Sunnydale
Summer's residence
Tuesday night
"Ok, since you're our guests, do you have any problems this 'super fighting force' we seem to have going on here, anything we can help you with?" Buffy asked the Halliwells. Angel instinctively checked to make sure the blinds were closed; he could smell the fastly approaching dawn. He noticed Spike doing the same.
"Buffy, we really need to work on this here, not worrying about what's going on in other parts of California!" Riley interrupted.
"Well, we aren't," she snapped at him, feeling the pressure of everyone being there, "I told you to wait. They were here before you. So you can suck it up, shut up, and wait!" Buffy said through gritted teeth, her patience tested and tried. This is even more uncomfortable than I thought it would be!
"Well, nothing really big, compared to your situations, just excess demons galore," Paige said for her sisters.
"It's the First. Normally they would conjugate here, but the First has them running away like…sissies, for lack of better term," Giles said, rubbing his eyes.
"Nicely put, Giles. Ok, so we've solved that problem, once we stop the First, everything should go back to normal. Angel, what up in L.A.?"
"Apocalypse. A demon we've been calling the Beast for lack of a better name. He's brought eternal night, blocking out the sun. Rain of Fire, all that good stuff."
"Free for all feeding frenzy." Buffy summed it up, nodding. "Giles, Wesley, research. Wes, I know that you've done research, but Giles has more books and references than you."
"All of the pages about this demon were ripped out in this dimension." Wesley told her.
"Ok, then, Anya, I know you not a demon, but you have connections. It's almost morning," she sighed, "Great," she said sarcastically. "Spike, Anya, you go do I don't know what, but see if anybody has other references, from different dimensions."
"I know someone who would have what we're looking for," Anya stated. "It's gonna cost me, though. Big time, if you know what I'm saying," Anya crossed her arms over her breasts, not looking happy.
"Spike, Anya, take weapons, we don't know what's out there. Be careful, this is no longer the world it was in September."
"Don't have to tell us that," Spike said, "We can feel it, remember?"
"Just go. Will, can you think up anything that might help us?"
"Buffy, the Beast is strong. He took everything we gave him, and was ready for more," Angel said, worried, unsure how this was going to help.
"Let's see what he'll do with a platoon of trained soldiers fighting him," Riley said, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning against the doorframe.
"He wiped out Wolfram and Hart! That company, and more than a few of its employees have been around since the dawn of time," Wesley said, "A platoon, no matter how well prepared it might be, will be no more irritancy than a fly."
"Will, we're gonna need magic. I know you're squeamish about it still, but you have to face your fears! We all do," Buffy said quietly, turning to put a hand on her best friend's knee. Willow and the Charmed Ones had taken the couch, Dawn was in the arm chair, Leo was by Piper's shoulder, Spike and Xander were on either side of the mantle, Angel was standing behind Dawn, Giles and Wesley were standing close to the door, and Riley was actually in the doorway. And Andrew was peeking around the doorframe, pretending to be invisible. She sighed, she herself sitting on the coffee table, how were they all going to be able to work together to defeat this thing?
"Buffy, what do you want me to do?" Angel asked, concerned for her safety.
"Training. The girls have been fighting Spike for a while, but you're a whole other story. So your with me." She looked at the Charmed ones, "I don't really know you, but you're witches, right? You can help Willow."
"What do I do!" Riley asked, standing up.
"Go back where you came from. This is too big for humans," Angel growled.
"No. Most of these people are humans!"
"I can't have your men's deaths on my conscious. Leave," Buffy said, her tone deadly, "Please," she added as an afterthought, irritated that she had to plead with him.
"No."
"Fine, just stay out of our way," Buffy said, blowing him off, going to the trunk behind the chair, "Patrol, or something! There's nothing around, but hey, you might get lucky. Does everybody have something to do? Ok, good. We're done here. Dawn, get the girls."
"What about us?" Xander asked, for him and Cordy.
"Research"
"Oo! Goodie!" Cordelia said sarcastically, "Research! Can I? Please, please, please?"
"What about me?" Andrew asked.
"Same, research."
"Really now, Buffy, we don't need his help."
"Giles, I'm sorry, but get over it. This is bigger than all of us! We have to either work together, or die. And many of us will die, but so that others can go on living, so that others can miss them!"
"Fine." Someone rang the doorbell. "GET THAT THING UNHOOKED!" Buffy yelled.
"Hey, B, what's new?" said the newest arrival, letting herself in.
"Faith? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked, astonished. Last thing she knew, Faith was in jail, for a very long time. "How'd you get out?"
"They, well, they looked the other way, while I escaped. I knew that they wouldn't worry too much, because they seem to know about the slayer bit. Besides that, I was really good. I've been training, though. I swear I've changed, B, and I won't do anything wrong."
"I hope not too much. We're going to need you in the fight, we'll need you big time."
"Wait? What? They just let a psycho murderer, who they know has super powers escape?" Xander spoke up, for the first time.
"Hey, I figure that if the world ends, then they won't have to worry about it, now, will they? And I told them that. They were willing to look the other way. But, hey, they had to put up some sort of a fight, right?"
"Faith, I'd like you to meet the slayers-to-be," Buffy said, noticing Dawn and the others in the doorway. "Girls, this is the other slayer."
"How can that be!" Kennedy asked in disbelief, and shock.
"They obviously haven't been in Sunnydale that long if they think this is odd," Faith cracked. She entered the living room and saw all the faces and grinned. It was good to be home.
"Hey, Wes, you're looking good! How's life treatin' ya?"
"Are you saying that until Faith dies, none of us will be called?" Rona asked.
"Something we overlooked," Buffy said, mentally kicking herself, hard.
"Hey, so what we doing? Maybe a little demon ass kicking?" Faith asked.
"Faith, the demon's have all left town, for the most part. They were afraid to stick around. And I'm still wondering why I'm still here," Xander explained.
"Then I'm in the right place. We're the things that make the evil run scared, right, B?"
"Faith, you're with us. Girls, meet Angel, he'll be taking Spike's place tonight."
"Vampire?"
"Yes, I wouldn't let you hurt a human. But for now," Buffy looked out the window, "I want you to continue training," Buffy said, and they nodded.
"Leo, are you sure that we can help? We're not going to get into trouble for personal gain, are we? Helping another witch?" Paige asked after the meeting had broken up.
"Positive. You are helping to save the world, helping to save over 6 billion innocents."
"You're right. But then why do I feel so strange about this?"
"Maybe because Willow has more power than all of us put together, even if she won't use it all?" Phoebe pointed out.
"Yeah, that might be it," Paige said with an awkward laugh. They were all lagging on the stairs, but they now caught up to Will; she was unlocking a door. The door was kept locked, with only her, Buffy, and Giles with keys.
"Willow, is Buffy normally so bossy?" Paige asked, getting a glare from her sisters.
"Not normally, only when it's time to get down to business. She was like this right before Graduation," Willow hoped that explained everything.
"Ok, I know it's a bit cramped, but it will have to do. This is everything we saved from the Magic Box, a magic store that Anya and Giles owned, before I destroyed it. Those," she pointed to the highest shelf "are books with very powerful spells. I wasn't allowed around them for a long time, when they were in the store. They're pretty much back to normal…these contain lesser magic, and these books contain beginner magic," she said, pointing to each set of books in turn. "All the herbs, even the most obscure herbs are here," she pointed to one wall that had many spice racks hanging from it. "Here are candles, all colors, all lengths, smokeless, extra smoky, scented, unscented, extra long wicks, tapered, anything you'd ever need." She walked over to an armoire of sorts, and opened it. "Here, we keep the stranger ingredients, chicken feet, frog's eyes, you name it." She closed it up again. "I think we should start with the high power books. I don't know exactly if we'll find anything, but it's worth a try."
"How about searching The Book of shadows first?" Leo asked.
"We don't have a Book of Shadows, mine got burned when the witch burning was going on, and I destroyed the beginner ones when I destroyed the magic box. We haven't gotten a chance to get a new one," Willow explained, sheepish.
"We have one, though," Piper said, taking it out of the backpack Phoebe was carrying.
"Oh, sorry."
They looked through the book, but without knowing exactly what type of demon he was, they couldn't find anything to use on the Beast.
"This is hard! If we were in the manor, Grams could help."
"Why?" Willow wondered.
"Grams, our grandmother, died before we got out powers back. She sometimes helps us by pointing us in the right direction," Phoebe explained.
"Well, I didn't see anything that would work on the First, either. Sorry, Willow."
"Wait, wait, wait! I just thought of something!" Willow ran out of the room, looking for Giles.
"Willow, what is it!" Giles asked, once she had found him. The others were hot on her trail.
Willow talked a mile a minute, but she finally got her idea out. Giles was skeptical, but Willow was certain it would work.
"Willow, this could be a last resort, but I'm not sure if it will work, and I don't want Buffy to be put in danger, if this might not work. We don't even know how to kill this demon!" Giles told her sternly, his tone daring her to argue with him.
Willow nodded, going to her room, grabbing some of her personal books, and bringing them down to the living room-which was actually empty- with a pen and pad of paper.
"Willow, what spell were you talking about?" Paige asked, always inquisitive.
Willow explained it quickly, flipping through one of the books.
"Well, I'm game to try," Paige said.
"Yeah, we are too."
"Thanks, guys, but Giles pretty much has the last say around here, I don't think we'll get to do it."
"I thought Buffy had last word?" Paige argued.
"She does, but Giles has power over her. If he doesn't want to do it, the spell might not work!"
"Buffy couldn't talk him into it?"
"She could try, but he's British, he's stubborn. The last time he was dead set on anything like this, the only way Buffy won was when she knocked him out!"
"We don't want that to happen. If she actually fights demons and vamps, then she has to be strong," Paige said.
"Stronger than you can imagine! She's stronger now than she was when she started, at age 15, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually too! Just a few weeks ago, she had to fight an Ubervampire, the Neanderthal of bloodsuckers, of sorts. After taking a beating, which was sorta planned, to get the girl's attention and support, she took some wire, and cut his head off, by wrapping it around his neck, and pulling! She then said something witty, like she always does, 'Dust, just like the rest of them.' We, well, they, meaning the slayers-to-be, didn't think that he could be killed, Buffy staked him once before, but it didn't really work."
"Okay…" Paige said, lost, but trying to look interested.
"Yeah, but it does come with a price. One girl, Chloe committed suicide, and well, Buffy blew up at everybody. She hated it that she was so strong, and she had to use it digging graves. She had every right to be mad, at all of us! I wasn't using my magic to my full potential, Spike was being all mopey. The girls, well, they're just girls still, they don't have any powers at all! Well, not yet. They're trying their hardest, but they just can't compete with her, because she has the powers, and they don't. And she can be a real bitch when she wants to be."
"So, who's Riley?" Phoebe asked, getting some vibes from him during the meeting.
"Long story. Cliffnotes version, Buffy met him at college. He's a military guy, taken from special ops, to the Initiative, where they hunt and research demons. They dated for awhile, he found out about her being the slayer, and then Dracula tricked her, drank from her. Riley wanted to know why she let him bite her, wanted to know what she felt. Buffy found him in a nest; he was being paid to feed them. They had a fight, he rejoined the military, she tried to stop him, but she was too late. He came back about ten months after he left, found out about her escapades with Spike, and she found out he was married. Besides Angel, he was the only human she ever loved. I'm not sure if Angel counts, he's not human, anymore."
"Poor Buffy. She definitely has the wrong choice in dates," Paige said
"Yeah, but we've all had our problems. The hellmouth and love just don't mix."
"Magic and love don't mix," Phoebe correctly, "Cole…well, we dated, and we married and I was going to have his child. I didn't know about who he really was."
"And I've dated a few warlocks, and demons," Piper said, proving the point, "As well as a whitelighter. That kinda turned out okay," she said, smiling, and kissing Leo.
"Yeah. So what are we going to do know?" Paige asked.
"Well, modify the spell, so it will be ready when we bring it up, so it won't be as big a hassle. Though, it packs a wallop. And we had strange dreams afterwards. Though that might have been something totally different."
"It's a risk we'll have to take, Willow. What was the spell originally?"
"I'm not totally sure, I'll have to think about it. I can't remember if we got it in a book, or if we wrote it," Willow, aggravated with herself, told the little group. She then looked at the clock, and noted the time. It was late. Well, late for not really having slept. "I think that you should go on up to bed. Well, we have bed's for you, but they're pretty cramped. We have the girl's in two rooms, instead of three, and gave you guys the now vacant room. I know it's gonna be crowded, but I'm really sorry. I don't know what we're going to do with Wesley, Angel, Cordy, Riley, and Faith! We're already booked up!"
"We could leave, and come back," Piper said, unexpectedly.
"NO! It took us a good part of a day to get here, you guys can't leave!" Willow exclaimed, horrified of what Buffy would think if she knew she had let them leave.
"Will, we can orb out tonight, and come back. It's won't be any trouble. I normally sleep better in my own bed anyway," Paige said, and Phoebe elbowed her in the ribs, she was being rude.
"Then why did we drive here?" Will asked, confused.
"Because with all of us, it would have taken a few trips, and I'm not sure if it would work for vampires. Leo, do you have any idea?"
"I've never orbed a vampire before. Piper can freeze a vampire, Prue would have been able to throw a vampire across the room, but I seriously don't know. I've never been in a situation like this."
"I don't mean to be rude, but why do you keep asking Leo's opinion? He's the same age as you, right?" Willow asked.
"No, The age I look now, is the age that I died at, in WWII. I know more about their powers then they do, because, well, it's my job to protect them, and it helps to protect if I know what their powers can do."
"Sorta like Giles! He knows more about Buff's slayer powers because he was trained to know what they are, and about demons too."
"Going back to the spell, do you think you wrote it down anywhere, like a diary?" Piper asked.
"OH! Yes! I did keep a diary back then! One sec!" Willow rushed out of the room, and quickly came back, holding a little pink fuzzy book in her hands. "If you think this is bad, you should have seen some of the clothes I wore," she laughed, holding up the book. She sat down on the floor. "Let me see now…" she flipped through the pages of the book, and Piper, Phoebe and Paige could see the delicate, loopy script written in purple ink. She stopped every so often to read what she had written in her younger years. Eventually, she stopped at a page almost at the end of the diary. "Here it is!" she said, and continued to read that entry out loud.
"So that's how we did it! Ok, so If we change it…." Willlow said, ripping out a blank page, and started scribbling.
After about fifteen minutes of sitting and watching, Paige asked "Willow, can you let us in on this, we're here to help!"
"Oh, sorry! I was thinking that if we split up into a few different groups of four, have four 'champions', or fighters, and then do the spell that way, we could have a super fighting force." Willow bubbled.
"Yeah, but Will, who will the four be? The spell seems to be geared towards slayers, and there are only two."
"Oh, Angel and Spike should work nicely!"
"But can you call upon the first slayer to inhabit a vampire?" Leo asked.
"Oh," Willow said. "I didn't think of that! What if it was the first vampire?"
"Would it disrupt their souls?"
"I don't know…"