Ironic

Part Eight

Disclaimer: see the first chapter.

Author's notes: Sorry it took so long, I haven't had a lot of time to write this past month, ever since I've switched classes, school's gotten harder, lol. I guess it could be the French 4 and Honors History, lol. But here's the last chapter. Hope you like it!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys kept me writing! Even if it took a long time!

They took my seperators out! These'll have to do...

"Nothing, Buff,' Willow looked at her from her seat in front of the computer.

"Nadda," They reported back to her after she had returned.

"Luc and Isabelle say he's only got a limited window of opportunity, so it'll be soon…"

They didn't have to wait long. The changes started with the rising of the full moon.

Jessica was awoken at three am to the ringing phone. She answered it, her eyes still closed.

"Hello?" Barking filled her ear. "What the? Is this some kind of prank?"

More barking filled her ear, then a frustrated growl, and the other end was hung up.

"What the-" the phone rang again, "Hello?"

"I just got the strangest call, and then I went to the bathroom-"

"Willow?" the words coming from the other end were laced with purrs.

"What I saw in the mirror…there's something going on, Jess."

"What do you mean? What's going on?"

"You sound funny…where's Giles?"

"I don't know, I just woke up."

"Well, I'm coming over, there's something going on. I'll call Xander, have Giles start a pot of tea. Something fishy's going on. Mm…fish."

"Fishy fish," she agreed.

"See you soon." She hung up and went downstairs.

"Dad? Angel?" she called, hoping one would be awake. Barking came from the kitchen. "W-Who's there?"

A figure with doggish ears came out of the kitchen.

"Dad!" she cried, shocked. "Oh dear God," she cried, and he said the same, in barks and growls.

They all sat on the couch, staring at their furry hands.

"I can't believe this!" Buffy stomped around, pacing. Angel stood behind Jessica, looking only slightly better than the others. "Will, could you do a sleep spell? If they town finds out about this, they'll freak!"

She nodded, starting to answer.

"Will, Will!" she handed her a dry erase board. She took it and started scribbling.

Yeah, I can try. I'll need a few things, though.

"Make a list and Giles will look through his stuff. He sure chose a doozy. If I ever get my hands on him-"

"It's-bark-Jessi's job-bark- to find-bark-put him in his-growl," Angel told her. He had slightly mastered the new way of speaking while the others were helpless.

She sighed, "I know." Willow handed her list to Giles, and he went off to find the things she needed.

Jessica absently stroked her ears and her whiskers. It was ingenious, really, turning guys into dogs and girls into cats, unable to communicate and havoc would ensue. Good thing Xander got up to go to the bathroom at three, maybe they could contain the panic a bit.

She also kind of reveled in this, it was the first time she had been allowed in on the powwows.

"Jessi, let's go practice in the atrium, I want you perfectly prepared for him." She nodded, following her mother out.

"He's a wily one, be on your guard at all times. He's a weasel too. Don't expect him to fight fair. He's going to try and weasel a way out. Here," she handed her a charm necklace, "each charm stands for something," she held each charm as she named them, "Protection, love, family, friendship, trust, guidance…" she stopped, "You have all of these, and so much more. You have to believe in yourself."

"We've got him. Same seedy motel as last time," Willow said twenty-four hours later, with only a bit of a purr.

"Ok, Jess, you're up. Believe in yourself."

"B-But I haven't found my power yet!"

"It's inside you, just under the surface. You'll be able to tap into it when you need it most. You're a great fighter, and so much more than I expected or wished. You can do this. I have to go, but I'll see you after."

"Go?" she squeaked, but she was gone.

"Ready?" Angel had been the first to get his speech under control. She nodded, petrified. "Will, where are we going?"

He kicked down the door, only to find the room vacated.

"Now what?" she asked. It only came out mostly mangled, having spent most of her day working on finding her hidden power.

"I've got an idea…"

They entered the old factory silently. A nervous person by nature, she was stroking her tail.

"Stop that. Be on alert," he growled, looking around.

She stopped, looking around as they entered the maze of boxes in the abandoned warehouse. Though he was more aware than her, it he who got knocked down.

"Son of a bitch!" but the man was gone. "Come out, come out, wherever you are. We know you're here, Ethan," he said, standing. He was in game face, and she had to laugh at the vampire with cuddly dog-ears and a tail.

He started suddenly, looking off to his left, a confused look on his face. Then he nodded.

"This is where I'm supposed to leave you. You have power; you just have to believe in yourself. I believe in you, and so does the gang, especially Giles."

"But-"

"I love you," he hugged her tight, "I know you can do this."

"But-"

"If you need help, just yell," he whispered before letting go, "I'll see you back at Giles's," he said loudly, as if he wasn't talking to her.

"But-But Dad-"

He smiled and walked off, leaving her alone.

She looked around, surrounded by boxes and utterly alone. She gulped, before moving on, cautiously through the boxes. She caught glimpses of someone or thing ahead, always one corner ahead of her.

Suddenly the boxes were behind her, and she was in a largish clearing.

"Why, you're just a kid. Younger than when I first saw your mum, I bet. Sweet thing. Does she still have that tattoo I gave her?"

"Who are you?"

"Ethan Rain, at your service, milady," he mock bowed.

Suddenly Buffy was beside her.

"Mom?"

"Ethan, I knew it was you." She turned to Jessica, "We're not here to help, just containment."

"We?" she whispered. All of a sudden she saw a flash, a whirling circle surrounding them.

"No one can get out, or in," she looked into the boxes, and Jessica followed her gaze, and she could just make out Angel's shape. "I must join them. Good luck."

"Well, well, if it ain't Buffy Summers, the slayer. Like my little prank?"

"Reverse it," she turned to him, glaring at him.

"That's no fun. Say, how's your mother? Does she know about your bastard child?"

"Leave her out of this," she growled.

"Is she and Ripper still together? Last I saw, they were pretty into each other."

"Stop it! Leave Mom alone! That was your doing, it wasn't her!"

"Wasn't it? All those things she said and did? You should know, with a child of your own. One you kept from your family and friends. Lying to them. To her."

"No it- it was the right thing," she turned to Jessica, "You know that, right?"

"Of course, Mom."

"And what about your vampire lover? Didn't he deserve to know?" he was pacing, his hands behind his back, fiddling with something.

"He understands why I did it!" she looked into the shadows where he stood.

"Dirty girl, having a child in secret, giving her to poor ole Ripper to raise, and then you go and kill yourself because you can't deal."

"That's not what happened! You don't understand!" she sounded close to tears, "That's not what happened. I died to save you and Dawn!" she said, gripping Jessica's shoulders.

"You couldn't deal not having her not knowing who you really were."

"No!" she fell to her knees sobbing.

Jessica watched their interaction; her eyes kept going to his hands, fiddling with something.

He was reveling in her pain, "You killed your mother, the stress of having you for a daughter, and then you kill yourself, leaving you poor defenseless sister on her own."

"NO!" she set her forehead on the floor, sobbing, "No!"

Jessica strode over, grabbing the blue stone from his hand, threw it on the ground and smashed it with her heel. "Leave her alone," she growled.

Her mother's sobbing stopped as smoke rose from the smashed stone, "A guilt spell, not like you," she said, standing.

He was laughing, "Took you long enough. I so wanted to see you squirm, slayer."

"Undo the spell on the town," Jessica growled.

"Uh, no."

"Now," she moved closer to him, trying to loom, all five feet five inches of her scrawny frame.

He laughed, "Dream on." He made a grab for her. She sidestepped the grab, slapped his hands aside and jammed the heel of her palm into his nose. It broke with a sickening crack.

"Undo the spell," she said again as blood started to pour down his face.

"Bitch," he spat.

"I'm the daughter of the Slayer and Angelus The Scourge. Remove the spell from the town, because you won't like the punishment for impudence," she told him.

"I revel in pain," he spat.

He hand shot out, hitting his broken nose. He cried out in pain.

"Do you realize that my spell is slowly spreading to the world? Chaos will reign. And you, daughter of the slayer, will perish like all the rest."

But then something went through the air, and she could feel her tail and ears shrink into unexistance.

"Seems to be something wrong with that plan," she taunted. She kicked the insides of his knees in quick procession, taking him down. "You're pathetic," she told him, walking away.

"You need to kill him, or he'll just try it again," her mother told her as the ring of white light slowly faded.

"I-I can't."

"You must, for-" she heard a snap, and looked back to him standing there. Ethan was crumpled at his feet. "That works." Jessica looked at her mom, and saw the sadness in her eyes.

"It's almost dawn," she said, "we need to get back." They each took her hand, leaving Ethan there, as she transported them to Giles.

Jenny and Kendra were waiting for them.

"I wanted to apologize on Giles's half, "Jenny stepped forward, taking Jessica's hands, "I never wanted this to go so far…" then she turned to Angel, "we don't blame you, my Uncle and I. It truly wasn't you."

Buffy joined them, and their presence filled the room as everyone fell silent.

"Jessica, you did a wonderful job, and for dis we tank you," Kendra said, with a smile on her face.

"Rupert, you raised her right, and for this we thank you," Jenny said.

"Angel, you know about the Shanshu, right? For helping train Jessica and ridding the world of the threat, we bless you. The prophecy has come to pass."

He stared at Jenny, shocked, "But I don't-"

"Jessi had Giles for her first 18 years, but now she needs you," Buffy told him sadly.

"I don't understand," Jessica started.

"You will," they held hands, the two slayers and the witch, as power ran through them and into Angel. He gasped, his eyes wide in shock and pain. The others looked on, unsure of what was going on. Soon the power dissipated and he stood gasping for breath. His skin had a pinkish tint, and it looked healthier.

But then Kendra and Jennifer Calendar moved away from Buffy. She turned, confused, as they backed away.

"W-What are you doing? What's going on?"

"There's more to the rules about prophecies…" Jenny teased good-naturedly.

"I read them all…"

"I've been dead longer than you, don't you think I might have found this and kept it from you? When a gifted slayer goes beyond her given duty and she has special ties to the living world, she may be given extended duty."

"Extended duty?"

"We've decided. With Faith in jail, the world needs a slayer, and you have especially strong ties to this world…"

"We're revoking your membership to de Slayer Council," Both Kendra and Jenny hugged her, and the light went through her as well, leaving her breathless.

Buffy looked at herself in wonder, feeling her face and her moving chest.

"Are you serious?"

They nodded, smiling; "Take care of her, Liam," Jenny said before they both slowly faded away.

"What just happened?" Xander asked, confused.

"I'm hungry," Willow announced, understanding immediately," Xander, Dawn, help me in the kitchen?"

"Ah, yes, I think I need some tea, or maybe something stronger," Giles said, upon realizing what had just happened. He and Willow dragged a confused Xander and Dawn into the other room. Jessica noticed, but her parents were oblivious.

"Can we try now?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I think we can," she smiled.

"So, you're still my girl?"

"Always," they embraced.

"What!" they heard from the kitchen, "Dead boy's alive?" followed quickly by a howl of pain.

"And Buffy's alive, right? I got that much," Dawn's voice said.

"Yes," Willow sounded exasperated, "Now Shh!"

Buffy smiled up at him as he leaned down to kiss her. Jessica watched, happy that her parents were finally together. She wasn't even mad that she had never found her power. Having her parents together, and being able to know them was good enough for her.

END