Giles entered into the magic shop slowly, hating having to be at work when he should be taking care of Dawn.
He closed the door gently behind him and flicked a light on, almost jumping as he saw a figure sitting at the round table, reading.
"How can you read in that light?" Giles asked.
Spike turned around and Giles could see that Spike had his vamp eyes, yellow and glowing.
"Ah," he said, his question answered.
Spike looked back down at the books in front of him.
"I suppose I should have asked this first. What are you doing here?" Giles asked. He took a seat next to the vampire and looked at the books in front of him.
"Research," Spike answered simply, writing down another page number on a pad of paper.
"Yhidnamanna?" Giles asked, reading off the paper.
"Demon type," Spike replied. "Not too nice a guy. Powerful. More powerful than the Master some say."
"More powerful than-" Giles stopped. "Dear God."
Spike nodded and pushed one of the books in front of Giles.
"Here," Spike said, pointing to a particular paragraph.
"Yhidnamanna will come when he is called, and he will be called when there are five," Giles read. "Five what?"
Spike glanced up at him, silently telling him the obvious answer. "Sacrifices. Human."
"He will open the mouth of hell and destroy everything on the earth," Giles continued.
"There's more," Spike said.
Giles looked down and continued reading.
"Yhidnamanna accepts only pure sacrifices. If one sacrifice is the Key-" Giles stopped.
"Yhidnamanna will open every demon dimension there is," Spike finished.
Giles looked up and put the book down.
"Dawn-"
"She's safe. It's daytime. Vamps don't like to come and play in the sun."
Giles calmed down for a moment.
After a few moments of silence, Spike finally spoke up.
"They know who the Key is. They know it's Dawn."
"How do they know that? How do you know that?"
"Everyone knows. After Glory carked it, everyone who's anyone found out that the Slayer's sister was the Key. And I know that because they've already tried gettin' 'er."
"What? When?"
"Last night. Woulda been 'bout two in the mornin'. Found the youngun, Christian lurking outside the house with her. Dunno what the hell she was doing out there with 'im, but he knows who she is. Tried to get an invite inside an' all," Spike said.
"She didn't-"
"No," Spike said reassuringly. "He musta asked, but I think she nodded. You hafta have a verbal invite to enter anywhere these days. Or a written one. I showed up just in time. He's a nasty critter, Christian."
"You know him?" Giles asked.
Spike looked away.
"Could say that," he replied quietly.
Giles looked at the vamp for a moment before registering what he meant. "Oh."
"He's trained. He's trained like you wouldn't believe. My first fledgling. Wanted to teach 'im everything there is to know. Stupid move," Spike said softly.
Giles stood up and moved away from the vampire.
"He's working for someone. Court. I've only met him once. Wouldn't care to meet him again," Spike said.
"Court? Do you mean Court Sams?" Giles asked.
"One and only. Bastard of a bloke. Kills anyone who threatens his reign of terror. My guess is that young Christian will be doing anything to gain favour with 'im. Fool'd do anything for a bit of power," Spike explained.
"If Court Sams is in town trying to call up Yhidnamanna then we're-"
"In a helluva a lot of trouble, I know, believe me. From the looks of things, Court's got himself a few vamps, trying to round up some sacrifices. Good news is, no one will be feeding."
"No feeding?" Giles repeated.
"Yhidnamanna accepts only pure sacrifices. Nothing with tainted blood. Meaning no snacks for the vamps. It also means we've got a fightin' chance of not letting them all die if we find out where they're holed up."
"But how?"
Spike rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully for a moment.
"Honestly, I got no clue. None of my boys are loyal and Christian wouldn't tell me unless…" Spike trailed off.
"Unless what?"
"Unless he thought that I was one of them."
~*~
A silence had descended upon the Scooby Gang, each of them looking at the floor or the inside of their eyelids. Giles had his head bowed down and even Anya looked uncomfortable.
"So let me get this straight," Xander said after a few moments. "This Yamaha guy wants five live and kicking sacrifices and then he'll open the hellmouth. And if he gets his hands on the Key, he'll open the demon dimensions as well."
"Yhidnamanna, and yes," Giles confirmed.
Xander nodded, hay with the explanation.
"What does he do with them?" Dawn whispered.
Spike looked up at her and saw the fear in her eyes. He moved to stand behind her chair, placing a comforting hand on one shoulder.
Giles stumbled over his words for a few minutes, wanting to protect the young girl who had gone through so much in the last six months. Finding out that you're not real, that you're a Key that will do inherent evil, and having your mother and sister die would have been…traumatic, Giles thought.
"It doesn't really say," Giles said quietly.
Dawn looked towards Spike for confirmation.
"Yhidnamanna won't kill the sacrifices and he won't kill the Key. Once they've got their sacrifices, Court will call on the demon who will come and inspect the people they've picked. The five have to be pure, no vampire can have fed on them. Once he inspects them, he…he takes them back to his demon dimension. No one's too sure what happens after that," Spike said.
"How do you know all this anyway?" Anya asked.
Spike looked up at her sharply, hoping that no one would have asked him that question.
Spike looked away and took a seat beside Dawn.
"'Bout two years ago now, when Angelus was back in town, he wanted to call on Yhidnamanna. He told us all about it and we were gonna go and start getting the sacrifices. The plan got stopped when he got wind of Acathla being found," Spike said.
Willow looked up suddenly. "What's in it for the vamp who calls Yhidnamanna? There must be some sort of perk besides having the hellmouth opened."
Spike nodded calmly. "Yhidnamanna's powerful. Could do anything with the snap of his fingers. Some say he's more powerful than some of the gods. The uh, the vamp who calls Yhidnamanna gets turned into a demon."
"But vampires are demons," Dawn said in confusion.
"Hybrids," Anya offered. "Yhidnamanna turns them into a demon in pure form. The mayor all over again."
"You mean we're gonna have to deal with that snake thing again?" Xander asked.
Anya shook her head, trying to find the words to explain it. "There's a lot of types of demons. Some of them, thankfully aren't as big as what the mayor turned into. Others are smaller, but a lot more powerful. Court…Court will go for something smaller and more powerful."
"How do you know what Court will go for?" Spike asked.
Anya looked at him and shrugged a little. "You're not the only one who's met Court."
Spike raised his eyebrows at her and grinned a little as she turned away.
"Maybe my earlier plan just got a little bit better," Spike said to Giles.
Giles looked at the vamp suspiciously.
"What do you propose?"
"I try and get the info outta Christian. Anya tries to get it out of Court," Spike said simply.
Giles looked towards Anya who looked horrified at the notion.
"How well did you know Court?" Giles asked.
Anya looked at him pointedly. "We were fairly well acquainted. In the 1400's, he and I were causing some havoc in Nepal. We lost touch in the 1600's, mainly due to me wanting to live somewhere a little sunnier."
Giles removed his glasses and polished them absentmindedly.
"Would you be willing to talk to Court? Try and find out when he plans to do this. Find out what he wants from Yhidnamanna. Spike, if you can integrate yourself into their group, you could be most helpful to us. It would mean you could stop Yhidnamanna from being called at all."
Spike nodded and looked towards Anya. "How bout you An? Up for a challenge?"
Anya hesitated but eventually nodded her consent.
"Well, I suggest that we start doing things fairly soon. Tonight if possible," Giles suggested.
"What about the rest of us?" Willow asked.
"You could start with de-ratting Amy. Then if Amy's willing to help, she, you and Tara could try and research a few different protection spells," Giles suggested.
Willow nodded and looked towards Tara who just smiled.
"What about me? What can I do?" Dawn asked.
"Stay with Xander. Make sure you're not out alone, I don't care if the suns still out or not. Do not, under any circumstances invite anyone in. That goes for you as well Xander," Giles warned. "I'd suggest that we start heading home before sundown. We'll meet back here in the morning and…discuss things a little more."
Everyone nodded and began standing up. Dawn grabbed hold of Spike's hand, stopping him from heading out the door.
"How are you going to get Christian to believe you? After last night…he'd never believe that you were on their side," Dawn said.
"I've got a plan Nibblet, don't worry. He'll believe me. It'll take time, but I'll gain his trust," Spike said, pulling the small girl into his arms.
"Now, get home before dark. I'll see you in the morning."
Dawn nodded and gave him one last quick hug before looking towards Xander.
"I just hope this works," Spike said to Giles before grabbing a blanket to cover himself from the sun.
"If it doesn't work, then we'll all be dead."
~*~
Spike wandered through the graveyard, hands in his pockets. He forced himself to keep walking as he passed his Slayer's grave. He was here for a purpose, and no matter how much he wanted to stop and weep for the woman he loved, he had to keep going.
He saw a bump in the ground where Xander had fallen the night before. It wouldn't be like his fledgling to be hiding in the same area, but he had been out of the game for a few years.
Spike looked up into the tree, somehow not entirely surprised to see two glowing eyes staring back at him.
"You want it, don't you?" came a deep voice from behind him. Spike spun around to see a taller vampire who he recognised as Court.
Spike didn't reply, he only watched as Christian dislodged himself from the tree and stood beside Court.
"I told you he'd come," the boy-vamp said smugly.
"What can I say, I'm predictable," Spike replied, shrugging casually.
"Maybe I just know you," Christian replied.
"Quiet! Both of you," Court spat.
Spike looked at him coldly, wondering why Christian would be hanging about with someone who was trying to obtain powers that he had no rights to claim.
"William the bloody, it would be an honour to have you with us," Court said.
"I'm only with you to get this cute li'l chip out of my head, you got that? I'm not having anythin' to do with your sacrifices."
"Not like you can hunt anyway," Christian said bitterly.
Court threw the boy-vamp a hard glance and the boy immediately looked down at the ground.
"You'll get the chip out, not to worry. Yhidnamanna can do all of that and then some. Soon enough, I should be able to do that as well," Court said.
"Count me in then," Spike said grimly. "This whole being helpless as a kitten stuck up a tree really isn't to my fancy. The sooner this things out, the better, I say."
"You're welcome to join us. All we ask is one thing," Court said.
"What's that?"
"You show you're loyalty to us."
Spike felt his heart sink. He knew what they were going to ask.
"You will bring us the Key."
~*~
"Houston, we have a problem," Spike said, flinging open the doors to Giles' shop.
Giles looked up sharply, surprised by how frazzled the blonde vampire seemed.
"What is it?"
Spike began pacing up and down the length of the lower area of the store until Giles caught his arm and pushed him towards a chair.
"I'm in on proviso," Spike said, running a hand through his hair.
"Proviso?" Xander repeated, emerging from the small area behind the counter.
"I bring them what they want, I'm in."
"Good lord," Giles gasped. "They want-"
"The Key. I'm in if I bring them the Key. No bloody way. They've got a snowballs chance in hell of me bringing them the Key. And the Nibblet is not gonna know about them wanting her, you got that?" Spike said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Giles removed his glasses and polished them swiftly, his tactic whenever he became frazzled. He nodded, answering the vampires question. He didn't want to involve Dawn in this anymore than Spike did.
"There's gotta be some other way," Xander said.
"Like what?" Spike asked testily. He stood up and resumed his pacing again.
He stopped mid stride.
"Where is our favourite door-opener?"
"She's with Tara and Willow," Xander offered. "They're at Buf…they're at Dawn's. Watching video's."
Spike nodded, his unbeating heart constricting at the almost mention of Buffy's name.
"And demon girl? Where's she at?"
"Demon girl, has a name," Xander said angrily. "[I]Anya[/I] is out looking for your guy. I don't see why she let you push her into this."
"Push her? I didn't exactly see her complaining before. Maybe you're just a wee bit insecure. Afraid that she may have the hots for an ex-honey?" Spike taunted.
Xander was at Spike's throat within seconds.
"He meant nothing to her, do you get that? Nothing."
"Xander, stop it," Giles exclaimed. "He's just stirring."
Xander glared at the neutered vampire and took a step back, hating that he
could still play on Xander's weaknesses so easily.
"Maybe someone should have gone with her," Giles said softly.
"Like who? The whelp?" Spike asked scornfully.
"Like Willow. Or perhaps Tara. If Anya were to get into trouble, help of the supernatural kind would be most welcome," Giles said.
"I'm sure she can hold her own," Spike said.
Xander fiddled with his hands nervously.
"What's taking her so long anyway? I thought she was gonna be back sooner."
"If she's out looking for Court, she shoulda just come with me. Ran in to him bout half an hour ago."
"What?" Giles exclaimed. "And you only just thought to tell us this now?"
Spike shrugged and sat back on his seat, his feet resting on the round table.
"Maybe she's only just run in to him. I mean, it may take her a while to get the information out of him. She's fine. She's just fine," Xander said, trailing off a little.
~*~
Anya strolled through the cemetery, armed with a cross and a make-shift stake that Giles had given to her, in case any vampire apart from Court saw her.
She couldn't understand how Buffy could do this for five years on end and not get a severe case of the willies every night. She shivered in the cool night air, hoping that she would see Court and soon. She hated being out here, and as much as she wanted to see her old friend, she would have been happier at home with Xander, in their apartment, in their bed.
She turned sharply as she heard leaves rustling.
"It's just the wind," she told herself softly.
She turned back and yelped in surprise.
The vampire looked at her, startled.
"Anyanka?"
Anya smiled, thankful that he had remembered her. Otherwise, she would probably have been this vampire's midnight snack.
"Hello Court," she said softly.
Court looked her up and down, a smile showing on his face.
"What are you doing here? The last time I saw you was-"
"Nepal. In the 1600's. I remember."
"Wow…look at you. You haven't changed a bit," he said.
"Nor have you. Immortality's a wonderful thing," she said.
Giles had instructed her to make it seem as though she was still a demon, rather than a human being.
"Wow…how are you? How's the vengeances coming along lately?" he asked.
"Oh, you know," Anya said vaguely. "Just doing some wishes, making new alternate realities. The basics."
Well, it was the truth. She had granted Cordelia a wish, though that had been two years ago. Ironic how the last wish she had made was to take revenge on the man she was now engaged to.
"How's eating people working out for you?" Anya asked bluntly.
Court gave a small grin. "Same ole, same ole. Sunnydale's the perfect place for it. No one really seems to question it. People are too afraid to face up to the reality of it all. Gotta love this town."
Anya gave a tight smile, wondering how she could ask him why he was summoning Yhidnamanna in a semi-tactful way.
"I heard you were in town," Anya said casually.
"I see my reputation precedes me. Heard it from who?"
"Oh, just some demon connections I have. They seem to be pretty impressed by what you're doing. Calling in the big guns and all," Anya said.
"You know about calling the demon Yhidnamanna?" Court asked.
Anya nodded enthusiastically. "It's all around town. I haven't seen anyone get this excited since the Ascension."
Court scoffed. "The mayor was a fool. He became a mortal demon, rather than an immortal one. He makes himself impervious to harm, but lets himself be killed in the first ten minutes. Sloppy work."
"Why become a demon when you already are one Court?" Anya asked.
He gave a small smile. "You're exactly how I remember you Anyanka. Always asking why and wherefore when it came to me gaining power."
"Well, you know…I hated you having more than me," Anya admitted.
"I call on Yhidnamanna, and he grants me my deepest desire. He'll give me powers that I've never even thought of. That you've never held. He'll make me immortal, unkillable, unstoppable. I could finally go with you into your sunnier place," he said.
"What demon is unkillable? Even I can be killed," truthful on many levels, Anya thought.
"Korickana. Demon in human form. Feeds from humans, like vampires. Walks in the human world. Needs nothing but another's life-flow to sustain life. Completely resistant to harm," Court explained, a slight tinge of longing in his voice.
"And I shall have it. Yhidnamanna will grant me this, and he'll open the hellmouth. And every other demon dimension there is."
"Every other? You need the Key for that. No one knows where the Key is," Anya said, wondering if he truly knew.
"Anyanka, my dear, you have much to learn. The Key resides here in the Valley of the Sun. It was sent to be protected in human form. I have two of my men working on bringing her to me."
"Her?"
"A pretty little thing. Human child. She's about fifteen years old. Dawn, I believe she is called."
Anya nodded, trying not to show her dismay. There had been a chance that Court had not known exactly who the Key was, but it was official. Dawn's secret identity was definitely no longer secret.
"You can get to this girl? Dawn?"
"One of my men, my newest recruit actually, he has the girl's complete trust. He will not fail me. There is too much at stake for him, no pun intended," Court said.
"And the other? You said there were two."
"My right hand man. If my new recruit can't, then…my boy won't fail me."
Anya nodded and stuck her hands in her pocket.
"Right, well…I have to be off. There's…things to do. Vengeance to be venged," Anya said awkwardly. "It was nice seeing you."
She took off before Court had a chance to stop her.
"That girl always was an odd one."
~*~
"Do you ever want to go back?" Buffy asked William as they lay on their stomachs in a field of green grass, watching as the world continued to go on.
William gave a small laugh.
"Part of me was glad to go. I think that night, in the alley with Drusilla, I almost wanted her to kill me. You see, it's not only Slayer's who have a death wish," he said.
"I didn't have a death wish," Buffy said angrily.
"But part of you is glad it's over, right? Part of you is saying, 'I'm done. I did what I had to do, and now someone else can do it,' aren't you?" William said intuitively.
"I don't want to go back if that's what you're asking. I mean…I do, but…not if I had to go back to what was happening. The fighting, the killing, the…mayhem and destruction that was my life. If I could go back and not have any of that in my life, then…maybe," Buffy conceded.
"If I could go back now…have the confidence that he has, have the love and support that he's found, then yes I would go back. But if I had died a natural death, I wouldn't have gone back for the world. I watched what happened why I disappeared. Watched as the demon took my body. You see, I was still in love with Cecily. He…I think he was too."
"He didn't…"
"No. He didn't kill her. He never killed anyone he knew. Except for the man who insulted him at the party on the night he died. Tortured him to death with rail road spikes. Part of me was almost happy to see him go," William said, blushing a little.
"But I watched Cecily. I watched her as she grew more concerned for me. She…she felt guilty for me. She didn't know where I was. She cried for me once," he said, tears coming to his eyes. "She told her sister that it was her fault that I had left. That she had taken my presence for granted and that if she could have redone the night, she would have told me that just because she didn't love me, didn't mean that she didn't like me."
Buffy nodded silently and rolled onto her back.
"I wish I had have told him…you…Spike…whoever. I wish I had have told him that …I dunno. That he wasn't beneath me. That he wasn't a monster. That I did see him as a man. That he did have a chance, but…but that I needed to deal with some things first," Buffy said.
"He knew."
Buffy laughed a little. "Don't know how. All I ever did was rag on him," she said guiltily.
"And all he ever did was try to kill you. You were both trained to do what you did, and breaking those barriers down was always going to be hard. But…you saw past the barriers. He saw past the Slayer in you and you saw past the demon in him."
"But I didn't," Buffy said. "I couldn't see past the demon. The demon is who he is. It made him the guy that I was starting to fall for."
"But because of Angelus, you thought that he couldn't love you. Couldn't care for you," William said.
"I just don't understand how Spike can do good voluntarily. Even when Angel didn't have his soul, he still wanted to do evil. His demon wanted him to commit horrible acts. But Spike…I don't understand how he can not want to do the things he used to," Buffy said.
"Do you know how hard it was for him to stop being evil? To go against his very nature just to try and show you that he was capable of changing? Not only when you were there to watch, but even when you weren't. He'd help people, he'd stake vampires, and not to impress you. He went against everything he was taught to believe, and eventually, his demon began giving up. The demon hated that Spike couldn't feed, couldn't hurt, couldn't kill. The pain Spike felt when he went to hurt was half chip, half demon tearing into his body," William explained.
"It hurt him to help me?" Buffy asked.
William nodded sombrely. "Sometimes it hurt worse than the chip. Sometimes it hurts so much that the only thing he can do to take his mind off it is clench his fists until he makes them bleed just to feed the bloodlust of the demon."
Buffy fell into a shocked silence and closed her eyes. "I never knew. None of us…we never really asked. I mean…he was just there, whether we wanted him to be or not. We…we took him for granted I think."
"He was there because he wanted to be. He sincerely wanted to help you."
Buffy opened her eyes and rolled over again, looking down at the earthly Spike, wondering why fate was cruelly opening her eyes now and not several months earlier.
~*~
"Giles, we have a problem," Anya said, bursting into the store. Giles looked up, almost smiling at the similar entrance that Spike had made only half an hour ago.
Xander rushed over to her, engulfing her in his arms.
"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked, his concern evident in his voice.
"I'm fine. I found
Court…well, he found me, but…that's not the point," Anya rambled.
"And what is the point, luv?" Spike asked from his seat at the table.
"The demon that he wants to turn into, it's…it's bad."
"Mayor bad?" Xander asked.
"Worse. Much worse. He wants to transform into Korickana," Anya said.
If it was possible, Spike went whiter than usual.
"He can't!" Spike yelled, getting to his feet.
"Well, he's going to," Anya yelled back.
Xander looked between his fiancé and the demon he loathed.
"Who's Korickana?"
"A demon. Invincible. Unstoppable. Unkillable. And a right bloody pain to get rid of," Spike said.
Anya looked at him, surprised by the last part of his explanation.
"Get rid of? You can't 'get rid of' a Korick demon. It's impossible."
"Hey, tell that to the vamp who got rid of 'im, not me," Spike said, holding up his hands in defence.
"Just hold on a moment," Giles said. "What is a Korickana demon? What does it do? What does it look like?"
Spike looked at Anya, telling her that the floor was hers.
"A Korickana, or a Korick demon is a demon who looks like a human. They can walk in the human world, meaning they can be in the sunlight. They have the feeding patterns of a vampire, but they're more powerful. They're invincible, there's no known way to kill them," Anya explained.
"Okay," Xander said. "Then why does deadboy junior think that they can be got rid of?"
"Because I know who got rid of one," Spike said testily. "Bout fifty years back, just after the war. We came face to face with a Korick, smug bastard if ever I saw one. Always rattlin' on about how he was invincible and the like. We got right sick of the prat, so got rid of him."
"Yes, but how?" Giles asked.
"Drusilla. She worked a bit of mojo, dark magicks and such. Sent him to a nether realm and we never heard of him again," Spike said. "Thank heavens."
"But he didn't die. He was only sent to another reality. Meaning that some other poor dimension has a Korick demon who's probably still killing people," Anya said angrily.
"Hey, don't shoot the messenger, luv. I'm just narrating here."
Anya folded her arms over her chest, and leant back against Xander for support.
"So even if this Court guy achieves his transformation thingy, we still have a chance to get rid of him?" Xander asked. "I mean, we can send him to another reality?"
"There must be some other way of killing a Korick demon," Giles said logically. No one can be completely invincible. If we were able to defeat Glory, then a Korick demon should be no harder."
"Glory didn't die," Anya said. "Ben did. Remember?"
Giles looked away, torn between feeling guilt at taking an innocent life, and feeling elated that their greatest foe was dead.
"Well, you were a demon, weren'tcha?" Spike asked. "How come you're all mortal again?"
Anya glared at him and felt Xander tense up a little.
"My power centre was destroyed," she explained. Two years ago, she would have glared at Giles for destroying it, but somehow, she felt that it was meant to be this way.
"Does a Korick demon have a power centre?" Xander asked.
"If it does, he hides it very well. He was bugging the hell outta us for five years before Dru sent his annoying ass to a different realm. We never found it."
"Yes, well…perhaps it would be best to research into this Korick demon," Giles suggested. He looked towards Xander who groaned but stood up.
"I'm research guy. Maybe we should get the girls here as well," Xander suggested.
"Good idea. Why don't you go call them…oh and see if they've made any progress with de-ratting Amy."
~*~
Willow and Tara sat cross-legged on the floor of the Summers' living room. Dawn was upstairs doing her homework, remembering vividly the lecture she had had from Buffy about the importance of keeping on top of her studies. If she didn't do well in school, she would be taken away from the family that she had adopted herself into.
Between Willow and Tara was Amy the rat was running between them, sniffing excitedly, as though she knew that this was going to work.
"Uh, Willow…shouldn't we have some…some clothes, maybe. I mean…she's…she's probably gonna be…" Tara trailed off.
Willow laughed a little and stood up. "I never even thought of that. Kinda like the time that Buffy was a rat and when she was…de-ratted, she wasn't wearing too much either. She was so embarrassed," Willow said, laughing at the memory.
Her laughter stopped as she realised that Buffy was no longer with them. Tara gave her a comforting smile and watched as Willow rushed about the room, getting clothing that would most likely fit the de-ratted Amy.
"When was she turned into a rat?" Tara asked softly, not pushing too hard for an answer, but hopefully bringing up a time that would be something that Willow would smile at.
"Ages ago," Willow replied. "We were still in high school. Xander cast a spell that went a lot worse than mine used to. He ended up with every female in Sunnydale in love with him."
Tara laughed and watched her girlfriend sit back down.
"Anyway, Buffy was in the library, hitting on him, offering to strip for him, and Amy comes in, jealous as anything. She starts with the magicks, and poof. Buffy's a rat. Giles was…well, I hate to used the word pissed off, but that's what he was. I've never seen him that angry before. Anyway…long story short, Giles made Amy do the de-ratting spell while…someone else was looking for her."
"Someone else?" Tara asked.
"Oz," Willow said, hating the stab of pain that still went through her heart every time she thought about her ex-boyfriend.
"He saw Buffy in…the buff?" Tara asked.
"No, no. She was half covered by some boxes."
Tara nodded, hating that Willow was still so affected by the man who had left her so many years ago.
"Well at least Amy can have something to change into quickly."
Willow nodded and took Tara's hand. Willow gave a small smile and nodded.
"Goddess of creatures great and small, I conjure thee to withdraw," Tara said forcefully, her eyes closed.
"Hecate, I hereby license thee to depart," Willow finished.
With their eyes closed, they saw a brilliant flash and then a gentle whimpering noise.
Willow opened her eyes tentatively to see the girl with long brown hair sitting in front of her, grabbing at the clothing Willow had placed beside the circle, trying desperately to cover her nudity.
"It worked!" Willow cried.
Tara opened her eyes and closed them immediately as she saw this complete stranger naked in front of her.
Amy gave a smile and changed quickly, standing up and stretching.
"Somehow, thank you doesn't seem to be a strong enough word right now," Amy said, pulling Willow into a tight hug.
Amy turned to Tara and stopped.
"I'm Amy," she said, holding her hand out for Tara to shake.
"Tara," she replied. They shook hands and Amy immediately turned back to Willow.
"So uh…how long did it take for the whole de-ratting thing to happen?" Amy asked.
"Uh…couple of years. I'm so sorry. There's just been so much happening, and…I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat it. Unless it's the year 2003 or something," Amy said.
"2001 actually," Tara said shyly.
"2001? I've been a rat for three years?" Amy asked.
Willow shrugged and gave a small smile. "Do you remember all of it?"
"Parts. I remember being changed back to normal and then being turned into a rat again. I was so not happy about that," Amy said, smiling a little, happy to be out of her small cage and out of her small body.
"Changed to normal? When?" Willow asked.
"I don't know. It was in a different room though. I saw the back of your head and a blonde girls. You were cleaning my cage I think."
Willow thought back to when this could have been done.
"Oh Amy, I'm so sorry. I was doing this 'I will it so' spell, but I thought it had gone kabluey. It must have worked, and I was saying how I didn't have as much power as you. I think I said something about how you were a perfectly normal girl and then you were a rat," Willow explained.
"That would have been it. I was so frustrated that day."
Tara gave a small smile. "I can imagine."
Willow grimaced. "Don't worry, you weren't the only one I affected. Buffy managed to get herself engaged to Spike that day."
Tara burst out laughing, holding her aching sides as she stopped, only to start again. Willow grinned at the memory of the two kissing on the floor of the old crypt.
"It was kinda funny," Willow admitted.
Amy smiled, not sure who Spike was, but could only imagine that they must have hated each other.
"Where is Buffy anyway?" Amy asked.
The laughter ceased automatically and Tara looked down at the floor once more.
Willow went to answer but was cut off by the telephone ringing.
"Hello? Oh, hey Xander. Yeah it worked. She's been de-ratted," Willow said.
Amy gave a large grin and mouthed another 'thank you' at Willow who smiled back.
"Anya and Spike are back? Bad news? I guess this is Sunnydale, what other kind of news can we really be expecting. Yeah, we'll be there in about ten minutes. See ya."
Willow grabbed her bag from the bed and looked towards Tara and Amy.
"We're wanted at the Magic Box. Anya and Spike got back bearing bad news for all. What a way to start your un-ratted life. If you want to come and help that is," Willow said.
Amy shrugged. "I don't think I really have much else planned for tonight anyway, so…yeah, I'm good to go."
Willow nodded. "Alright. I'll go get Dawn and we'll be off."
Amy turned to look at Willow. "Who's Dawn?"
"Buffy's younger sister. Sort of," Willow said.
Amy nodded, a little confused. "I didn't know Buffy had a younger sister."
Tara looked at Willow, wondering whether the spell that distorted their reality had somehow by-passed Amy due to her being a rat.
Willow made a mental note to ask Giles whether or not this could happen.
~*~
All heads looked up as the three witches and Dawn entered the shop. Giles smiled as he saw Amy in her natural state, thankful that the spell had worked.
"Amy, good to see you again," he said gently.
Amy smiled, knowing that nothing would be able to ruin this day for her. No words could express how thankful she was that she was finally human again.
"Uh, this is Anya and Spike. You remember Xander of course," Giles said, thinking back to when Xander had teamed up with the young with to cast the love spell that backfired badly.
Amy gave a small smile. She glanced towards the man that Giles had introduced as Spike and couldn't understand why the thought of he and Buffy being engaged had been such a hilarious issue.
"Nice to meet you," Amy said politely. She took a seat next to Xander, who smiled and gave a small wave.
"Good to have you back," Xander said.
Anya felt a familiar jealous tug at her heart but ignored it, knowing that Xander would never cheat on her. She thought. Hoped. Wished. Well…anyway.
Giles cleared his throat and looked towards Spike. He didn't even flinch as Dawn sat beside the vampire and rested her elbow casually on his knee.
"Perhaps you could fill in these four on what we've found out," he suggested.
Spike looked up and raised his eyebrows. "What do I look like, a story teller?"
Amy gave a small laugh, surprised by the strong cockney accent and the lilt in his voice.
Giles sighed softly and looked towards Willow, Tara and Amy.
"The long and short of it is this. Court is looking to raise Yhidnamanna in order to become the demon Korickana."
"The demon in human form?" Tara asked.
Giles nodded and chose to ignore the surprised look that Willow shot her girlfriend.
"They're not the nicest of demons. Hard to get rid of," Tara said.
"So we've heard," Xander commented.
Spike gave a low groan, indignant that they all took Tara's response at face value but had questioned his input on the demon until the cows had come home.
"But not impossible, right?" Willow asked.
"Apparently not. With the right majicks, it's possible to send them to a nether realm," Giles explained.
"Uh…I don't know if that's such a good idea," Tara said shyly.
Spike gave her a look, wondering how this girl who looked so innocent could know so much about Korick demons.
"Why's that? If he ain't in our realm, I say it's a good idea," the blonde vampire said.
"But you're just sending him away, you're not killing it," Tara explained.
Anya groaned and stood up. "How many times do I have to tell people? Korick demons can't be killed!"
Tara looked away, embarrassed at being chastised in such a manner from the ex-demon.
Spike looked towards the shy witch, knowing instinctively that there was something that she was too timid to share with the group.
"Maybe, maybe not," Spike said.
Tara looked up at him, thankful that she had not had to express her thoughts of being right.
"You think you know another way?" Giles asked.
"No," Spike said. "But I think Sabrina here might have an idea."
Tara blushed and gave a small laugh.
"Tara?" Willow asked gently. "What do you know about them?"
Tara looked up and found the group staring at her expectantly.
"Well…when I…when I thought that I was a demon, I did a lot of research into them. I couldn't figure out what sort of a demon I was considering I h – had no aspects of any of them," she explained. "But I found this one. The Korick demon. They can walk in sunlight, and they're basically human. But powerful. I kind of eliminated it when I saw they drank blood. That would just be…really disgusting."
She shot Spike a look, almost apologising for the insult to him. He smiled good naturedly and licked his lips, winking playfully.
"The book that I was looking at, it said that the Korick demon had only one way of being destroyed. It had to be killed by that which created it," Tara said.
Giles stood up and made his way up the ladder to where his personal collection of books were kept. He pulled out one on demonology and brought it back down to the table.
"Is this the book you were using?" he asked, placing it in front of Tara.
The girl nodded and took the book from him, turning to the pages concerning the demon.
"Here," Tara said. She pushed the book in front of Willow, silently hoping her girlfriend would understand that she didn't want to read in front of the group. It had been hard enough speaking of her knowledge of the demon, let alone giving them a lecture on the topic.
"The Korick demon. Sustained by the life-flow of human beings. They cannot be killed by weapons, fire, water or lack of air. They kill for sport, and their power lies in their creator," Willow summarised.
"So, there power centre is really the demon who made them," Xander said. "So, if we kill this Yhidnamanna demon, the Korickana will go away, right?"
"Not exactly," Anya said. "The text is a bit vague. It's power lies in its creator means that only its creator can control it. If its creator were to die, then the Korick demon would have free reign. In this case, the only way to get rid of the Korick demon is for Yhidnamanna to kill it."
"Which begs the question, why would Yhidnamanna kill the Korick demon if he was the one who created it?" Dawn asked.
"Nibblet's got a point," Spike said. "Why would good ole Yhiddy kill Korick?"
Anya blinked thoughtfully.
"If the Korick demon is going to be controlled by Yhidnamanna, what's to stop it trying to break free from Yhidnamanna's hold?" Anya asked.
"Respect," Spike replied. "You respect the guy who made you, whether you want to or not. No matter how hard I tried, I could never kill my sire. There's a bond there, so strong that it physically aches sometimes."
Amy looked up, surprised by the Brit's announcement. He was a vampire.
"Don't look so surprised, pet," Spike said to Amy, seeing her reaction. "I'm not goin' to bite."
"He's vegetarian nowadays," Dawn explained.
Giles coughed a little in the silence that followed. "If Court is planning on killing Yhidnamanna, it would mean that he would be immortal. He couldn't be killed. Transporting him to another realm may be the only option there."
"Are you saying we want to keep Yhidnamanna alive?" Xander asked. "Cause, that's what it's beginning to sound like."
"I – I suppose, in the worst case, if Court does become a Korick demon, our best hope of defeating him would be to keep Yhidnamanna alive," Giles said.
"And in the best case, we kill Yhidnamanna before he can turn Court into the demon," Anya finished.
"Right," Giles said. "But for now, the only thing we can really do is read up on both the Korick demon and on Yhidnamanna. I think it might be best if we were to research a way to close the hellmouth as well. If anything were to go wrong, and the hellmouth is opened…well…we may have to close it fairly quickly."
Willow nodded, silently taking on the closing of the hellmouth as her area of research. After looking through alternative ways to close demon dimension, hellmouths wouldn't be a problem.
Spike yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Well, if you don't need me, then I'm going to bed. Been up a lot longer than I thought I was gonna be up. If you need me, I'll be at the Nibblet's."
Giles nodded his approval and watched as Spike went to the door.
"It's my night for patrol, ain't it?"
"Isn't it, and yes it is," Giles said.
Spike smirked at the comparatively young British man.
"Well…good night, or morning for you I guess. Don't have too much fun with your books," he said.
"Yeah, no problems there," Xander moaned.