“So, who’s next?” Jackter said, looking around the group expectantly. Willow looked up at him.
“Is it okay if I go next?” She said gently. Nobody argued, and she smiled uncertainly. Then her face took on a serious note. “Okay. Now, Buffy, don’t get the wrong idea, when I ask this…but you said you were happy in Heaven. So I want to know what life would be like here if we hadn’t brought you back.”
Buffy looked down at the ground, but didn’t say anything.
“Buffy?” Willow asked.
“I’m not sure I want to know...but, you’re right. You guys need to know. And so do I.”
“So that’s what you want to know?” Jackter said. Willow nodded.
Cinder and ash, flame and fire,
‘Tis the other’s life to see we desire
Two roads before us, but one to take
Show the other, the choice not made.
*FLASH!*
*~*~*
Fall, 2001
Willow, Tara, Anya, Xander, and Dawn walked into the Summers home, looking dejected. They had just barely made it to the airport in time to see Giles off, giving him the emotional send-off he’d tried to avoid, but had desperately needed.
“I can’t believe Giles is gone,” Willow said morosely.
Anya looked especially perky for a moment. “I know something that will cheer everyone up!”she said happily.
“Not now, Anya,” Xander whispered, sternly enough that Anya pouted a little, but said nothing more. Suddenly Spike stepped into the dark foyer of the house, his jaw set, his blue eyes glittering harshly. He looked angry.
“Spike. Um, hey, you’re here. That’s good, then, you can watch Dawn while we go do our research thing,” Willow said, a small smile on her face. In just a few hours the time would be right…time to perform the spell to bring Buffy back.
“Sorry, Red. You aren’t going anywhere.” His voice was cold and hard. He sounded as angry as he looked.
“S-Spike?” Dawn asked a little timidly. “What’s going on?”
“Go up to your room, Bit,” he said, biting the words out, as if he knew she was going to fight it.
“What’s going on?” she demanded, looking around. Spike seemed to be the only one who knew.
“Yeah, Spike? Whatever it is, would you just tell us?” Xander piped in, exasperated.
“We have research to do,” Willow said pensively, glancing at the clock.
“Oh, I know. I saw your little research project. You left it at the Magic Box. I know exactly what you’re researching. And it’s not going to bloody happen.”
Dawn looked perplexed, while the others widened their eyes and stared at Spike in shock. He knew the truth, and they were afraid.
“Dawnie, go on up to bed,” Tara suggested gently, knowing that she couldn’t be allowed to hear what was about to be said.
Dawn looked at the group dubiously before stomping up to her room, angry at being left out of the loop.
“Spike,” Willow started, but he cut her off.
“Don’t you bloody dare. Do you have any idea what you’re dealing with here?” he said angrily.
“We have to get her back,” Willow said, tears springing to her eyes.
“She’s gone, Red. She died, and she’s gone, and if you do a resurrection spell something will go wrong. And you know that if something goes wrong, you’re going to fix it. And I don’t think you can.”
“What do you mean, if something goes wrong?” Xander said.
“If she comes back…not Buffy. This is dangerous stuff. What if she comes back, not right, and you have to get rid of what comes back? Magic has consequences, kiddies. Always,” Spike ground out.
“You, of all people, should be begging us to do it!” Willow cried quietly. “You think you’re in love with her…well, you should want her back.”
“You think I don’t want her back?” Spike’s voice broke on the last word. After a pause, he started again. “I want her back. I want her back so bad I can’t bloody stand it. But she’s gone. You have to deal with that. She’s not coming back.”
“We have to get her back! Spike…she could be in some horrible Hell dimension, somewhere. We can’t just leave her there!” Tears were running down Willow’s face in earnest by then, and Tara had a reassuring hand on the small of her back.
“You don’t know where she is. She’s just dead. Leave it that way.”
“No. Spike, I won’t.”
From under his duster, Spike pulled out the Urn of Osiris, which had been left at the Magic Shop. “Yes you will!” He growled the last word loudly, and hurled the Urn at the wall, where it shattered into tiny fragments.
“No!” Willow screamed, bursting into fresh tears as Xander turned menacingly on the vampire.
“You bastard. That was our only chance at getting her back!”
“I couldn’t let you do it. I couldn’t let you bring her back only to have her die again. I can’t lose her twice.” Spike said grimly. His gaze ticked to where the Buffybot stood, perky as ever. “It’s bad enough having to see that everyday,” he told them. He turned to walk out the door, his duster flapping a little behind him, the Scoobies sagging in the foyer of the Summers home, their plans destroyed.
Slamming the door behind him he stormed off to his crypt but his emotions were too high. And he’d left Dawn there, with them…and she had no idea what was going on. He prowled the streets for what seemed like hours, kicking the ass of a Gakten demon down to a bleeding pulp before heading back to the house on Revello, ready to make nice again and talk to Dawn. Maybe get in a little gin rummy.
His reception at the house was as he’d expected, silent and stony, but Willow moved aside and allowed him to enter.
“Look, Red,” Spike tried, but she held up a hand, the pain of it making words hard to form.
He sighed. “Maybe this was a bad idea,” he admitted and turned to go.
Spike opened the door and looked out, and that was when he heard it. Motorcycles. He peered around, and saw dozens of motorbikes squealing through the streets of Sunnydale, ridden by ugly demons. Several of the demons pulled out baseball bats and started to destroy everything within their reach.
“Bloody hell,” Spike muttered, staring.
“What’s going on, Spike?” Anya asked, stepping toward the door.
“Get back,” he growled, closing the door loudly, keeping her from seeing.
“What’s out there?” She asked again, trying to look around him.
“Stay away from the windows,” he told them all, looking around for weapons. He found an axe, and hefted it in his hand, testing the weight.
“What the hell is going on?” Xander said through clenched teeth.
“Hellions…” Spike replied, trailing off.
“Road pirates?!” Anya yelped, dismay evident on her face.
“Who?” Tara asked, confusion in her eyes.
“Road pirates,” Spike repeated. “They raid towns. Destroy everything, and burn the bloody places to the ground. Usually, they only go after backwater places. Anyplace vulnerable.”
After a beat, Willow’s eyes widened in fear. “They know,” she realized.
“About Buffy?” Tara said, blinking rapidly.
“They wouldn’t be here if they thought the Slayer was nearby,” Spike replied, looking out the window again. “Bloody hell, there’s a lot of ‘em.”
“We need weapons. Big, large, copious amounts of weapons,” Xander said, moving toward the chest in the sitting room, where the weapons were kept.
“We’re not gonna get it done, Harris,” Spike replied, shaking his head, eyes not leaving the window. “Too many of ‘em. Best bet is to get the hell out and hide.” He glanced around now. “Where’s the bot?”
“We sent her on patrol,” Tara told him.
“We can’t hide,” Willow said miserably. “There’s no place to go, and besides, how would we get past them?”
“Well, we need help,” Spike growled, turning to face her, his eyes flashing with gold anger.
“Fine. I’ll get help,” she ground out, just as fierce as him. Willow whirled around and left the room, going for the phone.
“Bloody hell,” Spike muttered, looking out the window again at the demons destroying everything on the street.
“What’s going on out there?” Dawn said tremulously from the top of the stairs.
“Best get down here with us, Nibblet,” Spike said, glancing back at her. “Don’t want you getting caught unawares.”
“Who are they?” she said, coming down the stair to stand behind him. She peered out the window from her vantage point.
“Road pirates. They know about…the Slayer not being here anymore, and they’ve come to destroy the whole town,” Xander said bitterly. “Ain’t that just swell?”
“Oh God,” Dawn said. “What do we do?”
Spike gave a faint grin.“You stay here. I go outside and fight the buggers off.”
“You just said you weren’t enough, Spike,” Tara argued immediately. “You said we needed help.”
“Which is on the way,” Willow broke in, coming in from the other room.
“Who’d you call, Will?” Xander asked her, curiosity and confusion in his voice.
“The only people who can help us right now.”
*~*~*
“That was Willow. I have to go to Sunnydale,” Angel said, stalking through the office to get his things together.
“Sunnydale? What for?” Cordelia asked. “You just got back.”
“They have a situation. Willow said…Road pirates.”
“Road pirates? Like a biker gang? They can’t handle a biker gang?” Gunn said, eyebrows furrowed.
“It’s a rather large gang,” Angel said, pulling an axe out of the weapons cabinet. “And they’re demons. Willow said they were destroying the town, and that they were close.”
“That’s not good at all,” Wesley said, moving to the weapons cabinet.
“She said that Spike said there were too many for him, and that they needed me.”
“Spike?” Cordelia asked, surprised, then changed the subject off Angel’s expression at the mention of his GrandSire. “We’ll come with you,” she told him, picking up a crossbow.
“Are you sure?” Angel said, twirling the axe in his hand.
“Strength in numbers,” Gunn said, swinging his hubcap axe happily. “Let’s go kick some demon ass.”
*~*~*
Hours later, the battle still raged. Spike spun around and kicked out wildly at one of the demons that was surrounding him. He swung his axe out, not even looking at where it was arcing, but smiling grimly at the sickeningly wet slap it made as it connected with demon flesh. A triumphant war-cry spilled from his lips, and he turned golden eyes on another of the demons, axe arcing through the air again.
Behind him, Willow was chanting a protection spell to go around the house, which they were defending. Their main goal was to keep Dawn and the house safe until Angel could get here and help them fight off the demons.
Xander ducked an unidentified projectile as it careened from a demon’s hand toward his head, and lifted his own crossbow, shooting the demon through the throat with a grim expression. He turned to where Anya was fighting one off with a bat and moved to help her.
Suddenly, a classic black Plymouth flew up the street toward where the Scooby Gang was spread out. It crashed through a few of the demons, taking them down like bowling pins, before screeching to a halt a few yards from the main action. From inside the convertible out hopped Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn and Angel, all armed to the teeth with weapons and determined faces.
“Thanks for coming!” Willow cried to them before saying something in Latin and shooting a fireball from her hand toward one of the demons.
“Thanks for having us,” Angel yelled back, stepping into the fray immediately, swinging his axe gracefully and with precision.
Cordelia turned toward the house, just in time to see a glass jar of some kind fly through the window, crashing into the living room of the Summers’ home, and flames shoot up as the house started to burn quickly.
“The house!” she shouted. Tara looked toward the house, panic on her face.
“Dawn’s inside!” she shouted, starting to head for the house. Cordelia caught up to her.
“No, you stay here and fight. You’ve got the witchiness going for you,” Cordy said, moving through the fray toward the house. “I’ll get her out.”
“Dawn!” roared Spike, growling and baring his fangs as he cut through a slew of demons.
“Cordy’s getting her!” Willow cried. She looked around wildly. “They just keep coming! Why are there so many of them?”
“Don’t know, Pet. But I reckon we should get rid of ‘em!” Spike replied, just before a demon punched him full in the face. He flew back, his axe dropping somewhere out of his reach. “Bloody hell!” he groaned from the ground.
Gunn moved toward where Xander and Anya were being surrounded, his hubcap axe swinging in front of him. “Hang in there,” he shouted, engaging one of the demons.
Wesley ducked a blow and glanced at the house. “The fire’s getting worse!” he yelled to anyone who was listening.
Spike looked up from where he was straddling and punching a demon in horror. “Dawn!” he cried again.
Angel looked to the house. “Cordy!” was his cry. Both vampires headed for the house, running at full speed. Just as they reached the door, the flames licking the sides of the house rose up in a sudden rush of heat, throwing the very-flammable vampires back to land with matching thuds on the pavement of the driveway.
“Dammit!” Spike yelled, holding hi hand in front of his face to guard it from the glaring heat.
“We need to get in there!” Angel cried, looking around in panic.
“Red! Work some of your mojo over here and get us the hell inside!” Spike yelled at Willow, who turned and raised her hands. Her eyes took on the thick blackness that signaled her strongest magicks, and she shouted out some words in Latin. Suddenly the flames parted, allowing the vampires entry into the house. Willow was suddenly rammed from behind by a demon, and she was sent to the ground heavily. As she fell, her concentration broke and the flames converged back together, effectively trapping the vampires, Cordelia and Dawn inside the burning house.
“Willow!” Tara shouted, running to her girlfriend’s aid.
*~*~*
”My God,” Cordelia muttered, looking into the scene in front of them. “It’s like Hell.”
“It IS Hell,” Angel muttered. “I ought to know.”
“It’s not over yet,” Willow said, her voice weak. The group looked back into the scene.
*~*~*
Dawn was scared. She was upstairs, and she knew that her house was burning down, but she couldn’t get to the stairs. The flames had burned through the lower level of the house with surprising speed, and the stairs were blocked. She’d heard Cordelia shouting for her, and had called down to her, but then she’d heard a scream that faded into the flames. Suddenly she heard a male voice shouting from downstairs.
“Dawn!” Spike yelled, his voice desperate.
“Spike!” she cried. “I’m upstairs! Help!”
“Bloody hell!” he said, moving toward the stairs. Angel was just behind him, looking around for his Seer.
“Cordy?” Angel called as they made their way to the stairs. Both vampires stopped suddenly, looking at the limp body of the former cheerleader at the foot of the stairs.
“Oh, Bollocks,” Spike growled before glancing back at his grandsire. Turning back to the stairs he took a giant leap, depending on her preternatural abilities to carry him high enough over the flames, and landed solidly on a step, more than halfway up the burning staircase.
“Cordy?” Angel said weakly, before leaping forward and throwing off the wooden beams that had fallen on her. He picked her flaccid form up and looked up the stairs. “Spike!” he called. “Spike, I’m getting Cordy out, get Dawn out now!”
“Right!” Spike called from upstairs. Angel ran out the front door, Cordelia cradled in his arms. He got to the sidewalk before he set her down and checked her for breathing. She wasn’t breathing, and she didn’t have a pulse.
“Oh God. Oh God. Cordy!” Angel cried, anguish in his voice as he shook her body gently. “Cordelia!” Her limp body didn’t respond. Cordelia Chase was dead.
Spike burst through the door of the Summers house, Dawn in his arms, coughing. “You all right, Nibs?” he said gently, wiping at her soot-stained face. She nodded around her coughs, and looked over to where Angel was cradling Cordelia’s head in his arms, crying.
“No!” she cried, struggling out of Spike’s grip and running to the souled vampire’s side. She ran her hands over Cordelia’s face and hair, sobbing.
“She’s gone, Dawn,” Spike said, pulling her to her feet. “We have to get out of here.” Dawn rubbed at her tears and nodded bravely. “Angel, come on,” Spike said loudly, kicking one heavy boot at his grandsire gently.
Angel looked up at him for a moment before shaking his head quickly and standing up. He laid Cordy back, folding her hands over her stomach. “I’ll come back for you,” he whispered before turning back toward the fight. “Spike, get Dawn somewhere safe. I’m going back in.”
“Right, mate,” Spike said before herding Dawn away quickly. “Let’s go, Dawn.” Angel joined the fray of flying weapons and punches, delivering a few killing blows in his frustration and grief. Spike took Dawn over toward where Xander was unsuccessfully fighting off a demon. Spike stepped up and swung an axe at it from behind, and decapitated it. Xander shot him a grateful look.
“Take Dawn, get her somewhere safe,” Spike said quickly. Xander just nodded and took hold of Dawn’s hand.
“Come on, Dawnie. Let’s get out of here.” Xander and Dawn took off down the street.
“Where are we going?” Dawn asked after a few blocks.
“I’m not really sure yet. When we find somewhere safe, I’ll stop.” Xander kept plugging on. They walked quickly, tired but determined.
“Xander?” Dawn said after a few minutes. She was looking to their right. “What’s going on?”
Xander looked to the direction she indicated and saw several demons in a circle, blocking view of whatever was in the center. Xander looked at it for a moment, then got himself and Dawn behind a tree so they could see but weren’t out in the open. “Not sure. Looks like they’ve got someone in that circle.”
“We have to help them!” Dawn whispered loudly. She started forward.
“We can’t do anything, Dawn. We aren’t enough.”
“We can’t just watch!” Dawn said, before looking back at the circle. She saw that it had parted slightly, and they could see the figure in the middle.
“It’s the Buffybot,” Xander sighed. “Damn. We can’t get it back.”
Suddenly the motorcycles in the distance gunned, and shot off in different directions, pulling the limbs from the robot. Dawn screamed shrilly. “Buffy!!”
“Dammit!” Xander breathed when the demons all turned to look at them. “Run!” he cried. Xander and Dawn took off for shelter, two demons on bikes gaining on them fast.
“Go, go, go!” Xander cried to Dawn, pushing her ahead of him. “I’ll fight them off. Go get somewhere safe. Go to…go to the Mansion. Crawford Street. I’ll get you later.”
“Xander!” Dawn cried, not wanting to leave him.
“Go!” he yelled, stopping and turning around, brandishing a large axe. The first biker sped as if to go by him, but Xander swung his axe out, catching it in the arm. It let out a vicious scream as Xander smiled grimly. “Batter up,” he said. Then he turned, just in time to see the second demon crack a bullwhip at his throat. The whip caught him around the throat, and the demon jerked his arm back, slicing through the skin on the construction worker’s neck. The only sound Xander could make was a gurgle as his life’s blood poured through his hands when he tried to stop the blood flow. He turned to see the demons looking around for Dawn, and not finding her. His last thought before death claimed him was that he hoped she was safe. Then he was gone.
*~*~*
”Xander!” Anya cried, grasping her husband-to-be by the hand. “Oh God.”
“It’s okay, Ahn. It didn’t really happen.” Xander assured her, though his own eyes were huge, pain slicing through him.
“I-it could! Willow, you can’t choose this!” Anya said, turning tearful eyes on the red-headed witch.
“It isn’t finished yet,” Jackter told them. “Let it finish before you make your decision.”
*~*~*
Fall, 2002
Angel was sitting in a small cabin, beside a warm fire, writing. His hair was long and unkempt, and there were bags under his eyes. His skin was more pale than usual, and he looked thin and fragile.
He was writing and the Scooby Gang moved in closer to see.
Angel set down the pen.
*~*~*
”Wow,” Willow said, wiping the tears from her face. Jackter looked at her expectantly. “Oh, wow. I choose this. I choose to have brought Buffy back,” she sobbed. Willow turned to Buffy. “Buffy, I know that you aren’t that happy to be back, that you’re upset, but…Buffy. All that stuff. You stopped it. Cordy…Xander…”
“I know, Will. It’s okay,” Buffy said, tears running down her face. The two girls held each other tightly.
"What about me? Letter doesn't mention me," Spike asked.
He was summarily ignored.
