Power

Episode 17 (Part II)

Buffy's House:

            "Is getting thrown through the ceiling what he does best?" Kennedy asked, standing up.

            Everyone else rose to their feet, checking for serious injuries. Then, they gathered on the couches.

            "Demon loose, no slayer," Wood said, stating the obvious.

            "We've got to get Buffy back," Willow informed, "I just don't know how."

            "You're got magik, use it!" Kennedy exclaimed.

            "I-I-I don't even know what magik to use," Willow said.

            "Why not just try all 32 flavors?" Kennedy questioned, "Worse that could happen is you could go brunette."

            "That's not the worse thing that can happen," Willow informed, seriously.

            "She's right," Anya said, piping up, "And you know, we have a choice. We can risk Willow's life and the rest of lives to get Buffy back, or we could just leave her out there."

            "If we play it safe back here, Buffy could stay lost," Wood said.

            "You missed her 'everyone sucks but me speech'," Anya told him, "If she's so superior, let her find her own way back."

            "Anya, the First is already up and running," Xander informed, "Every second that Buffy's not here, is an opportunity for it to show up and rip us to pieces."  

            "I can try to do a spell to get her back," Willow spoke up.

            "Well then let's get started!" Kennedy exclaimed.

            "Wait a second!" Anya shouted.

            "What is it?" Xander questioned.

            "Don't we need an exchange for Buffy?" she questioned, "The demon for Buffy."

            "We need to find the demon, dead or alive," Giles informed, finally speaking up.

            "I vote dead," Spike said, from the doorway, "Willow, get to work on that spell. I'll handle the demon."

            "You don't look to good," Kennedy stated, "I mean last time I saw, the demon kick your ass."

            "I can handle it," Spike told her.

            "Where are you going?" Wood questioned.

            "To get something I need," he said and disappeared into the night.

            Willow poured sand in a large circle on the floor. Kennedy had a very puzzled look on her face.

            "What will that do?" she questioned.

            "It'll help contain the dimensional portal that she is trying to create," Giles explained.

            "Shouldn't we wait for Spike to return with that demon?" Xander suggested.

            "No, I need to get started now!" Willow exclaimed, "Opening a portal that large could take days."

            She walked into the center of the circle of sand and sat cross-legged. She began to chant mystical words in Latin. Once she finished chanting, everyone stood around waiting in anticipation. Nothing happened.

            "You might want to put some coffee on," Willow turned to tell Giles, "This could take a while."

            Suddenly, Giles and Kennedy are blown back by a powerful blast. Willow looked towards the ceiling, her eyes as black as night, and screamed in fury.

Unknown Location:

            Buffy opened her eyes. Her head hurt a lot. She glanced around, noticing that she was in a large cavern. She glanced down and saw that she was chained to the floor with shackles on her wrists. She looked up and noticed the three shadow men, staring at her.

            "What is this?" Buffy questioned.

            "We are at the beginning. The source of your strength," the third shadow man informed, "The well of the slayer's power."

            The first shadow man spoke, "This is why we have brought you here."

            "I thought I brought me here?" Buffy questioned, "Listen you guys; I'm already the slayer, bursting with power. Really, I don't need anymore."

            "The first slayer did not talk so much," the first man said.

            The three shadow men began beating their staffs rhythmically on the cavern floor. Buffy began struggling against her chains. The third man grabbed a small box and placed it onto a weird pattern on the ground. He then opened the box.

            "Herein lies your truest strength," the first one said.

            "The energy of a demon," the second one told her, "Its spirit."

            "Its heart," the third one told her.

            "This is how you…" Buffy began to ask.

            "Created the slayer?" the first one finished her sentence, "Yes."

            A weird black cloud began seeping out of the box and into the air before her. Buffy looked nervous. The first and second men are still beating the staffs on the ground.

            "It must become one with you," the third man told her.

            "No!" Buffy shouted as the cloud drew closer.

            "This will make you ready for the fight," he continued.

            "By making me less human?" Buffy questioned.

            "This is how it was then," the second man replied, "How it must be now."

            "This is all there is," the first man told her.

            The black cloud swirled around her, seeping into her nose and mouth. Buffy screamed and the black cloud came out of her nose and mouth. She struggled even harder against the chains as the cloud continued to swirl all over her body. It crept around her legs and up her skirt.

            "Make it stop!" Buffy shouted.

            "This is what you came here for," the first man replied, "Don't fight it."

Buffy's House:

            Giles and Kennedy slowly stood up, rubbing there heads. Willow was now trying to cast the spell. Her eyes were still black and she was chanting.

            "Via, concursus, tempus, spatium, audi me ut imperio," Willow chanted, "Ah screw it! Mighty forces, I suck at Latin, okay? But that's not the issue. I'm the one in charge and I'm telling you to open up, portal, now!"

            "It's not happening, Will," Xander said.

            "Give her time," Kennedy told him, "She's getting it."

            "Or something's getting her," he said, "Will, think you better back up a little."

            "No!" Willow screamed.

            Her friends all stood around her, watching, waiting. Suddenly her hands shot up and a blue aura lights them up, searching for the closest beings. The aura hits Kennedy and Anya. They glowed for a moment and then collapse to the ground, unconscious.

            The portal then opened right in front of Willow, using the energy from the two women. Kennedy slowly regained consciousness and sat up. She glanced around and noticed the portal in front of Willow. Xander and Giles grabbed her and Anya, pulling them back so they wouldn't get sucked in.

Downtown Sunnydale

            Spike had gone to the school basement to get something he needed, his duster. Apparently, Robin Wood had followed him.

            "Where are you going?" Wood questioned.

            "Got a job," Spike replied.

            "Nice coat. Where'd you get it?" Wood asked.

            "New York," Spike answered before disappearing into the darkness once again.

            Spike arrived in a dark alley. He had followed the demon by its scent. He is hit back for behind, his game face now on. He began taunting the demon, picking a fight. The demon began kicking Spike's ass, tossing him all over the alley. He smiled every time he got hit. He was looking for a good fight and the pain is just get him warmed up. He chuckled and began the fight.

            Spike was thrown hard against the wall. The demon grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up against the wall. Spike pushed off the wall with his feet, knocking the demon to the ground. He stood up and reached for the neck. He gripped it hard, twisting it until a loud snap echoed through the night.

            He leaned against the wall and caught his breath. It's obvious that he was worn out and tired. He hadn't had a good fight in a long time.

            "I dunno your feelings big guy, but a tussle like that…is good for the soul," he said, reaching down and grabbing the demon. He walked off, dragging the demon, back to Buffy's house.

Unknown Location:

            "You think I came all this way just to get knocked up by some demon dust?" Buffy questioned.

            The shadow men continued beating their staffs on the ground. The cloud continued to swirl around her.

            "I can't fight this," she said, "I know that now. But you guys, you're just men. Just the men that did this…to her. Whoever that girl was before she was the first slayer."

            She pulled together all her strength and pulled hard on the chains. They both snapped up, very easily. She smirked as she whipped one of the chains up, smashing the third shadow man in the face. He fell down, silently.

            "You don't understand," the first man spoke.

            "No, you don't understand!" Buffy shouted, "You violated that girl, made her kill for you because you're weak, you're pathetic. You obviously have nothing to show me."        

            She lifted her and whipped the second man in the chest. He grinned in pain but came at her. Since the tapping of the staffs had stop, the black cloud just hovered in the air. She whipped him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

            She walked right over to the last man and tore the staff from his hands. Then she broke it over her knee. The black cloud disappeared as the staff broke.

            "I knew it," she said, "It's always the staff."

            "We offered you power," he informed.

            "Tell me something I don't know," she retaliated.

            "As you wish," he said, drawing her close.

            He grabbed her head and gave her a vision. She gasped in horror at what she saw. The man let go of her head and turned away. Buffy stood there in silence. A bright light swallowed her up.

Buffy's House:

            The front door burst open and in walked Spike, dragging the dead demon behind him. He noticed the portal and tossed the demon into it. The demon is sucked in. The portal closed, but not before spitting Buffy back out.

            Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya, Kennedy, and Spike all stare at her in disbelief. Spike held his chest and tried to catch his breath. Buffy stared back at them very confused.

            Later that night in the upstairs hallway, Kennedy walked towards a bedroom. Willow slowly approached her from behind.

            "Are you okay?" she asked, "You're been kinda quiet since…"

            "You sucked the life out of me," Kennedy said.

            "Yeah, since then," Willow replied, "Look, it's important that you know what I am, what I'm like when I'm like that."

            "I thought it would be…I don't know…cool somehow. It just hurt," she told Willow.

            "I'm really sorry," Willow said, trying to comfort, "It's just, you were the most powerful person nearby and…well, that's…that's how it works. That's how I work."

            "I got that. You told me." Kennedy answered, "I'll see you in the morning."

            She opened her door and walked into her room. Willow walked into Buffy's room.

            "How you doing?" she questioned.

            "Thank you for bringing me back," Buffy replied, "I was hard on you guys today."

            "Aw it's all right. You needed to be," Willow comforted, "Although Twinkie and kisses…also peachy motivational tools. You okay?"

            "I think I made a mistake," she answered.

            "What?"

            "Those men that I met…you know the shadow men? They offered me more power, but I didn't like the loophole."

            "So, you turned it down? Its okay, Buffy. We'll get by. We always do."

            "I don't know. They showed me…"

            "Showed you what?"

            "It isn't enough."

            "Why Buffy? What did you see? What did they show you?"

Los Angeles, California:

            The truck stopped in front of a motel. The passenger door opened and three women jumped out. Cindy, Faith, and Liz walked out of the street and into the light of a streetlight.

            "Well, here we are in Los Angeles!" Faith exclaimed.

            "We should be in Sunnydale by tomorrow morning," Cindy informed.

            "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Liz said to the others.

            "Come on, let's get settled in at this motel," Faith told them.

            Right before the women were about to enter the motel, they heard a loud crash in the alley next to the motel. Faith and Cindy headed towards the opening. Suddenly, they were knocked to the ground by two Bringers.

            "Oh shit," Faith mumbled, flipping the Bringer off of her.

            Cindy kicked the other Bringer back into the alley and went after it. She began kicked and punching the shit out of it. She managed to dodge all the swings it took at her. That's when she felt hands on her back. She was then pushed into the wall by the second Bringer.

            She turned and glanced towards the entrance of the alley. Faith lay there, unconscious. That's when she heard a loud scream. She dashed out onto the street and saw the two Bringer harassing Liz. She ran at them, knocking them to the ground.

            "Are you all right?" Cindy asked Liz.

            "I'll be fine," she replied.

            "That's good," Cindy said, smiling.

            "Watch out!" Liz screamed.

            Cindy turned around and came face to face with a Bringer. It took its knife and stabbed it into her stomach. She cried out in pain. Liz screamed in horror, again. The Bringer let go of the knife and took off. The other followed.

            Faith opened her eyes and stood up. She rubbed her head. It hurt like hell. She looked over and saw Cindy grasping her stomach, blood seeping through her fingers. Faith rushed over and took off her jacket. She wrapped it around the wound.

            "I'm sorry," Faith sobbed.

            "It's not your fault," Cindy whispered, "I shouldn't have been so careless."

            "No, I should have been a better fighter," Faith replied.

            "That's not gonna help," Cindy informed as Faith tightened the jacket around her waist.

            Liz stared in horror. She couldn't believe what had happened. She couldn't speak, couldn't move.

            "Goodbye, Faith. Goodbye, Liz," Cindy said as she fell to the ground. Her eyes closed.

Buffy was back in the cavern. The shadow man reached up and touched her head. He showed her a vision. Millions of Ubervamps were lined up in some hell dimension, snarling and raising their weapons, as if ready for war.