Thanks 1: To Melissa, best beta I ever have!
Thanks 2: to all of you for being with me along this more than long story. For your support and your wonderful words. Love you!


CHAPTER 27

Faith had walked in front of the long rows of demons as an Emperor leading his conquering hordes. Her heart throbbed savagely in her chest as her mind pictured different scenarios with one repeated feature. Crawling slaves bowing and scraping at her feet. For a few moments, when the Mayor had left their meeting at the woods, she had doubted. Only a flickering second when her eyes had chased his bent figure. This night, the greatest one in which he was going to rule above everything… And he had to be escorted by three minions only by the loss of a sleazy witch. Before he disappeared among the shadows of the trees he had squared his shoulders and barked a throttled order while he swallowed something he took from a box. Whatever doubt she might have held, had been banished by that mere thing. The rattle of the army at her back had encouraged her even more. But now… Angelus, that shoddy bastard was crawling the walls of the City Hall like a distorted gigantic fly after beheading four demons’ heads with his broad axe. She should have known… Should have known that somebody like her could never trust such a fiend. She had seen it in his eyes… That lustful spark, that selfish glint. But if he thought he was going to spoil her plans or the Mayor’s, for that matter, she was going to show him how wrong he was. Nothing would stop the Ascension. Nothing would stop her glorious dream.

At her command the first lines of demons hustled against the entrance doors while others explored the surroundings for another access. A piercing shriek echoed in the night when they smelt the trace Buffy and her friends had left. Faith ran towards them, a slight thread of panic starting to weave a seething net around her ribs. Angelus wasn’t going to stop them. What he had in mind, she could picture damned well. To prevent the Ascension and be the only Master. The dark sceptre shimmering in his filthy hands. So for her was the task of stopping them all. She jumped inside the building with an enraged bawl.



Angelus stomped along the stairs, down to the dungeons where the Ascension would be performed. He had given the Mayor enough time to start with the ritual. Just to barge in when the poor bastard would be weak enough to be completely defenceless. The dogs at the doors growled a little but after sniffing him they laid down again. Good disgusting creatures! They knew him. And he had counted on that. His hand squeezed the handle of the broad axe while he listened to the hinges squeaking. The walls were covered in a white gleam. No more stripes of light showing small threads of unknown worlds but wide openings from where entire worlds could be seen. Their habitants had jumped to this side of the universe and were up there, in the streets. Probably trying to raze the whole building down under that bitch’s commands. He had to hurry. The alabaster pedestal shone under the lights. It was empty. No sceptre there for him to steal.

A muffled sound came from the other room. Something was whining or maybe gasping in agony. Angelus opened the other door, barely holding his rage. And there he was. The Mayor. His grey suit had become rags on his exposed skin now covered with patches of green and yellow scales. His snake eyes fixed on the vampire’s face. On the icy glint of the axe blade. A hissing sound reverberated on the walls and brought two minions to the room.



Buffy sighed spinning on her feet. “We should have reached that basement long ago! How many passages are there in this dingy place?”

Oz stopped in one corner sniffing the air as a lonely wolf. “This way.” He shouted, jumping on the stair rails to the dark land beneath. “The demons are on the upper floor...” He explained between harsh breathes. “There’s another scent here…”

“Angelus…” Spike stated with a deep rumble. “And the dogs… Speed, mate. They’re blowing on our neck…”



Crossing corridor after corridor at full speed, Faith finally reached the dungeons. She had ordered her demonic hordes to spread along the building just to capture the Slayer and her pathetic friends. Tie them up. Lock them in some room. You kill them, I slay a thousand of you. If not your whole species. The door bounced against the walls when she kicked it opened. The hellish dogs tried to seize her ankles, startled by the noise. With a quick swirl of her axe she cut their throats without even sweating. Damned horrible beasts! If she’d had time she would have popped their nasty four eyes out of their repulsive faces! A not too distant sound of feet trotting on the stairs brought her to a halt. Hesitating she stood on the empty pedestal trying to pierce the looming dim-light of the tiny hall. There was another sound there. Like drums being hit by giant hands. Like metal prongs raking a harsh surface. So the beasts’ mates knew something was really wrong… Better hurry then. Jumping off the empty pedestal she headed to the back door.

As Faith ran down the stairs of the right wing of the building, Angelus had already killed the two minions, beheading them with one single stroke. Wilkins wriggled once more; his body stretched to the ceiling, his face changed into one of a deformed gigantic cobra. No hands now to hold the sceptre… It fell to the floor with an uncanny clatter. Angelus was about to jump on it when a smacking hiss filled the air. The long fangs of the huge serpent in which the Mayor had turned into raked his left leather sleeve. Angelus’s eyes flared with gold flames. Quickly jumping back, his axe swished in the air before sinking in one of the Mayor’s flanks. A profound wail escaped from the creature, bouncing against the walls like a flow of bullets. Angelus squeezed his eyes and stumbled for a second. The axe made a whooshing sound when he plucked it off the Mayor’s flesh. Wilkins shook his head and shot forward, his drooling maws hastily approaching to Angelus’s skull. The warm and sickening breath of the beast nearly knocked him down. Angelus jumped to the side and the foul mouth hit the floor. The axe rose again and severed the long neck in half. The green slimy body plumped against the floor tiles in a splash of yellowish goo that painted the walls and Angelus’s face with jumbled patterns.

Squelching on the slippery floor, the vampire sought the sceptre. The headpiece shone under the green, now opaque scales. With a triumphal grunt he raised it in the air just as Faith broke into the room. Her face was twisted with such rage and surprise that he could only laugh at the sight. Not giving her time to get a grip, he hustled her aside and ran towards the hall. A kick on his back sent him against the alabaster pedestal. The sceptre fell to the floor, sliding to a corner like a frightened big black worm.



So many noises in those stairs… Sickening and high-pitched yowls, a rattling that sounded like paws scratching a surface, enraged growls and snarls that echoed against the walls and on the steps. Finally reaching the dungeon hall, Buffy stopped completely shocked. She knelt beside one of the heads and lifted it in one hand. What were those creatures? Four dead eyes looked back at her as if they’d been asking the same. The door at her left lost one hinge and a furious eye fixed on them. The wood bent and squealed till it collapsed to the floor and three fuming dogs bit themselves in their attempt to attack first. Oz jumped in front of them as the narrow stairs filled with different cluttering languages and spots of horns and colourful skins. From the room at their back came the distinct sound of some wrestling.

“Keep moving!” Oz shouted while facing the beasts that had stayed still, sniffing the air. There was something in his voice that had the terrible ring of a deep bark.

“You go!” Xander leapt to the front with a strange wild grin dancing in his lips. “I’m going to test this beauty…” He tapped the side of his shotgun before shooting one demon down. Cordelia raised her crossbow and a bolt jabbed another’s eye.

No waiting any longer, Spike grabbed Buffy’s arm and they both ran into the room just in time to see Faith getting to her feet, a thin thread of blood trickling from her mouth. She didn’t even notice them but lurched against Angelus who had managed to get to the sceptre.

“Take her, love. The bastard is all mine…” He didn’t hang around but ploughed against the pair like a stormy black cloud. In the mess of limbs, fangs and blows Buffy clutched Faith’s hair and dragged her across the room, finally crashing the brunette’s skull against the wall.

Spike had never enjoyed something as much as kicking Angelus’s ribs making him roll across the room like some sort of seething rolling carpet. Three, four times till he began to count every time he heard one of them breaking. But that wasn’t something his grandsire would worry about. With an incredible leap, Angelus jumped backwards and caught Spike’s leg, sending him flying across the air.

This felt good… Strangely good… Frighteningly good… Pummelling a human face like this should have brought some horrified screams inside her mind… Buffy hit Faith’s nose once more and fell on her back when the other Slayer made a sudden sweep kick that caught her completely unbalanced. Now was her time to feel the punches and… not too funny this time! Buffy elbowed the bitch’s bleeding smile before her dangerously close hand could grab the golden sceptre. Faith rolled to a side and made a somersault to gain a standing position. Her right foot kicked Buffy’s back and didn’t wait for her to fall again but jumped on her back as a kid on the back of a carrousel horse.


The point of the dark headpiece had opened a gash on his already scarred eyebrow, missing his eye by inches. Blood trickled from the wound trapping his eyelashes in a mess of red drops, blurring his sight. Spike seized Angelus’s wrist before he could aim at his heart. With a quick twist he bent Angelus’s arm to his back and pushed him to the floor.

“How does it feel, wanker? Being the one on his knees?” His hands clutched his grandsire’s neck, ready to snap it in two.

“You tell me, lamb… Wonder if that bitch of yours knows how to play with you…” The dark sceptre finally reached its target. Like a famished predator, it sank on Spike’s knee.

Growling in pain, Spike leapt on one leg, staring at the bastard grin. His boot erased it leaving a bleeding smile. Quickly ripping the damned object away from his flesh, he jumped forward and sank it in Angelus’s heart. A splashing laughter hit his face.

“Takes wood to dust this heart, Willie. Can’t destroy it so easy…” His hips buckled upwards trying in vain to get rid of Spike’s weight. “Oh, want to play, boy? Why don’t you call your little whore? Maybe I can teach her a few tricks…” His hand slowly sought the staff only to be caught in a stronger grip that pushed it further into his chest.


After spinning and spinning like a crazy dancer Buffy rended the dark Slayer from her back, side kicking her belly. Faith was a bag of never-ending energy. Fuelled by some nauseous rage that had her features twisted in a mask of wrath. She had never been that good. Or that strong. Not that Buffy remembered. But she wasn’t going to win, Buffy chanted in her mind. That harpie had touched HER vampire and she was going to crack those fingers like chestnuts. A clout to her temple sent her dangerously close to the bright stripes on the walls. Buffy shook her head a few seconds and caught Faith’s wrist before she could gave her the final punch. A knee connected her stomach. Air escaped from her lungs in a resounding grunt.

“Always knew you were weaker, B.” Her hair was painfully twisted in one hand while her face had turned into a punching bag. “Won’t keep you suffering too long. Got a prize to take to my bed… Again…”

Enough was enough. With a quick movement she shot to her feet grabbing Faith’s head, whacking it against her knee. “And I’m going for your neck now. Whore.”


The dogs were being dispatched in a confusing wrestle of fangs, eyes and growls while Cordelia shot down another demon and sighed with a thread of relief. A pile of dead creatures blocked the stairs like a colourful, bumpy wall. Some blue horned fiends were quickly dragging them out of the way, though. Xander aimed his gun at one of them and the nasty click of an empty chamber filled his ears. As did Cordelia sudden shriek. Turning round, a furry, toothy face blurred his vision. Oz? Wonderful timing to change to the evil side! The handle of the shotgun bumped against Oz’s temple with a breaking sound as the steps on the stairs became louder. Without delay, they both grabbed Oz by his torn shirt and made a quick retreat inside the other room.



“See, Willie. This is what my heart is made of. Black gold. Black metal. Impossible for you to break.” Angelus pulled Spike to his feet once more after stabbing his ribs for the third time. The bright lines on the walls flickered and shrink like crazy shutters. “Your hands can do me no harm. Can’t reach me. Can’t hurt me. Can’t…” His eyes widened in shock as his fingers twisted the leather lapels.

“Take this heart?” Spike smirked as his fist plunged deeply in Angelus’s chest. Everything had become a blurry slow motion film. With a red filter in front of the lens. A film that was about to turn into his favourite one. His fangs sank in the dead flesh before it exploded along with the body that had held it, painting Spike’s shape with grey dust. “Guess you weren’t as invincible as you thought… And guess another thing, you bloody pillock…” He wiped his hands and kicked the pile of ashes before picking up the dark object at his feet. “I think this is mine now.”


“What? Didn’t you want my neck?” Faith scoffed, trapping a dizzy Buffy against a thin stripe of concrete wall. Hastily snatching the sceptre from Buffy’s hand she raised it in the air. It shone like a crystal dart under the blinking lights. “Too bad you’re about to die when your little witch is about to finish the ritual… Of course without this… Bye, B. Gonna think of you every time I fuck that hottie of yours…” Her free hand squeezed Buffy’s throat with agonizing pleasure. A hard punch in her back made her turn round like a hissing snake. “Speaking of the devil…” The heel of her boot stabbed Spike’s wounded knee sending him to the floor with a sharp yowl. “And now I’ve got the two sceptres… Thanks, honey…”

“Don’t be that sure, bitch!” Cordelia smashed her crossbow against Faith’s skull splintering the wood in thousand of pieces. The dark Slayer whirled around as Buffy fell to the floor in a curled shape. “You at least could stumble a little…”

The whole room had turned into a kaleidoscope of blotching colours and shapes that danced on the walls like freaking frescos. Hundreds of faces showed forward in silent screams only to be pushed backwards by an invisible force. Claws and fingers, mouths and maws sheared the air and were rejected by a whirling mass of hellish and deformed landscapes that pulsed like festering blisters. Faith slapped Cordelia’s face, clutching the dark hair in a furious fist, dragging her to the ravenous creatures.

“Think you’ll be good food for them… You’ll wish you’d died under the books, bimbo.”

“You’re the one who is going to wish it…” Pushing Cordelia to the side, Buffy snap kicked a surprised Faith. With a quick movement she grabbed Faith’s arm, snapping it against her knee. A full spinning wheel kick. The last one she would be able to deliver this night. Buffy fell to her knees, watching Faith trying desperately to clutch the edges of the opening in which she had fallen into. Wild teeth cut the flesh of her arms, the tight leather of her pants. With a last scream she disappeared in a blue flashing light. Buffy didn’t even blink. “Have a nice holiday… bitch.” She mumbled before crawling towards the sceptres. Her hand was about to take them when both objects flew in the air, spinning higher and higher as if they were caught in an invisible hurricane. The wicked figures on the walls wailed and screamed and they weren’t silent anymore but a cacophony that ricocheted inside the room piercing every ones’ brains. Even Xander, firmly impeding the front door from being opened, winced and lost his balance. Spike hugged Buffy’s silhouette, holding her tightly against his chest. The world seemed to turn into a chaotic scheme of shades and clatters till it burst out in a myriad of blinding lights that covered everything with a white, dazzling cloak.




Giles leant back on his sofa, his bare feet on the coffee table. Slowly sipping from his glass he closed his eyes wrapped in soft music. For the first time in a few months he could truly feel the peace that hung in the air like a welcome fresh breeze. Curtains drawn. That was the trick. Didn’t need to see the mess outside. Torn trees and cracked walls. The city would be back to normal like cities always did. After a while nobody would remember anything and everybody would be back in their ordinary lives. But not them. It’d take longer to heal the wounds. Physical and others. His relative had been sent back in time through a portal again and memories, muddled and sometimes unbearable, were again in place. Another of Willow’s spells. He’d like the cleansing ritual to have wound back time. To never had suffered a painful torture in Angelus’s hands. To never had lost a Watcher in a Slayer’s hands. He was planning to rent a house on the beach... Give Willow the keys to have a proper and decent rest with Oz and Xander, if she wanted. Maybe he could even talk her into taking Anya with them. After all the ex-demon had proved to be a very good ally. Cordelia was another matter. She had refused to even talk to any of them after they had rescued them from that dungeon the day before. She said something of going abroad... A bluff probably. Maybe she was sleeping since yesterday. Just like Buffy. Now that Joyce was still in New York. Now that Spike, that insufferable and nevertheless helpful bleached fiend was healing in some crypt he had found for him.



Spike wriggled once more and his fingers entangled in the velvet strips. He could have ripped them in halves. Could have set himself free with one single twist of his wrists. It was unbearable… A grunt escaped from his lips. His eyes were fixed on the ceiling were yellow lights danced leisurely. But he couldn’t keep… couldn’t… ‘cause it was too much and, yes, he had promised… had sworn to… Raising his head he looked down just as his shaft disappeared inside Buffy’s hot mouth. Her tongue circled it, teased it and licked it and he was just melting. Her scent was everywhere. On his skin. On dozens of knickers playfully thrown around him on the mattress. On the damned velvet strips of that hated dress he had torn into shreds of useless fabric… Not that useless... Bet she had had that exact impish idea when she’d appeared with it on… Only the corset she had underneath… Her lips swarmed up his cock and his skull hit the bed headboard. Teeth… teeth nibbling his cock’s head. Frisking along its length… This time a strangled cry ran off his mouth.

“Are you okay?” Her green eyes were quickly upon his face searching for some thread of pain on his beautiful features. “Didn’t hit your knee, did I?”

“You’re about to hit something else, pet. Can stand one less knee if you promise to keep punishing me for good…”

Buffy’s smirk could have won some of his. Her tongue slowly licked her lips before kissing him with delighted force. Her palms slid along his arms. Smooth and cold. Her fingers traced each tense muscle and landed on his chest. “Promise to pay me back…?”

“Vamp’s word. I’d cross my heart but these strips… Bollocks!” He sobbed while she straddled him just to impale herself with one single stroke.

“Won’t untie you.” Her hips moved in sluggish and excruciating circles. Her nails gently raked his stomach. His alluring skin… Like a marble for her hands to mould. For her body to finally enjoy it. That evening… Didn’t count. She knew he hadn’t been who she wanted him to be. Something had been missing. Something only Spike could bring forth. The fact that she could have come only by watching the blue depths. Only by caressing the soft contours of his body. Only by listening to his voice, slow, sensual and passionate.

“Don’t need you to cross anything. I trust in your word. I love you.” She kissed him with infinite languor, savouring him, savouring his unique essence. How couldn’t she trust those eyes? How couldn’t she trust those lips? That heart, in spite of having no beats. His heart was immense. His heart was her home.

Spike didn’t struggle against the bindings anymore. He had surrendered to his golden warrior. How couldn’t he give in to her fascinating way of showing him her love? How could he move when he was nothing but an iceberg melting under hot rays? He could find his voice, though. A whisper lost in the charmed corridors of his self. “Love you too, Buffy. Beyond the end of time…”


FIN.