Into the Fire

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Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. All is Joss’s. I wouldn’t be upset if he used the storyline.

Rating: PG-13, unless otherwise indicated.

Distribution: Sure. Just e-mail me and let me know.

Summary: The gang is races to find Buffy before it’s to late, and the ritual.

Author’s Note: I’m finally explaining the series title.

Dedication: Thanks so much to my beta readers Elisabeth and Kitty. Thanks to Elisabeth for all her creativity ideas. I owe you, lots.

Into the Fire

Dead or alive? The thought swirled around his head for the millionth time. Everything was a blur; everything in his head seemed to mesh with everything else. Who was dead or alive? Buffy, Buffy, he was thinking about Buffy. Again.

He opened his eyes and glanced around the room. Had he missed it? Had he been knocked out through the whole ritual and they’d just left him here to die?

Oh great, they’d left him here to die.

If the ritual was over, Buffy was dead. Or, ken doll could have swept in and taken her out, leaving him to die.

Perfect, he was going to die.

Spike glanced around the room again, his vision became clearer. He looked around the room, there were vampires, holding, something, he couldn’t tell what, and there was a giant circle in the middle of the room, and he saw shoes…He saw heals. High heals, black ones.

His eyes went upward and he found himself face to face with a less than pleased Buffy.

Oh hell.

* * *

“We’re running out of time,” Riley snapped. It was short and to the point. What was worse, it was the truth.

“He’s right,” Willow sighed. “We, we, we don’t have time to sit around and narrow things down. We, we have four leads, and there’s five of us. Do the math.”

“What math?” Xander yelled. “We can’t all go out into a ritual, into a place, into danger, alone.”

“We have to find Buffy,” Riley snapped.

“Yeah, but don’t we want to get everyone out alive?” Xander demanded.

“Okay! Let’s take a vote!” Willow snapped. “We can either go out one by one and check out each of the places, or we can stay together. I vote we go out.”

“I say we go out one by one,” Riley snapped.

“I say we stick together,” Xander sighed.

Giles paused before he spoke. “I’m going to have to say, we go alone. Time is precious. We can’t waste away much longer.”

Before Anya could say anything Xander sighed. “Doesn’t matter, I loose anyway. Fine. Let’s go out. Let’s get ourselves killed.”

“Xander,” Willow warned.

“Later,” Riley ordered. “Okay, Anya and I check out hot spot number one. Willow you take two, Giles three, and Xander four.”

“Whatever,” Xander snapped and stormed out the door.

“If we don’t find her, come back here immediately,” Giles ordered.

Anya spoke after a second. “What, what happens if something goes wrong?”

“It’ll all be the way it’s supposed to be in the end,” Willow said. “That’s how it always works.”

* * *

Buffy’s hands were tied above her, and Fury had pushed her hair away from her. Her feet barley touched the ground, and she yanked at the ropes, trying to free herself. Spike was drifting in and out of being conscious. Poor guy, he must have taken a hit to the head.

Wait, poor guy? She must have taken a hit to the head. She tugged at the ropes harder.

“Slayer, you don’t learn do you? This is it. You’re as good as dead,” Fury laughed, running his fingers through her hair.

Buffy let out a yelp. “Don’t touch me.”

Fury just laughed.

Buffy sighed and looked around her. She had been right, there were candles. And there weren’t any other vampires around. She wondered where the other one had gone. She was glad it was just dumb and dumber after them.

When had she started to refer to herself and Spike as a them? When had that happened? Life was full of surprises.

* * *

He touched her. What was that vampire’s problem? He touched her. Spike looked at the ropes behind his back. He had touched her.

“Buffy!” Spike hissed.

Buffy’s eyes darted towards him. “You’ve got a plan?”

“Do you want me to have one?”

“Damn it!” Buffy yelled.

“No, it’s okay,” Spike nodded. “I have an idea.”

“Oh, well, that just fills me with confidence,” Buffy sighed. She stretched her head back towards where Fury was standing. “Two, there’s two. We can handle two.”

“Right, I mean, it’s us. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Thank you for that omen.”

* * *

Xander sighed and opened the door to the factory. You’d think the vampires of the town would have a memo: Do not use the factory. Look how much luck it had brought Spike.

Xander snorted as he walked down the stairs. Spike had no luck. He’d come to Sunnydale to have a massacre, then his goal was to kill Buffy, his goal now was probably to stay alive.

Xander stopped and turned towards the spot where he’d kissed Willow. And Cordelia had seen the whole thing. That was Spike’s fault. Spike’s fault they broke up.

Then again, where would they be if Cordelia and Xander hadn’t broken up? Would they still be together, or would she have dumped him on her way to college?

Xander started up the stairs, if there were any vampires here, and they wanted to start something. They were as ignorant as Spike had been three years ago.

Xander stopped half way up the stairs. Without Spike, he wouldn’t have Anya right now.

He owed Spike something.

“Great day I’m having,” Xander groaned and headed back towards the house.

* * *

Buffy yanked on her ropes causing them to spilt. “Yes!” she cried.

Spike looked up at her. “Are you out?” he whispered glancing at Fury.

“No, but one more tug should do it. Get yours off, but make it look like their still on,” Buffy ordered.

“You’ve got a plan.”

“Yeah,” Buffy lied. “I’ve got a plan,” she nodded.

Fury came wandering out with another vampire behind him. “Here we’ve got, the ritual,” he smirked and pointed to Buffy. “And the sacrifice,” he nodded and pointed to Spike.

“Whoa now!” Spike yelled. “I don’t recall agreeing to that.”

“My day just keeps getting better,” Buffy smirked.

“Yeah, well I get to watch you die,” Spike growled.

“Well Spike, that has been your dream, hasn’t it? Oh wait, you’re dream was to kill me.”

“You bitch.”

“You two!” Fury hissed. “That’s enough.”

Buffy didn’t seem to be listening. “At least, I, I don’t seduce people!”

“Me! You were the one who started this whole bit. If it had been me, we would have just ended up killing each other. But no…”

“That’s it!” Fury snapped. “I’m performing the ritual, time or no time,” he snapped turning towards the other vampire. “Katims…”

“Don’t worry, it’s just about that time. They soon shall die.”

* * *

“So anyway, do you think we’ll find them here?” Anya asked.

“Shh,” Riley warned. “We need to sneak up on them,” he whispered.

“Oh right,” Anya nodded as Riley opened the door to the crypt in silence. “I hear something.”

“Yeah me too,” Riley nodded. “It sounds, it sounds like, like a struggle…”

“Back there,” Anya whispered and pointed to a secured area of the crypt.

Riley stepped towards the small curtain, which was in front of them. “Ready?”

“I’m going lie, and tell you yes,” Anya nodded.

Riley flung the curtain open. “I’ve got you! Buffy!”

“Hey!” a voice screamed at him.

“Oops. I’m, this, this, oh,” Riley mumbled.

“They’re having sex!” Anya yelled.

“Anya!” Riley snapped and dragged her out of the crypt.

“Oh! We didn’t find Buffy!” Anya yelled as the crypt door slammed shut.

* * *

Spike glared at Fury. He wasn’t impressed with him. In fact, he was bored listening to Fury. “If you going to kill me, fine, it won’t be tragic, as long as I’m not bored to death by you. You think you’re scary? Let me tell you something, you want to end the world? Bring fourth hell? You see her, behind you. She’ll get in your way. She gets in everyone’s way. Why do you think I’ve got a sodding chip in my head and am living the high life in a crypt?”

“You talk a lot for someone for who is about to watch her, die,” Katims growled.

“You think I care?” Spike laughed. He looked up at Buffy, who wasn’t watching him. She was obviously thinking about something. He looked into his eyes and repeated his question in his head. The answer came easily. Of course he cared. He was just too big of a fool to admit it.

* * *

Buffy’s eyes followed Fury through out the room. She had to give him credit. The man had a plan. What the plan was, she wasn’t sure of, but she had to give him credit. For being so stupid, he knew what he was doing. She had to give him credit for that.

Buffy turned to look at Spike. He looked worried. That surprised Buffy. Until Fury brought out a sword or a stake, Spike would call his bluff. Spike would call his bluff until Fury put him out of his misery.

Buffy worried that she wouldn’t get out alive. And stranger to her other thoughts, Buffy worried that Spike wouldn’t get alive. She was caring about him.

* * *

Fury stopped, he looked around the room, at Buffy, then at Spike, and he smiled his twisted little smile. “It’s show time.”

“Uh, you sure?” Spike frowned.

“Oh, last requests?”

“Don’t you need, you know, minions, and chanting, and more that two candles?” Spike frowned.

“This is a rather simple ritual,” Fury snapped.

“Oh I get it! Magic for Dummies!” Buffy yelled. Fury short her a dirty look.

“Fury, let’s go,” Katims snapped, and tossed him a stake and pulled out one of his own.

Buffy looked up at Spike, worry in her eyes. He just shrugged it off. “Maybe they’re staking you slayer. It’d be an ironic end.”

“Shut up,” Buffy snapped as Fury walked behind her, nodding at Katims. “Oh you,” she mumbled.

Fury simply smiled. “I repeat last requests?”

“Yeah, take the ropes off and let me go,” Buffy snapped.

Fury ignored her, running his fingers down her neck and mumbling. Buffy, smirked, ready with sarcasm, when Fury bit into her neck. Buffy let out a yelp and her eyes slammed shut, hiding the pain, and she could swear Fury laughed at her.

* * *

Spike eye’s shot up within seconds. Buffy cried out in pain, as Fury was, he was killing her. Spike yanked his arms out from the ropes, which he’d already untied. Katims had his back turned to him. Smart move. Spike shrugged this would be easy, steal the stake, and Buffy…

Spike stopped suddenly. His plan had a hole in it. He had to help Buffy. Spike remembered why he’d always found it so hard to be in love. Was he in love?

“Not now,” Spike growled snatching the stake from Katims.

“Hey!” Katims yelled.

“Ohh, lookie what I got,” Spike laughed.

Fury stopped and pull away from Buffy for a second. He stared at Spike. “What, how…”

“I don’t think you made the ropes tight enough,” Buffy snapped, her eyes opening and she pulled her ropes down.

“Slayer,” Fury growled.

“Ohh, ouch,” Buffy snapped. Spike turned to look at her. She never ceased to surprise him. Buffy, however, did not look like herself. She was very pale, which Spike would have suspected from the blood loss. She looked dizzy, tired, and sick. She didn’t look like Buffy, but he knew it was her. And she wasn’t well.

“Hey,” Spike grabbed her arm pulling him towards her. “You go make a run for it and I take dumb and dumber on. Shouldn’t be that hard.”

“You’re stupid. You’re going to risk yourself for me,” Buffy snapped. “I’ve been hurt before, and I’ll deal with it,” she snapped. She placed her finger hand on her neck, and flinched in pain. “It’s just a cut.”

Spike opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. What could he say? Katims jumped him from behind. Of course, Buffy always distracted him. Spike stepped on his foot and pushed him back against the wall.

Buffy kicked round-housed kicked Fury in the face and he stumbled back, shocked. Buffy swung around and kicked his arm, causing him to drop the stake. Fury grabbed her arm pulling her towards him, causing her to fall off balance. Buffy stepped on his foot, and tried to flip him over.

* * *

Spike elbowed Katims in the eye and staked him. Fury should make a note to get smarter vampires next time. Of course, Spike knew that there would be no next time. He turned to look at Buffy, who seemed to be struggling.

“Damn it slayer, does she always have to be so stubborn?” Of course she does. Spike looked at the stake in his head, and suddenly he felt so unsure. He knew if he didn’t do anything Buffy would die. But could she die if he saved her? Did he want to deal with that pain? Thoughts in his head were running a mile a minute.

Spike finally rushed towards Fury, who Buffy hadn’t been able to throw, but managed to shove him across from her.

“Don’t you get is slayer? Dying now, is easier than your fate,” he laughed.

Buffy stared at him, either considering what he was saying or too tired to come up with a comeback.

Spike snuck behind Fury.

“The gates of hell are opening slayer, at least this way it would have been quick,” Fury growled moving closer to her, taking advantage of her state of mind. Buffy prepared to jump in and kick him.

“You bloody talk to much,” Spike growled and staked him and Fury turned to dust just as Buffy prepared for the hit. She stopped for a second realizing that he was gone, and the collapsed into Spike’s arms.

“Are they gone?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Spike nodded, gingerly touching her neck. Buffy bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain. “Okay, that settles it,” he picked her up and started to carry her out.

“What are you doing?” Buffy demanded.

“I’m taking you to Giles,” he sighed. “This wound, it’s…” his voice trailed off.

“Is it bad?” Buffy whimpered.

“No, love, I just, I just think he misses you,” Spike lied. Buffy looked at him for a second, as if she was straining to see, and Spike started to walk again. After a moment, her eyes gently closed.

* * *

Spike was losing patients rather quickly. He’d been locked in a room with Buffy for, for a while, that hadn’t turned out so wonderful. Well, parts of it had. But right now, right now Spike was less than happy. And no one seemed to be at Giles house. The last thing he wanted was to have to go see Riley. He’d sooner crawl into Xander’s basement then go see Riley. Spike banged on the door again. He needed a plan, if Giles wasn’t home then-

“What? Did you forget your key?” Xander snapped opening the doro. Xander himself didn’t look happy. “Spike, what’s wrong? Water damage in your crypt?”

“I’d love to have a jolly old game of who hates who, but later. I need help.”

“I’m aware,” Xander hissed. “Do you know something about Buffy?”

Spike stared at Xander. “Are you blind?” he snapped.

Xander looked down to see Buffy lying in his arms. “You did this! You had her the whole time!”

“I did not! We were locked in a room together,” Spike growled.

“Is she asleep?” Xander frowned. “Come in, now,” he ordered.

“She was bit,” Spike snapped. “Help her.”

Xander’s face turned from annoyed to worried in less than a second. “Giles has a medical kit upstairs, bring her up to the spare bedroom,” he ordered.

Spike nodded and rushed up the steps behind Xander.

“Wait! You mean, the sod has a spare bedroom? What in bloody hell was I doing chained to the bathtub the whole time?”

* * *

Xander’s day had not been what he had wanted. Buffy had been with Spike, who was not upstairs, hopefully sleeping, with Spike, still. Xander had not been the one to find her. Riley, Willow, Giles, and Anya were still out, and had not called. And Xander not only owed Spike one, but two favors.

Xander was not happy at all. In fact when the door swung open and Riley came in with the others, Xander was very tempted to not let them upstairs, and not tell them about Buffy.

Almost, but instead he decided to be annoying. “Find her?”

“No,” Riley sighed.

“We found two people having sex,” Anya explained. “Riley walked in on them.”

“I thought we said we weren’t going to talk about that,” Riley snapped.

“Oh right,” Anya nodded. “Did you find Buffy?”

“How are you guys tonight?” Xander asked.

Riley looked less than happy. “When was the ritual supposed to take place?”

“A few hours ago,” Willow said. “I’m sure she got out. In fact, we don’t even know she was involved,” she pointed out.

“Very true. She could just have, she could just have needed some space, like when she left for LA a few years ago,” Giles nodded.

Xander laughed, remember why she’d left for LA.

“I don’t see anything funny in this,” Riley hissed.

“Riley, calm down,” Willow ordered. “We’re all upset.”

“You never answered my question,” Anya reminded him. “Did you find Buffy?”

Everyone turned to face him.

“No,” Xander said honestly. “No, I did not find Buffy.”

“Square one,” Willow sighed.

“No, not quite,” Xander nodded.

“Xander…”

* * *

Spike looked at Buffy. He could hear Harris downstairs messing with not-so-army-man’s mind. He couldn’t help but smile. It’d give him at least a little time before farmer brown kicked him out.

“Stop staring.”

“Buffy! Lord you scared me,” Spike snapped. “I thought, you were, I was afraid…”

“I keep telling you, it’s just a scratch,” Buffy sighed. She sat up slowly looking at him. “How long have you been sitting here, on the edge of the bed, just like that?”

“Feels like years.”

“Same here, I feel like, I haven’t seen anything, anyone in…in so long,” Buffy nodded.

“Maybe I should go, I think that…”

“Don’t,” Buffy interrupted. “I like it when you’re here. I don’t mind, you, I don’t mind you as much.”

“I never hated you, and if I ever hurt you, I never meant it,” Spike said.

Buffy smiled, ignoring the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Neither one of them would speak for along time. Spike leaned into her closely. And Buffy placed a hand gently on his cheek and then she-

“Buffy?”

* * *

“Let the night be to dark for me. Let the night be to dark for me to see into the future. Let what will be…be.”

~Acceptance, Robert Frost

The End