
throw up.
Over. It was over. Everything they'd worked for, so hard, was
finished. They had to go back. This was a worse outcome of the
first time around. Buffy slowly nodded, taking Xander's hand in
hers. She reached around for Willow's hand, and the three formed a
small circle.
Willow sniffled, her breath coming out in hitched sobs. "G-
Gatekeeper, we..." Another deep breath. "We implore you to...to t-
take us back. Return to us the time from whence we c-came." She
set the key down in front of them, then reached for Xander's
hand. "L-Let the gates..."
Buffy glanced around, the shaking slowly tearing the building
apart. Every smile, every touch, everything good done between her
and Spike was disappearing in a few seconds. Her sister was gone,
too. Along with two others the gang had fought for. They had
failed.
Willow took one last deep breath and sat up straight. "Let the
gates be opened!"
Buffy gasped as she lurched backwards, and watched the whole year
in reverse. The gang walking towards the final fight. A night
spent with Spike. The wedding. The skating party. The admittance
of love from both sides. All of it disappearing.
Then, the first time around began to appear again. The house
crashing down around them as she fought to feel alive. The horrid
party. The wedding that never happened. A night in the bathroom.
The gang broken apart, desperately trying to stop Willow.
Buffy tried to take one last look at the others, but felt a
jerking sensation. She fell back into blackness and let it claim
her.

< --- >

"Buffy?"
Buffy slowly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. Bed. In her
bedroom. She turned to see her sister standing in the doorway,
looking nervous. "Are you okay?"
Buffy nodded, not trusting her voice. Had it all been a dream?
Something she'd envisioned to help her escape the horror of the
reality she was about to face?
Dawn offered her a smile. "I'm really glad you're awake. We
thought for awhile that you guys weren't gonna be okay."
Buffy froze. "Wh-What?" she croaked, staring at her sister.
"You know, when we found you guys with the spell? Don't worry;
the others are fine. When you get downstairs, you guys are so
explaining what you were trying to do."
It hadn't been a dream then. It had been real. They'd fixed the
previous year, and then had lost it all. "The others?"
"Are fine," her sister repeated, sounding slightly
exasperated. "Wills was a little pale for awhile, and it took
Xander some time to come to grips, but you were the one that took
the longest to wake up."
They'd failed. It was over. Buffy closed her eyes, trying not to
throw up. After everything they'd worked so hard for...
"Buffy?"
At the sound of Dawn's worried voice, Buffy couldn't hold back.
She burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. Girls were
lying in the back yard, dead because of her. General Buffy had to
come out again. Anya and Xander weren't married. Tara was dead.
Spike wasn't hers to be with anymore.
Hushed voices were speaking in the hallway, and then someone was
entering the room. A creak on the bed, and strong arms were wrapped
around her. Wait a minute...
Buffy choked back another sob and looked up into his concerned
face. Spike's concerned face. "Spike?" she whispered.
He smiled at her, brushing her hair from her face. "It's me," he
whispered back, placing a kiss on her forehead. She sniffled, a
bewildered look on her face. What on earth was going on?
At her puzzled face, Spike couldn't help laughing. "She messed it
up," he said simply.
Now she was even more confused. "Who messed what up?" Buffy
asked, trying not to look as helpless as she felt.
"Red messed up the spell," Spike repeated slowly, as if explaining
to a child. "We're still in the second time around."
Buffy stared at him, until Spike began to worry again. "Buffy?
Luv?"
"If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny," she said, her
voice shaking. "I mean it, Spike, it's not..."
Spike pulled her to him, almost crushing her in his
embrace. "It's not, I swear. Trust me; I'm not lyin'."
"He's not," a voice said from the doorway. Buffy glanced over at
Xander and Willow, who were practically beaming at her.
"But..." Buffy shook her head, completely confused. "But I don't
understand. How is it...how is this...?!"
"Let's head on down and we'll explain as best we can," Spike
promised, taking her hand in his and leading her down the stairs.

It turned out, things hadn't been that messed up as they'd thought.
They'd activated the spell correctly when one last shake caused
the key to slide out of the circle. The spell had backfired without
the key to focus on, and the three had lost consciousness.
Jonathan and Andrew had been about to head down into the hole to
search for the two missing women when Anya had come to. The two
boys had helped her up and towards her husband. Apparently she'd
only gotten knocked out, and the blood-loss had resulted in her
pulse weakening. Xander admitted that he hadn't felt her heart
stop; he'd merely felt it slowing down.
While Anya had been begging for Xander to wake up, the two boys
had gotten Tara and Dawn out of the hole. The women had fallen onto
sacks of something mushy, and had decided to not stay and find out
what had really been such excellent cushioning.
A quick examination had confirmed cuts, bruises, and a sprained
ankle on Dawn's part. Jonathan had gallantly picked her up and
settled her down next to her sister. Once they were sure the 'women-
folk' were all right, they'd gone vamp hunting next.
Spike hadn't been dusted, just as they'd hoped, and it had taken
less than three minutes to get him out from under the rocks. The
dust Buffy had seen had been the dust on the floor being disturbed
from the rocks falling on it.
The minute Spike's rescue had been explained, Buffy practically
threw herself at Spike, who was sitting right next to her on the
sofa. Spike yelped with indignation, but couldn't keep the grin off
his face.
"I thought I'd lost you," Buffy whispered, starting to tear up
again. "Spike, I..."
"Shhh, hush. No more tears. We made it," he soothed, his lips
meeting hers in reassurance. The kiss became more passionate, until
the gang had to clear their throats to get the couple's attention
once more.
Buffy pulled away, scowling at the group for
interrupting. "That's all there is, right?"
Tara glared right back at her. "No, there's quite a bit more.
I'd like to know about this key business, and what Warren was
talking about."
Anya nodded from her position next to Xander. The two were firmly
wrapped around each other, and Xander was caressing the bandage that
was placed on her head. "That's for messing with time, you know.
I'd really like to hear the story behind this one."
Willow sighed, her hand entwined with Tara's. "Guess we should
own up, huh?"
"Duh much? We find you guys on the floor looking dead, and then
get you guys home. Willow comes around first, and then Xander. YOU
wouldn't wake up!"
Buffy flinched as her sister's voice began to rise. "Okay, okay,
we get the point. You can calm down, Dawn."
"Gotta agree with Nibblet," Spike said, gazing around at the
Scoobies. "Thought we'd lost you three for a bit."
Xander swallowed. "We thought we'd lost all of YOU. We figured
there was nothing more we could do, except go back. So we took the
key and..." He faltered, unable to say the words.
"Went back?" Tara supplied for him. "What exactly do you mean
when you say, 'went back'?"
The four time-travelers exchanged looks. Time to face the music.

An hour later found the gang still situated in the living room.
Dawn was staring at Buffy with a dropped jaw, while Jonathan held
her hand, giving her support. Andrew began to think of the comics
that had told of time travel. Anya kept frowning, oblivious to the
rest of the world. Tara's face was unreadable, her hands in her lap.
The four Scoobies glanced at each other miserably. They'd told
the truth, though. It was up to the others as to what happened next.
"So...you guys came back to fix things?" Anya finally asked. Dawn
and Tara remained silent.
Xander nodded. "We screwed so much up this year, and we couldn't
leave the things the way they were."
"There was so much that we regretted having done and not done,"
Buffy added, staring at her sister.
Tara finally looked up at Willow. "I...died?"
Willow nodded. "That's why I completely freaked out when Warren
shot you. I thought I'd lost you, after having gotten you back
again. And I couldn't live without you. I couldn't do it again."
"Are things better now?" Dawn asked quietly.
Buffy blinked, her eyes meeting her sister's. They stared at each
other, before they began to smile. "Yeah," Buffy answered
softly. "They're better."
Anya glanced at her husband, looking hopeful. "You came back just
to fix things between us?"
Xander nodded. "I found out that I wanted, no needed, you by my
side."
Anya smiled, and laid her head against Xander's chest. He closed
his eyes, a smile blossoming on face.
Willow glanced at her friends, happy that they'd mended all the
bridges. She tried to not think about the woman behind her, who now
possibly never wanted to be with her.
A hand in hers had her turning to see Tara with tears in her
eyes. "Do you know how dangerous that spell is, Wills?" she
whispered. "That you basically put your life on the line, just to
have another chance with me?"
Willow was about to say that yes, she knew perfectly well what
she'd been risking when Tara's lips were on hers, and she found she
didn't have to say anything.
Buffy and Spike shared a glance, before settling back onto the
sofa. "We did it," she murmured.
"That we did, luv," he murmured back. "That we did."

The next week was blur of activity. Between searching for
Warren's lair and retrieving the weapons they'd lost on that night
with the trucks, a call from Giles had them rushing around like
crazies.
It appeared that the coven in England was holding a retreat over
the summer for witches, and Giles had mentioned Willow and Tara's
names to the leader, along with the long list of credentials that
came with living on a Hellmouth. The leader had immediately
extended an invitation to the two, asking if they would be
interested in coming over for the summer.
Willow and Tara had exchanged glances, before readily agreeing.
Before the two had had a chance to end the phone conversation with
Giles, Buffy had picked up the portable and headed to her room.
Willow had hung up, then crossed her fingers for the Slayer.
After two hours on the phone with her Watcher, Buffy had returned
downstairs, looking...happy. Pleased. She'd explained to Giles
what they'd done, and after a short reprimand for the dangerous
situation she'd put herself in, he'd launched into research mode,
writing down everything she could tell him about the spell and the
side-effects. They'd caught up and discussed the past few months,
before parting as family again.
"And you will call, right?"
Willow laughed, giving Dawn one last hug. "We will, we promise."
The gang was currently at the airport, seeing the two witches
off. Willow had arranged for the flight to be early in the morning,
just so Spike could come as well.
Spike pulled her into a hug next. "Glad I got to see you off,
pet," he said, smiling at her.
She smiled back, giving him a wink. "I'm glad you did, too."
"Be careful, Wills," Xander said, wrapping both women in his
embrace. "You too, Tara."
Tara giggled. "We'll be fine. We're more worried about you
guys. You're the ones on the Hellmouth, after all."
Buffy shrugged. "We always find a way."
"Even if it means messing with time?" Dawn teased.
Spike rolled his eyes. "Cute, Bit. Real cute."
"No messing with time this time." Buffy wrinkled her nose as she
realized how odd her sentence had sounded.
"Speaking of messing with time and stuff, where is the key?"
Xander asked, suddenly frowning.
Buffy thought back to the discussion a week ago. The key had
never been mentioned. "Uh, guys? You did find that, right?
Because we may not be using it again, but if it's not in an
accessible spot, we won't be able to go back in the first place."
She made a face. "I think. Time travel is really confusing."
Spike chuckled, placing a kiss on her forehead. "Poor baby. But
yeah, they've got a point. Where is the key?"
Willow grinned and pulled out a small, black box. In
fact... "That's the black box from before!" Xander exclaimed.
Willow winked. "You guys have to put this on the top shelf in my
bedroom closet, okay? Right next to the blue pillow."
Dawn frowned. "But I just helped you pack yesterday! Pulled
almost everything out of that closest, and what I didn't pull out
fell out, remember? There was no blue pillow!"
"There will be," Willow said with a giggle.
A voice rang out through the airport, and Tara nudged Willow's
shoulder. "That's our flight," she whispered.
Willow nodded. "Yup. We'll bring back souvenirs for everyone,
promise."
Last hugs were given, and then Willow and Tara were heading
through the gate. Just before she disappeared from sight, Willow
turned around and waved.
The gang waved back, then watched her vanish down the
hallway. "What happens now?" Dawn asked.
Anya raised her hand. "Ice cream sounds good to me."
Xander chuckled. "That's my girl. Is that all right with you
guys?"
Buffy glanced at Xander, then Spike. She could hardly believe
that she was really standing here with the people she loved, the man
she loved. They'd really done it.
"Sounds wonderful," she whispered, taking Spike's hand in hers.
He smiled at her, that same hopeful smile she knew she was wearing
herself.
Together they walked out of the airport, the others chatting
behind them. The future was theirs again.

THE END

Epilogue:

< --- >

"Hello?" Another two steps in. "Guys? Anyone here?"
Buffy sighed and closed the door behind her, shutting out the
night air. "I'm gone for half an hour..."
She stopped her ranting at the sight of something unusual taped to
the wooden banister. A written note with only the words, 'Head up
to the bathroom'.
Slowly a smile began to bloom on her face. She'd recognize that
handwriting anywhere: Spike. All right; she'd play along. Besides,
it was either follow the instructions or let curiosity get her.
Taking the note with her, she headed upstairs and into the
bathroom. She closed the door behind her, her eyes widening at the
sight in front of her.
The burgundy dress she'd bought two weeks ago as a surprise for
Spike was now hanging from a hook in the wall. Jewelry, makeup,
shoes...they were all here, too. What on earth was going on?
Buffy couldn't help giggling. A certain someone had gone to a lot
of trouble to set this all up. She might as well go through with
it. The only thing that nagged her was how he'd known about the
dress. She'd bought it while out with Dawn and Anya, and the men
hadn't been home when they'd returned. She'd hidden it in her
closet, thinking to surprise him on their next date. Apparently not.
"It'll still be a surprise when he sees me in it," she murmured
with a grin. Time to dress up.

Buffy was just finishing applying her makeup when the soft sounds
of music from downstairs caught her attention. She quickly put
everything away and slipped out of the room, carefully walking down
the stairs.
The surprise in the bathroom was nothing compared to the surprise
in the living room. She'd only been upstairs for what, twenty
minutes? In that space of time, candles had been lit, the coffee
table had been moved, and the whole room looked like it had been
transformed. What the...
"Been waitin' for you, luv."
Buffy smiled and turned towards the voice. Her jaw dropped at the
man in front of her. Black silk shirt, black leather pants
accentuating each and every curve...she swallowed, trying not to
drool.
The smirk Spike had been wearing had disappeared at the sight of
her in the dress. When Dawn had told him about the dress, Spike had
known that he couldn't wait until their next date to see it. He
hadn't been expecting her to look that beautiful in it.
The entire dress was done in velvet burgundy, with the bunched
material holding the dress up slipping off her shoulders, begging to
be pulled off all the way. Her hair was done up, with only a few
pins standing between his fingers and her golden tresses. Easily
taken down, which was good. The way the dress clung to her
body...he licked his suddenly dry lips, causing her to swallow again
at the sight.
As much as he wanted to just carry her upstairs and forget about
his plans, he couldn't. He'd worked too hard for this, and he had
to show her. He cleared his throat, reaching over to a nearby shelf
to pull out two wine glasses and a bottle.
Broken from her trance, Buffy glanced around at the room, then
back at him. "What's going on?"
Spike smiled, pouring them both a glass of red wine. "I just
wanted to treat you like a princess for the night. That all right?"
She blushed and looked down. "Not complaining here, but this does
seem like an awful lot more than royal treatment."
"You wanna know the truth, then?"
She nodded.
Spike set the wine glasses down and headed over to the stereo. He
pressed a few buttons, setting the CD to the right track.
Light drums started to play as Spike walked back over to
her. "There's something I have to tell you," he said softly, his
accent changing once more. Buffy could only stare as he took her
hand in one of his. His other hand he used to pull her closer as a
piano joined in the song.
"Spike...?"
"Shhh," he whispered as they began to sway in time. "Just
listen."

'When the road gets dark,
And you can no longer see,
Let my love throw a spark,
And have a little faith in me...

When the tears you've cried,
Are all you can believe,
Just give these lovin' arms a try, baby,
And have a little faith, faith in me...

Have a little faith in me.....'

"You see, if it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be standing here
with you. When I gave up on the idea of us, you didn't. You still
had faith in me. It's because of you that we're together right
now. And I wanted to thank you for it."
Buffy didn't answer; she wasn't sure that she could trust her
voice at the moment. Instead, she laid her head against his chest,
and continued to dance with him.

'And when your secret heart,
Cannot speak so easily,
Come here baby, from a whisper start,
To have a little faith in me...

And when your back's against the wall,
Just turn around and you, you will see,
I will catch your, I will catch your fall,
Just have a little faith, faith in me...

Have a little faith in me.....'

"I love you, Buffy," he whispered, his voice hitching, and the
tears she'd been holding back began to silently roll down her face.
"Spike, I..."
"Shhh, listen. The next part is us."

'Well I've been lovin' you,
For such a long, long time
Expectin' nothin' in return,
Just for you to have a little faith in me...

See time, time is our friend,
'Cause for us, there is no end,
All you gotta do is have a little faith in me...

I will hold you up,
I will hold you up,
And your love gives me strength enough to
Have a little faith in me...

Oh hey...oh darlin',
Have a little faith in me.....'

Buffy looked up at him, tears burning in her eyes. "I love you so
much," she managed to choke out. "William, I love you..."
Spike swallowed and pulled her against him, just savoring the feel
of her against him. She was his to hold, his to love. Never in a
million years would he have dared to dream of this. Of a second
chance with her.
The song was well over as they continued to dance in the living
room, but it didn't matter. All they needed was each other.

< --- >

NN: The song in question is 'Have a Little Faith in Me', performed
by the ever talented Mandy Moore.