Chapter 6

DAY 13

"Here," Giles said, handing a cup of coffee to Willow.
"Thanks," she said, smiling gratefully. "I don't think I'm going to get this worked out in time, Giles."
Giles sighed and removed his glasses, setting them on the table. "I'm afraid you're right." He looked at his watch. "We'd better get to the mall. Maybe we can stop this whole thing before it gets started."
They stood.
"Although. . . ." Giles trailed off, lost in thought.
"Giles?"
"It's nothing . . . just . . . I'm not sure. Something seems askew about these events." He shook his head. "It'll come to me."
"Hopefully before tomorrow."

When Giles and Willow arrived, they found that Spike's vampires had apparently followed him again. The fight was still going on as more vamps and a few demons had joined in. They'd moved the battle indoors, obviously being pursued or doing the pursuing. Giles couldn't be sure. He suspected that latter as Buffy and Spike seemed to be very . . . enthusiastic.
"I count nineteen," Giles said, watching from the entryway. "Not very appealing odds."
"If we could get Spike out of there, I could do my sunshine spell," Willow offered.
"Are you sure you've worked it out? You were having trouble limiting its range yesterday."
Willow nodded. "It's tricky," she agreed, "but I can turn it off if it gets too close to Spike."
"I hope so, or we'll never hear the end of it."
Giles left Willow to cast her spell, and joined the melee, heading for Spike. He staked several vampires before they realized he was even there.
More vampires poured in from a side entrance.
"Sheesh!" Willow exclaimed. "It's a demon convention."
As she watched, the battle quickly went south. Buffy was still holding her own, but Spike had been buried under an enormous pile of vampires. They seemed strangely intent on getting him this time.
Willow panicked and cast aside her ball of sunshine spell and mumbled a quick incantation.

Every vampire in the room started floating.
"Oh, not again!" Xander yelled. He was glad to have the vamps off of him and Anya, but he wasn't fond of Willow's floating spell. He glanced around for Spike.
Two of the vampires had grabbed him when they'd started floating, and he was trying to fight them off.
Giles leapt up and caught Spike's coat. The vampires kept a hold of Spike and continued pounding on him.
"Ow! Bloody -! Soddin'. . .ow! . . .wankers!" He tried to beat them off, but he couldn't get any leverage. He was sideways in the air with Giles gripping his duster and trying to pull him down.
One of the vamps grabbed Spike from behind, wrapped his arms around his torso, and sank his fangs into his neck, biting deep.
Spike let out a howl and tried to get free. The second vamp, holding onto Spike's lapel, pulled himself in closer and grabbed Spike's flailing arms, immobilizing him.
Giles reached up and grabbed Spike's belt and pulled him down level with him.
Xander arrived then and he jumped up and staked the vamp holding Spike's arms. He grasped Spike's duster and pulled him on down to the floor.
The second Spike's feet touched down, he regained some of his balance. He reached up, grabbed the vamp around the head, and jerked him over his shoulder. The fangs came free from Spike's throat, ripping a vicious gash across his neck.
The vamp flew across the room, smashed into a pillar, and promptly floated up toward the skylights.
Xander and Giles took Spike by both arms and held him firmly in place.
Buffy and Willow joined them.
"Are you okay?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah," Spike mumbled, not looking at her.
"Right," Xander said, "the gushing blood gives you that aspect of robust health we're all desperately trying to achieve."
Willow gasped upon noticing his neck. "You've been bitten, Spike!"
"You noticed?" he asked, sarcastically, reaching for the wound at his neck. Xander let go of his arm and gripped the back of his coat.
Xander smirked. "Kind of ironic, isn't it, Spike? Getting your neck torn open by a vampire, I mean."
"You wanna' just get me outa' this float zone?" Spike said. He was feeling light-headed and he didn't want to pass out.
They maneuvered him to a safe area, well clear of the spell, and sat him on the floor.
"Let me have a look at that," Giles said, bending to inspect the wound at Spike's neck.
"Hey!" Anya yelled. "Where are they going?"

The group turned to see where she was pointing. Half the vamps had steered themselves around the room and were pulling themselves along the escalators. Once they reached the second level, they were no longer floating.
"Should we go after them?" Willow asked.
"Why?" Xander asked, annoyed at the very suggestion.
"Let 'em, go," Spike sighed, wearily.
"He's right," Buffy said. "We don't have time for this. Glory and her scabby minions are at the other end of the mall right now. We have to stop her."
"Stop her from doing what?" Xander asked. "Shopping?"
She looked at him, stunned. "Well . . . look, I'm going. The rest of you can come or not."
She then turned and headed for the other side of the mall.
Willow followed her instantly.
Xander rubbed the back of his arm across his face, tiredly. "This day's been kicking us in the butt since it started."
"So, we're not going to help her?" Anya asked.
Xander sighed, then turned and trudged after Buffy.
Giles asked Spike, "Will you be all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"We'll be back for you." With that said, he got up and followed the rest of the gang.
Spike dragged himself along the wall and looked around the corner. He didn't like being left behind when a fight was brewing. It made him feel weak and useless. The last three years had made him feel that way, now that he thought of it. He sighed and pushed himself to his feet.
"Oh, most Resplendent One," a minion spoke, "we are here to serve." He waved his arms, graciously.
Glory grabbed her head. "Where am I?"
"Sunnydale."
She looked around. "I've been here before."
"Oh, yes, many times, your exquisiteness. It was your favorite place to shop -."
"That's not what I meant!" she said, slapping him. "Something's wrong!"
"No kidding," Buffy said. She kicked Glory in the chest, the blow knocking her across the room and into the food court.
Buffy ran after her, with Willow not far behind.

As Spike pulled himself around the corner, he noticed the vamps above him on the second floor. They were displaying more intelligence than usual as they cautiously tested the boundaries of Willow's floating spell, then kept moving forward. Clearly, they'd forgotten about him, or more likely, were just hungry and wanted to catch Giles and the others.
Spike glanced around, frantically. He couldn't get across the room without turning into a balloon. There were no stairs on his side. He looked up. Under normal conditions he could've easily jumped to the second floor, but he didn't think he had it in him. He stepped into the float zone and jumped, using the spell to his advantage.
He managed to grasp the railing. His legs, still dangling in the zone, began to float. Spike heaved himself up and over the railing. He wasn't floating. He sighed in relief and took off after the others.
"You know where I've been for the last ten years!" Glory screamed. "In a hell dimension! And it wasn't even MY dimension!" She advanced on Buffy. "They didn't have ONE hair salon." She grabbed Buffy around the throat. "Do you know what it's like to go for ten years having to do your own nails?" She tossed Buffy away with a flick of her wrist.
Buffy landed awkwardly, tables and chairs piled on top of her. She pushed them aside, roughly, trying to get to her feet before Glory got to her. She wasn't quick enough.
Glory bent down and picked Buffy up by her hair. "And they didn't worship me," Glory sobbed, stamping her foot. "I killed hundreds and hundreds of demons while I was there and I still couldn't get any of them to serve me." She threw Buffy across the room again. "I need minions!" she screamed. "I need to be loved and worshiped by lesser beings that dote on me!"
Before Glory could reach Buffy, she was hit by a rod of lightening. It held her tightly, jerking her around like a drunken marionette.
Buffy glanced around and spotted Willow near the entrance. Her eyes were black and lightening was erupting from her hands. After a few minutes, it seemed to wear her out, however, because the lightening faded and Glory collapsed.
Buffy picked up a chair and was on her in an instant.

Spike skidded to a halt and leaned over the railing. He just caught the tail-end of an impressive lightening display. When the light dissipated, he spotted Buffy immediately. She was beating Glory senseless with an iron chair. It eventually broke and she tossed it aside, picked up another one, and started in again. She seemed determined to get the job done again.
He heard yelling and screaming. He glanced around. He didn't see the others, and he didn't see the vampires. He looked up.
The floor above him angled sharply to the left and he could clearly see Xander and Anya fighting several vampires. Stupid, Spike thought. You don't chase a dozen vampires up to the third floor of anything. You're just asking for trouble. Spike couldn't see Giles, but he must've been up there, too, because he wasn't below helping Buffy. That led him to assume that maybe they'd been the pursued and not the pursuers. Still, trapping yourselves three floors above the ground wasn't bright.
Spike hitched himself up onto the railing, intending to jump down next to Buffy and help beat the hellbitch into a bloody smear on the floor.
A numbing, ear-splitting scream rent the air and Spike bristled. He looked up.

Anya had just been thrown over the side. Spike could see Xander at the railing, a horrified look on his face as he reached out to catch her. He couldn't reach her.
"Noooo!"
Spike looked down. Buffy and Willow had seen it, too, and both were screaming.
He looked up again. He only had a few seconds. He wasn't sure he could jump that far; he'd taken a brutal beating already. He leapt up onto the railing and dived, kicking off the railing to give him more distance.
Below, Buffy and Willow watched in horror as Spike flew towards her. Everything slowed around them, the background noise dwindled away, and Spike and Anya moved in agonizingly slow-motion, like characters performing some macabre ariel ballet.
Spike collided with Anya, hugging her to him. His momentum carried them laterally for several feet, then they stopped, abruptly, suspended 100 feet above the ground.
Time and gravity caught up with them, then, and they dropped, like birds shot from the sky. More screaming ensued - from Anya and from Buffy and Willow below.
Above, Xander and Giles watched in shocked silence as Spike whipped his body around, leaving Anya on top of him. They hit the fountain seconds later.
Buffy and Willow stared at the fountain, paralyzed.
"Well, wasn't that sweet?" Glory said, turning an evil look on Buffy. "Too bad they'll have to die anyway."
Willow, sobbing, raced toward the fountain as Buffy turned to face Glory again.
Glory, however, had had enough. "I have things to do," she said, waving a dismissive hand at Buffy. "Clothes to buy, hair to do, and an apartment to find." She looked at her minions. "Let's go!" she yelled, clapping her hands.
Buffy watched her go and decided not to chase after her. There was always tomorrow night. Besides, Anya and Spike had to be taken care of. She joined Willow at the fountain.
The water was nearly four feet deep and red with blood. Spike was on his back, with Anya on top of him, on her side, one arm under her and the other floating. Willow was in the fountain, kneeling beside them and hugging Anya to her.
Willow glanced up at Buffy. "I . . . I don't know what to do. I shouldn't have moved her, but we can't let her drown."
"I know, Wil. Is she breathing?"
"Yeah, but I don't know how badly she's hurt."
"We need to call an ambulance." Buffy looked around wildly for a phone. She spotted one just as Xander and Giles rushed into the court.
"Giles! Phone!" she yelled, pointing.
The vampires followed Xander and Giles down the stairs. They skidded to a stop, savoring the delectable buffet before them. Two of them turned and went after Giles.

Buffy saw them and leapt up. She picked up a chair and hurled it the length of the room. It hit one of the vamps, knocking him into the other, and they both crashed into a table.
Xander, ignoring the brewing battle, jumped into the fountain and tried to grab Anya.
"No, Xander!" Willow screamed. "It's bad enough that I moved her, we can't go jostling her around anymore!"
Xander gave her a devastated look.
"I don't think this blood is hers," Willow said. "I don't see any wounds. I think it's all from Spike."
Anya chose that moment to wake up.
"Ahn?" Xander stroked her hair. "Ahn, can you hear me?"
"Xander?"
"I'm here, hon. Try not to move."
"What happened?"
"You fell off the balcony."
"I'm all wet. . . ."
"Can you tell if you're hurt?"
She moved, slightly and let out a little cry of pain.
"What?" Xander asked, petrified. "Is it your neck? Your back?"
"No, my arm."
Willow pulled her up so her shoulders were out of the water. Xander grabbed her around the waist.
"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Willow asked.
"No."
"Are you sure, hon? 'Cause we need to move you out of the water," Xander said.
"I'm okay, just be careful with my arm."
Xander gently rolled her over and scooped her up, moving slowly, then hauled her out of the fountain.
Across the room, Buffy was beating and staking everything that came near her. The odds weren't to her liking, but she was quickly whittling them down.
Giles hung up the phone and went to her aid.
In just under a minute, the remaining vampires realized their untenable position and chose to run away. Buffy and Giles let them go.
"I'm okay," Anya mumbled.

"No, you're not," Xander said. He looked up as Buffy and Giles approached. "Did you call an ambulance?"
"Yes, they'll be here in a few minutes."
Buffy returned to the fountain and peered in. She couldn't see Spike through the blood. She stepped in and knelt beside him. Feeling for him, she quickly grasped his jacket and heaved him into a sitting position.
He was unconscious, which didn't surprise her.
"Giles, I need help here."
Giles joined her in the fountain, stepping cautiously around Spike. "We've got to get him out of here before the ambulance arrives. I don't fancy explaining this to them." Giles knelt beside Spike. "My car is out back."
Buffy nodded and they proceeded to lift Spike out of the water.
"Xander, Wil," Buffy said, "we've got to take Spike -."
"I know," Xander said. "You'd better hurry."
They could hear the ambulance approaching.
"Xander, listen to me," Willow said, urgently. "I've been working on breaking the looping spell. You've got to remember some things for me, okay?"
Xander nodded, preoccupied with Anya.
"Xander, you've got to focus or I'm gonna' spend a lot of time tomorrow doing the same thing."
"I'm listening, Wil," he mumbled.
"Okay, first, the Romanian Codex of Dark Arts is useless. I spent four hours on it. Don't let me do it again."
"Romanian . . . dark arts . . . got it," he said, stroking Anya's hair.
"Second, there is no such thing as a Restoration Spell of Vergellan."
"Who's Vergellan?"
"Doesn't exist - hence the no such thing part. . . ."

Buffy and Giles manhandled Spike through the mall, outside, and to Giles' car. They were both panting by the time they reached it and they had to sit, laying Spike on the pavement. He groaned and woke up then, gazing around, disoriented.
He choked and coughed up a large amount of water and blood.
"It's okay, Spike," Buffy said, holding him as he continued to cough.
"Where am I?" he asked, weakly.

"We're at the mall," Buffy explained.
"What happened?"
"You had a little fall, and now you're talking in cliche's," she said, trying to cover her relief that he was okay. "If you don't stop you'll hate yourself in the morning."
He nodded and closed his eyes, leaning against her shoulder.
"That was a very heroic thing you did, Spike," Buffy whispered. "I won't forget it."
"Yes, you will," he muttered, and drifted into unconsciousness again.

Onwards...