Chapter 4: Rescue

The next morning, the Scooby gang assembled at the Magic Box, ready for battle. Before they set out, Buffy cornered Xander. “Are you sure you wanna do this?” she asked. “I know you don’t like him, and if you wanna back out, now’s the time.”

“I’m in, Buff.”

“Seriously, if you don’t want to, Anya could –”

“Nah. I couldn’t let Ahn go into a battle I wouldn’t fight myself.”

“She’d only have to –”

Xander shook his head. “It’s a chivalry thing. Besides, I’m not doing this for Spike. You need me, I’m there for you.”

Buffy nodded. “I’m gonna need a good wheel man.” She patted him on the arm and turned to the rest of the group. “Okay, everybody clear on their positions?” They nodded. “Good. Let’s go.” She slung her weapons bag over her shoulder and cast a last glance at Dawn, who was staying behind with Anya. Dawn gave her a nod of support and Buffy smiled.

Once everyone had headed out, Anya turned to Dawn. “Okay, kiddo, time you learned about a little thing called taking inventory.” Dawn rolled her eyes, and Anya wagged a finger at her. “You better learn to like it. If Buffy and everyone gets killed rescuing Spike, I could end up with custody of you.”

Dawn just glared at her.

*****

“This is our place,” Buffy said to the others as she peered at the cave from her vantage point of the previous night. There were only two vamps guarding the opening now, but she knew she’d meet plenty more inside. She dropped the weapons bag on the ground and opened it. She pulled out two wooden crosses with the ends whittled into sharp points so that they could be used as stakes as well, and handed one to Willow and the other to Tara. Their main weapon, however, would be the charm bracelet they each wore on their right wrist, through which they could conduct the combat spells they’d practiced all night.

Next, Buffy took out a crossbow and gave it to Giles, along with a quiver of darts. “Be careful with that,” Buffy said, teasing him a little. “Don’t shoot one of us.” Giles just gave her a good-natured smile. He, too, got a stake-cross, as well as a long slender sword in a scabbard that he fastened around his waist.

Buffy got out a crossbow of her own and her trusty battle-axe. “Everyone ready?”

Her small army answered in the affirmative, and the four of them came out of the trees and charged the entrance. Buffy and Giles each took down one of the guards with a crossbow before they could alert anyone inside.

Once inside the cave, it was dark. For obvious reasons, the sunlight didn’t penetrate far past the entrance. Willow cupped her palm and chanted until a small ball of light appeared, hovering just above her hand. She tossed it upward and it hung there, emitting a gentle glow that lit their surroundings.

Buffy pulled out a pair of glow sticks, cracked them, and tossed them down the tunnel. They could see at least a dozen vampires heading their way. Buffy tensed her body, ready for the fight. “Troops, man your battle stations.”

The first of the vampires reached them and headed for Giles. He tried to reload his crossbow, but fumbled, giving the vamp enough time to knock it out of his hands. It skittered across the cave floor. Giles pressed the cross against the vampire’s face and it jerked away with a growl and the hiss of burning flesh.

Two more vamps aimed their attacks at Willow, who extended her right arm. A broad beam of blue-white light extended from her outstretched palm, and she wielded it like a sword, slicing fiery cuts into the vampires. It wouldn’t kill them unless she could cut off their heads, but she was pretty sure it’d hurt like hell. Sure enough, the vamps doubled over in pain, and Willow staked them in succession.

Buffy picked off two more vampires using her crossbow and led the charge further into the cavern. Willow and Tara flanked her, while Giles stayed behind, grappling with the first vampire that had attacked him. He’d managed to draw his sword, but the vampire was parrying his blows with a metal rod he’d picked up off the ground.

One of the vamps lunged for Buffy, appearing out of a side tunnel, but Tara neatly decapitated him with her own blue-light sword. Hers was narrower and more focused than Willow’s but didn’t glow quite as brightly, reflecting the differences in their magic techniques. Buffy dropped her crossbow and started swinging the battle-axe, hacking the head off any vampire that came close.

Giles also managed to behead his own foe, but another attacked before he’d had time to recover. “Giles!” Willow cried, throwing up an invisible magic shield in front of the Watcher, which the vampire slammed into face first, less than a foot from Giles. She let the shield fall, and Giles swung his sword at his attacker, taking him down in one blow.

As they battled their way into the cave, Buffy tried to focus her senses on Spike, to guess which tunnel to head into. Trusting her instinct, she ran down a corridor and came to a turn-off that was blocked by a makeshift door.

“I think Spike is in there!” Buffy punched a vampire that got in her way. “Can you hold them off while I get him?”

Willow and Tara nodded, as Tara pointed to a group of three vampires and shouted, “Ventas!” All the air in the corridor was suddenly sucked in one direction and a gale-force wind knocked the vampires several feet backwards into a wall.

Before she could burst through the door, a vampire stepped out of the shadows beyond the turn-off and planted himself between the Slayer and her goal. Buffy could tell by his stature that he was the leader.

“Slayer,” he growled menacingly.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Where’s Spike?” she demanded, knocking him backwards with a punch.

“I knew you would come,” the vampire intoned self-importantly, as he engaged Buffy in hand-to-hand combat. “You have a weakness for the Aurelians.”

“What do you want with Spike?” Buffy snapped, getting annoyed with the obvious stalling tactic.

“Nothing,” he replied, mildly surprised at the question. “William the Bloody is but a shadow of himself. He means nothing to me.”

Buffy was about to speak, but he kept going. “But my sister has laid claim to him, thinks she can bring him back to his former self. So, I brought Spike to her, and Spike brought you to me.” He grinned, immensely satisfied with himself as he managed to catch Buffy on the chin.

Her head snapped back with the force of the blow, and suddenly something clicked.

Sister.

“Drusilla. You’re one of Angelus’ minions,” Buffy concluded. “I can tell, because you’re all with the pompous and the speechifying – and can we finish this already?” Her tone was flippant, but a fist of fear closed around her heart, as she realized that Drusilla might have already taken Spike far away, and she could have led her friends into a trap for nothing.

“I will have your blood, Slayer!”

“I don’t have time for this.” Buffy grabbed him by the shirt and punched him hard enough to snap his neck back and knock him unconscious, and then she unceremoniously drove a stake through his chest. She was off again before the dust settled, plowing through the crude barrier.

“Spike?” He heard the voice whisper his name, too delirious to know if it was real or a hallucination. He could feel someone creeping towards him but lacked the strength to pick his head up to look. It wasn’t until he felt Buffy’s warm hand on his cheek that he dared roll his eyes upward to see her.

“Spike… Don’t worry, I’ll get you out.” She could see that he’d been badly beaten, one eye was swollen shut and blood was smeared across his face. His bare chest was covered in bruises, gashes, and raised welts, and he was chained to the wall by his arms and legs. Her breath caught in her throat as she glanced down at his exposed genitals. Swallowing hard, she gently eased his pants back up, trying not to irritate the burned skin as she tucked him back in. One of the buttons had been torn off, so they didn’t close all the way, but it was better than before. With Spike again decent, Buffy went to work on his chains, pulling desperately to dislodge them from the stone wall, but it was no use.

“I’m not strong enough. Will! Willow!” At the sound of her shouting, the redheaded witch ran into the cave. “I can’t break the chains, Will. Can you do it with magic?”

Willow stared hard at the chains, chanting under her breath, and the manacles on Spike’s wrists and ankles burst open and he tumbled to the ground. Buffy rushed over to him. “He’s in bad shape, Will.”

Before Willow could respond, they heard a scream from out in the corridor. “Tara!” Willow cried. She looked to Buffy.

“Go.” Turning back to Spike, Buffy propped him up so she could see his face. “Spike, can – can you hear me?”

Spike shook his head ever so slightly. “You… have to… go,” he managed.

“I’m not leaving without you.”

He shifted a little so that his ribcage wasn’t crushing his useless – but still painful – internal organs. “Dru… It’s a trap, pet.”

“Shh. I know, sweetheart,” she said softly, stroking his face. “Don’t try to talk.”

“I’m the bait…” Spike winced but ignored Buffy’s attempts to quiet him, determined to get his message across. “Don’t think she’ll… kill me, but… she will kill you.”

“No, no, precious. I think I’ll kill you both,” Drusilla purred from behind Buffy. Buffy stood up and spun around, ready to face her.

“Poor Spike, my sweet boy. He stinks of humans. Can’t reach him now. Can’t bring him back. My lost little boy.” Drusilla’s eyes narrowed and focused on Buffy. “He loves the Slayer.” Her tone was sad, but there was a hint of possessive evil that Buffy found intimidating.

The two women began circling each other, as Drusilla slid into her game face and growled. Buffy lunged in for the first move, a roundhouse kick that allowed Drusilla to catch her by the foot and flip her sideways onto the ground. Buffy sprang up again and got in a few good punches before Drusilla knocked her backwards. Trying desperately not to lose her balance, Buffy recovered and charged again, this time landing a kick that knocked Dru to the floor. Buffy jumped on top of her, stake in hand, but Drusilla held her arm outside of staking distance. They rolled on the ground, both struggling for control, until finally Buffy landed on top and hit Drusilla with a swift punch in the face.

She raised the stake, about to deliver the final blow, when Spike caught her eye. Looking at him, knowing he was watching her about to dust the woman he’d loved for a century, she hesitated. It was only a moment, but it was enough for Drusilla to lunge upward, knocking Buffy off her and causing her to drop the stake. Suddenly, Dru was on top, and she had Buffy by the throat; and although Buffy kicked and fought, she couldn’t escape Drusilla’s grasp.

“Be in my eyes… be in me,” the vampire repeated, in a soft, soothing voice. Dru stared into Buffy’s eyes, and the Slayer felt as if she were hypnotized. She stopped struggling and simply stared, held in the vampire’s thrall. Buffy watched helplessly as Drusilla’s fanged grin crept toward her neck.

Without warning, she felt a sudden heavy weight on top of her. Then, Drusilla was gone, and Spike was lying on her chest, a pile of dust underneath him. He’d picked up the stake Buffy dropped but hadn’t had the strength in his arms to drive it into Dru, so he just placed it in the right spot and heaved his weight onto it, hoping not to stake himself in the process. The effort left him spent, and he drifted into unconsciousness, lying on top of Buffy.

Buffy wriggled out from under him and scooped him up in her arms. Dashing out of the cave, she yelled, “Come on!” to Willow and Tara, who were still fending off vampires with their spells.

“Can you keep up the magic until we get out?” she asked them. “I can’t fight if I’m carrying him.” Willow nodded and she and Tara stood on either side of Buffy and focused all their effort into keeping a shield up around them. Giles, battered and bloody but not seriously injured, sheathed his sword and fell into step beside them as they made their way out of the lair.

Once all the vampires were behind them, Willow and Tara joined hands. With their opposite hands extended toward the vamps, they shouted, “Fuego!” and a wall of fire flowed through the cave. “That should take care of them,” Willow said in a satisfied voice.

There was a squeal of tires and when they got to the entrance of the cave, Xander’s SUV was parked there, the back hatch open and facing the cave. Buffy dove in the back, shielding Spike from the sunlight as best she could. Once inside, she covered him with a blanket. The others piled into the car and Xander floored it, bouncing over the rough terrain and swerving around trees.