Part VIII - Birth or Death?
"Not really loving this plan," Xander grumbled, kicking a pebble as he walked down the path towards the Travers crypt.
"I'm not thrilled with it myself," Giles said, walking by his side and tightening his grip on the axe he held by his side.
"It'll be fine," Tara said, following behind. "They'll never see it coming."
"I hope not," Anya replied, resting her baseball bat on her shoulder and squinting ahead toward the crypt, trying to see the entrance in the moonlight. "If not, we're a few hands short for nothing."
"My part of the plan will definitely work," the Buffybot chimed in. "The evil vampires will be no match for my Slayer skills!"
"Of course, My Goddess," Jinx agreed.
"Hold up," Giles said, stopping as the entrance to the tomb became visible in the distance.
Tara, Anya, Jinx and the Buffybot stood behind Giles as Xander took a few more steps forward.
"Yeah, that's the one," Xander said, gesturing toward the mausoleum with the crossbow he held in his left hand. "You can see the marks on the door where Willow and I tried to chop it down."
"And the windows?" Giles asked.
"Also a no-go," Xander responded. "We hacked away at every possible entrance, but this blue glowy barrier would keep popping up. Willow tried a couple of spells, but whatever kind of a magic barrier is keeping the place shut tight, it held up."
"There are some spells that specifically take down protection magicks," Tara said. "But we'll need a couple of days researching to find the right one."
"And unfortunately we don't have days," Giles said. "However, it is unlikely that our adversaries haven't found a solution to this problem. We'll need to make a stand tonight."
"I still say we should have shipped Dawn off to Janice's," Xander said.
"She wouldn't go," Tara said. "She didn't want Janice to be in danger, and she's probably right. These guys obviously know a lot more about us than we thought. Anywhere she'd go, they still could find her."
"And protecting her would just leave us spread thinner than we are now," Anya added.
"I still don't like it," Xander said. "Dawn's...."
Xander caught himself as he glanced toward Jinx and the Buffybot.
"She's Buffy's sister," Xander said, lowering his voice. "You know what I mean, right? You know what...what Buffy would feel if anything...."
"Dawn is my sister," the Buffybot said, in a loud voice. "Any demon that tries to harm her will face me!"
"And me!" Jinx added.
Xander swallowed hard as Anya and Tara's eyes dropped.
"I understand what you're saying, Xander," Giles said. "But we don't have a lot of choices in this particular...."
'Head's up,' Willow's voice echoed in the Scoobies' minds.
"Gyah!" Xander yelped, shuddering as the voice reverberated in his head. "Give us some warning before you do that."
'I said 'head's up,' didn't I?' Willow's voice answered. 'What am I supposed to do? Say 'head's up, I'm going to say 'head's up?' That's stupid.'
"Well, you could at least start out with whispery-toned thoughts," Xander said.
'Shut up, Xander,' Willow's voice growled. 'They're coming. Start heading toward the tomb.'
"Alright," Xander said. "Jeesh, she's grouchy tonight."
"I think it's the disguise," Tara explained. "Pancake makeup can get really hot."
"Could be the boots," Anya supposed. "They can't be comfortable. Do you think we overdid it?"
"We're about to find out," Giles replied. "They're here."
A large group of vampires approached from the path behind the Scoobies, while another group came from the front. Giles counted at least a dozen surrounding vampires, and one humanoid demon standing directly in the center of the path, scowling his purple-skinned face.
"So you're the ones who've been causing me so much trouble," the demon snarled.
"You must be Orad," Giles surmised.
"Huh," Anya said. "I thought Prythh demons were more wrinkled."
"I've had work done," the demon explained. "Now, why don't you turn around before I have my boys here shred you to bits?"
"You underestimate our power," Giles said. "I would think you'd have a bit more respect for our resolve, given the fate your other minions have suffered."
"I'm not leaving without my medallion," the demon insisted.
"Well, then, you'll have to get past us," Xander said, trying to sound as confident as possible. As it stood, they were well outnumbered, and there was no way to know if Orad had forces kept in reserve. They'd need an advantage....
"Might want to stand down, human," Spike said, emerging from the woods with Dawn and Willow. Spike held a firm grasp on Dawn's left arm, while Willow, clad in leather pants and a red satin bustier, held the other.
"Oh, my sister!" the Buffybot exclaimed. "You foul vampires! You have captured my sister and now I can do nothing but surrender!"
"Uh...that's right!" Willow said, trying to draw attention away from the Buffybot. "Give it up, Slayer, or I'll eat your sister, in the blood-sucking-for-nourishment sense of the word."
"Buffy, please don't let them hurt me!" Dawn cried, struggling against the grasp of Willow and Spike. She knew (from bitter experience) that hostages often struggled in vain against their captors, so she figured it would look realistic. Also, it gave her a reason to twist her arms, which she hoped would conceal the white smudge on her jacket where some of Willow's makeup had smeared.
"Alright, you three," Spike said, gesturing toward a trio of vampires. "C'mon over here, and help us get this girl tied up."
The three vampires began walking over toward Spike, until their leader shouted:
"Hold it!"
The purple skin around the demon's eyes narrowed as he squinted to look at his 'minions.'
"I don't remember you two," the demon said.
"Rusty signed us up," Spike answered. "A little last minute muscle. Poor bugger got dusted while we were fetching the little bit here."
"Rusty didn't show. He's been MIA since last night."
"That's how we met," Spike continued. "Ran into him at a poker game. Had a bit too much to drink, poor bugger. Woke up this afternoon on the floor of the men's room, whining about how he was going to miss this job. Said if I got him sobered up, he'd let me and the bird tag along for a share of the payoff."
The demon furrowed his brow as he considered this.
"Well, move it," Spike said, turning to the three vampires. "The girl's not going to tie herself up, is she?"
The three vampires exchanged glances, then continued walking toward Spike. Their leader started to object, then stopped considering whether to believe Spike's story.
'Spike, I don't think he's buying it,' Willow thought.
'He doesn't have to for long,' Spike thought in reply. 'Just long enough to get the drop on a few of his toadies.'
"Alright, kid," one of the vampires said as he stood before Dawn. "Just do what we say, and you won't get hurt."
"Is that ever true?" Dawn asked.
"Well, no," the vamp admitted.
"He's right," the second vampire agreed, as his mouth curled into a sinister grin. "It just means you won't get hurt right now. But sooner or later, you get hurt. Killed, usually."
"Wait a minute," the third vamp mumbled. "I know you two."
Willow studied the vampire's face, and realized that the recognition was mutual. This vamp had ruby ring hanging from his right ear, and a nasty scar running down his left cheek.
The same scar Willow had noticed on the vampire that had escaped the cemetery the night Jinx appeared.
The vamp opened his mouth to shout out a warning, but then heard one of his companions cry out first. He turned, and saw the look of horror on the vamp's face. The sharp end of a stake was buried in his companion's chest. Dawn held a tight grip on the other end, staring into the vampire's eyes as he disintegrated.
"Guess sometimes you don't get hurt," Dawn declared, shaking the dust from her arm.
The vampires turned in realization, but one found himself falling to the ground after Spike's elbow connected with his chin, while the other stood in pain as he felt Willow's hand touch his chest and heard her exclaim:
"Succenda!"
The vamp staggered backwards, clutching at his chest as he felt a rising warmth inside his body burn hotter and hotter, until his clothes burst into flame.
"Get them!" the leader shouted.
The vampires turned to face Willow and Spike, but then stopped in their tracks as they saw one of their number grasp at an arrow in his chest, and collapse into dust.
"Next!" Xander shouted, running forward and ramming the butt of the crossbow into another vamp's stomach, while Anya slammed her bat against another vampire's head.
"Procella!" Tara shouted, gesturing both arms toward a pair of approaching vamps. A green mist erupted from Tara's fingertips, engulfing the vampires and lifting them away into the forest.
Giles leapt between Jinx (who was wrestling a vampire to the ground) and the Buffybot (who had pummeled another vampire into a stupor). He reached the leader and swung his axe, but before the blow could connect, the demon had grasped the handle of the axe and began to wrest it from Giles' grasp. Giles released one hand from the axe and delivered a punch to the demon's face. As the demon reeled backward, Giles lifted his axe to bury it in the demon's chest, but before he could bring down the blade, he caught a glimpse of a stain on the knuckles of his other hand.
At first, Giles thought it was blood. But looking closer, Giles noticed that the smeared substance reflected oddly in the moonlight. He glanced down at the demon, and saw a streak of white across the its face.
A face that now bore the unmistakable ridges and golden eyes of a vampire.
"Makeup," Giles muttered to himself. "Seems we're not the only clever ones."
Giles turned toward the tomb in the distance, and saw a silhouette scurry toward the door. He began to run toward the shadowy figure, but was tackled from his left side, and found himself wrestling with the "leader."
"It's a decoy!" Giles shouted, as he shifted his weight to get the vampire off balance. "Get to the tomb!"
Willow had pinned a vampire to the ground with telekinesis, but released the struggling vamp as she glanced toward the mausoleum. She saw the shadow cast a fine powder on the door, and heard a raspy voice shout:
"Excidi!"
A blue light shimmered around the tomb, then slowly faded. The shadow opened the door and disappeared inside.
Willow dropped her hand and gathered energy for a spell, but fell as the vampire she had released grasped her ankles and pulled her to the ground.
"Everybody!" Willow hollered, as she scratched at the vampire's face. "Get to the medallion! He's in!"
The Buffybot heard the cry as she thrust a stake into the heart of a vampire. When the vampire had dissolved into dust, the robot paused and scanned her surroundings. Xander was trying to maneuver a stake into the chest of a vamp, as Anya beat it around the head with her bat. Giles had gained the advantage on the vampires' "leader" with a choke hold, but could not safely release it. Two vampires were tangled in a web of weeds that Tara controlled with an incantation. Spike was pinned between two other vampires, keeping them at bay with quick kicks and punches, waiting for an opportunity to dust them.
That left Jinx, who had just torn the head off of a vampire. As the head crumbled and the dust fell between Jinx's fingers, the Buffybot bolted for the mausoleum and yelled:
"Jinx! To the tomb! Time to slay!"
"Of course, my Goddess," Jinx said, hurrying after the robot.
The robot reached the tomb and kicked the door wide open. She ran in, with Jinx following close behind. As she entered, she saw a short, purple demon lifting a shiny metal disc out of an open sarcophagus.
"Stay back!" Orad shouted. "I have the medallion. One touch and you're both history!"
"You are lying," the Buffybot declared. "Willow explained the ritual to me. You have not had time to anoint yourself with the oil or burn the incense. You are powerless. Surrender, demon!"
"Oh, c'mon!" Orad pleaded. "I've spent twenty years looking for this thing. Look, we can make a deal. I'll leave Sunnydale. You'll never see me again."
"The Goddess Buffy has ordered you to surrender," Jinx said gravely. "You may not dishonor Her Most Wondrous Immortality with your foul disobedience."
"You don't get it!" Orad implored. "I'm a Prythh! We're weak. This medallion, it's power. I've spent the last hundred years serving demons who treated me like garbage. Do you know what that's like? Always groveling? Always bowing before any half-wit demon who can break me in half? With this, I can be strong! I can be somebody! I'll never have to answer to anyone ever again!"
"You talk too much," the Buffybot said, walking up to Orad and punching him in the stomach. "How can I make a good quip when you talk about so much stuff at once?"
The robot grasped Orad's head and wrenched it with a quick jerk. The sound of snapping bone echoed through the tomb as the demon's body slumped to the ground.
"Now there's an interesting TWIST!" the Buffybot declared.
Jinx approached Orad's corpse, knelt beside it, and gingerly lifted the medallion from the body's limp hands.
"We did it!" the robot declared. "We got the medallion, defeated the demons, and saved the day!"
"This medallion," Jinx said, gazing at the inscriptions on the amulet, and tenderly twisting the braided chain connected to it. "It is an object of great power."
"Yes, it is," the Buffybot agreed. "This is why we fight. Powerful magic can be dangerous."
"Very," Jinx said. "Whoever possesses this would be a mighty force indeed. All creatures would bow before the bearer of such a weapon."
"Absolutely," the robot concurred. "Willow and Giles will know what to do with it."
"Oh, I don't think that they need to be consulted," Jinx said, rising from the floor. "There is only one fitting use for this talisman."
The Buffybot watched as Jinx opened the clasp of the chain. A wide smile crossed Jinx's face as he declared:
"For you, My Goddess."
Jinx reached around the Buffybot's head and secured the necklace around her neck.
"Now," Jinx said, turning to Orad's body. "Let us see if this foul creature had any matches."
--------------------------------------
"Is that all of them?" Xander asked, his eyes searching the surrounding forest.
"It appears so," Giles surmised. "If there were any others, they surely would have attacked or retreated by now."
"Looks like the diversion worked pretty well," Anya said.
"I told you I could do it," Dawn said. "Hey, I think that was my first dusting!"
Spike scowled.
"No offense to present company," Dawn added.
"You're getting pretty good and the whole 'pretend vampire' routine, Will," Xander said.
"I'll just be glad to get out of this outfit," Willow replied. "I almost came out of it a couple of times already. That one vamp might have had me, if he hadn't been distracted when my top bunched up and he found himself with a facefull of my left...."
"Hey, where's the 'bot?" Xander asked.
"She went after the medallion," Tara said. "I saw her and Jinx run toward the tomb."
"Think she got there in time?" Anya asked.
"Well, seeing as we don't have a purple demon out here trying to hoover out our lifeforces, I'd say yes," Spike said, lighting a cigarette.
"Oh, there she is," Dawn said, pointing toward a clearing to the left of the tomb. "She's...what's she doing?"
"It looks like...like she's pacing," Tara observed.
"Pacing?" Xander repeated. "Do robots pace?"
The Scoobies exchanged nervous glances, then ran en masse to the Buffybot. They surrounded her, but the robot kept pacing, oblivious to their presence, mumbling:
"...all the zeros and all the ones and and still all the ones don't stop the zeros from being zeros and I see the zeros and the ones and they are not zeros and they are not ones but that is all I see because that is all I can see and understand and remember but the zeros and ones I remember are not real they are lies and the zeros lie and the ones lie and...."
"Buffybot?" Willow asked, taking a careful step toward the robot and reaching out her hand.
The Buffybot recoiled and swatted Willow's hand away. The robot's eyes were wide and wild, and she seemed unable to remain still, taking half-steps in every direction.
"Please do not touch me!" the robot exclaimed. "The sensors on the substance which is not skin send zeros and ones to my processor which inform me of my surroundings and I do not wish for the zeros and the ones to provide this data to me because I find my surroundings unpleasant when I know that the zeros and the ones are not...."
"Buffy, stop it!" Willow yelled. "What is it? Tell me what's wrong."
"Willow," the Buffybot said.
"What?" Willow asked.
In a small, quiet voice, the robot said:
"Help me."
"It's okay," Willow said, slowly reaching for the robot. "I...I only need to touch you for a second. Then it'll be okay. I promise."
The Buffybot closed its eyes and dropped its head. Willow rested her hand on the robot's neck, then flipped open a panel, felt inside with her fingers, and hit the power cutoff switch. The robot's face showed an eerie stillness as its body fell limp to the ground.
Willow knelt beside the robot, checking for damage. The other Scoobies, their faces ashen and stunned, stared down at the Buffybot's body as it lay motionless, its arms and legs haphazardly contorted.
"Anya," Willow said. "I've got a bag stashed in that bush we hid behind back at the clearing. My PDA is in it. Get it."
Anya turned and dashed for the clearing.
"And hurry!" Willow shouted.
"Jesus," Xander muttered. "What happened to her?"
"I'm working on it," Willow said.
"Is she going to be okay?" Dawn asked, a hint of tears in her voice.
"I don't know," Willow admitted. "I need to see what...I just need to check her out."
"God," Xander said. "That was just...I mean, I know it's just a machine, but seeing her like that, it just brought it all back, you know? It was like watching Buffy...."
Xander stopped as Dawn let out a soft sob.
"Sorry," Xander said. "Look, it'll be fine."
"Willow," Giles said. "I don't know a thing about computers, but have you ever seen...?"
"No," Willow said. "Something's wrong. I don't see any damage, but...she smell's funny."
"Maybe it's inside?" Xander speculated. "You know, maybe she burned out a tube?"
"No," Willow said. "It doesn't smell like smoke. It's kinda sweet. Wait a minute."
Willow turned the robot's lifeless head. An oily substance on the robot's forehead reflected in the moonlight. Willow reached inside the Buffybot's blouse, and pulled out a metal disc. She yanked the medallion from its chain, and handed it to Xander.
"Is that what I think it is?" Willow asked.
"It looks just like the picture," Xander replied.
The gang turned as Anya came running up and handed a black satchel to Willow.
"Thanks," Willow said, pulling her PDA from the bag, and and sticking a cord from the device into the opening behind the robot's neck.
"Why would the robot be wearing the medallion?" Xander asked.
"Giles, look," Tara said, gesturing to a spot on the ground a few feet away. The Scoobies turned, and saw a heap of white feathers laying in the grass.
"It's a bird," Xander said, walking up to the lifeless creature and poking it with the tip of his shoe. "It's dead."
"Oh, god," Giles uttered, removing his glasses.
"What?" Xander asked.
"The medallion," Giles said. "The bearer absorbs the life from whatever creature it touches. The robot must have drained the bird."
"How did that happen?" Xander questioned. "I mean, where would the robot get the idea to put on the...?"
Xander stopped as he saw everyone turning to look at a tree in the far corner of the cemetery. Underneath, Jinx sat with his legs crossed, his back to the tomb and his head hanging low.
"Of course," Xander grumbled.
"This can't be right," Willow said, scrolling through the data on her PDA. "The code, it's all...it's changed."
"The energy from the bird," Xander said. "It must have, I dunno, zapped the robot. Messed everything up, like when lightning screws up your computer."
"That's not it," Willow said, scowling at the screen. "That would make the code blank, or scrambled. This...there are patterns here. I don't know what it means, but it's like the robot's programming was rewritten."
"It changed her," Giles said.
"Oh, no," Tara gasped.
"You mean, this medallion turned the robot into a bird?" Anya asked.
"The bird was a living being, Anya," Giles explained. "And like all living beings, it had a sense of awareness, a sense of self."
"The robot touched the bird, and it became...alive?" Xander asked.
"I doubt that's possible," Giles said. "But perhaps...perhaps the robot acquired a true understanding of what it means to be alive."
"And of what it means to not be alive," Tara continued.
The group looked down at the open, wide eyes of the robot. The look from those eyes had always appeared amiable and eager. Now, there was...nothing.
"Brother," Anya sighed. "No wonder she freaked. That must have been a lot to figure out all at once."
"Yeah," Dawn whispered.
A silence hung in the air, until Xander said:
"Hey, Giles? This medallion, it's one of those evil things can't fall into the wrong hands, right?"
Xander clenched the medallion, then forcefully dropped the medallion to the ground and crushed it under his heel. A spark of blue electricity crackled, then fizzled away.
Xander gave the pieces a frustrated kick, drew a deep breath, then said:
"So, what about the 'bot? I mean, how can we...?"
"The backup," Willow said. "I've got a backup of her memory at home. I can plug her in, reset her whole system to where it was a couple of weeks ago. She won't remember anything. She'll be just like she was. Good as new. That'll fix everything, right?"
No one answered.
"It's just...ugh," Xander grunted. "I mean, I know she's not really...I mean, it's not a person. But to see her like that. I can't imagine what she must have been feeling."
"You start out scared," Dawn said, her voice soft, her words deliberate. "Then you get angry. Then it really hits you. How everything you...believed...everything you are...how it's all just...."
Dawn paused for a forced swallow, then added:
"And sometimes you cut yourself. Guess she skipped that."
Dawn's eyes clenched shut as she buried her face in her hands.
Spike stood a few feet back from the group, his lips pursed tightly as he drew smoke from his cigarette. His eyes shifted between Dawn and the slumped body of the robot. He then dropped his cigarette to the ground, walked over to Giles, and grabbed the axe from the Watcher's hand.
"Borrow this a minute, Rupert?" Spike said. "I'm gonna go have a little chat with Jinxy-boy."
"Spike," Giles said. "I understand your...."
"Just be a minute," Spike continued. "Or an hour. Or a day. Don't really have a schedule."
"Spike, don't," Dawn muttered.
"Sorry, Nibblet," Spike said. "But this has been put off for too long."
"He didn't mean it," Willow argued. "It was an accident!"
"I suppose that just makes it all right as rain, then!" Spike roared.
"What good will it do?" Anya protested. "He'll just regenerate."
"Oh, bother!" Spike shouted. "Then I'll have to go to all the trouble of choppin' the little bugger up again? Perish the thought!"
"That's just your answer to everything!" Xander shouted.
"Don't start, Harris," Spike growled.
"Hey, I'm as angry as you are!" Xander yelled.
"Then get off your ass and....!"
"Alright, that's enough!" Tara exclaimed.
The group turned stunned at Tara's uncharacteristic outburst.
"Wait here," Tara said evenly. "I've got an idea."
Tara turned and walked toward the tree across the clearing.
As she approached the tree, she saw Jinx drawing tiny circles in the dirt with the tip of his finger.
"Hey, Jinx," Tara said, crouching down beside the demon.
Jinx remained silent for a moment, then muttered:
"I hurt her, didn't I?"
"A little," Tara said. "But she'll be okay."
"That's not supposed to happen," Jinx whispered. "She is my Goddess. I thought...I don't...."
"She'll be fine," Tara repeated. "She's a god. What could you do to her that could be so bad?"
"That is good to know," Jinx answered softly.
Tara turned and sat beside Jinx. She joined Jinx in staring at the ground for a bit, then said:
"Of course, you know you don't belong here, right?" Tara asked. "I mean, you realize that now, don't you?"
Jinx raised his head, sighed, then replied:
"I have suspected for some time that my presence was...unnecessary."
"It's alright," Tara said. "You did your best, but it just didn't work out. Buffy's a strange god. She's special, and it takes a particular kind of creature to be her minion. That's why she pretends to be a person. If everyone knew she was a god, she'd have all kinds of beings coming around to worship her, and she'd have to send most of them away. So she keeps it a secret, so they won't be disappointed."
"I see."
"You know, Jinx," Tara continued. "That's probably the best thing you can do for her. I mean, if you really want to honor your goddess, it would be best if you were to keep what you know to yourself. You know, the whole 'coming back from the dead' thing? It's best if you don't tell anyone about that. Can you do that for her?"
"Of course," Jinx agreed. "It is the least I can do."
Tara sighed in relief.
"Well, then," Tara said. "Everything worked out for the best."
Jinx drew a long breath.
"I know it's hard," Tara said.
"Yes," Jinx replied. "I know that it is not important if...that it is of no consequence whether...."
A single tear ran down Jinx's face. He swallowed, cast his eyes toward the night sky, then wailed:
"What is to become of me?"
"It'll be fine," Tara assured him. "You'll find another goddess. One that suits you."
"No," Jinx mumbled. "I failed Glory. I failed Buffy. There is nothing for me."
"That's not true," Tara argued. "You just haven't found the right god yet. You will. Sometimes it takes awhile, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with you. It just means you're special. There's a place for everybody, and I'll bet that one of these days, when you least expect it, you'll find a god that's better for you than any you ever imagined."
"Do you really think so?"
Tara smirked, rested a reassuring hand on Jinx's shoulder, and said:
"Jinx, I'm a lesbian hillbilly. I know a little something about being a misfit."
Tara's eyes fell, then drifted slowly to the Scoobies across the clearing.
"We're all misfits, really," Tara said wistfully. "Every one of us. I guess that's what Buffy gave us. Someplace to belong. Something to fight for, to believe in. It's hard to imagine us fitting in anywhere else, but somehow we all found a way to fit together. We're lucky, really."
Tara turned back to Jinx, and said:
"Sometimes I think we forget just how lucky we are."
"You are truly blessed," Jinx said.
He took a deep breath, and then stood up.
"I should go," Jinx said. "Do you think it would dishonor My Godde...that is, would it dishonor Buffy if I were to leave without bidding her farewell? I just...I do not know if I can face...."
"It's fine," Tara said, rising to her feet. "She told me it was okay. She said, 'Jinx has to find his place in this world, and you tell him to get out there right away and hop to it.' Those were her exact words."
"You are very kind," Jinx said.
"Thank you," Tara said. "Goodbye, Jinx."
"Goodbye," Jinx said.
Jinx cast a final look toward the Scoobies, then turned and shuffled away into the darkness.
Tara watched until Jinx disappeared into the forest, then turned and returned to the gang.
"It's taken care of," Tara said. "He's leaving, and he won't tell anybody about Buffy."
"Yeah, right," Spike said, rolling his eyes.
"Hey," Willow exclaimed. "If she says it's taken care of, it's taken care of."
"And how do we know he can be trusted?" Spike argued.
"I don't see you coming up with a better idea," Xander sneered. "So why don't...?"
"Everybody shut up!" Tara yelled. "Just...cut it out. Not now. Bicker all you want tomorrow, but...not now."
The Scoobies paused, wondering what had transpired between Tara and Jinx to warrant yet another outburst from Tara, but the look on Tara's face made it clear that she had no interest in explaining herself.
"Well, anyway," Anya said. "All's well that ends well. At least we don't have to worry anymore about Jinx spilling the beans."
"Would still have rather had a more permanent solution to the problem," Spike muttered.
"Like what?" Xander asked. "Anything you do to the guy's body, it just fixes itself. We could have researched 'til doomsday, and where were we gonna find a way to make something just stop being alive?"
Xander saw Spike's face go blank. Spike snorted, and shook his head. Xander looked at the rest of the group, and saw them staring at him, their mouths agape.
"What?" Xander asked.
Giles drew a breath and gestured toward the ground at Xander's feet. Xander looked down, saw the motionless body of the white bird laying among the broken pieces of the amulet, and said:
"Oh. Um...oops?"
