Part Nineteen

They were back in Sunnydale. Things were steadily growing worse. The demon population in Sunnydale had all but disappeared. Something was going on. They had gone somewhere, either scared or they were needed. Something was going to happen, and soon. Angel had a thought on what to do, they needed more fire power. Now that Buffy was evil, two words that should *never* be in the same sentence; Buffy and evil, there was no telling what she would do. The major problem was, she knew what would hit them the hardest, who had the most power, and she'd only averted a half dozen apocalypses so she was bound to know their secrets and strengths.

"What are we going to do?" Willow asked.

She was still considerably weak from the spell. Magic was a strain on her, Angel didn't know if she would be enough help this time.

"I have an idea, one you probably won't like." Angel said slowly.

"What…?" Giles asked suspiciously.

"Well, we need fighters. Plain and simple. Whatever Buffy's planning won't be pretty. Now, just listen to me. What I'm about to say, you'll all object too, but we need her." Angel said.

"Her?" Xander asked.

"Yes, her. I think we should get Faith out of jail. She's a Slayer, *the* Slayer. We need help and, she's different than the last time you saw her. She's changed." Angel said.

Everyone was quiet, a skeptical look on their faces.

"That might work…" Giles murmured.

"Can we trust her?" Xander asked slowly, his eyes small.

"We can." Angel answered.

"Are you sure?" Wesley asked, earning a hard stare from Angel.

They were barely on speaking terms.

"I'm sure." Angel said in a hard voice.

"Good." Wesley smirked.

"Now children…if you can't play nice, there'll be no averting the apocalypse for you." Spike murmured, taking a slow drag.

Willow chuckled softly.

"This is serious. We have no idea what Buffy is planning. I mean, she was always Little Miss Slay Gal, you know, the planner. Now, she's the one after us. Who knows who she'll kill first." Cordelia sighed.

"It'll probably be you, smart one." Anya mumbled.

"What?" Cordelia snapped.

"You heard me. You come down here, all 'holier-than-thou' parading around how high-power-ish you are, and how you've got Angel. I'm mean, that's great and all…well, not really, but you brag to an emotionally unstable Slayer…you're asking for a death wish." Anya said, busily counting and re-counting the money.

"Shut up." Cordelia pouts, her eyes dark.

"So, what are we going to do?" Willow asks again, her head in her hands.

"Can't we just use the Orb of Thesula? Y'know? Like we did with Angel and just give her, her soul back?" Dawn asks her eyes naively wide.

Willow shakes her head, "We can't. What Buffy is, right now, it's a whole different thing. Angel was just a demon in a shell, his body dead, no offense." Willow amended.

Angel shook his head, "None taken."

"Buffy, she's…well, different."

"A freak, you mean." Cordelia said.

Willow glared at her, "If you want to be crude, then yes, she's a freak. There's probably nothing else like her."

"Gee, a girl should wonder if that's compliment worthy or if it's an insult, what do ya think?"

Everyone turned to the door and visibly tensed.

It shouldn't have been a surprise. They all knew that this'd come sooner or later. Leaning against the doorframe, was none other than…Buffy.

*

I know, it's stupid of me to do this. But, I can't help myself. We returned to Sunnydale, only so I could get a change of clothes, but we drove but past the magic shop, and I saw them. All sitting together, planning how to stop me.

As if they *could* stop me.

So, I get out of the car, my buddy Brett in tow. I walked in and the idiots didn't even notice me until I said something.

"Gee, a girl should wonder if that's compliment worthy or if it's an insult, what do ya think?"

They all turned at the same time. I couldn't help but to laugh.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you guys… Not yet at least." I say.

Angel's glaring fiercely at me.

"Hello lover." I smirk.

Brett growls softly and wraps his hand around my leather-clad waist.

"What are you doing here?" Xander asks, his eyes hard.

"What's the matter, Xand? It's me, Buffy." I say with a small pout.

"You're not Buffy. You just a lowly demon in her body." He retorts, his fists clenching.

Lightening fast, I have him pinned to the wall by his neck.

He gazes down at me, his eyes hard.

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? That perfect-little-Buffy is in there somewhere. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but she's not home right now. Probably in hell. Or, maybe even heaven, if, you haven't ripped her out of there already." I snarl.

"We needed you." He whispers.

"Of course you did." I say, my eyes flashing.

He notices our close proximity and stiffens. I'm just a breath away so I decide to tease him. Show him what he wanted and never could have. I crush my lips against his with bruising force, my hand grabbing his crotch. He moans and I bite his lips, making them bleed. I shove my tongue in his mouth and caress his. I pull away and let him slump to his feet. Everyone is staring at me, except Angel, who looks like he either wants to kill me and Xander.

"Hope ya'll enjoyed the show." I drawl.

Brett wraps his hand around my shoulder and says, "C'mon babe."

I look over my shoulder at Angel and Spike, "Bye sweeties," I say blowing them a kiss.

"Buffy!" A voice says right as I'm about to walk out the door.

I stop and turn. Dawn is standing behind me, her eyes wide.

"What?" I ask bitingly.

"Don't go please." She begged.

I turned and just looked at her. Then I smiled and laughed, "Live, for me." I mocked, smirking.

She let out some sort of high-pitched scream and launched herself at me. Her fingers were scratching my face, like a cat scratching their prey's eyes out. I threw her off of me, watching as she crashed into the round table. I feel something dripping down my cheek and press my hand to it. It comes back stained crimson with blood. It burns, as if iodine was poured into the wounds. I let out a silent cry and look at my sister.

She gazes at me defiantly, her eyes glowing a neon blue. Her pupils are gone and the blue seems to be shimming with unnatural power. She lifts her hands and there is blue energy crackling between her fingertips.

"Son of a bitch…" I whisper watching her, mesmerized by the glow.

Brett starts to pull me to the door, "Come on!" He growls.

But, it's like I'm taken over, I see Dawn looking into my eyes, as if she looking *inside* me. She's shifting through my thoughts and seeing what I want to do. It becomes painful.

"Get out of my head!" I scream, my words gruesomely deformed by the fangs that have appeared. She doesn't seem scared at all, annoyed at the most. The others are watching the exchange with a morbid sense of awe. I grab the nearest object and throw it at her with a speed that I never knew I possessed. The object happened to be an Orb of Thesula. Everyone froze as it smashed. A bright light escaped its crystal confines and flashed much like a camera did.

I, instantly, knew what the light had been.

I smiled, "Suckers. Good luck getting little Buffy back now. Tootles." I sneer, taking Brett by the arm and leaving.

*

The Orb of Thesula, the light that had come from it.

Angel knew what it was and he cursed himself for not thinking of it before. The Orb was a holder of ones soul. That particular orb had held a very special soul, a much needed soul.

Buffy's soul.

And, now, it was gone and there was no hope of ever turning her from this monster that she had become. There was only on way to stop her or she would be inescapable.

And, that way, was to kill her.

"No." Spike said, his eyes hard.

Angel looked up, realizing that the obvious had been written all over his own face.

"What?" Angel asked, not caring that he was acting like he didn't know.

"You're not going to kill her, there has to be another way." Spike said.

"There isn't. Buffy's gone, as much as it pains me to say this, but all that's left is a shell and a very dangerous demon that seems to hold a deadly grudge of anyone and anything she has ever met." Giles said, his voice pained.

A small moan came from Dawn, she had pulled herself up after Buffy had left.

"What the hell was that, Dawn?" Xander asked, speaking up.

"I-I don't know." She whimpered, rubbing her eyes which had returned to their normal color.

"I believe that we just found out what power 'The Key' holds." Wesley said,

rubbing his chin.

"What does this all mean?" Willow asked quietly.

"It means that we just might have a chance at taking Buffy and her army down." Angel said.

"We cannot kill her!" Spike shouts, "Do you bloody blokes even remember her, you friend? You kill her, you're killin' her as the demon, that's how she'll die and that's how she'll forever be." Spike said, raw emotion playing in his eyes,

"And you can all bet your sorry American asses that she'll be none too pleased in the great beyond dying as the lady version of Angelus."

He sighed and repeated looking out the window his eyes tearing, "None too pleased…"

*

I drove as quickly as I could to my apartment where I knew they would be. The seers and Connor.

"Change of plans." I barked as soon as I walked in.

"Excuse me?" The male asked, I never bothered to learn their names…

"I said change of plans!" I yelled.

"Why?" Connor asked.

I regarded him with softer eyes, "My baby sister, who just happens to be the Key, well, she got into my mind." I said.

"What?" The female asked.

"She's telepathic or something. She was in my mind, I could feel her. She's knows what we're going to do so we need to change it." I said, getting angrier.

"What would you like? More warriors? More power, what?" Brett asked.

" I don't know! We need more *something*! I won't have those damn white hats beating me!" I yelled, pacing.

"What do you need, Buffy?" Asked Connor.

'I want, you," I gestured to the seers, "to round up the most powerful Sorceresses and Warlocks you can. We need Morah demons, more than we have. Vampires, hybrids, demons, I don't care! Firepower, guns, knives, axes, fucking flame throwers! EVERYTHING!" I scream, my eyes changing.

"What do you mean 'everything'?" Brett asked.

"Did I stutter? I think not! Every-fucking-thing you can think of, I don't care what it is!" I yell.

God!

I hate these people! Ignorant little shits…

I grab my coat, keys, and purse and head out.

"I'm leaving. I'll be back soon."

"Where are you going?" Brett asks.

"None of your business." I snap.

"Can I come?" Connor asks.

"Hurry up, kid."

*

"Dawn's got power…" Xander mused.

"I don't know what I was doing… It just…came to me." Dawn whimpered, her body still shaking from the amount of power that had been in her.

"It's alright, Dawn. You're very helpful to us now. If we can just find out how you accessed it…" Giles murmured.

"It's still there." She said.

"Pardon?" Giles asked.

"I can still feel it. It's in me. But, it feels right. Like I've woken up from a long sleep." Dawn mused.

"Oh, spare us the dramatics." Cordelia huffed, but you could tell her heart wasn't in the insult.

Something was wrong with her.

"You ok, Cor?" Xander asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

Anya glared from the sidelines watching her ex fret over his ex.

"Just fine. Something seems wrong though. God! I wish I would have a damn vision already!" Cordelia sighed, her head hung.

Anya smirked at what she said.

"Done." Anya whispered, knowing that no one had caught on nor had they heard her.

Cordelia suddenly whimpered then her head slammed down into the table with a deafening crack.

"Cordy!" Angel cried, rushing foreword to help her.

"Vision!" She screamed in pain.

Her last coherent thought before she was awash in the agony and the vision's reality was,

'I thought this was over…?'