Found

This chapter is dedicated to MarstersLady.

Giles tht tht they should all go to the hospital and have Deidra checked on, as well as the rest of the gang. It had been one heck of a fight after all. Buffy’s Slayer healing had kicked in, and she was fine, but the rest of them were pretty sore. Magna would have none of it however. The antidote was saving her, and a first aid kit would do the rest. Deidra’s forearm was the worst, but they could do stitches themselves. Giles had enough experience in that department. In the end, Oz drove them all back to the Magic Box.

Buffy and Giles sat close together in the far back seat, with Buffy in the center. Allison was next to the window. She was very quiet, and kept her gaze out the window. Again Buffy wondered what was so fascinating outside for the second time that day. Giles held her hand in both of his, cradled in his lap. No one spoke.

As they were nearing the shop, Buffy turned once again to Allison. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

Allison smiled tentatively. “I guess so. He was quite a hero, wasn’t he?” Buffy smiled. “Yes. Yes he was.” She looked at Giles, thankful that he was still there beside her. She owed Spike a lot as well.

In the shop Anya went behind the counter and grabbed the First Aid kit that was kept there. She handed it to Giles and he tended to Deidra. Xander began eating the stale donuts that were still sitting in the middle of the table from the morning. “Anyone else want one?” he chocked out between bites. They all grimaced, and then someone’s stomach growled. They all looked around guiltily, but no one fessed up. “I’ll order pizza.” Said Willow.

Magna was holding Deidra in his arms as Giles finished the stitching. “It is probably going to leave a nasty scar.” Giles told her.

“I’ll just add it to the rest of them.” She said softly. Giles looked into her face, and saw the sadness there. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered. They looked at each other for a few seconds, and then Deidra broke the eye contact. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Everything turned out the way it was suppose to. Besides, now that Travers is gone, I’m free, right?”

Suddenly the shop filled with light and the sound of wind. A portal opened up in the center of the room. When the light and wind left, Sulu was standing in the middle of the room, a huge smile on his face. He clapped his hands. “Well done, everyone. Splendid job. You had me worried there for a bit, but you saved the day just in time.”

Everyone but Magna, Deidra, and Allison stood with mouths agape, frozen in place. Deidra, however, stood up from Magna’s embrace, and walked over to Sulu. Suddenly, she was in his arms, and he cradled her close like a child. “Shhh,” he quieted her. “You did well, my child. You did well.” Finally she pulled back from his embrace, and found her way back to Magna’s side. He put his arms around her shoulders protectively.

Sulu turned to Buffy and Giles with a smile. “Both of you performed admirably. You should be proud.”

Giles took a step towards the legend. “Sulu. It’s an honor to meet you.” Sulu just crinkled his nose, smiled again, and nodded. To Buffy he seemed like a child, or a clown, full of mischief and good cheer.

Sulu then turned to Allison and Magna. “It is time for you to come home. Your work here is done. You can rest now, and enjoy your rewards.”

Allison almost began to cry. She didn’t feel like she deserved any rewards. She had failed in protecting Deidra. If it wasn’t for her failures, perhaps none of this would have happened. Sulu sensed her feelings and approached her. “Allison, do you know how important you were to the cause? You are a hero as well.” She looked at him, doubt in her face. “You turned Spike into a hero. He loved you, fought for you and became noble in his love for you. You reached him when no one else could. You fused him with your loving light when he was poisoned against the Slayer. If he had not known your love, he would have never came to the conclusion that Travers was the key. Spike pulled Travers into the dimensions, because of your love. He is the champion of this century, and you are his heroine.”

The rest of the gang nodded their agreements. Allison smiled and stood up straighter. “I’m ready to go home now.” Sulu smiled and turned to Magna. “And you?” he asked with a quirk of his lips.

Magna’s face showed no emotion, but his arm tightened around Deidra. “My home is where she is.” He said with conviction. Deidra turned her face up to his. A momentary panic crossed his face. “I mean…uh..if that’s okay with you?” he stammered. Deidra just smiled up at him and nodded her head.

“Deidra,” said Sulu, “You can come too. Your work here is done also. We are your family now, if you want.”

Deidra looked at the people around the shop. She didn’t know most of them, yet felt them in her heart. Giles wasn’t her Rupert anymore. She knew he was happy with his Buffy. She smiled at them both. Then she looked into Magna’s face. She saw his devotion there, and her legs almost turned to jelly. That decided her. She had loved Laus, and had not wanted to be back here anyway. She had to do her duty, and now that was done. There was nothing left for her here. But she didn’t think being on Laus was possible. What about the age thing? She turned to ask Sulu, but he of course already knew her thoughts. “It’s possible.” He smiled. “I can fix it.”

Deidra smiled, and then a thought captured her mind. “Could you teach me how to clap and make that table disappear now?” Sulu laughed, while everyone else looked confused. “Yes, you have many lessons before you, my child. And Magna will be quite occupied with you as well, I’m sure.” Magna and Deidra both flushed at that.

“It is time we are going then. Slayer? Watcher? Be happy and content. Now that the Hellmouth here is closed, you’ll have time to relax. Enjoy it. But do keep in mind, evil is always around, and it has a tendency to find and seek out champions.” Buffy and Giles nodded gravely. Giles reached out, and shook Sulu’s hand. It was a moment he would never forget. Then he held Buffy close against his chest, his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head. She snuggled closer, and regarded Sulu with kind eyes. “Thank you. Thank for him.” Sulu nodded, clapped his hands, and the portal opened, sucking Magna, Deidra, and Allison into the light.

“Wow.” Said Xander.

“Yeah. Wow.” Said Oz.

Then a knock at the door.

“Pizza’s here.” Willow smiled and grabbed her purse.

* * *

A moment later Deidra found herself in the barn next to her motorcycle, Magna beside her. They were home. She turned to smile at Magna, and found him wide eyed with a shocked look on his face. “What is it?” She asked. Magna looked at her, smiled tightly, and then let go of her hand to slowly walk towards the opening of the barn. It was daylight here in Laus. The sun was warm and bright. Deidra knew that vampires could not go in the sun, but for some reason she felt no fear as Magna went outside, and basked in it. He turned with a beatific look on his face. “Come.” He beckoned her. “Come sit in the sun with me.” Deidra smiled, and raced into his arms.

Allison found herself in the great hall standing with Sulu. It was good to be home. She breathed in the sweet smells of Laus, and smiled contently. Sulu smiled at her. “It’s good to be home, isn’t it daughter?” Allison nodded. Sulu put his arm around her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Go out to the garden. I have a surprise for you there.” He grinned his mischievous smile. Allison gazed up at him, and then walked down the long hall, opening the door at the end and walked out into the garden.

He was there, sitting on the bench in the sunshine. When he saw her, he stood and held out his arms. “Hello Pet. I’ve been waiting for you.” He smiled as she rushed into his arms.

“Spike! Oh Spike. You’re here! And in the sunshine!”

He laughed. “Yes. Sulu is good at the reward giving.”

After clutching him closely for several moments, Allison and Spike relaxed and sat next to each other closely on the bench. “Tell me, what happened Spike? I thought…I thought you’d be dead. I mean, well, you know what I mean.”
Spike smiled at her. “Yes, I know what you mean. But now I'm alive again. Soul intact, demon gone. I’m a man for you now. That’s all I want.” They smiled at each other, and held hands. He furrowed his brow as he thought to tell her. “It was when Willow told me the prophesy that I realized what to do. We had all thought that Dawn would have to die to close Glory’s upheaval, but then Buffy realized that Summer’s blood is what did it, so she leaped from that god awful tower. So I thought that Travers’ blood is what was needed, and Travers was a Watcher. It just felt right, like divine intervention. So I went for it. I wanted to keep you safe, and make you proud.” She squeezed his hand tightly and he smiled. “When I leaped on Travers, all I could see was darkness and my ears were ringing. It was like I was trapped in a bloody volcano. And then, all of a sudden, there was silence, and I opened my eyes. I was in a field of green, in the bright sunlight of day. Your father, Sulu, was standing above me with a smile. I panicked at first. Thought I was going to fry, of course. But then he explained where I was, and who I was, and that you’d soon be coming.”

Allison was elated, and hugged him close. “Where is Travers?” She was almost afraid to ask.

Spike chuckled softly. “He’s stuck in that portal, forever lost in the darkness and wind. Bloody fitting if you ask me.”

The End