(Part 17)Willow was so tired. Her arms shook and she could barely find the energy to breath. They had been chanting for almost an hour and Willow's throat was scratched raw. Her voice was raspy and barely louder than a whisper. She was so sick of not being able to see anything more than white light and only hearing the elements. She had never realized that they all sounded alike, the roar of fire, the crash of water, the grinding of the earth, and the whirling of wind. Willow knew that the risks were great, she knew that what she was going to do might take the rest of her power and the spell would fail but if she couldn't see what was going on she was going to go crazy. And if she lost it then the spell wouldn't work anyway. So slowly the Huntress closed off a bit of power from the spell and opened it back up on the circle causing the opaque wall of magick to become clear. Suddenly she could see what was happening outside her small world and Willow's entire body began to shake. The wormlike demon had stopped several feet from the power circle that Spike and Willow had made. From the demon's back jumped off a small skinny being that reminded Xander of a shriveled up version of the half-ling he used to play in D&D. Everyone stared in confusion as the creature walked up to stand just in front of the Whisper and looked at her imploringly. The Whisper reached down to stroke the things head and then pointed the power circle. The creature turned and from its tiny mouth came a sound that was utterly alien. The sound was like nothing anybody had ever heard before. As the sound grew louder and louder the power circle that Willow and Spike had been building slowly imploded on itself. Willow felt the energy leaking out of her and she pushed harder to maintain the chant. They were almost finished. They only needed a little more time. Then the sound hit them. Spike cried out in agony his voice faltering. Willow tried to speak louder but her voice seemed to have left her completely. She fell to her knees in pain. Her body was on fire. Spike couldn't hear anything above the screeching but he knew that Willow was in trouble. He could feel her. He tried to call out to her but he was too weak. He couldn't even stand. His arms were still stretched only because they had forgotten how to fall. His body spasmed and he was choking up blood. Spike and Willow cried out in anguish. There was so much pain. It was uncontrollable. They couldn't think rationally. The only thing that either was conscious of was the pain. Xander cried out hysterically as he watched his best friend collapse. He ran over to her with his ears covered in an attempt to block out the hideous noise. At the same time Buffy went running toward the source of their pain but before either could make it to their target the wormlike creature that they had feared only a few minutes ago slithered into their path. Buffy struck it with a sword she had gotten off of Angel but it's body was like armor. She couldn't pierce it. Just then Faith stalked up behind her and swung a torch around her head, then heaved it at the big snake. Instantly the thing burst into flames. Its hideous whimpers could barely be heard over the screeching as it shriveled up and left his master defenseless. Sensing danger the Druschel turned toward the two slayers and they were hit with the full blast of its voice. Paralyzed Buffy and Faith stood helplessly as he drained their power. Released from the sound everyone else jumped into action. Xander walked through the power circle, pushing at it like it were Jell-O. When he was through he grabbed Willow and pulled her up. She was almost unconscious but still she mumbled the words of the incantation. When Xander had woken her enough so that she was able to stand on her own he raced to the other end of the room where Spike lay in a heap. Gathering up his courage he lifted the vampire into a sitting position. Shaking him, Xander screamed in his face. When that didn't work he slapped his face. Enraged Spike awoke. Then he felt the calming peace of Willow in his mind and realized what had happened. Hurriedly, he pushed Xander away and stood on his own. They were going to finish this. His part done, Xander went back out to help the rest of the slayerettes. Angel, and Cordelia were back to fighting the Ecketi. Wesley had been knocked out and was slumped against the wall. Cordelia held her right wrist against her chest and Xander could see it was swollen and probably broken. Giles was still paralyzed on the other side of the room but his protection spell held. Xander couldn't believe that Giles had that much power. Everyone was holding their own, or was unconscious, except the slayers. They were still caught in the horrible noise that permeated the room. Xander knew what he had to do and wondered why it was always him doing stupid stuff like this. He needed to have his head examined. Shaking said head Xander rushed at the slayers, and pushed them out of the way. They fell and were released, their energy returning but Xander was now caught. Buffy started toward him, hating to see any of her friends hurting but Faith grabbed her arm. "Don't. He knew what he was doing. Willow and Spike need us. Don't cheapen his sacrifice. Let him be a man, B. Don't save him." The Whisper roared in frustration. She was once again on the defensive as she felt herself being ripped apart from the inside. All of her magick was seeping from her body in blasts of lightening. She was alternately burning up and freezing. Her body was covered in black ashy burnt skin and icicles.

Willow and Spike's voices had grown to immeasurable levels. They were screaming the spell so loud that the church trembled. Finally on a cry that brought down the ceiling fixtures Willow and Spike finished. After their last words the Whisper screamed and threw her head back. From her body burst a light so strong that Cordelia feared Angel and Spike would burn up. It went on for what seemed like hours. Finally she dropped to the floor, breathing hard. Spike and Willow were right behind her, unconscious. The Whisper struggled to stand and screamed in fury. She raced toward the center of the room where the Hunter and Huntress were. "I thought that spell was supposed to kill her!" Cordelia screamed. "To Hell with this!" Buffy said viciously. She was sick of all this magick shit. The blond slayer rushed toward the Whisper and, in a neat move that she had only learned the week before, cut the demons head off. The demon's body fell and her head rolled. It came to a stop with a surprised look on it's face. The Ecketi and the Druschel burst into a spray of liquid and Giles and Xander collapsed. The Whisper was dead and all of her power had left the earth. Exhausted and battered the Slayerettes limped out of the church and down the tunnel. "I don't even know why demons bother coming here anymore. We always kick their asses." Cordelia said. Everybody laughed. "So, do I have to do this stuff all the time, Pet?" Spike asked. "It's bloody annoying." Willow chuckled softly and leaned her head against his shoulder. His arm automatically came up around her waist. "Looks like Spike. But don't worry we only have to fight the really bad guys that are probably going to kill us instead." "That's comforting.