---

“Wesley and Cordelia are dead?” Willow repeated in a small voice, the statement coming out more as a question than as a bare statement of fact.

Giles nodded his head, regret etched in the lines of his face. “Yes… apparently, Angelus caught them unawares; before they were able to comprehend the enemy they were facing, he slaughtered them without a second thought.”

“Son of a bitch!” Xander yelled, clearly furious.

“How’d he lose his soul?” Buffy asked, her voice carefully void of any emotion.

Giles stiffened uncomfortably. He really didn’t relish the thought of being the one to explain the horrible circumstances of Angel’s decline into darkness. “As you know, Angel was having some trouble with a large law firm called Wolfram & Hart. Apparently they decided, for whatever reason, to bring Darla back.”

Spike stiffened as he listened to Giles explain.

Buffy’s eyes widened with horror. “Darla’s back? As in Angelus’ sire Darla? As in took a chunk out of my mother Darla?”

Giles nodded his head. “Yes… they used her to play Angel, t-to try and break him.”

“Guess it worked,” Dawn mumbled quietly.

Giles shook his head. “Well, actually—no, it didn’t. Obviously Angel was quite disturbed by the revelation of Darla returning. However, he took her under his wing in an attempt to help her. You see, Darla was returned as a human, with a soul, and unfortunately also with an incurable syphilitic heart condition that had apparently afflicted her as a human.”

“Now that would be the Darla I know… Always was a whore,” Spike interjected bitterly.

“Yes… well… Angel tried to cure her, to no avail. Unfortunately, Wolfram & Hart had other ideas. They found Drusilla and had her sire Darla, returning her to her former strength,” Giles explained.

“Why the hell would they do that?” Xander cried out in exasperation.

Giles shrugged. “I’m sure I don’t know… However, that was the turning point for Angel. He fired his crew and locked Darla and Drusilla in a room with the lawyers of Wolfram & Hart. It was a complete slaughter.”

“So how did he lose his soul?” Anya asked.

Giles shook his head. “I don’t know. The only thing we can say for sure is it had something to do with Darla and Drusilla.”

“I can’t believe they actually did it!” Spike muttered in shock.

Buffy turned and looked at Spike. “You knew?!”

Spike shook his head. “No… Dru said they were trying. I didn’t think they’d actually do it.”

Buffy jumped off of Spike’s lap in absolute disgust. “You… you knew, and you let this happen to me?!”

Spike stood up and took a step towards Buffy. She only stepped back, keeping her distance. “No… I didn’t, I swear. When Drusilla came to town she told me about Darla, and how they were trying to bring back the old Angelus. I never thought they’d actually do it—I didn’t have any idea that they could!”

Buffy stared at Spike in shock. “You knew Darla was back and that she and Drusilla were trying to take Angel’s soul away, and you didn’t tell me. Explain to me the part where you thought that wasn’t something I should know about?”

Spike clenched his jaw tightly as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “How the hell was I supposed to tell you? You locked me out, Buffy, and you wouldn’t talk to me. At what point was I supposed to tell you? How the hell was I supposed to know the wanker was so unstable? The last time I saw the soddin’ poof he was so soul-happy he actually destroyed the flamin’ Gem of Amara.”

Spike took a step closer to Buffy. “I didn’t know, pet… I swear. I thought Dru was out of her tree, talking about bringing back her daddy… as if I’d want that wanker back!”

Buffy softened slightly as she watched Spike slowly walk towards her. “You should have told me,” she sniffled, close to tears.

“I know, luv…” Spike agreed, pulling Buffy into his arms.

~*~~*~~*~

Glory burst through the Magic Box’s front door, letting out an ear-piercing scream when the early warning spell activated and set off a deafeningly shrill screech that penetrated the hellgod’s sensitive ears like white hot metal burning right through her skull. Glory’s blood practically boiled as she looked around the store. The bodies of her faithful minions littered the floor like discarded lumps of meat. There was no sign of the Slayer, or of Glory’s precious key. “Well?! Where the hell are they?” she growled in distain.

“Oh, forgive me, your most luminous one. But the Slayer and the key are not here,” Jinx answered, beyond frightened of his mistress’ rage.

Glory narrowed her eyes in fury. “DON’T YOU THINK I CAN SEE THAT, YOU INFINITESIMAL LITTLE SCAB? You said they’d be here! You told me that you found my key and that it was here! So where is it, Jinxy? Time’s runnin’ short!”

Jinx cautiously approached Glory, kneeling down before the truly pissed-off God and easily falling into grovelling mode. “I prostrate myself before your magnificence, and beseech you for your forgiveness. For my shameful cowardice and lack of skills has allowed the Slayer valuable time to flee with your un-holiness’s key.”

“Yes it has, you infuriating, snivelling little twit!” Glory yelled as she grabbed her forehead, trying to will away the deafening sound of Willow’s spell. Her head felt like it was going to explode at any moment.

Glory hadn’t expected to find the Slayer or her key just sitting here waiting for her, but she would have been a fool not to check anyway. Now, standing in the middle of the Magic Box with sirens blaring and a snivelling minion grovelling at her feet, she was ready to blow. She was going to find her key, and if the Slayer tried to stop her, she was going to rip out her heart and watch as she turned to dust. And with any luck, she’ll also have a chance to rip off the witch’s arms to see if she could get her to make the same shrill screams as this infernal spell. An evil smile spread across Glory’s lips as these thoughts entered her mind, and entertaining them slowly bettered her mood.


~*~~*~~*~


No one said a word as they listened to Spike’s explanation as to why he hadn’t told Buffy about Darla’s and Dru’s plan to make Angel evil again. Even Xander managed to keep himself from screaming out his I told you so’s.

Giles watched the interaction between Buffy and Spike. Clearly, whatever their relationship was, it had moved much further than just comfort. Giles didn’t really know how he felt about that. On one hand, this was the girl that he viewed as his surrogate daughter, and no matter how much physical strength she had she was still just a confused young woman who had just experienced one of the worst years of her life. It was hard for Giles not to think that Spike was taking advantage of Buffy in her vulnerable state. But as he watched the unlikely pair, Giles could see that whatever was between them went much deeper than that. It was more than obvious that Spike loved Buffy; of course, he had tried to make that more than clear months ago. But it was what he saw when he looked at Buffy that stopped his objections before they were vocalized; there in her eyes was that spark, just a hint of a flame that told him that she had strong feelings for Spike as well.

Giles finally cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention away from the now-reconciled couple. “I also received a call from the Council. They have informed me of the ritual timeline; however, we still do not know of the location.”

Buffy pulled away from Spike and took a step closer to Giles. “When is it?”

Giles carefully put his glasses back on before raising his gaze to meet Buffy’s. “There’s a reference in the ‘Dimensioni é prophecies dél demon’ that refers to the ritual as the dark death, where words collide and in turn consume each other…”

“That’s very fascinating, Giles, but can you cut to the part about when this happens,” Buffy interrupted in slight irritation.

Giles gave Buffy a small smile as he continued. “The ritual is said to be performed during the second night of the seventieth full moon after the feast of Cetulas.”

Buffy gave Giles a blank stare. “Huh?! Giles, English please?”

Giles lowered his head. “Two days… the gates will align in two days.”

The room filled with shocked gasps.

Buffy felt as though she was going to throw up and faint at the same time. She half-stumbled into Spike’s arms as she looked over at Dawn, who simply looked petrified. Her eyes were as round a saucers, and her skin looked almost transparent because of the blood that had drained from her face. Buffy turned her attention back to Giles. “H-how long do the gates align for?”

“Twenty-four hours,” Giles answered sombrely.

That was all Buffy could take; she ran straight up to the bathroom and threw up. *Three days, Glory has three days to find her key, and we’re just sitting here like lambs waiting for the slaughter.* The moment this thought entered her mind, Buffy threw up again.

As Spike neared Buffy’s location, he heard her sickening coughs as she emptied her stomach contents into toilet; his heart reached out for her as he knelt down next to the tiny blonde, lightly running his hand over her back as he waited for her dry heaves to subside. A sob escaped Buffy’s throat as she wiped her mouth with a damp cloth Spike handed her. She felt so stupid; why didn’t she run, how could she have been so blind as to think she could take on a hellgod? Another sob escaped her throat as Spike pulled her onto his lap and softly whispered into her ear. “Everything will be okay, luv.”

Buffy let out a sardonic laugh. “I’m glad one of us is optimistic… But the realist in me keeps screaming that I’ve killed Dawn. We should have run… We could have gotten on a plane and gone anywhere in the world… Three days, that’s all, just three days… But I said we should stay… I said we should fight. What the hell was I thinking?’’

Spike tilted Buffy’s chin up so he could look into her eyes. “You were thinking like a warrior. You know you can take her; hell, you’ve done it once already. I know why you chose to stay, Buffy… because one way or another you’ll have to fight the bitch, and you know it. Even if you did run, and you managed to evade her until the gates locked, she wouldn’t let you go. She’d have hunted you down like a dog, just for the sport and vengeance of it. ‘Least this way you can prepare. You know she’ll come looking for you, and you’ll be ready for her… You’re not alone, pet. You have me and your friends, all of whom would gladly give their lives to save you and the Bit… and as a plus you have Tara and Red, and I’ve gotta give it to that girl—she’s not someone I’d like to mess with. She’s got more tricks up her sleeves than David bloody Copperfield.”

Buffy let a small smile spread across her lips. “Only without the shoulder pads.”

Spike let out a small chuckle and kissed the top of Buffy’s head. “Well, that’s Havana demons for you. Always tryin’ to make ‘emselves look like they’ve got shoulders.”

“David Copperfield’s a demon?” Buffy asked with a small squeak.

“Of course, luv. How else would he be able to get Claudia Schiffer? He’s got that whole mind control thing goin’ for ‘im.”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “Good point…”

Spike tilted his head to the side as he watched his childe. “You okay, pet?”

A small smile graced Buffy’s features. “Yeah… We best get back, though--Dawnie’s probably terrified.”

With a slight nod of his head, Spike stood up, reaching his hand out to help Buffy to her feet.


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy and Spike had just reached the top of the stairs when Willow’s early warning spell activated. They barely had a split second to contemplate the situation before the house was surrounded by a ring of blue mystical fire. The screams of Glory’s minions filled the air as the fire engulfed them. Buffy and Spike ran to the living room, where they found the rest of the gang starring out the window, looks of sheer terror marring their faces as they watched the scene unfold around them. The front lawn looked like a battlefield. The smouldering corpses of Glory’s minions littered the ground like the aftermath of an atomic bomb, and several other severely burnt minions could be seen crawling away from the blistering heat. Buffy let out a shocked gasp as Glory stepped through the intense flame unscathed. She bore a look of pure rage and contempt as she absently patted out the small flames that threatened to engulf her silk dress.

Buffy turned wide-eyed to her sister. “Dawnie, get behind the barrier NOW!”

Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but Buffy instantly cut her off. “I mean it, Dawn--get behind that barrier and don’t come out no matter what you see!”

Dawn nodded her head in understanding and ran to shelter behind the safety of Willow’s spell.

Once Buffy was sure that Dawn was safe she returned her attention to the furious hellgod who was now only feet away from the house. “Will, put up the shield!”

Willow nodded her head, sitting down on the floor cross-legged as she poured all of her concentration into the spell. “Enemies, fly and fall. Circling arms raise a wall.” With a sudden blinding flash, the deafening sirens alerting them to the hellgod’s presence died away and were replaced with a low hum as the house was enveloped in a supernatural barrier.

Glory let out an inhuman growl when she encountered the invisible shields encircling the house. With her rage building to boiling point, she hauled off and punched her way through the protective magic’s, tearing the invisible barrier to sunder as she cleared a path to the house.

“Well, I guess we’ll see if the house is god-proofed,” Buffy muttered to Willow, absently but gratefully taking note that her friends had already armed themselves against the rapidly approaching hellgod.

Glory burst through the door as if it was made of paper. She stopped and looked around, gauging her surroundings, until her eyes settled on Dawn cowering in the corner like a caged rat. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said cheerfully, shooting the terrified girl a malevolent smile.

Buffy and Spike instantly launched themselves at the hellgod, throwing all their strength behind their blows. Glory was beyond furious; after years of looking for her key, being imprisoned in the body of a human, and being forced to live on such a low plane, her anger was a bubbling cesspool of seething hatred waiting to be unleashed upon the world. With a simple swipe of her arm, she sent Spike flying through the air as though she had just swatted a fly. He came to a stop in a tangled heap on the stairs, shattered pieces of the banister littering his body like deadly pieces of confetti.

Buffy risked a brief glance at Spike to make sure he was still unliving and not a pile of dust. Seeing that he was still solid, she turned her attention back to the furious hellgod and punched the crazy blonde in the face, immediately following through with a high kick.

~*~~*~~*~

The few minions who had managed to survive the initial ring of flames that had encircled the house, quickly followed Glory’s path of destruction into the Slayers home. As they entered through the devastated front door, Giles, Xander, Anya, Tara, and Willow mounted a battle formation to take them on as they entered.

Spike panicked as he came to, in time to see one of the short demons grab Anya by the upper arm and shake her forcefully, coming increasingly closer to smashing her head against the wall. Xander was occupied with another demon who was trying to wrest his weapon from him, and Giles had been beset by two more. Tara and Willow were doing what they could, but they were forced for the moment to battle with regular weapons as they were both more than certain that their magic’s would be needed before the battle was over.

~*~~*~~*~

Glory easily blocked Buffy’s kick, leaving the Slayer just a split second to throw another punch. Glory reeled back from the second blow, allowing Buffy a chance to throw yet another sharp jab; she took advantage of the opportunity only to have the infuriated hellgod grab her by the arm and toss her into a nearby wall, sending her crashing to the floor in a shower of shattered plaster.

Glory moved with lightning-fast reflexes, quickly bringing her foot down towards the Slayer with the full intent of crushing the little gnat once and for all, only to have the infuriating twig grab her by the foot. Before she could react, the Slayer had twisted it sharply and thrown her off balance, sending the hellgod crashing through the glass doors into the living room.

Buffy was quick to move towards the stunned god; stomping her way through the broken glass, she attempted to deliver another savage kick to the downed blonde only to have the hellbitch smash her across the shin with a large piece of broken wood from the demolished glass doors. Buffy let out a scream as she fell to the floor next to Glory. Both women struggled to their knees as they continued to face off against each other. Glory was the first to strike this time, savagely beating Buffy across the head with the chunk of wood.

As Buffy fell to the ground, Glory seized her moment and attempted to slam the piece of timber into the Slayer’s chest. Buffy, however, had anticipated this move, and blocked Glory’s blow mere millimetres from her sternum.

A swift kick to the gut dislodged Glory, sending her crashing to the ground. Buffy was on her feet in seconds, grabbing the hellgod around the throat in a choking grip. Glory fought for purchase on anything that she could use to dislodge the super-strong Slayer, and eventually her fingers fumbled upon a poker from the fireplace. Mustering as much force as possible, Glory smashed Buffy across the side of the head with the long piece of iron.

~*~~*~~*~

Spike leapt to his feet and charged with a roar, taking the demon that was assaulting Anya by surprise and twisting its head off before it had a moment to react. The others weren’t quite so caught unawares, however, and redoubled their efforts, one leaving combat with Giles to focus on engaging the vampire and keeping him busy.

Spike wasn’t so easily distracted, however, not with his childe taking a beating in the other room and him unable to reach her; he plunged his hand through the chest of the new combatant and ripped out what he assumed was the heart. Even if it wasn’t, whatever it had been had obviously been important because the demon gave only a small gurgling noise before dropping to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Xander and Giles turned wide eyes, both admiring and frightened, on the furious vampire before quickly moving to dispatch their now-terrified sparring partners. The fear that Spike had struck into their hearts worked very much to the advantage of the Scoobies, and they defeated the remaining demons.

~*~~*~~*~

With a scream of pain, Buffy released her hold on Glory and tumbled to the floor as she fought back waves of dizziness. Glory wasted no time jumping to her feet and attempting to skewer the dazed Slayer with the poker. Buffy, however, had other plans; with blinding speed she grabbed Glory by the wrist, forcing the furious blonde to relinquish her hold on her weapon. The dull thud of the long piece of iron hitting the floor rang out in the otherwise quiet room. With a skilled move, Buffy raised her foot, kicking the hellgod into the nearby bookshelf.

Glory let out a furious scream as she grabbed hold of the large wooden bookshelf, sending it crashing down onto the Slayer.

Buffy rolled herself into the foetal position, trying to protect herself from the heavy projectile. The Slayer’s friends could only watch in horror as the petite blonde was engulfed by the large piece of furniture.

Fury finally getting the better of her, Buffy vamped out; pulling herself free from the shattered furniture, she once again launched herself at the unstable blonde goddess. Grabbing Glory by what Spike had termed her “home-permed nappy hair,” she repeatedly slammed her face-first into a nearby wall. Glory blindly grabbed backwards at her attacker, finally managing to snag her fingers in Buffy’s own tresses and savagely pulling on the long locks in an attempt to free herself from the infuriated vampire. Buffy let out a pained scream as Glory ripped out a large chunk of her hair.

Buffy released her hold on the hellgod; giving her a savage snarl she yelled, “You bitch!” Taking advantage of the god’s righteous indignation, she immediately smashed Glory in the face with the palm of her hand, sending the hellgod staggering backwards.

Glory let a wicked smile cross her lips when she noticed the bright stream of sunlight pouring in through the window. Letting out a feral growl, she grabbed Buffy by the shoulders, easily lifting her and throwing her into the golden light of the early morning rays. Her smile quickly faded when Buffy simply stood in the light. “Oh, yeah. That’s right… Sunlight doesn’t affect me,” Buffy announced tauntingly, mocking the taller blonde with a mischievous grin.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way,” Glory growled as she once again launched herself at Buffy.

Buffy backhanded Glory, sending her crashing through the coffee table. “Well, you can try,” she said with a sneer as she pounced onto the prone hellgod, looking to finish this once and for all.

~*~~*~~*~

Spike watched what was happening as though it was in slow motion. Turning quickly to make sure that the Scoobies were holding their own with the few remaining demons, he ran towards the combatants in the living room, praying that he wouldn’t be too late.

~*~~*~~*~

Glory was prepared for the attack. When Buffy launched herself at the blonde god, Glory tightened her grip around a large piece of wood from the shattered coffee table and plunged it upwards into Buffy’s chest, piercing straight through the Slayer’s heart.