Buffy slipped on a new shirt and looked at herself in the mirror. There were bruises on her neck and shoulders, her arms, and her legs. She and Angel had gotten incredibly rough with each other. They had never acted like that before and it scared Buffy that they had it in them. She took out the gauze and started to bandage the bite mark on her neck. She winced at the thought that she had allowed him to bite into her like that. When she was finished, she looked at herself in the mirror. She felt disgusted with herself that she and Angel had turned into such animals. The two most passionate and loving people in their group of friends and they had….
"All right, Summers. Stop dwelling on it. It happened." Buffy muttered to herself in the mirror. "Can't change that."
"You know this is exactly how it's supposed to be." Her reflection said. Buffy stumbled back and stared at the mirror. "Come on, you knew it would come out eventually."
"No. You're the First. Go away."
"I'm not the First, honey. I'm you. Or at least the part of you that has any brains."
"Stop it."
"You know you got rid of the First. That thing doesn't have enough power to come back and haunt you again. At least not for a few centuries."
"What do you want?"
"I'm trying to talk some sense into you. You turned into the thing we want you to become in there. Why won't you just let it go?"
Buffy stopped. "We. You said we."
"You caught that, huh? Well, darn."
"You're not going to win."
Buffy's voice in the reflection took on an echo, as if a bunch of other people were talking too. "Oh, I think we will. We've been at this since before the dawn of time. You won't stop it. You're insignificant. You all are."
"Really? Then why are you trying so hard to put us down?" Buffy's reflection returned to normal. "That's what I thought."
"Who are you talking to?" Angel asked from the doorway.
Buffy gasped and stared at him. "God, Angel….. You scared the hell out of me."
He looked around the bathroom. "Who were you talking to?"
"Uh….." Buffy glanced at the mirror. "Myself."
"Look, about what happened….."
"Forget it."
"Buffy….."
"Just forget it. It's over."
"What?"
"It's over and done with. Can't go back and change it."
"It didn't work."
"What didn't?"
"Clearing the air. It didn't work."
"Yeah. It was worth a shot."
"I know you're having a lot more trouble at keeping this anger at bay than I am. Buffy, I've been keeping a demon at bay for almost 200 years. I can help you."
"Well, I haven't. I don't have a demon. So, yeah, it's hard for me, but I'll manage."
"Will you just stop?"
"I have work to get to."
Angel reached out and grabbed her arm harshly. "You're not going to walk away from me again." He hauled her to him and she tried to get away, but his grip tightened. "The Powers aren't going to win this, but if you keep acting like a spoiled little brat, you're handing the world over to them on a silver platter."
Buffy stared at him a minute and then yanked away and walked out of the apartment. She headed downstairs and over to Spike. "Hey there, luv." Spike looked at her and the bandage on her neck. "What…." Then he saw the bruises. "What the hell happened?"
"Oh…. Angel and I decided to try to clear the air. Work out our issues."
"This looks like more than just issues." Buffy snorted. "You want me to kill him for you? Cause I will."
"No. If anyone gets to kill him, it's gonna be me." Buffy sighed. "Have they found anything yet?"
"Nothing but the same."
Buffy thought about that for a few minutes. "This guy….. Why would the Powers want to get rid of all the information about him except those few tid bits?"
"It's like Connor said….."
"No, I know what he said. And I thought he was on to something, but now….." Buffy trailed off as her thoughts consumed her.
"What?"
"What is that really is all there is about this race?"
"Still not following you, ducks."
"What if he really was extinct?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like, what if the Powers brought him back somehow, just for this?"
Spike thought about that a moment as he started to catch on to what Buffy was saying. "Yeah?""Well, if Willow can make a counter spell…. Maybe we can send him packing back to the place where he belongs."
"The Powers don't use magick."
"Why not?"
"Because they ARE the magick."
"No. No, if they were….. Willow wouldn't be this powerful. They could easily take it away if they were." Spike stared at her for a moment. "Yeah. I think by trying so hard to cover up their weaknesses, their laying them out on the table." Buffy stood. "Willow."
"Yeah?" Willow looked up from the computer.
"What do you know about spells to send people or things back to past?"
"Why?"
"Buffy's got a theory." Spike said.
"Nargul….. I think he really was extinct, but the Powers brought him back."
"Why would they do that?" Xander asked.
"Yeah. They have plenty of demons roaming the world." Connor said.
"Because they knew we'd dwell on the details, just like we're doing now, and it would be just long enough for him to kill us."
"Damn, B, you're getting good at this." Faith said.
"So, all you'd have to do Red, is come up with a counter spell and send Steel-Hide back to his past." Spike said.
"It might take some time." Willow said.
"Then get on it." Buffy said. "Clock's a-tickin."
Angel stood in the hallway, just beyond the stairs, listening to everything Buffy had to say. At that moment, he had felt such overwhelming pride for her that a dark purple, almost black haze surrounded him, formed a ball in front of him, and disappeared. He realized that he wasn't angry at her anymore. Just as he started down the stairs, everyone else in the room went through the same thing.
"What was that?" Xander asked.
"That was a spell being broken." Angel said. "And the Powers realizing that we're not as insignificant as they thought we were."
"But why did the spell break?" Connor asked.
"Because we all banded together and felt like we could accomplish something. When Buffy figured everything out, everyone one of us felt pride in what we do and who we are and in who everyone else is…. And I guess that was the key to breaking the spell."
"Well thank God, because I really didn't want to rip anyone's head off." Faith said.
"Yeah." Buffy said, not looking at Angel. She was still ashamed at what they had done earlier. "Let's get to work."
"Buffy, I gotta get to a magick store. I don't have enough supplies." Willow said.
"Ok, we'll go out together. Angel, Spike …. You guys come with." Buffy said. "Load up. We'll need some pretty hefty weapons."
"What if Nargul shows up?" Connor asked.
"That's why you and Faith are staying here."
"No…. I mean, what if he shows up while you're out there?"
"That's what the weapons are for."
"The last time you faced him in a fight, he almost killed you."
"I've got Angel and Spike."
"Mom….."
"Connor, I'll be fine. Don't worry." Buffy kissed his forehead. "We'll be back soon. If anything goes wrong, we'll call. You guys are safe in here. The sanctuary spell won't give." Connor just nodded. "Faith, lock the doors. We're going down into the sewers."
"You got it, B." Faith said.
Down in the sewers, Buffy and Angel led the way while Willow walked behind them and Spike brought up the rear. They moved carefully, guiding Willow who couldn't see in the dark. They had refused to bring flashlights because it might cause them to get spotted if Nargul's lackeys were down in the sewers waiting.
After nine blocks, they decided it was safe to go up to the street. Angel and Spike helped the women up and then followed. They were in a deserted alley. "Ok, so where are we?"
"About twelve miles from the nearest magick shop." Angel said.
"We're going to walk twelve miles?"
"No."
"Then how are we going to get there?" Spike asked. "The car's back at the Hyperion."
"Just trust me." Angel went over to a large metal door and lifted it. Inside sat the Camaro that Buffy had loved so much from Wolfram and Hart.
"What….. You stole it?" Buffy asked.
"In case of emergencies." Angel said, going over to the wall and pulling out a brick. He took the keys from their hiding spot and replaced the brick. "Everybody hop in." No one moved. "What?"
"It's just…." Willow started.
"What if the Senior Partners have this thing traced like everything else?" Buffy asked. "That would add more trouble to our already long list."
"Do you want to walk twelve miles there and twelve miles back?"
The three looked at each other and then Buffy said, "Shotgun." And they all hopped in.
"They've been gone way too long." Connor said, pacing the lobby. "Somebody should go find them."
"Chill out, Buffy-Jr." Faith said. "They've only been gone an hour."
"And that's too long. Something must've happened. They must have been….."
"Stuck in line for twenty minutes?" Willow asked as they walked up from the basement carrying four bags of witchy stuff.
"Willow decided to shop a little and then we had to wait for the old man to do eight different price checks." Spike said. "Next time, Red? In, grab what we need, out again."
"That would be stealing." Buffy said.
"Not like the store had alarms or anything."
"That you know of. Could've had mystical alarms."
"Huh. Didn't think of that."
"You always were simple minded." Angel said, setting the bags on the counter.
"Any action while we were gone?" Buffy asked.
"You've got a brand new rut in the floor courtesy of the pacing in circles your son has been doing since you left." Xander said.
"Sorry." Connor said. "I was just worried."
"That's good that you worry." Buffy said, patting his arm. "Shows that you care."
"Did you get everything?" Faith asked.
"Yup." Willow started going through the bags. "It'll take me about ten minutes to set everything up and get ready."
"I think we'll be ok." Dawn said. Just then, the lights went out and a green-ish blue crackling light moved over the entire place. "Uh oh."
"This is your fault for saying that." Buffy said to Dawn.
"I guess the sanctuary spell is gone." Willow said.
"Get to work. Go to the bathroom and lock the door." Buffy rushed Willow towards the bathroom. "Just get that spell done. Hurry." Willow ran in with her supplies and locked the door.
"Buffy!" Faith called. The demons and vamps were pouring in from every exit.
"Hold them off." Buffy called. "Don't let them near the stairs."
"What?"
"Just do it."
"Uh…. Ok."
Angel fought next to Buffy. "Good plan."
"What?" Buffy asked, kicking a demon away from the weapons cabinet.
"The stairs."
"Cause that's where we don't want them to go."
"I got ya."
Taking out her scythe, Buffy started hacking away at the demons and vampires. She looked up just in time to see Nargul come strolling in through the garden doors. "This is a nice place you've got yourselves." He said. "I've never seen the inside of it."
"Well, I can promise you it'll be the last thing you see." Buffy said, heading towards him.
"Such promises. I remember our last fight."
"You didn't give me a chance to fight my way." Buffy stabbed a vampire with the wooden end of her scythe and beheaded a demon with the blade.
"I've seen your way."
"Not all of it."
"I can surely tell you that nothing you do can surprise me." Nargul came down the steps and kicked the settee towards Buffy.
The Slayer dodged out of the way and came up next to Illyria. "Do you need help with this one?" Illyria asked as she ripped the head off of a demon.
"Not right now." Buffy said. "If it starts getting bad, I'll let you know."
"Very well." Illyria went back to fighting the demons and vampires around her.
Buffy walked to the middle of the lobby and met Nargul head on. It was a brutal fight. Every now and then she would pull out moves that she hadn't used in a while and it would manage to get her in a few good punches and kicks, but for the most part, he knew her fighting style and was able to block her moves. Once again, he managed to get her into the throat lock and lifted her off the ground. Illyria started to come to Buffy's aid, but Buffy waved her off. With an impressive show of strength, Buffy managed to break Nargul's wrist and he dropped her to the floor with a scream.
"How?" He hissed. "You couldn't before."
"I'm the Slayer, dumb ass." Buffy kicked him in the chin and discovered that it was soft. Nargul gagged and grabbed his throat. "Found your weak spot."
"It will not happen again." Nargul came at her, but something stopped him. "What…." He began to glow. "What's happening?"
"Time for you to go back where you came from."
"It's not possible! You lied to me!" Suddenly, Nargul exploded in a dark light show and then he was gone. The demons and vampires that had followed him started to look worried as the others started to defeat them. A few of them ran, but the others got slaughtered by Buffy's family.
Xander walked up to Buffy. "Nice moves."
"You too." She smiled and hugged him.
"Man, what are we going to do with these bodies?" Faith asked. The dead demons shimmered and disappeared. "I guess that always works."
"You're welcome." Willow said, coming out of the bathroom.
"Good job." Buffy said.
"What'd I miss?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now I could go for a French Toast Slam at Dennys."
"I'm in."
"I'm a manly man. Your French Toast Slam is nothing compared to the Lumberjack Slam." Xander said. "Let's boogy."
"Do manly lumberjack men say 'let's boogy?'" Spike asked.
"This one does."
"What are we waiting for?" Dawn asked.
"Dad to grab some money, cause it's all on him." Connor said.
"Says who?" Angel asked.
"Says all of us." Faith said.
"Ugh! Fine." The others headed out the door and Angel looked at Buffy. "You ok?"
She looked at him for a moment. "Yeah. Nothing a little TLC can't cure."
"I'd like to be the one to provide that TLC if it's ok with you."
She smiled. "I'd like that." He held out his hand and she took it. They walked out the door together and flipped off the lights.