Love In Vein: Book Three - Final Summary

So...how was it all supposed to end?

Buffy takes Spike to her room. She knows that none of her friends are going to trust him now and decides that if anyone tries something against them then they'll leave. They can fight this together.

She shows him the cuffs, tells him she's sorry, and he tells her that he understands. They curl up together once he's cuffed. Buffy kisses him goodnight and tries to sleep, but she feels so troubled.

Buffy wakes in a lot of pain and finds Spike has slipped his cuffs. She's panicked. Flicking the bedside lamp on, she sees Spike curled up in the corner. She goes to him and sees that strange black symbols are appearing on his body, as though someone is writing them. Others are erasing them, cleansing them.

She's stunned when the Powers That Be appear and tell her that Spike has become God and the Devil's battlefield. His soul's journey to the depths of Hell has now ended and the Devil wants what he was sent there to provide him with—a body, a vessel, a way to walk the hallowed ground of Earth.

She asks them how they know this. They tell her that they are responsible for the soul and the path he chose to save the world for her.

Why?

They turn into Glory and the First.

Because the Devil made them do it.

Buffy is mortified. Spike believed that he was doing good. She tells them that he belongs to her, no one but her! She needs to make her mark on him and claim him as her own, like they're trying to. She bites him and the marks stop appearing. The First and Glory disappear.

Spike is whimpering. He asks Buffy to make it stop – it hurts. Buffy is confused but Spike begins to frantically claw at his bare chest and shoulders. The marks begin to change and shift.

She calls out for help. Spike is trembling, speaking incoherently. No one answers her and she watches in horror as wings draw themselves onto Spike's back.

She's petrified and begs him not to leave her.

A blinding light reveals the true Powers That Be. She is wary, confused. They tell her that the wings are the Devil trying to take flight on the mortal plane. Buffy asks who the symbols are. They tell her that when God sent the Devil into limbo and banished it to Hell, it sent guardians to keep it there. Several were swayed by the Devil's charm, others still protect the Earth from evil. The symbols represent the five guardians. They're stopping the Devil.

She dresses Spike and takes him with her to find Giles. It's day and he insists they wake the others. She thinks he means Tara and Willow but when she goes to the lounge, she finds them and the 4 deputy heads of the Council and Lydia. Spike snarls at them and she gives Giles and angry look. She won't mention Spike's soul in front of them. She sits Spike by the fire and wraps him up. Promises him and kisses him. He promises not to go anywhere. She smiles weakly.

Buffy explains about everything. She tells them that something new has made itself known and that Spike has been duped. She did all she can to keep him safe but she doesn't know how long it will be before another attempt to take him is made.

She tells them that the two she met were powerful, extremely powerful. She describes one and says they've already encountered the other—The First.

She takes Spike back to her room. He's awkward and tries to avoid her. She goes to him, kisses him, and tells him that she's sorry for everything that has happened to him. They continue to kiss and she licks the marks on his neck. He growls and grabs hold of her and she lets him bite her.

Willow and Tara accompany Buffy and Spike on patrol. Buffy says that Giles put them up to it and they don't deny it. Willow says she just wanted the chance to test her skills. Buffy mentions that they still have two angels on the loose. Glory appears and says that they have a lot more to worry about than two little angels. They fight but all they manage to do is piss Glory off.

Brown robed men appear and Buffy comments about having two types to deal with now but she'll take no-eyes over the stinky ones. One of the robed men call the woman Glorificus and Buffy frowns. She tries to brain suck Buffy and then sees the marks. She says it won't do.

Willow does her thicken spell and they run. Buffy hates running but this woman is too strong.

Giles is out when they get back. Buffy goes with Spike down to the basement room and scour the books. They find information on Glory, the Devil, possession and the First. Spike is quiet. Buffy asks why Glory couldn't hurt her? He brushes his fingers across her marks on her throat and tells her that he loves her. She frowns and asks why she has these better senses now. Spike tells her about the fact that the claim has affected her. It's more than a connection. With him wearing the ring, she'll never die because he won't. She's shocked.

They tell the council what they've found out and are stunned when Andrew's friend turns into the First. The First threatens them and then leaves without causing too much damage and no deaths. They decide they have to leave. The fight will destroy a vast area and if they if they do it in London many will die. Andrew insists on fighting too. He wants to help. Spike tells him that they don't have time to train and babysit someone. Buffy thinks about what she'd feel like if one of her friends was dead. She tells Andrew to come with them.

Buffy calls Angel. She fills him in on the impending apocalypse and then asks him to do her a favour. She tells Xander that he needs to keep an eye on the Hellmouth and to be careful.

The troop move to Oxford, to a large building in the middle of the city. Joyce is with Angel and Cordelia. Fred and Wes have stayed to guard LA but Angel thinks it has more to do with the Council.

Spike and Angel meet for the first time and Angel can sense that something is different about him. Spike avoids his gaze and goes to see Joyce.

He talks to her and she asks if it's that bad that Buffy has brought her over. Spike tells her that Buffy just needs to know that she's safe and with them nearby she'll be just that. They talk about where Spike went. Joyce tells him how bad Buffy got and then he tells her about his soul. He promises to protect Buffy, and adds silently – even if it's from himself.

Buffy finds Spike in the garden. It's dark, quiet. She sits beside him in the little arbour. She tells him that Angel suspects something and that a meeting will take place tomorrow. Spike says that he'll tell everyone then. He takes her hand, savouring the quiet. It feels like it's happening all over again. The quiet before the storm. He tells her that he wishes things were different sometimes. He wishes he could marry her and that they didn't have jobs like these. Buffy says she doesn't wish things were different. She likes her life, likes him, and she's married to him in a sense. He looks at the marks on her neck, understanding. They continue to talk and then watch the sunrise. She's surprised when he doesn't go anywhere. He doesn't sleep.

Spike reasons that maybe it's because his journey is over. His soul has been carried to the right spot and that's it. Now they have to wait.

Buffy tells him that she doesn't want to lose him again. She can't live without him. She'll die. He promises her that he won't go anywhere then. He'll stay with her until the end of time.

Training and Buffy talks to Willow, mentions about looking into a de-souling spell but keeping it from Spike. He believes that he needs his soul in order to save her, but getting rid of the soul might be the only way of saving them all. Tara agrees to help.

Cordy has a vision of someone in danger and Angel refuses to ignore it in favour of the council meeting. Buffy is furious. Spike is upset that she's upset but the disappearance of Angel doesn't bother him.

At the council meeting they recount the events so far. They have two angels on the loose, and they'll be joined by two more from the circle of violence. They have the First, Glory, and then Spike to tell with. Everyone looks at him. Buffy says that he's a timebomb and they need to defuse him. To do that they need to destroy all the connections to hell. That's four angels and two gods. She hopes that this will all stop then.

Angel doesn't return. Buffy and Spike go in search of him and find him completely bloodied and beaten. Glory. She's found them. Cordy is distraught, believes that it's her fault that Angel got hurt. They patch him up and make him rest. Buffy goes to him and she's not gentle like he expects her to be. She's brutal and tells him straight that he was reckless and stupid. He's not alone in this and he needs to stop thinking that he is. Angel takes each blow and then is surprised when Spike appears and tells her to go easy. He holds her and says that there's no real harm done, nothing that wouldn't have happened anyway. Buffy cries into his neck. Spike tells her that she needs to get some rest. He takes her to bed and Willow gives her a sleeping draught.

Angel is surprised when Spike returns. He shakes his head at Angel and tells him that he needs to start thinking before acting. Buffy didn't need this. She has enough to deal with with himself. He takes hold of Angel's hand and slips the ring onto his finger for a moment, waits for Angel to heal, and then takes it off again. Angel stares at him in disbelief. He could have done that back in LA when he'd been hurt. Why now? It shows trust and something else. Angel asks him why. Spike tells him not to hurt Buffy again, he won't help next time. Angel is still confused until Cordy walks in just as Spike leaves. She watches him go and then asks – did he tell you about his soul? Angel?

Spike et al are holding a meeting while Buffy sleeps until Angel walks in. He goes straight to Spike and stares at him. Spike says – can I help you? – and Angel continues to search his eyes. He asks if it's true. Spike confirms that he has a soul now and that he's responsible for the impending apocalypse, but as far as shanshu goes, he doesn't need it. He just wants to keep Buffy safe. Buffy appears. She asks what she missed. Spike tells her not much. She stares at Angel and sees he's fully recovered. She asks how long she was asleep.

Buffy gets Angel to help train up Andrew etc. Andrew isn't very impressed by him. He'd rather train with Spike. Buffy spars with Spike. She can't keep her thoughts off everything that has happened. Spike isn't wearing his t-shirt. Giles and Willow keep looking at the marks on Spike's body. Willow draws them on her notebook. They both freeze as Spike turns his back on them and they see the wings on his back. They're moving slightly, or look like they are, writhing, shifting. Buffy isn't too put off by them, she doesn't see them at all, just sees his body. She loves sparring with him and he's eager to test her abilities.

She goes with him back to their room to clear up. He sits on the bottom of their bed and tells her that he's sorry for everything he's done and everything he will do. She straddles his lap and tells him that they'll find a way to stop this, traces her fingers over his chest and smiles at the marks. She kisses him and they make love.

Buffy wakes in tremendous pain. She's blind with it, curls up and sobs through burning lungs. In the darkness of her closed eyes she can see fire, smell the flames and acrid scent of Hell. She forces her eyes open and sees that it's not just her imagination. The building is on fire. She turns to Spike to see that he's no longer in her bed. Her instincts go into panic mode and she dashes from the bed in just her jogging bottoms and camisole top. She grabs her boots and runs down the corridor, using her senses to guide her to Spike and the others.

A roaring inferno blows the doors off in front of her, sending fire engulfing the corridor and she's forced to go a different way. There are screams in the direction she's heading and her gut twists when she senses that Spike is that way.

She bursts into the courtyard of the building and sees so many dead watchers, and then Spike. He's only wearing his jeans. He's covered in blood and the symbols are shifting, swirling on his skin. She watches in horror as he roars and spreads his arms. Huge, black and tattered wings erupt from his back. She realises that she's losing him, and that the apocalypse is beginning.

He takes off just as Willow, Tara and Giles appear behind her and Angel, Cordy and Andrew appear across the courtyard. She watches Spike go, wondering where he's heading for. She tells everyone they're out of time. It's now or never. They grab all the weapons they can and Buffy issues orders as they track Spike.

They are interrupted by the good angel. He appears out of nowhere and tells her that she won't be alone in this fight. She tells him to leave Spike to her. The angel says he cannot do that. The soul in the vampire is now in ownership of the devil and it's his and his comrades duty to kill him.

She tells him to keep out of it then – to only interfere after she's failed.

More angels appear and she thinks that the other angel is going to interfere with their fight, but instead he turns his back on her and she sees that they're not alone any more. The four angels from Hell are standing before them. The angels clash and she uses the battle to slip past them and continue heading for Spike.

They find him with Glory and the First. They're standing on a hill in the middle of a country park. She wonders if Spike had anything to do with them being in the middle of nowhere rather than in a populated area. He raises a hand and Glory and the First comes after them. She fights them with the others. Angel, Cordy and Andrew take on the First and she teams up with Willow, Giles and Tara to fight Glory. It's a hard battle, one step forward for every two back. She thinks they're going to fail, that she's going to lose everyone that she holds dear, and then stops and looks at Spike.

He's watching them, face dark and unreadable, no longer the man she loved but the devil himself. His black wings are down, fluttering in the breeze as he stands defiant on the hill and watches the massacre. She hears the angels screaming in the distance behind her. Thunder rents the sky and lightning strikes nearby. It begins to rain, but she still doesn't take her eyes off Spike.

He's staring at her now and she sees a flicker in his eyes, feels something in him, something small and cowering, but fighting at the same time. She realises that he's fighting the devil's hold on him.

Lydia breaks away from her group and runs to him. Buffy calls out but can't stop her. It's too late. She can only watch as Spike grabs her and sinks his teeth into her neck. Lydia screams but it's short lived. Spike gulps her blood down and throws her to one side like she's trash. He turns to look at Buffy again, a sly smile and nothing but darkness in his eyes now.

She flinches away and covers her eyes as a bright light fills the darkness. When she comes out, she sees that Glory is gone. She looks at Willow, her hands are still glowing with magic. Buffy realises that she's opened a portal to get rid of Glory. She looks over at Angel's party and sees that the First is gone too. She knows that the two gods will be back at some point in her life. She hasn't got rid of them forever.

Tired, bloodied and sore, she turns to face Spike. He's watching her still with menacing black eyes and blood smeared across his chin.

She can feel the power in him as he spreads his wings. He laughs at her, at the world, revelling in the power and the freedom he's gained. She goes to move towards him but he rakes his claws down his chest, spilling blood. She screams at him to stop and he just grins. He knows she can't hurt him because it hurts herself. She curses the bond they share but at the same time is thankful for it when she sees he's still wearing the ring. As long as he's wearing it, he can't kill her.

She tells Spike telepathically to fight it and for a moment he emerges again, looks sorry and struggles. She hates seeing him like this and feeling as though she can't do anything to save him and save themselves. He'd fought for his soul for her, to save her, and in the end it's his soul that has endangered her, but she knows that she can't convince Spike of that.

She needs to find a way to stop the Devil before he takes a full hold on Spike and she can sense that she's losing him a little more every second.

Giles tells her that magic might be of use. She looks to Willow and Willow nods, letting her know that they'd found what she asked them to look for.

Giles asks what she's up to and she tells him that she has to convince Spike to sacrifice his soul. It's not going to be easy and she doesn't want to do it forcibly. He got the soul for her, to be her champion, and she loves him because of it and the struggle he made to be a better man for her. Giles tells her to prove to Spike that it's not his soul that will save her.

She runs towards him and shouts for Willow to begin. She hates to see the pain that the spell causes him, but it's for the best. She just has to be there with him, to tell him everything that's in her heart and let him see that it's him she loves, not his soul. She loved him before he ever got it and can't love him any more than she already did.

Spike lashes out, takes flight and attacks Willow, Giles and Tara. Tara is badly injured and can't continue. Buffy is horrified to see her so hurt. She tells Willow to heal her, she can't fight alone. She can't risk anyone else getting hurt now. She'll take on Spike alone.

She runs at him before anyone has a chance to stop her. As she turns with him to fight him, she sees the angels from hell in the distance being taken up by God after having their wings removed. She stares at Spike's wings. She's got to do something now before it's too late and it might just work.

She clashes with him, tells the Devil to leave that body, to leave the man she loves alone. She fights him with everything that she has, tears in her eyes. It's hard, painful, and each time she hits him she feels it inside her, but knows that he feels every blow to her too. She wrestles with him, is thrown more than once and is barely holding onto consciousness as the pain inside her grows and grows. She yanks on his first wing, presses her foot into his back and snaps it off. He growls and throws her again, blood pouring down his back. She doesn't give him an inch. She runs at him and tackles him to the ground. He punches her hard in the gut and slashes across her chest with his claws. She cries out but continues to fight him with everything she has. She gets hold of the other wing and it hurts so much when she tears it off.

He throws her to one side and goes to attack her but a bright light fills her eyes. She raises her hand to shield them and watches as Spike is lifted into the air. Wounds appear on his body, long gashes that bleed profusely. She pushes herself onto her feet and stumbles to him. The light suddenly disappears and Spike falls to the ground. She grabs him and cradles him to her, looks up at the closing sky and cries for him. She holds him close, presses her face into his neck and can't stop sobbing. She's so tired and weak, wants to sleep.

She jumps when he gasps for air, shifts in her arms. She pulls back and he flutters his eyes open, looks at her and takes hold of her hand. She really can't stop crying now. She holds him, kisses him, is so relieved but so incredibly tired.

The good angel comes to her and she looks up at him. She asks if it's over. He nods. He tells her that Spike has been granted a reprieve since he was fooled by Glory and the First. He disappears.

She looks at Spike, not quite understanding.

He stares into her eyes, his blue ones full of love and affection.

She asks if he's human.

He shakes his head and tells her that he refused, for her.

She's confused, asks if he met God. He nods. God gave him a choice, a chance to become human, but he turned it down because he could never protect her as a mortal and the bond they shared would be gone. She can't believe that he did that for her.

He says she feels tired. He's sorry he caused all this trouble. She says that she's sorry they put him through so much. She holds him close and tells him she wants to sleep in his arms for a thousand years.

The others come to see her and she's glad to see that Angel, Andrew, Cordy, Willow, Giles and Tara only have superficial wounds. Tara has been healed by Willow. They help Buffy and Spike to their feet. Buffy sees that the Devil's marks are gone, but some of the angels' ones remain. She realises that he's been offered protection by God. Spike takes hold of her hand and tells her it's time to go home and that he's never leaving her again.

Angel eyes him suspiciously. Buffy tells him that he still has a soul, but he's passed up his chance for Shanshu. She doesn't know if it's still open to anyone else though, but she's sure that he'll get it one day if it's so important to him. He looks at Spike. Spike says that if he's mortal, then he can't protect Buffy and he would lose his bond to her. He puts his arm around her and walks with her, keeping a few steps in front of everyone.

She tells him that she loves him and she's glad that he didn't change for her because she wants him to always remain the man she fell in love with. He corrects her—vampire. She laughs and tells him that he's more man than any other man she's met. He stops walking, takes her in his arms and kisses her. She's missed him so much, can't help crying as he kisses her and she feels all the love inside him. Their battle has been hard won, but it's been worth it to have him by her side again. She can't wait to go home to America and back to a normal life of slaying, school and driving her mum up the wall.

Most of all she can't wait to start the rest of her life with Spike.

She kisses him, tells him that she loves him. He tells her that he loves her too. He picks her up, cradles her in his arms and carries her. She asks if he's always going to be this protective. He says he'll mollycoddle her for eternity.

She frowns. Eternity?

He traces the marks on her neck.

Eternity.

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