Release

Buffy woke slowly, her eyes refusing to open and her fingers numb. Her head was throbbing in the back, where it lay in contact with the hard ground. She tried to lift her shoulders, but moaned at the pain that shot through her abdomen at the effort.

Well, she wasn't dead. Dead didn't hurt.

She shifted her shoulders and realized that her hands were tightly strapped together under her back. Ankles too. She managed to open her eyes enough to realize that it was night time and she wasn't alone. From what she could make out from the shadowy forms and low mutterings around her, she was in the company of a bunch of vampires, at least two dozen.

Great. Just great.

She flexed her knuckles, or tried to. With the restricted blood flow in her hands, there was no telling if they'd actually moved or not. Okay, not good. Now would be a good time for the Cavalry, or at least a scout troop. And where were the vampires with souls when you really needed one? Stupid dream. That's what had gotten her here in the first place.

"The time is anon," said one of the hooded figures.

She rolled her eyes. It hurt. Anon? Who said 'anon' anymore? Vampires really needed to make a better effort to keep up with the times.

"What's next, 'prithee'?" she asked.

"She's awake."

Oh yeah, this was a smart bunch. "Yeah, I'm up. And I'm a little uncomfortable. Could someone come over here and untie me? I'll say 'pretty please'."

"Gag her," said the anon guy.

What a jerk.

She heard a ripping sound and a strip of duct tape was plastered over her mouth. Fashion-challenged vamps using duct tape - and she thought she'd seen everything. She was hauled to her feet and carried over to the middle of a pentagram formed out of black sand. The goons let go of her and her legs buckled. She fell hard. Ooh, these guys were so gonna pay...

One of them started chanting, then the others joined in, low pitched and continuous. They all began moving, forming a tight circle as they slowly closed in on her.

x

Willow led Andrew and Xander to the edge of the clearing where she and Dawn had seen Buffy captured earlier. Yes, this was the right spot. The vamps were there.

"What's that sound?" Andrew asked. "It's like a really bunch of ticked off bees or those flying monkeys when they were marching to the Wicked Witch of the West's castle."

"They're chanting," Willow told him. "The ritual has already started."

"Can you see Buffy?" Xander asked her. She tried to look over the knot of hooded vampires, who were now swaying from side to side.

"No."

Andrew was beginning to sway too. Xander cuffed him on the head.

"Ow!"

"Shush! We don't have much time and they're already drawing her energy. I can feel it." Willow motioned for them to get down. She was nervous. Giles hadn't come along, having closed himself inside his room immediately following the spell reversal. Dawn had stayed with him, for once not objecting about being left out. Nobody wanted him to be left alone, but Willow was uncertain about using such strong magic without his guidance. Hopefully Xander would keep her from going too far if it came to that.

Willow turned her face toward the center of the vampire mass where she thought Buffy would be. Arms to her sides, palms facing outward, she closed her eyes and freed the strength inside her, willing it to flow. Her hair lifted, though there was no wind, and the essence of the night came alive, resting around her, prepared to do her bidding.

"It's so cool when she does that," Andrew whispered.

"Are you crazy? This is serious business." Xander said. "But okay, it is pretty cool. Just read the book Giles gave you."

Willow breathed a sigh of relief. It was hard to concentrate over their babbling.

Andrew opened the book and put his finger on the text Giles had highlighted. They'd all agreed he could do this part. The book was in Latin, of course, but they'd discovered that was no obstacle. Andrew had studied it way back when he was in the demon-summoning business. Willow was relieved, since this meant she didn't have to do it. And since Andrew now had a practical purpose in their demon fighting crusade, he'd been a happy camper, no longer complaining about the loss of his millions.

"Read it, already," Willow said.

"Okay. Sorry. Annuo auctorit, concedo tui potenti!"

"Xander, help him," Willow said.

"Me?"

"We are kind of outnumbered," Andrew pointed out. I'm not even sure that two of us chanting will be able to turn back the power of the Dark Side."

"Do you ever stop?" Xander asked.

"CHANT!" Willow ordered.

Accompanied by the murmurs of the men, Willow focused and felt a surge blast through her, pulled from the air, the trees, even the vampires assembled in front of them. She mouthed the first spell silently, her lips and tongue forming the word "release."

Andrew and Xander continued, their voices rising as their confidence grew. Willow felt it and fed from it. Her eyes flew open, shining brightly, her hair floating in a silvery halo around her head. "Confuto!" she cried.

The vampires stopped chanting and turned at the sound of her voice. "We must finish!"

The one hovering over Buffy threw back his hood, his yellow eyes glowing ferally. "Continue."

The others refocused on him and tried to continue, but their voices faltered as the trace power they had pulled from Buffy drained out of them.

Willow lifted her hand to the sky. A small ball of fire began to form above her palm. A few of the vamps mumbled nervously, but others commenced with their chanting, closing in around Buffy again. The ball grew and Willow hurled it through the clearing, incinerating the five closest to her. The others scattered, even as Willow began forming another flaming missile.

"WE MUST CONTINUE," the vampire screamed frantically, even as another third of his minions combusted, their dust settling to mingle with the soil.

His grand scheme in ruins, he seized the handle of the knife sheathed at his waist. Willow tracked his movements. He was going to kill Buffy.

"Xander!" she screamed.

"Willow?" Xander looked up from the book. "What is it?"

"The big guy in the middle, he's gonna go after Buffy. Oh, wait..." She broke off and smiled. "It's okay."

"What?" he said. "I can't see. What happened?"

Her grin widened. "She's free. Look, it worked."

The vamp was flying through the air, his knife gone and his feet flailing helplessly. Buffy stood in the center of the pentagram, her fists clenched and her face set in controlled fury.

"That's our girl," Xander told her. "And I think I have just the thing she needs."

x

Whatever Willow was doing was working like a charm. As Buffy lay there, feeling suffocated by the advancing demons, she realized she could move her hands and feet. They were still numb, but feeling was painfully returning. She forced herself to remain calm; falling back on the focusing techniques Giles had spent years teaching her. Breathe, flex, visualize, repeat.

After the first fireball hit, she jumped to her feet, unnoticed by the panicking fang gang. Willow was standing about fifty feet away, her hair glowing and her hands forming fire. She felt strong and good and really, really pissed off. The ringleader was beside her, yelling at the others, who were mostly ignoring him. Now that one, he was going to pay. As soon as he turned to face her, she punched his face, sending him flying though the air. From somewhere, Xander materialized with a stake.

x

She fought her way through the chaotic mess, dusting vamps as she went. It felt so good to be slaying again. The adrenaline that rushed through her reminded her of who she really was, and what these goons were not going to take from her.

She found the leader, still sprawled on the ground where he'd finally landed.

"Hey fella, you look like you're having a bad day. I could help you out with that."

"You were supposed to die."

"Already tried that out a couple of times. So far, nothing seems to stick."

"But we need your power."

"No, you've got that wrong. You want my power. You need a miracle and, guess what? You seem to be all out of those."

"I'll have your blood, Slayer."

Buffy shook her head, disappointed. "You guys are all the same, only after one thing. But if I can't serve you blood, how would you feel about a nice, juicy stake?" She brightened and lifted her fist to show him. "I've got one right here. Would you like it rare or well done?"

"You... you can't." He grabbed for her leg.

She plunged the stake though his heart. "Rare it is."

Buffy turned to see who was next, but all the vampires were gone.

Willow was still in the same spot, but now she just looked like Willow – a very tired, wrung out Willow. Xander joined Buffy and they made their way to her. Buffy thought she detected another voice from somewhere in that direction.

"Hey Andrew," Xander called, "you can stop the Latin mumbo-jumbo now."

He peeked up over a rock. "Really?"

"Yeah, they're all gone."

"We really did it?"

"Yeah, we did. All of us."

They reached Willow, who looked ready to collapse. Buffy slid her arm around her waist, supporting her as they headed back in the direction of the hotel.