Countdown: The Sixth Commandment
By ElsaF
Rating: PG-13 (violence)
Spoilers: 24-verse again, where things diverged from ME's
version after Dead Things.
Summary: Previously in the 24-verse: Buffy and Spike didn't
break up at the end of As You Were, but Buffy's unwillingness
to acknowledge Spike publicly meant they broke up soon
afterward. Buffy came to her senses and told her friends about
Spike, only to discover that they already knew and weren't
shocked. She went to tell him the secret was out, but he'd
already left town to change himself into someone she would be
willing to be seen with. Meanwhile, the Scoobies raided the
Nerds, and Jonathan and Andrew are in custody. Warren
escaped and came back to shoot Buffy and Xander. Buffy was
injured but not critically. Xander would have died, but Willow
intervened with Osiris to prevent him from crossing over. The
price for saving Xander's life was Willow's soul. Buffy knows,
Dawn knows, Anya knows. Spike has been questing in the
wilderness for a soul. He fought a cougar to protect two
campers. But after he defeated it, it morphed into a lion-headed
man demon.
*************
Thou shalt not kill.
-- Exodus 20:13 KJV
*************
"Look, this is Willow getting up to go out in the kitchen and
have some breakfast," Willow said, rising. "Perfectly normal."
She rose and walked out, leaving Buffy, Dawn and Anya
looking after her in mute surprise.
"Can she go on that way?" Buffy asked Anya. "Won't her
magic run out?"
Anya shrugged. "Hard to say. Willow has always had a really
strong connection to magic. She may be able to go on
indefinitely."
"Is she like a vampire now?" Dawn asked in a tiny voice.
Anya shook her head. "She can go out in the sun and I don't
think she's going to start drinking blood, if that's what you
mean."
"Oh... I guess that's part of it, but I mean about how she acts --
without a soul..."
"That wouldn't have to be bad," Buffy said, trying to find
something positive to hold onto. "I mean, look at Spike. He
doesn't have a soul, and he manages to be OK."
Anya frowned. "But Spike has the chip. Before that..."
"Yeah..." Buffy said in a tiny voice.
"Anybody want pancakes?" Willow called from the kitchen.
----------------
Willow was standing at the stove holding a frying pan.
"You don't have to keep staring at me that way," she said with
a bit of exasperation. "I'm not going to spontaneously
combust."
"Sorry," Buffy said, averting her eyes.
"Pancakes?" Willow repeated.
"Um... we ate already."
"OK, I'll just make a few for me then."
She turned around and put the pan on the burner.
"By the way, they're going to release Xander this afternoon,"
she said as she poured some batter in the pan.
"Already?" Buffy asked. "God, he almost died! And they're
releasing him the next day?"
"His insurance only covers minimal hospital stays," Willow
said. "They really work to move them out. Soon as you're
stable, it's arrivederci. He needs some rest and antibiotics and
painkillers, and he'll need to go back in a week and get his
stitches out -- but it's nothing we can't handle ... um... I said he
could come here, Buffy -- I hope that's OK. I mean, since he's
living alone now, he needs someone to look after him."
"Of course it's OK!" Buffy replied.
"Good, I'll go get him later."
"I'm going to go to the store now," Anya said with a slight
frown. "Don't want to be here when..."
"Thanks, Anya," Buffy said kindly. "I'll call you later and let
you know how it's going."
The vengeance demon sighed. "Thanks." She picked up her
dish and left.
"Um... Willow," Buffy said awkwardly. "I just want you to
know -- what you did -- I guess I understand. I might have
done the same -- if I'd had the choice to make. I mean ... I'm
really glad Xander's going to be all right, and ..."
Willow smiled. "It's OK, Buffy. Really!"
"I'm going to call Tara," Buffy said.
Willow's face fell. "Why? No... don't. Not yet. Give me a little
time to get used to this, OK?"
"I think she should have a look at you," Buffy insisted.
Willow shook her head. "Sooner or later..." she said. "But not
yet... please... I'm not ready for that."
"Are you sure? Maybe she can help..."
Willow shook her head again. "I've got to get used to being this
way first. She's going to see... well, I'd just like to get a better
handle on what I am before I show it to someone I..."
"All right," Buffy replied. "We'll wait. But you're going to have
to face her soon."
--------------
They brought him back to the house with Buffy supporting him
on one side and Willow on the other as they walked from the
car to the porch. Buffy offered to carry him up the stairs, but he
refused.
"Leave me a little bit of dignity, Buff," he said. "We'll take it
slow, but I'll make it."
"OK, we're putting you in Dawn's room. She's going to sleep
on the couch down here. Her room's the best place for you --
right next to the bathroom."
Xander nodded. He was pale and weak, but better than Buffy
had expected.
They got him into Dawn's bed, surrounded by her stuffed
animals and N'Sync posters, and Willow went back to the car
to get his things. Buffy sat down next to him.
"Xander, I just want you to know that what you did, well I can't
tell you how much it means."
"You mean getting shot for you?"
"Yeah... You saved my life."
"Just an impulse, Buff. Didn't really have time to think about it.
I probably would have chickened out if I'd really had to make a
decision," he said, looking away.
"No. When it really counts, you're always ready to put it on the
line. That's what's so great about you, you know. You're not a
superhero. You're just a guy who'll do anything he has to for
the people he cares about."
"You're better now, aren't you, Buffy?"
"Well, Slayer healing... you know. I'm still a little sore. But I'll
be OK in a day or so."
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, here I just saved your life
and you're ... OK with it..."
"Oh..." She looked away. "I guess I am. I hadn't even thought
of that, but you're right. A few months ago, I'd be disappointed
as hell to realize I could have died and here I am still alive.
When did that happen? I didn't even notice." She smiled. "I'm
alive, and I wouldn't want it any other way."
She took his hand and squeeze it. "Thank you, Xander. Thank
you for saving my life."
"Any time, Buffy. Any time."
----------------
"Dawnie, you don't have to move away every time I get close
to you," Willow said plaintively.
"Who me?" Dawn said, avoiding her friend's eyes.
"I'm not going to eat you, vaporize you or try to turn you gay."
"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just ... a little wigged. OK? I think I'm
going to go over to Janice's. Her mom said I could come back
anytime. I just want some time to think about all this, OK?"
Dawn slammed the backdoor on her way out. Willow sighed
and shook her head.
---------------
The phone rang.
"Hello?" Buffy said, juggling the tray with the bowl of soup for
Xander on one hand as she picked up the receiver.
"Warren's coming back," said the agitated voice on the other
end.
"Anya, is that you?"
"He's going to try again!"
"How do you know?"
"He tried to get a wish from me. I don't know how he knew I
was back in the business..."
"You didn't ..."
"No! Heavens! We have *some* standards! To get a vengeance
wish you have to have been wronged. Not dying after he shot
you doesn't entitle him to vengeance against you."
"He's on his way here?"
"He was but..."
"But what?"
"He found Dawn."
"What!? How do you know?"
"Whether he's actually entitled to vengeance or not, he
*thinks* he is, so I can sense him. And I can see a little bit of
where he is and what's happening around him. He ran into her
on the street. I'm going there now, but I wanted to let you know
too. I don't know what I can do against him. I can't use any of
my powers -- except for teleporting."
"Where is he?"
"Two blocks over from your house on Malvern."
Buffy slammed the phone down.
"Willow!" she shouted. "Where's Dawn?"
Willow stuck her head out of the kitchen. "She said she was
going to Janice's..."
"Shit. You let her go? When there's a psycho out there on the
loose who wants nothing more than to see all of us dead?"
"I... I didn't think..."
"Later!" She took off running.
-------------------
Dawn struggled, but Warren wasn't going to let go of her. His
van was over the curb where he'd driven to cut her off when he
spotted her walking down the sidewalk. He was dragging her
toward the open back door of the vehicle, one arm clamped
around her waist, the other hand holding the gun.
"Let go of me! Help! Somebody help me!" Dawn shouted.
"Come along," Warren said with a nasty smile. "I think this is
going to be fun."
"You shit. My sister is so going to tear your head off."
"I think your sister is going to be very careful what she does
about me now that I've got you."
Warren startled when Anya appeared between him and the van,
but he didn't loosen his grip on the teenager.
"Let go of her," Anya said firmly.
"Out of my way, bitch," he said. "Out of my way, or this little
chicky is dead. Maybe you won't help me -- that's your loss.
But you're not going to stop me either."
"You're not going to get away with this," the vengeance demon
said. "The Slayer is on her way."
"Good. Maybe she'll enjoy seeing me blow this little brat's
head off."
"Never gonna happen," Buffy said, as she took a fighting
stance in front of Warren.
"Oh, I suppose you're so fast you can get over here and tear my
arm off before I can squeeze the trigger?" He raised the gun to
Dawn's head.
"What then? You won't have your hostage any more, you'll
have a lot of icky brains and blood all over your face, and I'll
be on you before your heart beats again. And believe me, it
won't beat again."
"You're not going to move a muscle as long as I'm pointing this
at her pretty little head. So I'm going to back up slowly with
mini-bitch here, and I'm going to leave. And then you can
spend the next week thinking about what I'm doing to her.
Only you won't know where..."
"Actually..." Anya piped up.
"Think again, moron." Willow appeared behind Warren in a
flash of purple light.
"Say good bye to the brat," Warren sneered. His finger
tightened on ... the banana in his hand. "What?"
He dropped the piece of fruit and looked around in confusion.
Dawn twisted away from him.
"I've had about enough of you," Willow said calmly, advancing
on him.
"What are you going to do? Try to out geek me?"
"You know what a geek is, Warren?" Willow said ominously.
"It's someone who bites the heads off chickens. I don't know,
but that might be fun. But maybe I'll try it with a snot-nosed,
incompetent, high-school reject."
"Willow," Buffy said slowly. "Let's let the police handle this
now. All we have to do is hold him here while Anya goes and
calls ..."
"Why let the police have all the fun?" Willow said in a strange
tone of voice.
She took another step toward Warren and he backed away.
"She's nuts," he said in a panicked voice. "Keep her away from
me."
"You're asking for *my* help?" Buffy said with a raised
eyebrow.
Willow gave him a smile as cold as ice. "You seem to be
running out of friends."
Warren looked around and decided to try to make a break for
it. He got approximately two feet.
"Freeze!" Willow commanded.
Warren froze -- literally. Icicles hung from his chin and arms.
Frost covered his skin and clothing.
Willow walked around to face him.
"Now you know how that guard at the museum felt. Empathy.
It's important. Look it up sometime."
Warren's eyes, the only thing he could move, darted back and
forth.
"Chilly? Oh. I'm sorry. Let me warm you up a bit."
Flames leapt from the ground in a circle surrounding him.
Warren screamed in pain as the ice melted and the water boiled
scalding his skin. Then the water was gone and his skin started
to blister.
"Willow! That's enough! The police will be here in a moment.
We're not going to torture him!" Buffy insisted.
"No? That's not what I think," Willow replied casually. "I think
I'm going to torture him a lot."
Buffy leapt forward and tackled Warren, knocking him out of
Willow's ring of fire. She rolled him on the ground, beating out
the flames on his clothing.
"You're ruining my fun," Willow said with a frown.
"This isn't fun, Willow. It's sick!" Buffy said, keeping herself
between Willow and the moaning Warren.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Buffy. Tell me you don't
want to see this creep suffer."
"I don't want to see him suffer. I want to see him brought to
justice."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Then he can hire a fancy lawyer and
get off with probation. I don't think so."
She waved her hand and a force struck Buffy like a hurtling
boulder. Buffy found herself flying through the air -- away
from Warren. She scrambled to her feet in time to see Willow
levitating the burned, moaning Warren.
"Willow, don't do this..."
"You want me to put him down?"
"Yes!"
Willow smiled, and Warren dropped to the ground -- hard. He
screamed.
"Willow. Please listen to me," Buffy said carefully. "You have
to listen. Don't do this. You have to stop now."
"Why?"
"Because we don't kill people."
"Why?"
"He's a criminal, Willow. He shot me and Xander, he stole the
diamond and he's robbed several banks. And I suspect he killed
that girl -- Katrina. But we aren't the judge and jury. And we're
not the executioners. He's going to have to face what he did,
but it's not our job to punish him. It's not even our job to judge
him."
"Bored now."
She pointed at Warren and a stream of flame poured from her
hand. He shrieked in pain.
The flames consumed him.
Buffy watched in horror. Dawn screamed.
"Dawnie..." Willow said. "He was going to hurt you..."
"You said we were the same now," Dawn said with a sob. "We
are not. We are so not the same." She backed away a few steps
then turned and ran for home.
"How could you?" Buffy asked. "How could you make Dawn
see that?"
Willow looked confused. "He was evil, Buffy. He was a killer."
"It's not our place to decide who gets to live and who gets to
die!"
"He deserved it..."
"You had no right."
"Fine... you won't judge him, but you'll judge me."
"Willow, I want to help you..."
"Help yourself -- if you can!"
She raised her hands and disappeared.
Buffy was left alone, with a black van parked up on the
sidewalk and the blackened outline of a man smoking on the
grass next to her feet.
She heard sirens.
------------------------
Spike turned to face the new threat, a demon with the body of a
man and the head of a lion. Body of a man -- correct that -- the
body of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"So, mate, you a talky demon, or just a fighty demon?"
The world froze, except for Spike. He turned and found himself
facing Doc again.
"Are you running this show?"
"No. I'm just an advocate. We're taking a little break here so I
can tell you your options."
"You're not in charge then..."
"Of course not. Would I be handing out souls?"
"Do I get to talk to the bloke in charge?"
"Not yet. You have a way to go before you get there."
"So you're going to tell me to turn back again. Sorry. Not
interested."
"I'm going to tell you that if you walk away now, you'll won't
have to fight this demon. It's quite unlikely that you'll win.
Take a look at him."
"I've fought worse."
"That's questionable."
"Look. I'm willing to fight the Hulk, but could we leave the
girls out of it? They have nothing to do with my quest. The
little girl is hurt and needs to get to help. She may not make it
if she has to wait for me to finish this."
Doc laughed.
"I said you could walk away. I didn't say they could."
"They don't have anything to do with this."
"Maybe not. But he's hungry," Doc said, gesturing toward the
lion-headed demon.
"Are they real? Or were they just put here to give me
something to protect?"
"They're real. When it comes down to it, they're just two girls
from Van Nuys who had the very bad luck to go camping when
a vampire decided to quest for a soul."
"They were pulled in to this because of me?"
Doc nodded. "But what do you care? They're strangers.
Nobody you've ever met before, and nobody you ever would
have met -- if you hadn't come here. They've nothing to do with
the people you care about."
"And what happens to them if I fail?"
"They'll die."
"Then I'd better not fail."
"It's your funeral," Doc said. "You fight him and lose, he's
going to eat them. You walk away, he'll still eat them, but at
least you'll still be alive."
"And if I win?"
"They'll have the same chance of survival they've got now."
"No guarantees?"
"Nope."
"OK. Let's get on with it then."
By ElsaF
Rating: PG-13 (violence)
Spoilers: 24-verse again, where things diverged from ME's
version after Dead Things.
Summary: Previously in the 24-verse: Buffy and Spike didn't
break up at the end of As You Were, but Buffy's unwillingness
to acknowledge Spike publicly meant they broke up soon
afterward. Buffy came to her senses and told her friends about
Spike, only to discover that they already knew and weren't
shocked. She went to tell him the secret was out, but he'd
already left town to change himself into someone she would be
willing to be seen with. Meanwhile, the Scoobies raided the
Nerds, and Jonathan and Andrew are in custody. Warren
escaped and came back to shoot Buffy and Xander. Buffy was
injured but not critically. Xander would have died, but Willow
intervened with Osiris to prevent him from crossing over. The
price for saving Xander's life was Willow's soul. Buffy knows,
Dawn knows, Anya knows. Spike has been questing in the
wilderness for a soul. He fought a cougar to protect two
campers. But after he defeated it, it morphed into a lion-headed
man demon.
*************
Thou shalt not kill.
-- Exodus 20:13 KJV
*************
"Look, this is Willow getting up to go out in the kitchen and
have some breakfast," Willow said, rising. "Perfectly normal."
She rose and walked out, leaving Buffy, Dawn and Anya
looking after her in mute surprise.
"Can she go on that way?" Buffy asked Anya. "Won't her
magic run out?"
Anya shrugged. "Hard to say. Willow has always had a really
strong connection to magic. She may be able to go on
indefinitely."
"Is she like a vampire now?" Dawn asked in a tiny voice.
Anya shook her head. "She can go out in the sun and I don't
think she's going to start drinking blood, if that's what you
mean."
"Oh... I guess that's part of it, but I mean about how she acts --
without a soul..."
"That wouldn't have to be bad," Buffy said, trying to find
something positive to hold onto. "I mean, look at Spike. He
doesn't have a soul, and he manages to be OK."
Anya frowned. "But Spike has the chip. Before that..."
"Yeah..." Buffy said in a tiny voice.
"Anybody want pancakes?" Willow called from the kitchen.
----------------
Willow was standing at the stove holding a frying pan.
"You don't have to keep staring at me that way," she said with
a bit of exasperation. "I'm not going to spontaneously
combust."
"Sorry," Buffy said, averting her eyes.
"Pancakes?" Willow repeated.
"Um... we ate already."
"OK, I'll just make a few for me then."
She turned around and put the pan on the burner.
"By the way, they're going to release Xander this afternoon,"
she said as she poured some batter in the pan.
"Already?" Buffy asked. "God, he almost died! And they're
releasing him the next day?"
"His insurance only covers minimal hospital stays," Willow
said. "They really work to move them out. Soon as you're
stable, it's arrivederci. He needs some rest and antibiotics and
painkillers, and he'll need to go back in a week and get his
stitches out -- but it's nothing we can't handle ... um... I said he
could come here, Buffy -- I hope that's OK. I mean, since he's
living alone now, he needs someone to look after him."
"Of course it's OK!" Buffy replied.
"Good, I'll go get him later."
"I'm going to go to the store now," Anya said with a slight
frown. "Don't want to be here when..."
"Thanks, Anya," Buffy said kindly. "I'll call you later and let
you know how it's going."
The vengeance demon sighed. "Thanks." She picked up her
dish and left.
"Um... Willow," Buffy said awkwardly. "I just want you to
know -- what you did -- I guess I understand. I might have
done the same -- if I'd had the choice to make. I mean ... I'm
really glad Xander's going to be all right, and ..."
Willow smiled. "It's OK, Buffy. Really!"
"I'm going to call Tara," Buffy said.
Willow's face fell. "Why? No... don't. Not yet. Give me a little
time to get used to this, OK?"
"I think she should have a look at you," Buffy insisted.
Willow shook her head. "Sooner or later..." she said. "But not
yet... please... I'm not ready for that."
"Are you sure? Maybe she can help..."
Willow shook her head again. "I've got to get used to being this
way first. She's going to see... well, I'd just like to get a better
handle on what I am before I show it to someone I..."
"All right," Buffy replied. "We'll wait. But you're going to have
to face her soon."
--------------
They brought him back to the house with Buffy supporting him
on one side and Willow on the other as they walked from the
car to the porch. Buffy offered to carry him up the stairs, but he
refused.
"Leave me a little bit of dignity, Buff," he said. "We'll take it
slow, but I'll make it."
"OK, we're putting you in Dawn's room. She's going to sleep
on the couch down here. Her room's the best place for you --
right next to the bathroom."
Xander nodded. He was pale and weak, but better than Buffy
had expected.
They got him into Dawn's bed, surrounded by her stuffed
animals and N'Sync posters, and Willow went back to the car
to get his things. Buffy sat down next to him.
"Xander, I just want you to know that what you did, well I can't
tell you how much it means."
"You mean getting shot for you?"
"Yeah... You saved my life."
"Just an impulse, Buff. Didn't really have time to think about it.
I probably would have chickened out if I'd really had to make a
decision," he said, looking away.
"No. When it really counts, you're always ready to put it on the
line. That's what's so great about you, you know. You're not a
superhero. You're just a guy who'll do anything he has to for
the people he cares about."
"You're better now, aren't you, Buffy?"
"Well, Slayer healing... you know. I'm still a little sore. But I'll
be OK in a day or so."
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, here I just saved your life
and you're ... OK with it..."
"Oh..." She looked away. "I guess I am. I hadn't even thought
of that, but you're right. A few months ago, I'd be disappointed
as hell to realize I could have died and here I am still alive.
When did that happen? I didn't even notice." She smiled. "I'm
alive, and I wouldn't want it any other way."
She took his hand and squeeze it. "Thank you, Xander. Thank
you for saving my life."
"Any time, Buffy. Any time."
----------------
"Dawnie, you don't have to move away every time I get close
to you," Willow said plaintively.
"Who me?" Dawn said, avoiding her friend's eyes.
"I'm not going to eat you, vaporize you or try to turn you gay."
"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just ... a little wigged. OK? I think I'm
going to go over to Janice's. Her mom said I could come back
anytime. I just want some time to think about all this, OK?"
Dawn slammed the backdoor on her way out. Willow sighed
and shook her head.
---------------
The phone rang.
"Hello?" Buffy said, juggling the tray with the bowl of soup for
Xander on one hand as she picked up the receiver.
"Warren's coming back," said the agitated voice on the other
end.
"Anya, is that you?"
"He's going to try again!"
"How do you know?"
"He tried to get a wish from me. I don't know how he knew I
was back in the business..."
"You didn't ..."
"No! Heavens! We have *some* standards! To get a vengeance
wish you have to have been wronged. Not dying after he shot
you doesn't entitle him to vengeance against you."
"He's on his way here?"
"He was but..."
"But what?"
"He found Dawn."
"What!? How do you know?"
"Whether he's actually entitled to vengeance or not, he
*thinks* he is, so I can sense him. And I can see a little bit of
where he is and what's happening around him. He ran into her
on the street. I'm going there now, but I wanted to let you know
too. I don't know what I can do against him. I can't use any of
my powers -- except for teleporting."
"Where is he?"
"Two blocks over from your house on Malvern."
Buffy slammed the phone down.
"Willow!" she shouted. "Where's Dawn?"
Willow stuck her head out of the kitchen. "She said she was
going to Janice's..."
"Shit. You let her go? When there's a psycho out there on the
loose who wants nothing more than to see all of us dead?"
"I... I didn't think..."
"Later!" She took off running.
-------------------
Dawn struggled, but Warren wasn't going to let go of her. His
van was over the curb where he'd driven to cut her off when he
spotted her walking down the sidewalk. He was dragging her
toward the open back door of the vehicle, one arm clamped
around her waist, the other hand holding the gun.
"Let go of me! Help! Somebody help me!" Dawn shouted.
"Come along," Warren said with a nasty smile. "I think this is
going to be fun."
"You shit. My sister is so going to tear your head off."
"I think your sister is going to be very careful what she does
about me now that I've got you."
Warren startled when Anya appeared between him and the van,
but he didn't loosen his grip on the teenager.
"Let go of her," Anya said firmly.
"Out of my way, bitch," he said. "Out of my way, or this little
chicky is dead. Maybe you won't help me -- that's your loss.
But you're not going to stop me either."
"You're not going to get away with this," the vengeance demon
said. "The Slayer is on her way."
"Good. Maybe she'll enjoy seeing me blow this little brat's
head off."
"Never gonna happen," Buffy said, as she took a fighting
stance in front of Warren.
"Oh, I suppose you're so fast you can get over here and tear my
arm off before I can squeeze the trigger?" He raised the gun to
Dawn's head.
"What then? You won't have your hostage any more, you'll
have a lot of icky brains and blood all over your face, and I'll
be on you before your heart beats again. And believe me, it
won't beat again."
"You're not going to move a muscle as long as I'm pointing this
at her pretty little head. So I'm going to back up slowly with
mini-bitch here, and I'm going to leave. And then you can
spend the next week thinking about what I'm doing to her.
Only you won't know where..."
"Actually..." Anya piped up.
"Think again, moron." Willow appeared behind Warren in a
flash of purple light.
"Say good bye to the brat," Warren sneered. His finger
tightened on ... the banana in his hand. "What?"
He dropped the piece of fruit and looked around in confusion.
Dawn twisted away from him.
"I've had about enough of you," Willow said calmly, advancing
on him.
"What are you going to do? Try to out geek me?"
"You know what a geek is, Warren?" Willow said ominously.
"It's someone who bites the heads off chickens. I don't know,
but that might be fun. But maybe I'll try it with a snot-nosed,
incompetent, high-school reject."
"Willow," Buffy said slowly. "Let's let the police handle this
now. All we have to do is hold him here while Anya goes and
calls ..."
"Why let the police have all the fun?" Willow said in a strange
tone of voice.
She took another step toward Warren and he backed away.
"She's nuts," he said in a panicked voice. "Keep her away from
me."
"You're asking for *my* help?" Buffy said with a raised
eyebrow.
Willow gave him a smile as cold as ice. "You seem to be
running out of friends."
Warren looked around and decided to try to make a break for
it. He got approximately two feet.
"Freeze!" Willow commanded.
Warren froze -- literally. Icicles hung from his chin and arms.
Frost covered his skin and clothing.
Willow walked around to face him.
"Now you know how that guard at the museum felt. Empathy.
It's important. Look it up sometime."
Warren's eyes, the only thing he could move, darted back and
forth.
"Chilly? Oh. I'm sorry. Let me warm you up a bit."
Flames leapt from the ground in a circle surrounding him.
Warren screamed in pain as the ice melted and the water boiled
scalding his skin. Then the water was gone and his skin started
to blister.
"Willow! That's enough! The police will be here in a moment.
We're not going to torture him!" Buffy insisted.
"No? That's not what I think," Willow replied casually. "I think
I'm going to torture him a lot."
Buffy leapt forward and tackled Warren, knocking him out of
Willow's ring of fire. She rolled him on the ground, beating out
the flames on his clothing.
"You're ruining my fun," Willow said with a frown.
"This isn't fun, Willow. It's sick!" Buffy said, keeping herself
between Willow and the moaning Warren.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud, Buffy. Tell me you don't
want to see this creep suffer."
"I don't want to see him suffer. I want to see him brought to
justice."
Willow rolled her eyes. "Then he can hire a fancy lawyer and
get off with probation. I don't think so."
She waved her hand and a force struck Buffy like a hurtling
boulder. Buffy found herself flying through the air -- away
from Warren. She scrambled to her feet in time to see Willow
levitating the burned, moaning Warren.
"Willow, don't do this..."
"You want me to put him down?"
"Yes!"
Willow smiled, and Warren dropped to the ground -- hard. He
screamed.
"Willow. Please listen to me," Buffy said carefully. "You have
to listen. Don't do this. You have to stop now."
"Why?"
"Because we don't kill people."
"Why?"
"He's a criminal, Willow. He shot me and Xander, he stole the
diamond and he's robbed several banks. And I suspect he killed
that girl -- Katrina. But we aren't the judge and jury. And we're
not the executioners. He's going to have to face what he did,
but it's not our job to punish him. It's not even our job to judge
him."
"Bored now."
She pointed at Warren and a stream of flame poured from her
hand. He shrieked in pain.
The flames consumed him.
Buffy watched in horror. Dawn screamed.
"Dawnie..." Willow said. "He was going to hurt you..."
"You said we were the same now," Dawn said with a sob. "We
are not. We are so not the same." She backed away a few steps
then turned and ran for home.
"How could you?" Buffy asked. "How could you make Dawn
see that?"
Willow looked confused. "He was evil, Buffy. He was a killer."
"It's not our place to decide who gets to live and who gets to
die!"
"He deserved it..."
"You had no right."
"Fine... you won't judge him, but you'll judge me."
"Willow, I want to help you..."
"Help yourself -- if you can!"
She raised her hands and disappeared.
Buffy was left alone, with a black van parked up on the
sidewalk and the blackened outline of a man smoking on the
grass next to her feet.
She heard sirens.
------------------------
Spike turned to face the new threat, a demon with the body of a
man and the head of a lion. Body of a man -- correct that -- the
body of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
"So, mate, you a talky demon, or just a fighty demon?"
The world froze, except for Spike. He turned and found himself
facing Doc again.
"Are you running this show?"
"No. I'm just an advocate. We're taking a little break here so I
can tell you your options."
"You're not in charge then..."
"Of course not. Would I be handing out souls?"
"Do I get to talk to the bloke in charge?"
"Not yet. You have a way to go before you get there."
"So you're going to tell me to turn back again. Sorry. Not
interested."
"I'm going to tell you that if you walk away now, you'll won't
have to fight this demon. It's quite unlikely that you'll win.
Take a look at him."
"I've fought worse."
"That's questionable."
"Look. I'm willing to fight the Hulk, but could we leave the
girls out of it? They have nothing to do with my quest. The
little girl is hurt and needs to get to help. She may not make it
if she has to wait for me to finish this."
Doc laughed.
"I said you could walk away. I didn't say they could."
"They don't have anything to do with this."
"Maybe not. But he's hungry," Doc said, gesturing toward the
lion-headed demon.
"Are they real? Or were they just put here to give me
something to protect?"
"They're real. When it comes down to it, they're just two girls
from Van Nuys who had the very bad luck to go camping when
a vampire decided to quest for a soul."
"They were pulled in to this because of me?"
Doc nodded. "But what do you care? They're strangers.
Nobody you've ever met before, and nobody you ever would
have met -- if you hadn't come here. They've nothing to do with
the people you care about."
"And what happens to them if I fail?"
"They'll die."
"Then I'd better not fail."
"It's your funeral," Doc said. "You fight him and lose, he's
going to eat them. You walk away, he'll still eat them, but at
least you'll still be alive."
"And if I win?"
"They'll have the same chance of survival they've got now."
"No guarantees?"
"Nope."
"OK. Let's get on with it then."