Chapter 5


It took a week of patient stalking before he finally found Ben alone and not in the company of either humans or Glory’s annoying little minions.

Should be easy. Just walk up and snap the man’s neck. Spike remembered the last time he and Glory had gone up mano a mano. He had underestimated her strength and she had knocked him cold. Stuck in a human body she might be, but she still had a lot of her godlike powers. At least that wouldn’t happen with Ben who had none.

He watched Ben come out of the hospital and head across to his car. At two a.m. the back parking lot was deserted except for the cars of those nurses and interns still on shift. Spike glanced about swiftly to make sure no humans were wandering about, then flashed towards Ben.

And things immediately went pear-shaped. Because Ben unexpectedly turned into Glory.

“Ugh, cotton!” she exclaimed, pulling at the scrubs she was wearing. “Could a fabric be more annoyingly pedestrian? And look at that scrap heap he drives! Hello? I’m a god. Shouldn’t it at least be a Veyron?”

Spike had skidded to a halt in shock. The being in front of him might seem like a attractive blonde presently looking swamped and vulnerable in those oversized men’s scrubs. But this was a Hellgod and she was dangerously unstable and deadly. A strategic retreat seemed to be called for. Ben was an easy mark, but even the Slayer had trouble going up against Glory. He could try again some other night.

“It’s rude not to answer when you’re asked a question.”

Damn, she’d noticed him.

“Uh, sure it should be a Veyron. Only a car worth a mil four would be worthy of a god.”

“See, you have the right idea.” She frowned at him, screwing up her face prettily. “Why is your hair that color?”

“I’m vain.” His mind was too busy trying to figure out ways to get him the fuck out of there to pay much attention to the conversation.

“This whole mortal coil thing just blows,” said Glory bitterly. “Humans, eww! A meatsack of stink and bile and sweat and protein. Don’t you agree, vampire?”

“Uh, yeah,” said Spike, looking for cover.

“To trap me in that kind of container. Me! Really infra dig.”

“This is true,” he agreed, backing away carefully. “Beneath anyone’s dignity.”

“But you were going to harm that container. It’s a crappy thing, but, hey, it’s mine. No one plays with my toys. You shouldn’t have tried to drain Ben, bloodsucker.”

Oh, shit.

“Wasn’t even thinking of it.” Drain, no; kill, yes. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Really?” She gave him a dazzling smile. “That’s so sweet. But somehow I don’t believe you.”

Spike backed hurriedly. “I think I’ll just be leaving now.”

She was suddenly right in front of him, zipping forward in a blur of speed, far faster than even he or Buffy could ever move. A long red fingernail poked his chest and, taken by surprise, he yelped. That fingernail had sunk right into his flesh.

“Did I say you could go? I didn’t hear me saying you could go.”

“Listen, your Godliness...”

“Shh. I kinda wanna hear me talking right now. Me talking.” She flicked his chest with her nail and smiled, perky as a squirrel. “People shouldn’t play with other people’s toys. So guess what? You just volunteered to become one. Playing with you might ease the boredom. Only for a little while though. You look like the kinda toy that breaks easy. Oh, well. Wanna run? That might make things more fun.”

He hit her as hard as he could. It should at least have rocked her. It would have rocked the Slayer. Glory didn’t even budge.

Her eyes widened in affront. “You hit me! A god! Are you crazy? Don’t you know that’s sacrilege?”

She backhanded him across the face, straight-armed. Spike flew fifty feet backwards and crashed right through the chain link fence at the end of the parking lot.

“Okay, now that hurt,” he muttered, staggering back to his feet. No point in running. She was too fast and it would just give her a thrill with that cat and mouse game she was playing.

“Hey, you can fly,” she said, strolling towards him. “Can you turn into a bat too? That would be so cool. Wouldn’t help you, but it would be cool.”

He didn’t have a chance against her as Glory, only as Ben. But it didn’t look like she was going to turn back into Ben any time soon and there was no way of predicting when she would. Even she didn’t know that. And he didn’t have Olaf’s hammer to wear her down the way Buffy had, slugging her until she weakened and finally turned into Ben out of sheer debility.

“You can’t go around hitting people. What, were you born in a barn?” She stopped in front of him, smirking. “You’re so going to be sorry.”

He didn’t waste breath answering, just whipped around her and caught her from the back, his arms wrapping around her and locking her elbows to her sides.

“Oh, like that will help. Hey!”

Spike had sunk his fangs into her neck and was drinking in great, hurried gulps. God’s blood, ichor, whatever one called it. The ancient Greeks said that it was poisonous to humans. He was taking a huge risk in drinking it, but he could think of no other way to weaken her.

To his relief, it wasn’t poisonous to a vamp. It was even more powerful than the blood of a Slayer, though it didn’t have the aphrodisiac he had discovered Slayer’s blood had when he had drunk from that Chinese one. The power in it was dizzying.

She was screaming in fury and struggling wildly. But her own power was running through his veins now and she couldn’t break his grip. He drank and drank, and every second increased his strength and weakened hers. Being a god, she wouldn’t die, but if he drained her enough she might turn back into Ben.

It seemed to go on forever. The human body held about five quarts of blood, four point seven liters to be exact, and for all her supranatural powers the body she was in was human. He should have been able to drain her with ease. But the power in her blood made that difficult. It sizzled through every cell in his body, filling him till his skin felt taut and stretched. He didn’t know whether he’d be able to hold it all.

At long last he felt her begin to sag. He didn’t stop drinking, not until she turned into Ben. Then he withdrew his fangs.

“There we go,” he said with satisfaction and yanked Ben’s head sharply around as the man struggled and tried to cry out.

Ben’s neck snapped and he went limp.

Spike let the corpse fall onto the blacktop and staggered away, as unsteady on his feet as if he were drunk. He felt like an overloaded battery, as if he could throw lightning bolts, raze Sunnydale to the ground with one flick of his hand.

“Sodding hell,” he muttered. “Now there’s a high.”

He laid a hand on one of the metal supports of the fence, wondering whether that power would ground itself like electricity. It didn’t. Giddy with overcharge and amused, he flung out a hand at a parked car, willing it to lift off the ground or explode or something. Nothing happened. He was just a vamp, not a god or even a witch like Willow to know how to use all that power. Red would probably turn green with envy, but he’d be glad when the whole thing finally bled off. It had taken a couple of days for that Chinese Slayer’s blood to wear off. If that was anything to go by, he guesstimated this would take about a week.

He headed back to his crypt, wavering on his feet at first, then steadying as his body adjusted to all that power. To his disappointment, Buffy wasn’t there. But she had left a note saying that Giles had called her on her cell to say that he wanted to see her and that she had gone over to his place. She had written down the time of the message, so that he wouldn’t think it was earlier in the evening and start to worry. Less than half an hour ago. He wondered what the emergency was. Better go over and see.

He knew he should tell her about Glory. But he didn’t want to. Not yet. What if she blamed him for killing Ben? Staked him or told him to get the hell out of Sunnydale, which would be the same as, the way he felt about her.

Of course he would have to tell her eventually. Sooner or later she would check that binder for the next Big Bad, see that it was Glory and start wondering why she didn’t show. He just wanted it to be later.

Just a few weeks more. Even a couple of months. For as long as he could get away with it. Who would it hurt?

He got to Giles’ place and stopped abruptly in the little courtyard in front of it, picking up the vamp vibration. It was coming from Giles’ flat and it was familiar. Angel.

Sod it, he didn’t want Angel around. Angel would try his best to turn Buffy against him. God, he really didn’t want to see that wanker and his stupid hair again! But here Peaches was and there was no help for it.

His vamp hearing caught the conversation inside the flat.

“Cordy had a vision,” Angel was saying. “Something about a Hellgod and a green ball of energy. You’re in serious danger, Buffy!”

“Check in that binder, Buffy,” said Giles. “I do remember it saying something about a Hellgod named Glory.”

Trust Angel to queer his pitch.

Spike sighed deeply. “Bugger.”

***

She was no longer fixated on Angel.

Buffy realized that with a shock when she walked into Giles’ place and found Angel waiting for her. She was fond of him and she always would be. But she didn’t feel that yearning and anguish that she had always felt before, even when she was sleeping with Riley. ‘You’re still hung up on Angel!’ Riley had flung at her during their last bitter quarrel. She had been and that was why she had never let Riley into her heart.

Now all she felt was exasperation. She didn’t want to deal with the hassle when he realized that she was having a...relationship with Spike. For all that he said he wanted her to find somebody else, he had always resented Riley. And Riley was human, was ‘normal’. Spike was a vamp and Angel’s bête noire. She moved carefully to the other side of the room from him, hoping that he wouldn’t smell Spike on her. Why couldn’t he have phoned instead of coming down?

She was over Angel. She could move on now. Spike had done it.

She didn’t know how. She didn’t know what she felt for Spike. It wasn’t that dizzy, dancing, walking on air feeling she had had when she had first fallen in love with Angel and all the agony and the angst was yet to happen. With Spike, it was not romance, but sex.

No, it was more than that, deeper than that. Passion, yes, but also warmth and understanding and tenderness and knowing she could rely on him absolutely, that he would never walk away from her of his free will.

Was that love? Or was she just being selfish again? It wasn’t what that other Buffy had felt for her Spike. The other Buffy had been willing to cross dimensions to find him again. She didn’t know whether she would do that. And this Spike had loved and died for that Buffy. Could he ever feel that way about her or was he just making do? Were they both just making do?

Angel was talking about Hellgods and green balls of energy. Glorificus, that’s who he was talking about. The next Big Bad. This year’s apocalypse. Buffy didn’t know what the green ball was, but Buffy2 had died to stop Glory in the other dimension. She’d have to ask Spike whether there was any way to avoid that.

“I’ll check that binder the minute I get back to the dorm, Giles,” she agreed. “Buffy2 may have said something about how to deal with her.”

“You might talk to Spike about that as well,” said Giles.

Angel stared at him. “What are you talking about? Spike’s gone! The other Buffy took him with her.”

“Oh!” Giles colored hotly. “Er, yes, well, you see, we’ve still got one around.”

“Got one what?”

Giles shot Buffy an apologetic glance, then took off his glasses and started to polish them. “We’ve still got a...a Spike. Not our Spike. The other dimension’s Spike. He, well, he’s turned up here.”

“I knew I sensed a vamp! I’ve been picking up vamp vibrations for the last ten minutes. He’s right outside!” Angel stared at the front door and sniffed.

Then his head jerked around and he stared at Buffy.

“Why do I smell him all over you?”

“Oh, good grief,” muttered Giles.

Buffy sighed. “Um, Angel...”

“No! Not you too!”

Angel snarled into gameface and hurtled towards the door.

“Angel, wait!” yelled Buffy and ran after him, Giles right behind her.

Spike was outside in the little courtyard, beside the steps leading up to the pavement above. He looked as if he was debating coming in and causing a scene, or quietly leaving and letting Buffy break the bad news to Angel whenever she thought it best. He looked around as Angel charged through the door and roared towards him.

“Peaches!” He was grinning widely. “Wish I could say it’s good to see you again, but I really can’t. Honestly haven’t missed you one bit.”

“I’m going to kill you!”

“Still think she belongs to you, huh?” He ducked the roundhouse punch Angel threw at him. “Guess what, poofter. She doesn’t.”

He socked Angel as hard as he could. Angel soared into the air, clearing both the stairs and the bushes at the top. They heard him crash onto the ground somewhere up on the sidewalk. Buffy and Giles both gaped and even Spike looked surprised.

“Forgot the extra mojo,” he muttered.

“How...did you..?” Buffy couldn’t believe it. Spike had possibly acquired a few more fighting skills over the four years he had on them, but strengthwise he and Angel had always been fairly evenly matched.

“I’m kinda amped right now,” he shrugged. “Ingested something unusual.”

“It must have been. Giles, stop that!” Buffy glared at Giles who was sniggering helplessly. “You sound like that cartoon dog Muttley.”

“It’s the way he just sailed up there.” Ever since Jenny Calendar’s death, Angel hadn’t been one of Giles’ favorite people. “That was hilarious. Pillock.”

He wheezed again and Spike grinned at him.

“Oh, for Heaven’s sake.” Buffy headed towards the stairs. “I’d better go see how he is.”

“He’s fine, pet,” said Spike. “Barring a few bruises. I can hear him getting up. Let’s go in. I stay here, he’ll wanna go on trying to beat me up and I’ll have to hurt him some more. Not that I have any objections to that, of course, but you might.”

“Go right ahead, be my guest,” said Giles and Buffy shoved him into the flat with one hand and yanked Spike along with the other.

“Honestly! Act your age, Giles. I so do not have time for this, with Hellgods and crap like that to worry about.”

“Scotch?” Giles asked, beaming at Spike. “I’ve got some very good Glenfiddich I’ve been saving.”

“Appreciate that, Watcher.”

Angel appeared in the doorway by the time Giles poured the drinks and handed one to Spike. He hulked there, glowering, his fists clenched.

“Come outside,” he grated.

“Oh, put a lid on it, Peaches,” said Spike, sipping his Scotch. “The way I’m juiced right now, it would be too easy. That’ll wear off in a week or so and then we can play.”

“Come in and sit down, Angel,” said Buffy sternly.

“Buffy...”

“My relationship with anyone is none of your business. It stopped being your business when you left for L.A.”

“But that’s Spike!”

“So it is. I tried normal and I didn’t like it. He’s a vamp, but he’s way more fun.”

“But he doesn’t have a soul!” yelled Angel, falling back on the tried and true objection.

“Well, actually he does.”

“What!”

“Picked one up in my dimension,” said Spike. “You’re not unique anymore, poofter.”

“He’s lying!”

“No, he isn’t,” said Giles. “I had Willow do a spell to check. He’s got one all right.”

Angel came in and collapsed into an armchair. Giles kindly poured him a Scotch too and walked over to hand it to him.

“To get back to what really matters,” said Buffy firmly. “We’ve got a Hellgod to worry about.”

“No, you don’t, pet,” said Spike. “She’s gone. I drained her. That’s why I’m so juiced right now. Her blood had a lot of power.”

“You mean she’s dead?” exclaimed Buffy. “Wow, Spike! You killed a god!”

“But...gods can’t die,” objected Giles. “That’s not possible for a true immortal.”

Spike shrugged. “This one was thrown out of her hell dimension and trapped here in a human body. As Glory, it’s true she couldn’t be killed. But when weakened, she turned back into her human shape, a guy called Ben. And he could be killed.”

Buffy caught her breath. “You killed a human?”

Spike looked at her with a hard, set face. “Yeah.”

“So much for the soul,” said Angel smugly.

Spike gave him a scornful glance. “Oh, like humans with souls don’t kill. In my dimension, Buffy had to die to stop Glory. It was either Ben’s life or Buffy’s. Which would you have chosen, wanker?”

“Spike...” whispered Buffy, horrified.

“It was the only way, Slayer.”

She spun on her heel and walked away, trying to take it in, all the implications. He watched her in silence, his face grim and his lips tightly compressed.

“A human,” said Giles and Spike gave him a sardonic look.

“Don’t get on your high horse, Watcher. In my dimension, you were the one who killed Ben.”

“I!”

“You suffocated him, Ripper. For exactly my reasons. It was either him or Buffy. But you did it too late. Glory had already opened the gateway that would bleed all existing dimensions together and Buffy had to die to close it.”

There was a terrible silence, Buffy pacing back and forth, and Giles trying to come to terms with the knowledge that the Ripper side of him that he tried so hard to suppress was still there and capable of murder. Angel was clearly considering how he could use Spike’s admission to his advantage.

Spike just watched Buffy sadly. It looked like he was right to fear how she would take this.

“And what about this green ball of energy Angel was talking about?” Buffy said abruptly.

“Ah, well, she’s the Key. What Glory used to break down the walls between dimensions and open the gate.”

“She?”

“Your sister. Dawn.”

“Dawnie?” Buffy spun to stare at him. “She’s an energy ball? No way! I remember when Mom and Dad brought her home from the hospital fourteen years ago. She’s human and she’s my sister!”

“She’s human, but she’s only just become your sister, Slayer. A couple of weeks ago you didn’t have a sister. Trouble is, you don’t remember that. These monks were trying to hide the Key from Glory, so they turned it human and sent it to you, figuring you’re the best one to protect it. They’ve rearranged everyone’s memories.”

“Except yours.” She gave him a disbelieving look.

“Maybe because I’m from the other dimension.” Spike shrugged wryly. “If you don’t believe me, check that binder. The other Buffy may have said something about it.”

“Somebody could use her against you, Buffy,” said Angel sharply. “You have to do something about her!”

“Do what? She’s my sister!”

“She’s not your sister! She’s a construct! She’s dangerous!”

“She’s innocent!” snapped Spike. “They made her human. What do you want to do? Kill her? Ripper here suggested that in the other dimension. And you say it’s wrong to kill a Hellgod who really is dangerous, just because she’s in her human shape. Hypocrite.”

“Oh, you see a difference?” Angel flung back. “This one’s not human either!”

“She is human. Cut her and she’ll bleed Summers blood. Have Willow, anyone, check her DNA. She’s your sister, Buffy, and she’s not going to turn incorporeal anytime in the future. She doesn’t even know what she is.”

Angel made a dismissive gesture. “How can she not know?”

“The monks did a good job. All she knows is that she’s a human teenager and that Joyce is her Mum and Buffy’s her sister. I wouldn’t tell her different, Slayer. Not unless something comes up and you absolutely have to. She’ll freak. Teenagers are unstable enough without being traumatized by thinking they’re some kind of alien monstrosity.”

Angel glowered. “Why are you protecting her like this?”

“She’s my Niblet. And I promised Buffy I’d protect her. To the end of the world. It doesn’t matter that it was supposed to be the end of a different world. You try to hurt her, you’ll have to go through me.”

“That’s an incentive,” snarled Angel.

Buffy slammed her hand down on the dining table. “No one’s hurting Dawn!”

Angel was on his feet. “Buffy, be reasonable. She’s a threat!”

“You say she’s a threat. Spike says she’s not a threat. All I know is that she’s my sister and I love her!”

“She’s a ball of green energy! She’s not your sister!”

“Even the other Buffy thought she was, otherwise why would she ask Spike to protect her? No one touches Dawn!”

Angel realized that she was looking at him with revulsion. “Look, I’m just trying to help. I’m trying to protect you.”

“That’s what Spike was doing too. Is it a vamp thing, that despite your souls the only solution either of you can find is to kill?”

There was a silence. Giles was rubbing his hand across his face, looking indecisive and worried. Angel was seething. Spike just leaned against the kitchen pass through and waited for the boom to fall.

“Go back to L.A., Angel,” Buffy said at last. “You’ve given your warning. I’ll take it from here.”

“But...”

“This is not your turf, Angel. It’s mine. I make the decisions.” She turned on her heel. “And right now I’m going to get some sleep.”

“I’ll walk you back to the dorm,” said Angel immediately, clearly planning to continue the argument.

“She’s not staying at the dorm,” said Spike and Angel snarled. But then Spike’s face went suddenly grim and resigned at the way Buffy wasn’t looking at him. “Or are you, Slayer?”

“I think I’ll go back there for a while.”

Angel shot him a triumphant glance that Spike didn’t even notice. His whole attention was on Buffy who refused to meet his eyes.

He pushed away from the pass through and came to stand in front of her, not touching her, just looking down at her, his blue gaze somber and shadowed.

“You’re seeing me as the monster again, aren’t you?”

“I just need time to think.”

“Yeah, sure. This is what I am, Slayer. The vamp. You forgot that for a little while. I never did. Killing Ben? I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“Don’t.”

“Want me to leave town? I won’t. I don’t leave. You’ll have to stake me.”

She turned away from him. “Giles? Don’t tell the Scoobies about Glory or the Key.”

“Yes. Quite right. I won’t.” Giles was polishing his glasses. “The danger posed by Glory is now non-existent and Dawn is no one’s business but yours.”

“Thank you, Giles.”

“I’ll walk you,” insisted Angel.

“Why not?” shrugged Buffy indifferently. “Spike can come with us.”

Angel ruffled up at once. “Why...?”

“I know Spike. He’ll only follow us. And his being with us will keep you from continuing this argument.” She gave him an exasperated glance. “Just for once, Angel, it would be nice if you consider that maybe your way is not the only way. I am so sick of you thinking you’re right all the time!”

Affronted, Angel fell into glowering silence. Spike passed him without a glance and fell into step at Buffy’s left side. He too was silent, his gaze resting on her averted profile with an odd, quiet, relinquishing stillness.

They walked through the silent, deserted streets, heading past the hospital towards UC Sunnydale and the dorm. They came abreast of Restfield and Spike’s step hesitated for a moment. Then his lips tightened as Buffy kept walking.

There was a crack of sound and the smell of ozone. Just above the tallest crypt in the cemetery, a garish red line broke open in the darkness.

“It’s a portal!” gasped Angel.

Buffy was staring, horrified. “Glory’s portal?”

“Should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy!” groaned Spike.


TBC