Chapter 3: Out for Blood
Spike paced around the main floor of the Magic box restlessly.
“I’ll bloody kill them. I’ll rip their’ heads off and play with their’ intestines.” Spike ranted to himself as the Scooby gang and half of the fang gang listened. Willow was typing away on her laptop, and the rest of the gang looked through several large books haphazardly stacked on the table.
“Well, it’s good to know my intestines aren’t the only ones you threaten, blondie.” Lorne commented, looking up from the book he was reading.
“Spike, calm down. We must deal with this calmly and rationally.” Giles said. Just then Buffy came out from Giles’ office, carrying a large tome. “Buffy, you agree don’t you?” Giles continued.
“I’ll kill them, the bastards.” She muttered as she slammed the book down on the table. Spike immediately went to it, flipping through the pages for anything on Doc.
“I think calm and rational went out the window there, G-man.” Xander shrugged.
“Well I’m glad to see you’re thinking things through and formulate a plan like I tried to teach you all these years.” Giles said and threw his glasses on the counter, frustrated.
“Giles, they have Dawn. I’m going to get her back. That’s the plan.” Buffy said.
“Oh yes, brilliant plan. Why didn’t I think of that?” Giles said sarcastically.
“We’ve got to come up with a more detailed plan then that, love.” Spike said. He got frustrated with the book and started pacing. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, not caring that he wasn’t supposed to smoke in the Magic Box.
“Oh yes, because all of your plans just go so well.” Buffy snapped.
“We need to figure out where they took Dawn.” Angel said.
“Thank you Mr. State-the-obvious.” Spike scoffed at him, and then turned back to Buffy to continue their argument as if Angel hadn’t said anything.
“And your plans always come out puppies and kittens in the end? What do you suggest we do? Go in guns-a-blazing, when we don’t even know where to look?!” Spike snapped back.
“We’ll find a way. We always do!” She stomped up to him angrily and pulled the lit cigarette out of his mouth, threw it on the floor and stomped it out.
“Oh that’s just bloody brilliant. You’ll get us all killed!” He said, taking out another cigarette. As soon as he put it to his lips, she yanked it out again, crushing it beneath her heel.
“Bloody hell woman!”
“If you’re going to smoke, go outside!” Buffy yelled, pointing to the back door leading to the alley way through the training room.
“If you’re going to be a bitch, go walk it off! Go kill something!” He snapped back.
“Fine!!”
“Fine!!”
They both simultaneously turned and stomped off in opposite directions; Buffy out the front door, and Spike out the back in the training room. When the Scooby gang and the fang gang heard both doors slam at the same time they all looked at each other with bewildered expressions.
Then Lorne chuckled.
“What?” Angel asked.
“Does anyone else feel like we just stepped into a Moonlighting scene?” Lorne asked, grinning.
“What was that all about? They were all buddy-buddy just a few minutes ago outside.” Cordelia asked.
“Buffy and Spike have a…. unique relationship. They always have.” Giles said, pondering his own words.
“Yeah, one minute they can be all campy and the next they’ll be at each-other’s throats…..then ten seconds later they’ll be making out.” Willow said.
“T-they kinda get a-a little edgy when it c-comes to Dawn’s safety.” Tara shyly added.
When Angel took up a brooding stance, Cordelia smacked him on the arm to get him to stop.
“Those two are like Momma and Papa bear defending their’ cub.” Lorne commented. “I almost feel sorry for the ones who took Dawn. There’s gonna be hell to pay.”
“Woah! Hey guys…I think I found something!” Xander exclaimed, motioning to the book he was reading.
* * *
Warren walked through the darkened abandoned warehouse like he owned the place. He went down a long shadowy corridor and turned into a large room where Doc was pouring over a large book and some scrolls scattered on a large desk in the center of the room. Warren pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the desk, rested his elbows on the surface and perched his head on his hands.
“So…what’s up Doc?” Warren quipped. When Doc just looked at him with passive annoyance, Warren sighed. “Sorry, I’ve been itching to say that.”
“The time is almost near. Tonight the moon will be in the right phase, and the stars will be aligned in the proper order. All is going as planned.” Doc said.
“What about the Slayer?”
“The Slayer is already too late to stop it. It has already begun.” Doc smiled coldly.
* * *
“The full moon…of course! It’s always the bloody full moon!” Giles sighed, rubbing his eyes wearily. He looked out the shop window at the darkened sky, cursing himself for his stupidity. How many years had he lived on the Hell-mouth?
“The full moon is tonight. We’re running out of time.” Giles continued.
“No wait, there’s more! G-man,” Xander said in a mock salesman voice. “We’re the lovely winners of a brand new shinny apocalypse, complete with ancient hell-beasts, demons and even a God of Chaos and Destruction. It says so here in the Chronicles.” Xander pointed, Giles put on his glasses and started reading the prophecy.
“Chaos and Destruction? That has to be Etheos.” Anya said.
“I-I beg you’re pardon?” Giles looked up from the text at her, still squinting from reading the small print.
“Etheos. It would make sense that Doc is aligned with him. Etheos is just as bad, if not worse than Glory was.” Anya said. The entire Scooby gang exchanged worried glances.
“Oh God. Not another Hell-God. Please tell me he isn’t walking around sucking out people’s brains.” Xander said.
“Oh no. Etheos is forever trapped in hell,” Anya said.
“Oh thank God.” Xander breathed a sigh of relief.
“Unless someone opens the Gates of Hell and summons him.” Anya shrugged.
“Oh Holy God!” Xander turned white.
“And let me guess what Doc wants with Dawn…” Angel sighed.
“He’s going to need some heavy magic to summon Etheos. Somebody with access to a lot of power and an experienced user.” Anya said.
“Do you know what the person would need to do this ritual?” Giles asked.
“Yeah. We have all the ingredients here. If anyone purchased the supplies from here, I’ll have it on record.” Anya said, walked behind the counter and started shuffling around in the shelves below the cash register. A few seconds later she peaked her head back over the counter.
“What did you say one of those guys’ name was that kidnapped Dawn?”
“W-Warren or Jonathan?” Tara asked.
“That’s it! Jonathan came in and bought all the ingredients for the ritual about a week ago.” She said, holding up a receipt
“And you didn’t recognize him?” Giles asked.
“It wasn’t me that rang up the sale. It was Spike, and he wouldn’t have recognized Jonathan.” Anya said, handing Giles the sales receipt.
“Bloody hell.” Giles threw his glasses on the table. “We’ve had all of the signs staring us in the face the entire time.”
The bell above the Magic Box door jingled and everyone looked up to see Buffy and Spike walk in covered in some kind of blue-ish purple slime, looking none-to-pleased.
“What happened to you two?” Cordelia asked with her nose curled up.
“The Slayer decided to take on a demon all by her lonesome.” Spike glared at her, but it was more playful than it was before.
“Well I didn’t have my slaying partner, now did I? Besides, I could have handled it alone.” Buffy said flippantly.
“Right. You were doing such a fabulous job getting you’re ass kicked,” Spike rolled his eyes. “That is until I came along.”
From the two’s body language, the inner Scooby gang could tell they had already kissed (most likely more than that) and made up.
“She meant the demon slime.” Angel pointed to their clothing.
Spike lifted the severed head of a large horned demon that resembled the head of a buffalo…except with squiggly little tentacle thingys coming from its head.
“Porlarga demon. We came, we saw, we hacked into bits.”
“Porlarga? Oh dear lord.” Giles said. The Scooby gang collectively groaned.
“What? What’s wrong?” Angel asked.
“Whenever Giles says ‘Oh dear lord’, nothing good can *ever* come of it.” Xander moaned.
“We’ve got to stop this, before it goes any further. That particular demon is attracted to active Hell-mouth energy. We haven’t seen any around because we sealed off the hell-mouth…but this one’s appearance suggests…” Giles trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence.
“The Hell-mouth is leaking.” Spike finished for him. “What’d we miss out on Watcher?” Spike asked, setting down the head. Anya looked furious that he was dripping slime all over her shop, but she didn’t say anything. She figured she’d get him to clean it up later. He was on the payroll after all.
“Oh the usual. Apocalypses, full moons, star alignments, Hell-beasts and oh! Joy! Another hell God.” Xander said.
“Oh God.” Buffy went deathly pale. “I think I need to sit down.” She barely squeaked out.
“Alright love, come on.” Spike said and took her by the arm to lead her to a chair, but instead she just plopped down on the floor and sat there.
“Or that’ll work.” Spike said, sitting down next to her and rubbing her back to try and calm her.
“As always Xander, you are completely tactless in breaking horrible news, thank you.” Giles said. “As I was saying, a way to prevent any of this from occurring is to stop it before the ritual of summoning Etheos takes place.”
“Watcher, if the Hell-mouth is opened…does it need Dawn’s blood to be closed again?” Spike asked reluctantly.
“Thankfully, no. The Hell-mouth can be closed magically, just as we did last time.”
Both Spike and Buffy visibly let out their sighs of relief.
“We need to find where they’re keeping Dawn. There’s got to be a way we can track the van.” Angel said.
“I…I know a way.” Connor spoke up.
* * *
In the darkened warehouse, down the corridor from where Doc resided, Jonathan sat and kept watch on a tied up Dawn. She was tied to a chair with thick ropes and a gag was in her mouth.
“Stop glaring at me. It’s freaky.” Jonathan shifted nervously under her gaze.
She intensified her glare.
“Stop it! I don’t have any control over this, okay?”
“MmmphmmMphh!”
“What?”
“MphmmMph!!”
“I can’t understand you.”
Dawn rolled her eyes. She tugged on the ropes that binded her, and struggled against her gag.
“You want me to take that off?” Jonathan guessed
Dawn nodded frantically. Jonathan got up and untied the knot behind her head, releasing the gag.
“You can let me go.” Dawn demanded.
“Uh, no I can’t. Look, I don’t want this to happen any more than you do, but Warren and Doc’ll kill me.”
“Not if they can’t find you! If you let me go my sister and Spike won’t let them hurt you. I’ll tell them you helped me.”
“I don’t know…”
“Jonathan! Get in here!” Warren shouted from the other room.
“Uh, coming!” Jonathan said, giving Dawn and apologetic glance as he left the room.
“I really hate being the damsel in distress.” Dawn mumbled under her breath and sighed.
She glanced around the room for anything she could use to escape. She saw amongst a pile of garbage a shard of glass. She focused in on it and concentrated on levitation. After a few tries, the shard floated over to her. Slowly and exhaustingly she concentrated on moving it in a sawing motion across the ropes that bound her.
“Oh, now this won’t do.” Doc’s coldly sarcastic voice startled Dawn, and the shard of glass dropped to the cement floor. She looked up and her large eyes widened with a haunted look on her face when she saw Doc had a knife in his hand.
“It’s time to go little girl.” Doc smiled serenely.
* * *
“What?” Jonathan asked nervously as he entered the room where Warren sat.
“It’s almost time for the ritual. Get you’re stuff together. We’re moving out.” Warren told him as he gathered up texts from the desk and shoved them into a backpack.
“Where’s Andrew?” Jonathan asked.
* * *
“Man…this sucks.” Andrew said out loud to no one. He stood in the charred remains of Sunnydale High’s library, lighting candles, burning incense and smudging the area with a sage stick. He looked around with a paranoid look on his face, like he was afraid that something from the Hell-mouth would come crawling out.
“Aaaahh!!” Andrew screamed like a girl as something made a noise in the far corner. A few seconds later a rat squeaked and crawled away.
“Great.” Andrew grumbled, and then imitated Warren. “Why don’t you go to the Hell-mouth alone to set up Andrew?” “Sure Warren, anything for you.” He mocked his reply. “God I’m such an idiot.”
“Hey idiot boy, you got everything set up?” Warren asked as he walked through what was left of the library double doors, Jonathan was right behind him carrying both Warren’s and his backpack like a pack horse.
“Uh yeah. It’s all set.” Andrew gestured to the alter set up in front of the crack in the floor.
“Good. It is almost time.” Doc said, dragging a tied up Dawn with him into the library. He pulled her to the Hell-mouth and tied her to the chair that sat directly in front of it.
“Oh don’t cry little girl.” Doc said when he noticed the tears streaming down her face. “You have plenty of time to cry later.” He smiled maliciously, playing with the blade of his knife.
* * *
Connor was walking swiftly down the streets, intent on his goal. The Scooby gang was trailing behind him.
“What is he doing?” Tara asked.
“He’s tracking her scent.” Angel said, watching his son with great interest.
“Why can’t you or Spike do it? You’re both vampires.” Willow asked.
“Connor’s sense of smell and hearing is better than a vampire’s for some reason. I have this theory that since he’s the child of vampires, all of his senses are twice as good.” Angel said.
“In there.” Connor said, coming to a halt in front of a large abandoned warehouse.
“You sure, mate?” Spike asked.
“Positive.”
“Alright then kiddies, everyone got their favorite weapon?” Spike asked, hefting his battle axe onto his shoulder. The gang all had various weapons; Giles and Cordelia had swords, Buffy had double-weighted blades, Xander and Willow had cross-bows, Anya had a baseball bat, Tara was using magic, Angel had a mace, Lorne had protested he was a lover, not a fighter, but was given a cross-bow anyway, and Connor had a self made slingshot with steel balls for ammunition. The kid also had other self-made weapons that the gang had no idea what they did, but didn’t ask.
“Lets do this then.” Spike said. He and Buffy charged in first, then Angel and Giles, and then the rest of the group. They ran down the corridor checking each room as they went. When they came to the room where Dawn was kept prisoner, Connor stopped and sniffed.
“She was in here. I can smell her fear.”
Angel and Spike sniffed also and nodded.
“Damn it. We’re too late. They’re not here.” Angel said.
“Split up. Search the room for clues.” Spike said.
“Why does it always seem we’re one step behind?” Xander pondered.
“Because it’s in the script?” Lorne shrugged. Everyone stopped what he or she was doing and gave each other confused glances.
“You know, the ‘Big Plan’, as in the script from the PTB?” Lorne continued.
“Oh I get it!” Xander laughed nervously. “For a minute there I thought you were suggesting we were all made up characters of some crazy TV show or something. That’s pretty lame.”
The group collectively rolled their eyes, and continued searching the warehouse. They ended up in the room Doc had resided in, but everything was gone.
“Blast.” Giles said. “They’ve already gone to the Hell-mouth. We only have an hour until it opens.”
“Well then, we better get a move on.” Spike said. The entire group exited the warehouse and headed towards the old Sunnydale High School.
Buffy walked next to Giles at the back of the group.
“Giles?”
“Yes?”
“I’m really glad you’re here.” Buffy smiled at him.
“Oh Buffy…I’ve missed you too. You don’t know how hard it was for me to leave.” He said, putting a hand on her shoulder as they walked.
“So you’re not disappointed in me then?”
“Disappointed? How could I ever be disappointed in you?”
“When you found out about me and Spike...”
“Buffy… I must admit I was a bit…rash. But I was wrong. Clearly a lot has happened since I left, and I had no right to judge. While Spike certainly isn’t an ideal boyfriend in my eyes…” Buffy gave him a look that made him chuckle. “He does love you and Dawn. He proved that to me that he is deeply loyal to you two when Dawn was kidnapped…He was so intent on his goal he didn’t notice he was on fire. That takes great loyalty…to be willing to sacrifice yourself for the ones you love.” Giles paused for a moment, and then continued thoughtfully, “I’ve always pondered why Spike came to us when he was chipped…I confided in him once that I thought maybe the chip had some kind of higher purpose. Maybe I wasn’t wrong after all.”
They walked on in silence, and soon Sunnydale High School was looming ahead of them.
“Well, this is it then. Protect Dawn, and don’t let them start the ritual…is everyone clear?” Giles asked. Everyone nodded their’ agreement.
“Alright, let’s go kick some ass.” Buffy said.
“And kill that bastard once and for all.” Spike said vehemently.
The group walked into the burnt out hull of the building, disappearing into the darkness to face the coming apocalypse.