Work Text:
Fair Trade
by Ragna
writinggoddess@aol.com
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't."
- from William Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act II, Scene II).
No one could find a problem with Ryan Blake, or at least Buffy's friends couldn't. They were searching out potential dates, and he was their prime candidate: attractive, attentive, and charming. Plus he wasn't a demon or part of any of the numerous cults that abounded in little old Sunnydale.
Xander and Willow had gone to school with him since kindergarten, and he'd been one of Jesse's best friends. He was cute to boot, Willow noted, and Buffy agreed to be set up on a date with him.
Little did she know she'd be in Hell before the night was over...
***
Ryan picked Buffy up, precisely at seven, just like they'd planned. They headed towards the restaurant Buffy had picked out, making small conversation and getting to know one another.
Something rang hollow for Buffy, though. Something seemed wrong. She had no real memory of Ryan in high school, and if he'd been one of Jesse's friends, and Willow and Xander knew him, then why didn't she?
But she wanted to have a good time that evening, so she shook it off.
***
By seven fifteen, Giles was beginning to get into his own world of trouble.
He'd been going through his spell books, trying to find a spell that Wesley had requested, and he made the mistake of muttering spells that seemed particularly ludicrous. Things popped out of the air, lights blinked in time with the concerto that played on his stereo system, his tea became black and inky...
Then he uttered the spell he'd always told Willow to stay away from, the one that opened a gateway to Hell and summoned the Devil. Why he muttered it, he later said, he didn't know, but he did it.
And then there was Hell to pay.
Literally.
***
At seven eighteen, Willow was walking up Giles' walkway when she saw the flash of red light, heard Giles' strangled scream, and heard the loud pop followed by complete silence.
She was worried, there was no doubt about that, but more than that, she was scared.
As much as she hated to, she called Buffy on her date.
***
Buffy was just getting into a rather funny story about her newest psych professor, Professor Walsh's replacement, and a Freudian slip he'd had in class today when he cell phone rang.
It was seven nineteen.
It was also the last time she'd do anything normal.
***
Five minutes later, not only was Buffy at Giles' apartment but so was Tara, Xander and Anya. Ryan wasn't that far behind Buffy. She asked Willow what happened, tried Giles' locked door and finally just kicked it in.
The apartment looked as though a tornado or hurricane had hit it. Papers were scattered, lampshades were torn off lamps with enough force to twist the wires, the pillow Buffy had given him the Christmas before was torn to shreds and his radio was shattered on the floor by the rest of the stereo system.
The only thing that was undisturbed, Willow noted, was the book she was told never to touch, the one with the Hell dimension spell.
And that was the page it was open to.
Anya picked up the book and started to read the spell before anyone could stop her. But, it seemed, Anya had a spell, because she also headed for the kitchen as she read the spell, picking up a shaker of salt.
The portal opened the second the spell was finished, and an eerily familiar figure stepped out.
"Acathla," Buffy said quietly.
"Acathla" shook his head, and then lunged, only Anya threw salt on him before he could take more than three steps. He froze in place and looked at her.
"Anyanka," he said, changing form again to show a well dressed younger man. "Haven't seen you in a while."
"Hello, Lucifer. We want our friend back."
"You know the policy. Fair trades only."
Anya rolled her eyes. "Can we at least see him before we talk trades?"
Lucifer's eyes roamed around the room, and he sucked in a sharp breath when he saw Ryan. "The Key," he said quietly. And then he looked at Anya. "I'll take him, and not only will I give you back the bespectacled one, I'll offer all of you protection."
"Satan's protection? No way," Xander said.
"For your information, I'm not Satan. I'm a fallen angel. Big difference," Lucifer said. "Very well. Everyone, in. I will take you to your friend, who is being treated with great hospitality, I might add, and then you may decide whether to trade or leave him be."
***
At seven thirty, the small group trooped through the portal to Hell.
Some of them would not be coming back.
***
Giles was sitting in a luxurious chair, and Jenny Calendar was sitting on it's arm. He had hundreds of books around him, and Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" played at a comfortable volume. Giles, however, was enjoying everything but Jenny, because he could not convince himself that she was real.
He was also skeptical when the Scoobie and Ryan arrived, but all it took was a few choice comments from Willow about his stupidity for reading the spell for him to realize they were really his friends.
"So, this trade?" Lucifer said.
"Why do you want Ryan?" Buffy asked.
"He's the Key," Lucifer said simply. "He can open dimensions because his blood holds powerful magic." He smiled slightly. "He's been implanted in your memories, all of you. He was created to protect the powerful magic. Everyone's been searching for him, including God and Satan. They've put aside their differences because it's not safe to have the Key roaming around, even if you *are* the Slayer and you *could* protect him."
Buffy's heart fell as she listened. "You're lying," she said quietly.
"Buffy, he can't lie. Satan can, but he can't, contrary to popular belief." Anya said. "He's telling the truth."
"It's something held over from being an angel," Lucifer said, looking directly at the Slayer. "If you trade him, I can help protect you from the Goddess who's looking for him. I can help you defeat her. And he'll be safe."
Buffy turned to Ryan, who had a blank look on his face. "What's wrong with him?"
"I'm suspending what he views as reality. He thinks you're waiting for the police to come."
"I thought you couldn't lie."
"I can't. I can create illusions, though."
"He's...not real?"
"No, Slayer. He's not real."
"And he'd be safe here?"
"Yes."
Buffy sank down to the ground. It wasn't so much that she really cared for him, that she couldn't live without him. But she was about to trade him to Lucifer for Giles. Even if he wasn't real, wasn't there a family who thought he was a member of it? Didn't he have a mother and father who would worry?
How could she do it to them?
"I...can't."
"Then you can stay. That would be a fair trade."
Buffy looked up. "Who will protect Sunnydale?"
"I can arrange for help."
Buffy took a deep breath. "And I have your word?"
"Yes."
"On God's honor?"
Lucifer swallowed. "On God's honor."
"Then I'll stay. And so will Ryan. We stay for a year or until things in Sunnydale are safe, whichever comes first. You help my friends and you help them kill that Goddess."
"Buffy!" Willow said. "Giles...he wouldn't want this."
"I don't care. If Satan and God are putting aside their differences to find the Key, we need to help keep it safe. It's beyond us, Willow, it really is."
Lucifer clapped, and Giles stood up out of the chair. "Buffy..." he said.
"Don't," she said quietly, giving him and then the rest of her friends a hug. "Just kill her soon, okay?"
"What do I tell your mother?"
"That I love her, Giles, and I'll be back as soon as possible." She turned away and walked towards Lucifer, closing her eyes and holding back tears as she listened to the pop signifying the closing of the portal. When she opened them again, there was just herself, Ryan and Lucifer.
"And now, I'll show you where you'll be." He indicated a stairway. "You'll stay in Heaven."
Buffy gaped. "I thought..."
"The safest place for him is there, and you're his protector now, aren't you?" He looked a little sad. "A year isn't too long, Slayer."
"Yes, it is." And with that, she and Ryan headed towards the staircase.
No one in Sunnydale would see them again for an entire year.
end