Chapter 12 – Rescuing The One

"Come out, you bloody git!" He smashed a nearby vase. "I'm not afraid of you!"

                The house inside was also glowing like the outside. Spike felt the powers coursing around him, but paid no notice. He continued to look around. "You tricked me, and that's a not a good thing to do. Come out you stupid bastard!"

                "William!" The voice boomed and shook the walls. Suddenly he saw a misty form appear in front of him. "How nice to see you, my boy! How goes the human life?"

                "I'm going to kill you." He seethed, angrily. "You knew this was going to happen."

                "I figured you knew every wish has a dark side to it." And he appeared fully, in his glowing humanoid form. "My mistake."

                "I know all about you, Alla. You trick people purposely." He accused.

                "Gasp! I'm caught then." He smirked at Spike. "What are you going to do? Kill me? You couldn't do it when you had your fang powers. What makes you think you'll be able to beat me now?"

                "I don't." Spike replied matter-of-factly. "But I'm sure as hell going to try."

                "You're still a fool, I see." Alla smirked at his weapons. "Those won't even touch me."

                "Call them comfort items." He replied cooly. "We have a score to settle, and I don't back down to any fight."

            "Suit yourself William." When he said his name, the tone of mocking was easily heard. "I'm feeling generous again today. Why don't you try to use one of your weapons on me?"

                He stood, his guard completely down. Spike considered this, figuring that this was not the time to let his pride get in the way of his judgment. He unsheathed the sword he had brought along. He paused a moment before running at him, the sword aimed and ready. It pierced through the djinn's side and stayed there. Spike looked at and smiled satisfactorily, well, until he realized that the glowing evil one was laughing.

                He turned to Spike, the sword still lodged into his side. Spike realized then that he had absolutely no hint of pain on his face. He simply pulled the sword out and the hole was filled. "You know, that wasn't very nice. You want to play with sharp pointy things, huh? Well get a look at this."

                He waved his hand and suddenly floating swords appeared over Alla's head, pointed right at Spike. He knew this more or less meant big trouble. They started shooting at him like a bullet would be shot, and Spike quickly ducked and dodged so as not to get one into his OWN side. However, he miscalculated the last dodging attempt and the knife cleanly sliced a nice incision into his shoulder. He let out a gasp of pain and instinctively touched it. A second later he moved the hand away to find it covered in blood. His blood.

                "Oops. That was aimed for your head." Alla snorted. Spike glared venomously at him. "No matter. Why don't you take a load off, eh?"

                Suddenly Spike found himself floating, which more or less really wasn't a good sign. Alla was toying with him. Playing. Spike fought to get out of the magic's grasp but found himself unable to even move by way of his own will. "You may think you can beat me easily, but you're wrong, you know! Wrong."

                "Actually, I'm quite content torturing you right now. Let's give it a go, shall we?" Spike suddenly was shot up and then slammed into the ground. The sudden contact with the ground made the air unexpectedly rush out of his lungs.

                Alla threw him into a nearby wall then, and then the powers let him go and he fell to the ground, wincing at the pain. Any normal human would have given up by then, for it seemed the enemy this time was unbeatable. Of course, Spike never was normal, and he got up, his arm throbbing and still dripping blood, his back probably even more black and blue then it was before, and stood in a fighting position.

                "Still got that fighting spirit, I see." Alla mused.

                "I'm not going to let you beat me easily." Spike said in a ragged breath, the pain slowly getting to him. All his previous fights had greatly weakened him.

                "So you aren't." Alla nodded. "Well then, I'll have to step it up then, huh?"

                Spike could barely stand, so when he was smashed into the wall again and that same pain that he had gotten in the first fight returned, he was pretty much incapable to fight back. He still stood up, sure, but he was only up for a few seconds before falling again, curling into a fetal-like position, wishing the stupid thing would just finish him. He knew the fight was useless, even from the beginning. After a few minutes the pain intensified and Spike slowly lost consciousness.

                This didn't stop Alla from having his fun. When he saw Spike was finally subdued, still out cold, he used his powers to lift him up into a standing position. "Stupid fool." He spat. "You've just doomed your entire world."

                He had one hand out, and it was the hand controlling Spike's floating. With the other hand, he started powering up an amazing mass of sparking blue energy. He figured it was no use prolonging his reign over his new kingdom. The energy had obviously gotten to full power and he finally let loose the beam that was going to be Spike's finishing blow.

                Only it wasn't. Alla blinked in shock as someone pushed into Spike, making him tumble to the side out of harm's way. When the dust clear from the sudden hit, Alla found a girl on top of his fallen body, her form heaving for breath.

            "Slayer." He growled. Buffy started to shake Spike.

                "Wake up! Come on!"

                "I don't think so." Alla attempted to get control of Buffy. He blinked when his magic had no effect.

                "Hey blue guy!" Alla turned to see the entire group of the Scoobie gang standing there, smirking at him. Xander stepped forward. "Calvary's here."

                Willow was behind him, chanting something. "Buffy, hurry up, we can't keep this anti-magic spell up very long." Giles warned. Buffy nodded absently and continued to try to wake up Spike.

                "This is no time to be KO'd!" Buffy continued to shake him.

                Alla couldn't stop her from doing so. He was too busy trying to fend off the gang with his now lack of magic. Buffy silently thanked god that Willow was such a strong witch now and knew a spell powerful enough to keep even him in check. Suddenly her shakings worked,  and he slowly opened his eyes. He looked up at her groggily, like he was still half asleep.

                "Buffy?" he asked, confused. "Am I in heaven?"

                "Not yet." She replied quickly. He suddenly realized where they were.

                "I told you not to come here!" he suddenly said angrily.

                "You have to wish against him! If he kills you this world is going to be swallowed by the dimension that was opened!" she said quickly.

                "You have it wrong, Slayer." He said softly, painfully. "He has to kill me."

                "Those dreams were just more mind control." She interrupted before he could continue. He looked at her, shocked. She got off him and helped him stand.

                "I can't control this much longer." Willow shuddered as the magic started to fade.

                "On the count of 3, wish it away." Buffy told Spike, who slowly nodded, looking unsure.

                "1." Buffy whispered, watching as Alla started to get his power back.

                "Stupid fools!" he bellowed.

                "2." Buffy continued. Spike breathed in a pained, anxious breath.

                "Get down!" Giles said.

                "3! NOW WILLOW!" Suddenly Willow stopped her spell completely, quickly retreating with the rest of them.

                Alla laughed loudly and turned toward Spike, his blue glow a blinding light now. Before he could do anything, however, Spike did as he was commanded to do. "I wish you gone, Alla, and take all your magic with you."

                It took moments for what he said to register in the djinn's head. He twitched, trying to stop himself from granting the wish. However, as Buffy said, he had too, and suddenly a large crack of blue energy hit both Alla and Spike. Buffy's eyes widened as the light's blast made Spike smash into and through a wall.

                Alla's cries of pain echoed like a haunting, sickening melody. The portal that let out all the monsters suddenly smashed through the roof. Buffy didn't see the destruction of the djinn, because she turned away then and quickly ran to Spike's now fallen body.

                He was lying motionless on the ground in another one of the dark rooms of the house. His body was glowing a faint blue. Buffy ran to him, kneeling by his side. He didn't look like he was breathing. "William?" She touched his body slightly and blinked as the blue light covered her own hand. She felt tears start to slide down her cheek. It definitely seemed that William was now dead. The blast must have killed him.

                "Don't leave me." She whispered, her voice cracking. "You can't leave me alone. I can't face it alone"

                "Buffy—" She didn't look up at the voice behind her. She knew her friends were watching her cry over his broken body.

                "You know, it's funny." She whispered. "He said one time that he wanted to save the world. I laughed at him, I didn't think he'd ever do it because I thought he'd always be evil."

                "I never actually hated the guy. He was pretty funny, in his own Spike way." Xander commented quietly. "Annoying, but funny."

                Buffy stood up, trying hard to strangle the sobs that were trying to take over. She turned away, suddenly pushing past them. Dawn looked like she was going to go after her but Giles stopped her.

                "I think she needs to be alone now." Giles informed. He looked over at Spike's fallen body. "I'd never thought I'd see the day I could say Spike was a help, nevermind a hero of the world."

                Willow kept staring at him. "You guys?"

                "It kind of stinks that now we can't call him either names because he's dead." Anya commented idly. "I almost miss his annoying British accent."

                "So insightful." Xander rolled his eyes.

                "I think he's alive." Willow continued, still looking at him.

                "How are we gonna bury him? What nam—wait a second, what was that baby?" Tara looked over at Willow who was walking toward him.

                She touched his arm and watched as the light bleeded onto her own hand. "It's not the light that hit him. This is the protection spell from the herb I gave him."

                "So? He used the herb." Anya blinked. "What's that mean?"

                Willow leaned down and felt for a pulse. A small smile appeared on his face. "It means that the light didn't actually have the effect it should have had on him. It didn't kill him. And his pulse is what proves it."

                He was breathing so shallowly, it made him look like he wasn't breathing at all.

                "He has a pulse?" Xander asked, surprised.

                "Which means not only he is alive—that means the magic wasn't reversed at all. Your herb stopped that light from taking it away." Giles scratched his head. "Well, this is new."

                "Urgh." They all looked down at Spike, who was losing his blueish tint. He was moving.

                "Spike!" Dawn said, finally speaking after a long bout of staring silently. She was the first to move forward and the first to see his eyes slowly open.

                He looked up, dazed, like he wasn't even sure where he was or who he was. "B-bit?" he whispered, sounding quite out of it and confused. "You didn't die too, did you?"

                "Y-you're alive! You're still here." Dawn explained excitedly. Everyone blinked in shock as Spike, the one that had been beaten and bruised and presumed dead, sat up, rubbing his head. He glanced at his shoulder and winced.

                "Stupid git tore my shirt." He growled. He paused a moment, looking around. "What's with all the long faces, chums? You're acting like someone died. Oh, wait, I'm a vampire again aren't I? Don't tell me, I all ready can tell by the looks."

                "Actually, William—" Giles cringed as he said his name right. "You're quite alive right now."

                "Stop kiddin' me. You heard those two." He pointed to Tara and Willow. "Said I couldn't live without the magic bein' there."

                "Well that's how it was suppose to be." Tara explained. "But it seemed that the herb Willow gave you dispelled the light that was going to take the magic in you away. So since it wasn't taken away, I'm guessing it just became apart of you. You're alive now, William. And it doesn't look like anyone can take it away from you."

                "Just in case, though, we should find a spell to bind his soul even more to him." Willow added. Tara nodded.

                "I know just the one."

                He took a moment to let this sink in.

                "Looks like Spikey's a real boy." Xander joked. He glared at him.

                "Won't Buffy be surprised when she finds out he's alive." Anya pointed out.

                "Oh my god! I forgot about her!" Dawn gasped. "Buffy thinks you're dead!"

                "Why would she think that?" he asked, blinking.

                "Because you sort of looked dead. It tends to happen when you get blasted through a wall." Willow nodded. "And you were all glowy and stuff. It sort of hinted toward it."

                "Well where'd she go?" he demanded.

                "She ran off. Looked a little upset. But I guess that would be expected since she likes you and all." Anya shrugged. Spike winced, getting up, rotating his shoulder slightly.

                "Just bloody great." He muttered. Without another word he pushed past the group and out toward the exit of the now even more broken down house. "I would get out before the ceiling caves." He called back to them.

                The group watched him leave.

                "Why do they get to go all dramatic and leave like that and we can't?" Xander asked after a long pause.

                "Guess old habits never die. Or something like that." Willow scratched her head. They heard rumbling from above.

                "I suggest we continue this outside." Giles suggested.

                "Sounds like a good plan." Tara nodded.

                Spike realized two things when he got outside. One was the fact that the portal was gone and everything looked like nothing had happened. The second thing was the awful realization that he had no clue where Buffy was. She could be anywhere. She could be doing anything. And that anything really worried him. He decided to take the tunnel back to the Magic Box and ride his motorcycle around. It would be faster; he could hit more ground.

                He made his way through the cemetery once again, his head spinning. What a night. What a long, long night. Now he was officially worse then Angel. Not only did he have a soul, but also he now had his humanity restored. What really freaked him out that he was actually quite happy and content about the place he was in. Now all he needed to do was find Buffy and tell her that he was alive and breathing and not dead forever.

                He walked into his crypt, wincing a little as his arm bothered him again. He'd probably have to clean that up soon. It had stopped bleeding, so he decided to let it be. It didn't hurt any worse then any of the other bumps and bruises he had. He was just about to enter his tunnel when he heard sniffling.

                He stopped, listening. There it was again. Spike noticed a lump under his coat on his bed, and he slowly approached it. Sure enough, his suspicions were cleared as he saw strands of dusty blonde hair sticking out from under his coat. He looked closer and found she was asleep, and she was actually crying in her sleep. He frowned lightly as he pulled his coat down so her head was sticking out.

                He wiped a stray tear off her face lovingly before placing a kiss on her soaked cheek. Of all things, Spike loved the way she looked when she was asleep. That was when all her guards were down, when she had a chance to be what she was born as—a lovely, beautiful woman. She wasn't the tough as nails Slayer in her sleep, she was just Buffy.

                "Buffy—Buffy, wake up." He nudged her lightly with the back of his hand. "Come on, pet, up and at 'em."

                She stirred as he touched her cheek again, and slowly her swollen eyes opened. He probably should have thought about how she would react to seeing him standing over her after thinking he was dead because the scream she let out was pretty painful to the ears. She sat up, looking panicked, like she saw a ghost.

                Except the ghost was more or less him.

                "Buffy, pet, calm down." He said softly.

                "Calm down?!" she asked incredulously, sounding like she was still a bit groggy. "You were dead! Oh my god, are you a ghost?!"

                "Nope. Wanna feel my pulse?" he asked, smiling slightly. She looked at him blankly.

                "This is a dream." She stood up, staring at him. "That must be it. Just to piss me off."

                "It's not a dream, luv." He responded, moving to her. She stood motionless as he stopped right in front of her. He smiled slightly and pinched her.

                "Ow!" she yelped, then glared at him. "What was that for?"

                "Not a dream, you felt it."  He smiled. She looked at him, the shock still apparent on her features. He took her hand and guided it to his chest. She felt the light rapping of his heart. "Sometimes I think it only beats for you." She looked at him, tears slipping down her cheeks again.

                "You're alive." She whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. She suddenly buried her face into his chest, pulling him into a tight embrace. She continued to willfully cry into his shirt, and he just held her, letting her do so. He let his fingers stroke her hair comfortingly. She finally regained some composure and let herself let him go. Even at that point, they were close enough for Spike to feel her breath on his skin.

                "There you go, no more tears." He cupped her cheek slightly, rubbing it lightly with one finger. She reached up and placed her hand over his.

                "I can't believe it." She whispered, still staring at him. "But—how?"

                "Red's herb protected me. That was the blue glow around me. It stopped it from stealing my soul. They're gonna do a spell to make sure the soul stays with me now." He explained, smiling. "I'm human, Buff. Flesh and blood, just like you."

                "I'm just glad you're alive." She smiled. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

                "I'd never leave you." He replied. "You're stuck with me, Slayer."

                "I wouldn't have it any other way Will." She grinned.

                "Ahh, by the way, since I'm gonna be this way for a while, why don't you just keep calling me Spike, eh?" he suggested. "I mean, I'm all ready a poof without adding my name—"

                "You've always been a poof." She laughed softly. He smirked at this.

                He was about to kiss her again when his body started to tingle.

                "You're glowing again." Buffy blinked.

                He let out a gasp as he suddenly felt the area around his wound start to fizzle. He turned his head to see it closing up. "What in the bloody 'ell is goin—"

                Suddenly Buffy moved forward and kissed him. Spike wasn't entirely ready for this, nor for the thing that happened next.

                She began glowing too, only her hue was redder. He felt a sudden power surge come through as the two colors meshed. By the time the two broke the kiss, they were glowing two different colors and looked more or less spent.

                And in the Music Box, Tara and Willow finished up the spell to bind Spike's new soul to him forever.

                "You wanna read the rest?" Willow offered.

                "You go ahead." Tara smiled.

                "With the two lovers united, soul by soul, heart by heart, embrace by embrace, trap the souls forever inside, never to escape again." Willow read, the closed the book. "Maybe we should have warned him before we did that."

                "I think they'll be able to figure it out themselves." Dawn replied, then thought a moment. "It makes sense if you think about it. That a soul brought back would need the one that brought it back."

                "Ew, so Spike all ready got some of Buffy?" Xander made a face. "That is so wrong."

                He was replied to with a hit across the head by Anya.

                "You need romance lessons!" she huffed, then smiled. "Hey, let's celebrate! We beat the bad guys again!"

                "Celebrate?" Dawn asked.

                "Yeah! Ice cream! On me!" she grinned proudly. She then turned to Xander. "You have some money on you sweetie?"

                Xander rolled his eyes and took out his wallet. "Should we invite Buffy and Spike?"

                "I doubt you'd want to go in there right now." Dawn grinned mischievously. They all gave her a look. "God, I'm almost 16! I think I'm allowed to know what sex is."

                "They're having sex?" Xander asked, looking disgusted.

                "You know, besides the whole portal thing, today feels like a pretty ordinary day." Willow whispered to Tara.

                Tara just nodded in agreement, and the two girls shared a laugh.

~End~