Note: my apologies to any purists. Willow's spell is a little of this and a little of that. Don't try this at home :) Special thanks: to Kelly for the lightning fast beta and the spell ideas



Repercussions, part 16





"How's my Will?" Spike tried to open his eyes, finally realizing that they were open already. He blinked sluggishly a few times, and Willow's face slowly came into focus. He knew he was in Buffy's bed, and Willow was kneeling on the floor next to him.

"Hey, Will," he said groggily.

"Shhh, you don't have to talk. I just wanted to let you know that we're going to do the spell, just as soon as Anya gets back with the supplies.

"Wha? Buffy?" He tried to look around for her.

"Right here," she said. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to him, wearing sweat pants and a tank top, her hair falling out of a rubber band. She looked exhausted and, to him, never more beautiful.

"I'm going to do the spell, and Anya will help me," Willow explained.

"Wait..." he struggled to sit up, and Buffy put her hand behind his head.

"Take it easy," she said softly. "Here, let me help." She put another pillow behind him. He took her hand and held it while he turned his attention to Willow.

"Red," he said, with a little more authority, "magic? You can't..."

She sat down beside him and took his other hand in both of hers. "I've been afraid to do magic. But I'm much more afraid of losing you." She put her face close to his. "Don't worry about me. I'm doing this for the right reasons." She kissed him on the cheek.

He was too drugged up to tell her how he felt, and as he drifted off again, he hoped that he'd have the opportunity to thank her when this was all over. Given the fact that he currently could not put a complete sentence together, he wasn't so sure he would.



Anya materialized then, amidst her usual swirl of mystical energy. "I think I've got everything," she said.

"O.K., read it off to me," said Willow, referring to the scroll that the coven had sent her.

Anya began holding up small bags of herbs and reading off their names. "Angelica, Burdock, Galangal, Horehound, Elder, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Mandrake Root, Rose, Rue, Sassafras, and Yellowdock," she answered.

"Check. What about the candles? And the other items?"

"White for truth, red for strength, light blue for health. The other things are in this bag." She handed the shopping bag to Willow.

Willow peeked into the bag and nodded with satisfaction. She had all she needed. While she was nervous about doing magic again, more than that, she was excited. This was a chance for her to show her worth, to prove that she could do it without going all DarkWillow, and most of all, to help her friend. For the first time in a long time, she felt like Willow again.

"Buffy? It's time for you to leave now. Buffy?" Buffy still sat on the bed, where she'd been since they'd drugged Spike. She held one of his hands in her lap, her other hand lay on his chest. Willow walked over to the bed and touched her lightly on the shoulder. "Buffy?" She looked up. "Time for you to leave."

"No, I'm staying."

"Uh, you can't. Not unless you're involved in the spell."

"Then color me involved."

"Buffy..."

"I have my own resolve face, you know." She smiled at Willow, but her eyes were determined.

"O.K., but you have to promise to do only as I tell you, no matter what happens. We risk ruining the spell otherwise."

"I can do that," she murmured, her eyes drifting back to Spike.

"Buff," Willow hesitated. "You realize that with the spell, there aren't any guarantees..." she trailed off.

Buffy just nodded. "Let me know when you need me," she said.

Willow walked over to Anya, who was laying out the supplies she had gathered from the Magic Shop. "We're going to need another robe."

************************************************************************

Willow, Anya, and Buffy stood in a triangular formation around Spike, who sat in the middle of the circle of herbs that Willow had made. The tranquilizer was beginning to wear off, and while that at least made it easier for him to remain upright, the pain was now intense, a constant throbbing in his head. The fact that his demon was threatening to take over again didn't help any. And while it would be a lot easier to observe the whole thing from the cheap seats, he refused to do that. He felt enough like a wanker as it was.

All three women wore white robes tied with light blue cords. Anya and Buffy held lighted candles, and a third stood on the floor in front of Willow. Willow first prepared an altar of the four elements: earth (a crystal), air (incense), fire (a candle) and water. Then she charged and consecrated her athame, which was a double edged dagger carved with supernatural symbols. She touched her athame to each element as she chanted:

"I call earth to bind my spell Air to speed its travel well Bright as fire shall it glow Deep as tide of water flow Count the elements four fold, And in the fifth the spell shall hold."

She then took her dagger, her athame, and walked around them , drawing a circle. A brilliant white light poured from the end of the dagger and encircled them. As she walked she said, "great guardian spirits of wisdom witness these rites and guard this circle."

They remained surrounded by the circle of dazzling white light. Willow raised her hands to the sky. "Hygeia, goddess of health, Asclepius, god of healing, Athena, goddess of science, I evoke and conjure thee." A warm wind began to swirl around them. "In peace I welcome you in the name of the Most High, and I command you, remove this unnatural element from our friend, which causes him so much pain. Eximo, eximo, EXIMO!" Willow pointed her dagger at Spike, and a stream of white light struck and then enveloped him, swirling around his body like a cyclone and then centering on his head. Anya and Buffy watched, amazed, as a tiny computer chip soon danced in front of him, visible only because is sparked and glowed, then exploded in a shimmering shower of silvery dust.

"Great guardian spirits, I hail and thank you. Go in peace, and return to your sphere of origin. The rite has ended."

The white light around them disappeared and the wind receded. Buffy looked to Willow, who nodded her permission to approach Spike. Buffy didn't know what she had expected his reaction to be, perhaps something more dramatic, but when she got to him she found him slumped over, unconscious. She pulled him into her arms, his head against her chest.

"The chip, Buffy," Anya began.

"I know," she said, her voice quiet. "It did a lot of damage. But he'll be alright. With the vampire healing and all. He's so strong. He'll be fine." She began to stroke his hair. "He'll be just fine."

Willow and Anya exchanged a look, and then quietly let themselves out of the room.

TBC