A/N: So this is the chapter almost everything gets explained. I hope is makes sense! Also, this is kind of the beginning of the end; 'The Anonymous Redhead' is almost over...
****
After closely inspecting the surrounding area, Riley located his squad hiding in a nearby bush.
"All right guys," he said as he knelt down beside them, "we can now continue with our mission. As always, we must exercise extreme caution and travel as covertly as possible. This means no loud talking and limited time spent not undercover. We shouldn't do anything to draw atten-"
"Hey Riley!" Xander called from the other side of the bush. "What are you doing over there?"
"Trying to be covert," Riley mumbled.
"Oh, well, keep up the good work," Xander said as he turned away.
"So anyway..." Riley began.
"Actually," Xander interrupted him again as he turned back around, "have you seen Buffy?"
"No. I just came here to check on Giles."
"Yeah, we're here for Anya's coat." Xander motioned to the shivering girl. "Why don't you go on ahead, Anya, I'll just be a min-"
"No," Riley said quickly, "you should go with her."
Xander looked at him strangely for a moment and then asked, "is this just your fancy soldier way of getting rid of me?"
"Of course not," Riley assured him, "I just think it'd be safer for Anya if she didn't go in there alone."
"Giles is that hammered, huh?"
"Well," Riley hesitated, "that and other things."
Xander nodded even though he wasn't exactly sure what Riley meant.
"Will you wait here?" Xander asked. "We'll be quick."
"Okay," Riley agreed. "It'd be good to come up with a plan."
"Exactly. Let's go, Anya."
Anya scowled at being ordered around by a man but followed anyway. When they entered the house, Giles was stretched out across the couch with his eyes shut. Xander walked over to him and prodded his shoulder with a finger.
"Huh, what? Who are you?" Giles mumbled when his eyes opened slightly.
"Xander, which one of these coats belongs to me?" Anya asked from across the room.
"Anyanka?" Giles questioned when he recognized the voice.
"Ripper?"
"Your coat is the red one," Xander intervened quickly.
"Are you Riley?" Giles asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.
"Uh..." Xander wasn't sure what to say.
"So you're sure Anyanka and I aren't shagging?"
"What?" Xander cried indignantly as he stood up.
"Well, if not, do you know if she is shagging anybody?" Giles asked hopefully.
"And we're done here," Xander said as he went up to Anya. "Go back to sleep, Giles."
They left the house quickly and Anya muttered at how rude and how male he was acting. Xander ignored her. When they got outside, Riley had changed from his soldier uniform into civilian clothing.
"How does he do that?" Xander wonder aloud.
"So what's the plan?" Riley asked as if Xander knew.
"We should look for the people who summoned them," Anya said.
"And how exactly do we do that?" Riley asked with some annoyance.
"If only D'Hoffryn gave me my demon powers again, just for a short period of time," Anya grumbled.
"So we have nothing?" Xander summed it up.
"I wouldn't say that."
Everyone turned to see the owner of the voice. It was Spike. And in his arms was the limp form of Buffy. Xander and Riley rushed over.
"What happened?" Riley asked as he took Buffy into his arms.
"We had an encounter with the Sirenial Sisters. I can see why known of the other demons wanted to play with them at school," Spike grumbled.
"How'd they do this to Buffy?" Xander questioned.
"Some kind of spell I imagine. I saw one of them grab her and chant something," Spike explained.
"And where were you during this?" Xander asked angrily.
"I was detained," Spike answered sharply, "by a crippling blast of energy."
"What did she look like? The demon who seized Buffy," Anya asked, trying to avoid a counter productive fight.
"Red hair and green eyes," Spike recalled.
"Cullena," Anya said flatly. "She has brown eyes but she adapts the eye color of the witch whose power she drains."
"Willow," Spike said softly.
"But this means that you know where the Sirenial Sisters are, right?" Xander asked.
" 'Fraid not. The Skanky Sisters scampered off, well, disappeared I should say, after they did this to the Slayer. By the way, shouldn't we be getting her inside?"
"Good point," Riley agreed. He motioned to his squad that he'd still be a minute. Then he followed the others indoors.
In a group effort, they moved the still passed-out Giles from the couch to a chair and arranged Buffy on the couch.
"So she's been this way since the attack?" Riley asked indicating Buffy.
"Actually, she went in and out of it on our way here. But she was acting different. She would basically wake up, say some insult and drop back off," Spike said.
"Wait, so she insulted you a lot?" Xander asked.
"Yeah..."
"Then she wasn't acting different at all, what are you worried about?"
Spike scowled at the boy but held his tongue, thinking that if he fought with him, Willow would somehow find out and be angry.
"No, I'm serious. She was-"
Suddenly, Buffy's body writhed on the couch, interrupting Spike. Then just as suddenly, it stopped.
"What was that?" Xander voiced everyone's question.
"Those parsimonious demons! They stole Buffy's soul!" Anya exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" Riley asked with concern.
"That's what some demons do to replenish their powers," Anya explained.
"And you're remembering this now," Xander said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"What do you mean by stealing their souls? Wouldn't that kill the person? And does that mean the Sirenial Sisters have souls?" Spike questioned.
"Not precisely. Some demons use human souls as energy sources meaning they have to steal humans' souls thus turning the humans into mindless drones."
"Do all vengeance demons do this?" Xander asked, horrified at thinking of his girlfriend doing things to make people suffer like Buffy and Willow.
"No. But potentially if they go for long enough without using their powers they might have to in order to regain them. The Sirenial Sisters were imprisoned for approximately forty years. That was enough for them to be almost entirely drained of their powers. It depends on the demon as to how long they can last without using their powers before recharging. And, again, not all demons do this."
"So are demons very picky about who they suck? I mean, uh, steal the soul of," Xander rephrased quickly when he heard Spike snicker.
"For demons like the Sirenial Sisters whose power is mainly rooted in witchcraft they would target witches," Anya said, feeling very smart.
"Like Willow," Spike said softly. "But what about Buffy?"
Anya shrugged. "Either Cullena was proving a point or showing off."
"But Willow didn't pass out completely for such a long period of time like Buffy. And she didn't come in direct contact with any of the Sirenial Sisters," Spike pointed out.
"I know," Anya said, exasperated, "but now that the Sirenial Sisters have more power they can probably steal people's souls more easily now. And that kind of thing has different effects on different people."
"So since Cullena is more powerful now, it only took one attempt to soul-suck Buffy." Spike started to understand.
"Yes!" Anya cried happily, excited at being the smart one who was helping people. 'Wait, helping people?' she wondered, 'I'm a vengeance demon, I don't help people. Unless it involves boils or pus.'
"So what do we do now?"
Again, that question and again, no answer
****
"So what do we do now?" Karen asked impatiently.
"I don't like this," Charlotte murmured.
"Stop being so negative you two," Cullena scolded. "Everything's going to be okay."
"In what sense of the word?" Karen cried angrily.
The words echoed through the empty factory they were hiding in. They'd actually transported to the college campus, knowing that Spike and Buffy couldn't follow. There Karen and Charlotte decided the old and empty factory they stood in would be a good hiding place.
"In the sense that none of us are hurt, captured, or dead. And that that strong girl and boy won't be able to find us," Cullena explained calmly.
She walked away from the group to gaze out a window, her hands resting lightly on the sill.
"There was something different about those two," Cullena said in a stage whisper. "They both possessed great power but were very different from one another, I'm not sure how."
"I sensed it too," Reina confirmed.
Cullena nodded then turned her head slightly towards the group.
"Come here, Willow," she murmured.
Dutifully, the fellow redhead walked to her master who put a hand on her shoulder.
"Tell me, Willow, why does that girl and boy posses such strength? And how can we change that?"
****
After closely inspecting the surrounding area, Riley located his squad hiding in a nearby bush.
"All right guys," he said as he knelt down beside them, "we can now continue with our mission. As always, we must exercise extreme caution and travel as covertly as possible. This means no loud talking and limited time spent not undercover. We shouldn't do anything to draw atten-"
"Hey Riley!" Xander called from the other side of the bush. "What are you doing over there?"
"Trying to be covert," Riley mumbled.
"Oh, well, keep up the good work," Xander said as he turned away.
"So anyway..." Riley began.
"Actually," Xander interrupted him again as he turned back around, "have you seen Buffy?"
"No. I just came here to check on Giles."
"Yeah, we're here for Anya's coat." Xander motioned to the shivering girl. "Why don't you go on ahead, Anya, I'll just be a min-"
"No," Riley said quickly, "you should go with her."
Xander looked at him strangely for a moment and then asked, "is this just your fancy soldier way of getting rid of me?"
"Of course not," Riley assured him, "I just think it'd be safer for Anya if she didn't go in there alone."
"Giles is that hammered, huh?"
"Well," Riley hesitated, "that and other things."
Xander nodded even though he wasn't exactly sure what Riley meant.
"Will you wait here?" Xander asked. "We'll be quick."
"Okay," Riley agreed. "It'd be good to come up with a plan."
"Exactly. Let's go, Anya."
Anya scowled at being ordered around by a man but followed anyway. When they entered the house, Giles was stretched out across the couch with his eyes shut. Xander walked over to him and prodded his shoulder with a finger.
"Huh, what? Who are you?" Giles mumbled when his eyes opened slightly.
"Xander, which one of these coats belongs to me?" Anya asked from across the room.
"Anyanka?" Giles questioned when he recognized the voice.
"Ripper?"
"Your coat is the red one," Xander intervened quickly.
"Are you Riley?" Giles asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.
"Uh..." Xander wasn't sure what to say.
"So you're sure Anyanka and I aren't shagging?"
"What?" Xander cried indignantly as he stood up.
"Well, if not, do you know if she is shagging anybody?" Giles asked hopefully.
"And we're done here," Xander said as he went up to Anya. "Go back to sleep, Giles."
They left the house quickly and Anya muttered at how rude and how male he was acting. Xander ignored her. When they got outside, Riley had changed from his soldier uniform into civilian clothing.
"How does he do that?" Xander wonder aloud.
"So what's the plan?" Riley asked as if Xander knew.
"We should look for the people who summoned them," Anya said.
"And how exactly do we do that?" Riley asked with some annoyance.
"If only D'Hoffryn gave me my demon powers again, just for a short period of time," Anya grumbled.
"So we have nothing?" Xander summed it up.
"I wouldn't say that."
Everyone turned to see the owner of the voice. It was Spike. And in his arms was the limp form of Buffy. Xander and Riley rushed over.
"What happened?" Riley asked as he took Buffy into his arms.
"We had an encounter with the Sirenial Sisters. I can see why known of the other demons wanted to play with them at school," Spike grumbled.
"How'd they do this to Buffy?" Xander questioned.
"Some kind of spell I imagine. I saw one of them grab her and chant something," Spike explained.
"And where were you during this?" Xander asked angrily.
"I was detained," Spike answered sharply, "by a crippling blast of energy."
"What did she look like? The demon who seized Buffy," Anya asked, trying to avoid a counter productive fight.
"Red hair and green eyes," Spike recalled.
"Cullena," Anya said flatly. "She has brown eyes but she adapts the eye color of the witch whose power she drains."
"Willow," Spike said softly.
"But this means that you know where the Sirenial Sisters are, right?" Xander asked.
" 'Fraid not. The Skanky Sisters scampered off, well, disappeared I should say, after they did this to the Slayer. By the way, shouldn't we be getting her inside?"
"Good point," Riley agreed. He motioned to his squad that he'd still be a minute. Then he followed the others indoors.
In a group effort, they moved the still passed-out Giles from the couch to a chair and arranged Buffy on the couch.
"So she's been this way since the attack?" Riley asked indicating Buffy.
"Actually, she went in and out of it on our way here. But she was acting different. She would basically wake up, say some insult and drop back off," Spike said.
"Wait, so she insulted you a lot?" Xander asked.
"Yeah..."
"Then she wasn't acting different at all, what are you worried about?"
Spike scowled at the boy but held his tongue, thinking that if he fought with him, Willow would somehow find out and be angry.
"No, I'm serious. She was-"
Suddenly, Buffy's body writhed on the couch, interrupting Spike. Then just as suddenly, it stopped.
"What was that?" Xander voiced everyone's question.
"Those parsimonious demons! They stole Buffy's soul!" Anya exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" Riley asked with concern.
"That's what some demons do to replenish their powers," Anya explained.
"And you're remembering this now," Xander said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"What do you mean by stealing their souls? Wouldn't that kill the person? And does that mean the Sirenial Sisters have souls?" Spike questioned.
"Not precisely. Some demons use human souls as energy sources meaning they have to steal humans' souls thus turning the humans into mindless drones."
"Do all vengeance demons do this?" Xander asked, horrified at thinking of his girlfriend doing things to make people suffer like Buffy and Willow.
"No. But potentially if they go for long enough without using their powers they might have to in order to regain them. The Sirenial Sisters were imprisoned for approximately forty years. That was enough for them to be almost entirely drained of their powers. It depends on the demon as to how long they can last without using their powers before recharging. And, again, not all demons do this."
"So are demons very picky about who they suck? I mean, uh, steal the soul of," Xander rephrased quickly when he heard Spike snicker.
"For demons like the Sirenial Sisters whose power is mainly rooted in witchcraft they would target witches," Anya said, feeling very smart.
"Like Willow," Spike said softly. "But what about Buffy?"
Anya shrugged. "Either Cullena was proving a point or showing off."
"But Willow didn't pass out completely for such a long period of time like Buffy. And she didn't come in direct contact with any of the Sirenial Sisters," Spike pointed out.
"I know," Anya said, exasperated, "but now that the Sirenial Sisters have more power they can probably steal people's souls more easily now. And that kind of thing has different effects on different people."
"So since Cullena is more powerful now, it only took one attempt to soul-suck Buffy." Spike started to understand.
"Yes!" Anya cried happily, excited at being the smart one who was helping people. 'Wait, helping people?' she wondered, 'I'm a vengeance demon, I don't help people. Unless it involves boils or pus.'
"So what do we do now?"
Again, that question and again, no answer
****
"So what do we do now?" Karen asked impatiently.
"I don't like this," Charlotte murmured.
"Stop being so negative you two," Cullena scolded. "Everything's going to be okay."
"In what sense of the word?" Karen cried angrily.
The words echoed through the empty factory they were hiding in. They'd actually transported to the college campus, knowing that Spike and Buffy couldn't follow. There Karen and Charlotte decided the old and empty factory they stood in would be a good hiding place.
"In the sense that none of us are hurt, captured, or dead. And that that strong girl and boy won't be able to find us," Cullena explained calmly.
She walked away from the group to gaze out a window, her hands resting lightly on the sill.
"There was something different about those two," Cullena said in a stage whisper. "They both possessed great power but were very different from one another, I'm not sure how."
"I sensed it too," Reina confirmed.
Cullena nodded then turned her head slightly towards the group.
"Come here, Willow," she murmured.
Dutifully, the fellow redhead walked to her master who put a hand on her shoulder.
"Tell me, Willow, why does that girl and boy posses such strength? And how can we change that?"