A/N: This is it, the final chapter besides the epilogue. If anyone reading (and hopefully someone is reading) stuck with me for the entire, thank you very much. This is only my second chapter fanfiction story so it was hard going. But I am working on a few stories right now so if you like this (or hated it but think I can do better), please read them when they come out! And as always, reviews are appreciated! Enjoy!
****
Soft snoring and the occasional rustling of paper filled the otherwise quiet room. Xander and Spike exchanged glances and stifled their laughs when they discovered that the snoring was coming from Buffy. But besides that, they all spent their time leafing through spell books. This came after they decided not to try the binding spell again. They still didn't know what went wrong the first time they did it so they decided not to risk it. Now they sat in an awkward silence, looking at spells to turn people into toads, bring old lovers back, and turn pasta into snakes.
"Okay, I think I just got an idea," Xander announced suddenly.
"Did you get a clue with that idea?" Spike asked.
Xander rolled his eyes. "No, I thought you might want it."
"Oh yeah?" Spike asked indignantly.
"Boys," Anya quickly intervened, "I know it's in your barbaric nature to act immaturely but can we please cut back on the testosterone. At least for a brief duration of time."
After exchanging angry glances with Xander, Spike muttered, "what's your idea then?"
"I was thinking we could do another binding spell," Xander said then added quickly, "but this would just be to strip them of their powers. You know, leave them all helpless."
"Then what?" Anya questioned.
"Well, um..." Xander trailed off and flipped through the spell book he was holding.
"If we did the spell would that make them human or just powerless demons?" Spike asked, fighting the urge to make fun of Xander when he was such an easy target.
"They would still be demons except without their powers. We would require a specific spell to turn them human. If there is a spell for that," Anya explained.
"So we could kill them, right? I mean they'd be powerless demons..." Spike stopped when he realized what he was saying.
"Well we don't have to kill them," Xander said.
"But would the spell hold?" Spike asked. "I mean, could they do a counterspell?"
"It is a possibility," Anya admitted.
"We could do something else. Like, oh, oh, oh!" Xander exclaimed. "Anya didn't you tell me how your necklace was broken and you lost your powers?"
"Yes but they probably don't have their pendants. D'Hoffryn usually revokes them when he puts a demon in jail," Anya argued.
"They could've taken them back though, right?" Xander asked desperately. "Spike, did you notice any necklaces?"
"Can't say that I did. But I was a little distracted by them trying to killing me and Buffy," Spike said. "Besides, if they didn't have their necklaces, they'd be human, right?"
"Wait, wait," Anya said as she stood up, "this is getting too complex."
"Well what do you suggest then?" Spike asked angrily. He stood up, his face near Anya's. Xander stumbled up also, ready to defend his girl- ex-girlfri- Anya.
"How about a banishing spell?" Anya suggested.
"Banish them from where, Giles' house? What good will that do?" Spike asked.
"No, from this dimension," Anya explained as if Spike was a young child.
"Can we do that?" Xander asked.
"With enough power, I think so," Anya replied.
"I mean, can we, as in us three, do that?" Xander clarified.
"I've performed spells before, mostly in my mortal days. We can do it," Anya affirmed.
"Okay then," Spike said. "What do we need?"
****
"I don't see why we have to walk," Rosa complained.
"We need to save up our power," Cullena explained for the fifth time.
"Why?" Rosa asked. "We have incredible power; we're going to beat the Slayer."
"Yes but what about afterwards? We have a lot to do and if we want to get it done quickly, we'll need as much as power as we posses. Besides, we're almost there," Cullena pointed out.
Rosa grinned and whispered, "they don't stand a chance."
****
"Give it up," Karen called to Charlotte who was banging on the factory door. "We're stuck."
Tears were running down Charlotte's face as she shook the doorknob violently. "We have to get out!" she sobbed.
"But we can't!" Karen shouted as she stood up.
"Buffy and her friends are going to die! And more after that if we don't get out and-"
"And do what? What could we do to help them?"
Charlotte looked to her feet. "We could do a spell."
"We need a spellbook."
"Damnit Karen, if we were real witches we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"No. After this, I don't think I'll meddle with spells ever again."
"After this," Charlotte said steadily, "but right now, it may be our only choice."
"Again, no spellbook. It looks like we're stuck here for the night."
****
Four white candles flickered around the room. And the comforting smell of sage was everywhere. Everything was almost ready for the spell. But they were missing one thing.
"What do you mean we're missing something?" Spike demanded of Anya.
"The spell requires an object owned by the people being banished or something that symbolizes them," she explained.
It had been decided that Anya would do the spell on her own. Initially Xander refused, saying he didn't want his girlfri- Anya to be in danger. But when she launched into yet another speech about female empowerment, Xander quickly changed his mind.
So now Xander and Spike stood awkwardly off to the side, waiting for Anya to perform the spell. Spike desperately wanted something to smoke, besides the sage that is.
"Well can you think of something to represent vengeance demons? Or maybe witches?" Spike asked.
"Oh, oh, we could use brooms or those pointy hats," Xander suggested.
Spike looked at him incredulously and shook his head. "You should be thankful that Willow can't hear you right now."
"So then what should we use?" Anya asked. "If only we could acquire something of theirs..."
"We might be able to help you with that."
The Sirenial Sisters swept into the room, minions in tow. The candles quivered as if in fear and went out.
"But you're going to have to fight us for it," Cullena smiled.
Moving in front of Anya, Spike said, "shouldn't be too hard. I wish you the best of luck on your journey back to jail."
"How nice of you," Cullena replied, dripping with a mix of sickening cheer and sarcasm, "but we're not going back to prison."
"Think again," Spike growled. He was sick of banter. He turned to Xander and Anya, still keeping an eye on the Sirenial Sisters, and said "don't let any of these ladies give you a bear hug. And Anya, I'll get you a little something for your spell."
Suddenly Spike lunged at Cullena, knocking her to the ground. Xander grabbed an umbrella that was laying nearby and attacked the Sirenial Sister closest to him, Clarissa. One of the many things that Xander learned as a Scooby was that girls weren't always as helpless as they seem. And that in special cases, it was okay to hit some of them. Deciding it'd be a while before she could do the spell, Anya joined in the fighting and attacked Reina with a paperweight. It was three against eight.
Cullena squirmed but was unable to throw Spike off of her. He had her pinned. Suddenly she grabbed onto his arms and sent a powerful shock of energy through his body. He loosened his grip for a spilt second, leaving an opportunity for Rosa, Willow, and Rosa's minion to grab onto him and pull him to the ground.
"Their necklaces!" Anya shouted suddenly. "They have their neck-"
Reina cut Anya off by grabbing her around the neck.
"Hey!" Xander cried indignantly. "Get off of her!"
He pushed Clarissa away from him and rushed to where Reina was choking Anya. But as soon as he put his hands on her shoulders to pull her off, Tara grabbed one of his arms and Clarissa snatched the other. They pulled him off forcefully.
"Ladies, ladies, one at a time!" Xander said almost desperately when Clarissa snatched away his umbrella. Memories of the last time women grabbed at him like this sent shivers down his spine.
"Oh my dear friend Anyanka," Reina purred in mock friendliness as the ex-demon struggled in her grasp. "You stink of soul. Do you want me to change that?"
As energy gathered around Reina, Anya mustered her own force. She elbowed Reina in the stomach and grabbed her necklace as Reina fell backwards.
"I never had favorable feeling towards you anyway!" Anya shouted. "Save the necklaces for the spell!" she called to the others.
She then ran to Xander's assistance. Meanwhile, Spike struggled as three angry witches, including Willow, held him down. He was finally able to free one arm and hit Rosa's minion into the couch. But the force sent Spike a painful reminder that some of the people he was fighting were humans, meaning he couldn't hurt them.
"Don't touch the minions!" Cullena screeched as her eyes clouded over.
She moved so she stood at Spike's feet while she chanted. Spike took this opportunity to send a powerful kick to her stomach. She flew backwards into a wall and fell limp.
"Cullena?" Rosa called piteously.
As she looked with shock at her older sister, Spike ripped Rosa's necklace off of her and shoved her backwards. Three sisters and one minion out like lights.
Just as Spike thought they were ahead, Willow dug her nails into his wrist angrily.
'Oh yeah,' Spike remembered unhappily, 'I still have psycho Willow to attend to."
Willow straddled him and pinned his arms to his sides.
"Will, honey, not in front of the others," he scolded.
Her face twisted as she punched him across his face.
"Bloody hell, Willow," Spike said in amazement at her strength.
"Spike!" Anya cried from across the room.
He looked over to see her being held by Reina's minion as Clarissa and Tara ganged up on Xander.
"Sorry pet," he murmured to the distracted Willow.
Quickly and effortlessly, Spike flipped Willow. He grabbed her slender wrists into one hand as his other hand clutched his aching head. As the pain subsided, he searched for a rope and settled for some wire that was plugged into the wall. He tied her to the couch and then after a sorrowful glance, joined Xander and Anya.
First Spike pulled Tara off of Xander. This gave Xander the opportunity to grab Clarissa and pull off her necklace after a few punches. Then he pushed her towards Anya. And when Anya saw Clarissa falling towards her, she viscously yanked the minion holding her and put her in Clarissa's path. This freed Anya as both Clarissa and Reina's minion fell. By this time, Spike had tied up Tara.
They had won. Three against eight and they won.
Anya quickly collected the four necklaces. She sat in the center of the candles that Xander relighted. She needed to get the spell done before anyone decided to wake up.
After some rushed chanting, Anya cried, "so mote it be!"
She held the four necklaces above her head. Just as she brought her hand to them, a blast of energy light up the room. Cullena was awake.
"Don't!" cried the angry witch.
The energy surged forward in a flash. Suddenly Willow jerked free from her restraints and the only lamp lit in the room went out. There was a large flash of light and then the room plunged into darkness.
****
A/N: Don't fret kittens, there's still an epilogue...
****
Soft snoring and the occasional rustling of paper filled the otherwise quiet room. Xander and Spike exchanged glances and stifled their laughs when they discovered that the snoring was coming from Buffy. But besides that, they all spent their time leafing through spell books. This came after they decided not to try the binding spell again. They still didn't know what went wrong the first time they did it so they decided not to risk it. Now they sat in an awkward silence, looking at spells to turn people into toads, bring old lovers back, and turn pasta into snakes.
"Okay, I think I just got an idea," Xander announced suddenly.
"Did you get a clue with that idea?" Spike asked.
Xander rolled his eyes. "No, I thought you might want it."
"Oh yeah?" Spike asked indignantly.
"Boys," Anya quickly intervened, "I know it's in your barbaric nature to act immaturely but can we please cut back on the testosterone. At least for a brief duration of time."
After exchanging angry glances with Xander, Spike muttered, "what's your idea then?"
"I was thinking we could do another binding spell," Xander said then added quickly, "but this would just be to strip them of their powers. You know, leave them all helpless."
"Then what?" Anya questioned.
"Well, um..." Xander trailed off and flipped through the spell book he was holding.
"If we did the spell would that make them human or just powerless demons?" Spike asked, fighting the urge to make fun of Xander when he was such an easy target.
"They would still be demons except without their powers. We would require a specific spell to turn them human. If there is a spell for that," Anya explained.
"So we could kill them, right? I mean they'd be powerless demons..." Spike stopped when he realized what he was saying.
"Well we don't have to kill them," Xander said.
"But would the spell hold?" Spike asked. "I mean, could they do a counterspell?"
"It is a possibility," Anya admitted.
"We could do something else. Like, oh, oh, oh!" Xander exclaimed. "Anya didn't you tell me how your necklace was broken and you lost your powers?"
"Yes but they probably don't have their pendants. D'Hoffryn usually revokes them when he puts a demon in jail," Anya argued.
"They could've taken them back though, right?" Xander asked desperately. "Spike, did you notice any necklaces?"
"Can't say that I did. But I was a little distracted by them trying to killing me and Buffy," Spike said. "Besides, if they didn't have their necklaces, they'd be human, right?"
"Wait, wait," Anya said as she stood up, "this is getting too complex."
"Well what do you suggest then?" Spike asked angrily. He stood up, his face near Anya's. Xander stumbled up also, ready to defend his girl- ex-girlfri- Anya.
"How about a banishing spell?" Anya suggested.
"Banish them from where, Giles' house? What good will that do?" Spike asked.
"No, from this dimension," Anya explained as if Spike was a young child.
"Can we do that?" Xander asked.
"With enough power, I think so," Anya replied.
"I mean, can we, as in us three, do that?" Xander clarified.
"I've performed spells before, mostly in my mortal days. We can do it," Anya affirmed.
"Okay then," Spike said. "What do we need?"
****
"I don't see why we have to walk," Rosa complained.
"We need to save up our power," Cullena explained for the fifth time.
"Why?" Rosa asked. "We have incredible power; we're going to beat the Slayer."
"Yes but what about afterwards? We have a lot to do and if we want to get it done quickly, we'll need as much as power as we posses. Besides, we're almost there," Cullena pointed out.
Rosa grinned and whispered, "they don't stand a chance."
****
"Give it up," Karen called to Charlotte who was banging on the factory door. "We're stuck."
Tears were running down Charlotte's face as she shook the doorknob violently. "We have to get out!" she sobbed.
"But we can't!" Karen shouted as she stood up.
"Buffy and her friends are going to die! And more after that if we don't get out and-"
"And do what? What could we do to help them?"
Charlotte looked to her feet. "We could do a spell."
"We need a spellbook."
"Damnit Karen, if we were real witches we wouldn't be in this situation!"
"No. After this, I don't think I'll meddle with spells ever again."
"After this," Charlotte said steadily, "but right now, it may be our only choice."
"Again, no spellbook. It looks like we're stuck here for the night."
****
Four white candles flickered around the room. And the comforting smell of sage was everywhere. Everything was almost ready for the spell. But they were missing one thing.
"What do you mean we're missing something?" Spike demanded of Anya.
"The spell requires an object owned by the people being banished or something that symbolizes them," she explained.
It had been decided that Anya would do the spell on her own. Initially Xander refused, saying he didn't want his girlfri- Anya to be in danger. But when she launched into yet another speech about female empowerment, Xander quickly changed his mind.
So now Xander and Spike stood awkwardly off to the side, waiting for Anya to perform the spell. Spike desperately wanted something to smoke, besides the sage that is.
"Well can you think of something to represent vengeance demons? Or maybe witches?" Spike asked.
"Oh, oh, we could use brooms or those pointy hats," Xander suggested.
Spike looked at him incredulously and shook his head. "You should be thankful that Willow can't hear you right now."
"So then what should we use?" Anya asked. "If only we could acquire something of theirs..."
"We might be able to help you with that."
The Sirenial Sisters swept into the room, minions in tow. The candles quivered as if in fear and went out.
"But you're going to have to fight us for it," Cullena smiled.
Moving in front of Anya, Spike said, "shouldn't be too hard. I wish you the best of luck on your journey back to jail."
"How nice of you," Cullena replied, dripping with a mix of sickening cheer and sarcasm, "but we're not going back to prison."
"Think again," Spike growled. He was sick of banter. He turned to Xander and Anya, still keeping an eye on the Sirenial Sisters, and said "don't let any of these ladies give you a bear hug. And Anya, I'll get you a little something for your spell."
Suddenly Spike lunged at Cullena, knocking her to the ground. Xander grabbed an umbrella that was laying nearby and attacked the Sirenial Sister closest to him, Clarissa. One of the many things that Xander learned as a Scooby was that girls weren't always as helpless as they seem. And that in special cases, it was okay to hit some of them. Deciding it'd be a while before she could do the spell, Anya joined in the fighting and attacked Reina with a paperweight. It was three against eight.
Cullena squirmed but was unable to throw Spike off of her. He had her pinned. Suddenly she grabbed onto his arms and sent a powerful shock of energy through his body. He loosened his grip for a spilt second, leaving an opportunity for Rosa, Willow, and Rosa's minion to grab onto him and pull him to the ground.
"Their necklaces!" Anya shouted suddenly. "They have their neck-"
Reina cut Anya off by grabbing her around the neck.
"Hey!" Xander cried indignantly. "Get off of her!"
He pushed Clarissa away from him and rushed to where Reina was choking Anya. But as soon as he put his hands on her shoulders to pull her off, Tara grabbed one of his arms and Clarissa snatched the other. They pulled him off forcefully.
"Ladies, ladies, one at a time!" Xander said almost desperately when Clarissa snatched away his umbrella. Memories of the last time women grabbed at him like this sent shivers down his spine.
"Oh my dear friend Anyanka," Reina purred in mock friendliness as the ex-demon struggled in her grasp. "You stink of soul. Do you want me to change that?"
As energy gathered around Reina, Anya mustered her own force. She elbowed Reina in the stomach and grabbed her necklace as Reina fell backwards.
"I never had favorable feeling towards you anyway!" Anya shouted. "Save the necklaces for the spell!" she called to the others.
She then ran to Xander's assistance. Meanwhile, Spike struggled as three angry witches, including Willow, held him down. He was finally able to free one arm and hit Rosa's minion into the couch. But the force sent Spike a painful reminder that some of the people he was fighting were humans, meaning he couldn't hurt them.
"Don't touch the minions!" Cullena screeched as her eyes clouded over.
She moved so she stood at Spike's feet while she chanted. Spike took this opportunity to send a powerful kick to her stomach. She flew backwards into a wall and fell limp.
"Cullena?" Rosa called piteously.
As she looked with shock at her older sister, Spike ripped Rosa's necklace off of her and shoved her backwards. Three sisters and one minion out like lights.
Just as Spike thought they were ahead, Willow dug her nails into his wrist angrily.
'Oh yeah,' Spike remembered unhappily, 'I still have psycho Willow to attend to."
Willow straddled him and pinned his arms to his sides.
"Will, honey, not in front of the others," he scolded.
Her face twisted as she punched him across his face.
"Bloody hell, Willow," Spike said in amazement at her strength.
"Spike!" Anya cried from across the room.
He looked over to see her being held by Reina's minion as Clarissa and Tara ganged up on Xander.
"Sorry pet," he murmured to the distracted Willow.
Quickly and effortlessly, Spike flipped Willow. He grabbed her slender wrists into one hand as his other hand clutched his aching head. As the pain subsided, he searched for a rope and settled for some wire that was plugged into the wall. He tied her to the couch and then after a sorrowful glance, joined Xander and Anya.
First Spike pulled Tara off of Xander. This gave Xander the opportunity to grab Clarissa and pull off her necklace after a few punches. Then he pushed her towards Anya. And when Anya saw Clarissa falling towards her, she viscously yanked the minion holding her and put her in Clarissa's path. This freed Anya as both Clarissa and Reina's minion fell. By this time, Spike had tied up Tara.
They had won. Three against eight and they won.
Anya quickly collected the four necklaces. She sat in the center of the candles that Xander relighted. She needed to get the spell done before anyone decided to wake up.
After some rushed chanting, Anya cried, "so mote it be!"
She held the four necklaces above her head. Just as she brought her hand to them, a blast of energy light up the room. Cullena was awake.
"Don't!" cried the angry witch.
The energy surged forward in a flash. Suddenly Willow jerked free from her restraints and the only lamp lit in the room went out. There was a large flash of light and then the room plunged into darkness.
****
A/N: Don't fret kittens, there's still an epilogue...