Author: BlueLight
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Blurb: Dawn is in Danger, again. Includes Bots, yelling, love, grief, fighting and flying. Season 6 after Hell's Bells. Spike makes the ultimate sacrifice for love. The End is Silence. Humor.
Reviews, constructive criticism requested.
Distribution: Fine, just let me know where.
Feedback: Please. So I learn what works and what doesn't.

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Buffy cringed as Dawn's high-pitched scream echoed through the "Tons of Fun" amusement park. Amazing the amount of volume and screech the girl could put into her cries. The lights from "The Drop of Death" illuminated figures on the platform far above. Buffy bent her head back to watch her sister, tiny and bright against the night sky.

Warren leaned out over the edge of the platform and released something into the air. It took a while to hit the pavement below. It was a pair of manacles. Warren yelled down to her, "Put them on Slayer. Then take the elevator up. Any funny business and little sis will have to learn to fly." Warren grabbed the shrieking girl and forced her out over the abyss then pulled her back. Her shrill cries were like fingernails on a blackboard.

"No funny business!" Warren shouted.

Spike looked up, his face full of concern. He looked over at Buffy and the worry lines deepened. "Don't do it Buffy. He'll just kill you AND Dawn. We can find another way."

Spike pulled her back under the awning of the hot dog stand where Warren couldn't see them from above.

"Use the bot to delay him. Confuse him. You and I can climb up the tower. The bot will keep him busy long enough that he won't see us coming."

Buffy gritted her teeth, pushed her hair back and then nodded.

Spike glanced over at the repaired BuffyBot, its vacuous smile unchanging. Buffy began stripping out of her clothes. Spike told the bot to put on the orange-striped DoubleMeat Palace uniform while Buffy donned the black leather the bot had been wearing. Spike tried to be discreet about watching her strip and redress. He'd come to know her every inch of her body but it was still magical to him. He loved her so much. Even more than Dawn. He would have given anything to keep her from danger, to hug her and tell her everything would be alright. And it be true.

Spike quickly told the BuffyBot what to do. The bot walked into full view and began a deliberately confusing yelled conversation with Warren. Buffy and Spike begin a rapid climb up opposite sides of the tower. Buffy was soon ahead of Spike.

Buffy reached the platform and slowly raised her eyes above its edge. She could see Dawn sitting on the metal flooring, looking scared as well as affronted as this disturbance in her world. The WarrenBot stood looking down at Dawn while Warren leaned over the edge, hanging on to the railing, yelling down to the BuffyBot, "Come on Slayer. No guarantees. And, no, I won't send little sis down first. Not unless I send her down fast, which I am about to do if you don't do what I tell you."

Buffy slowly pulled herself up on the platform, silent and stealthy so Warren and his bot wouldn't see her coming. Dawn looked up and, seeing Buffy began to screech, "BUFFY!!! BUFFY!!! HELP ME!!! HELP!!! BUUFFYYY!! BUUUFFFFYYYY!!" Her cries turned Warren's attention to the real Slayer. He glanced down toward the ground in belated recognition of his own work then said, "Clever, Slayer. Not that it will do you any good." He then turned toward the WarrenBot and, pointing toward Buffy, told it, "Kill her. Now."

The WarrenBot charged and grabbed her in its robot embrace. It began to squeeze. Over its shoulder she caught a glimpse of an attacking Spike holding his head with one hand and punching Warrren with the other. The bot squeezed harder. She punched and pushed and kicked but it didn't seem to notice. It tightened its grip and she could feel her ribs cracking, one by one. Finally she lifted both feet so her weight allowed her to settle a couple of inches, then putting her feet down, she pushed with all of her superhero strength, trying to throw the bot off balance. It worked too well and suddenly they were both spinning in the air, Buffy thinking, "Damn, I didn't mean to do that!" Dawn's whining wail followed her down. Thinking that would be the last sound she ever heard, she whispered, " Dawnie, shut the fuck up."

The pair rotated in the air with the heavier bot rolling to the bottom right before they slammed down on the Buffybot, smashing both bots and leaving Buffy broken but alive. She tried to stand, tried to make her broken bones support her. And failed.

Suddenly Dawn screamed again, her "Noooooooooo" echoing through the park, an earnest cry without her usual overtones of outraged princess and spoiled brat. Buffy raised her head and saw Dawn fly off the tower. At last the scream ended and the girl lay still and finally silent on the concrete. A green glow lifted from the corpse, spun around for a couple of seconds then fled leaving Buffy looking at the body of her ersatz sister. Tears trickled out of her eyes. Grief and a strange relief swept over her.

Spike was suddenly there. He picked Buffy up and carried away from the tower, laying her down on the Merry-Go-Round beside a fairytale horse. He returned for Dawn's body and placed it gently beside her. Then he held up a wicked, military-looking device in front of Buffy's eyes, saying, "Something soldierboy dropped in my crypt."

Spike returned to the tower and placed the explosive device against its base. He then set the timer, pushed a button, and sprinted away. The explosion wasn't that loud but one of the tower's supports was blown away and a second bent. The tower shifted slowly and then began a faster lean and then a very fast fall. Warren shouted once, then he and the tower came crashing down, ending his mischief forever.

Spike lifted Buffy carefully so not to hurt her anymore. He carried her to the waiting Giles and they arranged her on the back seat of his car. They exchanged a few whispered words about what had to be done. Then Giles drove off, taking Buffy to the hospital. Spike would soon follow.

But now he returned for Dawn. He took the body in his arms, stroking the hair and said, "Sorry, niblet. You'd almost gotten her killed too many times. It was her or you and I choose her."

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Don't get upset. It was just a joke. But if Spike REALLY loved Buffy wouldn't he have chosen her? Even over Dawn?