The Ultimate Betrayal

by jamies_lady

Summary: After the Battle in LA Riley brings news to Buffy which will change things for ever. Goes VERY off canon after the Battle of Sunnydale

Chapter 22

Spike rolled himself to the top of the stairs, pulled himself up on to his legs and looked over the balcony, trying to see where Buffy was. He knew he’d been a pillock, hadn’t let her explain things; just shouted at her and sent her away. He looked at the mass of humanity everywhere, heard hearts beating, some fast, some slow; he could smell the fear and panic rising up like a mist from the crowd below.

Captain Cardboard was there, along with a group of boy scouts, one of whom was standing far too close to his niblet. He growled quietly, raising a smile on Sam’s face as she followed at a short distance. He was still guarding Dawn.

Dawn hugged Martin again, she was scared… she’d been scared since the SOS had come in barely five minutes before. She needed the comfort of Martin holding her as she opened a portal to Cleveland and its hell mouth.

She reached for the knife he was holding for her and nodded at Willow. Buffy and Rona were fully armed, and they were ready to make the jump, with Willow and half a dozen of the soldiers who were to accompany them through the portal. Word had reached them of an attack on the Cleveland house by a group of vampires and demons. The girls had been poisoned with something that had stripped their powers, leaving them helpless to protect themselves: and Buffy was on the rescue mission. They had readied themselves within a few minutes and were ready to jump.

Faith had returned a few days earlier, missing Robin, and was caught up in the horror that had descended. Cordy had warned them not to ‘time’ it earlier as well as it seemed it put timequakes up and down history and reality needed to recover from their earlier exploits. So Buffy and Rescue One had to move and move fast.

Every Slayer house had a panic room, a room that could be sealed against all comers and only accessible by strong magic. That was where the survivors were sheltering, normal human girls and a man. The youngest was thirteen; the eldest, Faith, wouldn’t tell.

Dawn was worried sick. In the last few days Buffy had been distant and cold, as though she were cutting herself off from everyone, it reminded the original Scoobies of the time after she’d come back from heaven. When Dawn asked her about it she’d just given a small sad smile and whispered, ‘He doesn’t want me: I’ve nothing left but slaying,’ and carried on picking up stakes.

Spike watched in horror at the lights. They brought back so many bad memories of Glory and the Tower. Rona headed through first, then the soldiers, closely followed by Willow and finally Buffy with the portal closing up behind her as she jumped. He felt sick as for the second time the woman he loved leapt through the swirling lights of a portal and into the unknown.

‘Hey, deadboy junior, how you doing?’ Xander said gently: there was no bitterness in the nickname. ‘You want to go downstairs?’

‘I wanted to talk to Buffy,’ Spike answered.

‘Well she’s off saving the world again; Anya’s in medical if you want to talk to the newly not dead,’ Xander suggested but Spike couldn’t face the demonbird just yet.

He watched as the portal re-opened and Willow led Faith and the others through, half carrying the older slayer and the soldiers helping with armfuls of tired, scared girls. Rona and Buffy weren’t visible in the crowd that had arrived. Some were bleeding, he could smell the sweet ambrosia of fresh blood, but he couldn’t see Buffy anywhere. Faith looked dreadful, she had a cut lip and black eye, and it was obvious that her arm was broken. Human arms don’t bend like that naturally: he knew that much.

Robin Wood was slung over Johnson’s shoulder like a kit bag. He was unconscious and blood was dripping from a head wound, leaving a pathway from the portal. But no Buffy.

Spike wanted to get downstairs. Dawn was in tears looking at the portal. Its shining lights were showing no signs of changing as someone or something came through. There was no change. The doc made his way over to Dawn and held her in his arms. Spike started growling without realising it. His Niblet in someone’s arms; it was enough to make anyone growl. Spike tried his legs again, pushing himself up out of the chair. They held his weight long enough to allow him to get to the stairs, they hurt like buggery but at least he could walk, just. Using the banister he pulled himself down the stairs and struggled over to where Dawn was standing with her eyes fixed on the shining lights in front of her.

Dawn saw him moving slowly towards her and freed herself from Martin’s arms and ran towards her dearest friend. Martin watched her for a couple of seconds then headed back to the infirmary: there were plenty of wounded for him to see to.

‘She’s missing, Spike: she hasn’t come back.’

‘Shushh, pet, its OK. It’ll be OK.’

He called across to the now unencumbered Johnson. ‘What happened?’

‘Why should I tell you?’ The man hadn’t meant to be rude, but he’d just seen hell and here was some stranger, in fact a vampire, asking him questions.

‘Because I told you to Soldier. If you really want to piss off any of the slayers, just you upset their pet Vampire; you’ll be praying he kills you after that lot finish with you.’ Riley pointed to the slayers lined up along the wall watching the interplay.

‘Sorry,’ Johnson mumbled. ‘There was one of the girls, Caitlin I think, missing from the safe room: only a kid about 14, same age as my daughter. Buffy wasn’t leaving her there, so she headed out to get her. Rona followed and ordered us all to take the portal. She promised to be home as soon as possible, but Sir’, he turned to Finn, ‘you should have seen it. The demons were not just killing the girls, they were raping and mutilating them. There were anatomical differences that meant that the girl was split in half as they were entered. There was blood everywhere. We got them out sir, but I think Martin is going to have a hard time putting them back together.’

‘That’s my job,’ Willow said in a determined voice as she and Morgana hurried off to help Martin.

‘And the Principal?’ Spike asked, motioning towards the sickbay with his head.

‘He was holding this group of vampires at bay while Buffy went into the house. One of them landed a good hit on him and knocked him out cold. I picked him up and ran as we’d been ordered.’

Cathy and Mary looked at one another. They and Kennedy were the only ones fit enough to make the rescue attempt. They headed towards the weapons, Xander helping to load them up with stakes and holy water. They picked up the copies of the scythe and headed for the shining lights.

They jumped before anyone could stop them. Two more slayers into the fray.