Title: Stroke of Luck
Part: 3/4
Author: Spike’s Slave
Shipper: Spike/Buffy
Spoilers: This story is a replacement for the end of season five, there may contain major plot spoilers for the season final. If you don’t wanna know…DON’T READ THE FIC. Thank you.
Dedication: This is dedicated to my ‘Stroke of Luck’, Sam. I was lost until you found me. Since that time I don’t remember being happier. Till fate takes you elsewhere.
Disclaimer: If I created any of the BtVS characters I would be insanely rich sipping tea with James Marsters, talking about the weather… umm no… I am not that lucky. All the characters are the property of the WB, FOX, Mutant Enemy and lord GOD Joss. Please direct praise for pervious character development to them.
[Stroke of Luck III]
Xander was the first to speak, not being able to stand the cold chill of silence. “We know… I mean, we can stop this”
“No” Buffy said, “don’t even think it Xander and if you attempt to say it I will rip your tongue out”
“All I am saying Buff”
Buffy broke her concentration from her still swirling fruit loops and looked directly at Xander “I don’t care, I don’t care if the whole world goes to hell, I am not sending Dawn there without company. I wont let you touch her, you try and you will take her place, she is all the family I have left, and I don’t care what happens to the rest of the world, she will no die by my hand, and she sure as hell isn’t going to die by any of yours”.
“Buffy is right, enough has been lost already” Spike said looking at Tara as Willow spoon feed her yoghurt.
“Wow and your judgement isn’t half clouded is it peroxide boy, you are only saying that because you want to get in Buffy’s pants, I really don’t think this is going to will you any brownie points buddy” Xander hissed at the vampire.
“If that’s what you want to think whelp, that’s fine, just remember what the lady said, you touch the platelet and if you don’t have the slayers hands at your throat, you will have my fangs, I don’t care how much it bloody hurts, the satisfaction of seeing you drained of you pathetic existence will be worth the migraine” Spike replied gently but violently.
Xander was silenced, waiting for Buffy to jump in and defend him. No defence came, instead her attention had shifted back to her now still fruit loops “great, so you are just going to let the world got to hell?”
“Not if I can help it” Buffy replied quietly nudging some of the soggy breakfast cereal with her spoon. “This is how its going to be, we stop the ceremony, or we all take the hell ride together. I will not sacrifice my own sister.”
“Is she really your sister though?” Anya asked, genuinely confused about the situation and Buffy’s inaction.
“Biologically no” Giles stated, “but the key, Dawn was created from Buffy’s own blood so in essence they are the same person, well so to speak”
Buffy dropped the spoon in to the bowl, making the milk splatter all over the table “Death is my gift! I get it, I get it, I know how to stop this without killing Dawn!”
“How?” Willow asked excitedly ignoring Tara’s attempt to extract the yoghurt from the spoon which seemingly hang in the air so close to her mouth.
“Oh the details aren’t important, what is, is there is a way, but we have to try and stop the ceremony first, I don’t want Dawn to have to go through that if at all possible.”
“Agreed” Giles confirmed.
“Yeh, okay that’s great but, how do you plan on doing that pet? This is no vampire you are dealing with, Glory is a God, not only that, she is also a few blood cells short of a pint if you catch my meaning.” Spike remarked.
“I can help, well I think I can, I have been working on a way to undo what Glory did to Tara, that bitch will pay for hurting my baby!” Willow snarled.
“And… We have the dagon sphere” Anya said recovering it from one of Xanders shelfs.
“That’s where that went, I was going to study it further and ti just up and disappeared” Giles interrupted.
“Well yes” Anya replied, “ it was far too pretty to stay in the shop, so I brought it home”
“Well that’s not important the important thing its here and it could prove to be an advantage in the battle with Glory” Giles stated.
“Tic Toc; Tic Toc, Time to go” Tara said standing bolt upright.
“What is it baby?” Willow asked the distracted Tara.
“I’m late for the important date, have to go!” She struggled free of Willows grasps.
“Let her go!” Buffy commanded.
“But Buffy?” Willow said distressed
“Its okay, we’ll follow her, she needs to be somewhere, and I think it’s the same somewhere that we need to be” Buffy said getting up from her chair and collecting her favourite weapons. “Tara, honey, is there somewhere you need to be?” Buffy said gently.
“Yes, very important date!”
“Well you better get going” Buffy replied. Tara looked around and headed for the door. “That’s our cue guys, lets go!”
The Scoobies gathered their belongings and what the thought they would need for the impending battle. No knowing what to expect or what Buffy’s plan was.
~~~
As Buffy surmised, Tara led them straight to where the action was, and it seems that she was indeed late for the even, it had started without her.
Buffy approached the scene alone, the rest of the gang taking a different route, as she drew closer Glory appeared before her and knocked her down. “I don’t remember you being on the guest list” she snarled down her nose at Buffy, lying on the cold concrete looking up and the imposing figure of Glorificus.
“What can I say, my invitation got lost in the mail… besides, you didn’t think I’d miss this, did you?” Buffy said sarcastically. Glory took her arm back, preparing to strike Buffy again, however before she could someone grabbed her arm and spun her around. When she came to rest she stood staring at a black eyed Willow.
“Why, if it isn’t the lover” she said with a sadistic smile on her face.
“RETURN” Willow shouted placing one of her hands on the Gods unprotected forehead. There was a brilliant flash of blue light, as Willow and Glory were violently thrown apart. Glory recovered, but it seems her recovery was incomplete, Willow had restored Tara by taking the sanity the demi god had cruelly stolen from her upon their previous encounter.
“What… What did you do you worthless little worm!” Glory said through the haze of insanity, which was promptly falling upon her.
The fight continued on the ground, where on the unstable tower Glory’s victims had constructed, the real battle began. Someone that Dawn identified as a friend approached her as she stood strapped and afraid, atop the unstable construction. The demon that helped her to preform the spell that was to restore her mother closed in on her. She felt relieved when she sighted him, she pleaded for his assistance in escaping her bindings, he produced a knife, and at that moment Dawn knew it was not to cut her free. Spike had seen the real battle was not with Glory and with Willows help he had begun to ascend the structure, just as the demon closed in on Dawn, Spike leaped in front of the demon which held the knife to Dawn. Their tussle was short however, with Spike being tossed aside and off the structure with little effort. His already dead body hit the ground with a stomach wrenching thud, even a vampire of his age and stature could not recover quickly from a fall such as that. The next thing Buffy and her friends were aware of, was Dawns squeals of pain as her blood trickled down her body and in to seemingly thin air, where the door to another world was opened.
“It’s over; you lose little girl” a bloodied Glory cackled.
“That’s what you think hell bitch” Buffy replied striking the final blow, which sent Glory reeling on the ground and pushed her back in to her human guise, Ben. Buffy promptly left the battered remains of the human on the ground and started the accent to Dawn. Giles finished the job he knew his slayer could never do, he killed the God by killing the human.
Spike began to regain consciousness and movement as Buffy reached Dawn. She rushed over to her distressed sister and began to untie her as she stared in to the widening abyss that now there was only one way to close. Dawn pushed her back insisting that it is her fault and her responsibility, but Buffy would not hear a word of her argument. She grabbed her sister and threw her in to the waiting arms of Spike who had once again had ascended the tower.
“I’m sorry slayer, I couldn’t stop it, hell I couldn’t even slow it down” Spike said ashamedly.
“Don’t be sorry, you fought for the right side of your own free will be proud of yourself for that, I am. You tried to save her and if it would have helped you would have died trying, thank you, I am not sure any of the others would have gone that far.” The dimensional tear grew larger as a beast tried to push its way in the their reality. “Look I need you both to do something for me, I need you to keep each other safe.”
“Buffy what are you talking about?” Dawn asked.
“I am not going to be able to do it anymore, because, because… I am the one that’s going to stop this” Buffy replied with tears streaming down her face.
“What… NO you cant, I wont let you” Dawn screamed trying to shake loose from Spikes grip.
“Honey, this isn’t your choice to make” she turned her attention to Spike, running her slender bloody fingers down his cheek, “please, if you truly do love me as you say you do, watch her, protect her, be there for her do all the things that I wont be able to do.” She turned and faced the abyss ready to give her gift. Dawn struggled, protesting in Spike’s arms. “The hardest thing to do in this world, is live in it, if you care about me at all, you will go on living and show me how strong you both are, I love you…. Both of you” Spike was shocked by her last concession but took it at face value, considering what she was just about to do. Buffy turned slowly and jumped in to the dimensional cavum. She disappeared and the tear closed behind her as Spike and Dawn watched on. Dawn sunk to her knees and began to sob loudly as silence fell upon the battleground, Spike hunched on top of her also sobbing with loss, loss of a warrior, of a friend, and loss of a love…
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