At midday, a knock on the mansion doors woke Buffy and Angel from the first sound sleep that they had had since Buffy's return from Hell. Angel, in a pair of black boxers and red velvet robe, answered the door. Through sleep-filled eyes he saw Maeve, Giles, and all of the Slayerettes assembled. Silently Angel moved aside to allow them entrance.
Once Slayerettes and Watchers were inside and the door shut against the sun, Angel said, "I'm guessing you have everything needed for the spell?"
"Yes," said Maeve, "we do. I suggest we do this now. The Underground is starting to get wind of what's going on here, and once they realize that she is back…I have no doubt they will attack in full force."
Angel nodded, and said, "I'll go get her. You can start setting everything up for the spell."
When Angel returned with Buffy beside him thirty minutes later, all the furniture in the main room had been moved to the wall opposite of the fireplace. They both saw the intricate circle being created in front of the fireplace.
"Damn it!" Angel hissed as he realized that those creating the circle were using paint to make it. His voice rose sharply in anger as he said, "None of the ingredients were to have been changed! This spell is too powerful and deadly to change anything!"
Everyone froze as they heard the fury in Angel's voice. Willow, wearing her "resolve-face," rose from where she had been carefully painting the circle, and said, "Angel, the only thing we've changed is the blessed chalk for blessed paint. This way there's no chance for the circle to be broken during the spell."
"Nor for anything to get in or out without permission to do so," Angel said quietly, his anger gone. With a sigh of weariness, he then said, "Understood. I just want everything to go right. So much depends on it."
Willow smiled faintly. "I know. Let us finish making this, and we'll get started."
Buffy and Angel stood in the center of the ceremonial circle an hour later, their right hands and wrists clasped together. Angel wore a pair of black jeans, a silver dagger of Fey design and make held in his left hand. Buffy wore black jeans and a black sports bra, in her left hand she held a small silver chalice, also of Fey design and make. Beside Buffy and Angel, Oz stood, holding a red rope with crystals on the ends, facing south.
Outside of, and around, the circle Giles, Maeve, Xander, Cordelia, and Willow each stood on a point of the compass. Giles stood on East, Maeve stood on South, Xander and Cordelia stood together on West, and Willow stood on North at the fireplace, five feet from the circle.
Angel and Buffy gaze deeply and intently within each other's eyes as Oz asked the two immortal beings, "Are you ready?" As one, Buffy and Angel nodded. "Then let's get this done."
Silence, then words were spoken. Not by mouth…but by the mind.
"Let all who aid us in this ceremony hear our words," spoke a female voice that most recognized as Buffy's. "Ancestors of the Universe! Look down upon this ceremony -- to bind one being's soul…and free the mind of another -- with favor. Let not the Darkness intercede!"
Silence fell, as a feeling of being watched came upon those in attendance within the mansion. Maeve shuddered, as Buffy and Angel said/thought together.
"Begin, Oz."
Oz took the rope in his hands, and carefully bound Buffy and Angel's right hands and wrists together. When that was done, Oz moved to the North compass point outside of the circle. Once there, Oz picked up an object, turned around to face Buffy and Angel, and began speaking.
"North: I stand before you! I, the embodiment of the Earth Element, call upon you to recognize me!"
Oz raised a plain, unglazed, red-brown ceramic bowl filled with sand. The ground shook as thunder rumbled outside. Slowly Oz tipped the bowl, sand softly falling. But the sand never touched the ground, as it disappeared when it reached Oz's knees. When the bowl was empty, the ground shuddered one last time, then was still.
"East: I stand before you! I, the embodiment of the Fire Element, call upon you to recognize me!"
Giles knelt down, and lit the contents within a silver bowl at his feet. The spell components burst into flames instantly. The flames rose high, changing colors. Black to blue, blue to green, green to yellow, yellow to orange, orange to red, red to white. White then turned to silver; a silver as pure as the bowl it resided in.
"South: I stand before you! I, the embodiment of the Water Element, call upon you to recognize me!"
Maeve held out a small clear crystal bowl. A sound like thunder sounded from outside the mansion, as the bowl slowly filled with water.
"West: We stand before you! We, the embodiment of the Wind Element, call upon you to recognize us!"
Silence, then an unknown source of wind filled the main room of the mansion. The wind moved towards the ceremonial circle, and met resistance. Unable to enter the circle, the wind flew around the circle seeking entrance. As the wind passed by Maeve, the bowl she held was tipped down, the water spilling out of it. As the last of the water fell to the floor, the wind surrounded Xander and Cordelia.
As one, all outside of the circle turned to look at Willow, recognizing her importance in the calling of the Spirits. As Willow began speaking, a terrifying howling sound came from outside of the mansion.
"North, East, South, and West: I stand before you! I--" Willow stopped suddenly as all the windows and doors of the mansion exploded inward as dark, nebulous shadows soared in and shrieked in apparent agony and rage.
"KEEP GOING!" Giles shouted to Willow above the screams.
Willow nodded grimly, and said, "--the embodiment of the Spirits El--AHHHHH!"
The shadows surrounded Willow and enveloped her in darkness. As she fought against the shadows, Willow concluded her part, struggling to say what she needed to say.
"Spirits Element! I call upon you…to…rec-recog-n-nize…m-m-me!…NOW!"
Willow raised the Orb of Thesula that she had kept in her right hand during the ceremony, straining against the shadows that were trying to destroy her. It began to glow brightly, as the shadows screamed in pain…and fled.
In the sudden and abrupt silence that fell, all but Buffy and Angel felt a sudden keen sense of awareness. The Orb of Thesula disappeared in a flash of brilliant light, as a faint silver glow surrounded all outside of the circle.
After a shuddering breath, Willow continued speaking.
"Ancestors of the Universe! Look down upon this ceremony and see that we have called upon the elements…that we are these elements. Aid us in protecting those within this circle as they conclude the ceremony."
Willow turned her gaze to Buffy and Angel who, throughout the calling of the elements, had not taken their eyes off of each other. Quietly Willow said to Buffy and Angel, "Our task is done. You must now conclude what we have started, or damn us all forever."
Another silence fell, then was broken by Angel.
"I, as a human called Liam. I, as a vampire called Angelus, the Scourge of Europe, and feared by the very forces I was part of. I, as a vampire possessed by a soul called Angel. I, a Warrior for the side of Light. I, who am soulmated to a Slayer, she who bore the Mark of the Slayer. I, who bear the Mark of Kells, call upon the power of Kells. The power of they who rule the Fey. I call upon the power of Kells as a Son of Kells, last of they who are descended of Fey blood, to aid me in my quest. A quest to free my soulmate from the torment of her mind!"
Silence so powerful that it was deafening filled the air. A silence that was broken by the sound of a silver bell so pure…as to make one feel unworthy to hear it. Angel slowly raised the dagger in his left hand, and swiftly plunged it into his and Buffy's bound right hands. As one, they fell to their knees in pain as Angel yanked out the dagger, and threw it outside of the circle. The air around the perimeter of the circle shimmered as the dagger passed through the boundary. As blood began to spill from the wounds in their hands, Buffy placed the silver chalice she held underneath to catch the blood. Her voice wavering at first, then growing stronger, Buffy continued where Angel left off.
"I, as a human called Buffy. I, as a Warrior for the side of Light. I, as a Slayer. I, who endured the fires of Hell for over five hundred years. I, who am soulmated to a Son of Kells, he who bears the Mark of Kells. I, who bore the Mark of the Slayers, call upon the power of the Slayers. The power of all Slayers, from the first to the last. I call upon the power of the Slayers as a Slayer to aid me in my quest. A quest to free my soulmate of the unjust cursing of his soul, and bind his soul to him forever, unburdened by the thought that the demon's acts were his own!"
A roar that combined the panther's cry with the howl of a wolf filled the air, mingling hauntingly with the tone of a silver bell. Buffy raised the now full chalice above her head. As one, Buffy and Angel spoke.
"Let the blood of our bodies, the love within our hearts, the knowledge of our minds, the bond of our souls, and the power of all that we have called to aid us end our quest successfully by the drinking of the contents within this cup. Powers of Light, above, below, and all around: witness the ending of this quest, and give your consent!"
The chalice in Buffy's hand grew bright, blazing with the very power of the universe. She lowered the chalice, and pressed the cup to her lips, drinking. When the cup was half-full, Buffy drew the cup away, her eyes blazing silver. She held the cup out to Angel.
Angel took the cup from Buffy. Carefully, he pressed the cup to his lips. Instantly the smell and taste of his and Buffy's blood mixed together hit him. With a growl, his face changed to that of the demon's. He threw back his head, and drained the contents of the cup instantly. Once the cup was empty, it fell from his hand numbly, as his face returned to its human guise, his expression one of pure bliss. Angel's eyes blazed silver…but were tinted yellow in such a way as to make them golden.
A moment of silence fell, before all within the mansion spoke in unison.
"Sacred Heavens, Sacred Stars, North, East, South, West, Wind Element, Spirits Element, Water Element, Earth Element, Fire Element, Power of the Kells, Power of the Slayers: Hear us! The quest has been fulfilled. Return from whence you came, and let your vessels free!"
Silence so thick as to make it impossible to breath filled the air. Then a light brighter than the noonday sun in the desert, as well as the sounds of the jungle and forest combined with the sound of a pure silver bell seemed to explode in the room.
When sound and light disappeared, all who had preformed the ceremony lay on the ground where they had stood…unconscious.
Three hours before sunset, Giles awoke with a pounding headache. Groaning, he slowly sat up, and viewed his surroundings.
"Bloody Hell," Giles muttered as he saw everyone sprawled out on the ground. "I guess being knocked unconscious all those times really has made me more resilient to head trauma."
With a little difficulty, Giles stood, then staggered/walked over to Oz. When he reached the werewolf, Giles gently nudged him with his foot. Oz stirred awake after a few minutes' prodding. As Oz looked up at Giles, Giles nodded his head towards Willow, concern in his gaze as he remembered what had happened to Willow during the ceremony. Oz nodded, stood, then went over to the wiccan to wake her up and to check that she was alright.
As Oz woke up Willow, Giles went over to Maeve. Once standing by Maeve, Giles tilted his head and looked at his half-sister, a malicious gleam in his eyes. With a faint smile, Giles took a vile of holy water from a pocket in the coat he was wearing, and poured it out onto Maeve's face. A moment later Maeve woke up, coughing as some of the holy water got into her windpipe.
She glared at Giles as she stood and wiped her face off, and said crossly, "You could have found a better way to wake me up, Brother."
"True," Giles commented blithely as he went to wake up Xander and Cordelia, "but it wouldn't have been as funny."
When Giles was only a few feet away from Xander and Cordelia, Xander groaned, and muttered, "Anyone get the name of that elephant?"
Giles stopped and shook his head, laughing softly. As Xander sat up and began the unenvied process of waking up Cordelia, he turned to look at Buffy and Angel. His breath caught at the sight before him. In the center of the main room Angel and Buffy lay protectively in each other's embrace, unmoving.
"Even in sleep they protect each other," Giles whispered almost reverently.
Everyone heard the whisper, and, as one, turned to gaze at the two immortal beings. As if sensing everyone's eyes on them, Buffy and Angel stirred awake. Slowly they withdrew from each other, and turned to look at everyone as they gathered around Giles. Buffy and Angel slowly stood and, holding hands, walked over to everyone.
"How are you both feeling," asked Giles softly to the vampire and Slayer.
"Good, really good," Angel answered. "I'm not as burdened with the knowledge of the demon's acts." Angel's voice caught for a moment, before continuing in wonder. "I'm free. Free of the demon's insistent whisperings and demands to be let out. You have no IDEA how amazing this feels."
"I do, Love," Buffy whispered softly in Angel's mind.
Angel held Buffy closer, smiled faintly, and brushed his fingers tenderly across Buffy's cheek, before murmuring softly, "That you do, Beloved. That you do."
"Um…hello! For those of us unable to hear Buffy: What did she say?"
Angel looked up at Cordelia in annoyance, then saw that everyone was nodding their heads in agreement; all but Oz who raised only an eyebrow in a silent question, his eyes laughing in understanding.
Angel raised his eyes heavenward for a moment, then looked back down to Buffy as he said, "Buffy says she understands what I'm feeling…and I tend to agree that she does understand."
"Huh?" Xander said in confusion.
"She understands because she isn't half-insane anymore," Willow said, then asked, "Is that it Buffy?"
Buffy nodded, then said slowly, "Rrrrright."
Maeve frowned, as Giles said, "Buffy, I think we need to get you to a speech therapist to help you to speak better."
"Only if they work after sunset, and you know that that is impossible to find in this town," Angel commented.
"We may not have time to do that," Maeve said as everyone turned to look at her. She continued, explaining, "The forces of Darkness will surely know that something has happened here. It will not take them long to realize what."