Fic: Murphy's Law (5/12)
Title: Murphy's Law
Author: gabrielleabelle
Rating: R
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Just the canon ones for Season 6.
Disclaimer: Not mine. It all belongs to Joss.
Warnings: Character death. Really and seriously, this is not (and will not be) a happy or lighthearted fic. Note that this warning applies for the entire fic.
Summary: What if Giles hadn't killed Ben in The Gift? It is now mid-season 6, and the Scooby gang is falling apart when Ben awakens from his coma, letting loose an angry Glory. Buffy, dealing with post-death depression, bills, an "evil" Trio, and a faltering support system, now has to contend with a vengeful hellgod. Just when things couldn't get worse.
Author's note: As always, thanks to those following along. Please note that I earn my R rating with this chapter. There's some graphic torture. Well, graphic to me, and I'm squeamish so your mileage may vary. Enjoy.
Previous Chapter | Chapter List | Next Chapter
Chapter Five: Casualties
Anya usually took great glee in saying "I told you so" to people. She was accustomed to being dismissed, overlooked, ignored, or generally disliked by those around her, and, as such, she was also accustomed to people disregarding what she had to say. Especially when she was being reasonable and they weren't. This was one of those cases.
Unfortunately, there was a knife to her throat and she was being dragged farther away from her friends every second. She didn't have any way of telling the others about how she had told them so before, and she was quickly becoming more and more panicked as to what would happen to her in the future.
They were in an alley, and Ben was looking out at the crowded street. Anya felt his grip on the knife relax, and she took advantage of it. She elbowed him in the stomach while she reached up with the other arm to knock the knife away. She didn't wait to hear the satisfying "Oof!" noise Ben made or to watch him fall against the wall. She started to run towards the street as soon as she was released.
She was running without shoes, though, and it was very uncomfortable and made her slower than she usually was. Ben's hand wrapped around her ankle, and she fell onto the pavement. The breath was knocked out of her, and her teeth ached from the impact. She was too stunned to do much more than try to scramble away as Ben franticly grabbed at her shoulders, forcing her to stay on the ground.
"Let go of me!" Anya yelled, hoping to attract some of the pedestrians on the street. As soon as her mouth was open, though, Ben slammed his hand over it and pushed down hard, pressing her back onto the pavement.
"Shut up!" He whispered loudly as he succeeded in pinning her to the ground. "I...just let me think!"
Anya watched him stare into the distance in thought. His palm was sweaty over her face, and it was an unpleasant feeling to have it rubbing across her mouth. Isn't this usually when Buffy swooped in to the rescue? She was definitely in need of some rescuing.
Ben looked down at her again, meeting her eyes. He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I tried to keep things from going like this."
Anya should have killed him as soon as she saw him. It was Xander's fault. He was always trying to make her act "properly". It wouldn't have been "appropriate" for Anya to chop his head off with an axe when he had first arrived at the house. Now look where she was.
To her relief, Ben removed his hand from her mouth. Before she could try to scream again, though, he'd raised his hand and punched her soundly in the head.
Anya blacked out.
***
Willow was still unsteady on her feet. It had been chaos when she'd woken up. Xander had been trying to run outside to somehow find Anya. Spike was the only one who could physically restrain him as Buffy was still hanging back, not getting involved.
After Tara's locator spell had fizzled for the third time, Willow wandered outside to get some fresh air. There were some stronger spells that she could try, but she would need some supplies from The Magic Box. Hopefully, the stock in the basement survived the fire.
Willow grabbed the mail while she was out, sorting through it. Bill, bill, collection notice, another collection notice, and another. Willow paused when she came across a letter from some law firm called Jones, Smith, and Associates. Buffy getting letters from a lawyer couldn't be good.
Glancing up to make sure nobody was coming outside, Willow opened the letter. If Buffy were getting sued for something, she could take care of it so Buffy wouldn't have to worry. Unfolding the letter, Willow's eyes widened as she saw what it was.
***
"We're just sitting around while Anya is out -" Xander's face was red. He had been yelling for a long while, after all.
"Xander, we'll find her," Tara tried to get him to calm down.
It wouldn't work. Buffy knew it wouldn't work. It shouldn't work. One of their own had been taken. Xander had every right to be upset and panicked and angry.
"Yeah, and how?" Xander said, turning to Buffy. "Why aren't you out there, doing your Slayer thing and trying to find her? You're just standing there!"
"I...don't know where to look," she said, though it sounded weak, even to her own mind.
Xander rolled his eyes, "I know you've been dealing with the whole 'Oh, I died' thing, but by now? You should be over it! Now's not the time to sulk and whine about heaven or bills or how horrible life is! You have to find Anya!"
Spike stepped forward, "Now, wait a minute -"
"I'm sorry, Xander!" Buffy interrupted. "I'm sorry that I'm not the hero you wanted me to be when you resurrected me! I'm sorry that I have massive debt that makes me wonder how I'm going to feed you - all of you - through tomorrow, much less through the next week. And I'm sorry that I just wish that you had left me where I was instead of forcing me to fight for you again. But I just...I can't do all this." She was crying. When had she started crying? She wished she weren't.
Xander's mouth closed as the room fell silent around her.
"Uh, Buffy?" Willow said, coming in through the foyer. She placed a batch of bills on the table and held out an envelope to Buffy. "I think this might help."
Buffy took the letter, reading it with a growing sense of relief. Relief beyond anything she'd felt since she'd come back. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she choked down a sob as she reached for the stairway banister to steady herself.
"What is it?" Dawn asked.
Buffy closed her eyes as Willow talked. "A check. Giles...he left Buffy pretty much everything in his will. His executors just paid out."
Understatement. She knew Giles had to have money, but she had never known how much. And the subject of wills and inheritance had never come up. Not once. He'd given her everything. Just like a father would give everything to his daughter.
Cool fingers gently took the check from her, and she heard Spike's low whistle when he saw the amount.
"Well," he said. "That should help out. A lot."
She could do this. Giles' last gift to her would help her do this. With him, she could take care of the money stuff. The stuff that shouldn't matter, but did. And with that taken care of, she could then handle the other stuff. The Glory matter.
She could do this now.
When she opened her eyes, she felt a new determination to fight. It was a fire in her that she'd felt had been extinguished with her death.
"Okay," she said. "We need a plan, guys. To find Anya."
Everybody was quiet at the sudden shift back in topics. Buffy continued, "Why aren't the locator spells working?"
"Maybe just being near Ben disrupts them," Tara said. "These are pretty basic spells. If Glory's power affects people around Ben, then that could be the problem."
"Yeah," Willow nodded. "With some supplies from the shop, we could do something a lot stronger. It might work."
If anything had survived the fire. It was worth a shot. "Okay. Spike and I will take the sewers and go get supplies. We'll bring them back and try your spell." Buffy looked at Xander. "We'll find her."
"I should go with you," Willow said.
"No. The less of us outside, the better. I want you here. You're powerful enough to protect everybody if Glory attacks."
Willow shook her head. "But if I go out, I could use my magic to try to find Anya. It'll be faster than a locator spell."
"Will, no," Buffy said. "We can't chance it. We stick to my plan."
She saw the look of dissatisfaction on Willow's face. Buffy was getting back into her leader-shoes. Willow didn't like it. After a moment, though, she backed down.
"Fine. I'll write you up what we need for the spell," Willow turned to get a notepad and pen.
"You okay, pet?" Spike asked quietly as the impromptu meeting broke up. Buffy took the check back from him and slipped it in her back pocket.
"Yeah," she said. She felt better. Like a huge weight had been lifted from her. While under the weight, all she could focus on was the struggle of keeping it from crushing her. Now that it was gone, she could finally start to look around. She could finally start trying to find her way out of this fog. "It's not all okay now," she said. "But it's better."
Spike nodded, hand coming up as if he were planning on patting her shoulder or something. He lowered it after a second though, instead nodding again and smiling. "I'll go grab an axe for our journey."
As he walked away, Buffy watched him carefully. Things were changing. She was fairly certain that she didn't want to stop that change from happening.
***
Anya couldn't move when she woke up. She was tied to a chair, and her arms were bound behind her back with rope that rubbed at her wrists. She was in a large, well-furnished apartment. It was larger than Xander's apartment, but smaller than some of the ones she'd seen on TV. Her immediate reaction to waking up was to struggle out of her bonds, but she only succeeded in frustrating herself as the rope rubbed her skin raw.
"She's awake," Ben walked in from the neighboring room, followed by a short older man. Anya knew at a glance that the other man was a demon. Most likely he was the Doc Ben had talked about.
"You need to release me right now!" She said. "Because Buffy will kill you, and I won't talk. And these ropes hurt!"
Ben ignored her. "The protection spell that your friend did. It doesn't work if I tell Doc where to find you guys. We need you to tell him. That's the only way to break the spell."
"Yes," Anya said, glancing back and forth between the two men. They were going to torture her. She'd never been tortured before. She was afraid it would be a wholly unpleasant experience. "But I won't tell him," she said, trying to instill a confidence in her voice that she didn't feel. "They're my friends. It would be wrong."
Doc stepped forward, a knife in his hand. His smile was crooked, and so were his eyes. "It's in your best interests to tell me sooner rather than later. Glorificus will show mercy if you do."
The rope around her stomach constricted her breathing. She hadn't noticed before, but she noticed now as her breath came to her in short, quick bursts. He was going to cut her. She didn't want him to. She was supposed to be the torturer, not the torturee. Plus, she was very sensitive to pain.
This wasn't right. Why couldn't it be Spike being tortured? Spike could be all noble and silent for the group. Anya couldn't. When there was trouble, she ran. She'd tried to run, but Ben had stopped her.
Her eyes hadn't left Doc's knife, but she was distracted when Ben yelled, clutching the wall and putting his hand to his head.
"It's too soon!" He groaned.
Doc had stopped in his approach to watch the transformation as Ben changed into Glory. Standing up straight, the hellgod shook her head, looking around the room. She stopped when she saw Anya and smiled.
"Well, lookie here! Benji left a present for me!"
***
The basement of The Magic Box hadn't been spared from the fire, either. Buffy's foot sifted through dust and ash as she gazed about the burnt and toppled inventory shelves.
"Well," Spike said. "We might luck out."
She nodded, pulling out the list Willow had given her. Fortunately, there wasn't much on it. Henbane, leaves of cyadan, and ground Ornazi's horn...whatever that was.
While Anya had had a meticulous inventory system, the fire had all but ruined it. Buffy and Spike had to resort to searching the ground and pushing aside shelves to search for the ingredients.
"So, the Slayer back in action?" Spike asked while inspecting some broken jars for labels.
He asked it so nonchalantly that Buffy couldn't help but be distracted from her search. "Huh?"
"Giving orders, making plans, helping out," Spike glanced at her. "A bit like the old you."
She shook her head. "It's just what I have to do. Anya needs me." Eye of newt. Not what she was looking for. "It still doesn't feel right. I don't feel right."
"I guess they'll have to live with what they can get, then. Ah, leaves of cyadan. Smelly things." Spike pocketed the orange foliage.
"They want a leader," Buffy said, more to herself than to Spike. She could be a leader again. For them. And hello, henbane.
"You're not gonna die for them again." Spike had stopped his search and was standing upright, staring directly at her. It was unnerving. It was the same look he'd given her when he'd told her about how he'd dreamt he'd saved her.
"Spike -"
"I mean it, Buffy. You did it once. You got a second shot, like it or not. And I know that you're putting on some brave front for them now, but inside you're still miserable and wishing you didn't have to do this. You still think Glory's gonna win."
She looked down. She did. Even if she saved Anya now. Even if she saved everybody else ten times over. Glory would still win. Buffy couldn't defeat her. Not while she was wrong.
Spike continued, "Glory can destroy the rest of this world, for all I care. But she's not gonna kill you again. I won't let her." There was a long pause as if Spike were considering whether to keep talking. Finally, he said. "I love you."
Buffy shook her head. He couldn't. He was wrong, like her. And she knew she couldn't love anybody. Not since she'd come back wrong. So she knew. She knew that he couldn't love her, either. It hurt to hear him even say the words. There was something inherently disgusting about somebody saying they loved her.
She didn't say anything, though. She stepped to the side to get away from Spike, and her foot kicked a broken jar containing ground up Ornazi's horn. They were done here.
***
Anya's jaw was sore. Her wrists were bleeding. She had a cut on her forehead that was bleeding into her eyes, and she couldn’t wipe the blood away. And there was a coppery taste in her mouth that Anya knew was even more blood, and she wanted to spit it out but spitting was gross, and she didn't want to do it in front of Glory.
Glory had just stepped back, accepting a towel from Doc to wipe her hands of Anya's blood.
"Honey, see," Glory was saying, though Anya's ears were ringing from the blows and it was hard to hear her. "It's pretty simple! Tell me where they are! Then you walk away, free and happy and intact. I just need you to break that spell for me." Glory bent at the waist, making eye contact with Anya. "Please?"
Glory was going to kill her. Maybe this was a punishment for letting Glory destroy Giles' shop. Giles was doing this from beyond the grave as a form of vengeance. It was very fitting.
She could just talk. She would be alive, then, and would be able to go warn the others. That is, if Glory kept her word, which Anya doubted. But it was better than not talking which would give her no chance of survival.
But if she told Glory where they were, and Glory whisked off to go kill them all, then Anya would feel guilty and miserable for the rest of her short, mortal life. She couldn't bear that. Plus, she would lose Xander, who was really the only thing keeping her somewhat sane as a human.
Anya broke eye contact with Glory, looking down at the floor as she thought about Xander. He would be worried about her. He was probably panicking right now about her. What type of fiancée would she be if she let a hellgod run off and kill him? She had to be strong for Xander. Buffy would save her. Buffy always saved people. That's what Buffy did.
Anya wouldn't have to stand the pain for long.
Holding onto that, she looked back up at Glory, who was looking very hopeful. Anya spit blood and saliva at Glory's heel-clad feet, then raised an eyebrow in challenge.
Glory's eyes darkened, and she stormed away from Anya, grabbing the towel from Doc and wiping her feet. "You people are so frustrating!" She said, tossing the towel aside and walking briskly towards Anya again.
She crouched down in front of the chair. "Tell me where your friends are hiding," she said.
Anya didn't say anything. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she'd tell Glory what she wanted to hear. So keeping her mouth closed was for the best.
When it was clear Anya wasn't answering, Glory reached behind her and gripped her right index finger, bending it backwards until it snapped. Anya screamed as the pain radiated up her arm, pulsing as Glory continued to grip the broken digit.
"You really don't want to make this any harder for yourself, do you?" Glory asked.
Anya fought down the rising panic in her chest as she tried to calm herself down. Glory released her finger and stood, grabbing the knife from the table and walking back to Anya.
She crouched beside Anya again, glancing at Anya's bound hands. "That's a nice ring," she commented. "You're engaged?"
Anya nodded, thinking of Xander and the ring he'd given her so she could be his wife. Thinking of Xander made it easier to remember why she wasn't telling Glory where everybody was.
Her body jumped against her restraints as Glory grabbed her left ring finger, stretching it away from her body. Anya tried to brace herself for another broken finger and was caught by surprise when the blade of the knife fell hard against her finger at the joint where it met her palm.
Anya screamed as Glory grinned, slicing at the finger again. It was more difficult this time as the blood made her grip slippery. Anya felt the knife biting through skin, muscles, and bone as Glory put all of her godly strength behind it to use one last slash to cut it from her body.
Anya's scream died to a whimper, though her mouth stayed open as tears of pain took her body over, causing her to convulse against the ropes holding her down. Her hands were covered in her own, warm blood, and pain racked her body as she tried to wiggle her fingers.
Glory triumphantly held up Anya's own ring finger in front of her, ring still in place. She raised an eyebrow as Anya squeezed her eyes shut and looked away.
"What's wrong?" Glory asked. "I think it's a very pretty ring."
Opening her eyes the smallest bit, Anya watched Glory toss away her finger. It was eerie. Anya's body felt cold, and she was having trouble getting air into her lungs. Why wasn't she ending this again? Why didn't she talk? She was having trouble remembering as she could feel the blood flowing out of the wound where her finger used to be.
Glory turned back to her, raising the knife that was coated with her blood. Anya had never seen so much of her own blood. She didn't like it. It was making her sick to look at it.
Wasn't Buffy supposed to be here by now? Or Xander? Or even Willow? Anybody?
Glory gripped Anya's chin, forcing her to face her before lashing out and slashing Anya's cheek with the blade. "I'm sure you'll be a very pretty bride, too," Glory said.
More of her blood spilled from her.
***
It hadn't been a good day for Willow so far. She had a concussion that left her with a huge bump on the back of her head, she was having to do spells with Tara, which was very awkward, and Buffy had suddenly decided to wake up and start making decisions. She would almost consider Anya's capture to be a plus, but that meant that she now had to help search for Anya and deal with a hysterical Xander.
While she was happy to see that the check from Giles' estate had helped Buffy's mood, she didn't like the way Buffy was back to handling things. Willow had been doing fine while she was in charge. But, suddenly, everybody defers to Buffy just cause she's the Slayer. Never mind that Buffy would rather be dead.
Willow sighed after the latest spell she and Tara had tried blinked out. Nothing had been working. The rest of the group stood around them, making the room buzz with nervous energy. Willow wondered briefly if visiting Rack might help. With him to boost her powers, she could probably find Anya easily. Not to mention, she'd been missing the high she'd felt there.
Buffy had made it clear that she wanted Willow to stay housebound to protect the residents. It was ridiculous, but nobody wanted to argue with the Slayer.
"Why's it not working?" Buffy asked impatiently.
Tara shook her head, sweating slightly from all the spells they had been doing. Willow had to tear her eyes away from her ex-girlfriend.
"If Ben took Anya to Glory's place, she'd be hidden by the same protection spells that was keeping us from finding Glory," Willow said. "No conventional spell can bust through that."
"So I guess we're gonna do this the old-fashioned way," Buffy said. "Spike, grab a weapon. It's getting dark. We'll go out and search the town. Find places that might attract Glory."
"I should go with you," Xander said.
"The less people out and about, the better. We still don't know how Glory can find us. I'd rather not attract her attention."
No, Buffy would rather be out alone with her pet vampire, Spike. Willow wasn't blind to the strange attachment Buffy had formed with him since her resurrection.
But Buffy was calling the shots now, and Xander backed down. If Willow were being honest with herself, she would have admitted that Xander was in no state to be of any use. He felt this too emotionally. Dawn put a comforting arm around Xander's shoulders as Willow packed up her supplies. Buffy and Spike quietly left to find their missing friend.
***
Anya's body was shaking. She wanted to go to sleep, but Glory wouldn’t let her. Her body had stopped making tears a while ago, and Anya had no energy left to do much more than pant as pain overwhelmed her.
She still had nine fingers. But she'd lost a toe, which Glory had considered "fair". Nine fingers. Nine toes.
Her pajamas had been slashed as Glory had made deep gouges all along her body, and she had a knife wound going clear through her palm. The sensitive underside of her feet had been subject to torture by hot curling iron. Her skin still cried at her in protest.
Across the room, Glory was accepting a glass of red wine from Doc.
Anya knew she wasn't brave enough for this. Withstanding torture was something heroes did. Not her. She was surprised she'd lasted this long, though she was losing her conviction as to why she wasn't talking.
Her friends might feel pain later. But their pain would be quick and relatively light, like Giles' had been. Hers had lasted for hours. Didn't she deserve a little relief?
Besides, they'd obviously abandoned her. Buffy still hadn't shown up, and she had never expected Willow to. Xander made her heart hurt every second he hadn't burst through the door to her rescue.
Xander. Xander who had disagreed with her before and made a snide remark about her past demonhood. Anya sniffed, though she regretted it as it pulled at the sliced flesh that was her stomach.
"So," Glory said casually, walking over with her wine in hand. She had Anya's blood all over her, but she didn't seem to mind it like Anya did. "You wanna talk now?"
Her blood dripped from her body. Was there more blood on the outside than on the inside? Another second passed with no rescue. Another moment passed as her body started to slip away from the damage it had taken. Her body was ready to give up. Her body was crying for her to give up. Couldn't she give up?
"Hey!" Glory grabbed Anya by the chin and forced her to look at her. "Answer the question. Do you wanna talk?"
Doc appeared by Glory's side as Anya's body found more tears to cry. She wasn't made to be a hero.
***
It was nearing midnight. They'd searched just about every high-class apartment building in Sunnydale. They'd even searched the hospital and Glory's old apartment, just in case. No luck. Buffy was beginning to wonder if Glory were hanging around outside of Sunnydale somewhere. That wouldn't make much sense, though.
On their way to the last possible stop, Buffy quickly ran to the ATM. If she deposited the check before midnight, she'd have the money tomorrow. Which meant that everybody could eat. She hated taking out time in searching for Anya for this, but the rest of life didn't stop just because some hellgod had captured a friend of hers.
Spike watched her back as she inserted her card and entered her PIN number. She couldn't help feeling a rush of elation at the fact that her money troubles, at least, were over. She finished out her transaction and put her card back in her pocket.
Spike was looking around and sniffing the air, looking like a dog on alert. She smiled. "Smell something, lassie?" She asked.
He shook his head, letting the jibe slide. Buffy felt a slight pressure on her ass, and then Spike's hand shot out to grab at...nothing behind her. Buffy turned around, but Spike wasn't holding onto anything. Well, she couldn’t see anything. However, there was definitely something there making a pained yelling noise. Spike immediately released the whatever-it-was and yelled, himself, putting his hand to his head as his chip fired.
"What the hell?" Buffy asked.
She felt, again, something reaching for her back pocket. Okay, so some invisible demon wanted to steal her ATM card. No way. Whirling around, she punched at where she assumed a head would be. She missed entirely, sending her stumbling forward into a much shorter body than she'd expected.
Spike grabbed her by the elbow before she could topple over onto the invisible demon...thing...person? Grabbing it had set off Spike's chip so it had to be a person.
"It's the Slayer! Run!"
Buffy turned to see two figures quickly dash from behind a dark corner, one carrying what looked to be some type of gun. Buffy was roughly pushed back against Spike as the invisible man cried out, "Wait for me!"
She listened to the footsteps quickly disappearing. She'd recognized that voice. She was having trouble remembering where she'd heard it before, though.
"Nice con," Spike said, watching the distance where the three had disappeared. "Invisible up a buddy, watch while someone enters their PIN, swipe their card, and bang! You got some free cash."
"Yeah," Buffy said, checking to make sure her card was still safe. "Brilliant."
She stepped away from Spike, suddenly realizing how close to him she was. Personal space was of the good. Very much of the good.
"There's blood," Spike said, squinting into the distance.
"What? I didn't hurt any of them," Buffy said.
Spike shook his head and walked past her, wandering out to the center of what passed for downtown in Sunnydale. There was a small crowd of people in the middle of the street, and traffic was blocked on all sides. There were policeman trying to force the crowd back.
Spike had a way of getting the crowds to part for him, though, and Buffy followed in his wake, running into his back when he stopped abruptly.
"What is it?" Buffy asked, stepping around Spike to see what the fuss was about.
She had entered the living room, ready to tease her mom about the flowers she'd gotten.
She could barely recognize the body in the dim streetlight. Tendrils of blood flowed over the concrete street, radiating out from Anya's body.
Her mom's body lying on the couch, one leg dangling off of it.
She'd been arranged in haphazard fashion, limbs at awkward angles, and pajamas soaked in red. The tattered pajamas barely covered the brutally tortured flesh beneath. A bright red gash across her throat must have been what had killed her.
No breath. No life. Her chest was still; her skin cold. Buffy wanted to make her warm. She wanted to make her alive again.
Her eyes were gazing without seeing at the sky, her face one of resignation.
The whole time, her mom's eyes were open, glassy, staring at the oblivion of death. The eyes held her final passing thoughts as she died.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her slightly and dragging her away from Anya's body. She resisted.
"No!" She tasted her own tears as her mouth opened. "It's Anya. We can't just leave her!"
Spike turned her around to face him, holding her up by her shoulders. "Glory killed her, pet. Glory killed her, and we don't know if Anya talked or not."
Buffy shook her head, looking back in the direction of the crowd and the body of her dead friend. Her legs were shaking, and she felt sick. "We can't just...leave her..."
"Buffy," Spike brushed her hair back gently, glancing back at the scene. "If she told Glory where we're hiding and broke the protection spell, you know Glory would go right for the others."
Anya. They'd had an entire day to save Anya, and she hadn't been able to. She'd failed. Again, she'd failed.
Spike shook her slightly. "Buffy, Glory could right now be on her way to kill everybody at your house. Including Dawn!"
Buffy looked up at Spike. He was right.
Trying hard to push away the images of Anya's broken body, she turned in the direction of her house and ran. She could hear Spike's heavy bootsteps thudding behind her. She'd failed Anya. She couldn't fail the others.
She couldn't help but be afraid of what she might find when she got home.
TBC...
Previous Chapter | Chapter List | Next Chapter
Final AN: Yeah, I was a little short-sighted when I named this chapter "Casualties" and put up a chapter list ahead of time. Oh well. Chalk that one up to learning.
Author: gabrielleabelle
Rating: R
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Just the canon ones for Season 6.
Disclaimer: Not mine. It all belongs to Joss.
Warnings: Character death. Really and seriously, this is not (and will not be) a happy or lighthearted fic. Note that this warning applies for the entire fic.
Summary: What if Giles hadn't killed Ben in The Gift? It is now mid-season 6, and the Scooby gang is falling apart when Ben awakens from his coma, letting loose an angry Glory. Buffy, dealing with post-death depression, bills, an "evil" Trio, and a faltering support system, now has to contend with a vengeful hellgod. Just when things couldn't get worse.
Author's note: As always, thanks to those following along. Please note that I earn my R rating with this chapter. There's some graphic torture. Well, graphic to me, and I'm squeamish so your mileage may vary. Enjoy.
Previous Chapter | Chapter List | Next Chapter
Chapter Five: Casualties
Anya usually took great glee in saying "I told you so" to people. She was accustomed to being dismissed, overlooked, ignored, or generally disliked by those around her, and, as such, she was also accustomed to people disregarding what she had to say. Especially when she was being reasonable and they weren't. This was one of those cases.
Unfortunately, there was a knife to her throat and she was being dragged farther away from her friends every second. She didn't have any way of telling the others about how she had told them so before, and she was quickly becoming more and more panicked as to what would happen to her in the future.
They were in an alley, and Ben was looking out at the crowded street. Anya felt his grip on the knife relax, and she took advantage of it. She elbowed him in the stomach while she reached up with the other arm to knock the knife away. She didn't wait to hear the satisfying "Oof!" noise Ben made or to watch him fall against the wall. She started to run towards the street as soon as she was released.
She was running without shoes, though, and it was very uncomfortable and made her slower than she usually was. Ben's hand wrapped around her ankle, and she fell onto the pavement. The breath was knocked out of her, and her teeth ached from the impact. She was too stunned to do much more than try to scramble away as Ben franticly grabbed at her shoulders, forcing her to stay on the ground.
"Let go of me!" Anya yelled, hoping to attract some of the pedestrians on the street. As soon as her mouth was open, though, Ben slammed his hand over it and pushed down hard, pressing her back onto the pavement.
"Shut up!" He whispered loudly as he succeeded in pinning her to the ground. "I...just let me think!"
Anya watched him stare into the distance in thought. His palm was sweaty over her face, and it was an unpleasant feeling to have it rubbing across her mouth. Isn't this usually when Buffy swooped in to the rescue? She was definitely in need of some rescuing.
Ben looked down at her again, meeting her eyes. He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he said. "I tried to keep things from going like this."
Anya should have killed him as soon as she saw him. It was Xander's fault. He was always trying to make her act "properly". It wouldn't have been "appropriate" for Anya to chop his head off with an axe when he had first arrived at the house. Now look where she was.
To her relief, Ben removed his hand from her mouth. Before she could try to scream again, though, he'd raised his hand and punched her soundly in the head.
Anya blacked out.
***
Willow was still unsteady on her feet. It had been chaos when she'd woken up. Xander had been trying to run outside to somehow find Anya. Spike was the only one who could physically restrain him as Buffy was still hanging back, not getting involved.
After Tara's locator spell had fizzled for the third time, Willow wandered outside to get some fresh air. There were some stronger spells that she could try, but she would need some supplies from The Magic Box. Hopefully, the stock in the basement survived the fire.
Willow grabbed the mail while she was out, sorting through it. Bill, bill, collection notice, another collection notice, and another. Willow paused when she came across a letter from some law firm called Jones, Smith, and Associates. Buffy getting letters from a lawyer couldn't be good.
Glancing up to make sure nobody was coming outside, Willow opened the letter. If Buffy were getting sued for something, she could take care of it so Buffy wouldn't have to worry. Unfolding the letter, Willow's eyes widened as she saw what it was.
***
"We're just sitting around while Anya is out -" Xander's face was red. He had been yelling for a long while, after all.
"Xander, we'll find her," Tara tried to get him to calm down.
It wouldn't work. Buffy knew it wouldn't work. It shouldn't work. One of their own had been taken. Xander had every right to be upset and panicked and angry.
"Yeah, and how?" Xander said, turning to Buffy. "Why aren't you out there, doing your Slayer thing and trying to find her? You're just standing there!"
"I...don't know where to look," she said, though it sounded weak, even to her own mind.
Xander rolled his eyes, "I know you've been dealing with the whole 'Oh, I died' thing, but by now? You should be over it! Now's not the time to sulk and whine about heaven or bills or how horrible life is! You have to find Anya!"
Spike stepped forward, "Now, wait a minute -"
"I'm sorry, Xander!" Buffy interrupted. "I'm sorry that I'm not the hero you wanted me to be when you resurrected me! I'm sorry that I have massive debt that makes me wonder how I'm going to feed you - all of you - through tomorrow, much less through the next week. And I'm sorry that I just wish that you had left me where I was instead of forcing me to fight for you again. But I just...I can't do all this." She was crying. When had she started crying? She wished she weren't.
Xander's mouth closed as the room fell silent around her.
"Uh, Buffy?" Willow said, coming in through the foyer. She placed a batch of bills on the table and held out an envelope to Buffy. "I think this might help."
Buffy took the letter, reading it with a growing sense of relief. Relief beyond anything she'd felt since she'd come back. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she choked down a sob as she reached for the stairway banister to steady herself.
"What is it?" Dawn asked.
Buffy closed her eyes as Willow talked. "A check. Giles...he left Buffy pretty much everything in his will. His executors just paid out."
Understatement. She knew Giles had to have money, but she had never known how much. And the subject of wills and inheritance had never come up. Not once. He'd given her everything. Just like a father would give everything to his daughter.
Cool fingers gently took the check from her, and she heard Spike's low whistle when he saw the amount.
"Well," he said. "That should help out. A lot."
She could do this. Giles' last gift to her would help her do this. With him, she could take care of the money stuff. The stuff that shouldn't matter, but did. And with that taken care of, she could then handle the other stuff. The Glory matter.
She could do this now.
When she opened her eyes, she felt a new determination to fight. It was a fire in her that she'd felt had been extinguished with her death.
"Okay," she said. "We need a plan, guys. To find Anya."
Everybody was quiet at the sudden shift back in topics. Buffy continued, "Why aren't the locator spells working?"
"Maybe just being near Ben disrupts them," Tara said. "These are pretty basic spells. If Glory's power affects people around Ben, then that could be the problem."
"Yeah," Willow nodded. "With some supplies from the shop, we could do something a lot stronger. It might work."
If anything had survived the fire. It was worth a shot. "Okay. Spike and I will take the sewers and go get supplies. We'll bring them back and try your spell." Buffy looked at Xander. "We'll find her."
"I should go with you," Willow said.
"No. The less of us outside, the better. I want you here. You're powerful enough to protect everybody if Glory attacks."
Willow shook her head. "But if I go out, I could use my magic to try to find Anya. It'll be faster than a locator spell."
"Will, no," Buffy said. "We can't chance it. We stick to my plan."
She saw the look of dissatisfaction on Willow's face. Buffy was getting back into her leader-shoes. Willow didn't like it. After a moment, though, she backed down.
"Fine. I'll write you up what we need for the spell," Willow turned to get a notepad and pen.
"You okay, pet?" Spike asked quietly as the impromptu meeting broke up. Buffy took the check back from him and slipped it in her back pocket.
"Yeah," she said. She felt better. Like a huge weight had been lifted from her. While under the weight, all she could focus on was the struggle of keeping it from crushing her. Now that it was gone, she could finally start to look around. She could finally start trying to find her way out of this fog. "It's not all okay now," she said. "But it's better."
Spike nodded, hand coming up as if he were planning on patting her shoulder or something. He lowered it after a second though, instead nodding again and smiling. "I'll go grab an axe for our journey."
As he walked away, Buffy watched him carefully. Things were changing. She was fairly certain that she didn't want to stop that change from happening.
***
Anya couldn't move when she woke up. She was tied to a chair, and her arms were bound behind her back with rope that rubbed at her wrists. She was in a large, well-furnished apartment. It was larger than Xander's apartment, but smaller than some of the ones she'd seen on TV. Her immediate reaction to waking up was to struggle out of her bonds, but she only succeeded in frustrating herself as the rope rubbed her skin raw.
"She's awake," Ben walked in from the neighboring room, followed by a short older man. Anya knew at a glance that the other man was a demon. Most likely he was the Doc Ben had talked about.
"You need to release me right now!" She said. "Because Buffy will kill you, and I won't talk. And these ropes hurt!"
Ben ignored her. "The protection spell that your friend did. It doesn't work if I tell Doc where to find you guys. We need you to tell him. That's the only way to break the spell."
"Yes," Anya said, glancing back and forth between the two men. They were going to torture her. She'd never been tortured before. She was afraid it would be a wholly unpleasant experience. "But I won't tell him," she said, trying to instill a confidence in her voice that she didn't feel. "They're my friends. It would be wrong."
Doc stepped forward, a knife in his hand. His smile was crooked, and so were his eyes. "It's in your best interests to tell me sooner rather than later. Glorificus will show mercy if you do."
The rope around her stomach constricted her breathing. She hadn't noticed before, but she noticed now as her breath came to her in short, quick bursts. He was going to cut her. She didn't want him to. She was supposed to be the torturer, not the torturee. Plus, she was very sensitive to pain.
This wasn't right. Why couldn't it be Spike being tortured? Spike could be all noble and silent for the group. Anya couldn't. When there was trouble, she ran. She'd tried to run, but Ben had stopped her.
Her eyes hadn't left Doc's knife, but she was distracted when Ben yelled, clutching the wall and putting his hand to his head.
"It's too soon!" He groaned.
Doc had stopped in his approach to watch the transformation as Ben changed into Glory. Standing up straight, the hellgod shook her head, looking around the room. She stopped when she saw Anya and smiled.
"Well, lookie here! Benji left a present for me!"
***
The basement of The Magic Box hadn't been spared from the fire, either. Buffy's foot sifted through dust and ash as she gazed about the burnt and toppled inventory shelves.
"Well," Spike said. "We might luck out."
She nodded, pulling out the list Willow had given her. Fortunately, there wasn't much on it. Henbane, leaves of cyadan, and ground Ornazi's horn...whatever that was.
While Anya had had a meticulous inventory system, the fire had all but ruined it. Buffy and Spike had to resort to searching the ground and pushing aside shelves to search for the ingredients.
"So, the Slayer back in action?" Spike asked while inspecting some broken jars for labels.
He asked it so nonchalantly that Buffy couldn't help but be distracted from her search. "Huh?"
"Giving orders, making plans, helping out," Spike glanced at her. "A bit like the old you."
She shook her head. "It's just what I have to do. Anya needs me." Eye of newt. Not what she was looking for. "It still doesn't feel right. I don't feel right."
"I guess they'll have to live with what they can get, then. Ah, leaves of cyadan. Smelly things." Spike pocketed the orange foliage.
"They want a leader," Buffy said, more to herself than to Spike. She could be a leader again. For them. And hello, henbane.
"You're not gonna die for them again." Spike had stopped his search and was standing upright, staring directly at her. It was unnerving. It was the same look he'd given her when he'd told her about how he'd dreamt he'd saved her.
"Spike -"
"I mean it, Buffy. You did it once. You got a second shot, like it or not. And I know that you're putting on some brave front for them now, but inside you're still miserable and wishing you didn't have to do this. You still think Glory's gonna win."
She looked down. She did. Even if she saved Anya now. Even if she saved everybody else ten times over. Glory would still win. Buffy couldn't defeat her. Not while she was wrong.
Spike continued, "Glory can destroy the rest of this world, for all I care. But she's not gonna kill you again. I won't let her." There was a long pause as if Spike were considering whether to keep talking. Finally, he said. "I love you."
Buffy shook her head. He couldn't. He was wrong, like her. And she knew she couldn't love anybody. Not since she'd come back wrong. So she knew. She knew that he couldn't love her, either. It hurt to hear him even say the words. There was something inherently disgusting about somebody saying they loved her.
She didn't say anything, though. She stepped to the side to get away from Spike, and her foot kicked a broken jar containing ground up Ornazi's horn. They were done here.
***
Anya's jaw was sore. Her wrists were bleeding. She had a cut on her forehead that was bleeding into her eyes, and she couldn’t wipe the blood away. And there was a coppery taste in her mouth that Anya knew was even more blood, and she wanted to spit it out but spitting was gross, and she didn't want to do it in front of Glory.
Glory had just stepped back, accepting a towel from Doc to wipe her hands of Anya's blood.
"Honey, see," Glory was saying, though Anya's ears were ringing from the blows and it was hard to hear her. "It's pretty simple! Tell me where they are! Then you walk away, free and happy and intact. I just need you to break that spell for me." Glory bent at the waist, making eye contact with Anya. "Please?"
Glory was going to kill her. Maybe this was a punishment for letting Glory destroy Giles' shop. Giles was doing this from beyond the grave as a form of vengeance. It was very fitting.
She could just talk. She would be alive, then, and would be able to go warn the others. That is, if Glory kept her word, which Anya doubted. But it was better than not talking which would give her no chance of survival.
But if she told Glory where they were, and Glory whisked off to go kill them all, then Anya would feel guilty and miserable for the rest of her short, mortal life. She couldn't bear that. Plus, she would lose Xander, who was really the only thing keeping her somewhat sane as a human.
Anya broke eye contact with Glory, looking down at the floor as she thought about Xander. He would be worried about her. He was probably panicking right now about her. What type of fiancée would she be if she let a hellgod run off and kill him? She had to be strong for Xander. Buffy would save her. Buffy always saved people. That's what Buffy did.
Anya wouldn't have to stand the pain for long.
Holding onto that, she looked back up at Glory, who was looking very hopeful. Anya spit blood and saliva at Glory's heel-clad feet, then raised an eyebrow in challenge.
Glory's eyes darkened, and she stormed away from Anya, grabbing the towel from Doc and wiping her feet. "You people are so frustrating!" She said, tossing the towel aside and walking briskly towards Anya again.
She crouched down in front of the chair. "Tell me where your friends are hiding," she said.
Anya didn't say anything. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, she'd tell Glory what she wanted to hear. So keeping her mouth closed was for the best.
When it was clear Anya wasn't answering, Glory reached behind her and gripped her right index finger, bending it backwards until it snapped. Anya screamed as the pain radiated up her arm, pulsing as Glory continued to grip the broken digit.
"You really don't want to make this any harder for yourself, do you?" Glory asked.
Anya fought down the rising panic in her chest as she tried to calm herself down. Glory released her finger and stood, grabbing the knife from the table and walking back to Anya.
She crouched beside Anya again, glancing at Anya's bound hands. "That's a nice ring," she commented. "You're engaged?"
Anya nodded, thinking of Xander and the ring he'd given her so she could be his wife. Thinking of Xander made it easier to remember why she wasn't telling Glory where everybody was.
Her body jumped against her restraints as Glory grabbed her left ring finger, stretching it away from her body. Anya tried to brace herself for another broken finger and was caught by surprise when the blade of the knife fell hard against her finger at the joint where it met her palm.
Anya screamed as Glory grinned, slicing at the finger again. It was more difficult this time as the blood made her grip slippery. Anya felt the knife biting through skin, muscles, and bone as Glory put all of her godly strength behind it to use one last slash to cut it from her body.
Anya's scream died to a whimper, though her mouth stayed open as tears of pain took her body over, causing her to convulse against the ropes holding her down. Her hands were covered in her own, warm blood, and pain racked her body as she tried to wiggle her fingers.
Glory triumphantly held up Anya's own ring finger in front of her, ring still in place. She raised an eyebrow as Anya squeezed her eyes shut and looked away.
"What's wrong?" Glory asked. "I think it's a very pretty ring."
Opening her eyes the smallest bit, Anya watched Glory toss away her finger. It was eerie. Anya's body felt cold, and she was having trouble getting air into her lungs. Why wasn't she ending this again? Why didn't she talk? She was having trouble remembering as she could feel the blood flowing out of the wound where her finger used to be.
Glory turned back to her, raising the knife that was coated with her blood. Anya had never seen so much of her own blood. She didn't like it. It was making her sick to look at it.
Wasn't Buffy supposed to be here by now? Or Xander? Or even Willow? Anybody?
Glory gripped Anya's chin, forcing her to face her before lashing out and slashing Anya's cheek with the blade. "I'm sure you'll be a very pretty bride, too," Glory said.
More of her blood spilled from her.
***
It hadn't been a good day for Willow so far. She had a concussion that left her with a huge bump on the back of her head, she was having to do spells with Tara, which was very awkward, and Buffy had suddenly decided to wake up and start making decisions. She would almost consider Anya's capture to be a plus, but that meant that she now had to help search for Anya and deal with a hysterical Xander.
While she was happy to see that the check from Giles' estate had helped Buffy's mood, she didn't like the way Buffy was back to handling things. Willow had been doing fine while she was in charge. But, suddenly, everybody defers to Buffy just cause she's the Slayer. Never mind that Buffy would rather be dead.
Willow sighed after the latest spell she and Tara had tried blinked out. Nothing had been working. The rest of the group stood around them, making the room buzz with nervous energy. Willow wondered briefly if visiting Rack might help. With him to boost her powers, she could probably find Anya easily. Not to mention, she'd been missing the high she'd felt there.
Buffy had made it clear that she wanted Willow to stay housebound to protect the residents. It was ridiculous, but nobody wanted to argue with the Slayer.
"Why's it not working?" Buffy asked impatiently.
Tara shook her head, sweating slightly from all the spells they had been doing. Willow had to tear her eyes away from her ex-girlfriend.
"If Ben took Anya to Glory's place, she'd be hidden by the same protection spells that was keeping us from finding Glory," Willow said. "No conventional spell can bust through that."
"So I guess we're gonna do this the old-fashioned way," Buffy said. "Spike, grab a weapon. It's getting dark. We'll go out and search the town. Find places that might attract Glory."
"I should go with you," Xander said.
"The less people out and about, the better. We still don't know how Glory can find us. I'd rather not attract her attention."
No, Buffy would rather be out alone with her pet vampire, Spike. Willow wasn't blind to the strange attachment Buffy had formed with him since her resurrection.
But Buffy was calling the shots now, and Xander backed down. If Willow were being honest with herself, she would have admitted that Xander was in no state to be of any use. He felt this too emotionally. Dawn put a comforting arm around Xander's shoulders as Willow packed up her supplies. Buffy and Spike quietly left to find their missing friend.
***
Anya's body was shaking. She wanted to go to sleep, but Glory wouldn’t let her. Her body had stopped making tears a while ago, and Anya had no energy left to do much more than pant as pain overwhelmed her.
She still had nine fingers. But she'd lost a toe, which Glory had considered "fair". Nine fingers. Nine toes.
Her pajamas had been slashed as Glory had made deep gouges all along her body, and she had a knife wound going clear through her palm. The sensitive underside of her feet had been subject to torture by hot curling iron. Her skin still cried at her in protest.
Across the room, Glory was accepting a glass of red wine from Doc.
Anya knew she wasn't brave enough for this. Withstanding torture was something heroes did. Not her. She was surprised she'd lasted this long, though she was losing her conviction as to why she wasn't talking.
Her friends might feel pain later. But their pain would be quick and relatively light, like Giles' had been. Hers had lasted for hours. Didn't she deserve a little relief?
Besides, they'd obviously abandoned her. Buffy still hadn't shown up, and she had never expected Willow to. Xander made her heart hurt every second he hadn't burst through the door to her rescue.
Xander. Xander who had disagreed with her before and made a snide remark about her past demonhood. Anya sniffed, though she regretted it as it pulled at the sliced flesh that was her stomach.
"So," Glory said casually, walking over with her wine in hand. She had Anya's blood all over her, but she didn't seem to mind it like Anya did. "You wanna talk now?"
Her blood dripped from her body. Was there more blood on the outside than on the inside? Another second passed with no rescue. Another moment passed as her body started to slip away from the damage it had taken. Her body was ready to give up. Her body was crying for her to give up. Couldn't she give up?
"Hey!" Glory grabbed Anya by the chin and forced her to look at her. "Answer the question. Do you wanna talk?"
Doc appeared by Glory's side as Anya's body found more tears to cry. She wasn't made to be a hero.
***
It was nearing midnight. They'd searched just about every high-class apartment building in Sunnydale. They'd even searched the hospital and Glory's old apartment, just in case. No luck. Buffy was beginning to wonder if Glory were hanging around outside of Sunnydale somewhere. That wouldn't make much sense, though.
On their way to the last possible stop, Buffy quickly ran to the ATM. If she deposited the check before midnight, she'd have the money tomorrow. Which meant that everybody could eat. She hated taking out time in searching for Anya for this, but the rest of life didn't stop just because some hellgod had captured a friend of hers.
Spike watched her back as she inserted her card and entered her PIN number. She couldn't help feeling a rush of elation at the fact that her money troubles, at least, were over. She finished out her transaction and put her card back in her pocket.
Spike was looking around and sniffing the air, looking like a dog on alert. She smiled. "Smell something, lassie?" She asked.
He shook his head, letting the jibe slide. Buffy felt a slight pressure on her ass, and then Spike's hand shot out to grab at...nothing behind her. Buffy turned around, but Spike wasn't holding onto anything. Well, she couldn’t see anything. However, there was definitely something there making a pained yelling noise. Spike immediately released the whatever-it-was and yelled, himself, putting his hand to his head as his chip fired.
"What the hell?" Buffy asked.
She felt, again, something reaching for her back pocket. Okay, so some invisible demon wanted to steal her ATM card. No way. Whirling around, she punched at where she assumed a head would be. She missed entirely, sending her stumbling forward into a much shorter body than she'd expected.
Spike grabbed her by the elbow before she could topple over onto the invisible demon...thing...person? Grabbing it had set off Spike's chip so it had to be a person.
"It's the Slayer! Run!"
Buffy turned to see two figures quickly dash from behind a dark corner, one carrying what looked to be some type of gun. Buffy was roughly pushed back against Spike as the invisible man cried out, "Wait for me!"
She listened to the footsteps quickly disappearing. She'd recognized that voice. She was having trouble remembering where she'd heard it before, though.
"Nice con," Spike said, watching the distance where the three had disappeared. "Invisible up a buddy, watch while someone enters their PIN, swipe their card, and bang! You got some free cash."
"Yeah," Buffy said, checking to make sure her card was still safe. "Brilliant."
She stepped away from Spike, suddenly realizing how close to him she was. Personal space was of the good. Very much of the good.
"There's blood," Spike said, squinting into the distance.
"What? I didn't hurt any of them," Buffy said.
Spike shook his head and walked past her, wandering out to the center of what passed for downtown in Sunnydale. There was a small crowd of people in the middle of the street, and traffic was blocked on all sides. There were policeman trying to force the crowd back.
Spike had a way of getting the crowds to part for him, though, and Buffy followed in his wake, running into his back when he stopped abruptly.
"What is it?" Buffy asked, stepping around Spike to see what the fuss was about.
She had entered the living room, ready to tease her mom about the flowers she'd gotten.
She could barely recognize the body in the dim streetlight. Tendrils of blood flowed over the concrete street, radiating out from Anya's body.
Her mom's body lying on the couch, one leg dangling off of it.
She'd been arranged in haphazard fashion, limbs at awkward angles, and pajamas soaked in red. The tattered pajamas barely covered the brutally tortured flesh beneath. A bright red gash across her throat must have been what had killed her.
No breath. No life. Her chest was still; her skin cold. Buffy wanted to make her warm. She wanted to make her alive again.
Her eyes were gazing without seeing at the sky, her face one of resignation.
The whole time, her mom's eyes were open, glassy, staring at the oblivion of death. The eyes held her final passing thoughts as she died.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her slightly and dragging her away from Anya's body. She resisted.
"No!" She tasted her own tears as her mouth opened. "It's Anya. We can't just leave her!"
Spike turned her around to face him, holding her up by her shoulders. "Glory killed her, pet. Glory killed her, and we don't know if Anya talked or not."
Buffy shook her head, looking back in the direction of the crowd and the body of her dead friend. Her legs were shaking, and she felt sick. "We can't just...leave her..."
"Buffy," Spike brushed her hair back gently, glancing back at the scene. "If she told Glory where we're hiding and broke the protection spell, you know Glory would go right for the others."
Anya. They'd had an entire day to save Anya, and she hadn't been able to. She'd failed. Again, she'd failed.
Spike shook her slightly. "Buffy, Glory could right now be on her way to kill everybody at your house. Including Dawn!"
Buffy looked up at Spike. He was right.
Trying hard to push away the images of Anya's broken body, she turned in the direction of her house and ran. She could hear Spike's heavy bootsteps thudding behind her. She'd failed Anya. She couldn't fail the others.
She couldn't help but be afraid of what she might find when she got home.
TBC...
Previous Chapter | Chapter List | Next Chapter
Final AN: Yeah, I was a little short-sighted when I named this chapter "Casualties" and put up a chapter list ahead of time. Oh well. Chalk that one up to learning.