Disclaimer:- See chapter one
Rating:- T
Chapter 28
"So, where are you taking me?" Buffy asked, looking up from the bottle she was making for Lucas to where Giles was standing at the pass-through.
"It's a surprise," he said grinning at her sigh as she twisted the top on the bottle and began to shake it.
"Ok, let me put it another way," she said tiredly, putting the bottle with the others she'd already made, leaving them to cool before she could put them in the fridge, "Is it fancy, fancier or casual?"
Giles looked at her pretending to think about it, "Fancy" he said after a few seconds, grinning at her relieved smile.
"Thank you, now I have to go and figure out what I'm going to wear before Lucas wakes from his nap" she told him, reaching up and pulling his head down for a kiss, "make sure Bash feeds Bear, he let's you do it too much, it's his job"
"Yes dear" he agreed dutifully, dodging the playful slap she aimed at his arm with a laugh.
She trudged up the stairs to their room, smiling at the giggle she could hear from Dawn inside. "You better not be in my underwear draw Dawn" she said, thinking of the toys that were kept in there. Bash was currently going through his curious about being a grown up phase and had started rummaging around in his Dads drawers which was where the toys had been originally kept.
"Eww gross" Dawn grimaced looking up at her from the magazine she was looking at with Willow, "why would I traumatise myself?"
"Whatever," she said pulling a face at her before turning away to hide the smirk, "Giles said it's fancy so I have to choose from the limited fancy dresses I have" Buffy said moving over to her wardrobe and pulling out the options.
"What about the one you bought the other day, that long floaty dark green one with the straps?" Dawn said standing and pulling it from the wardrobe, "You could totally pull this off with those glittery black heels"
"Is that really a fancy dinner dress though?" Buffy asked looking at it as she pulled at the skirt, "I figured this for more of a summer night dinner dress".
"Oh definitely" Willow said jumping up and diving into the wardrobe behind Dawn, "this one would be better" she said holding up her mid-length dark red velvet cowl neck dress.
"Ooh yeah, that one" Dawn agreed putting the other one back, "you could wear that gothic style coat with it, you know the one that's longer in the back, and these," she dived back into the wardrobe and pulled out her black patent leather Louboutin heels, "I'm so stealing these one day" Dawn said lovingly stroking them.
"Hands off!" Buffy said with a laugh, snatching them from her. "Ok, I'll wear that. Light make up or sexy vixen, ya know smoky eyes and like a mauve beige lipstick?"
Willow and Dawn looked at each other with identical evil grins, "Are you trying to give Giles a heart attack? Coz the sexy vixen look with that dressand those heelswould do the job perfectly" Dawn said as Willow fell back with a laugh at the eager look on Buffys face.
"Sexy vixen it is" she said walking over to her make up table and digging through the lipsticks, studiously ignoring Willow and Dawns devious laughter behind her.
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"Are you sure she won't have complete control?" Ethan asked Raven, staring at her with desperation.
"Yes I'm sure," she answered sounding more pissed off than she had the last time he'd asked. "She will still be able to compel you to do what she wants. I haven't been able to remove the spell completely but I have managed to tweak it enough that your emotions will play a part in shaking the full amount of control she will have over you"
"My emotion? What do you mean?" Ethan asked looking up at her in confusion as he stopped tying his shoes.
"What you feel you idiot, how you feel about what she wants you to do. It will loosen her compulsion just enough that hopefully you can resist it" she told him sounding bored now, "are we done now Rayne I have somewhere to be"
"Yes we're done, hopefully" he said sarcastically, finishing his laces with a little more force than necessary, "Still a grumpy bitch Raven"
She smiled at him and walked away, "And you're still a great lay" she called back over her shoulder.
Grinning he stood and followed her footsteps, sex with a Witch did have it's perks.
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"Buffy! We need to leave!" Giles called up the stairs for the third time, "What is so funny Dawn?" he asked impatiently as she giggled behind him on the sofa.
She immediately sobered and sat up straight, "Nothing," she cleared her throat and stared innocently up at him, "nothing at all"
He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious she was up to something, then turned away to continue his pacing while he waited for Buffy. On his third lap he looked up at the stairs as he turned and stood still in pleased surprise.
"Buffy...you look…" he trailed off, looking her up and down as she walked towards him. Her hair was slicked back in a low ponytail and she looked like a goddess in a deep red velvet dress that clung to her curves yet dipped loosely at her cleavage. He finally got to her feet and blinked at the shiny stilettos she was wearing, images of her wearing only them floating through his head.
"Will I do?" she asked turning in a slow circle, her coat hanging from her arm. She stopped and admired her man. The cut of his black Armani suit meant he'd had it tailored to fit him perfectly and the dark blue shirt loosely tucked into his pants but open at the collar made her mouth water. She was going to be the envy of every woman that saw him tonight.
"Will you do?" he spluttered, "Buffy, you're stunning" he told her as he stepped forward bending to crush his lips to hers.
"Oi! Do you mind?" Dawn shouted, laughing when Giles stood back from Buffy with an embarrassed blush growing on his cheeks.
"Shut up Dawn" Buffy said with a grin, checking her lipstick in the mirror near the front door. She turned back to glare at her sister, smirking as Giles seemed to follow her every move as she shook her coat out and swung it around her shoulders, "Lucas' bottles are in the fridge, use the warmer next to the kettle to heat them up not the microwave" she told her as she slid her arms into the sleeves.
"Yeah, I know, you've told me twenty damn times already, just go, have this thing called fun" she told her waving her off.
"Can we play my new game Mum?" Bash asked, jumping from the stairs and running back over to Dawn with a giggle at Giles' sigh.
"Yes and you can have those donuts your Dad brought home, but only two I don't want you high on sugar and running around the house when we get back" she told him sternly.
"Yeah ok, you look nice Mum" he said grinning at her from over the back of the sofa.
"Thank you sweetie" she said kissing her fingers and blowing him a kiss.
"Any problems, call" Giles said opening the door, "Ethan said he'll be out until later so you won't have to worry about him".
"Go already, you're gonna be late" Dawn said dismissing them with a wave of her hand.
Buffy and Giles left the house and heard Dawn and Bash laughing wickedly as they walked down the stairs to the waiting town car that Giles had hired for the night.
"Ooh fancy" Buffy said as she slid into the back seat, running a hand over the soft leather, "you're really going all out aren't you love"
"Of course, this is the first time I've actually taken you out for a romantic evening since you moved here" he said taking her hand and kissing her fingers, "and I can promise it won't be the last"
Buffy grinned at him and crossed her legs, watching as his eyes widened when he noticed the split that stopped half way up the side of her thigh for the first time. "See something you like?" she asked coyly.
"Everything" he said and the look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat.
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Buffy giggled to herself as they walked hand-in-hand out of the theatre. Giles had been too preoccupied with her to pay any real attention to the play he had taken her to see and had spent most of the last two hours dividing his time between the stage and her legs.
"Ya know Giles," she said conversationally, dropping his hand and sliding hers around his waist, "I don't know whether to be offended or not"
He looked down at the top of her head with a puzzled frown, "What do you mean love?"
"Well you can't seem to keep your eyes off me tonight and you were so surprised when you saw me for the first time earlier," she said with a grin, staring at the street in front of her, "you can't think I'm that pretty most of the time if you think I'm stunning now" forcing a slight whine to smother the laughter that wanted to burst out of her when she felt him tense.
He spluttered and pulled her to a stop, "Don't be ridiculous woman, you are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen" he said tilting her face up to his and rolling his eyes when he saw that she was laughing, "I saw you in this dress and straight away could see me taking it off that's what had me stunned"
"Oh yeah?" she responded with interest, winding her arms around his neck as she took a step closer, "Well this dress is very tight, I don't really want it damaged by a horny Ripper"
"Then I suppose I will have to just watch as you take it off" he whispered huskily, his eyes glazing with desire as his hands slid under her coat and cupped her backside and he began walking them backwards towards the alley behind them. He'd already whisked her into an empty room in the theatre during intermission and judging by the way his fingers were once again pulling up her skirt she was about to be treated to round two.
Buffys stomach gave a very loud reminder of how hungry she was at that point and they both laughed, "Right now I need food" she said laying her head against his chest "and it's probably not a good idea to do it in a very public place" she said with a grin as a group of people walked passed, sniggering as they looked back over their shoulders at them.
"That's an understatement" he chuckled. "Come on, we only have a short walk until we get there"
"And where is the driver and our car?" she asked slipping her arm though his as they carried on walking.
"Waiting outside of Le Gavroche hopefully" he said sliding his arm out of her grip and wrapping it around her shoulders.
They had just reached the restaurant when they both flinched at the loud burst of panic and fear in their heads from Bash. They looked at each other in a split second of surprise before running back to the car, diving into the back seat and telling the driver to get them home as fast as possible.
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Dawn sat on the sofa with Bash held tightly in her arms. She silently watched Buffy who was sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, her legs crossed with her hands on her knees and her scythe laid out on the floor in front of her. After they had burst through the front door and found her passed out on the floor of the kitchen and waited for her to come too, she'd changed out of her dress and into her battle gear then dropped to the floor after half an hour of pacing and hadn't moved since.
Giles had changed too, mirroring Buffy whether he meant to or not, and was now in his study talking on the phone and watching Willow perform location spells while Xander and Spike rallied the Watchers in charge of the Slayers at the dorms.
She was still fuzzy round the edges, waking up with Buffys terrified face right next to her had scared ten years off her life. Then she remembered why she had been sleeping in the first place and had staggered to her feet, confusion taking over as she was bombarded by questions from both her sister and Giles. She told them that someone had come up behind her and wrapped an arm around her throat as she was waiting for Lucas' bottle to warm up, that as she was losing consciousness she'd heard Bash's startled scream then his voice shouting for Ethan to stop. She couldn't tell them what happened to him and Bear and then Willow and Xander had been there, trying to keep them calm as Giles paced like an angry panther. That's when her tears had started.
The fear was still there; fear for Lucas because he was gone, fear for Ethan because Giles was pissed at him and fear for her sister because she was scarily quiet and that was never a good sign. Bash had curled up onto her lap, Bear laying next to her, groggy himself but still completely focused on protecting his small human, both of them watching the flurry of activity around them in a daze.
"Buffy?" Dawn called softly, trying to get her attention.
She opened her eyes and stared at her, an eerie calm emanating from her, "Is he ok?" she asked her, her eyes flickering to Bash who was still a little drowsy and dozing in his Aunts arms.
Dawn nodded and tightened her hold on him, "He's fine, what are you doing?"
"Trying not to give in to the need to just kick down every door in London until I find my baby" Buffy said her voice wavering a little as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Honestly, I'm just shutting everything away right now, it hurts to breathe if I let myself think...Lucas is…" she trailed off, her eyes becoming blank as she stared at something only she could see, the tears falling in an almost constant stream as she became silent again.
Giles walked into the room and moved straight to Buffy, responding to whatever he could hear or see in her head and crouched down in front of her, brushing his fingers down her cheek, "It's alright love, we'll find him, and Ethan" he added with a growl.
Buffy brought her hand up and held his to her face, her eyes closing as she leaned into the contact, "He would never do this, not willingly, you know that" she whispered, her eyes opening and staring at him with so much pain in them he shifted and pulled her into his arms.
"I know, I do, but I still want to thrash him for doing it" he said holding her to him tightly.
She sighed and pulled back, wiping her eyes before taking a deep breath and shaking herself as she settled back into her previous position, "I need to focus and not feel right now" she said closing her eyes, "so go away, all I wanna do when you're close is cry" she said, softening her words with a little smile.
Giles huffed a chuckle and pressed his lips to her head, "I'll always be close love" he whispered and her smile grew. He stood and moved to Dawn, resting a hand on Bash's head as he looked down at her, "How are you feeling Dawn?" he asked kindly.
"Stupid. Guilty. I should have protected them better" she said her eyes still on Buffy. She saw her tense and Giles flinched in response to whatever she had said in her head.
"It is not your fault Dawn, we don't blame you" Giles told her, his eyes boring into her conveying the conviction of his words and she could almost see Buffy in them, glaring at her through him.
She nodded and rested her head on Bash's, "I know that but it still feels like my fault"
Giles brushed a tear from her cheek and shook his head. Before he could say anything Willow ran into the room and pulled him away.
"Shut your bond down, now" she hissed, keeping her voice low so Buffy couldn't hear her. She waited until he nodded, "The location spells aren't working Giles, whatever she's done to cloak herself she's expanded it to include Ethan and Lucas"
"I knew that would be a possibility but I was hoping that my blood would help do what you did to find me" he sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "What else can we do?"
She chewed on her lip and looked over at Buffy, "There is one thing," she said, pulling him further back towards his study, "but it's horrible, mean even, I don't want to do it"
"What is it Willow?" he asked watching her battle with herself over what she knew needed to be done.
"You have to make Buffy break through that shield she's pulling around herself so she can focus on what she needs to do," she said with a sigh, "she needs to open up so she can feel Lucas"
"Your one suggestion is to torture her into finding Lucas" Giles hissed, "how will that help?"
"I know, I said it was mean didn't I?" She stood up straight and stared him in the eye "She is connected to Lucas far deeper than you are because she is his mother, he shared her blood for eight months. Plus she has access to her magic now, granted she hasn't used it in months but it's still there, she can find him Giles I know she can"
Giles sighed and turned away from her to watch Buffy. She had retreated deep inside herself to draw on the power of the Slayer to get her through this. He was in agreement with Willow, he'd known from the beginning that she was the key, but his entire being flinched away from doing what he knew he had to.
He walked away from Willow without a word, his gaze fixed on Buffy. He knelt in front of her and brought his hand up to her face, "Buffy, I need you to do something" he said softly, waiting for her to open her eyes. She looked at him and he almost didn't do it but his son was out there somewhere and that alone forced him to go ahead, "You need to feel now love, I need you to open yourself to it"
She shook her head, fear in her eyes, "I can't, Giles don't make me" she whispered, tears already filling her eyes.
Giles gritted his teeth against his guilt and forged ahead, "Lucas is out there, probably with Annabelle, he's scared and he wants his mother, you have to do this"
"Why are you saying this to me?" she whined, shrinking away from him, pain on her face.
"Because he's my son too and I want him back, you need to be his mother not the Slayer!" he said harshly and jumped when she surged to her feet with her scythe gripped tightly in her fist.
"Stop it Giles" she hissed, anger replacing the fear.
"No!" he surged to his feet and gripped her shoulders, "I feel the same as you do Buffy. It hurts like it did when Angelus snapped my fingers or when Annabelle drove that dagger into my shoulder or when you left me, only it is a thousand times worse because my heart is breaking knowing how scared he must be" his voice wavered, flinching when she shrugged off his hands and backed away from him.
"Giles what are you doing?" Dawn asked, shock heavy in her voice as she stared at what was happening, Bash shrinking against her as he watched warily.
"What I have to," Giles hissed advancing on Buffy, "She has the power to go to our son but she is choosing to hide just like she did after we defeated the First"
Buffys breathing sped up and she started to pace, her anger gone at his words only to be replaced by a crushing pain at the thought of her son in the hands of the monster that hurt Giles, who tortured Ethan and Peterson and ripped Jacobs apart. She looked down at the scythe gripped tightly in her hands, seeing herself throw it at Annabelle, and she realised this is what her dream had been telling her.
She closed her eyes and screamed out her frustration and pain, making everyone jump at the suddenness of it. The pressure that had been building inside of her released and she felt a surge of power explode out of her. Gasping she opened her eyes and saw everyone shielding their eyes at the sudden wind that had erupted from her at her scream.
"I can feel him" she whispered, lifting a hand to her stomach as she felt an insistent tugging, the wind fading as the power settled inside of her.
"Then go to him," Giles said reaching her side in an instant, "I'll drive. Willow can follow us and Xander and Spike can bring the other Slayers"
"No, no Slayers, this isn't their fight" Buffy said shaking her head, sniffing and wiping her face as she rolled her eyes up to his, "Willow can use her bat signal to come get us when we're done or if we need her but it needs to be just me and you"
"How do you know?" he asked her, letting her back in so she could see he hadn't meant a word of what he had said.
Buffy looked over at Willow with a grim smile, "I had a dream" she said, looking back at Giles, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't know it involved Lucas or I swear I would have"
"What, uh, what did you see?" he asked slowly, trying to wrap his head around the fact she had been able to keep it from him.
"Me fighting Annabelle"
She didn't wait for more questions, the tugging she felt becoming more persistent, instead she turned and ran at the door. She knew Giles would follow without question just like she knew he would be able to do nothing to stop what was coming.
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"He's actually quite cute isn't he" Annabelle said, looking down at Lucas with curiosity, "and he has magic this young, I can feel it"
"Bash was the same at that age" Ethan answered automatically, knowing that was what she wanted.
He was kneeling at a make shift altar, his hands resting on the table passively, staring straight ahead, outwardly doing exactly as she had ordered. Inside though he was trying to fight off her commands, his eyes darting nervously from Annabelle's face to Lucas lying quietly in her arms. The house that she had been hiding in was currently being renovated, plastic sheets and building materials littered the open space and Ethan was constantly trying to find something he could use to hide Lucas should he be able to shake off her control and stop her.
He was worried about the baby. He hadn't cried once, hadn't really moved since he had lifted him from the crib and taken him downstairs. He had drunk the bottle he had pulled from the warmer, his eyes not once leaving his face even when he changed him, staring at him as if he knew what was going on. Ethan had hesitated for a split second when he had reached the front door and he had smiled, relieved that he now had proof her compulsion was weakening. He still couldn't move on his own but his mind was clear, screaming with the desire to not be the good little automaton she had spelled him to be.
"It's nearly time little one" Annabelle whispered before laying Lucas on the altar. She undressed him leaving him laying naked on the altar cloth, then stood and left the room with his clothes gripped in her fist.
Ethan's eyes flicked down to him, his heart thudding painfully in his chest when he realised he was shivering. His desire to warm him, to pick him up and keep him safe, caused a reaction he wasn't expecting. His finger twitched.
Annabelle returned holding a vicious looking curved dagger which she placed on the altar near Lucas' head. "He is starting to creep me out, what kind of baby doesn't cry?" she asked her hand hovering maliciously over his face.
"Get. Away. From. My. Son" Buffy snarled, suddenly appearing behind Annabelle.
"And how did you get in?" Annabelle asked, actually looking worried.
"I let her in" Giles said, his voice completely calm even though his eyes were full of rage.
"Rupert, how nice of you to visit" Annabelle cooed, smirking at him from behind Ethan, "I wasn't aware you had enough power to break through my defences"
"I don't," he said, his tone calm and detached even though his eyes were practically aflame with the hatred burning from them.
"We do" Buffy said in the same monotone, her eyes moving from Lucas to Ethan before settling on Annabelle.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Annabelle asked in confusion, her gaze rapidly switching between Buffy and Giles.
They ignored her, automatically moving apart as they stepped closer, leaving nowhere for her to run. Buffys eyes were on Lucas, making sure he was unharmed and Ethan saw the exact second she noticed his shiver, her eyes hardened even more and she glared at Annabelle.
"Ethan pick up the dagger" Annabelle purred, grinning smugly at Buffy when he did exactly as he was told, "Now drive it into the baby's chest"
"No!" Giles cried lurching forward just as Ethan lifted the dagger.
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Buffy had seen something in Ethan's eyes; an awareness of what was happening burning from their depths when his hand grip the blade. When he started to swing the dagger down and her whole body twitched with the instinct to protect her son she didn't move, she couldn't she was frozen in place. An echo of the dream she'd had earlier in the year pulled at her attention causing the realisation that it had been a warning and she sucked in a surprise breath, blinking back tears when she tried and failed to move again. She shook her head, banishing the memory, and focused back on Ethan and the dagger that was gripped tightly in a shaky fist. Annabelle had been distracted by Giles' scream and turned to face him when he ran at them, surprised that Giles was attacking her, so she didn't see what Buffy did.
Ethan was crying.
As he brought the dagger down she saw the tears rolling down his face, panic and determination in his eyes. She had also seen his arm twitch, his wrist turn and the dagger move swiftly away from Lucas. Too late she realised what he was doing, what he had been able to do at the last possible second.
"Ethan!" she screamed his name as he plunged the dagger into his own chest. She surged forward, relief tearing through her that she could move, and lifted Lucas from the table as Ethan stared up at her with a proud smile.
"I did it" he gasped then fell sideways onto the floor, his hand slipping from the hilt of the dagger.
Annabelle flung Giles into a pile of plaster board and turned at her scream, "No! How!" she shouted in disbelief, seeing Buffy holding Lucas and Ethan bleeding on the floor.
"Guess you have no idea how much family means to some people" Buffy sneered at her, moving slowly past her towards Giles, her scythe held tightly in her hand in front of Lucas.
Annabelle watched her move, her eyes narrowing at the scythe as she remembered what it was capable of. She looked around herself at the discarded tools and smirked, seeing other ways she could get what she wanted.
Buffy risked looking down at Giles and saw his eyes open, staring at her and Lucas, "Can you take him?" she asked, watching Annabelle closely as she crouched down next to him.
He nodded and held his arms out, taking the weight easily and shifting with a groan when Buffy slipped her jacket off and lay it over Lucas. You can't fight her, she's too powerful he said watching her intently.
She looked down at him, smiling tightly as she stood, I have to. I'll keep you both safe don't worry she told him as she moved away.
"Do you really think you can fight me little girl?" Annabelle goaded, her hands twitching at her sides.
"I've fought tougher things than you and walked away" Buffy said letting the scythe hang at her side, "even fought my best friend once and she was super bitch at the time"
"Without that weapon you stand no chance against me and you know it" Annabelle laughed, raising her hands and swinging them towards Buffy.
Hammers, spanners, crowbars and various power tools all flew through the air towards Buffy. She spun in front of Giles and knocked most of the make-shift missiles away from them, her hand raised instinctively creating a shield deflecting the bigger tools. Her eyes widened when the shield flickered and vanished, and she dove in front of Giles when she saw a screwdriver hurtling towards his face, letting it impale her arm with a hiss.
"Oh look, I've hurt you, yay me" Annabelle crowed happily, bouncing on the spot and clapping.
Buffy called for Willow as she jumped to her feet, glaring at Annabelle when she realised what she was going to do and ignoring Giles' frantic pleading echoing in her head. Seeing her appear from the corner of her eye, she advanced on the crazy Witch in front of her, pulling the screwdriver from her arm and throwing it at Annabelle to distract her "Get them out of here" she ordered, refusing to look back at them as she hooked a hammer with her foot and kicked it towards Annabelle, keeping her distracted and giving Will the opportunity to safely get to Giles and Lucas.
"No, Buffy!" Giles' panicked voice echoed behind her before she felt the tingle of magic that meant he was gone.
She grinned at Annabelle and gripped the scythe tighter, "Just us, now we can really play" she said, ducking under a blast of magic as she charged her.
Giles thrust Lucas into Willows arms, telling her to take him home and ran back at the house, not seeing Willow's confused frown as she tried to do as he said. He heard a crash and Buffys voice crying out in pain and his desperation to get to her rose. He couldn't feel her in his head and knew she had shut him out. It didn't help that he knew she was trying to protect him, his panic overwhelmed him regardless.
He picked up a brick and threw it at the front window, quickly ducking when it bounced off and flew back at him. He shook off his surprise and slammed his body into the front door, grunting when he felt pain bloom from the shoulder that was hurt when he had hit the plasterboard. Annabelle's maniacal laugh had him doing it again and again, gritting his teeth against the pain.
Buffy heard him trying to get in and stepped up her attack, feeling the magic brush past harmlessly as Annabelle threw another spell at her. She picked up a wrench and threw it, grinning in satisfaction when she only just managed to deflect it. She rolled out of the way of a sheet of chipboard that flew through the air, feeling it disturb the air above her as she came to a stop beside Ethan's body.
Tearing her eyes away from his sightless ones staring at her, his face still showing the ghost of the proud smile he'd worn when he had died, she leapt up and over the altar and managed to connect a kick to Annabelle's stomach. Following it with a flurry of rapid punches, grunting with the effort.
She cried out in pain when a belt sander swung though the air and connected with her shoulder with the force of a wrecking ball, staggering away from her as she blinked away the stars dancing in her eyes. She yelled in surprise when she was lifted off her feet and thrown backwards, twisting in the air and landing with a wince when her hip slammed into a fallen brick.
She winced and gasped at the pain in her shoulder, her arm hanging uselessly at her side. Her head was pounding and she felt dizzy courtesy of the ceiling that had fallen on her and judging by the slick warmth she felt running down her neck she was still bleeding which explained the sudden wave of fatigue that swept through her.
"I find I'm bored of this now, you're no fun to play with" Annabelle pouted, "I wanted to make you scream!" she shouted slamming her fists into the floor, "You and Rupert, while you were bleeding and crying about your little baby" she rolled her eyes, "but you both keep coming out on top no matter what I do but not this time" she muttered, wiping at the blood on her lip as she stood.
Buffy had found it hard not to burst into laughter during her little tantrum, "Still blaming me for Giles leaving you? Grow up! I didn't ask for it to happen, neither did he. Do you think either of us wanted to lose our childhood to freaks like you?!" she shouted at her in annoyance.
Annabelle sneered at her and dropped her head, she settled her hands down at her waist, muttering words Buffy didn't understand. She watched as a ball of energy the colour of a new bruise formed between her hands and, for the first time since she started fighting her, felt fear flutter in her chest when Annabelle raised her hands and threw the ball at her, grinning smugly.
This was it. The moment she had dreamt of. She saw it happen, the magic hitting her despite the scythe being gripped in her hands, heard the muted thud as her body hit the floor, and she closed her eyes thinking of her boys and Giles, her heart and soul.
She gasped and opened her eyes with a smirk, seeing something else she hadn't seen before. She flipped the scythe in her hand and threw it with all of her strength at Annabelle, watching it fly through the air like a spear. It cut through the ball of energy splitting it in two but it was too late, it was still too close to her. Half of it was still going to hit her and she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid it.
She had the satisfaction of seeing the scythe impale Annabelle through the heart just before she was hit by the magic. She flew backwards, mirroring Annabelle's flight threw the air, the crack of the wooden frame behind her masking her gasp of pain when she felt the wood pierce her back.
She hit the wall with a sickening thud and slid to the floor unconscious. Only Ethan's sightless eyes witnessed the blood trickle from the corner of her mouth.
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Giles finally managed to get through the door, staggering into the hallway when whatever spell that had prevented him from getting in vanished. He stood there staring in surprise at the sight of Annabelle pinned to the wall with the scythe sticking out of her chest. Pride and relief that Buffy had done it was marred by the fear that she had succumbed to Annabelle's magic when he didn't see her standing there smiling up at him.
Tearing his eyes away he saw Ethan's lifeless body laying partially covered by the debris of the collapsed ceiling. He blinked, knowing that this pain would cut deeper than he would ever admit as more of his past was torn violently from his life and forced himself to move. His eyes moving rapidly over the piles of rubble and ruined building materials searching for her even as he stumbled through the ruins of the house.
Finally he found her, laying slumped against the outer wall of the house. "Buffy!" he cried, stumbling over to her and tripping on a section of the ruined framework of a partition wall. He fell in front of her with a gasp of pain, rolled to his side and looked up at her face, his heart shattering inside of his chest.
"Buffy?" his voice breaking as he reached out and touched her knee, seeing her leg bent at an impossible angle under her. He pulled himself closer, ignoring the wood and brick digging into his stomach as his hand moved to her wrist, crying out in relief when he felt a pulse fluttering weakly under his fingers as he pushed himself to his knees, brushing the hair away from her face.
Xander came barrelling into the house with Spike behind him, "Holy shit!" he gasped when he saw Annabelle pinned to the wall. He looked around and ran towards Ethan, shoving plaster board off of his body and feeling at his neck for a pulse. He closed his eyes, surprised that he was feeling sadness when he felt no sign of life, then looked up, shaking his head at Spike when he saw his questioning gaze.
"I'll take him out to the ambulance, won't get a gurney in here" Spike said crouching down and lifting his body into his arms with a level of respect that surprised Xander.
Giles had gathered Buffy to him, her limp body hanging from his arms as he stood. Xander watched as he walked through the rubble and out of the house, the image causing him to flinch away from the memory of the last time Giles had carried her body away. He followed him as far as the front door and watched as he lay her on her side on the gurney Neville had just removed from the second ambulance.
He watched dispassionately as the Council officers, who were dressed like actual policemen, formed a barrier between them and the growing crowd of people watching what was happening with interest. His gut twisted with dread when he realised that the press would probably be here soon and he could feel the future headache that dealing with them would give him.
Clearing his throat he turned back to face Annabelle, putting away the problems of tomorrow and focused on what he actually had the ability to control now. Gritting his teeth against the wave of rage and grief, he was just about to reach out and check she was actually dead when Willow stopped him.
"Magdalene is coming for her" she whispered brokenly, Lucas still laying peacefully in her arms and looking at something over her shoulder, "We have to make sure she is really well and truly gone and that includes her magic"
"Right because of the whole Eyghon thing, gotcha" he said, "but Buffy is gonna need her scythe back so make sure she does, get it back I mean, coz she needs it"
"Xander" Willow said sadly, her eyes filling at the pain on her friends face, "I couldn't feel her, she isn't in there"
"But she's alive Will, I could see her breathing" Xander said desperately, his eyes on her ambulance as it started to drive off.
"Her body is alive, badly injured but alive," Willow said in that same soft voice, her eyes willing him to understand, "but she isn't in it"
"But you can get her back right?" Xander asked hopefully.
"Maybe, we have to figure out what spell was used first" Willow said, bouncing a now whimpering Lucas, "Can you take him back to the house? I need to stay here"
Xander blinked owlishly at the empty doorway for a few seconds before shaking his head and focused on her before nodding, "Sure, come here little guy" he said, gently sliding Lucas out of her arms, making sure Buffys jacket was wrapped tightly around him, "let's get you home"
Willow watched him walk down the steps towards Spike who was waiting by the car and wrapped her arms around herself. Her shoulders shook as she let her tears fall and she turned away from them, staring at the pool of Ethans blood before her gaze drifted to the place Buffy had landed, a sob escaping her control when she saw the blood there as well.
She shut the front door and waited for Magdalene to arrive in the silence of a grave.