Note: This is a repost of chapter 4, there's only one small change, nothing that effects the plot any.
Disclaimer: As always, all these characters, well, the majority of them, are own by the ingenious Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Feedback: I'll willing to beg for more feedback. Here goes: preeettty pllleassee? I'm every so grateful for the ones I've gotten so please, sir, I want some more!
A/N: Sorry for the slow update time. But I was up all night drinking expressos (okay, until about 10 and I'm drinking water but it's in an expresso cup!) finishing this just for my lovely reviewers. Thanks everyone!
****
Downstairs, everyone was scattered around Giles' living room, searching for a cure to help their friend. An answer, a clue, anything. They couldn't get the picture of their friend looking so fragile as she lay on the couch, trembling and sweating like she had the flu. As much as they hated to admit it, the only thing that had perked Willow up a little bit was that annoying vamp who'd sat by her side, holding her hand and slowly stroking the back of it with his finger. An action, the Scoobies assumed, he'd wanted to go unnoticed since he'd tried to hide it as much as possible. But they all saw it. Anya almost said something until Xander shoot her the look. Now their friend was upstairs with that very vampire, probably still trembling and looking fragile.
"I wish we had more to go on," Buffy said listlessly, not really expecting an answer. "A spell, yeah, we're on a Hellmouth, everyone here can do spells."
"I know what you mean but we have to try," Giles said, trying to look hopeful. "Maybe we'll get a sudden revelation and everything will be clear."
Buffy looked at her watcher and replied, "or maybe the demon that did this will show up and I can kick his ass into a demon-y pulp."
"Are we sure it's a demon doing all this?" Spike asked as he appeared at the top of the stairs, a dazed looking Willow leaning on his side.
Everyone turned to them hopefully.
"I blacked out again," Willow started delicately. "But this time I saw something. It was like a dream, I guess. When I was unconscious. There were robbed figures and candles. It was in a dark, gloomy room and they were all chanting."
"Were the faces male or female?" Giles questioned.
"Female. But the features weren't very clear. I think they had black eyes."
"Sounds like witches to me," Xander said and then quickly amended. "Bad witches, Will, not like you."
"So we're back to square one," Buffy said hopelessly. "Any demon could easily take a human form and do a spell or two."
"A demon in human clothing," Riley mused.
"Well, not all demons can. So at least we've narrowed it down," Giles said.
Buffy furrowed her brows in concentration then turned to Anya suddenly and asked, "Anya, can you think of any specific demons that can take human form and perform spells?"
"Well, most vengeance demons can," Anya informed them.
"Willow, who'd you piss off?" Xander asked playfully.
"I think we can pretty much rule vengeance demons out of the mix," Buffy said.
"No, no, no," Willow put in quickly. She and Spike were standing amongst the piles of books now with the others. Spike had carried her down the stairs in a style that resembled a groom carrying his bride into their first house, something that all the Scoobies noticed uneasily. "How would you know, Buffy? Maybe I picked a fight with someone or-or jilted a lover."
"Not me, of course," Spike chimed from her side. "But Willow can be wild."
Simulteaneously, everyone besides Spike and Willow shook an unwelcomed image from their minds.
"Still not buying the whole someone-siking-a-demon-on-Willow scenario," Xander said.
"Plus, vengeance demons usually work solo. You said there were a few of them. Wait," Anya said with palpable excitement. "How many figures were there, exactly?"
Willow wrinkled her forehead in thought.
"It was kinda hard to tell," she replied. "A big blur, you know? But I'm thinking there were four."
"The Sirenial Sisters! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Anya exclaimed.
"Of course!" Giles cried, rushing to a stack of books and hurriedly digging through them.
"So we know these sisters?" Buffy asked cluelessly.
"They're demons. Similar to vengeance demons, they were mortal a long time ago. They were witches, actually, during the Salem witch trails," Anya said.
"And unlike the innocent people of those times, they, the actual witches, weren't burned," Xander said then, seeing Willow's disgust, added, "again, they're bad witches, Willow, not like you."
"That's the thing, they were put on trail and found guilty, like many people were, but because they were actual witches, they got away," Giles paraphrased the book in his hand.
"Then they used their powers to torment the people who tormented them," Anya continued.
"So they are vengeance demons?" Spike asked the question everyone was wondering.
"Well, not in the strictest sense," said the knowledge filled watcher as he prepared to explain what he meant.
"They're ex-vengeance demons," Anya clarified. "D'Hoffryn did turn them into demons but they didn't conform to the rules."
"You guys have rules? I thought it was just hear wish, grant wish, and leave," Buffy said.
"Those are the basic rules," continued the ex-demon. "And the Sirenial Sisters refused to wield to them. Whenever they were summoned, they would stay as long as they could after granting the wish to wreak havoc. Finally D'Hoffryn got so perturbed at their unwillingness to compel, he stripped them of their vengeance titles. Then he put them in what mortals call a prison for all eternity."
"Harsh," Xander mused. "Why didn't he just make them mortal?"
"And how did they get out?" Buffy asked.
"And what do they want with Willow?" Spike questioned.
Anya waved her hand in annoyance at the barrage of questions.
"Hold on!" She cried and then turned to Xander. "Xander, D'Hoffryn kept them demons so they could live forever with their mistakes. Buffy," she looked to the blonde girl. "I'm not positive about how they escaped their cells. There are spells but you either have to be a really good witch or a complete idiot to do them."
****
"Where's that divine help we were chanting for?" Karen asked as she stood behind a table covered in baked goods and warming lemonade.
"You didn't think it would actually work, did you?" Charlotte scoffed while rearranging the cookies yet again, hoping to attract customers. "I mean, did you even look at the book we were using? It was all old and falling apart. Yuck, I don't know where you found that anyway."
"My grandma gave it to me. My mother," Karen replied, stressing the word mother with distaste. "Told her I was a Wicca and she insisted on giving it to me."
"Well, the spell didn't work. This bake sale is going nowhere," Charlotte whined. "Some people choose not to even show up."
"Yeah, where's that Tara girl? Did she finally find some other people to play clinging puppy dog for? It's about time." Karen laughed wickedly.
"Maybe the spell did work and it was to get her off our backs," Charlotte hissed and joined in Karen's laughter.
"It's people like her that give Wiccans a bad name," Karen replied. "And that red head that came to one of our meetings. They are the kind of people who would think our summoning spell would actually work."
****
"Again, I ask, where does Willow fit into all of this?" Spike prodded Anya.
"I- I don't know what they want with Willow," Anya's tone suddenly went from all-knowing to slightly unsure. "I mean, this has never happened before."
"It sucks to be original," Xander muttered.
"There are certainly no precedents for this," Giles said as he flipped through yet another book.
"Does that mean we're dealing with major witches here? I mean, they have to be pretty powerful to raise the Sirenial Sisters, right?" Buffy asked, a hint of worry stiff creeping into her composed voice.
Crossing Giles, who was busily searching his trusty texts, Anya plopped onto the couch in a sign of desperation.
"Witches are the most likely culprits," she said. After seeing the proud gleam in Xander's eyes when she was encyclopedia girl, Anya wanted desperately to know the solution and help the mortals he was friends with. If only she was more into gossip during her demon days, she might have heard something.
"Willy's!" Anya cried and leapt up to reinforce the exclamination. "You know, that two-faced rodentlike man who Buffy beats up for information that Xander told me about."
"Sounds good," Buffy said, happy to have something to do. "I'll ask if he's heard about any powerful mojo going on. Riley, you coming?"
Her brunette boyfriend turned to her. "Hold on. Quick question, what are the Sirenial Sisters doing to the Initiative?"
Spike almost made a snide comment at this but Willow softly squeezed his hand, hoping for patience.
"Again, I'm not positive," Anya said.
"It's okay. You guys do the research thing and we'll compare notes when we're back from Willy's," said Riley as he and Buffy opened the door to leave.
"Get better, okay Willow?" Buffy requested gently before they exited.
Once the slayer and the soldier had left, everyone returned to the piles. They all seemed a little grave even though they tried to hide it. There was an uncomfortable silence only disturbed by the scraping sound of stale pages turning.
"Maybe there's a spell I can do. A locator spell or at least a protection spell," Willow said softly.
"Are you really up for doing a spell?" Spike asked.
"Hey," the offended Willow said. "I restored Angel's soul while in a hospital bed."
"She's good," Xander commented.
"Angel's soul? I'm sorry to say but, not your finest work," Spike couldn't help but say.
"What we need to figure out how they got out in the first place," Giles interjected before a fight could break out. "Then we can maybe find a binding spell to fit the circumstances."
"Aren't there guards at that prison?" Xander asked.
"There should be. If there happens to be trouble in the demon dimension they were in then the watch might be reduced," Anya informed them.
"So there's trouble in demon paradise? Then these witches or whoever came along, did some chanting, and..."
"Down came the prison walls," Spike finished Xander's sentence.
"Would we just be able to do a reversal spell? You said a spell brought them here so couldn't another put them back where they were?" Willow asked hopefully.
"In theory it should work. It's probably quite a complex summoning spell so it might not work," said Giles with caution, not wanting to rain on anyone's parade.
"Great!" Willow said excitedly while trying to raise from her seat on the couch. "Spike, we can go to-"
"You're not going anywhere," Giles said sternly. "Anya and Spike can go."
"Relax, Red, we got it covered," Spike reassured Willow who was almost frantic to do something useful. Her kissed her on the forehead before an equally frantic watcher pushed him towards the door.
"Here's a spell book and some money. Anya, find a reversal spell or binding spell or- or whatever looks like it'd help on your way to the magic shop," Giles said, in commander mode. "Xander and I will, as you say, hold down the fort until we reconvene here."
Disclaimer: As always, all these characters, well, the majority of them, are own by the ingenious Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Feedback: I'll willing to beg for more feedback. Here goes: preeettty pllleassee? I'm every so grateful for the ones I've gotten so please, sir, I want some more!
A/N: Sorry for the slow update time. But I was up all night drinking expressos (okay, until about 10 and I'm drinking water but it's in an expresso cup!) finishing this just for my lovely reviewers. Thanks everyone!
****
Downstairs, everyone was scattered around Giles' living room, searching for a cure to help their friend. An answer, a clue, anything. They couldn't get the picture of their friend looking so fragile as she lay on the couch, trembling and sweating like she had the flu. As much as they hated to admit it, the only thing that had perked Willow up a little bit was that annoying vamp who'd sat by her side, holding her hand and slowly stroking the back of it with his finger. An action, the Scoobies assumed, he'd wanted to go unnoticed since he'd tried to hide it as much as possible. But they all saw it. Anya almost said something until Xander shoot her the look. Now their friend was upstairs with that very vampire, probably still trembling and looking fragile.
"I wish we had more to go on," Buffy said listlessly, not really expecting an answer. "A spell, yeah, we're on a Hellmouth, everyone here can do spells."
"I know what you mean but we have to try," Giles said, trying to look hopeful. "Maybe we'll get a sudden revelation and everything will be clear."
Buffy looked at her watcher and replied, "or maybe the demon that did this will show up and I can kick his ass into a demon-y pulp."
"Are we sure it's a demon doing all this?" Spike asked as he appeared at the top of the stairs, a dazed looking Willow leaning on his side.
Everyone turned to them hopefully.
"I blacked out again," Willow started delicately. "But this time I saw something. It was like a dream, I guess. When I was unconscious. There were robbed figures and candles. It was in a dark, gloomy room and they were all chanting."
"Were the faces male or female?" Giles questioned.
"Female. But the features weren't very clear. I think they had black eyes."
"Sounds like witches to me," Xander said and then quickly amended. "Bad witches, Will, not like you."
"So we're back to square one," Buffy said hopelessly. "Any demon could easily take a human form and do a spell or two."
"A demon in human clothing," Riley mused.
"Well, not all demons can. So at least we've narrowed it down," Giles said.
Buffy furrowed her brows in concentration then turned to Anya suddenly and asked, "Anya, can you think of any specific demons that can take human form and perform spells?"
"Well, most vengeance demons can," Anya informed them.
"Willow, who'd you piss off?" Xander asked playfully.
"I think we can pretty much rule vengeance demons out of the mix," Buffy said.
"No, no, no," Willow put in quickly. She and Spike were standing amongst the piles of books now with the others. Spike had carried her down the stairs in a style that resembled a groom carrying his bride into their first house, something that all the Scoobies noticed uneasily. "How would you know, Buffy? Maybe I picked a fight with someone or-or jilted a lover."
"Not me, of course," Spike chimed from her side. "But Willow can be wild."
Simulteaneously, everyone besides Spike and Willow shook an unwelcomed image from their minds.
"Still not buying the whole someone-siking-a-demon-on-Willow scenario," Xander said.
"Plus, vengeance demons usually work solo. You said there were a few of them. Wait," Anya said with palpable excitement. "How many figures were there, exactly?"
Willow wrinkled her forehead in thought.
"It was kinda hard to tell," she replied. "A big blur, you know? But I'm thinking there were four."
"The Sirenial Sisters! Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Anya exclaimed.
"Of course!" Giles cried, rushing to a stack of books and hurriedly digging through them.
"So we know these sisters?" Buffy asked cluelessly.
"They're demons. Similar to vengeance demons, they were mortal a long time ago. They were witches, actually, during the Salem witch trails," Anya said.
"And unlike the innocent people of those times, they, the actual witches, weren't burned," Xander said then, seeing Willow's disgust, added, "again, they're bad witches, Willow, not like you."
"That's the thing, they were put on trail and found guilty, like many people were, but because they were actual witches, they got away," Giles paraphrased the book in his hand.
"Then they used their powers to torment the people who tormented them," Anya continued.
"So they are vengeance demons?" Spike asked the question everyone was wondering.
"Well, not in the strictest sense," said the knowledge filled watcher as he prepared to explain what he meant.
"They're ex-vengeance demons," Anya clarified. "D'Hoffryn did turn them into demons but they didn't conform to the rules."
"You guys have rules? I thought it was just hear wish, grant wish, and leave," Buffy said.
"Those are the basic rules," continued the ex-demon. "And the Sirenial Sisters refused to wield to them. Whenever they were summoned, they would stay as long as they could after granting the wish to wreak havoc. Finally D'Hoffryn got so perturbed at their unwillingness to compel, he stripped them of their vengeance titles. Then he put them in what mortals call a prison for all eternity."
"Harsh," Xander mused. "Why didn't he just make them mortal?"
"And how did they get out?" Buffy asked.
"And what do they want with Willow?" Spike questioned.
Anya waved her hand in annoyance at the barrage of questions.
"Hold on!" She cried and then turned to Xander. "Xander, D'Hoffryn kept them demons so they could live forever with their mistakes. Buffy," she looked to the blonde girl. "I'm not positive about how they escaped their cells. There are spells but you either have to be a really good witch or a complete idiot to do them."
****
"Where's that divine help we were chanting for?" Karen asked as she stood behind a table covered in baked goods and warming lemonade.
"You didn't think it would actually work, did you?" Charlotte scoffed while rearranging the cookies yet again, hoping to attract customers. "I mean, did you even look at the book we were using? It was all old and falling apart. Yuck, I don't know where you found that anyway."
"My grandma gave it to me. My mother," Karen replied, stressing the word mother with distaste. "Told her I was a Wicca and she insisted on giving it to me."
"Well, the spell didn't work. This bake sale is going nowhere," Charlotte whined. "Some people choose not to even show up."
"Yeah, where's that Tara girl? Did she finally find some other people to play clinging puppy dog for? It's about time." Karen laughed wickedly.
"Maybe the spell did work and it was to get her off our backs," Charlotte hissed and joined in Karen's laughter.
"It's people like her that give Wiccans a bad name," Karen replied. "And that red head that came to one of our meetings. They are the kind of people who would think our summoning spell would actually work."
****
"Again, I ask, where does Willow fit into all of this?" Spike prodded Anya.
"I- I don't know what they want with Willow," Anya's tone suddenly went from all-knowing to slightly unsure. "I mean, this has never happened before."
"It sucks to be original," Xander muttered.
"There are certainly no precedents for this," Giles said as he flipped through yet another book.
"Does that mean we're dealing with major witches here? I mean, they have to be pretty powerful to raise the Sirenial Sisters, right?" Buffy asked, a hint of worry stiff creeping into her composed voice.
Crossing Giles, who was busily searching his trusty texts, Anya plopped onto the couch in a sign of desperation.
"Witches are the most likely culprits," she said. After seeing the proud gleam in Xander's eyes when she was encyclopedia girl, Anya wanted desperately to know the solution and help the mortals he was friends with. If only she was more into gossip during her demon days, she might have heard something.
"Willy's!" Anya cried and leapt up to reinforce the exclamination. "You know, that two-faced rodentlike man who Buffy beats up for information that Xander told me about."
"Sounds good," Buffy said, happy to have something to do. "I'll ask if he's heard about any powerful mojo going on. Riley, you coming?"
Her brunette boyfriend turned to her. "Hold on. Quick question, what are the Sirenial Sisters doing to the Initiative?"
Spike almost made a snide comment at this but Willow softly squeezed his hand, hoping for patience.
"Again, I'm not positive," Anya said.
"It's okay. You guys do the research thing and we'll compare notes when we're back from Willy's," said Riley as he and Buffy opened the door to leave.
"Get better, okay Willow?" Buffy requested gently before they exited.
Once the slayer and the soldier had left, everyone returned to the piles. They all seemed a little grave even though they tried to hide it. There was an uncomfortable silence only disturbed by the scraping sound of stale pages turning.
"Maybe there's a spell I can do. A locator spell or at least a protection spell," Willow said softly.
"Are you really up for doing a spell?" Spike asked.
"Hey," the offended Willow said. "I restored Angel's soul while in a hospital bed."
"She's good," Xander commented.
"Angel's soul? I'm sorry to say but, not your finest work," Spike couldn't help but say.
"What we need to figure out how they got out in the first place," Giles interjected before a fight could break out. "Then we can maybe find a binding spell to fit the circumstances."
"Aren't there guards at that prison?" Xander asked.
"There should be. If there happens to be trouble in the demon dimension they were in then the watch might be reduced," Anya informed them.
"So there's trouble in demon paradise? Then these witches or whoever came along, did some chanting, and..."
"Down came the prison walls," Spike finished Xander's sentence.
"Would we just be able to do a reversal spell? You said a spell brought them here so couldn't another put them back where they were?" Willow asked hopefully.
"In theory it should work. It's probably quite a complex summoning spell so it might not work," said Giles with caution, not wanting to rain on anyone's parade.
"Great!" Willow said excitedly while trying to raise from her seat on the couch. "Spike, we can go to-"
"You're not going anywhere," Giles said sternly. "Anya and Spike can go."
"Relax, Red, we got it covered," Spike reassured Willow who was almost frantic to do something useful. Her kissed her on the forehead before an equally frantic watcher pushed him towards the door.
"Here's a spell book and some money. Anya, find a reversal spell or binding spell or- or whatever looks like it'd help on your way to the magic shop," Giles said, in commander mode. "Xander and I will, as you say, hold down the fort until we reconvene here."