The Devil And All His Works
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are copyrighted (c)20th Century Fox, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and the WB, and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Dedicated: as usual to Cait who makes me write these stories. (So blame her!)
Also to L, who I love very much and who taught me that impossible is only a word.
Grateful thanks to Alan for his suggestions and his help and to everyone for their reviews, especially to Zille, Bolo and Jeanny who have given me tremendous encouragement.
Apologies for the length of time it's taken me to write more of this. I hope you like it.
A/N Any comments can be sent to
Geemagicspell@hotmail.com
Chapter Eight
Spike was cold.
That was nothing new for him. He had felt cold for many years, since the day that his soul had been stolen from his body, leaving him with an empty shell, a heart that could not beat to pump the once warm blood through his veins.
That was one of the reasons that he craved the blood of living creatures, why he heated the blood he fed on, pouring it from the cold plastic containers into mugs and putting it into the microwave until it reached the correct temperature.
The warmth. The faint spark of warmth that flushed through his body from the first sip, lingering for a little while, just enough so that he could pretend that his was still a living, breathing body. Just enough so that he could feel the bitterness when it left him, cursing himself for a fool for trying to cling to his illusions of humanity.
But this feeling of cold was worse than anything he had ever felt before. Chilled fingers caressed his cheek, he felt the freezing sting as his head rested in a soft but icy lap. He opened his eyes and looked up into dark eyes that bored down into his. Loving eyes. Concerned eyes. Insane eyes.
"Dru." He whispered.
It hurt.
That was Buffy's first conscious thought as her lungs expanded to gasp at the air, drawing it back into her body in gulps and spasms. It was a familiar feeling. Since the day she had become the Slayer she awoke to pain most days, whether if be the pain of muscles aching from training, the aches of small bones knitting, skin stretching over freshly inflicted wounds, or the sharp realisation that she was alone. Again.
It was true that she was stronger and healed faster than the friends that fought alongside her, and for that reason she always sought to protect them from the worst of the fights. But it was also true that she had lived longer than any other Slayer and every day she was becoming more aware of the toil that the constant battling was having on her body and her soul.
She opened her eyes, looking up at the golems standing over her like silent sentries. She blinked as a shadowy shape moved towards her, a hand extended to pull her to her feet.
She ignored the hand, getting up carefully and looking around her at her friends, leaning against the cavern walls, closely guarded by the grotesque creatures.
Oz and Xander were standing together, supporting Giles who stood between them, their clothes and faces streaked with dust and blood.
Tara stood next to them, Willow sitting on the ground besides her, her arm around Faith who was leaning on her, blood slowly seeping from a head wound that had stained her clothes and run onto the ground, a small dark puddle staining the dirt floor.
Amy was pressed against the wall, head down, not meeting Buffy's eyes as she looked over at her, trying to reassure her that it had not been her fault that the spell had failed.
Spike lay on the ground, Dru sitting on a pile of stones and holding his head in her lap as Ethan stood a little distance away, peering carefully into the chasm with a look of satisfaction on his face.
Stifling a sigh Buffy looked at the person in front of her, straightening herself and meeting his eyes with a defiant glance.
"So, Paul, you're back with us? Shame. You made such a cute rat, you know."
Paul smiled. "Yes, I'm back with you. But not for long. I have plans for Sunnydale, well, for the whole world really. I had plenty of time to plan out what I wanted to do, while you kept me in that cage.
Paul turned as Giles began to speak.
"How...", He croaked hoarsely, clearing his throat and starting again. "How did you get out of the cage? Who changed you back?"
Paul shrugged. "What can I say? One of your friends was only too eager to help me out."
Giles straightened and Oz and Xander let him go, aware that he was now felt strong enough to stand alone. His eyes flickered over the faces of the others. Buffy, Oz, Xander, Willow, Tara? No, all of these were unthinkable. His gaze fastened on Faith and he shook his head. No, not her. Once perhaps, but not now. Not even Spike, he thought, looking over to where the vampire, now in a sitting position, was leaning against Dru, the two of them silently observing. Then who..?
"Amy?"
Even as he breathed her name she looked up and nodded at him, a grim smile spreading across her face as she walked across the room to Paul's side.
"It was so easy." She told him, as the others looked on in shock.
"But you were helping us." Buffy blurted out. "All those spells..."
Amy grinned. "Which never worked. You see how easy it was to deceive you all."
She turned to face Faith. "Especially you. You were so desperate to make a friend."
"But Paul...you kept him in his cage...didn't you? Why did you do that?"
Amy turned back to answer Giles' question.
"Only when I had to. And only because you would have known if I let him go. I didn't want you to know anything until I was ready."
She smiled at Paul.
"The first time that I turned him back was because I felt sorry for him. I knew what it was like to be kept in that cage. I was careful though. I put him in a circle of protection so he couldn't step outside. And then we talked."
Faith nodded. "He can be quite persuasive, Amy, I know that. But you know what he did to Cait, don't you? You were there. You saw it."
To Faith's amazement Amy smiled and looked at Paul.
"I know." She affirmed. "He had to do it. She was going to cause trouble."
Giles shook his head. "Amy, do you know what you're saying? It was Cait who restored you."
Amy raised her eyebrows. "Yes, she did. I'll always be grateful to her for that, but it doesn't change the fact that she would have got in the way of what Paul needed to do. I'm glad she's dead."
Paul chuckled and put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "She's going to be a great help to me. She's just what I needed, a witch powerful enough to help me harness the power of the Hellmouth and use it to my own advantage."
Giles shook his head. "Amy, you have to think about this. He could do the same thing to you as he did to Cait. He's put some spell on you. He must have. But if you concentrate, you're strong enough to break it."
Paul smiled. "You really have no idea, Giles. This was as much Amy's idea as it was mine." He looked at her fondly. "She really is her mother's daughter, you know."
Amy smiled back at him. "My mother had the right idea, use anything and anyone to get what you want. The only thing she did wrong was to let herself be caught. I'm not going to do that."
Faith shook her head in disbelief. "We were friends, Amy. I know we were."
Paul smiled at her. "I'm sure you were, but that really doesn't make any difference."
As he stared at her, his expression hardened slightly, his gaze fastened on the tiny silver chain and pendant that she wore. Giles noticed Amy pale slightly as she noticed the focus of his attention.
Paul sighed heavily and looked at Amy. "So she is a friend, after all."
As Amy lowered her eyes and looked away, he shrugged and pulled her even closer. "It doesn't matter." He told her and she gave a relieved smile.
Giles turned his attention to Faith's pendant. He stared at the intricate design of interlocking circles with the large opaque stone in the centre, trying to remember where he had seen such a thing before. It suddenly dawned on him and he began to move toward her slowly, trying not to attract any attention. One of the golems noticed and reached out for him. He stopped and the creature did so as well, reverting to its previous position.
He stared at Faith, willing her to understand that there was something about that pendant that was important, that might be able to help them, but she was still looking at Amy with a shocked expression.
Willow noticed though. She looked at Giles then glanced thoughtfully at Faiths pendant, her eyes widening as she understood, her fingers reaching behind Faith, carefully searching for the clasp and silencing Faith as she looked questioningly at her.
Giles looked away and back at Paul, not wanting him to notice what Willow was doing.
"What do you plan to do, Paul? He demanded. "Do you have any idea what you're doing? If you set the devil free there's no way that you can stop him or control him."
Paul smiled coldly. "I know what I'm doing, Giles. We have it all worked out. We release him but keep him trapped within this chamber. We have all the charms and spells in place and we're nearly ready for the final incantations. Then all that power will be under our control. We can control it between us and do whatever we want."
Giles shook his head. "You really think you can trust them, Paul? Even if what you've planned were possible and you could control the most powerful destructive force ever known, what's going to stop you from arguing between yourselves?"
Paul chuckled. "Self preservation? Each of us has a part to play in this. There's no way that any of us can maintain control without the other three and we're aware of that. We stick together and control it, or we die."
Giles nodded. "I see." He looked across at Ethan, who was hunched over the opening, his lips moving as he muttered an incantation and threw in a handful of tiny bones. "And does Ethan know that? Because I think he might have plans of his own."
Paul looked over at Ethan and for the first time since he had stood before them his confidence seemed to falter. Releasing Amy he began to make his way towards the opening, a small frown appearing on his face as he noticed what Ethan was doing.
As Amy and Dru both followed him with their eyes, Willow took advantage of the distraction and removed the pendant from Faiths neck, throwing it quickly to Giles, who caught it awkwardly, then dropped it, the small sound as it hit the ground alerting Amy. Her face contorted in fear she moved towards it, but Buffy was too quick for her.
Moving too fast for her guards, Buffy dashed forwards and retrieved the shiny object as Giles shouted instructions to her.
"The hole, Buffy, drop it in there! It will close the opening."
Buffy ran forward, barely evading Amy's grasp as the witch grabbed at her arm. Paul moved to intercept her and she side-stepped him, but skidded to a halt as the ground rumbled and shook beneath her feet and green smoke together with the nauseating odour of sulphur was emitted from the opening. Ethan stepped back, a smile of satisfaction on his face as the earth shook again and down in the opening something stirred.
They all stood, frozen to the spot as something began to emerge from the chasm. It began with a light, a green luminescence that streamed forth from the opening like a bilious fog.
Then the sounds began, at first a high pitched scraping sound, not unlike that of nails against a blackboard but intensified in volume a hundred times, as if some creature too large for the opening was forcing itself upward.
Then came the screams, a cacophony of noise that threatened to drive them insane at what seemed to be a thousand human voices shrieking in pain and torment.
Buffy, her mission momentarily forgotten, clasped her hands over her ears. She was the nearest to the hole, apart from Ethan who did not appear to be affected by it. The silver chain dangled from her hand as she tried to shut out the worst of the noise.
Willow looked at Giles. "What is that?" She shouted, her face a picture of distress.
"It's the souls in torment." Giles yelled back. "They've really done it. They've opened the portal that leads directly to Hell."
Amy saw her opportunity and took it, running forward and trying to grab the chain from Buffy's fingers. The Slayer, taken by surprise, just managed to retain her grip on the pendant and tried to pull it away from Amy, but she held fast.
"Throw it in!" Giles urged her. "You have to stop it now!"
Buffy gave a pull and wrested it away from Amy, moving quickly forward as Amy grabbed for it again. Buffy aimed and threw the chain directly at the opening, but Amy jumped up and deflected her aim and the pendant fell short by a few inches.
Amy launched herself at it but Buffy was too quick for her. The two girls fell to the ground, Amy's fingers twisting in the chain as Buffy tried to throw it. The others watched their struggle, Faith's move to help being instantly blocked by the golems, leaving them no alternative but to stand and observe.
Buffy pulled the pendant and the chain broke, leaving it twisted around Amy's fingers. Jumping to her feet, moments before Amy did so, she tried once again to throw it past Amy but the girl blocked her again, pulling at her arm in an attempt to get the pendant. Buffy surged forward and Amy went with her. Paul, who had been watching the struggle between the two, strode towards them, intending to lend his support to Amy.
Before he could get to them, they reached the lip of the opening and Buffy raised her arm to fling the pendant into it. It left her hand and seemed certain to find it's mark but Amy jumped, knocking the pendant away once again and pushing Buffy to the ground.
That action cost her dear as she lost her balance, her feet scrabbling for purchase on the edge as she slipped and fell, her legs and lower body disappearing into the hole as her arms fought to gain some purchase on the ground, nails digging frantically into the shifting soil.
With a cry, Paul rushed forward, flinging himself on the ground as he reached for her, first missing, then catching one of her flailing hands. He began to haul her up, and at first she came easily. Her look of relief quickly changed to puzzlement, then horror as she was dragged back into the hole. Paul redoubled his efforts, the strain showing on his face as he pulled, but it was no good.
Buffy got to her feet. Moving quickly to Paul's side she took hold of Amy's arm and lent her strength to the struggle. They tugged at her, faces set in grim determination, but it was all too apparent that they were losing this deadly tug of war as Amy slid slowly but inexorably downwards.
Paul looked over at Ethen, who was standing across the chasm from them, watching but making no move towards them.
"Help us!" He cried.
Ethan shook his head.
"We can't contain the devil without her." Paul pleaded desperately.
Ethan smiled. "I've made other plans." He stooped, picking up a large round object that glinted with a copper glow in the meagre light of the cavern, holding it carefully in both hands, then he leant back against the cavern wall, watching with amusement as they tried to save her.
Paul lent further forward, balancing dangerously on the edge as he tried for a better hold on Amy, hoping to drag her back with him. As he did so, the ground shook again and he lost his balance, falling forwards and into the hole with a scream that echoed throughout the cavern.
Buffy caught Amy as the force of his fall threatened to take her with him, but Amy shook her head, deliberately choosing not to hold on as Buffy struggled to drag her up. Buffy strained to hold her, but Amy struggled and wrenched free of her grip, and Buffy could only watch as Amy slid from her grasp and into the opening, falling soundlessly to her death.
Buffy stepped back, blinking back her tears as she turned to look at her friends. She was astonished to see that the golems had gone.
Giles was brushing at his clothes, streaking the muddy remains of the golems down the front of his shirt. "When Paul died the creatures he created died with him." He explained.
Dru was on her feet, Spike at her side, an arm around her waist. He appeared to be restraining her.
Dru chuckled with real amusement as the ground shook once more beneath their feet. "He's coming. You can't stop him." She clapped her hands together, a gleeful expression on her face. "Oh, this is going to be such fun!"
Spike looked at her and shook his head. "You've done some crazy things, pet, but this is the craziest yet. What makes you think you can control the devil?"
Dru smiled and pointed at Ethan. "He found some spells. He can do it. He told us he could."
"He told me he could play the guitar when we were in University. He lied about that as well." Giles commented dryly, removing his glasses and trying to use his mud splattered shirt to clean them.
Buffy was hunting for the pendant when a further shook threw her off her feet. She threw herself back as the ground around the edge of the opening began to crumble. Ethan was not so lucky. A jagged tear opened up around his feet and he slipped and fell, narrowly missing Amy's fate but just managing to avoid falling in.
As he slipped, however, the object that he was holding in his hand fell from his grasp and disappeared into the hole.
He looked down into the opening, his face a mask of horror. He looked over at Dru, licking his lips and swallowing hard before he managed to speak.
"Bloody hell. I lost the orb. I think we'd better get out of here. I can't control it without the orb."
"You see! That's just typical of you, Ethan. Buffy, we have to find the pendant. It's our only hope now." Giles began moving towards the opening, when the ground shook again and something began to appear from the mouth of the opening.
They had seen monsters before, and this was no uglier than some of the others they had fought.
It reared up next to Ethan and they could see that it was three times his size. Its skin was green and scaly interspersed with red where what appeared to be blood oozed from it. Tiny white threads wriggled on the surface on its skin and Buffy, who was close enough to see, could see that they were maggots.
Its head was green but with patches of white skin that bubbled on it as if something were contained within it. It had horns, but not just two of them, like the devil in Christian literature. It had horns too numerous to count, some large, some small, jutting out from all parts of its body.
The beast had huge shoulders from whence protruded six arms, three on each side. Four were almost normal, apart from the scaled appearance, tapering into giant-sized hands, but the two others ended in claws with wickedly sharp talons. It had legs, normal in appearance, apart from the green scales, but it also had serpentine coils, wrapped around the legs in a silver and red shimmer that disappeared into the opening.
But its face was its most shocking feature. Despite the colour of its skin, it was the most beautiful face that any of them had ever seen. The skin was clear and unpitted, the colour of milk and honey, with a gentle flush of pink to the cheeks.
The eyes shone, clear and bright, constantly changing colour. As Buffy watched, entranced, they changed from a cerulean blue to an emerald green to a deep violet. The mouth was full and red, the nose well shaped and perfectly proportioned to the rest of the features.
The chin led down to a neck that blended human features with that of a monster.
The mouth opened and it spoke, not with the voice of a beast but with the soft innocent tones of a child, and yet there was something unnatural and unclean about it that made their skin crawl.
"My time has come."
The mouth curved into a smile, showing white even teeth and the eyes glowed with pleasure.
None of them moved, transfixed by the sight of this creature, until Ethan shifted slightly, drawing it's attention. It stared at him, the smile disappearing yet the face still retaining an expression of sweetness.
"I know you."
Ethan nodded. "Yes, I set you free." He waved a hand in the direction of the others. "They tried to stop me, but I did it."
The devil considered this for a moment, turned to look at them, then back to Ethan.
"Then I must reward you." It stated.
Ethan grinned in triumph, the smile faltering a little as the devil reached down to him, plucking him from the floor of the cavern with two of its human-like hands. It pulled him towards itself as if he were no more than a toy, until he was looking into Ethans' eyes.
"You sought to control me, not free me. I am the Lord of Lies. I know the truth of it."
It smiled as Ethan began to struggle in its grasp. "I won't kill you, but I think I might hurt you. I think I'll start with your eyes."
The beast brought up a claw, extending it towards Ethans face as the other looked on, horrified and helpless, the pendant forgotten.
Willow moved her hands, chanting silently under her breath a spell of protection for Ethan. She frowned then, with a sigh of resignation, she lowered them again. "Nothing's happening. There's nothing I can do."
Xander shook his head. "No, I can't stand by and watch this."
Before any of the others could react he was off and running, making straight for the rapidly expanding hole in the cavern floor where Ethan Rayne struggled helplessly in the grasp of the creature he had hoped to bend to his will.
Looking neither left nor right, Xander crashed into the demon, causing him to lose his grasp on Ethan who lost no time in scurrying away. Xander slid to the floor, narrowly missing the gaping hole, as the others held their breath. His fingers scrabbled on the ground, finding the pendant and picking it up, casting it straight at the demon and catching it on one of its horns before it fell into the hole.
The demon screamed with rage as the ground shook once more. It looked down at the hole, its lower body already shrinking back down from whence it came
Buffy wheeled around to look at Giles.
"He's done it." He announced. "It's going to close."
The demon glared at him, then reached out a taloned hand as Buffy and Faith both rushed forward with one aim in mind, to save Xander.
Too late.
The devil plucked him from the floor and held him tightly as he disappeared into the hole, giving a scream of frustration as the ground closed over them, leaving Buffy and Faith to look helplessly at the now solid cavern floor.
Buffy turned a stricken face to Giles. "What do we do?" She screamed.
Giles opened his mouth to speak but words failed him. He shook his head helplessly.
Faith ran to him, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "What. Do. We. Do?" She asked, each word punctuated by a shake.
"I d-don't know." He admitted. "Nothing... there's nothing..."
Faith pulled back her hand and for a second he was sure that she would hit him. Deeply shocked, he made no attempt to dodge the blow and at the last moment, she dropped her hand and he could see tears spring to her eyes.
"Once it closes, there's no way to reopen it. Not until the next millennium. There's nothing we can do." Giles spoke, then closed his eyes, not wanting to see the expressions on the faces of these people that he loved and not wanting them to see the tears in his eyes.
"I can do something."
Willow's voice, when it came, was almost eerily calm and controlled. Giles eyes sprang open and he looked at her. Her face was white, her eyes wide and staring, there was a small smear of blood on her lip where her teeth had bitten into it.
Faith spun around to face her. "What? What can you do? Why didn't you do anything before? If you can do something, then do it. Do it now."
Buffy frowned. "You can open it, Will?"
Willow looked and Faith. "I couldn't do anything while the devil was here. I tried, but I had no power. She glanced at Buffy and shook her head. "No, but I can go in and get him."
Giles looked at her, clearly horrified. "No, you can't do that." He told her emphatically.
She didn't look at him but only lifted her hand and waved in his direction. Giles tried to move, but his feet would not obey him and he could only watch as Willow began to move forward, slowly approaching the swirling dust that was all that was left to show where the opening had been.
Buffy heard Faith gasp and followed her gaze to the floor. Willow was sinking down as she moved forward, her feet slowly disappearing into the ground. Further and further she sank as they watched until, as she finally got to the site of where the devil and Xander had vanished, she disappeared completely from sight.
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are copyrighted (c)20th Century Fox, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and the WB, and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Dedicated: as usual to Cait who makes me write these stories. (So blame her!)
Also to L, who I love very much and who taught me that impossible is only a word.
Grateful thanks to Alan for his suggestions and his help and to everyone for their reviews, especially to Zille, Bolo and Jeanny who have given me tremendous encouragement.
Apologies for the length of time it's taken me to write more of this. I hope you like it.
A/N Any comments can be sent to
Geemagicspell@hotmail.com
Chapter Eight
Spike was cold.
That was nothing new for him. He had felt cold for many years, since the day that his soul had been stolen from his body, leaving him with an empty shell, a heart that could not beat to pump the once warm blood through his veins.
That was one of the reasons that he craved the blood of living creatures, why he heated the blood he fed on, pouring it from the cold plastic containers into mugs and putting it into the microwave until it reached the correct temperature.
The warmth. The faint spark of warmth that flushed through his body from the first sip, lingering for a little while, just enough so that he could pretend that his was still a living, breathing body. Just enough so that he could feel the bitterness when it left him, cursing himself for a fool for trying to cling to his illusions of humanity.
But this feeling of cold was worse than anything he had ever felt before. Chilled fingers caressed his cheek, he felt the freezing sting as his head rested in a soft but icy lap. He opened his eyes and looked up into dark eyes that bored down into his. Loving eyes. Concerned eyes. Insane eyes.
"Dru." He whispered.
It hurt.
That was Buffy's first conscious thought as her lungs expanded to gasp at the air, drawing it back into her body in gulps and spasms. It was a familiar feeling. Since the day she had become the Slayer she awoke to pain most days, whether if be the pain of muscles aching from training, the aches of small bones knitting, skin stretching over freshly inflicted wounds, or the sharp realisation that she was alone. Again.
It was true that she was stronger and healed faster than the friends that fought alongside her, and for that reason she always sought to protect them from the worst of the fights. But it was also true that she had lived longer than any other Slayer and every day she was becoming more aware of the toil that the constant battling was having on her body and her soul.
She opened her eyes, looking up at the golems standing over her like silent sentries. She blinked as a shadowy shape moved towards her, a hand extended to pull her to her feet.
She ignored the hand, getting up carefully and looking around her at her friends, leaning against the cavern walls, closely guarded by the grotesque creatures.
Oz and Xander were standing together, supporting Giles who stood between them, their clothes and faces streaked with dust and blood.
Tara stood next to them, Willow sitting on the ground besides her, her arm around Faith who was leaning on her, blood slowly seeping from a head wound that had stained her clothes and run onto the ground, a small dark puddle staining the dirt floor.
Amy was pressed against the wall, head down, not meeting Buffy's eyes as she looked over at her, trying to reassure her that it had not been her fault that the spell had failed.
Spike lay on the ground, Dru sitting on a pile of stones and holding his head in her lap as Ethan stood a little distance away, peering carefully into the chasm with a look of satisfaction on his face.
Stifling a sigh Buffy looked at the person in front of her, straightening herself and meeting his eyes with a defiant glance.
"So, Paul, you're back with us? Shame. You made such a cute rat, you know."
Paul smiled. "Yes, I'm back with you. But not for long. I have plans for Sunnydale, well, for the whole world really. I had plenty of time to plan out what I wanted to do, while you kept me in that cage.
Paul turned as Giles began to speak.
"How...", He croaked hoarsely, clearing his throat and starting again. "How did you get out of the cage? Who changed you back?"
Paul shrugged. "What can I say? One of your friends was only too eager to help me out."
Giles straightened and Oz and Xander let him go, aware that he was now felt strong enough to stand alone. His eyes flickered over the faces of the others. Buffy, Oz, Xander, Willow, Tara? No, all of these were unthinkable. His gaze fastened on Faith and he shook his head. No, not her. Once perhaps, but not now. Not even Spike, he thought, looking over to where the vampire, now in a sitting position, was leaning against Dru, the two of them silently observing. Then who..?
"Amy?"
Even as he breathed her name she looked up and nodded at him, a grim smile spreading across her face as she walked across the room to Paul's side.
"It was so easy." She told him, as the others looked on in shock.
"But you were helping us." Buffy blurted out. "All those spells..."
Amy grinned. "Which never worked. You see how easy it was to deceive you all."
She turned to face Faith. "Especially you. You were so desperate to make a friend."
"But Paul...you kept him in his cage...didn't you? Why did you do that?"
Amy turned back to answer Giles' question.
"Only when I had to. And only because you would have known if I let him go. I didn't want you to know anything until I was ready."
She smiled at Paul.
"The first time that I turned him back was because I felt sorry for him. I knew what it was like to be kept in that cage. I was careful though. I put him in a circle of protection so he couldn't step outside. And then we talked."
Faith nodded. "He can be quite persuasive, Amy, I know that. But you know what he did to Cait, don't you? You were there. You saw it."
To Faith's amazement Amy smiled and looked at Paul.
"I know." She affirmed. "He had to do it. She was going to cause trouble."
Giles shook his head. "Amy, do you know what you're saying? It was Cait who restored you."
Amy raised her eyebrows. "Yes, she did. I'll always be grateful to her for that, but it doesn't change the fact that she would have got in the way of what Paul needed to do. I'm glad she's dead."
Paul chuckled and put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "She's going to be a great help to me. She's just what I needed, a witch powerful enough to help me harness the power of the Hellmouth and use it to my own advantage."
Giles shook his head. "Amy, you have to think about this. He could do the same thing to you as he did to Cait. He's put some spell on you. He must have. But if you concentrate, you're strong enough to break it."
Paul smiled. "You really have no idea, Giles. This was as much Amy's idea as it was mine." He looked at her fondly. "She really is her mother's daughter, you know."
Amy smiled back at him. "My mother had the right idea, use anything and anyone to get what you want. The only thing she did wrong was to let herself be caught. I'm not going to do that."
Faith shook her head in disbelief. "We were friends, Amy. I know we were."
Paul smiled at her. "I'm sure you were, but that really doesn't make any difference."
As he stared at her, his expression hardened slightly, his gaze fastened on the tiny silver chain and pendant that she wore. Giles noticed Amy pale slightly as she noticed the focus of his attention.
Paul sighed heavily and looked at Amy. "So she is a friend, after all."
As Amy lowered her eyes and looked away, he shrugged and pulled her even closer. "It doesn't matter." He told her and she gave a relieved smile.
Giles turned his attention to Faith's pendant. He stared at the intricate design of interlocking circles with the large opaque stone in the centre, trying to remember where he had seen such a thing before. It suddenly dawned on him and he began to move toward her slowly, trying not to attract any attention. One of the golems noticed and reached out for him. He stopped and the creature did so as well, reverting to its previous position.
He stared at Faith, willing her to understand that there was something about that pendant that was important, that might be able to help them, but she was still looking at Amy with a shocked expression.
Willow noticed though. She looked at Giles then glanced thoughtfully at Faiths pendant, her eyes widening as she understood, her fingers reaching behind Faith, carefully searching for the clasp and silencing Faith as she looked questioningly at her.
Giles looked away and back at Paul, not wanting him to notice what Willow was doing.
"What do you plan to do, Paul? He demanded. "Do you have any idea what you're doing? If you set the devil free there's no way that you can stop him or control him."
Paul smiled coldly. "I know what I'm doing, Giles. We have it all worked out. We release him but keep him trapped within this chamber. We have all the charms and spells in place and we're nearly ready for the final incantations. Then all that power will be under our control. We can control it between us and do whatever we want."
Giles shook his head. "You really think you can trust them, Paul? Even if what you've planned were possible and you could control the most powerful destructive force ever known, what's going to stop you from arguing between yourselves?"
Paul chuckled. "Self preservation? Each of us has a part to play in this. There's no way that any of us can maintain control without the other three and we're aware of that. We stick together and control it, or we die."
Giles nodded. "I see." He looked across at Ethan, who was hunched over the opening, his lips moving as he muttered an incantation and threw in a handful of tiny bones. "And does Ethan know that? Because I think he might have plans of his own."
Paul looked over at Ethan and for the first time since he had stood before them his confidence seemed to falter. Releasing Amy he began to make his way towards the opening, a small frown appearing on his face as he noticed what Ethan was doing.
As Amy and Dru both followed him with their eyes, Willow took advantage of the distraction and removed the pendant from Faiths neck, throwing it quickly to Giles, who caught it awkwardly, then dropped it, the small sound as it hit the ground alerting Amy. Her face contorted in fear she moved towards it, but Buffy was too quick for her.
Moving too fast for her guards, Buffy dashed forwards and retrieved the shiny object as Giles shouted instructions to her.
"The hole, Buffy, drop it in there! It will close the opening."
Buffy ran forward, barely evading Amy's grasp as the witch grabbed at her arm. Paul moved to intercept her and she side-stepped him, but skidded to a halt as the ground rumbled and shook beneath her feet and green smoke together with the nauseating odour of sulphur was emitted from the opening. Ethan stepped back, a smile of satisfaction on his face as the earth shook again and down in the opening something stirred.
They all stood, frozen to the spot as something began to emerge from the chasm. It began with a light, a green luminescence that streamed forth from the opening like a bilious fog.
Then the sounds began, at first a high pitched scraping sound, not unlike that of nails against a blackboard but intensified in volume a hundred times, as if some creature too large for the opening was forcing itself upward.
Then came the screams, a cacophony of noise that threatened to drive them insane at what seemed to be a thousand human voices shrieking in pain and torment.
Buffy, her mission momentarily forgotten, clasped her hands over her ears. She was the nearest to the hole, apart from Ethan who did not appear to be affected by it. The silver chain dangled from her hand as she tried to shut out the worst of the noise.
Willow looked at Giles. "What is that?" She shouted, her face a picture of distress.
"It's the souls in torment." Giles yelled back. "They've really done it. They've opened the portal that leads directly to Hell."
Amy saw her opportunity and took it, running forward and trying to grab the chain from Buffy's fingers. The Slayer, taken by surprise, just managed to retain her grip on the pendant and tried to pull it away from Amy, but she held fast.
"Throw it in!" Giles urged her. "You have to stop it now!"
Buffy gave a pull and wrested it away from Amy, moving quickly forward as Amy grabbed for it again. Buffy aimed and threw the chain directly at the opening, but Amy jumped up and deflected her aim and the pendant fell short by a few inches.
Amy launched herself at it but Buffy was too quick for her. The two girls fell to the ground, Amy's fingers twisting in the chain as Buffy tried to throw it. The others watched their struggle, Faith's move to help being instantly blocked by the golems, leaving them no alternative but to stand and observe.
Buffy pulled the pendant and the chain broke, leaving it twisted around Amy's fingers. Jumping to her feet, moments before Amy did so, she tried once again to throw it past Amy but the girl blocked her again, pulling at her arm in an attempt to get the pendant. Buffy surged forward and Amy went with her. Paul, who had been watching the struggle between the two, strode towards them, intending to lend his support to Amy.
Before he could get to them, they reached the lip of the opening and Buffy raised her arm to fling the pendant into it. It left her hand and seemed certain to find it's mark but Amy jumped, knocking the pendant away once again and pushing Buffy to the ground.
That action cost her dear as she lost her balance, her feet scrabbling for purchase on the edge as she slipped and fell, her legs and lower body disappearing into the hole as her arms fought to gain some purchase on the ground, nails digging frantically into the shifting soil.
With a cry, Paul rushed forward, flinging himself on the ground as he reached for her, first missing, then catching one of her flailing hands. He began to haul her up, and at first she came easily. Her look of relief quickly changed to puzzlement, then horror as she was dragged back into the hole. Paul redoubled his efforts, the strain showing on his face as he pulled, but it was no good.
Buffy got to her feet. Moving quickly to Paul's side she took hold of Amy's arm and lent her strength to the struggle. They tugged at her, faces set in grim determination, but it was all too apparent that they were losing this deadly tug of war as Amy slid slowly but inexorably downwards.
Paul looked over at Ethen, who was standing across the chasm from them, watching but making no move towards them.
"Help us!" He cried.
Ethan shook his head.
"We can't contain the devil without her." Paul pleaded desperately.
Ethan smiled. "I've made other plans." He stooped, picking up a large round object that glinted with a copper glow in the meagre light of the cavern, holding it carefully in both hands, then he leant back against the cavern wall, watching with amusement as they tried to save her.
Paul lent further forward, balancing dangerously on the edge as he tried for a better hold on Amy, hoping to drag her back with him. As he did so, the ground shook again and he lost his balance, falling forwards and into the hole with a scream that echoed throughout the cavern.
Buffy caught Amy as the force of his fall threatened to take her with him, but Amy shook her head, deliberately choosing not to hold on as Buffy struggled to drag her up. Buffy strained to hold her, but Amy struggled and wrenched free of her grip, and Buffy could only watch as Amy slid from her grasp and into the opening, falling soundlessly to her death.
Buffy stepped back, blinking back her tears as she turned to look at her friends. She was astonished to see that the golems had gone.
Giles was brushing at his clothes, streaking the muddy remains of the golems down the front of his shirt. "When Paul died the creatures he created died with him." He explained.
Dru was on her feet, Spike at her side, an arm around her waist. He appeared to be restraining her.
Dru chuckled with real amusement as the ground shook once more beneath their feet. "He's coming. You can't stop him." She clapped her hands together, a gleeful expression on her face. "Oh, this is going to be such fun!"
Spike looked at her and shook his head. "You've done some crazy things, pet, but this is the craziest yet. What makes you think you can control the devil?"
Dru smiled and pointed at Ethan. "He found some spells. He can do it. He told us he could."
"He told me he could play the guitar when we were in University. He lied about that as well." Giles commented dryly, removing his glasses and trying to use his mud splattered shirt to clean them.
Buffy was hunting for the pendant when a further shook threw her off her feet. She threw herself back as the ground around the edge of the opening began to crumble. Ethan was not so lucky. A jagged tear opened up around his feet and he slipped and fell, narrowly missing Amy's fate but just managing to avoid falling in.
As he slipped, however, the object that he was holding in his hand fell from his grasp and disappeared into the hole.
He looked down into the opening, his face a mask of horror. He looked over at Dru, licking his lips and swallowing hard before he managed to speak.
"Bloody hell. I lost the orb. I think we'd better get out of here. I can't control it without the orb."
"You see! That's just typical of you, Ethan. Buffy, we have to find the pendant. It's our only hope now." Giles began moving towards the opening, when the ground shook again and something began to appear from the mouth of the opening.
They had seen monsters before, and this was no uglier than some of the others they had fought.
It reared up next to Ethan and they could see that it was three times his size. Its skin was green and scaly interspersed with red where what appeared to be blood oozed from it. Tiny white threads wriggled on the surface on its skin and Buffy, who was close enough to see, could see that they were maggots.
Its head was green but with patches of white skin that bubbled on it as if something were contained within it. It had horns, but not just two of them, like the devil in Christian literature. It had horns too numerous to count, some large, some small, jutting out from all parts of its body.
The beast had huge shoulders from whence protruded six arms, three on each side. Four were almost normal, apart from the scaled appearance, tapering into giant-sized hands, but the two others ended in claws with wickedly sharp talons. It had legs, normal in appearance, apart from the green scales, but it also had serpentine coils, wrapped around the legs in a silver and red shimmer that disappeared into the opening.
But its face was its most shocking feature. Despite the colour of its skin, it was the most beautiful face that any of them had ever seen. The skin was clear and unpitted, the colour of milk and honey, with a gentle flush of pink to the cheeks.
The eyes shone, clear and bright, constantly changing colour. As Buffy watched, entranced, they changed from a cerulean blue to an emerald green to a deep violet. The mouth was full and red, the nose well shaped and perfectly proportioned to the rest of the features.
The chin led down to a neck that blended human features with that of a monster.
The mouth opened and it spoke, not with the voice of a beast but with the soft innocent tones of a child, and yet there was something unnatural and unclean about it that made their skin crawl.
"My time has come."
The mouth curved into a smile, showing white even teeth and the eyes glowed with pleasure.
None of them moved, transfixed by the sight of this creature, until Ethan shifted slightly, drawing it's attention. It stared at him, the smile disappearing yet the face still retaining an expression of sweetness.
"I know you."
Ethan nodded. "Yes, I set you free." He waved a hand in the direction of the others. "They tried to stop me, but I did it."
The devil considered this for a moment, turned to look at them, then back to Ethan.
"Then I must reward you." It stated.
Ethan grinned in triumph, the smile faltering a little as the devil reached down to him, plucking him from the floor of the cavern with two of its human-like hands. It pulled him towards itself as if he were no more than a toy, until he was looking into Ethans' eyes.
"You sought to control me, not free me. I am the Lord of Lies. I know the truth of it."
It smiled as Ethan began to struggle in its grasp. "I won't kill you, but I think I might hurt you. I think I'll start with your eyes."
The beast brought up a claw, extending it towards Ethans face as the other looked on, horrified and helpless, the pendant forgotten.
Willow moved her hands, chanting silently under her breath a spell of protection for Ethan. She frowned then, with a sigh of resignation, she lowered them again. "Nothing's happening. There's nothing I can do."
Xander shook his head. "No, I can't stand by and watch this."
Before any of the others could react he was off and running, making straight for the rapidly expanding hole in the cavern floor where Ethan Rayne struggled helplessly in the grasp of the creature he had hoped to bend to his will.
Looking neither left nor right, Xander crashed into the demon, causing him to lose his grasp on Ethan who lost no time in scurrying away. Xander slid to the floor, narrowly missing the gaping hole, as the others held their breath. His fingers scrabbled on the ground, finding the pendant and picking it up, casting it straight at the demon and catching it on one of its horns before it fell into the hole.
The demon screamed with rage as the ground shook once more. It looked down at the hole, its lower body already shrinking back down from whence it came
Buffy wheeled around to look at Giles.
"He's done it." He announced. "It's going to close."
The demon glared at him, then reached out a taloned hand as Buffy and Faith both rushed forward with one aim in mind, to save Xander.
Too late.
The devil plucked him from the floor and held him tightly as he disappeared into the hole, giving a scream of frustration as the ground closed over them, leaving Buffy and Faith to look helplessly at the now solid cavern floor.
Buffy turned a stricken face to Giles. "What do we do?" She screamed.
Giles opened his mouth to speak but words failed him. He shook his head helplessly.
Faith ran to him, taking him by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "What. Do. We. Do?" She asked, each word punctuated by a shake.
"I d-don't know." He admitted. "Nothing... there's nothing..."
Faith pulled back her hand and for a second he was sure that she would hit him. Deeply shocked, he made no attempt to dodge the blow and at the last moment, she dropped her hand and he could see tears spring to her eyes.
"Once it closes, there's no way to reopen it. Not until the next millennium. There's nothing we can do." Giles spoke, then closed his eyes, not wanting to see the expressions on the faces of these people that he loved and not wanting them to see the tears in his eyes.
"I can do something."
Willow's voice, when it came, was almost eerily calm and controlled. Giles eyes sprang open and he looked at her. Her face was white, her eyes wide and staring, there was a small smear of blood on her lip where her teeth had bitten into it.
Faith spun around to face her. "What? What can you do? Why didn't you do anything before? If you can do something, then do it. Do it now."
Buffy frowned. "You can open it, Will?"
Willow looked and Faith. "I couldn't do anything while the devil was here. I tried, but I had no power. She glanced at Buffy and shook her head. "No, but I can go in and get him."
Giles looked at her, clearly horrified. "No, you can't do that." He told her emphatically.
She didn't look at him but only lifted her hand and waved in his direction. Giles tried to move, but his feet would not obey him and he could only watch as Willow began to move forward, slowly approaching the swirling dust that was all that was left to show where the opening had been.
Buffy heard Faith gasp and followed her gaze to the floor. Willow was sinking down as she moved forward, her feet slowly disappearing into the ground. Further and further she sank as they watched until, as she finally got to the site of where the devil and Xander had vanished, she disappeared completely from sight.