Disclaimers: Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon own it all. I'm just doing this for fun, and hopefully entertainment

Reviews: Welcomed and appreciated

I just had to bring Tara into this somehow, I just loved her character.

Wesley heard, no felt a soft voice whisper to him. 'Are you able to move? Don't answer out loud, just think to me.' What the hell is this? He thought.

'I'm going to help you, just tell me if you will be able to move once I get the ropes off of you. The older man will need your help. Please, just answer my question.'

It was a soft voice, a compassionate voice. What the hell, he thought, we can't get in a worse situation. So, he concentrated on the voice and answered. 'I think I have a concussion, but they haven't tortured me. I can get Travers out if you can find a way.'

'I'll make an opening, just be ready to move as fast as you can when I give you the word.'

Tara had been preparing her potion when the two men were brought in. The older of the two seemed to be much worse off. The younger, hurt but receptive. She attempted to reach his thoughts and had succeeded. She resumed her work and hoped her captors weren't intuitive.

"Okay, I'm ready here. Please untie them." She hoped she sounded authoritative, she knew the man would protest, but the woman was overly confident in all matters and she hoped would follow her instructions.

"I think you can work your spell with them tied up." Ethan didn't trust the girl and wasn't about to lose their advantage.

"Yes I suppose I could, b…but it makes me very uncomfortable seeing anyone in pain and…and it could affect the spell." She looked to Gwendolyn, and in a meek voice pleaded. "Please?"

Gwendolyn smiled at the weakling, "Of course my dear. If it will help you in your work. Besides, I don't think either of them is up to running away." She motioned to one of the men, "Untie them both, but stay on your guard."

Tara approached the two men, Wesley looked up at her and thought she must be an angel. There was a glow about her and her eyes were shining with unshed tears. For us? He thought?

'Yes, for you. I am going to recite a protection spell, after that a spell to cause blindness to all but us. We'll have to move fast, I don't know how long the spell will last, not a lot of ingredients.' She recited an incantation, took the bowl in her hands and lit the herbs, reciting another spell.

Ethan watched, spell bound. The girl seemed to be emanating a beautiful white glow that surrounded her and the two watchers. This can't be right, he thought. He wasn't totally up on his Latin or Greek, but wasn't that the word for protection? He made a move toward her as she lit the bowl in her hand when suddenly everything went black.

"Ethan! Ethan! I can't see!" Gwendolyn was in a panic.

Ethan headed toward the girl, at least where he thought she would be. "That stupid bitch, she blinded us."

Tara quickly raised her hand. "Repel." Ethan was thrown back against the wall.

"We have to hurry. Can you walk?" She hurried over to Travers and tried to lift him by the arms. "You have to try." She whispered in his ear. Wesley had come up behind her and put his arm around Travers.

"I'll take him. Lead the way." He was very dizzy, but he couldn't let this young woman risk her life more than she already had. "If we don't make it out, contact Rupert Giles. Tell him where we are."

"We are going to all make it out, now stop talking and run…walk. Just… goddess, let's go!" She moved ahead of them, making her way up the stairs to the main room of the house she had been brought to. She remembered that there were two more demons in a front room. "Be quite and wait here for one second." She peeked her head around a corner and saw them. She whispered a few words and lifted her hand, "Sleep." She so hoped this would work on demons and was rewarded with them both falling to the ground.

"Come on, the door is over here." Tara led them to the street and looked around. She didn't recognize where they were, but she saw a car racing up the street. "Quick, someone's coming really fast. Hide in here." She pushed them both into a hedge.

Angelus was driving at break-neck speed, he wanted to find the assholes that were tailing him and his slayer and probably kill them. If the two watchers were found, all the better for Buffy. Buffy was holding on for dear life while her watcher and Spike were in the back seat, doing pretty much the same.

"I will never call you an old-lady driver again Peaches. You have redeemed yourself!" Spike had to catch an unneeded breath.

Angel saw them duck into some bushes. It was the two watchers and a young woman. He was confused, but never-the-less he would find the ones who had caused all this trouble for him and his. "I saw Wes and Travers, they're hiding in those hedges. Giles, you take care of them. The two of you," motioning to Spike and Buffy, "we have some people to kill." Buffy saw him smile his best demon smile. Okay, someone was going to die. She just hoped they were all demons.

Wesley snuck a look from behind a very prickly branch. The angel of mercy was attempting to keep Travers quite and comfort him at the same time. Lucky for Quentin she didn't know him. "It's Giles and Buffy. They've come for us." He waved at them just as several of their captors came spilling out of the front door.

"Time to do our job. Keep them safe Giles, we'll take care of this." Angel brought the car to a screeching halt next to the hedge and jumped out in full vamp mode followed by Spike and Buffy.

"I have been dying for a good battle!" Spike looked over at his sire and they shared a conspiratorial grin. "Time for some killing."

"More than time."

The first few demons that had the misfortune to exit the house were quickly dispatched. When the others saw what was surely their fate, they shut and locked the door and headed for the back exit. Buffy ran to the back of the house and waited, with a confident smile on her face.

"Going somewhere boys?" The first of five vampires fell off the back porch, right onto Buffy's stake. The others made a mad dash to escape her, but were pulled into a skirmish with the new and improved slayer they had all heard about. Buffy made quick work of all to them. "Armatures." She scoffed before heading into the house.

Giles had gotten Wesley, a very injured Travers and a young woman into the back seat of the car. "Stay here, I need to see if they need any help."

"It's Gwendolyn Post, Giles. And a man. His name is Ethan Rayne. Both humans." Wesley spoke up. "This young woman here, she saved our lives." He looked up at her in awe. Tara blushed and hid behind her hair.

"Ethan Rayne. That bastard. As for Post, I thought she was in Sweden or some such place." Tara could see the hate radiating off the man Wesley had called Giles. "I'd better get in there and see what they were up to before Angelus kills them."

"Maybe I should come with you? I do a mean protection and repel spell." Tara was afraid that in his condition he wouldn't be as cautious as he should and she got a very good feeling from this man.

Giles really took her in for the first time. Innocent. Pure. "No, you've done enough. Just stay safe."

"No, really. I think I should come with you." She got out of the car and turned to Wes. Just don't let him nod off again, I think he has a concussion as well." She turned back to Giles, "Let's go and get it over with."

Giles hesitated, but saw the determination in her eyes. "Well, fine then." He strode to the house, Tara right behind him.

Buffy, Angel and Spike were standing in the foyer, deciding who would go upstairs and who would take the basement.

"They're all in the basement. I did an incantation to blind them, but it may have worn off." All four looked at the unassuming woman with a little bit of shock in their eyes. "It was the only way to get us all out. There were four demons with them."

"How many humans?" Buffy asked.

"Well, just the two of them. They're not demons, but they're both really evil." Tara shuddered at her memory of them.

"You wait here love. I think two vampires and a slayer can take care of this." Spike winked at her. He may be mated but he wasn't blind. Exquisite, that one. And she has no idea.

She looked at Giles. "Yes dear, I'll be fine. Go back to the car, there may be a demon or two lurking and I'm sure you can dispatch them. We need to take care of this."

"Well, she's a lovely little package, that." Spike smiled at her departing backside, earning a slap on the back of his head.

He looked at Buffy. "What cha do that for?"

"Remember Willow?"

"Of course, I'm just looking. No touching. Ever." He seemed genuinely hurt by her assumptions.

"Yes, well now children. Can we please take care of Gwendolyn and Ethan?" Giles was heading for the stairs.

"You know who they are?" Angel eyed the watcher suspiciously.

"Wesley informed me. Gwendolyn Post was a watcher. As for Ethan Rayne? A skeleton from my closet. Shall we."

"Ethan, where are you? That bitch! I will kill her when I get my hands on her." Gwendolyn was livid. Even in her present state, she had no fears that she would still make her plan work.

"My, my, my. Aren't we the one with the over-inflated sense of confidence?" Giles had Ethan by the throat. "As for you, my dear old friend. Somehow I should've guessed. It all reeks of you. The photos should've been the clincher.

Angel and Spike took care of the blind demons, relishing the cracking of their necks, while Buffy pulled Gwendolyn Post down onto one of the chairs that had recently held the watchers. She tied her arms and legs, not really worried that she could go anywhere, she just wanted her to suffer.

"Old man," Ethan choked out. "She blackmailed me into helping her. It was all her plan. She wanted that Travers killed so she could blame you and she could take over the council. I know, illusions of grandeur. Thank you so much for rescuing me."

Giles threw Ethan to Angel. "Please, I may kill him before we get the information we need." He turned to Gwendolyn. "So, planning a take over of Watchers Council? Your black magic rituals didn't work again? Did you really think you could succeed at this? You may still have a few demented friends at the Council, but most of them know you for the crazy bitch you are." He came very close to her face. "Now, tell me. Who else knows about Buffy."

Blinking several times, she began to regain the use of her eyes. "You. You had everything that should've been mine." She looked over to Buffy. "She would've never been allowed to have a relationship under my watch. She would've never been turned. You are possibly the worst watcher in the history of watchers." She pulled her head back and spit in Giles'face.

"Quite the lady, that. Want me to break her neck?" Spike was having a great time and one more kill would be gravy.

"No, we need to find out who else knows about this. We'll take them back to your place Angel." Giles wiped his face on his sleeve and looked at the pair. What a waste of humanity, he thought.

"I can do a truth spell on them. It seems only fair since they did kidnap me to do one on your friends."

They all looked up to see Tara standing at the top of the stairs. She lowered her head, not use to being the center of attention. "I came to get you. We need to take the older gentleman to the hospital, he's not doing very well."

"Yes, of course. Tie them up." Giles turned to leave.

"Giles, we can't all fit in the car. How do you plan on getting the two of them back to our place?" Buffy was tired and it showed in her voice.

"They can ride in the trunk. It'll only be for a short while, so they should make it."

"Oh Giles, I am really starting to like this new side to you." Spike laughed.