THE BOXES OF TYKROS - PART 5

The early morning sun streamed in through the windows directly onto Buffy's face. She turned towards the warmth and stirred in contentment. Blinking a few times, her eyes came into focus, as she realised where she was - lying on top of Giles.

She smiled to herself, as she entwined her fingers into the soft brown curls on his chest, letting her own body fall into the rhythm of his, their breathing falling into perfect synch. She lay there for a long moment, just watching him, not really contemplating the ramifications of what had happened last night. She knew that nothing would ever be the same again, but for now she just wanted to enjoy this perfect moment, waking up in his arms.

Giles stirred at the movement of her hand on his chest. His blinked his eyes open, taking in a deep, early morning breath, before he was suddenly jolted into alertness by a sweet kiss landing on his lips.

"Good morning," Buffy smiled.

"Hello," Giles replied, grinning down at her. Neither one of them were quite sure what to say next, so they contented themselves with lying there in silence.

The peace was broken by a sudden slamming of doors, followed by banging and screams of pain, and finally a splash of water being thrown. Buffy and Giles jumped up out of bed, pulled their robes around themselves and ran out to the kitchen area to see what the commotion was about.

"Are you okay?" Padma was asking a steaming and very wet Spike.

"I'll live," he replied.

"What happened?" Buffy asked, walking towards them.

"We caught the sunrise," Padma explained. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Um...we actually found out quite a lot...at the league headquarters," Giles said, looking pointedly at Buffy.

"Right," she said, realising. "Lots of useful stuff."

Giles pulled himself up to his full height and approached Spike. "Did you know that the council was involved?" he asked.

"Course I did," Spike shrugged, plainly.

"And yet you didn't tell me?"

"No, I- Ooof!" he was cut off mid-sentence by Giles' fist connecting with his stomach. "I suppose I deserved that," he croaked, straightening himself up.

"What about you?" Buffy asked. "Did you find a way to reverse the spell?"

Padma nodded and handed Buffy a small vial filled with a flowing, swirling, dark pink mixture.

"What's this?" she asked.

"I'm not quite sure," Padma admitted. "All I know is that it has something to do with this spell..." she pulled a battered piece of paper from her shirt and handed it to Giles. "From what I could make out it was written by some German guy in the thirties. He was a demon hunter and he was trying to stop the holocaust when he was killed, but he did manage to write this spell which will reverse the ritual that the league performed last night."

"Do you know what it means?" Buffy asked, looking at Giles.

"Um, it basically says, 'By the power of the earth and of life itself, I call on the gods to penetrate this field. I pray to the higher beings that it may be taken from this place, in order that the destruction of that which it protects can be brought about. Lords above us, hear my prayer. Use your powers to grant my request so that the earth shall live. Let the earth live.' "

"Y'know Rupert," Spike said. "When you start a sentence with the words, 'it basically says' you imply that what follows will be a rough outline, or the basic jist. Not a bloody exact translation."

"I'm angry enough with you, Spike," Giles told him. "Don't antagonise me any more. I - uh-oh..."

"What?" Buffy said. "What is it?"

"This - " Giles said, indicating the lines at the top of the page. " 'Um das Ritual von Jireth aufzuheben, muß dieser Bann durchgeführt werden, nur wenn das abschließende Ritual zum Öffnen der Kästen ist durchgeführt worden.' Exact translation, to reverse the ritual of Jireth, this spell must be performed only when the final ritual to open the boxes has been performed."

"Rough outline, we have two seconds before the Devil comes to party," Buffy concluded.

"Basic jist, we're going to die," Spike said.

"Don't say that," Giles warned. "It is possible, we simply have to get the timing of our attack right."

* * * * *

"I cannot believe you let them get away," Quentin said, his eyes burning furiously at the assembled vampires who cowered in terror before him. "They know everything!" he continued. "Do you really think they won't stop us again? Because if you do you're all bigger fools than I first thought."

He strode swiftly over to where Tristan was kneeling and grabbed the wretched vampire by his throat, strangling him slowly.

"If your supreme ineptitude jeopardises what we've been trying to achieve..."

"Um, Master..." Sebastian began, indicating the choking Tristan. Quentin sighed heavily, and threw the flailing demon aside.

"Lucky for you we need all the manpower we can get now we're facing an attack," he told him. "Otherwise you'd look like the remains of a cigarette."

Drusilla stepped over to where her lover was crouched on the floor, massaging his neck. "Oh, my poor baby," she began.

"And you..." Quentin said, with utter contempt. "I knew you would be trouble the moment I laid eyes on you. You do realise that all this is happening because your ex-lover is hell bent on revenge against you, don't you? Get out of my sight, the pair of you. I have more important things to think about than planning your horrible deaths."

* * * * *

Giles stared intently at the bubbles swirling around the dull, pink liquid that filled the vial. He was so engrossed in their fascinating patterns that he didn't even notice as Buffy came up behind him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she whispered in his ear.

"Buffy!" Giles gasped, turning round to face her. "I didn't see you there."

"Obviously...So, are we actually going to talk about what happened last night?"

Giles sighed heavily. "Oh, Buffy, you must hate me so much," he said. "Taking advantage of you like that..."

"Giles what are you talking about?" Buffy asked, incredulously. "Giles, when we made love last night...it was the most incredible night of my life. For the first time everything made sense. It was like I'd finally found what I'd been searching for all my life. How can you possibly think that I'd hate you?"

"Well, after what you said..."

"...To Spike? I was just covering up because I couldn't face hearing his snide remarks about you finally getting your leg over!"

"Oh, Buffy!" Giles laughed, pulling her close to him.

Buffy's eyes fell on the small vial that lay on the table beside her. "Tell me honestly," she said, picking it up. "Do you really think we'll be able to stop them?"

"Of course we will," Giles replied.

"The truth," Buffy said, stony-faced. "Giles, you can't keep treating me like I'm made of China," she continued, when he didn't reply. "Or wrapping me in cotton wool to protect me. Especially after last night. Tell me the truth."

"I don't know," he admitted. "Theoretically it's possible. It will take some time between the boxes opening and the, uh, the devil acually appearing. That's the time in which the boxes must be destroyed. However, the league aren't going to let it be that simple without a fight." He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes earnestly. "Buffy, once the devil appears, it will be too late. You have to promise me that if it comes to that you won't try and stop it. It would be suicide."

Buffy looked at him. "Excuse me," she said. "Did you hear what I just said."

"Yes I did," he replied. "But I still want yout to promise me."

"Why?" she asked. "I'd die anyway. At least if I tried to stop it there'd be a shot."

Giles sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, as he brought his hand up to cup her cheek. "What happened last night has only made me want to safeguard you even more."

Buffy leaned in to his warm touch and kissed his palm. "I know," she said.

"Oh, Buffy, I'm so sorry you have to go through all this. And I'm sorry that your friends aren't here."

"It's okay," she said. "I've got my Giles."

* * * * *

Spike sat on the floor of the hut, struggling to whittle a piece of dead wood into the shape of a stake. He rammed his knife along the sharp edges, but only suceeded in chopping off the top of the branch. Frustrated, he threw down his tools, crying out in rage.

"Is that a stake in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?"

"Bah!" Spike spun around, his fist squared, ready for a punch, only to find himself face to face with Padma.

"I love you too," she said, sardonically, raising her eyebrows and the sight of his fist. "Having a little trouble with your whittling?"

"A bit. I don't usually have to use weapons. Fangs are pretty much sufficent in most circumstances."

"Here," she said, reaching for the discarded piece of wood and knife. "It works a lot better if you rub it both ways. Makes it harder too."

There was a moment of silence before the Slayer realised what she'd just said.

"You should probably ignore what I just said."

"Really?" Spike said, leaning in towards her. "Sounded pretty accurate to me."

"Spike..." Padma began. "It's not going to happen. Flirting's fine, and you're cute, but you are my mortal enemy and sooner or later I *would* have to kill you."

"You're a teasing bitch, you know that?"

"Well, from what I've heard you know how to pick them. Are you sure you're up to facing Drusilla?"

"I am."

Padma raised her eyes skeptically. "Are you sure? I don't want you wimping out at the last moment and ruining everything."

"Look," Spike said, raising his voice, and standing up so he loomed over her. "Dru is going to be dust. I'm gonna kill and we're gonna win. Alright?"

"Glad you're so optimistic."

Spike and Padma looked up to see Buffy and Giles standing in the doorway, loaded with weapons. In his hand, Giles clutched the small vial that would be essential to the spell.

"The sun's about to set," Buffy told them. "We'd better go."

* * * * *

"By the power of the darkness, by the essence of the unworthy ones, I call on the gods of Hell..."

Downstairs, the assembled members of the league were so engrossed in their ritual that they did not notice the two figures creeping silently in through the back. Nor did they notice as the two intruders gave a nod of acknowledgement to their companions as they came into view, up on the balcony.

"It has been written, now let it be. This day has been foretold. Give us the power to fulfill it."

Up on the balcony, Padma clicked the arrow into place on her crossbow.

"Hope you've got good aim," Spike said.

"Let the darkness envelope us, let the righteous cower before you, let the old ones return and let the earth be taken into the underworld. Hear these words! Let the boxes be opened and let the darkness shine!"

In unison, the boxes began to open, slowly at first, each emitting a startling ray of true, blood red light.

Padma silently raised her crossbow, took aim at the head vampire's chest, and fired.

The bolt flew threw the air with astonishing accuracy, straight towards the heart of Quentin Travers. As it approached, his sensitive hearing picked up the whistling as it cut through the air, and he looked up just in time to react and pull Tristan in front of him, protecting him from the bolt. The vampire exploded in a cloud of dust.

"Tristan!" Drusilla's shrill voice broke the silence of the ceremony, and as the light from the boxes continued to grow, all hell broke loose. As the assorted members of the league ran up to find the attackers, Buffy and Giles appeared from the shadows.

"Durch die Energie der Masse und des Lebens selbst," Giles began, "ersuche ich um die Götter, dieses Feld einzudringen." He dipped his finger into the vial and then ran it across his forehead in the shape of a cross.

"Rupert..." The word escaped Quentin's lips as though it were a curse, and as Buffy set to work on the vampires around, delivering high kicks and punches with consumate ease, Giles found his eyes locked with his former master. His voice trailed off, and he watched as Quentin made his way through the crowds towards him.

"You're a fool," he said. "Do you really think you can stop us?"

"I could ask you the same question," Giles said, as he shoved the small vial into the safety of his sleeve.

High above them, Padma grabbed the railings on the side of the balcony and swung herself over the side, kicking two of the demons squarely in the face as she went, before landing skillfully on her feet. She was joined a second later by Spike, who arrived in a less gymnastic fashion, but still unhurt by the drop.

"You go that way," Padma told him, indicating behind her, just before she leant forward to deliver a sharp roundhouse kick to a vampire ahead of her.

Spike dispatched a few enemies quickly, snapping the necks of some, dusting others. As he pulled his stake out of a fading cloud of ashes, he noticed, through the clearing dust, the reason that he was here.

"Drusilla..." he muttered, as he strode through the mayhem to confront his former lover.

"Hello my sweet," she said, holding onto her pathetic, waif-like persona for just a split second, before launching into that of the stronger, harder, evil vampire queen who had caused the demise of a Slayer.She ran her claws over Spike's face, leaving behind four streaks of sticky, red blood.

"Bitch!" he exclaimed, launching himself towards her. She stepped to the right and kicked at him as he flew past her, knocking him sideways, so he landed on his hip. Typical Drusilla! She never went in for direct hand-to-hand combat, always preffering to stay calm, and use her opponent's eagerness for violence against him.

Picking himself up from the floor, grabbing his stake as he went, Spike stayed still, waiting for her to make the next move. She circled around him, claws at the ready, searching for an opening, never letting her concentration drop. At the first oportunity, she took a long step and punched him hard in the gut.

"Oooff!"

She tried to follow it up with a slap to knock him to the floor, but he rolled away from her. As she brought her fist down on top of him, he brought his arm up to block it, shoving it aside, even as he swept his left leg aside, knocking Drusilla to the floor. He pivoted, jumping up, flipping her onto her back, hand clasped around her throat, stake poised directly over her heart...

...and there he stopped.

He stared at her. In her long, red dress, with her thick hair falling around her face, she suddenly looked so horribly vulnerable, more like the Dru he had rescued from the angry mob in Prague.

"You can't kill me..." Dru whispered, her eyes round and innocent. As Spike found himself being drawn inside them, he knew she was right. How could he kill her? This was *Drusilla,* his princess.

"Get out," he whispered, so that only she could hear. "Get out and never let me hear from you again." With that, he lifted his stake from its position above her heart, and shoved her away violently, backing away from her, keeping her locked in the death stare as he went, before turning swiftly and aiding his allies in their battle. Drusilla watched him go, rubbing the spot on her neck where he had nearly choked her.

Across the hall, Buffy had just pulled her stake out of her latest victim's chest, when she felt an ice cold snake creep around her body, hissing into her ear.

"Why do Slayers always try to mess things up?" Sebastian whispered, his arms winding around Buffy's chest, immobilising her, slowly decreasing her ability to take air into her lungs. "You never win, not really," he told her You may kill us, but we'll always come back. And now, you will bow before my master." He tightened his grip around Buffy's chest, squeezing the air out of her tiny lungs. "You and your Watcher..." he hissed.

<Watcher? Giles!> Her eyes shot open, and through the swirling darkness that was threatening to envelope her, she saw Giles, still fighting against the vampire Quentin. She had to save him.

Using the severity of Sebastian's grip to steady herself, Buffy swung herself upwards, running her legs up the wall in front of her, pulling herself free from the vampire's grip.

"Your Master? Sounds like you've spent your whole life serving other people. Isn't that kinda pathetic?" Buffy said, as she plunged her stake deep into Sebastian's chest.

He was dust before he got a chance to answer.

Padma was doing well. She had the upper hand, despite being outnumbered four to one.

Three to one.

Two to one.

She was about to make it even odds, when she felt a chilling death grip clasp around her hand. She spun around and found herself looking directly into a pair of deep, kaleidoscope coloured eyes.

"Hello, Slayer," Drusilla said. "You killed my Tristan, didn't you? Hmmm. Look at me. Look into my eyes..."

Padma tried desperately to draw herself away from the swirling blackness that was enveloping her, until all she could see were those eyes. She had to get away! She had to run as fast as she could, and scream for help.

But it was only in her mind that she was doing those things. In reality she was standing deathly still, hypnotised by Drusilla's inducing eyes.

A few feet away, Spike blinked a few times as the vampire in front of him faded away in a burst of dust. As his vision cleared, he made out the image of Dru flexing her fingers, readying herself to slice the throat of her second Slayer.

<Padma!>

"Dru, NO!" Spike yelled, as he lunged towards her, coldly shoving his stake into her back without a second thought.

"Oh, Spike..." Dru whispered, turning round to look at him, her eyes full of sorrow and wonder. "I was going to make you my prince," she told him.

"Sorry baby. I wish there was another way." But Drusilla never heard his apology, for at that moment her pierced heart crumbled inside her, and her long-dead body decayed in an instant, exploding in a wistful burst of ash.

Quentin may have looked like an old man, but he fought with the strength of the most powerful vampire, as Giles found out when his former employer continued to pummel him as he lay on the floor. Until, that was, Buffy came along. She grabbed Quentin by the thin wisps of hair that still graced his otherwise bald head.

"You know, you council guys really need to get to know your Slayers better," she told him. "If you'd done that you would have known that I get *really* pissed when people mess with the man I love." And with that, she flung him hard onto the floor and proceeded to pummel into submission.

Behind her, a terrible scream came from the direction of the boxes. Giles looked up to see that the ever growing rays of light had suddenly exanded. Just a few more minutes and it would be too late! He looked over to where Buffy was still beating the vampire. He *had* to finish that spell! Reaching up into his sleeve, he pulled out the small vial.

"Ich bete zu den höheren Wesen," he began, "daß es von diesem Platz genommen werden kann, so dass die Zerstörung von der, die er schützt, hervorgebracht werden kann." He held the vial high in the air, ready to throw it down with all of his might. "Lords über uns, hören mein Gebet! Verwenden Sie Ihre Energien, meinen Antrag zu bewilligen, damit die Masse lebt! Lassen Sie die Phasen Masse!" With that, he slammed the vial down onto the floor. It shattered into a thousand pieces, leaving behind the mystical, swirling liquid that was the key to breaking the protection spell.

"Do you remember, Buffy, that you once told me to bite you?" Picking himself up after another blow, Quentin laughed hideously. "Does the offer still stand? Ooof!" He flew backwards as Buffy's fist connected once more with his jaw.

"Little tip," she began. "The jokes? They really only work when you're *winning.*" And with that, she whipped out her stake and plunged it into Quentin's still heart. But as the old man in front of her disappeared in a cloud of dust and ash, Buffy felt the world change. A burning wind swept through the air, whipping up the dust left by the demons who had met their demise. The air became hot and heavy and Buffy felt trapped.

She turned around and looked to where the light from the four boxes had joined together, and out of the union of the rays, a shape was forming, a shape beyond all that which Buffy had fought before. It was beyond life, beyond death, beyond earth and hell, beyond evil itself.

The ground began to shake. All around, cracks started to appear, swallowing up the remaining members of the league, drawing them into the underworld which they had sought for so long. Buffy reached out to Giles to steady herself, not only from the shaking earth, but from the sudden tiredness that enveloped her, as she felt the life being sucked from her. As she stared at the swirling floor, the residue left by the potion jumped out at her. She suddenly realised that he'd done it. Giles had done the spell!

Now it was her turn.

She reached deep inside herself and drew on the strength that lay deep within her. The strength with which she had killed many vampires and demons, with which she had sent Angel to Hell, with which she had coped with her parents divorce and with which she had survived Giles leaving her. She brought it to the surface, and with it she ran towards the glowing figure. She grabbed a weapon - she didn't even register what it was - and brought it smashing down on the first box.

"Buffy, NO!" Giles yelled, but it was too late. He couldn't stop her. As she ran towards the next box, a tongue of fire bit at her heels, but still she didn't stop, and soon the second box was gone. The figure began to fade into mist, casting a choking shadow over the hall as Buffy brought her weapon down onto the third box. One last, desperate lash of fire found its way toward Buffy, knocking her to the ground, as she slammed down on the last box.

The light that was the source of the evil disappeared in a blinding flash and as quickly as it had come, it was gone, and everything was silent.

Buffy collapsed to the floor, drained of energy, drained of life, burning where the flames had caught her, bleeding where the shards of the boxes had flown at her. But at least she was alive.

"Buffy!" Giles yelled, running over to her, "Are you alright?"

She nodded dumbly, clinging to his chest.

"What did you think you were doing?" Giles whispered, only half angry. "I told you not to do that! You could have been killed!"

"I would have been anyway," Buffy told him. "You did what you said you would. I had to do my part too."

Giles wrapped his hand around her head, pulling her close to him. "Are you two okay?" he said, looking over to where Spike and Padma crouched together on the floor.

"We're fine," Padma said. "Thanks to Spike." She turned to look at him. "You saved my life."

"Yeah, well, " Spike began, blushing. "Just don't tell anyone."

"What are you going to do now?" Giles asked.

Padma sighed. "Go home, I guess. Or maybe do a bit more travelling. I thought I might try Europe."

"Sounds like a nice idea," Spike said. "You ever been to Prague?"

* * * * *

The light evening fog that covered all of London swirled in a high mist against the glowing amber of the streetlamps, casting a mystical glow over the city, as Buffy and Giles walked down the road, entwined in each others arms. Buffy let out a heavy sigh, her breath frosting before her as she exhaled.

"You alright?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I was thinking about how I'm going to have to go back to Sunnydale soon. But I wish I didn't have to. I wish I could just stay here."

"I wish you could too," Giles told her.

"Or," Buffy continued. "Maybe you could come back to Sunnydale."

"Buffy..." Giles began

"Well, why not?"

"They deported me once, they won't let me back in the country."

"Not even for a holiday?"

"We'd still have to say good bye at the end. It would be just as hard."

Buffy nodded gravely. She knew he was right. Dammit! Why did this have to be so complicated?

"I just can't stand the thought of losing you again," she said, quietly.

"Me neither," Giles said. "God, we've been such fools, haven't we?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about us. All those years we spent together. The times when I was the only stable, reliable man in your life, and I tried to convince myself that I thought of you like a daughter, when deep down I knew that was a lie. All those times I tried to protect you weren't because you were my Slayer and it was my duty, it was because I knew I wouldn't be able to live if anything happened to you. The night after Angel turned bad, and I told you that I would give you my support and my respect, when really I wanted to show you that I could take you in my arms and make love to you without any horrific repercussions. We've survived through so much, you and I, and we came to depend on each other, yet we never admitted how deep it ran. Why is that?"

"Maybe we were afraid," Buffy said.

"Afraid?" Giles said, incredulously. "We've fought bloodsucking demons and Hell beasts, yet we were afraid to admit our true feelings for each other."

"Often happens."

"Actually," Giles continued, "I've been thinking a lot about it. I know this seems a little rash, but-"

He was interrupted by the sudden rumble of thunder, followed by the heavy downfall of thick, stinging, drops of rain.

"We'd better get inside," Buffy said, turning to run for cover.

"No!" Giles yelled above the thunder, pulling her back towards him. "I have to say this. Buffy, I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone. I nearly lost you, I nearly lost everything. Just thinking about that made me realise that we don't know what tomorrow's going to bring. We don't know how long we've got left. It took us long enough to realise that we loved each other - we carry on at this rate we'll never be happy. Which is why I want to ask you..."

He trailed off, and bent down on one knee, not caring about the puddles that surrounded him, soaking his jeans.

"Buffy Summers," he said. "Will you do me the most incredible honour of becoming my wife?"

Buffy stood, speechless for a moment, staring at Giles, her vision clouded by the constant splashes of rain that littered her face.

Giles gazed up at her, trying to read her expressionless face; trying to anticipate her reaction, when all of a sudden he felt two arms throw themselves around his neck, and heard Buffy's muffled voice repeating over and over, "Yes!, Yes, YES!"

"You really mean it?" he said, disbelieving.

"Of course I do!" Buffy said, smiling through her tears. "I love you."

"I love you too."

He cupped her small cheeks in his warm hands and brought her face up to his. Then he kissed her, long and soft, the way he would for the rest of their lives. As they stood on the road, wrapped in each others arms, the rain continued to beat down on them, soaking their clothes, skin and hair. But they were oblivious to it. For at that moment, they were the only two people in the world, and that was all they needed.

END