Hi readers! So, I realized when writing this that this story is almost over :( I just don't think there's that much left to write for it without making it go on and on and on. I mean, I wouldn't rule out continuing it (if you guys like it enough for that) in like a sequel, but definitely not in this story. So give me your thoughts on that.

Anyway, obviously, from the chapter title some old characters are being brought back, I hope they don't seem completely random (I'll talk about them more at the end), and well, I think that's all I have to say about this chapter for now.

So enjoy, and read and review please! This story is almost to 100 reviews and it would be awesome to reach that before it ends! I know you lovely reviewers can do it!

37. Welcoming Old Friends

"It's crazy," Faith sighed.

"I know," Buffy agreed.

"I mean, I always knew he'd do it, but… It's still hard to believe, ya know?"

Buffy just nodded.

"You okay?" Faith asked softly.

"Yeah, just anticipating the… Well, just Spike, really."

"Oh," Faith said knowingly. "I get it."

Buffy exhaled in frustration, "Are they ever gonna wake up?"

"You know how these two are. They'll wake up when they feel like it," she answered while shaking her head.

The two of them continued to sit there for a while just talking. It was a nice little rest for them, but of course, it didn't last for long.

Spike groaned as he was awakening. "Bloody…" he said, not bothering to finish the phrase.

Buffy, who had been lying on the ground, jolted up right. "Spike?"

He groaned again, "Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm bloody fantastic," he said sarcastically.

But Buffy didn't laugh.

Faith could feel the tension, "Uh, look, I should probably check on the others downstairs, let them know we're okay, and whatnot." She paused for a moment, "This just feels kinda awkward and I don't like that," she unabashedly confessed.

Buffy just nodded and smiled.

As Faith was hastily leaving, Buffy went and sat by Spike.

"Are you alright, luv?" He asked. Spike was fighting an inner battle right now. He was so incredibly happy to see her, but he didn't know if he should still be annoyed with her. His options were to either hug her or be a prick.

"Yeah," she said weakly, "I'm fine."

Then out of nowhere, Spike pulled her into the strongest hug imaginable. Buffy's eyes started watering immediately.

"I thought you were dead, Spike. I saw you die! You were just standing there and then..."

"I know, Buffy, I know. I saw you die too, it felt so real."

They didn't say anything after that and just sat in each other's arms. After a while, Spike finally noticed Angel lying on the floor a few feet away.

"Always has to be the star. Wake up already, you wanker!"

Buffy laughed nervously, "Umm, yeah, about Angel, Spike…"

"What about him?"

She pulled herself out of his embrace and faced him. "Well, you know that prophecy, right? The one about the vampire and the apocalypse and the whole human thing?"

"The, uh, Shanshoe? Sandshoe? Shan…"

"Yeah, that one. Well," She glanced at Angel and then back at Spike, "It came true... For Angel. I think he's the one who got us out back there…"

"Oh," Spike said. He looked at Angel for a second and then he seemed to stare into space.

Buffy gave him minute before she said everything else she needed to let him know. "Spike, I don't know how much you wanted it to be you, or if you even did, but I want you to know that I love you don't love you any less because you're a vampire. There's nothing wrong with being a vampire, well, you know, as long as you're not killing people or anything like that, and I know you're not gonna do that and I don't think it has anything to do with the soul. You not being a vampire would be like me not being a slayer-"

"The slayer," he corrected her.

"-anymore. I just wouldn't make sense. We wouldn't have met if we weren't what we are."

"Technically, I was a soulless, evil vampire when we met, so I'm not really like I was when we met-"

She put her hand over his mouth and went on, "Stop being a smartass, Spike." She dropped her hand away from his face, sighing, "Ugh, now I don't remember what I was gonna say."

"I think I got the point, luv," he assured her, and then he kissed her.

This took her by surprise, "So, you're okay?"

"Well, I did want it, but mostly just so it would be me who got it. I just wanted it for the sake of getting it. I don't really wanna be human though." He shook his head slowly, "Sad life, that is. No offence," he finished quickly.

Buffy ignored that last part and eyed him skeptically.

"Really, Buffy, I'm fine with it being Ang- Well, okay, no I'm not, but he wanted it for the right reasons and I just wanted to rub it in his giant forehead."

She couldn't help but laugh, and then she got serious, "Spike, I think that when it comes to the prophecy, Angel did deserve it."

Spike was a little hurt by this, which Buffy could tell from the expression on his face, so she quickly went on, "He's been fighting for a human life for years and years, and it hasn't been easy for him. But, I know that you are the better champion, Spike. You are."

"Sometimes, you're little sermons put me to sleep," he said, which Buffy rolled her eyes at, "but sometimes they're quite poetic."

She pretended to be thinking and replied playfully, "Hmmmm, I wonder where I picked that up from…"

"Oh, shut it, slayer," he said lightheartedly.

"Ahem," came a voice from behind them.

It caused Buffy to jump slightly. "Oh, Angel!" She said as she was getting up. Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"You know?" He asked her.

She nodded, "Well, you were breathing, so…"

"Oh, yeah…" He sighed in disbelief and grinned, "I feel amazing, Buffy. I'm alive!"

She smiled brightly at him.

Spike, who had been watching silently so far, walked up to Angel. "Uh, well, good for you mate," was all Spike could get out without causing himself any physical injury.

"Thank you, Spike," Angel replied suspiciously. It was rare for them to say anything nice to each other.

Angel looked around. Someone was missing. "Where's Faith?"

"She went downstairs to see the others."

"Good, hopefully everything's calm down there now. We should head down there too, you know, get out of this hellhole, and also, I think we should talk," he shrugged, "I have some things to tell you."

Buffy and Spike looked at each other, both were wondering what it was he had to say. "Okay," Buffy said unsurely.

"Who does he think he is giving us orders now?" Spike whispered to Buffy. She only shushed him.

The trio made their way downstairs in a comfortable silence, but it didn't last long.

As the elevator doors opened, the hysteria of the ground floor was revealed. Faith, Giles, Xander, and Illyria were caught up in battle with the countless Wolfram & Hart employees. And in the back of the lobby, Buffy could make out a familiar face watching the fight. They were as calm as could be.

Angel, by habit, started to rush into the room and join the fight, but luckily, Buffy and Spike pulled him back in time.

"Hold on, Peaches, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"I still know how to fight!" Angel protested.

"Angel!" Buffy said quickly, for she had something more important to deal with. "The difference between human and vamp strength will shock you. You're just not used to it yet. Don't do anything stupid and get yourself killed. Stay by Faith or Illyria."

Spike nodded in agreement.

Then Buffy pulled him out of the elevator with her. "See there, in the back? She's the one who did all that freaky mind stuff to us for the senior partners." Buffy couldn't believe that is was her.

Spike understood what she was getting to. "I'll cover you."

The two of them charged forward, taking out employee after employee. There was no stopping and no mercy for anyone, but the closer they got the more demons there were in the way, and they were harder to kill. Yet, they were still no match for Buffy and Spike together.

"Spike, we're almost there," Buffy yelled at him.

"Alright, keep it up, slayer!"

In the front of the lobby, Angel was not having an easy time.

"Jesus, Angel, what's wrong with you?" Xander asked him between hits. Something was very wrong when Xander was better at something than Angel.

"Angel…" Giles started to say and then he trailed off. It was obvious he was thinking a mile a minute now. "My God… That's what Faith was trying to tell us." He had stopped fighting now which was fine because most of the employees had swarmed Buffy and Spike, although Giles had no idea why. "You're a human now, aren't you? The Shanshu…"

"Yeah," Angel answered proudly, but suppressing a grin. He didn't mind the human strength, it would just take some getting used to.

"Well, that's fascinating…" Giles said, trailing off into his thoughts again.

"You'd think you would retain some more moves at least, but you just suck," Xander said gleefully. Yes, he was really enjoying this.

"Don't worry, Harris, I'll get it together and go back to kicking your ass at everything soon," Angel threw back at him.

Meanwhile, Spike and Buffy were making progress. They were slowly getting closer to the witch, and Buffy's blood lust was only getting stronger. "Almost there," Buffy whispered over and over to herself until there was a clear path. "Spike!" She yelled.

He turned around and saw the opening, "Go!" He shouted at her.

And then she ran. Enemies were charging her, but she knew Spike was right there behind her. He wouldn't let anyone get near her.

A few seconds later, the two women were standing face to face.

"Well, hi, Buffy. It's been a while."

"You know what, Amy, I liked you better when you were a rat," Buffy told her. She knew she didn't really have time to stand here and have a chat, so she pulled her arm back as quickly as she could, but she was immobilized before she could complete the punch.

"Buffy!" Spike bellowed, but he kept fighting.

"Oh, Buffy, so foolish of you. Yes, I'm no Willow, but I'm still pretty good."

"It doesn't matter, Amy, because one way or another, this will end," Buffy said threateningly.

"We'll see about that, slayer." Amy directed her attention towards the employees, who she was controlling, "I've got this, finish off the others."

"Spike go! Help them!"

He wasn't sure what to do, but he was smart enough to realize that if he tried to take out Amy he would just be immobilized like Buffy, or dead. Either way he'd be completely useless to everyone, so he listened to her and headed towards the others.

"This is much better. Now I get you all to myself," she said cheerfully.

"Actually," someone interrupted, "you don't. Sorry to ruin your plans, Amy, but then again you've never minded causing me trouble, so…"

It was Willow. The real Willow. No black hair or veins- none of it. The look on Amy's face was priceless. Nothing could've shocked her more. The same could probably be said for Buffy.

"W-Wha… How? You're supposed to be dead. I mean, one way or another… You were supposed to die no matter what."

"Oh, I thought that too, Amy. You know, you really did a good job. When I found out how much you had to do with this, well, I was impressed. And then of course I was angry, and I still am."

Amy was panicking one second and then completely calm the next. It was as if she had remembered something. "You don't have any magic in you anymore, Willow. You're putting on a tough show, but it's just a bluff."

"Is it, Amy?" Willow asked, smiling coyly.

"Yes. It is." And then she attempted to cast a spell towards Willow. But Willow blocked it, "It's over Amy."

"No!" She yelled and started to cast again, but Willow was too quick for her. The spell made Amy vanish.

Now Buffy was released and so were Amy's little minions.

"Was that her or did you do that?" Buffy asked, making sure Amy hadn't gotten away.

"Me," Willow said softly. "Well, not really me. It was Tara, her magic. Amy was right, I don't have it anymore… And, it's probably for the best."

Buffy nodded in agreement and she didn't feel bad about it.

"I thought you'd, like, sacrificed yourself or something," Buffy said to her.

"So did I," Willow confessed. "I don't know how I'm still here, Buffy, because I shouldn't be. But then I saw Tara and she told me that there was something I still had to do, so who knows. Maybe I'm done now."

Buffy didn't know what to say to that. "Where did you send her?"

Willow shrugged, "Somewhere safe for now, until I can deal with her."

The two women had remained hidden behind all the Wolfram & Hart employees standing around.

"Tara," Willow started to say without preamble, "told me that she was disappointed, but she understood and forgave me. I mean, I wasn't expecting her to say 'Good job, Wil!' or anything, but…" She trailed off.

"You said Amy had a lot of involvement?" Buffy asked, changing the subject. While she felt for Willow, and still loved her, she had nothing to say to her about Tara's words.

"Yeah. That old woman? Amy. I still chose to do this though, or I'm pretty sure I did. But it still makes me angry."

"Honestly, Willow," Buffy exhaled, "either way the world would have suffered. I can't say what situation would've been better, but I understand why you did everything. You had the right intentions, well, at least when you were in control and not the magic."

"Did I?" Willow asked rhetorically. "I'm not sure anymore."

Buffy shrugged, "I'm not sure what to tell you there. It's been so long since we've really known each other, Willow."

"I know. I'm sorry, Buffy, not for what happened recently, well, I am, but you know what I mean. I'm sorry for what happened at the end in Sunnydale, and after in England. That's where everything went wrong." She went silent, and then after a moment she went on, "I have to go now Buffy."

She nodded, "I know. I forgive you, Willow. Don't punish yourself for more than you need to. Do you know what will happen after you deal with Amy?"

"No," she answered softly.

"Are you scared?"

"Yeah," she said, but it sounded more like a question. "I don't know… Whatever happens happens." Willow looked around and then shrugged. "You're amazing, Buffy." And then she vanished.

Buffy was left there alone for a moment before Spike walked over. He glanced at the spot where Willow was standing a second ago, "I thought she was dead."

"Does anyone stay dead nowadays?"

Spike smirked.

"But, honestly, I dunno. Maybe she will be. Did the others see her?"

"No, I don't think so. They're all preoccupied with Angel. Are you gonna tell them about that?"

"Yeah, eventually. How's everyone?"

"Well, Angel's got a few scrapes, Faith's alright, but Giles and Xander are pretty drained."

"Oh God, they've been fighting down here for so long."

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Buffy. We had a lot to deal with ourselves. Otherwise we'd have been down here with them."

She nodded and grabbed his arm, "I'm happy you're okay."

Spike's mouth dried up as he thought about his last experience with the senior partners. "I am too," he said hoarsely. Then he laughed tensely, "I don't think we should get into this here."

Buffy laughed in relief, "I agree. There's too much…" She couldn't find the word to describe what she was feeling.

"Yeah," Spike agreed, understanding exactly what she meant. "We just need to focus on getting out of this hellhole."

"You don't think we're gonna be able to just walk out?" She asked disappointedly.

"I dunno, but I'd rather not assume it'll be easy."

Buffy sighed, "You're right. Besides, we still have to figure out what to do about the slayers the partners brainwashed."

Spike thought about that for a moment, "They'll fight us if we go in there or if they get out. It's what they've been programmed to do."

She sighed, there was no way they could continue fighting, especially slayers at that. All Buffy wanted to do was sleep, and maybe eat. "Well, I'll talk to Giles about that. Hopefully he has an idea. He and Andrew deal with the slayers, not me."

Spike wrapped his arm around her as they headed towards the others. "We can put that off for a while if we need to."

"Spike," Buffy said reprovingly, "we can't just leave them there. It's completely inhumane."

"Do you wanna keep fighting?"

"No, but I just… They didn't do anything to deserve this," she said tiredly.

"And you didn't do this to them, neither did Willow. It was all the senior partners."

She looked up and saw Xander and Giles. They looked like hell. "Oh... I'm so sorry." Buffy said and hugged them both.

"Don't worry, Buff, they were nothing we couldn't handle. Well, except that green guy," Xander said to Giles, who nodded in agreement. "But good ol' Blue over here showed him what was what."

Illyria stood there stoically.

"Well, as much as I'd like to stand around and rejoice and explain everything, I think it would probably be better to get outta here before anything else happens and someone dies," Buffy said seriously.

No one disagreed with that.

As they were heading for the elevator, she brought up the subject of the slayers to Giles.

"Well, I suppose we could stay in the vicinity, and after some rest go back down and try to talk to them. Maybe we could take one out and try to recondition her. It won't be that simple though." That was the best idea he had for now.

In the elevator, Buffy pushed the button for the basement, but nothing was happening.

"Blood again?" Buffy asked Spike, the blood conspiracy theorist.

"Most like," he answered grimly.

Buffy put the same finger up to the little needle and pressed her finger down. Nothing happened until she pressed the button again. After receiving a blood sacrifice, as small as it was, the elevator headed towards the basement.

"Thank God we're finally getting outta here," Faith muttered.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Buffy said seriously. "We still have a lot to do."

Xander and Faith glared at her. "Don't ruin it, Buff." Xander said pleadingly.

Buffy smiled, "Sorry, can't help it."

Xander sighed.

A few seconds later the lift stopped and the Scoobies piled out as quickly as possible.

"This way," Buffy commanded. She led the way to the back of the basement, making her way through the hallways towards the small back room where the portal sent them.

It couldn't be this easy, could it? Buffy, who was still a little jumpy from all the fighting, kept expecting someone to jump out and attack, but it never happened.

They reached the small back room quickly, and suddenly Buffy had a thought. What if the portal had closed? That was something she hadn't considered. She didn't voice this concern aloud though. Pushing the thought aside, Buffy opened the door.

The portal was still opened. Buffy silently laughed at her own paranoia. The group walked forward towards the swirling, dark red ball of energy.

"Okay, we don't know what's on the other side of that. We don't know how many other associates there are, or if the slayers are still locked up. I'm gonna go in there and make sure everything's fine. I'll be right back." After receiving nods all around, Buffy jumped through and headed back for their dimension.

Going through portals made her feel a little odd, but it wore off in a few minutes. She got up and headed up the staircase, and after that, through the other room. Now she was in the main area where the slayers were held. Buffy didn't get the feeling anyone else was around, but she had to be thorough. She tiptoed down a hallway, but she still didn't sense anyone near, except the slayers.

It was tempting to go and see them in person, but Buffy knew better. She left and headed back for her friends. She made it back down the staircase and through the portal. The ground greeted her, and Spike helped her up. "Okay, I don't think there's anyone else there besides the slayers, and they're still locked up. We should go now; I don't wanna risk them getting loose and attacking, or anyone else for that matter."

One by one the Scoobies went through the portal.

Then Buffy thought of something. "What should we do? I mean, I don't like that this link between the partner's dimension is here in our dimension."

They all thought about that for a minute, and then Angel looked at Illyria. "Couldn't you destroy this?" He asked her uncertainly.

"Of course." She answered emotionless as usual.

"But how? How are you getting you're power back?" Angel replied. "Nevermind, we can talk about this later."

"We'd really appreciate it if you could blow this thing to smithereens or, you know, however you do it, Blue." Spike appealed to her.

"Leave," was all she answered.

Spike and Angel looked at each other in confusion.

"Uh, yeah, alright," Spike said. "Well, let's leave the woman to her business then."

Buffy was unsure, but in the end she saw no other option, so she followed Spike and Angel out of the room.

In the small room, she turned to Spike and Giles, "I think you were both right about the slayers. There's no way we can deal with them right now, and even though I don't like leaving them in here it's the only thing we can do for now."

Giles thought about telling her not to feel guilty about this, but he knew it was pointless.

"But, I just hate the idea of leaving them here like this."

"I know, but don't worry, Buffy. We will come back for them," Giles assured her.

She nodded. All they needed to do was get out of here, and Illyria walked into the room right on time.

Buffy headed for the exit, "This way!" She led the rest of the gang back through the hallways which they entered and safely out of the L.A. underground.

There was one small problem, well, only for one person.

The sun was out; all bright and warm.

"Argh! Spike shouted as he covered his exposed areas. Even though his life was in danger, Spike now noticed how much damage his leather duster had taken. "Bloody hell," he muttered.

Giles took off his coat, also damaged, and draped it over Spike. There weren't many places for shade in this part of L.A. due to the epic battle with the senior partners.

"What does this mean?" Xander asked. "The sun," he said in clarification.

"Well," Buffy answered distantly, "the grass and trees have grown back too, so I think Willow reversed the all the destruction, at least to the environment."

Xander wasn't sure what to make of that in regard to Willow, so he didn't say anything. Besides, Buffy seemed very focused on something.

"What is that?" She asked. "Does anyone else see that?"

Far off in the distance, Buffy could make out moving objects, and maybe people.

"Yes, I see it." Giles said worriedly.

"They're comin' for us," Faith commented.

Buffy wasn't quite sure what to do. Should they stay or run? She had a feeling that they weren't in danger though. "I think they're humans."

Giles and Xander sat down while they were waiting, and Spike was still hiding under the two jackets. Otherwise everyone else stood around in anticipation.

It seemed to take forever for them to approach, but when Buffy made out the first figure heading towards them, she almost fainted. These small reunions were going to be the death of her.

The man in black was striding towards them with a big gun in his hands. He had also been a little panicked about this, but it was for different reasons.

He stopped a few feet away from the group.

He spoke first. "Buffy," he said with a nod of acknowledgement.

She nodded back and with a small smile addressed him with, "Riley."

Hey y'all, so, question : Do you want a chapter continuing Amy and Willow's thing, or would you rather leave what happens up to your own minds?

I hope Amy's appearance didn't seem out of nowhere. Like Willow said, she's had more involvement than I've let on, but I'm not gonna explicitly say anything about that though. Oh, and it's possible that bringing Willow back might seem like a cop out, but I hope that with how things go you'll end up being satisfied :)

SO, leave me a review, yeah?