Chapter 12

"Okay, what the hell was she?" Dawn asked as everyone looked ahead in silence.

"Guys, we've got to stop her."

"Dawns' right." Everyone looked at Giles as soon as he spoke; everyone had always looked to him for advice or for a plan on the latest big bad. It seemed the latest one was Buffy.

"So, what's the plan, G-man?" Xander asked trying to calm the atmosphere.

"Well, I think the first ting we need to do is find Buffy and get her back."

"Shouldn't the first thing we do be finding out what demon she is? I mean she could be dangerous."

"Yeah, Anya's right." Dawn offered Giles and stood up in search of the books.

Everyone left the living room and got to work on reading books.

Once again the living room felt quiet and lonely. The only thing in the living room besides the furniture was the body of Willow Rosenberg. The body added to the dark depressing feeling of the room. It had been abandoned for days with everything that had gone on.

Xander and the man who wanted to give himself up to save Willow, stood in the alley outside the living room. Both men stared at the body.

"Still can't believe this has happened you know."

Xander broke the silence.

"Yeah, know what you mean."

"Where you bin living anyway?"

"Bin travailing in the van mostly."

"S'not bin the same without you man."

"Yeah, well I had to leave. For Willow. Was the only way for her to move on."

"Yeah, you miss her?"

"Hell yeah."

"You can go see her if you like." Tara came up from behind the two men and motioned towards Willow's body.

The second man walked up to the body and knelt beside the sofa.

He lifted up the sheet and stroked back Willow's hair.

Tears rolled down his face, and the man wiped back the salty tears and held Willow in his arms. Even thought she was dead she was more beautiful than ever and still smelt like the same Willow.

The same Willow he had fallen in love with in high school. Him, Daniel Osborne loved miss Willow Rosenberg and, after all this time, still did.

"Come on just give me a chance." Spike argued with the demon in the cave. He had gone all the way to South Africa to get a soul and the demon still refused to give him a chance.

"It is a long and gruelling test Spike. Anyway I don't think your half the demon you used to be. Heard the slayer got in the way."

"Don't talk about Buffy like that 'cause I swear…"

"I see your using first names with her. You must love her an awful lot to get a soul for her."

"Not doing this for her am I? I'm just proving to her that I'm a man."

"But your not, you're a monster Spike. The greatest one that ever lived since Angelus. Why waste it?"

"Just give me a chance ok?"

"Fine. There are several levels, each get harder. If you win you will be rewarded with a soul."

"Ah." Everyone awoke as Giles paced up and down reading a book.

"Giles said ah. You found something?" Xander was the first to stand up and address Giles who had stopped pacing by now.

"She's a Punisher warrior. They punish the bad by making them suffer for what they've done."

"Well that doesn't sound too bad, right?" A sleepy Dawn asked waking up.

"Oh."

"Giles said oh." Said Xander.

"It's not good. They even punish human beings."

"Okay so maybe we need to figure out what made her into one of these" Oz suggested coming from the living room into the kitchen where everyone had been sleeping.

"Oz's right, if we can figure out why she turned into one of these maybe we can turn her back." Xander was now staring at Giles to go on reading the book he had in his hands.

"Erm, okay. A person can become one of these warriors by suppressing their inner self's."

"What does that mean?"

"Let me help you on that." Suddenly Mayor Richard Wilkins the 3rd shimmered into the Summers residents and made everyone jump out of their skin.

"What are you doing here?" Xander slyly picked up a knife and put down his sleeve so no one would notice. He didn't trust the mayor still.

"It's okay, you can put that knife down son."

Xander looked shocked, he thought no one had seen him. He dropped the knife back down onto the kitchen table.

"It's okay, I'm not here to hurt anyone. I have some useful information which may help you bring Buffy back."

Everyone listened in as the Mayor explained about the dream Buffy had. He told them that Buffy had been running away from herself and the only way to bring her back was to break her down.

"Spike's gone?" Buffy and Xander sat in the kitchen making tea. It was two in the morning and neither of them could sleep.

"Yeah. He's gone," Buffy stirred the tea and forced herself to look her friend in the eye. Buffy fell into Xander's arms and cried.

"Buffy, you love him don't you?"

"Don't tell please."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Xander held Buffy in a tight embrace until Buffy changed once again.

She dug her nails into Xander's back, until he was on the floor crying out in pain. Well he thought he was crying but no sound came out, he was screaming in his own mind and the sounds defend him.

It defend him so much that he woke himself up from his nightmare.

"You okay?" Anya asked looking down at Xander. She had been awake all night staring at him and watching him sleep.

"Yeah. Just can't wait till this is all over y'know?"

"Yeah. Me too. You should go back to sleep. Got a big day tomorrow."

"Yeah. Goodnight." Xander shut his eyes and went back to sleep in the arms of Anya.

"I love you." Anya said before turning out the lamp and going to sleep herself.

"It's done." The demon in the dark dank cave said as he waved his hand on Spike's chest. His hand glowered leaving Spike in immense pain.

It was now over; Spike had earned himself a soul. For Buffy.

However Spike didn't know what he had let himself in for and what Sunnydale had got like since he had gone……