Slayer Compound

Night

As Elijah, who had helped Freya prepare the spell, was explaining the specifics to Dawn so she could write it down, the others were gathering weapons from a chest Buffy had opened.

"Impressive," Klaus noted as he picked up a sword, giving it a swing.

"One thing the Council was good at, keeping weapons," Buffy shrugged as Spike selected a battle axe.

"Not as flashy as Wesley's, but it'll do," Spike said satisfied.

"So you were with Angel all this time?" Faith asked curiously.

"Not all this time. It's a long story, I'll fill you in when we're not dealing with Willow's dark witch nemesis," Spike promised.

"Maybe I should talk to Alaric about letting us use his weapons when I get back," Enzo mused as he took out a sword.

"Alaric, part with his weapons? How will he ever compensate for his lack of skills as a Vampire Hunter?" Klaus asked sarcastically and Enzo laughed.

"Oh I know; he's so bad at it. I teamed up with him once and he almost got us both killed," Enzo snickered.

"It shames me that he almost killed me," Klaus laughed with him.

"This Alaric sounds like a less skilled Giles," Spike noted.

"An American less skilled Giles," Enzo supplied.

"Not an inaccurate comparison," Klaus shrugged.

"Okay, if you three English Vampires are done mocking someone, we still have a problem. How are we even gonna find Amy and Lucien, never mind the others?" Xander pointed out and they all paused, considering that.

"I think I think I have an idea for that once we're done here," Dawn called out from where she and Elijah were working on the spell. "Just give me a few minutes here."

"You're quite good at this," Elijah noted and Dawn shrugged.

"Still a novice at the whole casting thing, but I've got the writing spells part down pretty good," Dawn shrugged. "Anyway, seems like we're all finished. The tricky part is gonna be that Willow's gonna have to siphon some of The Hollow's power from you or your brother before she can cast it."

"Then we will have to make sure that one of us is within her reach," Klaus said as he approached. "Now what's this idea of yours?"

Unspecified location

Same time

"Well, this turned out perfectly," Amy said smugly as she stood next to Lucien.

They stood across from Rayna, Kai and Stefan, all of whom were restrained by Shadowkhans.

After Rayna had had been captured by Lucien, it had been no difficult task to locate the others, Kai's cloaking spell was amateurish and it was hardly any effort to locate him. While Stefan had been grabbed by a few Shadowkhan, Lucien had secured Kai. And now they were all here.

"If you're gonna kill us, would you just get it over with already?" Rayna groaned.

"Kill you? Why would I do that? I would like to make you all an offer," Amy said, surprising them all. "You are new to this world."

"What gave it away?" Stefan asked sarcastically.

"Careful now, you don't want to make her angry. She's about to make you the offer of a lifetime," Lucien said with a smirk.

"I was in the middle of a casting a spell to rewrite this world's reality when Willow, the red haired witch, interfered. This caused you all to be brought here," Amy said as she looked around at all of them. "But this doesn't need to be an inconvenience to you all. Instead, it can be an opportunity."

"I'm listening," Kai said as he, Stefan and Rayna began to pay close attention to her.

"I can rewrite this reality to suit each of your needs. Stefan, you would be free to do as you wish, no brother or ex-girlfriend trying to get your humanity back on. Kai, I could give you a coven of witches to be in charge of and they would not see you as an abomination, but as their leader. Rayna, I could give you a whole army of Vampire Slayers to kill every vampire in this world, provided of course you left the ones in this room alone," Amy said and could see each of them was tempted by this offer.

"What's the catch exactly?" Rayna asked skeptically.

"No catch, but there is a problem. I used up much of my power in my first attempt to cast the spell. In order to regain it, I have to drain the magic from another source. Fortunately, I have just the thing," Amy said with a dark smirk.

"The witch you captured," Rayna remembered and Amy nodded.

"Unfortunately, it will take time for me to absorb her power and her friends will come for her, and they're probably working with the others who were dragged here when my spell was disrupted. In order to have the time I need, I need you and my Shadowkhans to stall them, should they show up," Amy explained. "So do we have a deal or not?"

"Freedom from not just my brother and Caroline, but Cade as well? I'll take your deal," Stefan agreed eagerly.

"You had me at my own Coven," Kai said with a smirk.

"I'll need to iron out a few details before you cast the spell, but I'm in," Rayna agreed.

"Excellent, Amy said pleased, clapping her hands and the Shadowkhan released the trio. "Lucien?"

With a smirk, Lucien sped out of the room before returning with Rayna's sword, which he promptly dropped at her feet.

"So, let's get started," Amy said with a wicked smirk.

Slayer Compound

Same time

"Why do you need the scythe again?" Buffy asked, glancing down at the M? before putting it on the floor at Dawn's instruction.

"Because a year ago, Will used it to empower every Potential Slayer in the world. A spell that powerful leaves a trace of magic. I'm still a beginner compared to Willow, but I should be able to use that trace to find Willow," Dawn explained.

"Are we sure Amy didn't cloak Will like she cloaked Lucien?" Xander said uncertainly.

"I don't think so, she doesn't know Willow's been teaching Dawn magic," Buffy pointed out.

"Yeah, she wouldn't go through all the trouble since she doesn't think we have any way to track Will," Faith added.

"In other words, Little Bit is our secret weapon," Spike said with a fond smile that Dawn weakly returned.

"I hope so. I'm still a novice at this, but here goes," Dawn said before placing her hands over the M?. "Show me the witch who used you last time. Show me Willow."

The Scythe began to glow before Dawn let out a gasp, her eyes glowing pure white.

"Dawn? You okay?" Buffy asked in concern and her sister nodded as the glow faded from her eyes.

"Yeah. I know where Willow is," Dawn said with certainty.

Amy's hideout

Not long after

Willow came to in a dark room, suspended above the floor by ropes that were around her hands. She quickly realized something was blocking her magic, as she couldn't feel it. Willow looked up at the ropes, realizing they must be spelled.

"Oh good, you're up," Willow looked over as Amy and Rayna entered the room.

"Amy, what are you doing? Why am I here? If this is some revenge plan-" Willow started.

"Oh don't worry Willow, I'm far passed revenge," Amy said with a dark smile. "I need your help Willow. Well, not exactly your help. I need your magic."

"You lost most of your power when I disrupted the ritual. You need more power," Willow immediately realized.

"That's right. And you're going to give it to me, one way or another," Amy said darkly.


Elsewhere in the building, away from preying eyes and ears, Lucien, Stefan and Kai were talking quietly.

"We're really doing this? Signing on with that witch?" Stefan asked wearily.

"Of course not. Why, when we have a witch of our own?" Lucien said as he looked at Kai. "Before she performs the spell, you will find out how it works, siphon the magic she's going to steal from the red haired witch, and then you will perform the spell."

'Okay, yeah, I like that plan," Kai said with a nod. "But what about Rayna? I doubt she'll let us do that."

"Which is why we'll kill her as well," Lucien said slowly, as though Kai was stupid.

"Um, yeah, no. Not only does she have multiple lives, but when she dies in her last life, anyone she marks dies with her. And I was marked, so really not willing to risk dying in this world," Stefan said with something akin to anger.

"Then you and I shall hold her down while Kai casts the spell and he does whatever he wants to keep her out of our hair. Is that agreeable to you?" Lucien asked annoyed.

"It's a start," Stefan said satisfied before whipping his head around. "Did you hear that?"

At first, they had no idea what Stefan was talking about. Then, they heard the sound of footsteps accompanied by heavy breathing. As one, the three vampires turned around as Buffy walked in, the M? in her hands.

"Well well, look who it is?" Kai said with a smirk.

"Looks like Amy was right," Stefan noted.

"You were foolish to come here alone Slayer," Lucien said with a sadistic smirk.

"Who said I did?" Buffy shot back, confusing them.

Klaus and Enzo then sped in, tackling Lucien and Stefan respectively. Buffy rushed Kai but he raised a hand, immobilizing her.

"Did you really think that would work?" Kai asked with a laugh.

"No, but it was a good distraction," Buffy said smugly.

Kai's confusion lasted only a moment before Spike jumped down behind, sending a powerful kick to his back. Buffy was released as Kai stumbled before Buffy punched him in the face, sending him down to the ground.

Stefan pushed Enzo off him before tackling the younger vampire to the ground.

"Looks like I get to kill you after all," Stefan said with a smirk.

"Wanna bet?" Enzo asked.

Enzo sent a kick to Stefan's chest, sending him flying off as Lucien sent a punch to Klaus's chest. Klaus was sent him into the wall, opposite Lucien, hitting it so hard the wall began to crack.

"You are many things Klaus, but a fool is not one of them. You would never go into a battle you knew you couldn't win unless you had a plan. And Elijah would never let you," Lucien said before the realization hit him. "You're a distraction. The real target is the witch."

Lucien then sped off and, as Klaus moved to follow him, Klaus found himself thrown across the room.

"I don't think so. Stick around, it's about to get fun," Kai said with an insane smirk.


Elsewhere in the building, Elijah, Faith, Dawn and Xander were headed towards where Dawn knew Willow was when Elijah held up a hand.

"We are not alone," Elijah said as they stopped.

No sooner had Elijah spoken then several Shadowkhan rose out of the ground, surrounding them.

"Great, it's these guys again," Faith grumbled as she clutched her sword.

"Really getting sick of them," Xander agreed.

"There is no time for fighting them. We only have one course of action," Elijah said as he stepped forward. "The three of you go on ahead, find Willow. I will deal with them."

"You sure you can handle them?" Dawn asked uneasily and Elijah flashed her a kind smile.

"Dawn, I have handled far worse than them. I will be fine. Now go," Elijah ordered.

The Scoobies shot him another glance before continuing on their way, leaving Elijah with the Shadowkhan. Elijah looked at them calmly before smiling.

"Shall we?" Elijah asked as he raised him his arms.

The Shadowkhan then rushed him, attempting to take him. Elijah sped behind one, easily snapping its neck. It seemed to disintegrate as Elijah then whirled around, punching one before delivering a spinning kick to the chest of another. Elijah then turned to engage as the other Shadowkhan rushed him.


Stefan dodged a strike from Enzo's sword before sending a kick to Enzo's abdomen and grabbing the sword.

"Come on Enzo, you can do better than that," Stefan said with a smirk.

Stefan then head-butted Enzo before kneeing him in the abdomen. The two blows caused Enzo to lose his grip on his sword and Stefan grabbed it from him. Stefan then delivered a kick to Enzo's chest, sending on his back before he used one of his feet to pin Enzo to the ground.

"I was gonna tear out your heart, but I guess cutting off your head will do just as nicely," Stefan said sadistically before raising the sword.

Before he could do anything, Spike tackled him from the side, getting him away from Enzo. Stefan jumped back, raising his sword towards Spike as Spike held his battle axe tightly.

"I don't wanna hurt you mate, but I will," Spike said firmly.

"Well that's too bad, because I wanna hurt you," Stefan said with a smirk before rushing Spike.

Kai laughed insanely as he raised his arms, a powerful gust of wind surrounding him before it pushed passed him, throwing Buffy and Klaus back.

"This isn't working. We can't get close to him," Buffy grumbled as she got to her feet.

"And Lucien is likely halfway caught up to Elijah and the others by now," Klaus said uneasily.

Buffy then looked over, seeing Spike and Enzo double teaming Stefan and got an idea.

"We have to deal with them one at a time," Buffy said and he looked over at her. "You deal with Stefan, and then the four of us take Kai together."

Klaus nodded. While he hated submitting to anyone else's plans, he could see the logic in this one.

As Stefan kicked Enzo back and moved to cross his sword with Spike's battle axe, Klaus sped over. He kicked Stefan against the wall before managing to yank the sword out of his hand and tossing it to the floor. As Stefan moved to flee, Klaus placed a hand on his chest, pinning him to the wall before looking into Stefan's eyes.

"Your humanity, turn it on," Klaus said his pupils dilating as he compelled the younger vampire. "When you do, all the horrible things you've done will come back to you. As they should, because you're a far better man than I. But you can take solace in the fact that, while we may not deserve it, there are those who love you and will never give up on you. You've done horrible things Stefan, but that does not make you a horrible person."

Klaus then released Stefan; stepping back as the vampire stumbled, placing a hand on the wall as his humanity came back to him before he sunk to his knees.

"What have I done?" Stefan asked himself in horror.

Klaus stared at his old friend sadly before turning to Spike and Enzo, who watched as Buffy got to her feet, holding the M? as she stared cross at Kai.

"Four against one Kai, you're not gonna win," Buffy told him and he laughed.

"You think just because you out number me you can stop me? This world's magic is stronger than mine, that little taste I got from siphoning the magic from Willow's little prison; I've never been more powerful. Let me show you!" Kai said with an insane laugh. "Incindia!"

The room then burst into flames and Buffy realized what Kai was about to do before he did it.

"Get back!" she shouted at the others.

But it was too late. Just like with Dawn, the flames rose up, forming into a monstrous form of fire. The four of them began retreating as it came towards them with a roar.


"How long is this gonna take?" Rayna complained as Amy started the process of siphoning Willow's magic.

"It's a long process, she's very powerful," Amy said as Willow groaned.

"Amy," Willow pleaded.

"Sorry Willow, but it's just the way things are," Amy said without remorse.

Further conversation was interrupted when the door was kicked in.

"Get the Hell away from her psycho witch," Faith snarled as she, Xander and Dawn walked in, all carrying swords.

"I should have known you'd make your way here. Rayna, deal with them," Amy orders without stopping the spell.

Rayna whirled around, drawing her sword but Faith quickly rushed over, clashing her sword against Rayna's. As the two fought, Dawn pulled out a dagger, which she tossed at the ropes around Willow's hands. The dagger cut them and Willow fell to the floor, landing on her knees. Amy paused in her spell as Willow looked up at her, her eyes now glowing pure white.

"You wanna play Amy? Let's play," Willow sneered.


Elijah stood in the center of the defeated Shadowkhans, those still alive unconscious.

"Well well, look what we have here," Elijah looked up to see Lucien approach with a smirk.

"Lucien," Elijah greeted darkly.

"Elijah. I have been waiting a long time for this," Lucien said sadistically.

Lucien then sped over to Elijah and delivered a kick to his chest, sending Elijah flying back. Elijah hit the floor before Lucien grad back over to him, punching him before Elijah by the throat, lifting him up into the air.

"Since the day your compulsion wore off, I have wanted only one thing. Your death. But I'm a good sport. I'll give you a fighting chance this time," Lucien said smugly before releasing Elijah. "Let's do this the old fashion way, shall we old friend?"

"After what you did to Finn, to Camille, you are no friend," Elijah growled.

Lucien laughed as the veins under Elijah's eyes turned pure black before his unleashed his own vampire face. The two rushed each other then, each punching the other in the face.


Kai continued laughing manically as the fire continued going after Buffy, Spike, Klaus and Enzo.

"Any ideas how we stop this twit?!" Spike asked over the roar of the fire as they ran.

"Not sure! Wasn't exactly on the best of terms with the others when he was a problem!" Enzo shot back.

"You can't stop me! And soon, I will be even more powerful and you will all be at my mercy!" Kai laughed insanely.

So focused on the others, Kai didn't even notice when Stefan sped up behind him until he grabbed his neck and twisted. There was a kicking crack before Stefan dropped Kai's body to the floor. The fires then went out as the others looked around at the room, seeing Stefan standing over Kai.

"Is he…" Buffy trailed off as she looked down at Kai.

"He's alive. Nothing short of removing his heart or head will kill him," Klaus said as he and Stefan exchanged a look. "Thank you, old friend."

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you," Stefan noted regretfully.

"Perhaps. It is good to see you Stefan," Klaus said with a slight smile.

"Never thought I'd be saying this, but it's good to see you to Klaus," Stefan said, almost laughing at the absurdity of it.

"Oaky, you can figure out your weird bromance problems later, we need to get to Willow and stop Lucien," Buffy ordered.


"Willow-" Amy started as Willow got to her feet.

Willow ignored Amy and held out her hands as her eyes glowed pure white. Amy gasped as she was lifted into the air before a stream of white energy came out of Amy's mouth and into Willow's hands. Willow's body glowed briefly before it returned to normal.

"So much for stealing my magic," Willow said firmly.

Willow the raised a hand and Amy was sent flying into a nearby wall, hard. She hit her head and went down to the floor, out cold. Willow then turned to where Faith and Rayna were exchanging blows and held out a hand. To Rayna's shock, her sword flew from her hands and into Willow's. Faith took advantage of her shock and struck Rayna across the face, quickly following up with a knee to the abdomen before slamming Rayna's face on her knee. Rayna then went down to the floor, also out cold.

"Thanks for the help Will," Faith said as she lowered her sword.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked in concern as she walked over.

"I think I should be asking you that. Did they hurt you?" Faith asked worriedly as she put a hand on one of Willow's cheeks.

"I'm fine, trust me," Willow said before pulling Faith into a kiss.

"Uh, am I missing something? Xander asked clueless from where he and Dawn watched this.

"Oh right, you didn't know. They're together now," Dawn explained and Xander looked at her in disbelief before turning to Willow and Faith as they broke apart.

"HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN A THING?!" Xander exclaimed.

"A few weeks, give or take," Willow said awkwardly as she and Faith turned to face Xander.

"Look, we can catch up Xander later. Will, we still need to stop Lucien," Dawn said as she walked over to Willow, pulling out the spell she had written down with Elijah. "And this is how."


Lucien laughed manically as he sent a kick to Elijah's chest, sending the Original into a wall, which cracked under his weight. Lucien then rushed over and grabbed Elijah by the throat.

"It's a shame Niklaus isn't here to see his big brother die. Oh well, I guess he'll see the results soon enough," Lucien said with a laugh as he opened his mouth to reveal his fangs.

"LUCIEN!"

"Spoke too soon," Lucien said darkly as he looked over his shoulder to see Klaus, Buffy, Spike, Enzo and Stefan emerge at the end of the hallway.

"Let Elijah go. It is me you want. Well here I am," Klaus declared and Lucien released Elijah.

"Very well. If you're in such a hurry to die, let's get on with it," Lucien said gleefully.

Klaus and Lucien then rushed each other, trading blows. However, a well-aimed punch sent Klaus crashing through a well. As Lucien moved to go after Klaus, Buffy rushed him, striking him across the chest with the M?, creating an open wound. But, to her shock, his wound healed almost instantly.

"Haven't you learned by now Slayer? I cannot be killed," Lucien said smugly.

He punched her in the abdomen, sending Buffy flying into the hole he had just tossed Klaus. Enraged, Spike rushed him with his sword, driving it through Lucien's heart. But Lucien merely laughed before punching Spike, sending him flying as he removed the sword.

"Haven't you learned yet? You cannot defeat me!" Lucien said triumphantly.

"You sure about that?"

Hearing the sound of Dawn's voice, everyone whirled around. Dawn, Xander and Faith stood in front of Willow protectively as she chanted, her hand hovering over Elijah's chest. They glowed blue before Willow rose to her feet. She turned to Lucien, still glowing as she chanted. Lucien then cried out in pain, his face turning into its vampire form before returning to normal. Lucien fell to his knees, breathing heavily as the glow faded from Willow.

"It's done. He's an ordinary vampire now," Willow assured them and Lucien looked up at her sharply.

"Then allow me to ride us of this vermin once and for all," Elijah said as he got to his feet.

"No," they turned to see Buffy emerge from the fall in the wall, holding the M? as she glared at Lucien hatefully. "He's mine."

"Buffy," Spike called out as he got to his feet.

"He killed Giles. He's mine," Buffy said in a tone that left no room for argument.

No one else said a word as Buffy rushed Lucien. They all watched worriedly as Buffy and Lucien began trading blows. Lucien tried to strike her but Buffy blocked his punch before striking him in the abdomen with the blunt end of the scythe. Lucien stumbled back before she kicked him in the chest. He went down to the ground before jumping back to his feet. The veins under his eyes turned black before Lucien rushed her. She dropped the M? before grabbing Lucien by the shirt, lifting him up and slamming him onto the ground.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Buffy said mockingly.

Klaus emerge from the hole Lucien had punched him through, watching with the others as Lucien was helpless against Buffy's attacks. Buffy punched him in the face several times before elbowing him and kicking him in the chest. Lucien went down to the ground as Buffy picked up her scythe, a dark look on her face.

"She's enjoying it," Klaus looked over as Cami appeared next to him. "He killed her father figure and now she's taking pleasure out of killing him. You of all people know how it changes you when you take a life that way. What kind of path it sends you down."

Klaus looked back towards Buffy, seeing her stalk towards Lucien as he looked up at her fearfully.

"This is for Giles," Buffy said darkly as she raised the Scythe.

She tried to bring it down on Lucien but, to the shock of everyone, Klaus sped in the way, using his hands to stop her. With a growl, Buffy tried using her strength to shove him out of the way but Klaus refused to budge.

As she stared angrily into his eyes, Buffy saw the hidden message that Klaus was trying to tell her without saying a word.

'Don't be like me' his eyes pleaded silently.

The anger left Buffy as she sighed, lowering the scythe before tossing it to the ground. Klaus nodded at her as the Scoobies and Spike all breathed a sigh of relief. Klaus and Elijah exchanged a look, Elijah smiling at his brother proudly before Klaus turned to Lucien, a dark look crossing his face.

"Nik-" Lucien started pleadingly.

That was as far as he got. Without a word, Klaus plunged his hand into Lucien's chest and pulled out his heart. Lucien gasped before lying down on the ground very still, his skin turning a blotchy grey. Klaus watched him silently for a moment before dropping the heart onto the ground next to Lucien.

"It's over then. It's finally over," Dawn said as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah…it's over," Buffy repeated softly, wondering if that was really true.

So, Lucien was killed, Stefan has his humanity back, and everyone else was defeated.

For Buffy not killing Lucien, Buffy has a code of not killing anything that has a soul except in rather extreme circumstances. I honestly don't think Buffy would be able to handle it if she had killed Lucien and enjoyed it, which is why Klaus stepped in.

Next chapter will finish up the story.