A/N: It's not over yet. But almost. If anyone's still reading this, sorry for the wait. I've been having a slight case of writer's block. Hopefully I'll have this story finished very soon. But I do have some other stories in the works so if anyone actually likes this, please stick around! Alright, I hope you enjoy!
****
For about 20 minutes, Willow gave a brief overview of her life as a member of the Scooby Gang for Cullena. She talked about Buffy's role as the Slayer, Giles' role as the Watcher, and her role as the sidekick. She told them about some of the many adventures they've been through together. Some she talked about included defeating the Master, having to fight Buffy's ex-boyfriend who turned evil, and blowing up their highschool. She also relived the past events of that year; Oz leaving, the Initiative, the Gentleman, and Spike. She talked about all of the major events in her life and she did it with no emotion. At no moment in her monologue did her voice quicken in excitement like the old Willow would've done. And her eyes never once welled in tears even when she talked about Buffy's death or Oz breaking her heart. She didn't even smile when describing her new found love with Spike.
In addition to Willow's soul, Cullena seemed to have stolen Willow's emotions. While Willow spoke, Cullena laughed, smiled, and even squealed occasionally. And by the end of the story, Cullena's eyes were so wide and full of excitement, they looked like they would pop out of her head. She'd missed a lot while in that damn demon prison.
After the completion of Willow's story, Cullena hugged the girl and exclaimed, "this is going to be so easy!"
****
"This isn't going to be easy," Riley mumbled.
"Come on, chin up, Sunnydale isn't that big of a town," Spike attempted to rally the troop of one soldier, an ex-demon, and some kid.
"Yeah, maybe a few years ago it wasn't. Now we suddenly have a zoo, a muesuem, an underground government operation, and a..." Xander listed Sunnydale's major attractions on his fingers.
"There should be some yellow path for us to follow," Anya pouted. "Oh! Maybe there's a spell for that!"
"Yeah and when we find the witches, we'll pour water over them and they'll just melt away," Spike said sarcastically.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Spike's right."
Spike shot Xander a murderous glare.
"I just mean, I think we've all had enough spells for a while," Xander clarified.
"We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way, on foot," Riley said.
Anya scowled and suddenly cried, "why should I listen to you men, anyway? I think we should do a spell. I'm willing to risk it. You should too, Spike, after all, you are in love with Willow."
"What?" The three men asked at the same time..
"You'd do that for Willow?" Xander asked warmly.
"You remember that?" Riley questioned.
"I'd do anything for Willow," Spike said softly.
"One at a time!" Anya shouted. "Do I have strong feelings against this girl? If not, I have no problem helping her."
Xander beamed at his girlfriend's partially nice comment. "No, you're great friends with Willow," he lied.
Then Anya turned to Riley. "I don't remember a massive quantity of information but some things are coming back to me."
"The spell must be wearing off," Riley said more to himself than anyone else.
"And Spike," Anya addressed the melancholy vampire, "if you really would do anything for her then you damn well better do something!"
Everyone was stunned at Anya's forcefulness. They noted how differently she acted when she didn't know what she was talking about.
"Don't make me liquefy your entrails," she added.
Or not.
"Fine, I'll do a spell with you. Can you think of one?" Spike asked.
Anya looked at him blankly. "Uh..."
****
"No." Karen said the word firmly and without fear. She knew she had to stand up to Cullena and the others eventually. It was, after all, partially her fault they were here. And partially her fault that the blonde girl from before got hurt and any others who got hurt later. She wanted to stop then and there. And she could tell Charlotte did too. But she knew she had to be the one to say it.
"Excuse me?" Cullena asked. She turned to the girl, eyes glinting.
"I-I said..." Karen felt herself loosing her nerve under the witch's glare.
"She said no," Charlotte chimed in suddenly.
"Do I need to go over the plan again?" Cullena asked with a patience that edged close to anger. "We've decided to find the Slayer and her little groupies now and get it over with. I mean, let's face it, we're going to have to face them sooner or later if we're going to take over the world."
"No, no, no," Karen objected, shaking her head rapidly, "there's no 'we' involved in this. I don't know how you got Tara and the others to join you but-"
"Oh, we stole their souls and brainwashed them," Rosa said cheerfully.
"Whatever. What I'm saying is that we won't help you," Karen said sternly.
"It's a little late for that. We owe all of this to you."
Looking down at her feet, Karen weakly mumbled, "we won't let you hurt the Slay- I mean, Buffy. Or anyone else."
All of the laughter and glee drained from Cullena's face and was replaced by a bitter frown.
"What do you care anyway? You don't even know Buffy or anyone of her friends. Well, except Willow but it's a little late for her. Isn't that right, Willow?"
Willow nodded her head like an obedient soulless slave. Charlotte looked down at her feet like Karen to hide her grimace.
"Can't we unwish our wish?" Karen asked desperately.
"Sorry, no returns or refunds," Clarissa smiled.
"But we don't care about how many cookies we sell! We just don't want anyone else to be hurt!" Charlotte cried. Her voice was high like she was on the verge of tears.
Cullena and Reina exchanged annoyed glances. This wasn't part of the plan they spent all those years in prison forming.
"Look, we could be doing a lot better things right now than catering to some whiny college girls' every whim. We *are* on a schedule here. A schedule that involves more than selling some goddamn cookies so you can buy those really cute shoes you've been eyeing! We didn't have that when we were you're age. No colleges for females, no malls. Only a life cut short by a flaming stake or a husband and some snot nosed kids!" Cullena's eyes had darkened and her fists were shaking from the energy that sparked around them.
By then Karen and Charlotte had backed into a corner. Their mouths were agap and their eyes were filled with trembling tears.
"Cullena," Reina said softly as she gently put her hand on her older sister's shoulder.
Cullena squeezed her eyes tight and released her fist. The energy around her diminished as her eyes lightened.
"We're u-using the m-money for a dance recital," Charlotte stuttered out. 'I will never, ever make fun of Tara again!' She vowed silently.
She didn't laugh, but Cullena did manage to force a smile. But the rest of her face seemed almost tired.
"We finish the Slayer and her friends tonight," Cullena announced solemnly.
"We don't want any part of it," Karen said with renewed bravery.
Cullena turned to her and Karen lost that bravery.
"Fine. But that means you can't have your wish granted," she replied steadily.
"Wait. We're not allowed to refuse someone's wish," Clarissa argued.
"Why not?" Cullena asked her. "It's not like we can be punished for it."
Usually this kind of statement would've been followed by a laugh. But this time Cullena remained serious.
"I never thought of it that way," Clarissa confessed softly.
"None of us did which goes to show how weak we've become. We can't let some stupid wish get in our way. We'll just have to leave Karen and Charlotte behind," Cullena explained.
Karen and Charlotte exchanged looks of relief.
"That doesn't mean we can't make a stop to kill the Slayer," Cullena informed them coldly. "Let's go."
They walked away from the frightened humans and to the door in step.
"What are we going to do?" Charlotte whispered.
"What can we do?" Karen replied.
Charlotte shook her head and said, "something."
"By the way," Cullena said as she turned around with a screech of heels. "we're putting a spell on this place; you won't be able to get out until morning. By then it'll be too late."
****
"You just gave us that long speech and you don't even have a plan?" Spike asked indignantly.
"I shouldn't be required to do everything around here," Anya hissed.
"Look, guys, here's what we'll do," Riley said quickly, "I'll gather my troops and continue my mission with them. We already have a troop searching another part of town."
"That all sounds fine and dandy but what are we supposed to do?" Xander asked.
"Well... uh..."
"See, he doesn't have a plan either," Anya said accusingly.
"No, I do, I mean," Riley said.
Everyone looked to the soldier expectantly. He shifted nervously under their gaze.
"You guys stay here," Riley started cautiously.
"Yeah and do the spell. We knew that already," Spike said.
"No, I mean, after the spell, just stay here," Riley finished.
"No way, I'm not-"
"Don't worry, the spell will work," Anya interrupted Spike.
"Yeah, once we find one to do," Xander scoffed.
"Fine," Spike grumbled. "You can go toddle off with your troop now."
Riley bite his tongue and departed quickly.
"Well, looks like it's time to do another spell."
****
For about 20 minutes, Willow gave a brief overview of her life as a member of the Scooby Gang for Cullena. She talked about Buffy's role as the Slayer, Giles' role as the Watcher, and her role as the sidekick. She told them about some of the many adventures they've been through together. Some she talked about included defeating the Master, having to fight Buffy's ex-boyfriend who turned evil, and blowing up their highschool. She also relived the past events of that year; Oz leaving, the Initiative, the Gentleman, and Spike. She talked about all of the major events in her life and she did it with no emotion. At no moment in her monologue did her voice quicken in excitement like the old Willow would've done. And her eyes never once welled in tears even when she talked about Buffy's death or Oz breaking her heart. She didn't even smile when describing her new found love with Spike.
In addition to Willow's soul, Cullena seemed to have stolen Willow's emotions. While Willow spoke, Cullena laughed, smiled, and even squealed occasionally. And by the end of the story, Cullena's eyes were so wide and full of excitement, they looked like they would pop out of her head. She'd missed a lot while in that damn demon prison.
After the completion of Willow's story, Cullena hugged the girl and exclaimed, "this is going to be so easy!"
****
"This isn't going to be easy," Riley mumbled.
"Come on, chin up, Sunnydale isn't that big of a town," Spike attempted to rally the troop of one soldier, an ex-demon, and some kid.
"Yeah, maybe a few years ago it wasn't. Now we suddenly have a zoo, a muesuem, an underground government operation, and a..." Xander listed Sunnydale's major attractions on his fingers.
"There should be some yellow path for us to follow," Anya pouted. "Oh! Maybe there's a spell for that!"
"Yeah and when we find the witches, we'll pour water over them and they'll just melt away," Spike said sarcastically.
"As much as I hate to admit it, Spike's right."
Spike shot Xander a murderous glare.
"I just mean, I think we've all had enough spells for a while," Xander clarified.
"We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way, on foot," Riley said.
Anya scowled and suddenly cried, "why should I listen to you men, anyway? I think we should do a spell. I'm willing to risk it. You should too, Spike, after all, you are in love with Willow."
"What?" The three men asked at the same time..
"You'd do that for Willow?" Xander asked warmly.
"You remember that?" Riley questioned.
"I'd do anything for Willow," Spike said softly.
"One at a time!" Anya shouted. "Do I have strong feelings against this girl? If not, I have no problem helping her."
Xander beamed at his girlfriend's partially nice comment. "No, you're great friends with Willow," he lied.
Then Anya turned to Riley. "I don't remember a massive quantity of information but some things are coming back to me."
"The spell must be wearing off," Riley said more to himself than anyone else.
"And Spike," Anya addressed the melancholy vampire, "if you really would do anything for her then you damn well better do something!"
Everyone was stunned at Anya's forcefulness. They noted how differently she acted when she didn't know what she was talking about.
"Don't make me liquefy your entrails," she added.
Or not.
"Fine, I'll do a spell with you. Can you think of one?" Spike asked.
Anya looked at him blankly. "Uh..."
****
"No." Karen said the word firmly and without fear. She knew she had to stand up to Cullena and the others eventually. It was, after all, partially her fault they were here. And partially her fault that the blonde girl from before got hurt and any others who got hurt later. She wanted to stop then and there. And she could tell Charlotte did too. But she knew she had to be the one to say it.
"Excuse me?" Cullena asked. She turned to the girl, eyes glinting.
"I-I said..." Karen felt herself loosing her nerve under the witch's glare.
"She said no," Charlotte chimed in suddenly.
"Do I need to go over the plan again?" Cullena asked with a patience that edged close to anger. "We've decided to find the Slayer and her little groupies now and get it over with. I mean, let's face it, we're going to have to face them sooner or later if we're going to take over the world."
"No, no, no," Karen objected, shaking her head rapidly, "there's no 'we' involved in this. I don't know how you got Tara and the others to join you but-"
"Oh, we stole their souls and brainwashed them," Rosa said cheerfully.
"Whatever. What I'm saying is that we won't help you," Karen said sternly.
"It's a little late for that. We owe all of this to you."
Looking down at her feet, Karen weakly mumbled, "we won't let you hurt the Slay- I mean, Buffy. Or anyone else."
All of the laughter and glee drained from Cullena's face and was replaced by a bitter frown.
"What do you care anyway? You don't even know Buffy or anyone of her friends. Well, except Willow but it's a little late for her. Isn't that right, Willow?"
Willow nodded her head like an obedient soulless slave. Charlotte looked down at her feet like Karen to hide her grimace.
"Can't we unwish our wish?" Karen asked desperately.
"Sorry, no returns or refunds," Clarissa smiled.
"But we don't care about how many cookies we sell! We just don't want anyone else to be hurt!" Charlotte cried. Her voice was high like she was on the verge of tears.
Cullena and Reina exchanged annoyed glances. This wasn't part of the plan they spent all those years in prison forming.
"Look, we could be doing a lot better things right now than catering to some whiny college girls' every whim. We *are* on a schedule here. A schedule that involves more than selling some goddamn cookies so you can buy those really cute shoes you've been eyeing! We didn't have that when we were you're age. No colleges for females, no malls. Only a life cut short by a flaming stake or a husband and some snot nosed kids!" Cullena's eyes had darkened and her fists were shaking from the energy that sparked around them.
By then Karen and Charlotte had backed into a corner. Their mouths were agap and their eyes were filled with trembling tears.
"Cullena," Reina said softly as she gently put her hand on her older sister's shoulder.
Cullena squeezed her eyes tight and released her fist. The energy around her diminished as her eyes lightened.
"We're u-using the m-money for a dance recital," Charlotte stuttered out. 'I will never, ever make fun of Tara again!' She vowed silently.
She didn't laugh, but Cullena did manage to force a smile. But the rest of her face seemed almost tired.
"We finish the Slayer and her friends tonight," Cullena announced solemnly.
"We don't want any part of it," Karen said with renewed bravery.
Cullena turned to her and Karen lost that bravery.
"Fine. But that means you can't have your wish granted," she replied steadily.
"Wait. We're not allowed to refuse someone's wish," Clarissa argued.
"Why not?" Cullena asked her. "It's not like we can be punished for it."
Usually this kind of statement would've been followed by a laugh. But this time Cullena remained serious.
"I never thought of it that way," Clarissa confessed softly.
"None of us did which goes to show how weak we've become. We can't let some stupid wish get in our way. We'll just have to leave Karen and Charlotte behind," Cullena explained.
Karen and Charlotte exchanged looks of relief.
"That doesn't mean we can't make a stop to kill the Slayer," Cullena informed them coldly. "Let's go."
They walked away from the frightened humans and to the door in step.
"What are we going to do?" Charlotte whispered.
"What can we do?" Karen replied.
Charlotte shook her head and said, "something."
"By the way," Cullena said as she turned around with a screech of heels. "we're putting a spell on this place; you won't be able to get out until morning. By then it'll be too late."
****
"You just gave us that long speech and you don't even have a plan?" Spike asked indignantly.
"I shouldn't be required to do everything around here," Anya hissed.
"Look, guys, here's what we'll do," Riley said quickly, "I'll gather my troops and continue my mission with them. We already have a troop searching another part of town."
"That all sounds fine and dandy but what are we supposed to do?" Xander asked.
"Well... uh..."
"See, he doesn't have a plan either," Anya said accusingly.
"No, I do, I mean," Riley said.
Everyone looked to the soldier expectantly. He shifted nervously under their gaze.
"You guys stay here," Riley started cautiously.
"Yeah and do the spell. We knew that already," Spike said.
"No, I mean, after the spell, just stay here," Riley finished.
"No way, I'm not-"
"Don't worry, the spell will work," Anya interrupted Spike.
"Yeah, once we find one to do," Xander scoffed.
"Fine," Spike grumbled. "You can go toddle off with your troop now."
Riley bite his tongue and departed quickly.
"Well, looks like it's time to do another spell."