A/N : Here's the third chapter which is quite long, but the next chapter probably won't be that long, however because I plan for it to be a little bit shorter it does mean I'll have it finished and posted sooner. That's enought rambling, so I'll just say thanx to everyone who reviewed chapter two, and I hope you enjoy (and decide to review) chapter three too. Oh, and I know Buffy's reaction was a bit severe but I'm thinking having a guy kill himself for you is going to cause a major reaction!
(For disclaimer, etc - see chapter 1)
Chapter 3
"Hey Will" Xander greeted his friend as she entered the Magic Box. Anya smiled from behind the counter where she was counting money.
"Hey guys, is Giles around?"
"No, he was going over to your place with the bot, apparently she misfired or something, needs repairing" Xander explained.
"Oh then I should get back there, I left Tara with Buffy" the red-head told them, "but I'm actually glad he's not here, I brought the last thing for the spell" she said, taking a jar from her backpack.
"I can't believe we're gonna do this" the brunette smiled as he watched his friend produce the last needed item "and tomorrow, its so soon"
"I know" Willow nodded "but we have to do it. For Dawn and for Buffy"
"Do I wanna know what's in this jar?" Xander asked as he took it from his friend, a thick mixture of red and black swirled inside the container.
Willow grimaced and shook her head.
"Just put it in the trunk with the other stuff"
There was silence as he went to the back room and did just that, taking a moment to marvel at the contents of the trunk no-one but the Scoobies knew anything about, not even Giles. Many spell ingredients, ancient writings, jars of things that Xander either couldn't pronounce or just didn't want to know about, black market produce, powerful things that could be used for great evil as well as the greater good.
He closed the trunk and returned to the main room, sharing small smiles with the two women there.
"Okay...well, thirty six hours to go" Willow tried to sound positive but inside she was freaking out about the resurrection. Xander voiced his own feelings on the matter just then.
"I'm starting to worry about this Will, are you sure it's gonna be okay. I mean I didn't want to say this in front of Dawn or anything but what if he comes back wrong?" he asked the witch with concern "What if he comes back like evil, or more evil or y'know what I mean"
"Trust me Xander" she said, taking his hand and squeezing it, "it'll be fine" she said calmly, wishing she believed in what she was saying. So many things could go wrong.
"But we might get it wrong"
"We won't" Willow said even more firmly "You want me to go through it again with you?"
"I would, please" Anya spoke up. She was an ex-demon and she knew about magic and things but to bring back a vampire from the dead, a good vampire killed by a mystical power who died to save the world, well, it was complex.
"Okay" the witch sat down at the table, Xander and Anya sat opposite her "basically by combining mine and Tara's power and burning a mixture of certain rare ingredients, we can call on the greater powers" she began to explain.
"The powers, that's the gods, right?" Xander wanted to make sure he understood completely, this could not be screwed up.
"Well, yes, and we must ask them to let Spike cross over from wherever he's gone" Willow told him "I should say, wherever his spirit has gone" she amended.
"But he didn't have a soul cos he was a vampire" Xander thought aloud "so when you say spirit...?"
"Even though demons don't have souls, they have a spirit and some of them have good in them" Anya pointed out.
"Yes" Willow agreed "we know that because Spike was able to feel love for Buffy and Dawn, enough that he sacrificed himself for them. He has some worth in that respect and the powers may therefore be inclined to let him come back"
"So, where exactly do you think his spirit would have gone?" the human wondered.
"Well, it's hard to say" Willow shook her head, it was complicated "He wasn't killed by staking or holy water or fire like ordinary vampires, in many ways he wasn't an ordinary vampire, that's why we stand more chance of the spell working. There's a chance he went to some kind of heaven but being killed by a mystical spirit like he was and being filled with Dawns blood, it's hard to say exactly what would have happened"
There was silence as the three took in what was being said and the gravity of the situation. It was a major thing that they were going to try to do.
"And we all have to be there, at the graveside" Xander looked pale with worry, messing with the undead everyday he figured he'd be okay with this, but the idea of raising the dead to be undead again, it was confusing and freaking him out.
"Well, the more of us there the more energy will be focused" the witch reasoned "so with me and Tara, you two and Dawn, and a lot of concentration, I think we should be able to pull it off"
Xander sighed.
"Well, I guess tomorrow night, we'll find out"
* * * * *
"Buffy?" Dawn sat on the edge of her sisters bed again, hoping she would listen to he this time, that she would hear her words and understand, "Buffy, we're going to make it all okay again, we're going to try our best and then it will all be okay again"
Willow had made the young Summers girl promise not to say too much about their plans to resurrect Spike. If the spell didn't go to plan and he didn't come back, or he came back wrong and they had to destroy what did appear, it would be less painful it Buffy knew nothing of it.
"I have to go now" Dawn said quietly, "But it's gonna be okay Buffy. Giles is gonna stay here again tonight so you won't be alone, and if tonight goes okay, which we're pretty sure it will, well, we won't ever be alone again"
Dawn kissed her sister on the forehead and slipped out of the room. As she headed down the stairs she heard someone at the front door and soon Giles and Xander appeared in the room.
"Hey Dawnster, ready to patrol?"
Since Spike had died and Buffy had been unable to patrol the Scoobies had taken over, taking the BuffyBot and Dawn out with them. At first the gang had refused when Dawn begged to be included, Buffy never wanted her to fight demons, but when she pouted and said she wanted to do it for Spike and for Buffy, they relented and let her go with them.
As it turned out, Dawn had strength and moves that the Slayer herself would have been proud of and she surprised everybody, including herself. She did not tell anyone, but since that day on the tower she had felt this extra power in her being. It was a little scary for her but she had been so glad she was no longer the Key, that she was normal, she didn't want everyone to think she was a freak all over again.
"Yeah, I'm ready" Dawn nodded her head and went to fetch her jacket. As she came back into the room Giles turned to her.
"How is Buffy?"
"More or less the same" her sister admitted to the Watcher, and in her mind she added, 'but after tonight she'll be better'.
"Okay, well, I'll see you two later" the older man nodded as Xander and Dawn left the house.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to keep this a secret from Giles?" Dawn asked as soon as they were outside.
"We have to Dawnie, we don't have a choice. He wouldn't approve of the method even if he does of the end result" the man explained.
The girl nodded that she understood. She focused on the good that would, hopefully, come out of tonight. They would bring Spike back and then Buffy would be okay again. She smiled at the thought of having the two most important people in her life back the way they should be.
* * * * *
The Scoobies had met at the Magic Box and took the necessary supplies with them to Spikes grave. It was the night of the full moon, as it needed to be, all they had to do now was wait until midnight.
11:55
Willow sat facing the tombstone, Tara on her left with Dawn next to her, and Xander to her right with Anya next to him. In the centre of the circle, formed of five people and the headstone, lay a dish with a mixture of ingredients inside. In front of Willow lay a box of matches
11:56
Dawn glanced over at the tombstone, read it's words again like she had so many time these last few weeks since her friend had sacrificed himself for her sake, her sisters sake, the worlds sake. He was William, he was Spike, her protecter, her friend, a warrior until his end, he went down fighting as he always knew he would.
11:57
Willow and Tara exchanged nervous smiles, knowing what they were doing was against so many rules of the world and life and death, but also knowing what they were doing was right even if it was unnatural. This vampire, this man, had ended his undead existence for the sake of the world and his love for a woman, he would return to that world and that woman tonight - he deserved to.
11:58
Xander glanced around the circle and then back at the ground. He felt strange, not just because he was about to resurrect a dead vampire, although that would be enough to scare anyone. He felt odd because he and Spike, well, they had never seen eye to eye, and here he was helping to bring him back from the dead. He wondered to himself 'why am I doing this?' but he knew the answer. Spike was one of the Scoobies, how ever much Xander tried to deny it, he was a changed vamp and he loved Buffy and Dawn that was for sure. Those two needed him, the world needed him, he had to come back.
11:59
If Xander felt strange, Anya felt stranger. An ex-demon helping in the resurrection of an evil-turned-loving dead vampire. But she was helping Dawn and Buffy and that was all she needed to know.
Seconds before midnight, Willow took a match and lit the contents of the bowl before her. She began to chant in Latin, taking Tara and Xanders hands in hers. They in turn took the hands of Dawn and Anya and as Willow nodded the signal the teenager and the ex-demon placed their hands on the side of the headstone.
A smoky mist floated from the dish and whooshed around the circle of friends, faster and faster, visibly red and orange in colour, spinning to form a ring within the circle.
Willows chant ended and she spoke in English now.
"Concentrate on the energy" she told her friends before looking heavenward.
"Oh great powers, we ask this of you
Send back this warrior who died for love
Regenerate body and resurrect,
Let his spirit cross over and come back to us"
The circle of energy shifted, wrapping itself around Willows head, still spinning.
"Concentrate" the witch whispered and the friends gripped each others hands tighter.
The band of energy tightened around the witches head, tighter and tighter making Willow scream in agony.
"Let his spirit cross over and come back to us" she yelled through the pain.
The other four friends looked panicked by the red-heads pain but did not know what to do about it or if they should do anything at all. Tara remembered Willow telling her there might be pain but she had not imagined anything like this.
Suddenly, without warning a gang of demons rushed the Scoobies. They dropped each others hands and got to their feet instinctively. As soon as the circle was broken the energy moved from around Willow's head, hovered over the grave and disappeared, as the witch collapsed on the ground.
"Willow!" Tara screamed, rushing to help her girlfriend.
Xander, Anya and Dawn began battling demons left and right. there was no telling why they had come or where they had come from but it didn't matter. As far as the gang were concerned they just needed killing.
Willow came back to consciousness with Tara at her side.
"What happened?" she asked groggily.
"Demons attacked" Tara hurriedly explained, "We have to get out of here"
"The spell" Willow mumbled as her girlfriend helped her to her feet.
"Not now, we have to go" the blonde Wicca told the red-head, but she argued.
"It has to be done now, we have to finish" she rambled.
"No, we have to get you out of here" Tara said firmly. She focused herself enough to put a moveable protective barrier around herself and her girlfriend and started half carrying, half dragging her away from the scene.
Xander, Anya and Dawn managed to kill several demons and Dawn surprised herself with just what she could do. It would have surprised the others too but they were too busy fighting to notice. Finally as the last demon was killed the group stood together and looked around at the devastation.
"Worst timing ever for an attack" Xander panted for breath and the two girls nodded in agreement.
"My friends" they heard suddenly, all turning to see what looked like Buffy behind them.
"Hey Buffster-bot" Xander called, "You couldn't have got here a little faster, say when we were fighting the demons"
"It's not her fault, Xan" Dawn pointed out, "She's not really Buffy"
"Maybe we should get back to the house, see if Willow and Tara are okay" he suggested next.
"You and Anya go" Dawn said quickly, "I'll patrol with the bot, in case anymore nasties show up"
"It'd be safer if we all went home..." the man started but Dawn cut him off.
"No, please, I need some time" she said slowly, and Xander knew what she meant. The spell had failed, he suddenly realised it, and Dawn was hurting all over again.
"Okay, Dawnie. Anya and me will go back and we'll see you in say two hours, no longer"
Dawn nodded in agreement, before walking away with the robot of Buffy.
* * * * *
"You foolish girls!" Giles reprimanded the two Wiccas as they finished divulging their plan to him. He was shocked by their behaviour.
"That sort of spell is very dangerous!" he told them, cleaning his glasses for the fifth time in as many minutes.
"We know" Tara nodded, "but we had to try Giles, for Buffy's sake as well as for Dawn"
The Watcher sighed and sat down.
"I do understand why you did it, but I worry about all of you and anything could have happened"
"But it's okay" Willow assured him, "I mean, the spell failed, but I'll be okay and I'm hoping the guys handled the demons"
"Certainly did" Xander smiled, entering the room with Anya, "All done and dusted, pardon the pun"
"Where's Dawn?" Giles wanted to know.
"Patrolling with the bot" Xander explained, "She needed some time"
The gang all nodded that they understood.
"Well, I'm thinking research of the new demon population is in order" Xander continued, "Cos I'd never seen those type of things before and I sure don't think I can face sleep tonight"
"Very well" Giles agreed, getting up, "We'll go to the Magic Box"
"Willow, you shouldn't go anywhere, you're still weak" Tara told her girlfriend.
"I'll stay here" Willow nodded, "Someone has to stay with Buffy anyway, but you go, all of you, the more people the faster the research gets done"
The two Wiccas shared a watery smile, before Tara nodded and agreed to go with Xander, Anya and Giles to the Magic Box.
* * * * *
The Buffybot wasn't half as smart as Buffy and it didn't take Dawn long to get the facsimile of her sister to let her go on alone. Yes, there were dangers, but Dawn had felt a lot stronger since that day on the tower, and look what she had done to those demons today! It seemed so strange for her to be so strong when Buffy seemed so weak, it was almost as if...
A strange feeling came over Dawn and she knew she was being watched.
"Who's there?" she called, before realising how stupid that was. A vampire or demon or something was hardly likely to call back and tell her who they were. Suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder and without a second thought Dawn grabbed the arm and spun the figure around. She laid a few impressive punches and kicks on him before finally bringing him to the ground with a crash. Dawn moved towards the black clad creature, lying on its back in front of her. She didn't even consider running, she grabbed her stake from her pocket and made to launch herself at the figure who had attacked her.
"Buffy?" she heard him murmur and she knew that voice. Through the shadows she made out a face.
"Spike?" she whispered, kneeling beside him. Bright blue orbs blinked up at her.
"Little Bit?" Spike gaped at her.
"Oh my God, Spike, it worked!" Dawn shreiked, grabbing her friend "It worked! It's really you!"
To Be Continued...
