Chapter 4

Day 6

Spike stood leaning against a wall in the Magic Box while Xander paced. Anya was engaged with a customer across the room, trying to ignore them.
"This is a nightmare," Xander muttered.
"How many times you gonna' say that?" Spike asked, annoyed.
Xander stopped in front of Spike. "Why couldn't I be stuck with Anya?" He threw his arms in the air. "Or Wil or Buffy? But, no." He gestured at Spike. "I'm stranded in the Twilight Zone with the Evil Dead."
"Yeah, well, you think I like being stuck here with you?" Spike countered, flicking his cigarette away. "I'd rather be swimmin' around in a vat of holy water than standin' here listen to you whine all day."
"Really? 'Cause I bet I could arrange that. . . ."

In the back of the shop, Willow frowned and looked around the bookshelf. "Giles, do you hear that?"
Giles stepped around the end of the shelf and listened.
"I think they're fighting again," she said.
Giles groaned. "I'll go stop them."

". . .with . . .with debilitating, cancerous pustules dripping . . . dripping . . . blood and . . . and pus!" Spike screamed, gesturing wildly. "All over my face and arms -!"
"Oh yeah?" Xander exclaimed. "I'd rather be staked out in the desert with ANTS crawling up my nose than be stuck here with you for another MINUTE!"
"Hey!" Anya yelled. "I'm with a customer here!" She gave the woman a sheepish smile and pulled her around the corner and into the next aisle. "They don't work here," she said. "In fact, I don't even know them."
"You want somethin' up your nose, mate?" Spike shouted."How 'bout a fist!"
"Go ahead, Spike! I like seein' you rollin' around on the floor, moaning and holding your head."
"You think this chip could stop me if I wanted to rip your throat out!"

Buffy stormed through the door of the training room and nearly ran into Giles.
"Giles!" she exclaimed, waving her hand toward the front of the store. "They can't keep this up. I can't concentrate."
"I know," he acknowledged. "It's also bad for business."
She rolled her eyes. "So glad you have your priorities right, Giles."
A loud crash interrupted them and they rushed to the front of the store.
One of Giles' large display cabinets was shattered and mangled beyond redemption, and Xander and Spike were rolling around on the floor, heedless of the broken glass and magic paraphernalia that crunched and splintered under their weight.
They struggled to their knees. Xander had Spike in a headlock, squeezing viciously, while Spike punched him repeatedly in the stomach. They were both bellowing in pain but neither was ready to give in. Anya was beating them both with a broom.
Buffy and Giles dived on the two and pulled them apart.
No one said anything for nearly a minute and, behind them, Anya's customer quietly slipped out the door.
Giles took a deep breath and fixed Spike and Xander with an irate gaze. "This has got to stop. You're not helping matters by succumbing to anger and frustration every hour -."
"And you're running off customers!" Anya said.
"Yes, that too. I think the two of you should just stay away from each other for the remainder of the day."
Spike and Xander, breathing heavy and glaring at one another, grudgingly nodded.
"Fine. Now, let's get this mess cleaned up -."
"Hey," Xander said, "I feel funny. . . ."
"Perhaps you should sit down," Giles said, reaching for his arm.
Spike put a hand against the wall to steady himself.
"Spike?" Buffy asked.
"Got a weird, itchy feelin' in my head."
"Huh?"
Giles quickly glanced at the floor, realizing what they were standing in.
"Oh, dear. . . ."

An hour later the bell on the front door sounded and Anya glanced anxiously around.
It was Dawn. She trudged over and stared at Spike. He was laid out on the table, his coat under his head and an ice pack on his forehead.
"What happened to you?"
Spike gave her a bleary-eyed stare but didn't say anything.
"Spike?" she said, frowning, worried.
Spike grunted in irritation and said, "Gakrol erkgh plyknop sertip." He shook his head and covered his eyes with the ice pack.
Dawn, wide-eyed, said, "Huh?"
"Dawn!" Buffy shouted. "Why aren't you at Xander's?"
"Because!" she cried, "everything is totally creepy!" She threw her arms in the air. "I've watched everything on TV -!"
"You can't go wandering around town by yourself," Buffy insisted.
"Why not? Glory doesn't come back until tonight, right?"
"Her minions are around, somewhere, Dawn," Giles explained, "and we don't know if they know the day is looping. From what Xander told us, Glory didn't even seem to know at first."
"I'm taking you back to Xander's," Buffy interrupted, grabbing Dawn's arm.
Dawn jerked her arm away. "No, Buffy!" She stomped away. "I can't take it anymore! It's like I've stepped into bizarro world!" She slumped into a chair. "I've been watching TV all day and it's all the same shows I saw yesterday - or it seems like it." She sighed in frustration. "It's like deja vu! All day long!"
"What?" Giles asked. He, Buffy, and Willow quickly surrounded her.
"You mean you remember?" Giles asked. "You know the day is repeating itself?"
She looked around frantically. "I'm not sure, I just . . . I just . . . I don't know . . . kind of . . . feel that it happened."
"This is really most odd," Giles said, sitting.
Buffy looked worried. "What does this mean, Giles? How can Dawn remember when the rest of us don't?"
Willow answered. "But, she doesn't really remember. It's like," she looked at Dawn, "like a dream, maybe?"
"Yes!" Dawn said. "It's like I dreamed my entire day and now I'm living my dream. Can that happen, Giles?"
"Well, we do live on a hellmouth and we've seen stranger things, but I don't think that's what happened, especially since Spike and Xander actually remember the day."
Dawn glanced at Spike again. "Are you okay?"
"He can't talk to you right now," Giles explained. "He and Xander had a little accident."

"What kind of accident?"
"They were fighting and they fell on a Melikon dialect orb."
"A what?"
Giles gave her an exasperated look. "It's meant to translate demon languages. Of course, one has to use the proper spell -."
Anya interrupted, impatiently. "Blood, a spell, a demon - that's how it works. Only there was no spell and now they both sound like neanderthals."
"Can they talk to each other?"
"No."
Dawn laughed.
"Which is for the best, really," Giles said.
"Are you gonna' fix them?"
"No. We don't have time. We have to find the spell that is making this day repeat itself or find one to break it."
"Giles, if Dawn remembers it like a dream, maybe we can do a spell that will help the rest of us to remember," Willow suggested. "If the day loops again, we'll waste a lot of time while Spike and Xander try to convince us."
"That's a good idea," Giles said. "Why don't you work on that and the rest of us will concentrate on finding a spell to break the loop."

After several hours of unprofitable research, Buffy gave up and decided to patrol. After a ten minute argument wherein much pantomiming went on, Spike and Xander were allowed to go.
"If there are as many vampires out there as they say, Buffy," Willow said, "maybe we should all go."
"Okay," Buffy said, annoyed, "but Giles should really keep researching."
"I will."
Buffy's gaze traveled over her crew. Spike and Xander weren't talking. In fact, they were on opposite sides of the room, glaring at each other. She shook her head, frustrated. "Let's go."
They made it through the second cemetery without an untoward amount of vampires or demons. Buffy was considering that they may well have overreacted, when a group of vampires, led by a gray, horn-faced demon accosted them.
Xander threw his arms in the air in exaggerated annoyance. "Treptrik rigmik urt bigipnyk!" he shouted, waving at the demon.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Spike," the demon said, ignoring Xander, "you stepped over the line this time."

Spike raised his eyebrows. "GIPK bagip?"
"Huh?" The demon looked at his vampire accomplices. "What'd he say?"
"I think he said somethin' about a goat."
Spike rolled his eyes and leapt into the middle of them, snarling and cursing.
Buffy and Spike were running head to head in the staking department, each having dusted six. Spike, however, quickly took the brunt of the fight as the demon snuck up behind him and clubbed him in the back of the head.
Spike swayed dizzily but maintained his feet. He could see Buffy dispatching her last vampire and rushing over to him.
He staggered around, holding his head, and faced the gray-skinned demon.
They launched themselves at each other and went down, rolling around in the street, punching and kicking. Spike rolled on top of the demon and punched him repeatedly in the face.
"Spike?" Buffy said, grabbing his arm.
He stopped and glanced wearily at her.
Buffy pulled him off the demon, who was unconscious, and Spike collapsed on the pavement.
"You okay?" Buffy asked, leaning over him.
He nodded, dazed. "Gurk."
Buffy rolled her eyes and pulled him to his feet. Willow, Xander and Anya joined them.
"Well," Buffy said, "not too bad." She wiped her hands on her pants then looked at Spike. "Maybe we overestimated your annoyance factor."
Spike glared at her, but didn't attempt to talk.
Deciding to call it a night, they headed out of the cemetery. Once on the street, however, it became apparent that Spike had more enemies than they'd realized.
"Wait, Buffy," Willow said. "Let me try first." She gestured with both hands at the advancing vampires.
"Monsters of the night,
who skulk and prowl and shun the light,
hearken now unto my voice,
abandon all thy deed of choice,
be ye now of like accord,
and one among you be your lord,
let my thought be your woe,
turn and see your gravest foe!"
Straightaway, the vamps turned on each other and attacked. Buffy and gang stood around watching.
"Hey, that was cool, Wil," Buffy said, joining her. "How long will that last?"
"They'll kill each other until only one is left standing," she said, a satisfied smile on her face. "The best, presumably." She looked at Buffy. "Easy stakeage."
"This could put me out of a job," Buffy said, impressed.
"What kind of a spell is this?" Anya asked, watching in fascination as the vampires slaughtered one another.
"It's kind of an ambiguous spell," she explained.
"Ambiguous?" Buffy said. "Don't like the sound of that, Wil."
"It's okay. That just means it does the basic spell - in this case, it clouds a person's or demon's mind - then the caster -" she gestured dramatically at herself. "moi - specifies the rest of the spell."
"So, you get to make up your own spell?" Anya asked. "That is cool."
"It's not that easy. I don't rhyme that well. Anyway, I've really been itching to try it." She looked at Xander. "I worked on this one especially for you, Xand."
"Abgip?" he said.
She smiled and looked back at the fight. "It's kind of my salute to gladiator movies. I thought you'd like it."
Xander grinned.
"Should we just leave them?" Anya asked, waving at the vamps. They were howling and snarling like wild animals and beating each other senseless. The fight mushroomed to cover the entire street and the far sidewalk.
Buffy shrugged. "Might as well."
Anya studied the vampire melee for half a second, then, "I think Big Ugly with the bowling jacket is going to win," she said.
Buffy frowned. "But, he's got no style. He's just a big brute, bowling everything else down."
"Exactly why I think he's going to win," she said. She glanced at Buffy. "Twenty bucks?"
Buffy shook her head, then appeared to reconsider. "Five," she said.
Anya rolled her eyes. "Okay."
Buffy and company watched the brawl for a few minutes. Xander and Anya were engrossed in the fight, while Willow and Buffy looked on with detached interest, Willow feeling a bit squeamish. Spike, however, looked bored.
Xander jabbed Buffy in the arm, roughly.

"Hey -!" She stopped when she noticed what he was pointing at.
Another group of vampires was advancing on them, apparently having been out looking for Spike as well.
"This is unbelievable!" Buffy said, throwing her arms in the air. She turned on Spike. "WHAT did you do, Spike?"
He gave her a resigned look, and moved to intercept the vamps.
"Try to get them in the zone," Willow whispered.
"I think we can handle them okay, Wil," Buffy said. "Me slayer, remember?"
"Right. Sorry."
There were only six this time and Buffy and Spike laid into them quickly, dusting half their number in less than a minute.
More vampires and a few demons showed up then, making the odds less appealing.
"Spike, I am so gonna' stomp your head in when this is over!" Buffy shouted.
A few patrons from the bar down the street stumbled outside, interested in the fracas, and clearly too inebriated to be bothered by the sight of men turning to dust. They shouted and waved their beer mugs, picking their favorite players.
"Spike, no!" Willow shouted, but she was too late. He'd been tackled from behind and they sailed into Willow's spell zone.
"Get out! Get out!" she screamed.
Buffy staked her last vampire and turned at the sound of Willow screaming. She saw Spike. He'd fallen heavily and the demon that assaulted him got to his feet first. The demon didn't have a chance to take the advantage, however, because the spell overtook him and he screamed, holding his head. Quickly forgetting Spike, he lunged at a vampire next to him and tried to bear hug him to death.
Spike sprang up, his game face emerging as his demon took over, and howled in mindless rage. He whirled on the two nearest vamps, snapped both their necks and threw them aside. He then leapt thirty feet and landed on a parked car. Spike used it as a springboard and launched himself into the middle of a nasty skirmish of four vampires.
Buffy watched Spike in fascination. He'd completely lost control.
Anya and Xander joined her and Willow.
"What should we do?" Anya asked.
Buffy shook her head, annoyed. "Get him out of there, I guess," she said, moving to enter the zone.
Willow caught her arm. "He'll probably attack you, too, Buffy."
"Are you forgetting his chip, Wil?"
"I doubt it would stop him."

A loud cheer erupted from the spectators, who had moved closer, and the group returned their attention to the melee.
Spike was throwing vampires around with an ease that almost frightened Buffy. She'd never seen him lose himself so thoroughly. This was his demon - wholly and completely.
The other vampires, seeing their numbers whittled down, managed to conclude that Spike was their greatest threat. They turned on him, growling and roaring.
"That's it," Buffy said. "He needs help."
"That spell won't affect us, will it?" Anya asked, her and Xander moving to follow Buffy.
Buffy stopped when Willow didn't answer.
"Wil?"
"Um, well . . . not real sure." She looked helplessly at them. "It seemed kind of foolproof when I came up with it, but now. . . ."
"Can you turn it off?" Buffy asked.
"No. Didn't think I'd need to. Again, with the foolproof," she explained, sheepishly.
Anya shrugged. "I don't think he needs help."
Buffy turned back to the fight. Spike was punching, kicking and snapping arms and legs with a savage intent that left Buffy feeling squeamish.
"Eeww," Willow said. "Did you see -?" she asked, glancing at Buffy. "Yeah, you did."
Xander sat on the hood of a parked car, watching in astonishment. Anya joined him, commenting on the odds against Spike.
"Leptop gik nopthrig vudmakim. Serg ipto lakto mik tib," he said, waving at the battle.
"I don't think so," she replied. "He's a master vampire, you know. Those others are -."
Xander grabbed her arm. "Tipgip supto nil ti rimco?"
"Of course I understand you," she answered. "Ex-demon here. Been around for over a thousand years."
Xander frowned. "Opnic du sip gopnik plog turool ig nig tupnoric!"
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't want to talk to you. You were in a bad mood all day."
Xander shook his head, angry.
Buffy paced outside the perimeter of Willow's spell. Should she help him? Did he deserve it? No. This was all his fault. If he hadn't pissed off the entire demon community, he wouldn't be in this mess. None of them would be. She glanced at the fight again. Spike had three vampires clinging to him, while a fourth pounded him in the face.
That was it. Buffy marched toward them.
"Buffy?"

"I'm gonna' risk it, Wil," she said, not stopping. "Besides, you were pretty specific with that spell, weren't you? What could happen?"
Xander jumped off the car. "Kigmig sodo llamtog ip lig davrigig dolwo. Kadoe duli ldo isl! Ellif sidi edl uewl filnzel sillldelf urg magurg!" he shouted, gesturing wildly.
"He's right," Anya said. "How many spells have backfired on us to date?"
"Okay, more than I care to remember," Buffy admitted. "But, I'm helping him anyway. The rest of you stay here."
Spike kicked the vampire that was punching him in the face, sending it flipping around, its jaw breaking with the impact. He then growled and lurched away from the vamp holding his left arm. A sickening snapping accompanied this as his arm fractured under the stress.
"Oh, ow!" Anya yelled. "That is gonna' slow him down."
It didn't seem to bother Spike, however, as he swung his injured arm around and grabbed the vamp holding his right arm, wrapping it around his neck. He twisted, brutally, and the vamp collapsed. Spike then elbowed the third vampire and jerked him over his shoulder, smashing him into the pavement and crushing his boot on his chest. The sound of cracking ribs reached across the street, causing blanched faces all around.
"This is really gonna' make me lose my lunch," Willow said.
As soon as Buffy reached the edge of the zone, she launched herself at the closest vampires and found herself propelled backward. She landed on her butt, startled. She turned a surprised look on Willow.
"Uh, well. . . ." Willow began, "I guess, uh . . . barrier of some kind?"
Buffy jumped up and punched at the invisible wall.
"Ow!" she yelled.
She stepped back, helplessly, and watched the remainder of the fight.
"Anyone counting them?" Willow asked.
"Nine," Anya said. "I'm very impressed. I wish I had some popcorn." She looked at Willow. "Can we do this again sometime?"
"I doubt we could get Spike to participate," she replied. She was feeling guilty as she watched the fight. Spike was down to five vampires and one large, grotesque knife-wielding demon. Spike's left arm was hanging at his side and he'd abandoned its use some time ago. The vampires circled him, two of them dragging broken legs. They, like Spike, seemed unwilling to let this quench their bloodlust. The other three vampires had various broken bones and unsightly cuts.
Spike, gently rocking on the balls of his feet, waited for them to make the first move. Finally, they could stand the suspense no longer and the two least injured launched themselves at Spike.
Spike sidestepped and grasped one as he sailed by. He kneed him ruthlessly in the stomach and tossed him aside. He then leapt onto a parked car, reaching the roof in one smooth leap. He stood atop it, king of his arena, clearly ready to mangle and butcher all challengers.
Buffy paced back and forth along the edge of the zone, growing more furious by the minute. Willow noticed.

"Buffy, I'm sorry. I really didn't think this would happen," she said.
"Oh, I knew it would," Anya said.
"What?"
Anya shrugged. "Saw it coming. The minute Willow cast her spell and we were all standing around being impressed I thought 'one of us is gonna' end up in there, I just hope it's not me or Xander.'"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Willow asked, offended.
"Well, in the almost three years I've known all of you, you've managed to lay down an impressive track record of well-intentioned spells that go horribly wrong."
"Story of our lives," Buffy said, with a sigh. "If something can go wrong, it will." She glanced back at Willow and smiled. "It's not your fault, Wil." She looked back at the fight in time to see Spike dust two more vampires and incapacitate a third by slamming it headfirst into the roof of the car and right on through, ruining the interior, no doubt. "It's Spike's fault," she said, firmly. "And, I don't feel sorry for him a bit."
The demon dived at Spike and crashed into him hard. The impact carried them over the top of the car and onto the pavement behind. Buffy couldn't see and she started around the perimeter.
Xander and Anya stood on their car and tried to get a better view.
Grunting, growling and much shattering glass accompanied Spike's disappearance as he and the demon continued to fight.
Abruptly, the demon flew upward and landed on his back on the roof of the car, his body sagging through the hole. He didn't get up.
"Wow," Anya said. She looked at Xander. He was equally impressed, but still not willing to give Spike any accolades.
The demon was the last. Spike had won, but had yet to reappear.
Buffy and Willow glanced worriedly at each other. Buffy reached a hand to the invisible wall and found it still there.
"I think it'll come down when Spike leaves the zone," Willow offered. "I hope."
Across the street, a crippled arm flailed weakly, then dropped onto the hood of the car. A few seconds later, Spike, staggering and weaving drunkenly, surfaced. He didn't get further than the front of the vehicle before he swayed sideways and collapsed over the hood. He slid slowly over the front, blood smearing the blue paint, and dropped to the ground.
"He's not coming out of there, Wil," Buffy said. She rushed around to the other side and managed to get within a foot of Spike before the barrier stopped her.
"Spike!"
He didn't answer. His game face had slipped away and he was unconscious. Buffy shook her head. He looked worse than she'd ever seen him. Both his eyes were swollen shut and the right side of his face was covered in blood. His mouth appeared to be swelling shut as well.
"Spike! You've got to get up!" Buffy yelled, kicking at the barrier.

She gazed helplessly across the street where the others waited. She realized that Willow was mouthing a new spell. "Oh, no. . . ."
The demon splayed on the roof of the car abruptly sat up, causing Buffy, Xander and Anya to let out a startled cry and jump back. It didn't say anything, just worked its way out of the mangled remains of the roof and dropped to the ground. It lurched around to the front of the vehicle.
Buffy watched in fascinated horror as it bent down and picked Spike up. It then turned and lumbered toward her. She instinctively stepped back.
The demon easily penetrated the barrier and dropped Spike on the sidewalk. Buffy stepped back into a fighting stance. It was unnecessary, however, because the demon, its job accomplished, dropped bonelessly to the pavement beside Spike.
Buffy leaned over Spike, keeping a wary eye on the demon, lest it inexplicably return to life - they did live on a hellmouth - and try to make an hors d'oeuvre out of her.
She gently patted Spike on the less bruised left side of his face, which elicited no response.
"Spike?" Buffy asked.
She put a hand on his chest and quickly pulled it away. She stared at the blood, then at his shirt. He had several puncture wounds, all bleeding profusely.
"Okay," she said, "looks like we'll be carrying you."
The others joined her and they managed to get Spike off the sidewalk. They quickly determined it would be easier to carry him if he was upright and they repositioned him, his arms hanging over Buffy's and Xander's shoulders.
"Hey," Anya said, jabbing at the air, "this barrier's still here."
"What?" Willow said, moving to stand beside Anya. She poked at the invisible wall. "That's not good," she said.
"Deal with it later, Wil," Buffy said.
"But, cars will be crashing into it in the morning, Buffy. I can't leave it."
Xander rolled his eyes and let out a string of gibberish.
"He says it won't matter when the day loops," Anya interpreted.
Willow looked unconvinced, but decided there was nothing she could do about it anyway without a little research.
They moved off, ignoring the spectators who watched them in stunned silence, and headed for Buffy's house.
"That was my favorite new spell. . . ." Willow mumbled, rubbing her forehead. She felt a headache coming on.

DAY 7

Dawn banged on the door to Spike's crypt. When he didn't answer, she started yelling for him. Eventually she gave up and pushed the door open.
"Spike?" she asked, cautiously.
She moved further into the gloomy crypt, noticing that Spike hadn't bothered to light any candles. She wondered if he was still sleeping. Well, she'd just keep hollering until he got up.
"Spiiieeek --!"She tripped over his armchair and landed in an untidy heap on the cold floor. She pushed herself up onto her elbows and gazed around the room. As her eyes became accustomed to the dark, she realized the place was a mess. All the furniture was overturned and the floor. . . . She lifted a hand and peered at her palm. It was wet and sticky. . . .
"Eewww . . . !" she shrieked, then jumped up. "Spike!" she screamed, shaking her hands in revulsion.
She hastily wiped her hands on her pants and looked around for a candle. She found a nice, hefty pillar of wax, lit it, and headed for the lower level.
She found him asleep on the bed. She cautiously approached and sat beside him. He was lying on his back, left hand pressed to his side, which had obviously bled liberally.
"Spike?" she asked, touching him on the shoulder.
He groaned and opened his eyes.
"You okay?" she asked.
He looked around, anxiously, then dropped his head back onto the pillow in frustration.
"Spike, I'm gonna' go get Buffy, okay?"
"No."
"But, Spike, you're really hurt." She gently touched his hand.
"It's not that bad."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Really, 'cause your floor is gonna' need a good cleaning," she said, holding up her hands so he could see the blood.
Spike sighed. "It doesn't matter, luv." He closed his eyes. "None of it matters."
"Have you . . . you know, eaten today, Spike?"
"No. Don't have any blood here."
Dawn jumped up. "I'll go get you some."
Spike grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "No. Don't want you runnin' around out there by your lonesome."
"Why not? It's daylight. Nothins' gonna' attack me. Glory -."
"It's just not safe. Give me a minute, okay, and I'll walk you home."
She didn't want to argue with him, so they sat in companionable silence for a few minutes and Spike nearly drifted off to sleep.
"What if we never get out of here?" Dawn asked, quietly.
Spike opened his eyes and looked at her.
"I could spend the rest of my life in Sunnydale, never finishing 11th grade," she continued. "That's like the end-all of curses, isn't it? Trapped in high school for the rest of your life."
Spike reached out to pat her hand, but thought better of it. The blood would likely negate the comfort factor he was going for.
"We'll set it right, luv. Giles and Red will work out whatever mojo them demons did and fix it."
"You don't know that. What if it's irreversible?"
"It's not," he said, firmly.
She sat back and looked at the floor. "Can I stay here with you?" she asked. "Xander said he didn't care if Sunnydale got sucked into hell and he went home to lie down."
"Know how he feels," Spike mumbled.
"So, can I?"
Spike sighed. "Do what you want, pet."
She smiled and crawled over him and propped herself up beside him on the other side of the bed.
"Wanna' play 20 questions?"

Onwards...