Part 24
The demons were dancing around a bonfire as Buffy stood, tied to a post. Next to her was William, tied to another. Sometime during the battle he had lost his hat and most of his straw. His costume was wet and uncomfortable. Most of the makeup had washed off.
Buffy could tell that one of the braids in her own hair had come loose and her apron was torn. Their eyes communicated their confusion to each other. Why were they here and why were they still alive? Buffy could see another post set into the ground across from where she stood, but there were too many scaly and slimy bodies moving back and forth to make out who was tied there. From the corner of her eye she saw William jerk his head up and to the side. She followed his gaze to the female vampire making her way across the wreckage that littered the ground.
She stopped in front of Buffy. "Well, you aren't so mouthy now, are you Slayer?"
"Mmmfffff!" Buffy answered her, snarling through her gag.
"Sorry!" Harmony perked. "I just can't understand you with all those nasty, dirty rags in your mouth. You know, you're really a mess!" She stuck her tongue out at Buffy then sauntered over to William.
"Oh, poor little Blondie-Bear. You're going to be so sorry you treated me bad." Harmony fluffed her hair and pushed her lips out in a fake pout. "I loved you, and that just wasn't good enough for you." She reached out and walked her red-tipped fingers up his chest before reaching out to tug on some of his sandy curls. "And do you see what's happened to you? You've gotten all skinny and your hair needs a touch-up."
William turned his face away, dismissing her.
"What?" She stomped her foot. "You still think you're too good for me?" She smirked evilly. Then maybe I should remind you of all the times you made me dress up like Buffy and pretend to stake you so you could get your rocks off!"
William groaned and rolled his eyes upward.
"Or about the time you came to me, begging me to let you stay because the government put that stupid chip in your head and you couldn't feed." She grabbed his face to make him look at her. "You weren't too good for me then!" She let go of him and walked backward a few paces, stumbling over an I-Beam lying on the pavement. "Oops!" she caught herself. "Well, I'm a liberated woman now, and I don't need a man around to know that I'm worth something."
"Harmony," Doc's soft voice intoned beside her. "are you making my guests feel welcome?"
"Yes, I am. Did I do a good job finding them for you?"
"A very good job. Thank you. You will live as a queen in my dimension."
Harmony smiled happily at his words, then turned to favor Buffy with a smug expression. "Looks like you stole the wrong boyfriend." She reached over to hold Doc's arm.
He slid away from her and waved his index finger in the air. "You know my rules about touching."
"Sorry, I forgot again," she simpered.
"We need to move on with the transference. Will you watch the captives for me?"
"Of course. anything!"
He nodded his head, then turned to walk across toward the other pole. The gyrating horde parted to make way for him and Buffy saw the girl tied there. Her stomach lurched as she recognized her sister. She looked over to William in panic, and saw him shake his head. His eyes motioned her to look back again. She returned her gaze to Dawn, then understood. The girl was wearing a long, blue satin gown and long blond hair, but it wasn't Dawn. It was Chelsea.
*****
"So, now what?" Xander asked.
"Well, since Doc doesn't have Dawn, his plan can't work." Giles paced back and forth, thinking. I don't know what he will do when he realizes."
They all watched him as he moved around the shop. Anya had recovered enough of her strength to offer her own opinion. "Well, we know that he still won't kill them yet."
"That's encouraging." Xander noted dryly.
"Let's put ourselves in his place." She continued. "Willow, when you were running amok, sucking everyone dry, what would you have done if you grabbed the wrong power source?"
Willow frowned. "I would have looked for the right one."
"Thank God we have the Dawnster right here safe and sound." Xander said, then looked around. "Dawn?"
"Maybe she went to the little girl's room." Anya said.
"She couldn't have slipped out, because we would have heard the bell." Xander said.
"What is that stuff sticking out of the bell?" Willow pointed.
"Oh, good lord." Giles strode over to the door and looked up. "Tissues!"
"She wasted my Puffs?" Anya asked.
"Apparently they help make for a. a noiseless escape." Giles sighed.
"One more reason to buy 'em!" Xander joked, then broke off as Willow elbowed him in the side.
"We can't just stand around here!" she exclaimed. "Dawn is off to try to save Buffy, and she'll walk right into the last place she should be."
"Let me try to find her." Anya offered. "I can get there faster. If I don't see her there I'll pop right back and we'll go search other places."
Giles nodded his approval and, once again, Anya vanished.
*****
Doc approached the girl and reached for her with both of his hands. "This will work better without that wig." He said, and pulled at her hair.
"Ouch!" Chelsea yelped.
Doc stepped back in confusion. "This is your hair?"
"Don't touch me, you old creep!" she yelled at him.
He reached out again. "You don't need to scream," he told her calmly. "This really won't hurt a bit." He placed a hand on either side of her head and closed his eyes. After a few seconds his eyes flew open and he turned to the demons standing beside her. "This is not the Key!"
The large M'Fashnik closest to the girl pointed a claw at Harmony and growled.
"Harmony, my dear," Doc called to her in a sing-song voice. "Did you tell this creature that this girl was the Key?"
Harmony rushed over to Doc. "I talked to her. She was dressed like." she pointed. "like that."
"And did you take notice of anyone else that might have been dressed in the same fashion?"
She stammered for a response, not noticing the activity taking place behind her back.
*****
Dawn crept up behind Buffy and tried to work the ropes loose. "Buffy," she whispered, "I can't budge these things."
Buffy shook her head subtly and rolled her eyes to warn Dawn off.
"Forget it. I'm not leaving you." She reached up and managed to loosen the gag.
"Dawn, get out of here." Buffy hissed.
"He's going to kill you. Both of you." Dawn told her.
"And he's going to kill you if he gets his hands on you. He wants to use you to fuel this expedition of his!"
"I know. We finally figured that out." Dawn looked across at Doc. "Did he hurt Chelsea?"
"I don't think so. Dawn, please, leave now!"
"Not until you're both free." Dawn's voice was filled with conviction. She moved over to remove William's gag, then tried to loosen his bindings, to no avail.
"Nibblet, you won't be able to unfasten those. He's worked a spell on them. Now get back to the shop."
"I've got to do something!" Dawn protested. "This is all my fault."
"No it's not," he gritted out between clenched teeth. "We'll find a way out of this, but you've got to get out of here before."
"Hey," Dawn interrupted him. "Look, I'm not here by myself." She pointed. "There's Clem. He'll help."
William looked up to see Clem looking curiously through the crowd. He saw Buffy, then William and Dawn and made his way over to them.
"What'cha doing here, all tied up like that?"
"Remember your friend, Doc?" William asked him. "Seems he has some dark plans for the Slayer and her little sis. What are you doing here?"
"I went to the school. I heard there was a party with food and punch. I love punch. By the time I got there, everyone was leaving, so I decided to follow the crowd and see what was going on. Who knew?"
William pulled at his bonds and grimaced. "How about a hand?"
"Oh sure. You want me to get you loose."
"Can't. He used magic."
"Oh."
"How about a distraction?"
"You want me to use my power?"
"You have a power?" Dawn asked him.
"Sure. I'm a demon." Clem straightened and prepared to launch into action, but turned back to Dawn. "Now don't you be afraid."
"How could I be afraid of you, Clem?"
"Just watch, Nibblet." William told her.
Clem stepped away from them and into the midst of a group of Chaos demons. They were tall and obscured the wrinkly kitten poker fan. Soon, Dawn saw his head emerge about the heads and antlers of the demon's surrounding him. Next his shoulders appeared. Clem raised his hands and Dawn saw that now his claws were each about a foot long and Clem stood about twelve feet tall. He roared at the demons and slashed at them with his razor sharp talons. The demons turned in terror and tried to get away, stumbling all over each other. Four of them lay dead on the ground.
"Wow!" Dawn said. "I didn't know he could do that!"
"Where did you think all that extra skin came from?" William asked her.
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. Her warning was too late.
"Aaahh!" Dawn screamed as she was grabbed from behind by one of Harmony's minions.
"Hey, look over here," the vampire yelled to the others. "I think I've found the real deal!"
"Let me go, you smelly blood sucker!" Dawn kicked at him and struggled to free her arms. "My sister is SO going to dust you."
He just laughed at her feeble attempts to get free. "She won't be around long enough to try." he told her.
Dawn's eyes widened in horror as Doc approached her, his arms outstretched and an evil grin on his face.
*****
Xander jumped as Anya re-materialized beside him.
"They've got Dawn!" She told them. Buffy and William are tied up and can't get free. He's using magic to keep them there. She turned panicked eyes to Giles. "What are we going to do?"
"Obviously, we're going to need advanced magic if we are to have any chance at stopping him."
Willow raised her hands helplessly. "I can't!"
"I know," Giles told her. "And we don't have time for me to get an infusion of power from the coven at Devon." He turned and paced. "So what are we left with?"
"Unless someone there makes a wish unwittingly, I'm useless." Anya said.
Xander sat heavily with a sigh. "And I'm useless no matter what."
Willow studied him with a frown, then her eyes gleamed as a thought came to her. "Xander, you've done magic before."
Xander shook his head. "No."
"Yes you have!" Willow sat beside him and took hold of his hands. "Don't you remember when we were sitting around looking at magic books, and you set one on fire?"
"It was a fluke, Willow."
"No. Listen to me. I used to struggle just to levitate pencils." As he continued to shake his head, she squeezed his hands and spoke faster to make her point. "Yes, magic is talent, but it is also desire and will power."
"But I don't know anything. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know what to do."
"I know what to do Xander! I have all this knowledge in my head."
Giles moved to join them.
"What are you suggesting, Willow?"
"That Xander and I do a sort of. a kind of mind-meld, similar to what we did when we defeated Adam." She stood up excitedly. "Giles, you could establish a link between Xander and me so that I could speak to him telepathically. We could send him to free Buffy and the others and give them a fighting chance." She looked back to Xander. "We can do this!"
"I don't know." Giles brushed his hand over his hair and down the back of his neck.
Anya moved to him. "It's worth a try! If anyone has the desire to help Buffy, it's Xander. And Willow's right. Between her knowledge and Xander's will-power, it could work." She patted his arm. "Besides, if you don't do something now, they're all going to be dead very shortly."
"Very well," Giles agreed. "Xander, Willow, come here."
"Do you know the spell?" Willow asked.
"I believe I know a variation that will serve our purpose." Giles squinted in concentration. "It is something that we used to play with back in my. my younger days."
"Then do it," Willow urged him. "Now."
The demons were dancing around a bonfire as Buffy stood, tied to a post. Next to her was William, tied to another. Sometime during the battle he had lost his hat and most of his straw. His costume was wet and uncomfortable. Most of the makeup had washed off.
Buffy could tell that one of the braids in her own hair had come loose and her apron was torn. Their eyes communicated their confusion to each other. Why were they here and why were they still alive? Buffy could see another post set into the ground across from where she stood, but there were too many scaly and slimy bodies moving back and forth to make out who was tied there. From the corner of her eye she saw William jerk his head up and to the side. She followed his gaze to the female vampire making her way across the wreckage that littered the ground.
She stopped in front of Buffy. "Well, you aren't so mouthy now, are you Slayer?"
"Mmmfffff!" Buffy answered her, snarling through her gag.
"Sorry!" Harmony perked. "I just can't understand you with all those nasty, dirty rags in your mouth. You know, you're really a mess!" She stuck her tongue out at Buffy then sauntered over to William.
"Oh, poor little Blondie-Bear. You're going to be so sorry you treated me bad." Harmony fluffed her hair and pushed her lips out in a fake pout. "I loved you, and that just wasn't good enough for you." She reached out and walked her red-tipped fingers up his chest before reaching out to tug on some of his sandy curls. "And do you see what's happened to you? You've gotten all skinny and your hair needs a touch-up."
William turned his face away, dismissing her.
"What?" She stomped her foot. "You still think you're too good for me?" She smirked evilly. Then maybe I should remind you of all the times you made me dress up like Buffy and pretend to stake you so you could get your rocks off!"
William groaned and rolled his eyes upward.
"Or about the time you came to me, begging me to let you stay because the government put that stupid chip in your head and you couldn't feed." She grabbed his face to make him look at her. "You weren't too good for me then!" She let go of him and walked backward a few paces, stumbling over an I-Beam lying on the pavement. "Oops!" she caught herself. "Well, I'm a liberated woman now, and I don't need a man around to know that I'm worth something."
"Harmony," Doc's soft voice intoned beside her. "are you making my guests feel welcome?"
"Yes, I am. Did I do a good job finding them for you?"
"A very good job. Thank you. You will live as a queen in my dimension."
Harmony smiled happily at his words, then turned to favor Buffy with a smug expression. "Looks like you stole the wrong boyfriend." She reached over to hold Doc's arm.
He slid away from her and waved his index finger in the air. "You know my rules about touching."
"Sorry, I forgot again," she simpered.
"We need to move on with the transference. Will you watch the captives for me?"
"Of course. anything!"
He nodded his head, then turned to walk across toward the other pole. The gyrating horde parted to make way for him and Buffy saw the girl tied there. Her stomach lurched as she recognized her sister. She looked over to William in panic, and saw him shake his head. His eyes motioned her to look back again. She returned her gaze to Dawn, then understood. The girl was wearing a long, blue satin gown and long blond hair, but it wasn't Dawn. It was Chelsea.
*****
"So, now what?" Xander asked.
"Well, since Doc doesn't have Dawn, his plan can't work." Giles paced back and forth, thinking. I don't know what he will do when he realizes."
They all watched him as he moved around the shop. Anya had recovered enough of her strength to offer her own opinion. "Well, we know that he still won't kill them yet."
"That's encouraging." Xander noted dryly.
"Let's put ourselves in his place." She continued. "Willow, when you were running amok, sucking everyone dry, what would you have done if you grabbed the wrong power source?"
Willow frowned. "I would have looked for the right one."
"Thank God we have the Dawnster right here safe and sound." Xander said, then looked around. "Dawn?"
"Maybe she went to the little girl's room." Anya said.
"She couldn't have slipped out, because we would have heard the bell." Xander said.
"What is that stuff sticking out of the bell?" Willow pointed.
"Oh, good lord." Giles strode over to the door and looked up. "Tissues!"
"She wasted my Puffs?" Anya asked.
"Apparently they help make for a. a noiseless escape." Giles sighed.
"One more reason to buy 'em!" Xander joked, then broke off as Willow elbowed him in the side.
"We can't just stand around here!" she exclaimed. "Dawn is off to try to save Buffy, and she'll walk right into the last place she should be."
"Let me try to find her." Anya offered. "I can get there faster. If I don't see her there I'll pop right back and we'll go search other places."
Giles nodded his approval and, once again, Anya vanished.
*****
Doc approached the girl and reached for her with both of his hands. "This will work better without that wig." He said, and pulled at her hair.
"Ouch!" Chelsea yelped.
Doc stepped back in confusion. "This is your hair?"
"Don't touch me, you old creep!" she yelled at him.
He reached out again. "You don't need to scream," he told her calmly. "This really won't hurt a bit." He placed a hand on either side of her head and closed his eyes. After a few seconds his eyes flew open and he turned to the demons standing beside her. "This is not the Key!"
The large M'Fashnik closest to the girl pointed a claw at Harmony and growled.
"Harmony, my dear," Doc called to her in a sing-song voice. "Did you tell this creature that this girl was the Key?"
Harmony rushed over to Doc. "I talked to her. She was dressed like." she pointed. "like that."
"And did you take notice of anyone else that might have been dressed in the same fashion?"
She stammered for a response, not noticing the activity taking place behind her back.
*****
Dawn crept up behind Buffy and tried to work the ropes loose. "Buffy," she whispered, "I can't budge these things."
Buffy shook her head subtly and rolled her eyes to warn Dawn off.
"Forget it. I'm not leaving you." She reached up and managed to loosen the gag.
"Dawn, get out of here." Buffy hissed.
"He's going to kill you. Both of you." Dawn told her.
"And he's going to kill you if he gets his hands on you. He wants to use you to fuel this expedition of his!"
"I know. We finally figured that out." Dawn looked across at Doc. "Did he hurt Chelsea?"
"I don't think so. Dawn, please, leave now!"
"Not until you're both free." Dawn's voice was filled with conviction. She moved over to remove William's gag, then tried to loosen his bindings, to no avail.
"Nibblet, you won't be able to unfasten those. He's worked a spell on them. Now get back to the shop."
"I've got to do something!" Dawn protested. "This is all my fault."
"No it's not," he gritted out between clenched teeth. "We'll find a way out of this, but you've got to get out of here before."
"Hey," Dawn interrupted him. "Look, I'm not here by myself." She pointed. "There's Clem. He'll help."
William looked up to see Clem looking curiously through the crowd. He saw Buffy, then William and Dawn and made his way over to them.
"What'cha doing here, all tied up like that?"
"Remember your friend, Doc?" William asked him. "Seems he has some dark plans for the Slayer and her little sis. What are you doing here?"
"I went to the school. I heard there was a party with food and punch. I love punch. By the time I got there, everyone was leaving, so I decided to follow the crowd and see what was going on. Who knew?"
William pulled at his bonds and grimaced. "How about a hand?"
"Oh sure. You want me to get you loose."
"Can't. He used magic."
"Oh."
"How about a distraction?"
"You want me to use my power?"
"You have a power?" Dawn asked him.
"Sure. I'm a demon." Clem straightened and prepared to launch into action, but turned back to Dawn. "Now don't you be afraid."
"How could I be afraid of you, Clem?"
"Just watch, Nibblet." William told her.
Clem stepped away from them and into the midst of a group of Chaos demons. They were tall and obscured the wrinkly kitten poker fan. Soon, Dawn saw his head emerge about the heads and antlers of the demon's surrounding him. Next his shoulders appeared. Clem raised his hands and Dawn saw that now his claws were each about a foot long and Clem stood about twelve feet tall. He roared at the demons and slashed at them with his razor sharp talons. The demons turned in terror and tried to get away, stumbling all over each other. Four of them lay dead on the ground.
"Wow!" Dawn said. "I didn't know he could do that!"
"Where did you think all that extra skin came from?" William asked her.
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. Her warning was too late.
"Aaahh!" Dawn screamed as she was grabbed from behind by one of Harmony's minions.
"Hey, look over here," the vampire yelled to the others. "I think I've found the real deal!"
"Let me go, you smelly blood sucker!" Dawn kicked at him and struggled to free her arms. "My sister is SO going to dust you."
He just laughed at her feeble attempts to get free. "She won't be around long enough to try." he told her.
Dawn's eyes widened in horror as Doc approached her, his arms outstretched and an evil grin on his face.
*****
Xander jumped as Anya re-materialized beside him.
"They've got Dawn!" She told them. Buffy and William are tied up and can't get free. He's using magic to keep them there. She turned panicked eyes to Giles. "What are we going to do?"
"Obviously, we're going to need advanced magic if we are to have any chance at stopping him."
Willow raised her hands helplessly. "I can't!"
"I know," Giles told her. "And we don't have time for me to get an infusion of power from the coven at Devon." He turned and paced. "So what are we left with?"
"Unless someone there makes a wish unwittingly, I'm useless." Anya said.
Xander sat heavily with a sigh. "And I'm useless no matter what."
Willow studied him with a frown, then her eyes gleamed as a thought came to her. "Xander, you've done magic before."
Xander shook his head. "No."
"Yes you have!" Willow sat beside him and took hold of his hands. "Don't you remember when we were sitting around looking at magic books, and you set one on fire?"
"It was a fluke, Willow."
"No. Listen to me. I used to struggle just to levitate pencils." As he continued to shake his head, she squeezed his hands and spoke faster to make her point. "Yes, magic is talent, but it is also desire and will power."
"But I don't know anything. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know what to do."
"I know what to do Xander! I have all this knowledge in my head."
Giles moved to join them.
"What are you suggesting, Willow?"
"That Xander and I do a sort of. a kind of mind-meld, similar to what we did when we defeated Adam." She stood up excitedly. "Giles, you could establish a link between Xander and me so that I could speak to him telepathically. We could send him to free Buffy and the others and give them a fighting chance." She looked back to Xander. "We can do this!"
"I don't know." Giles brushed his hand over his hair and down the back of his neck.
Anya moved to him. "It's worth a try! If anyone has the desire to help Buffy, it's Xander. And Willow's right. Between her knowledge and Xander's will-power, it could work." She patted his arm. "Besides, if you don't do something now, they're all going to be dead very shortly."
"Very well," Giles agreed. "Xander, Willow, come here."
"Do you know the spell?" Willow asked.
"I believe I know a variation that will serve our purpose." Giles squinted in concentration. "It is something that we used to play with back in my. my younger days."
"Then do it," Willow urged him. "Now."