Buffy told the others that she would be fine, and call if she needed anything.
"What if he tries to hurt you?" Craig had asked.
"Honestly Craig, are you even evil?" Angelus laughed at this.
"How can we trust you?" Asked Spike,
"Finally, an evil person. To answer your question Spike, you can't!" With that she turned and marched into her room, and locked the door behind her.
"That girl will be the death of us!" Craig remarked. The others didn't acknowledge him, but they knew he was right.
"Buffy, please, I know you're in there somewhere, just fight it!" Xander pleaded Buffy to look at him as she swept into the room. But she ignored him and went to a small table with an array of herbs in a bowl and lit it with a match. After she was satisfied that the smoke had covered all of the room, she turned to Xander. He was surprised to see a goofy look on her face that he remembered from their early times together.
"Xander, did you forget I was the slayer or something? Come on, we've been friends for almost two years, I'm surprised at you!" She came over and untied him from the chair the guards had secured him on, clearly amused at the shocked look on his face.
"You mean...you're not…not evil?" He gulped as she let the last of the ropes fall away, and she stood up.
"Yup!" She smiled at him. She was almost bowled over by him when he gave her the biggest hug.
"Oh god Buff, I am so happy!"
"Air! Xander!" Buffy struggled in his tight embrace.
"Oh sorry!" He let her go, but stayed close by. "Wait!" He eyed her suspiciously. "How do I know you aren't just bamboozleling me?"
"Bamboozleling? Xander, you never change do you?" Buffy laughed, and Xander knew this was his real friend. They sat down on the bed.
"Ok, questions need answering. First, what's with the smoke?"
"A anti-detection spell, the spell keeps anyone outside the smoke from hearing anything we say."
"Kay, now what's with the whole evil act?"
"This is going to blow your mind!" Buffy grew very excited as she begun. "Right away I knew the dead bodies weren't yours, so I had to fake despair for Craig's sake."
"But how did you know Craig was evil?" Xander interrupted.
"When we first met he asked me if I would ever become evil, and what would it take. So I mentioned it to Angel a few days later, I asked Angel about it. We checked him out on the web. He is a known sorcerer, very evil. So we knew something was up. We checked around, a lot of Spike's minions will talk with a persuasion. We learned they planned to take Angel's soul away and make me evil. So we cooked up protection charms for both of us, his to bind his soul to him and mine to disintegrate any evil that was inside my body.
"His worked fine! But I forgot to take mine, and the attack happened sooner then we thought. I would have been lost if my baby hadn't saved me! It has this no-one-hurts-mommy-or-me policy or something"
"Wow! Xander was clearly stunned.
"Yeah, so I put on a very evil act for Craig, Dru, and Spike."
"But Drusilla has all those physic powers, how did you get by her?"
"For Angel, the charm also gave the illusion that he had no soul. And with me, well at the time I did have some particular nasty thoughts in my head!" She grinned sheepishly.
"That's brilliant, Buff! But wait, Angel isn't evil?"
"Nope!"
"Huh, are you sure, cause he's pretty convincing?"
"Yes, Xander, we've had to put on some pretty intricate shows for the real evil, but no, he isn't evil!"
"I'll take your word on that, so any plans on getting the rest of the gang out?" He became confused at Buffy's sudden lack in happiness. "What?"
"Oh, well, I was kinda hoping that you might have some ideas." Buffy looked very sheepish at that moment.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"That was a pretty close one with the witch!" Spike took out a cigarette, and lit it.
"Forget about it Spike, my boy, it's over now." Angelus sat down at the table with a care in the world.
"I'm surprised her friends didn't catch on earlier! Craig stood near Spike.
"Just like little mice." Dru spun around them all. "Caught in the snake's den!"
"True, Dru, true!" Quipped Spike.
"What, do you suppose, our little Buffy would want with the likes of Xander?" Craig's curiosity had been sparked.
"She said she wanted to play." Spike grabbed Dru from behind, and they laughed together.
"That boy has always had a infatuation with her. I wouldn't be surprised if she just wanted to tease him. Hurt him?" Angelus smiled, taking glee in the thought of Buffy and torture.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You've been evil for almost 72 hours, and you don't have any ideas?" Xander looked at Buffy as though she was crazy.
"Well I'm sorry. "She got up to pace around the room. "I have to put up an evil front and plus, I'm pregnant with a magical baby. I don't have a lot of free time."
"You had time to terrorize us downstairs!" Pointed out Xander.
"Yeah but that was so I could get you out to talk to me!" Buffy complained.
"Willow's spell worked, why didn't you just use that. All you had to do was think, and she could hear you!"
"But I needed to get you out, not Willow. It had to be you!"
"What? Me? Ok, pride mounting, ego enlarging! I'm important, very important…wait why?"
"Because you are the one that's going to get them out!" Buffy looked pointedly at a very surprised Xander.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Oh god, what if she kills Xander?" Cordy's body was shaking as she sobbed. She had been crying since Buffy and the others had left.
"She won't, she couldn't." Willow looked at Oz. "Would she?" At Oz's blank expression, she turned to Giles. "Giles, Giles? What are we going to do?"
But Giles wasn't listening. He was stuck inside his own head, horrified at what he had just seen. I failed her! He thought. I failed to keep her safe! She's gone evil, and Angel's going to kill her. How could I have let this happen? I'm her watcher, I…
He was awaken from his thoughts by Jenny. "Rupert, don't blame yourself! It is not your fault! If anything, it's that guy Craig's fault, not yours! It will never be your fault!" She hugged him in an attempt to reassure him.
"She's right Giles!" It was the first time Oz had talked since Angelus had come in. Giles turned to look at them. So young, even Jenny. He thought. Willow, so much potential to become the worlds best, well anything. Cordelia, her wit and sense of goodness would have taken her far. Oz, the quietest of them all, and yet the loudest. Xander, although he was quite Annoying most of the time, he was the glue that held them together. Jenny, so much life, so much to live for. And Buffy, oh god, Buffy! She was the strongest of them all, in mind, soul and body. Now, it was the end!
"Giles snap out of it, we need you!" Called Cordy. He looked to her, and saw she had stopped crying, but was obviously still distressed.
"What are we going to do, we just need to think of something. We can do it, we're the Scooby gang." Said Willow, obviously putting on a brave face for him.
"Ahhh…yes…" But Giles was interrupted by the door's locks been undone, and Buffy entering the room.
"In here, put him back in the cage." As she pointed to Cordy's cage, two vamps dragged a limp and bloody figure into thee room, threw him in the cage with Cordy and left.
"XANDER!" Cordy hurried to him, and cradled his head in her lap. "What did you do to him?"
"We had a nice little chat, then we played a little. Almost forgot how much fun he is!" Buffy laughed then left, locking the room's door behind her.
"Is he ok?" Asked Willow through tears.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"It's been almost an hour and a half. What is she doing?" Craig had taken to pacing around the table.
"What's wrong lad? Itching for your Buffy? Do you think she's playing wild games with the zeppo?" Angelus sneered at him.
"You're one to talk! You keep checking a none existing watch!"
"I'm not the one who hasn't gotten any!"
"If I were you…" Craig looked like he would burst.
"And thank god for that!" They all turned to see Buffy walking briskly into the room.
"Did you have a fun time poppet?" Asked Spike.
"Yeah, can't say the same for Xander, but hey, what can I say!" She smiled.
"That's my girl!" Angelus got up and went to hug Buffy from behind, but she moved away and went to Craig. Angelus just stood there, shocked, while Craig smirked over Buffy's shoulder.
"Craig, honey. I want to eat out today, can we?" She let her eyes get big as she pleaded with him.
"Anything you want, baby!" And with that he and Buffy left the vampires behind and head out into the sunlight.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Xander? Please Xander, wake up!" Cordy was huddled over his still form. The rest of the scoobies were pressed against their cages watching Cordy plead with the unmoving boy.
"Is he ok?" Willow was in tears. Oz had his arm around her.
"He's probably just unconscious. He'll wake up." But Oz sounded very unsure.
"He has to." Jenny was clutching the bars. Giles hugged her from behind.
"Xander will wake up, he's strong."
"Xander?" Cordy's voice was quivering.
"Uggg!" Xander's head moved. Very slowly he rubbed his head and opened his eyes.
"Xander!" Cordy's voice was now filled with relief. She hugged him as hard as she could.
"Cor, a little tighter and I may just lose all body functions.
"Xander, you're ok!"
"Yeah Will, just a little bruised."
"Welcome back man!" Oz smiled.
"Thanks, how long was I out?"
"Bu…ah…they brought you back about five or seven minutes ago." Giles looked relieved to see him, a first.
"Thank god you're alright Xander!" Cordy helped him sit up, but wouldn't let go of him.
"Yes, it's very good." Jenny also joined the happy scoobies. "I know you must have just been, excuse the phrase, hell. But, maybe you could tell us what happened?"
"Yeah, that time old question!" Xander looked back on his time with Buffy, and remembered what they had talked about, but he couldn't tell the rest of his friends.
****
"So you do have a plan?" Asked Xander.
"Sort of, but just a base."
"So?"
"This is a hard plan. You can't tell the others that I'm not evil!"
"Why?"
"Because, Dru and the others could tell. You have to get Willow and Jenny to do this spell on you, but only you." She handed him a piece of paper, and waited while he read it.
"The touch of Gylos?"
"It enables the beholder of the spell to do what ever they want?" She continued at his blank look. "Let's say you wanted to unlock your cell door, just think it, and the spell with give you the power to do it!"
"You're kidding." Buffy shook her head. "Where was this spell when I did my final last year?"
"That's the down side, this spell only works for good!"
"Again, so?"
"You can only do things that will, in the end benefit others!"
"Oh!"
"Yeah, so you'll do it?"
"Yeah, of course, but what do I tell the others?"
"That you found it in my room before I came in and put it in your pocket. Don't tell them about the only good part. Willow or Jenny will know and deduct that I didn't know yet!"
"Kay, from there what?"
"That's your job, you have to figure out how to get everyone out and do it!"
"What about you and Angel?"
"After you get everyone out, take them to my house perform the lock out spell on my house, then tell them about our plan." She took in a deep breath. "And then, our fate is in your guy's hands!"
"Wow!"
"Yeah, normally I wouldn't put you guys in direct danger, but you guys keep proving your selves an I have more then me to think about this time!"
Xander then took her in his arms and whispered. "Don't worry, we'll be your army!"
"Thank you! Good luck! Now we should probably make you a little worse for wear, so no one suspects what we're up to!"
****
"Xander?" Queried Willow.
"It was pretty bad, but I got something good out of it!" He took the paper out of his pocket.
"A bit of paper?" Asked Jenny.
"No, a spell!" He looked around at his friend's surprised faces. "And it looks like a winner!" He smiled a huge Xander-like smile.