Twenty-Two-
Angel staggered into the Magic Shop, his mind reeling. What had happened? He remembered going to Willy's, to find out some answers…but he ended up having a couple of beers. Angel could usually hold his liquor, usually. Angel lost track of how many he had had after seven. Angel shook his head and wished he could get the feel of Buffy against him out of his mind. What had he been thinking, following her? She was insane, or, at least her demon was. She wasn't as vicious as Angelus was, yet. But, she was getting there. Angel looked up and saw only Spike in the room. He didn't know whether to be grateful or angry that his bleach blond child was there.
"What fucking hole did you crawl out of?" Spike chuckled, leaning his chair on two legs.
"Shut up." Angel hissed, rubbing his aching temples.
"You reek of her, what did you do?" Spike asked, his voice tight now.
"I got drunk. I followed her. I kissed her. She kissed back." Angel muttered, dropping into a chair.
"I feel a 'but' somewhere in there…" Spike drawled.
"She freaked out, went ballistic, and told me that Buffy--her soul--was dead and that I better stay out of her way." Angel said, dropping his head in his hands.
Spike could feel his grandsire's pain and agony.
"What if she's right, Spike. What if her soul is gone and we can't retrieve it?" Angel asked, his voice full of some much pain.
"You'll have to kill her, mate. No if, and, or but about it. " Spike said, trying to shrug it off.
"I can't. I cannot kill her, even if it isn't *her*… I can't kill something that wears her face." Angel said firmly, then added, "You can't either."
"Got me there." Spike whispered.
"What if we can restore her soul?" Angel asked.
Spike sighed. They had discussed this before and there seemed to be no way that they could successfully do it without relying on dark magic's.
"Angel…"
"No, I know what we've said and what can and cannot be done… But, what if we can get Faith to overpower her and take her to the Powers?" Angel asked.
"That's a bit farfetched there, mate. I mean, sure, *maybe* Faith can overpower Buffy…but we just stop everything in the middle of a bloody apocalypse? Not gonna work, and you know it." Spike said calmly, a bit too calmly.
"So, what do you suppose we doing, huh? You've shot down every idea so far, we've got nothing left!" Angel yelled.
"Don't you think I bloody know that?!" Spike exploded, "I know we've got nothing! I know we're on the losing side. I know the women we love is gone and I don't know how to bring her back!"
Angel was silent for a moment, "You love her."
"Don't you?"
"But you do."
"Of course I bloody do! Who doesn't? Xander did and still does. You do, obviously. Hell, I do. Rupert does…on a fatherly level. I bet that twit of an ex-watcher even does. How can you not love her?"
*
The time is growing closer. I can feel it with every passing second. My blood is boiling in my body, my fingers itching to fight. The air is heavy and foreboding. I can smell that thick scent of black magic in the air. Everything is quiet. No birds singing, nothing moving. Though, it's daytime, the sky is dark with clouds and heavy with sinister numbness. One long week has turned into twelve hours. The seers are delightfully happy with how things are progressing, suspiciously good. I can't help but feel as if something will knock us off our high horse.
"Quit those dark thoughts already, you're giving me a migraine." The female seer moans.
"Do you see anything that might stop us?" I ask her sharply.
"Nothing as of yet, mistress. It will go as planned." She assured me.
"It damn well better, because it will be your head if doesn't." I threaten.
She doesn't look fazed.
"The demons are ready?" I asked then.
"Yes. They've been ready for days. All they need are their orders." The male said softly.
The demons were magically bound to me. To do anything and everything I said.
"What about the Beast?" I asked.
"Lurking somewhere." A new voice said, from the shadows.
I turned quickly to see who it was, Connor.
"You've seen him?" I asked.
"Hard not too." He said leaning up against the wall.
So much like his Father…
He continued, "With all the people he's killing and eating. It's gross." He says disgustedly.
"I'm sure it is…" I sneer.
"Quit worrying." Connor says, approaching me, "You'll beat the, everyone."
"How can you be so sure?" I ask him, raising a brow.
"Because. I am." He says.
"A man of many words…" I murmur.
"My Father is sickly infatuated with you. He won't be able to kill you. Maybe hurt you, but do you honestly think that he could raise a sword to your fallen figure and kill you? No. All he'll see is the women he loves, hurt." Connor says blankly.
I smirk and hook my arm around him, "I can't wait to see his face when he sees you batting for my team."
He looked into the shadows and replied evilly, "Neither can I…"
*
"We have twelve hours left, less even. That is, if Buffy's plan is going her way. Willow? How far along are you with the spell for Faith?" Giles asked, taking his role as leader of his group, his children.
"Um, almost done. I just need to inject the potion into Faith and get the ritual prepared." Willow answered distractedly.
They all watched the boiling liquid that held Buffy blood and a number of powders and herbs. Faith tapped her feet nervously, not knowing how it would feel like to have Buffy's blood in her.
"Wait a minute." She said, causing everyone to look at her, "This is Buffy's blood, while she has no soul. Is there any difference in it to make it evil?" She asked, not knowing if she worded it right.
"You want to know if the blood itself is tainted, as Buffy right now is?" Giles asked carefully.
Faith nodded, shivers crawling up her spine.
Giles was quiet. He didn't know the answer to that. The blood could truly be tainted by Buffy's demon.
"Willow, can you cast a protection spell along with the bind?" Giles asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose. That wasn't wise, asking Willow to cast more spells, he knew. But, what other choice did they have? They had mere hours left. They had truly begun planning for the last two days while Buffy had had weeks. This was not looking good.
Willow looked up at him, her eyes already darkening.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Rup?" Spike drawled, tapping the cigarette box against the table.
"No, I'm not bloody sure, and would you please stop that atrocious noise?" He asked agitatedly.
All talk and argument was silenced when Willow started to chant in Latin. Her hand lifted and wisps of magic floated from the ceiling to her fingers and into the small beaker when the blood lay. Her voice became deeper, wickeder. The tips of her hair blackened as if someone held a fire below her. Her eyes lost all color except black. A lightening bolt appeared from no where and shot through Willow and to the blood. Willow heaved as she uttered the last words, "Let the blood be bound."
She seemed to slump in her chair, looking pale and sickly.
"Willow…" Xander murmured, moving to comfort her.
She flinched away from him, "Not yet… Just…leave me be until I calm down…"
She whispered, her voice still thick with magic.
Doyle pounded in from the back room, looking at everyone's grave face, "So, uh, got anything t'drink?"
*
I'm getting impatient. How long does it take nine hours to go by? Stupid question. I want to end this world and I want to end it now! I sighed and smashed my hands into the wall. I felt the satisfactory crunch of rock and stone against my fingers. My energy had been building day by day and now I felt ready to burst. I couldn't go out and kill anything for that would be wasting energy that I would need to use for the battle, at least according to the damned seers. I sighed heavily and sat down on the floor, weaving my hands through my hair. I could scream from the simple boredom I felt.
I should.
Really loud and annoyingly, just to piss everyone off. And, maybe they'd pick a fight with me and I'd have to fight back and I could let some of this stifling energy out before it smothered me!
I felt hands on my shoulders.
Warm.
Brett.
"It will all begin soon, my love." He murmured.
I snorted, "Yeah, hell will freeze over before I ever become 'your love'. Sure, we fucked a few times…"
And what a bumpy ride those had been…
"But, that doesn't mean I love you. Are you out of your mind?" I asked him, smirking.
I laughed, he looked angry.
Fisticuffs, here we come.
"Silly boy." I murmur, "You thought I loved you? This is work, sweetie, nothing less and certainly nothing more."
"Bitch." He sneers.
"Hey! What did you expect? For this to be some kind of demonic fairytale romance? You've gotta be kidding me…" I sneered, laughing.
What a chump.
I think I'll kill him after the battle. We don't really need him, do we?
I sigh and look at my watch.
Eight more hours.
Oh God.
I think I'm going to shoot myself.
*
"Everybody has a job in this. We can spare no one." Giles said, "Angel, how many people can you get from Los Angeles?"
Angel thought for a moment, "I can get maybe one hundred." He mused.
"Good. Call them. Tell them to hurry. Spike, will any demons listen to you?" He asked dryly.
"Ha ha. Yeah, the ones who ain't working for the Slayer, I suppose." Spike said, tipping his chair back.
"Get them." He said and hen he didn't move, "Now please."
Spike sighed and strolled out the door.
"Giles, I can do some magic to help us" Willow said.
"No." Giles simply said.
"Why not?" She asked.
"I don't want you to do anymore magic. We can't risk you going over that line again and helping Buffy end the bloody world." Giles said sharply.
"I can help." A voice from the door said.
Everyone look and saw Hank Summers standing in the doorway. He had disappeared somewhere in the last few days and no one noticed enough to search for him.
"And what would you like to do, Mr. Summers? Lie some more? Make your other daughter turn against the world?" Giles said, standing up.
"I deserve that. I can give you footmen." He said, sneering as he stood back and revealed about one hundred men, dressed in back, tazors and guns armed to their sides.
Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. They seemed to have a chance now.
"Good. You tell them to go for the demons. They hurt Buffy and I will have your head." Giles said, his voice darkening in a Ripper kind of way.
"I would never hurt my daughter." Hank snarled.
"Hm. That seems to up for opinion." Giles retorted, standing up warily.
"I've got fifty men to be here in two hours." Angel spoke up, trying to ease the tension.
It did.
They just might have a chance to beat Buffy.
God help them all.