Willow felt better after a couple of hours. That was one of the things she loved most about Xander - no matter what was wrong, he could always make her feel better. Everything from skinned knees to dead goldfish; he'd always been there to help her when she was hurt, and she loved him for it.

She wanted to return the favor; she could tell that Xander felt just as bad about hurting Cordelia as she did about hurting Oz. But she also knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't talk about it with her right now. He wouldn't even think about his own problems until he was sure that she was okay.

So that conversation would have to wait.

Putting her musings aside for the moment, Willow stretched her arms out in front of her. "We should probably go back to school," she said, turning slightly to look at Xander.

"Are you sure?" he asked, sounding concerned.

She nodded. "Buffy's probably worried about me. Besides, it's not like we can stay away from there forever."

"True," Xander agreed. "Although, don't think I haven't seriously thought about that on occasion." He looked at his watch. "School's just getting out, but she'll probably be training in the library with Giles. Let's go."

Xander stood and offered his hand to Willow, helping her up off the ground. They took a last look around before exiting the yard together.

She and Xander walked the relatively short distance to the school in silence. By the time they reached the campus, it had already mostly emptied out, and they made their way to the library past the few students who had remained after the last bell.

Passing through the library doors, she saw Buffy and Giles seated at the central table, apparently deep in conversation. They looked up as Willow and Xander entered the room, and Buffy quickly stood and hurried over to them.

"Hey," she said tenderly as she reached out and pulled Willow into a hug. Willow smiled and hugged her back, grateful for the gesture of affection.

After a moment, Buffy released her and stepped back. "If you want to talk..." she began, but was interrupted by Giles clearing his throat loudly.

"...now's not a good time," she continued gently, an apologetic look on her face. "Giles has just been telling me that something really nasty has breezed into town."

"Well, fill us in. We'll help out however we can," said Xander.

Buffy frowned slightly. "Are you sure? I mean, you guys have a lot on your minds right now..."

"It's okay, Buffy," Willow reassured her. "We'll help. It's what we do." She gave her friend a small smile.

Buffy nodded and led them toward the table, where they sat down across from Giles. He studied them for a moment before speaking. Willow noticed that he seemed fairly nervous, but chose not to say anything about it.

"Well, as I was telling Buffy," he said after a moment, "I received a call from the Watcher's Council this afternoon. They informed me that one of their sources thinks that a V'rath demon may be in the area... and I believe their source is correct. In fact, I believe that one is in or near this very school right now."

"Okay, I have no idea what that is," Xander said, "but from the look on your face, I can tell it's nothing good."

"No," Giles said gravely. "V'rath demons are very rare and extremely dangerous. They exert a form of emotional control over their victims. They cannot instill emotions in humans, but they do amplify negative ones that are already there - fear, anger, sorrow and the like. It is believed that they then feed off of the enhanced feelings that their victims produce."

"So it makes sense that it'd come here," Xander mused. "After all, if you're in search of a bunch of people with strong negative feelings, what better place to look than..."

"High school," Buffy finished. "God.... It must be like an all-you-can-eat buffet for this thing."

Giles nodded. "Yes. I believe that several students here have already been affected by its power. There have been reports of students breaking down and crying uncontrollably, cowering in corners, even attacking other students..."

Sudden realization hit Willow like a physical blow. "Oh God," she murmured. "Oz. This morning, I was talking to him, and he just got this look in his eyes.... Like he was dead inside. Giles, do you think he could be under this thing's influence?" she asked worriedly.

"Well... yes," Giles replied slowly. "If Oz was feeling a significant amount of negative emotion, such as despair, the V'rath demon might have sensed it and targeted him..." He trailed off and looked at her with some uncertainty, apparently not sure what to say next.

Guilt washed over Willow, and sadness threatened to overwhelm her again, but she fought it down. "He was," she whispered, staring at the table, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"I see," said Giles. He sounded a bit uncomfortable, but didn't seem surprised to hear the news - he had seen her and Xander together in the library last night, after all. He glanced over at Xander, who met his eyes and nodded slowly.

"I think maybe... Cordelia, too," Xander added quietly. "Only she was a lot more angry than depressed."

"Giles," Willow asked urgently, "what happens to the people affected by this thing's power?"

"Typically, the... the amplification of negative feelings results in odd behavior which passes fairly quickly. But if the initial emotions are particularly strong..." Giles paused for a moment, looking at each of them in turn before continuing, "the victims can become very dangerous - either to others, or to themselves."

"No," Willow breathed. She looked up at Xander, unable to contain her tears any longer. "I can't believe it, we were so selfish, we put them in danger..." She trailed off, momentarily unable to continue.

Giles hurried over to her and crouched down next to her chair. "Willow," he began, concern evident in his voice, "I need you to listen to me very carefully. I believe that the V'rath is still in the area. Whatever you're feeling right now, you must... do your best to control it. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but if you let your emotions get the better of you, you could become vulnerable to the demon's power."

He studied her for a moment before speaking again. "Perhaps it would be best if you went home..."

"No," Willow declared forcefully. "Oz and Cordelia are in trouble, and I... we..." she turned to Xander, who nodded once, "have to help them." She took a deep breath, pushing her guilt and worry aside for the time being. "I'll hold it together, Giles. I promise."

Giles nodded slowly before standing and walking back to the head of the table. Xander took Willow's hand, lacing his fingers through hers, and she gave him a grateful smile before turning her attention back to the Watcher.

"So, Giles, you said that you thought this demon was still nearby. Do you know where it is?" Buffy asked, her tone deadly serious.

"Well, according to my research," Giles replied, "the range of a V'rath's power is rather short - only a few hundred feet at most. Which means it is most likely somewhere on school grounds. It's probably down in the basement somewhere, or perhaps in the sewer tunnels nearby."

"Which brings me to my next question," said Buffy. "How do you kill this thing?"

"The V'rath are fairly strong, as demons go, but they possess no special immunities. Standard weapons should be sufficient. But, Buffy, you must be very careful when fighting it," Giles said earnestly. "If your control slips, even for a moment, it can use its power against you. Too much fear, and it could render you unable to move. Too much anger, and it could send you into a rage, making you fight carelessly."

He paused for a moment. "Perhaps we should get backup," he mused. "We could call Faith..."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Giles. 'Faith' and 'emotional control' don't exactly go together. I can handle this - I'll be careful."

After a moment, Giles nodded. "Very well." Willow couldn't help noticing that he still looked worried.

"Alright. Giles, you and I are going after this demon," Buffy declared, standing up and turning to face her friends. "Will, Xander, you guys find Cordelia and Oz. I don't know how long it'll take us to find this thing, so we need to keep an eye on them in the meantime. Look all over school; if they're not here, it probably means they went home and they're safe."

Buffy looked at them for a moment, her expression softening. "They'll be okay, guys," she said gently. "I'll make sure of it." With that, she turned and strode purposefully over to the weapons cabinet, Giles following behind her.

I hope you're right, Buffy, Willow thought as she and Xander stood and made their way out of the library.

---

Oz slumped against the wall, looking out over the empty classroom. Despair had settled on him, a great weight that smothered his very being. Even breathing felt like a tremendous effort now, and he wondered if it was even worth the trouble anymore.

What did the future hold for him now? His band was going nowhere, he'd never be free of his lycanthropy, and Willow...

Willow. He cared about her so much... she'd made him feel like no one else ever had. Every time he'd pictured his future, she was there with him.

But those images were hollow now. Empty, like him.

What do I have to live for? he wondered morosely.

He took out his pocketknife and held for a long moment, looking at it as he slowly turned it over in his hand.

Why not?

---

Xander completed his check backstage in the auditorium and walked back out through the curtains. There was no one here, so he made his way over to the doors leading to the hall.

He and Willow had split up, with him taking the east side of the school. However, his search had proven fruitless so far and he was starting to get a little anxious.

Maybe they went home, he thought hopefully, trying to reassure himself. It didn't help much.

He started down the hall, checking each classroom in turn as he passed it by. The school was almost completely empty now - no one liked to stay here any longer than necessary - with only the occasional straggler passing Xander on their way out of the building, and for the most part the place was deathly quiet.

Xander shivered involuntarily as he checked yet another classroom. Does it always have to be so damn creepy in here? he wondered. Of course, knowing that there was a very dangerous demon in the area didn't help matters any....

Quickly exiting after finding nothing, he moved into the room across the hall... and froze. His blood ran cold at the sight before him, and he fought to control the rising tide of fear he suddenly felt.

"Oz?" he softly called out, cautiously approaching the figure huddled at the back of the room. The late afternoon sun coming in through the windows glinted off the blade of the small knife he held in his hand, and Oz simply continued to stare at it, giving no sign that he had heard Xander.

"Oz!" he called, more forcefully this time. The musician finally raised his head, and the look on his face gave Xander the chills all over again.

"What do you want?" he said tiredly, as though even speaking was a huge effort.

"What are you doing?" Xander asked carefully, edging a little closer to him.

Oz looked down at the knife in his hand and blinked in confusion, almost as if he were seeing it for the first time. He stared at it for a moment, then shook his head slowly.

"Nothing," he muttered. "Leave me alone."

"I can't do that," Xander replied. He judged the distance between them. No, still too far...

Oz looked up again. "It's better this way," he said miserably. "I've lost her. Willow... I can't go on without her."

Xander felt a renewed sense of guilt. Even knowing that a demon was responsible for the state Oz was in didn't help much. Even without the demon's interference, Oz would still have been terribly hurt. And it's your fault. He and Willow had been so sure that what they were doing was the right thing.... But was it really?

Xander pushed those thoughts out of his head - he couldn't afford them right now. "I need you to listen to me very carefully," he stated forcefully, slowly moving closer to where Oz sat. "This... this isn't you. There's a demon in the area, and it's done something to you. You have to get a hold of yourself."

Oz didn't seem to hear him. "What do I have to live for now?" he said, raising the knife he held.

"Oz, no!" Xander shouted. Panic flooded through him and he charged forward. He didn't know what Oz planned to do with the knife and he didn't want to find out. Xander lunged toward him, knocking the blade from his grasp and earning a nasty cut on his hand in the process.

As the knife skittered across the classroom floor, Xander took a step back, watching Oz warily, unsure of what he would do next. But the musician simply sat there, head bowed, unmoving, and after a moment, Xander relaxed.

"Come on, Oz," Xander said. Ignoring the pain in his hand, he reached out and gently lifted him to his feet. Oz offered no resistance as Xander took him by the shoulders and steered him out of the room.

I hope you find this thing soon, Buffy, Xander thought as he led Oz slowly down the hallway.

---

Willow hurried through the halls, checking classrooms as she went. The silence that had fallen over the school was almost eerie, and she suppressed a twinge of nervousness as she made her way across the campus.

Come on, Willow, she told herself. You told everyone you could handle this. Don't let them down.

Despite her unease, she continued her search. Soon she had checked all the classrooms and, finding nothing, she walked down the short hallway to the gym. Passing through the doors, she looked around briefly before crossing over to the locker rooms. The place seemed to be completely empty.

She made her way through the girls' locker room and found that it, too, was deserted. There were bits of softball equipment - bats, balls, gloves - scattered about, but no sign of any people. After glancing into the shower room and confirming that it was empty, she turned to leave.

That was when she saw her.

"Cordelia, hi," Willow blurted in surprise when her gaze fell upon the former cheerleader standing between the rows of lockers.

Cordeila quickly crossed the distance between them to stand in front of Willow. "Where's Xander?" she snapped, glaring at her angrily.

Xander wasn't kidding... she's furious, Willow thought as she took in the expression on Cordelia's face. This is all my fault.... I wish things could have turned out differently....

"Look, Cordelia..." Willow began, unable to keep the anxiety she felt from showing in her voice, "I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but there's something I have to tell you. Something important."

Cordelia simply continued to glare at her, not saying a word, and Willow's nervousness increased. Giles had warned her that people under the V'rath's influence could be dangerous.... Willow began slowly backing away from her.

"There's a demon around here somewhere," Willow continued, trying to keep her cool as Cordelia followed her, matching her step for step. "We think you might be in danger, and we need to get you out of here.

"Xander and I feel really bad about everything," she hurried on, "and you have every right to be angry with us. But we have more important things to worry about right now, so, can you just... try and put it aside for now? Please?"

---

Cordelia looked at the girl before her with a mixture of anger and disdain.

How could she have even begun to think of Willow Rosenberg as a friend? She never should have even tried to be nice to her - after all, look how that effort had been repaid.

It was bad enough that Xander had humiliated her, but now, to be faced with the girl that had taken what was rightfully hers... it was almost more than she could bear.

When Willow started to back away from her, Cordeila followed. She was babbling some inanities now, but Cordelia didn't hear a word she was saying.

How could this... this loser have gotten the better of her at anything? It incensed her, the idea that Xander had thrown Cordelia Chase, the best thing that had ever happened to him, away for this wretch, this PATHETIC, MEWLING CREATURE....

Rage boiled over within Cordelia, and she snatched up a nearby baseball bat.

---

It all happened so fast.

One second, Cordelia was simply staring at Willow as she tried to talk to her, the next, the former cheerleader had picked up a baseball bat leaning against one of the lockers and was attacking her with it.

Willow cried out in alarm as Cordelia swung at her. The bat struck her a glancing blow on the side of her head as she desperately threw herself to the side. Pain exploded in her skull and she landed heavily on the floor. She looked up just in time to see Cordelia's next attack coming and roll away from it. The sharp crack of the bat impacting on the hard floor echoed throughout the locker room.

Willow scrambled to her feet, wincing at the pain in her head and her right shoulder, which she had landed on when she hit the floor. Looking up at Cordelia, she saw that she was moving towards her once again, her face twisted into a mask of fury.

She turned and ran, desperate to get away from this enraged thing that Cordelia had become. She passed through the locker room door and ran out into the gym, making for the exit as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Come back here, you bitch!" she heard Cordelia scream from behind her.

Willow desperately ran across the gym, throwing open the doors when she reached them and continuing out into the hall. She could hear Cordelia behind her, but didn't want to chance looking back to see how far away she was.

So she pressed on. When she rounded a corner in the hallway, she almost crashed into someone who was running in her direction, barely managing to come to a stop just in front of her instead.

"Buffy," Willow panted, relief at seeing her friend washing over her. The Slayer reached out and gently put her hands on Willow's shoulders to steady her.

"Willow, what is it? What's wrong?" Buffy asked urgently. "I heard a scream...."

"It's Cordelia. She..." Willow got no farther, as at that moment, Cordelia caught up with her.

Buffy quickly looked her over. Seeing the look on her face and the baseball bat in her hands, she hurriedly stepped in front of Willow, who took several steps back behind her.

"Buffy, be careful," Willow warned her friend. "She's not herself - she's dangerous."

"I'm getting that," Buffy muttered, not taking her eyes off the girl in front of her. "Cordelia, listen to me..." she began, but got no further.

Cordelia's face contorted in rage and she swung the bat hard at Buffy's head. Buffy ducked under the blow and took a step back. "Cordelia, I don't want to hurt you..." she warned, but the other girl paid her no heed.

With a snarl that was completely unlike anything Willow had ever heard from her, Cordelia charged at Buffy, wildly swinging at her. Buffy dodged to the side, letting Cordelia's momentum carry her forward, and tripped her as she went by. As she fell, Buffy struck her in the back of the head and caught her suddenly limp form before it hit the ground. The baseball bat clattered to the floor as it slipped from nerveless fingers.

"Sorry, Cordy," Buffy murmured, a shade of regret in her voice. Then she turned her head to look at Willow over her shoulder. "Come on, let's get her back to the library," she said.

Willow hurried over to help her, hoping fervently that this nightmare would be over soon.

---

The first thing Xander saw upon entering the library with Oz in tow was Cordelia, slumped down and apparently unconscious, with Buffy binding her hands to the chair in which she sat.

"Buffy, what happened?" Xander said as he led Oz to a chair at the back of the table. Oz offered no resistance as Xander sat him down and made no move to get up after he moved away.

Buffy paused in her activities and looked up at him. "Cordy went after Willow with that," she said grimly, gesturing toward a baseball bat sitting on the table.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Xander asked anxiously.

"She's with Giles in his office. She's got a bump on the head, but I think she'll be okay. He's checking it out now," Buffy replied.

"And Cordelia?" Xander glanced at the unconscious brunette, guilt washing over him. If I hadn't... no, don't think like that.

"She'll probably have a bad headache tomorrow, but she should be all right." Buffy gestured toward a length of rope on the table. "Come on, help me out here."

Xander took the rope and busied himself tying Cordelia's other wrist. As he did so, Buffy glanced over at Oz. "He seems pretty out of it..." she observed, trailing off as she noticed the cut on Xander's hand. "What happened to you?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I cut myself. It's no big deal," Xander shrugged. Oz didn't seem likely to try anything else, and everyone else had enough to worry about at the moment.

He could see in Buffy's eyes that she knew there was something he wasn't telling her, but she didn't press the matter. "Still, you should probably bandage it up," she said after a moment.

Xander nodded as he finished securing Cordelia's hand, and walked over to the cage. He retrieved the first aid kit they kept near the weapons cabinet and set about bandaging his hand.

"So..." he began as he exited the cage after he was finished, "do you think maybe we should try and get them out of here?" He gestured, indicating Oz and Cordelia. "Giles said the range of this thing's power is pretty short. If we took them home, they'd probably be safe."

Buffy leaned back against the edge of the table. "We might be able to get Oz home okay, but Cordy?" She shook her head. "What am I going to say to her parents? 'Sorry Ms. Chase, but a demon drove your daughter into a murderous rage and I had to knock her out with my super strength?'"

"Well, we can probably come up with something better than that..." Xander offered.

"Maybe. But for now, we'll keep that as plan B," Buffy continued. "For now, we're still on plan A - I find this thing and kill it before it can hurt anyone else."

"No progress on that front, I take it?" Xander asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No," she sighed, sounding a little frustrated. "Giles and I searched the whole basement and, nothing. We're going to check the sewer tunnels as soon as he's ready."

A moment later, Willow emerged from Giles' office, with the Watcher right behind her. Upon seeing her, Xander hurried over to her side and took her hand.

"Hey," he said tenderly. "Are you okay?"

Willow nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so," she replied, flashing him a quick smile.

"I believe she will be fine," Giles reassured them. "I've become something of an expert on head trauma over the past year or so," he continued, a wry note creeping into his voice, "and, thankfully, her injury does not appear to be serious."

"I printed out some maps of the local sewers for you guys," said Willow, gesturing to a sheaf of papers Giles held. "The only ones I could find were pretty old. They're not great, but they're better than nothing."

"Thanks, Will," Buffy said, smiling at her friend. "Okay, Giles, let's go." She turned and started for the door, but paused momentarily when she saw Oz and Cordelia.

"Maybe we should get them out of sight," she commented.

"Good idea," Xander agreed. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but if someone did happen by the library, the sight of Cordelia unconscious and tied to a chair would be pretty hard to explain. Within a few moments, they had relocated her and Oz to Giles' office, and Buffy and Giles were gathering up the bags containing their weapons.

"You guys stay here and keep an eye on them," Buffy said. "With any luck, this'll be over soon."

"Good luck guys," Willow told her friends, her concern evident in her voice.

"Be careful," Xander cautioned as Buffy and Giles exited the library. Once they had left, he sat down at the table, turning his chair so that he could see both the doors to the library and the pair seated in Giles' office. Willow took a seat next to him, and they sat in silence for several long moments.

"God... look at him," Willow finally whispered, her eyes locked on Oz. He had seemingly retreated completely inside himself, and now sat, staring, totally unaware of the world around him.

Knowing where her thoughts were headed, Xander gently took Willow's hand. "Will... this isn't your fault." He gestured toward Oz and Cordelia. "We didn't do this. A demon did this. You can't blame yourself."

"But if we hadn't hurt them, none of this would have happened," said Willow. "Xander... did we do the right thing?"

He understood how Willow felt. He'd believed it when he told her that this wasn't their fault, but Xander still couldn't help feeling guilty. Cordelia would have been hurt worse in the long run if he'd tried to stay together with her, but that knowledge was no comfort to him. He still felt terrible about everything.

But Willow.... There was no one in his life who was more important to him than she was. He loved her, and that was something he just couldn't deny.

"Will..." Xander began, giving her hand a squeeze. He wasn't really sure of what he was going to say, but he wanted to reassure her somehow.

He never got the chance to figure it out, however, because at that moment, the doors to the library flew open.

The thing that strode through them was large and, despite having a humanoid shape, appeared vaguely reptilian. It was covered in dark scales and its visage was horrifying. Its eyes glowed a sickly green color, and it fixed them on Willow and Xander as it moved forward slowly.

Xander sprang to his feet, stepping forward to put himself between the creature and Willow. This must be the V'rath, he thought. Fear suddenly surged through him, but he fought it down. Have to stay in control, he reminded himself.

"Will, get out of here," he whispered urgently as she stood up behind him.

"I'm not leaving you," she replied firmly, and Xander knew better than to try to argue - he could hear the determination in her voice.

The creature stopped a short distance from them, its face twisted into an expression of what Xander could only assume was mockery. When it spoke, its voice was a soft hiss that carried a strong undercurrent of menace. "So much fear."

It took a step forward as it continued. "So much fear. I feel it, in both of you. Just under the surface. You fight to control it, but you will succumb. You are weak, like all your kind."

Xander glanced over at the cage where the weapons locker was located, trying to judge the distance. Could he make it there before the creature cut him off? It seemed doubtful, but...

"Fear is strong within you," the creature continued, "and so easy to bring to the surface."

Moving faster than Xander would have thought possible for something its size, the demon leapt at them, closing the short distance between them in the blink of an eye. It shoved Xander aside and struck Willow a backhanded blow, knocking her back against the wooden railing by the stairs up to the stacks.

"Willow!" Xander called out. Fear for the girl he loved surged within him and quickly progressed beyond anything he had ever felt before. It permeated his very being, choking him, making it hard to breathe. The demon turned towards him, the smile that appeared on its face holding no mirth, but rather pure malevolence.

"So easy," it repeated, stepping toward Xander and grabbing him by the throat. It lifted him off the ground and held him at arm's length, staring at him with what looked like contempt.

Xander heard Willow scream his name from across the room, but he was only vaguely aware of it. He couldn't even move, so overwhelmed was he by the fear running through him. He knew that the demon was using its power on him, but that knowledge did him no good - he was helpless in the thing's grasp.

The demon hurled Xander across the room, and he fell heavily against the short wall separating the main area from the stacks. His gaze fell on Willow, who was huddled on the floor several feet away from him. The look of terror on her face was unlike anything he had ever seen from her, and he knew that she had to be under the V'rath's power as well.

"Your fear is delicious," the creature hissed, looking at each of them in turn. "It is almost a shame to have to kill you."

It's feeding off us, Xander realized, and the thought only increased the level of terror he felt.

"But your deaths will bring me a much greater meal," the demon said as it stepped forward slowly, taking its time, clearly not in any hurry. "Slayer feelings are like Slayer blood. Powerful. Intense. Before I kill her, the Slayer's grief at finding her closest friends dead will be the feast of a lifetime."

No, Xander thought desperately, I can't let this thing kill Willow. I can't! He hit the floor hard with one hand and began dragging himself over towards her. I love her... I love her so much...

As he thought about Willow and what she meant to him, images of her from throughout his life flashed through his mind. He saw her helping him up after a fight with Larry on the playground; holding him at school after an especially rough night with his parents; standing beside him as they faced a vampire; melting against him as he kissed her for the first time.

There was no one in his life who was more important to him than she was. As he pulled himself over toward her, there was no doubt in his mind - he loved her, completely, and he would fight until his last breath for her.

And the fear-induced fog that had clouded his mind began to clear.

---

Willow huddled against the wall, pressing against it as if she thought she could disappear into it. She'd been scared before, but nothing had ever even come close to the level of terror she was feeling now. It smothered her, rendering her unable to act, unable to do anything but watch what was happening helplessly.

She had thought she could control her feelings. She had no idea how wrong she was. When this... thing... had attacked Xander, her fear for him had smashed through all her carefully crafted walls of control in an instant.

She watched as the demon threw Xander across the room, calmly announcing it was going to kill them. No! I have to do something! Her mind was racing, frantic. It's going to kill Xander... I can't let that happen...

She couldn't let it happen. Xander meant too much to her. She thought back to all the times he'd come to her rescue when Cordelia or her friends were tormenting her; all the times he'd been there to comfort her when she needed it; all the times he'd made her laugh when she was feeling down; all the times he'd stood with her and tried to keep her safe from whatever evil thing they were facing at the time.

She loved him. There had never been a time in her life when she didn't love him.

As she started to crawl over toward him, she felt the terrible fear that was overwhelming her recede.

---

A loud, inhuman shriek filled the air as Xander and Willow stood up together. The incapacitating level of terror that Xander had felt just moments ago was all but gone; he now felt no more afraid than he usually did when faced with vampires or demons, and that was something he could handle. Glancing over at Willow, he saw that she seemed to be back to normal as well.

The V'rath, on the other hand, had collapsed to its hands and knees and was visibly trembling. It seemed to be either sick or in pain, or possibly both. Xander cautiously stepped forward, but the creature didn't react at all.

It was definitely an unexpected turn of events, but Xander didn't hesitate to take advantage of it. "Willow, run!" he called back as he rushed toward the V'rath. He heard Willow's footsteps behind him as he picked up the baseball bat from the table and swung it, connecting with the demon's head and sending it sprawling.

Unfortunately for him, that seemed to snap the creature out of whatever stupor it had fallen into, and rose back up to its knees and struck back at him. The blow didn't have the same strength behind it that the demon had possessed before, but even so, it knocked Xander back a step.

The creature rose to its feet, a little unsteadily, and Xander threw himself at it once again. He struggled with the demon for several moments, not wanting to give it a chance to get its bearings. He managed to land a few good hits with the bat while avoiding the thing's counterattacks, though he was really just buying time, hoping Willow would find Buffy and bring her back here soon.

Finally, the demon managed to block one of Xander's strikes and shoved him away. As Xander stumbled backward, he saw a small arrow fly past him and embed itself in the thing's shoulder.

The creature gave another piercing shriek, and greenish blood began to flow from the wound. Struggling to his feet, Xander turned and saw Willow standing in the door of the library's cage, hurriedly loading another arrow into the crossbow she held.

The V'rath broke and ran, making it over to the doors before Xander could even think of giving chase. As it reached them, they swung open, and the demon collided with the figure that came rushing through them.

Reacting quickly, Buffy shoved the creature away from her and then swung the axe she held with all her might, severing the V'rath's head from its shoulders. As the body fell to the floor, Buffy looked down at it hesitantly, almost disbelievingly.

"Well, that was... easier than I thought it would be," she remarked.

Exchanging a knowing glance with Willow, Xander sighed with relief and sank to the floor slowly.

To be concluded