REVELATIONS
"Tatra astratta ormistroben azarta eargrets deridsa veratos canda"
Anya suddenly bolted upright in her bed, covered in sweat. She had been asleep. She was dreaming about the usual (Xander, sex, not being dead) when some strange words were chanted loudly. She'd never heard them before, and she didn't know what they meant. She tried remembering them as she got out of bed in search for a pen and piece of paper, but they'd happened so suddenly she hadn't had time to remember them. She gave up. "Dammit." she muttered as she walked back into her room and got back into her bed.
A group of three vampires had been chasing a young woman through the town for a short while when she hit her foot on the edge of a drain grating and fell over. She rolled onto her back to see the vampires walking over to her. The leader bent over to look her directly in the face. "Which'll it be, honey?" he asked, mockingly. "We just kill you, or turn you into one of us?" He laughed, triggering the other two to start laughing with him.
"Neither." said a voice behind them. As soon as they heard it, one of the minions turned to dust. As it drifted to the ground, the two remaining vampires saw a tallish man wearing a black jacket, red jumper and had bleached, slicked back hair. But it wasn't a man. The vampires could sense it was one of them. And not just any vampire.
"Spike..." the leader murmered loudly, staring at the vampire. Spike smiled.
"You were expecting someone else?" he asked. The second vampire ran at him, but didn't stand a chance as Spike swiftly staked him. The remaining vampire forgot about the woman as she fled down the street. Instead he charged at Spike. Spike aimed the stake foward, allowing the vampire to run straight into it. As the last vampire's remains drifted away in the air, Spike looked at both his hands. He laughed, then walked back down an alley.
"It sounded latin?" Giles asked Anya about the chanting in her dream.
"Yeah." she answered. "I don't remember how it went." Xander clicked his fingers.
"Could this be to do with this business that Fletchin or whatever his name was was talking about?" he asked.
"Maybe." Giles answered. "We'll have to ask him tonight."
"I think it's a bunch of crap, personaly." Anya mentioned. "I can't see me being Earth's only hope."
"Yes. It defeats us all." Giles replied. Anya gave him a funny look.
"Hey!" she said.
"Maybe the words were part of some kind of ritual." Giles suddenly thought aloud.
"Ritual for what?" Xander asked.
"I'm not sure." Giles answered. "Are you sure you didn't dream of anything else?" he asked Anya.
"Sure." she replied. "When've we gotta go to that bar again?" she asked Xander.
"Eleven." he answered. "We might go earlier, though. Depends how bad I want to get drunk."
"We're not going so you can get drunk." Giles told him. "We're there to find out about what we're up against."
"And I'm not helping drag you back home."Anya added.
"Are you sure we can trust this demon?" Giles asked them. "He did give Anya that big cut on her head." Anya felt the bandage covering it up.
"Not the politest of entrances." Xander said. "But it's the only lead we've got. May as well try it. And if this demon tries anything, we can just kick it's ass."
"Can't disagree with that." Anya told him.
Buffy walked into Angel's old residence. It looked slightly different than it used to. More dusty, and older than it's old look before. Angel walked round the corner to see who had entered. "Buffy." he stated the obvious. "What are you doing here?"
"Just dropping by." she explained. "Actualy, I have something to tell you." Buffy coughed slightly and looked at the ground, not sure how to bring it up. "Me and Riley are..." she began.
"Getting married." Angel finished. Buffy was suprisingly shocked at how he knew this. And how he'd said it so bluntly.
"How did you...?" she began to ask. Again, Angel butted in.
"That wedding ring on your finger kinda gave it away." he explained. Buffy looked at it, then at Angel.
"I thought I'd better tell you." she told him.
"Look," Angel said. "It doesn't bother me that much anymore. Riley can take you places before dark, won't lose his soul and kill everyone... I could never give you that. I finished our relationship for a reason. That reason." Buffy couldn't think of anything to say for a while.
"You're dealing with me and Riley a lot better than last time you where here." she said.
"I've done some thinking." Angel replied. Buffy wandered around, then faced Angel again.
"You still coming tonight? To Willy's?" she asked. Angel nodded.
"I'm here to help stop this thing. Of course I'm going." he answered. Buffy nodded.
"Riley'll be there." she warned.
"It's fine." Angel told her. "I'm ok with it."
"Just telling you so you know in advance." Buffy explained. "I'd better go. I'm supposed to be meeting Giles about this Anya stuff." she told him. Angel nodded.
"See you later, then." he said. Buffy walked out into the sunlight as Angel went back around the corner to avoid it.
Willow walked into the crypt, trying to let as little light in as possible. Spike turned around to see her, then waved using his new hand. "Look what I got!" he told her. Willow walked over to him.
"I told you it'd grow back." she said. "There's something happening tonight at Willy's Place. We're meeting a demon about what's going on."
"Night?" Spike asked, wondering if he'd actually be able to get there without going up like a match.
"Yeah." Willow answered. "But I'm not sure if you should go." Spike gave her a questioning look.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Angel's going. He doesn't know about you. He might get, you know, angry." Willow replied.
"Angel? He's here in Sunnydale?" Spike asked. Willow nodded. "Damn! When'd he get here?"
"Yesterday. Last night." Willow told him.
"He's gonna find out sooner or later." Spike explained. "Better it be sooner. And from me."
"Alright then." Willow said, giving in. "But don't start fighting each other." Spike laughed.
"Promise." he told her, then held her tight, kissing her at the same time. They were suddenly interupted by a ringing sound. Willow took her phone out of her pocket.
"Hello?" she asked. Spike watched, he didn't know Willow actually owned a cellphone. "Ok." she said, then pressed a button and replaced it into her jacket. "I gotta go." she said.
"Yeah. See you tonight." Spike replied. "What time?"
"About eleven." Willow answered. Spike nodded. Willow left, then Spike remembered something. He didn't have a watch. Or clock. And couldn't use a sundial in case he combusted.
"Damn." he said to himself.
Riley heard a knock at his dorm room door. He stood up and opened it. Buffy walked in, kissing him on the way past. "Hi." she said.
"Hi." Riley replied. "What's new on the big bad front?"
"Xander and Anya met up with a demon who's promising info on it." Buffy answered. "We've gotta go to Willy's again tonight.
"Ok." Riley replied. "When?"
"About eleven." Buffy told him.
"Who's going?" Riley asked.
"Oh, everyone. Me, you, Will, Giles, just about everyone who knows about it." Buffy answered.
"Angel?" Riley asked, bluntly.
"Yeah." Buffy replied. "But if it bothers you..."
"It doesn't. As long as we don't start fighting again." Riley answered.
"Good. That won't happen." Buffy told him.
"Anyway, how do we know we can trust this demon?" Riley questioned.
"We don't." Buffy replied. "If worst comes to the worst, we'll just kill it."
"Good tactics." Riley told her. She smiled. "What'll we do before then?"
"We'll think of something." Buffy replied. Riley kissed her.
Nightfall. Angel decided he'd wander around for a while to pass the time away. Maybe even slay a few vampires as he did so. He walked into the graveyard, looking around for anything. He saw nothing. He carried on searching. It reminded him of the days when he stayed in Sunnydale. When he was with Buffy. He tried not to remember his feelings in case they got in the way of his fighting. When he found out she was engaged, it had shocked him. But he knew he couldn't do anything like that, due to him being immortal and her not being. Even with the revelation that he'd one day be human, he realised it wouldn't be while Buffy was alive.
Something caught his eye. Something moving. Angel quickly hid behind a bush to get a better veiw. He looked at the person. It was Willow. He was puzzled slightly as to why she was alone in the graveyard at night, but he thought he'd better not give himself away. Instead, he followed her to see where she was going, and, more importantly, to stop her from being killed.
Willow stopped at a crypt, and Angel hid behind another bush. Willow looked around, but didn't see him. Angel watched as she opened the door and walked in. Angel quickly jogged over to the entrance and peered round. He saw Willow in the crypt, then someone else emerge from the shadows. It quickly walked over to Willow as Angel recognized him. "Spike..." he murmered, then charged in. Spike looked at him, recognized him, then got the full force of Angel's fist in his face.
"Angel! Stop!" Willow cried out as Angel leapt over to Spike, ready to dust him with the stake he had. Angel stopped himself from driving the stake into Spike's heart, then jumped up, away from him.
"What? Why?" he asked her. Spike stood up, holding his bleeding nose.
"Ever heard of knocking on the door?" Spike asked, pissed off.
"It's complicated." Willow explained.
"He was gonna kill you!" Angel explained, defending himself.
"No I wasn't!" Spike replied. "I can't kill people anymore."
"That's right!" Willow said.
"Huh?" Angel grunted, getting confused. "Why not?"
"Got a chip put in my head to stop me." Spike explained. "Can't hurt or kill people anymore. But I can kill demons and vampires." Willow nodded in agreament.
"Well, if that's true, why'd he go for you like that?" Angel asked, puzzled.
"Because, er, because..." Willow tried to think of an excuse.
"You may as well tell him." Spike told her. Angel looked at the two.
"Tell me what?" he asked, even more confused.
"Well, me and Spike are..." she started, but found it hard to explain.
"In love with each other." Spike finished her sentance. This topped off Angel's confusion.
"What?" he asked, not quite beleiving it.
"We're together now." Willow told him. "But you can't tell anybody. Especially not Buffy."
"She's gonna find out sooner or later." Angel told her.
"Yeah, from me." Willow replied. "Just not yet. It'll complicate things." Angel looked at Spike.
"You really can't kill anybody?" he asked.
"I already told you. Now piss off." Spike answered. Angel stared at him, grinned slightly, then walked out. "Bastard." Spike muttered.
Buffy looked at her watch. 10.57. Close enough. She walked into Willy's Place with Riley, Xander, Anya and Giles. Angel was going to meet them there, as was Willow. Angel was already there, and they walked over to him. Angel turned around and stood up. He looked at Riley, who looked back. They didn't say anything. Buffy could feel the tension between them. "Where's Willow?" she asked.
"She was..." Angel began. He then remembered Willow didn't want him to let anyone know, so tried to think of an excuse.
"I'm here." Willow told her, walking towards them. Spike followed her. Buffy looked at him, then Willow.
"What's he doing here?" she asked. Willow looked at Spike.
"He's helping." Willow answered.
"I already know he's here." Angel explained. "I've met him already."
"Hey, I can talk, you know." Spike told them, sick of being ignored.
"Yeah, fine, whatever." Buffy said, giving up. "I don't have time to argue." She looked around.
"Slayer!" came a voice from one side of the bar. They all turned to see who it was. Buffy and Riley recognised it from the previous day in the bar. Xander, Anya and Angel recognised it as the demon they let go last night. Giles recognised it as an Estratten demon. Willow didn't recognise the demon. Spike recognised the demon nearby who owed him money. The demon stood up after seeing Spike and quickly left.
"Fletchin." Xander stated, remembering the name. Fletchin nodded.
"You have information on this new danger?" Giles asked him.
"Yeah." Fletchin answered. "And how to stop it."
"Spill." Buffy demanded, sitting down.
"About 600 years ago, a sorcerer living in Premaria was caught by witch-hunters. They burnt his house down, but the sorcerer's body was never found. It was thought that he'd cast a spell to protect his spirit in the amulet he always wore." Fletchin explained.
"The Premarian Amulet..." Giles said, recognising the tale.
"Huh?" Willow asked. "Didn't we destroy it?"
"Obviously not." Giles told her.
"Anyway, a group of Sinkata demons have been searching for it for ages now. When they get it, they would be able to free the spirit. This would then be able to possess any living thing it wanted." Fletchin continued.
"How do we stop it?" Buffy asked, eagerly."
"You don't." Fletchin told her, bluntly. "She does." He pointed at Anya. "She is The One. The one who can destroy the Sorcerer of Premaria."
"How do I do that?" Anya asked, starting to like being 'The One' for a change.
"In the days coming up to the final battle, you shall gain new powers and knowledge. With these, you can stop the Sorcerer before he causes the destruction of Earth." Fletchin explained. "This is all I know."
"Well, that leaves a lot to be asked." Buffy told him, slightly annoyed that they didn't learn much from this.
"It will all be understandable soon." Fletchin told her. He stood up, took his jacket off the chair, and walked towards the exit. He turned around. "Protect her." he told them, pointing to Anya again. "If she dies, then we all do." With that, he spun around and left the bar.
Buffy and Willow walked into their dorm room as they got back from their meeting. Willow closed the door and walked over to her bed. She sat on it. "What's with Spike keep helping us?" Buffy asked, just out of curiosity. "I thought he kept saying he hated us all."
"He's different." Willow told her. "Why does it bother you that he wants to help stop this thing?"
"It doesn't." Buffy exclaimed. "It's just strange."
"He's changed. A lot. You don't know what he's like." Willow tried to explain.
"How do you?" Buffy asked, wondering why she kept sticking up for him. And seeing him more than usual. Willow suddenly froze up, thinking of excuses.
"I... erm.. We..." she tried saying. She then stopped and decided to tell her the truth. "We're in love." Buffy's jaw dropped.
"Huh? Wha? Da?" Buffy asked. Willow wasn't sure what she was saying exactly, but knew what she was trying to ask.
"What? I can't fall in love with a vampire, but you can?" she asked.
"Angel was different!" Buffy told her. "He had a soul! He didn't try to kill us repeatedly..." She then remembered when he lost his soul, and had tried to kill her, Willow and everyone else.
"Or is it that Spike isn't female? Is that it?" Willow asked her.
"No!" Buffy explained.
"I'm not a lesbian, I'm bi-sexual!" she insisted. "Nobody remembers that."
"Look, Spike's evil." Buffy told her bluntly. "I thought even you knew that. He even tried killing you!"
"In the past, yeah!" Willow argued. "But this is now. And I love him now. And he loves me."
"How do you know that?" Buffy asked, trying to convince her it's a bad idea dating a mass-murderer.
"Because I do." Willow declared. "How do you know Riley doesn't love you?"
"That's harsh." Buffy told her, realising she wasn't going to get through this argument without someone's feelings being hurt. Or even both of their's. "Look, I just want to make sure you don't get hurt, that's all."
"I won't." Willow told her. "I'm gonna get some sleep."
"Will, I'm sorry." Buffy told her, trying to clear things up between them. Willow stopped, then started calming down.
"It's ok." she said. "I can see how you'd be worried." She smiled at her. "Still friends?"
"Still friends." Buffy answered, smiling.
"Tatra astratta ormistroben azarta eargrets deridsa veratos canda"
Anya woke up instantly again. It was the second night in a row those words had been in her dreams. She looked over to her side at Xander, and shook his arm. He mumbled something, then woke up slowly. "What is it?" he asked, still half asleep.
"I just heard the words again." she told him. Xander rubbed his eyes and sat up next to her. He put his arm around her.
"I thought I heard something, too. It might've been you in your sleep." he explained.
"How?" she asked. "I don't remember what they went like."
"I don't know, then." Xander told her. "We'll ask Giles about it tomorrow. Try to get some sleep." He laid down again and closed his eyes. Anya stayed sitting up for a few moments, then laid down. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. She couldn't.
"Tatra astratta ormistroben azarta eargrets deridsa veratos canda"
Anya suddenly bolted upright in her bed, covered in sweat. She had been asleep. She was dreaming about the usual (Xander, sex, not being dead) when some strange words were chanted loudly. She'd never heard them before, and she didn't know what they meant. She tried remembering them as she got out of bed in search for a pen and piece of paper, but they'd happened so suddenly she hadn't had time to remember them. She gave up. "Dammit." she muttered as she walked back into her room and got back into her bed.
A group of three vampires had been chasing a young woman through the town for a short while when she hit her foot on the edge of a drain grating and fell over. She rolled onto her back to see the vampires walking over to her. The leader bent over to look her directly in the face. "Which'll it be, honey?" he asked, mockingly. "We just kill you, or turn you into one of us?" He laughed, triggering the other two to start laughing with him.
"Neither." said a voice behind them. As soon as they heard it, one of the minions turned to dust. As it drifted to the ground, the two remaining vampires saw a tallish man wearing a black jacket, red jumper and had bleached, slicked back hair. But it wasn't a man. The vampires could sense it was one of them. And not just any vampire.
"Spike..." the leader murmered loudly, staring at the vampire. Spike smiled.
"You were expecting someone else?" he asked. The second vampire ran at him, but didn't stand a chance as Spike swiftly staked him. The remaining vampire forgot about the woman as she fled down the street. Instead he charged at Spike. Spike aimed the stake foward, allowing the vampire to run straight into it. As the last vampire's remains drifted away in the air, Spike looked at both his hands. He laughed, then walked back down an alley.
"It sounded latin?" Giles asked Anya about the chanting in her dream.
"Yeah." she answered. "I don't remember how it went." Xander clicked his fingers.
"Could this be to do with this business that Fletchin or whatever his name was was talking about?" he asked.
"Maybe." Giles answered. "We'll have to ask him tonight."
"I think it's a bunch of crap, personaly." Anya mentioned. "I can't see me being Earth's only hope."
"Yes. It defeats us all." Giles replied. Anya gave him a funny look.
"Hey!" she said.
"Maybe the words were part of some kind of ritual." Giles suddenly thought aloud.
"Ritual for what?" Xander asked.
"I'm not sure." Giles answered. "Are you sure you didn't dream of anything else?" he asked Anya.
"Sure." she replied. "When've we gotta go to that bar again?" she asked Xander.
"Eleven." he answered. "We might go earlier, though. Depends how bad I want to get drunk."
"We're not going so you can get drunk." Giles told him. "We're there to find out about what we're up against."
"And I'm not helping drag you back home."Anya added.
"Are you sure we can trust this demon?" Giles asked them. "He did give Anya that big cut on her head." Anya felt the bandage covering it up.
"Not the politest of entrances." Xander said. "But it's the only lead we've got. May as well try it. And if this demon tries anything, we can just kick it's ass."
"Can't disagree with that." Anya told him.
Buffy walked into Angel's old residence. It looked slightly different than it used to. More dusty, and older than it's old look before. Angel walked round the corner to see who had entered. "Buffy." he stated the obvious. "What are you doing here?"
"Just dropping by." she explained. "Actualy, I have something to tell you." Buffy coughed slightly and looked at the ground, not sure how to bring it up. "Me and Riley are..." she began.
"Getting married." Angel finished. Buffy was suprisingly shocked at how he knew this. And how he'd said it so bluntly.
"How did you...?" she began to ask. Again, Angel butted in.
"That wedding ring on your finger kinda gave it away." he explained. Buffy looked at it, then at Angel.
"I thought I'd better tell you." she told him.
"Look," Angel said. "It doesn't bother me that much anymore. Riley can take you places before dark, won't lose his soul and kill everyone... I could never give you that. I finished our relationship for a reason. That reason." Buffy couldn't think of anything to say for a while.
"You're dealing with me and Riley a lot better than last time you where here." she said.
"I've done some thinking." Angel replied. Buffy wandered around, then faced Angel again.
"You still coming tonight? To Willy's?" she asked. Angel nodded.
"I'm here to help stop this thing. Of course I'm going." he answered. Buffy nodded.
"Riley'll be there." she warned.
"It's fine." Angel told her. "I'm ok with it."
"Just telling you so you know in advance." Buffy explained. "I'd better go. I'm supposed to be meeting Giles about this Anya stuff." she told him. Angel nodded.
"See you later, then." he said. Buffy walked out into the sunlight as Angel went back around the corner to avoid it.
Willow walked into the crypt, trying to let as little light in as possible. Spike turned around to see her, then waved using his new hand. "Look what I got!" he told her. Willow walked over to him.
"I told you it'd grow back." she said. "There's something happening tonight at Willy's Place. We're meeting a demon about what's going on."
"Night?" Spike asked, wondering if he'd actually be able to get there without going up like a match.
"Yeah." Willow answered. "But I'm not sure if you should go." Spike gave her a questioning look.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Angel's going. He doesn't know about you. He might get, you know, angry." Willow replied.
"Angel? He's here in Sunnydale?" Spike asked. Willow nodded. "Damn! When'd he get here?"
"Yesterday. Last night." Willow told him.
"He's gonna find out sooner or later." Spike explained. "Better it be sooner. And from me."
"Alright then." Willow said, giving in. "But don't start fighting each other." Spike laughed.
"Promise." he told her, then held her tight, kissing her at the same time. They were suddenly interupted by a ringing sound. Willow took her phone out of her pocket.
"Hello?" she asked. Spike watched, he didn't know Willow actually owned a cellphone. "Ok." she said, then pressed a button and replaced it into her jacket. "I gotta go." she said.
"Yeah. See you tonight." Spike replied. "What time?"
"About eleven." Willow answered. Spike nodded. Willow left, then Spike remembered something. He didn't have a watch. Or clock. And couldn't use a sundial in case he combusted.
"Damn." he said to himself.
Riley heard a knock at his dorm room door. He stood up and opened it. Buffy walked in, kissing him on the way past. "Hi." she said.
"Hi." Riley replied. "What's new on the big bad front?"
"Xander and Anya met up with a demon who's promising info on it." Buffy answered. "We've gotta go to Willy's again tonight.
"Ok." Riley replied. "When?"
"About eleven." Buffy told him.
"Who's going?" Riley asked.
"Oh, everyone. Me, you, Will, Giles, just about everyone who knows about it." Buffy answered.
"Angel?" Riley asked, bluntly.
"Yeah." Buffy replied. "But if it bothers you..."
"It doesn't. As long as we don't start fighting again." Riley answered.
"Good. That won't happen." Buffy told him.
"Anyway, how do we know we can trust this demon?" Riley questioned.
"We don't." Buffy replied. "If worst comes to the worst, we'll just kill it."
"Good tactics." Riley told her. She smiled. "What'll we do before then?"
"We'll think of something." Buffy replied. Riley kissed her.
Nightfall. Angel decided he'd wander around for a while to pass the time away. Maybe even slay a few vampires as he did so. He walked into the graveyard, looking around for anything. He saw nothing. He carried on searching. It reminded him of the days when he stayed in Sunnydale. When he was with Buffy. He tried not to remember his feelings in case they got in the way of his fighting. When he found out she was engaged, it had shocked him. But he knew he couldn't do anything like that, due to him being immortal and her not being. Even with the revelation that he'd one day be human, he realised it wouldn't be while Buffy was alive.
Something caught his eye. Something moving. Angel quickly hid behind a bush to get a better veiw. He looked at the person. It was Willow. He was puzzled slightly as to why she was alone in the graveyard at night, but he thought he'd better not give himself away. Instead, he followed her to see where she was going, and, more importantly, to stop her from being killed.
Willow stopped at a crypt, and Angel hid behind another bush. Willow looked around, but didn't see him. Angel watched as she opened the door and walked in. Angel quickly jogged over to the entrance and peered round. He saw Willow in the crypt, then someone else emerge from the shadows. It quickly walked over to Willow as Angel recognized him. "Spike..." he murmered, then charged in. Spike looked at him, recognized him, then got the full force of Angel's fist in his face.
"Angel! Stop!" Willow cried out as Angel leapt over to Spike, ready to dust him with the stake he had. Angel stopped himself from driving the stake into Spike's heart, then jumped up, away from him.
"What? Why?" he asked her. Spike stood up, holding his bleeding nose.
"Ever heard of knocking on the door?" Spike asked, pissed off.
"It's complicated." Willow explained.
"He was gonna kill you!" Angel explained, defending himself.
"No I wasn't!" Spike replied. "I can't kill people anymore."
"That's right!" Willow said.
"Huh?" Angel grunted, getting confused. "Why not?"
"Got a chip put in my head to stop me." Spike explained. "Can't hurt or kill people anymore. But I can kill demons and vampires." Willow nodded in agreament.
"Well, if that's true, why'd he go for you like that?" Angel asked, puzzled.
"Because, er, because..." Willow tried to think of an excuse.
"You may as well tell him." Spike told her. Angel looked at the two.
"Tell me what?" he asked, even more confused.
"Well, me and Spike are..." she started, but found it hard to explain.
"In love with each other." Spike finished her sentance. This topped off Angel's confusion.
"What?" he asked, not quite beleiving it.
"We're together now." Willow told him. "But you can't tell anybody. Especially not Buffy."
"She's gonna find out sooner or later." Angel told her.
"Yeah, from me." Willow replied. "Just not yet. It'll complicate things." Angel looked at Spike.
"You really can't kill anybody?" he asked.
"I already told you. Now piss off." Spike answered. Angel stared at him, grinned slightly, then walked out. "Bastard." Spike muttered.
Buffy looked at her watch. 10.57. Close enough. She walked into Willy's Place with Riley, Xander, Anya and Giles. Angel was going to meet them there, as was Willow. Angel was already there, and they walked over to him. Angel turned around and stood up. He looked at Riley, who looked back. They didn't say anything. Buffy could feel the tension between them. "Where's Willow?" she asked.
"She was..." Angel began. He then remembered Willow didn't want him to let anyone know, so tried to think of an excuse.
"I'm here." Willow told her, walking towards them. Spike followed her. Buffy looked at him, then Willow.
"What's he doing here?" she asked. Willow looked at Spike.
"He's helping." Willow answered.
"I already know he's here." Angel explained. "I've met him already."
"Hey, I can talk, you know." Spike told them, sick of being ignored.
"Yeah, fine, whatever." Buffy said, giving up. "I don't have time to argue." She looked around.
"Slayer!" came a voice from one side of the bar. They all turned to see who it was. Buffy and Riley recognised it from the previous day in the bar. Xander, Anya and Angel recognised it as the demon they let go last night. Giles recognised it as an Estratten demon. Willow didn't recognise the demon. Spike recognised the demon nearby who owed him money. The demon stood up after seeing Spike and quickly left.
"Fletchin." Xander stated, remembering the name. Fletchin nodded.
"You have information on this new danger?" Giles asked him.
"Yeah." Fletchin answered. "And how to stop it."
"Spill." Buffy demanded, sitting down.
"About 600 years ago, a sorcerer living in Premaria was caught by witch-hunters. They burnt his house down, but the sorcerer's body was never found. It was thought that he'd cast a spell to protect his spirit in the amulet he always wore." Fletchin explained.
"The Premarian Amulet..." Giles said, recognising the tale.
"Huh?" Willow asked. "Didn't we destroy it?"
"Obviously not." Giles told her.
"Anyway, a group of Sinkata demons have been searching for it for ages now. When they get it, they would be able to free the spirit. This would then be able to possess any living thing it wanted." Fletchin continued.
"How do we stop it?" Buffy asked, eagerly."
"You don't." Fletchin told her, bluntly. "She does." He pointed at Anya. "She is The One. The one who can destroy the Sorcerer of Premaria."
"How do I do that?" Anya asked, starting to like being 'The One' for a change.
"In the days coming up to the final battle, you shall gain new powers and knowledge. With these, you can stop the Sorcerer before he causes the destruction of Earth." Fletchin explained. "This is all I know."
"Well, that leaves a lot to be asked." Buffy told him, slightly annoyed that they didn't learn much from this.
"It will all be understandable soon." Fletchin told her. He stood up, took his jacket off the chair, and walked towards the exit. He turned around. "Protect her." he told them, pointing to Anya again. "If she dies, then we all do." With that, he spun around and left the bar.
Buffy and Willow walked into their dorm room as they got back from their meeting. Willow closed the door and walked over to her bed. She sat on it. "What's with Spike keep helping us?" Buffy asked, just out of curiosity. "I thought he kept saying he hated us all."
"He's different." Willow told her. "Why does it bother you that he wants to help stop this thing?"
"It doesn't." Buffy exclaimed. "It's just strange."
"He's changed. A lot. You don't know what he's like." Willow tried to explain.
"How do you?" Buffy asked, wondering why she kept sticking up for him. And seeing him more than usual. Willow suddenly froze up, thinking of excuses.
"I... erm.. We..." she tried saying. She then stopped and decided to tell her the truth. "We're in love." Buffy's jaw dropped.
"Huh? Wha? Da?" Buffy asked. Willow wasn't sure what she was saying exactly, but knew what she was trying to ask.
"What? I can't fall in love with a vampire, but you can?" she asked.
"Angel was different!" Buffy told her. "He had a soul! He didn't try to kill us repeatedly..." She then remembered when he lost his soul, and had tried to kill her, Willow and everyone else.
"Or is it that Spike isn't female? Is that it?" Willow asked her.
"No!" Buffy explained.
"I'm not a lesbian, I'm bi-sexual!" she insisted. "Nobody remembers that."
"Look, Spike's evil." Buffy told her bluntly. "I thought even you knew that. He even tried killing you!"
"In the past, yeah!" Willow argued. "But this is now. And I love him now. And he loves me."
"How do you know that?" Buffy asked, trying to convince her it's a bad idea dating a mass-murderer.
"Because I do." Willow declared. "How do you know Riley doesn't love you?"
"That's harsh." Buffy told her, realising she wasn't going to get through this argument without someone's feelings being hurt. Or even both of their's. "Look, I just want to make sure you don't get hurt, that's all."
"I won't." Willow told her. "I'm gonna get some sleep."
"Will, I'm sorry." Buffy told her, trying to clear things up between them. Willow stopped, then started calming down.
"It's ok." she said. "I can see how you'd be worried." She smiled at her. "Still friends?"
"Still friends." Buffy answered, smiling.
"Tatra astratta ormistroben azarta eargrets deridsa veratos canda"
Anya woke up instantly again. It was the second night in a row those words had been in her dreams. She looked over to her side at Xander, and shook his arm. He mumbled something, then woke up slowly. "What is it?" he asked, still half asleep.
"I just heard the words again." she told him. Xander rubbed his eyes and sat up next to her. He put his arm around her.
"I thought I heard something, too. It might've been you in your sleep." he explained.
"How?" she asked. "I don't remember what they went like."
"I don't know, then." Xander told her. "We'll ask Giles about it tomorrow. Try to get some sleep." He laid down again and closed his eyes. Anya stayed sitting up for a few moments, then laid down. She closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep. She couldn't.
