God, could this preacher go on for any longer?
He thought as he glanced around the wide church. His family was sitting on the right side of the church, staring proudly at him in his black tux as he stood there nervously, palms sweating from the heat radiating off the gloved hands of his bride, Anya. Even Uncle Rory looked a little less drunk than usual. He could hear Spike give an annoyed sigh behind him, obviously as impatient as he was to get this thing over with. Cordelia stood behind Anya, picking idly at the small bouquet of flowers she held in her hands. Buffy let out a small sigh as well.
"You may kiss the bride."
Finally!
Xander reached for Anya's veil and lifted it up. He stared in shock at the veiny face of Anyanka as she smirked evilly at him. She snarled and pushed him back. She spun around and grabbed Cordelia, bringing her up front and holding on to her neck. Xander watched in horror as Anyanka twisted Cordy's neck. A sharp snap sounded from her neck and she fell limp.
Xander jerked from his sleep. His sudden movement caused Anya to stir as she rested her head on his shoulder. She moaned a little bit and positioned herself comfortably back on his shoulder. He looked over to his left to see Dawn curled up next to him, her head resting soundly on the arm of the couch. Apparently it was all a dream. They were still in the hospital. He risked a glance to look over at Willow and Tara's beds, careful not to disturb Anya. They were still out of it. He looked at his watch to notice that almost a few hours had passed since Buffy, Angel, and Giles had left. He thought about calling them to check up on things, but figured they were too busy.
He thought back to that strange dream. Cordelia's arrival back in Sunnydale bothered him more than he thought. Sure he was over her now, but what would Anya think? She hadn't said anything to him since she came, but somehow that made it worse.
Xander glanced up at the TV, staring idly at a rerun to Full House, when suddenly the news popped up.
We bring you this special bulletin: A series of bizarre attacks have occurred here in Sunnydale in the past hour. People have reportedly seen only what they can describe as strange beasts attacking local civilians and wrecking havoc on the streets. One young girl by the name of Margaret Figueroa was found dead in The Bronze, one of the several other pronounced dead or badly injured. Each victim was found with either a gaping wound in their throat or abdomen, or long scratches along their bodies…
"Oh God, those poor people." A familiar voice said from behind him.
Xander looked back to see Willow glancing shocked at the television, sitting up in her cot.
"Willow!" Xander said, getting up. Anya sat up and yawned, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Xander ran up to Willow and gave her a strong embrace.
"Um, I love you too Xander, but do you think I could get a little air? The room is spinning."
Xander released her.
"Sorry, just worried about you. How you feeling?"
"Well, like I said, the room is spinning. But I hear these days that the world is supposed to do that. I-I think I'll be okay."
"Will! You're okay!" Dawn said, getting up from the couch and running up to the bed. Anya followed behind, coming up on the other side next to Xander.
"Did you enjoy your nap? Cause I sure as hell enjoyed mine." Anya said. "I was dreaming about hot, steamy sex in the back seat of a movie theater. It was all fun until Xander started turning into a bunny rabbit. I saw a white fluffy tail come right out of his..."
"So! I guess I'll go call Giles and let him know that you're awake." Xander said, interrupting her.
"Where did they all go?" Willow asked.
"They went out to look for a way to stop Laibach." Dawn answered. "They told us to wait here, in case you woke up."
"Did they come up with anything yet?"
"Not that I know of," Xander answered. "No word from any of them yet. Buffy and Angel should probably be out there right now on demon population control. I don't know about Giles. He should be at the Magic Box looking it all up. If he's found anything, he would have called."
"Angel? Angel's here?" she asked.
"Yeah. He showed up right before you passed out when Tara…"
"Tara." Willow said, worriedly.
She stared at Tara's sound body lying in the cot next to her.
Oh sweetie, what did I get you into?
She remembered how Tara began to change during the spell to stop the portal. How her voice became hoarse and powerful, and how she seemed to suck the energy right out of her. She then remembered how sick Tara was after the spell she performed while she was away at the Magic Box, and how eager she seemed to be with doing another after she heard about Laibach. Laibach was in her the whole time. It was a crazy thought, but it was the only one that made since. Tara would have never resolved to magick as her first option, especially after the trouble she went through to prevent Willow from using it. She should've noticed it earlier.
She felt extreme guilt overcome her. Because of her, Tara was taken over. It was because of her stupidity and obsession with spells that allowed Laibach to take over Tara and control everything behind their backs. She allowed Laibach to trick her into actually participating in the spell. Laibach had used her magick to get the portal open. It was because of her people out there were dying. She was responsible for opening it. She had to do something. She wasn't going to sit her all morning and allow all of this to happen. She was going to have to make this all up to Tara, to the group, to the world.
"Xander, get my clothes. We're going to the Magic Box."
"Are you sure you're up to it? You don't look so good, Will. Maybe you should stay here."
"No. Tara is in a coma and the whole world is going to hell because of me. I have to do something."
"But Willow…"
"Remember my resolve face?" she said, pointing to her narrowed lips.
Xander sighed.
"Fine. I'll come with you."
"Then I'm coming too." Dawn said.
"No. Someone needs to stay here and watch over Tara. Anya will stay with you." Willow said.
"What? Why do I have to stay here? Do you know how boring this is?"
She looked over at Xander for backup.
"Anya." He said.
Anya sighed.
"I'll go get more snacks." She said, sulking off to the vending machine.
---
The air around her suddenly fell silent. The sounds of Angel and Spike battling nearby soon became mute, her only concentration on her opponent.
Wherever the hell he is.
Buffy saw a flash of neon orange as the demon suddenly appeared in front of her. She jabbed quickly, barely missing him as he disappeared again. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and she staggered forward. She spun around to see the demon vanish again.
"Hey! That wasn't fair!"
Buffy looked down to notice a slight shift in the grass. She jumped up and kicked at the air in front of her. She was rewarded with the solid feeling of her foot connecting with the demon's flesh. She heard the demon fall backwards and crash into a gravestone. Buffy brought the axe up and swung it in the large depression on the grass. The demon gave an inhuman scream and reappeared. It laid still, the axe buried in its chest.
"I win." Buffy smirked.
The demon leaped on top of him, giving him little time to react. It was a Hanoch. Angel remembered facing a group of them the last time Laibach made a guest appearance. The Hanoch bared its sharp fangs, reaching towards his throat. Angel could hear Spike struggling as another demon had its tentacles wrapped around his throat, attempting to break his neck. Buffy was in front of him fighting off a slimy jello-like demon. Behind the demon's head he could see her fists going through its gooey body.
Angel threw the Hanoch off. The demon landed on its back, struggling to get back up. Angel brought his sword down. The demon rolled out of the way, leaping back up to its feet. Angel drew his sword back up quickly, but wasn't in time as the Hanoch leaped clean off the ground and swung its spiny legs into his chest. Angel flew backwards, hearing a loud squeal as he felt slimy flesh break his fall. He jumped up to see the tentacle demon laying on the ground, the sword stuck in its neck. Green blood gushed from the wound as it flapped on the grass.
"Thanks mate." Spike said as he stood up.
He grabbed Angel's sword off the ground. Green blood was glistening on the blade. He swung the sword in Angel's direction and hit the Hanoch demon as it came running towards them. Its head fell off its body and hit the ground. The body continued advancing for a second, before falling to its knees and laying there lifeless.
Buffy walked up to them, covered head-to-toe in purple gunk.
"I am in dire need of a piping hot shower." She faced Angel. "You okay?"
"Doing fine. I just had to rescue Spike here from that squid monster. Usually I let him handle his own fights, but what can I say, I felt sorry for him." Angel smirked.
"Oh please, you know I had him. The bloody idiot didn't realize I don't need oxygen. I was playing helpless victim for a bit to catch him off guard. I would have had him if Angel wouldn't have interrupted after that solid ass whipping he was receiving over there."
"That's because I got side-tracked enjoying your pale ass getting thrown all over the graveyard!"
"Guys! Can we please move on?" Buffy interrupted. "Remember? Portal open? Nasty things running around and killing locals while a Big Bad is loose on the streets?"
"Fine." They both said.
They walked out of the graveyard, tired. They had been fighting for well over a couple hours and felt they were getting nowhere. They had faced countless demons over that span of time and so far there was no sign of Laibach or Drusilla. Buffy had called earlier to see how Giles was fairing with the research, but no such luck. The best they could do right now was to stay out and try to keep the civilian casualties to a minimum.
"I wonder what's keeping Gunn and Wesley?" Angel said. "They should be out here by now. We need as much help as we can. It would make patrol go a lot faster."
"What's the rush? Can't wait to go back to your L.A. life, with their fancy parties, big cars…and Cordelia?"
Buffy didn't know why she had said that. Seeing Angel and Cordelia that close had been on her mind all night. Of course the two had time to bond over the past couple years fighting back in Los Angeles and all, and that Buffy had moved on as well. But it still bothered her a bit.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I see the way you two have been looking at each other since you got here. What happened down there? Did you win her heart with over two-hundred bucks worth of clothes?"
"That's not fair and you know it! You may have not realized it, Buffy, but Cordelia has changed since the last time you've seen her."
"And you would be the perfect example of that, wouldn't you?" she retorted. Angel sighed.
"Look, Buffy, the relationship between me and Cordy is strictly business. It's not what we had. I love Cordelia, but it could never work out between us."
Buffy suddenly felt guilty.
"But while we're on the subject of relationships, what about you and Spike? He's been following behind you drooling all night."
"You are jealous of Spike?"
"Hey!" Spike yelled from behind them. "How in the bloody hell did I get in all this?"
"There is no way in hell I would be caught dead with him, and you know it."
"Help!" a female voice screamed.
Angel glanced to see a young red-headed girl in jeans and a purple tank top running from a hairy, gorilla-like demon. Angel walked briskly up to the sidewalk, cutting the demon off. He raised his sword and jabbed it into the demon's broad chest. The demon howled and staggered as Angel pulled the blade out. It fell to the concrete, lifeless. The woman stared back at him lovingly.
"Thank you so much! You saved my life!"
Without so much as a retort and leaving the confused woman behind, Angel walked back over to Buffy and Spike.
"I don't see why not." He said, pointing a finger at her. "Apparently you like him enough to let him run around your legs after all the problems he caused a few years ago. If I remember it right, Spike was the one who brought Laibach here the first time." He replied to Buffy.
"You think I'm in love with Buffy!" Spike said, trying to sound offended. "Please, I wouldn't hear of it."
"Umm…thanks." The woman said from behind them. Watching as the three of them continued to argue.
"Yeah right, Spike," Angel continued, completely ignoring her.
Feeling out of place, the woman just walked away quietly.
"I've seen the way you get all mushy around her. 'Of course, Buffy.' 'I'll take this one out for you Buffy.' 'Buffy, look out.'"
"Spike has proven more than once that he is capable of providing help when needed. The only reason why Spike is still alive is because the Initiative made it so he wouldn't survive a fist fight with Mother Teresa and I don't have the heart to dust him."
"Let me take care of that for you then." Angel said as he drew out a stake and advanced on Spike. Buffy pushed him back.
"What the hell is wrong with you!"
"I just don't see why you want to keep Bleach Boy around when you know what he could be capable of. Did you ever think about what he could do to you if that chip stopped working?"
"I think ol' Nancy Boy here can't handle the fact that I finally have something you can't get your mitts on, eh? You left Sunnydale years ago and you can't stand me taking your place. After decades and decades of me following your shadow and getting your scraps, taking everything from me including Dru, it hurts to know that finally I am the head cheese around here. I bet it just burns inside knowing that whenever the Slayer runs into an issue, she'll come to me first."
"Oh please, Spike, you're full of it. The day I see Buffy come running to you all teary-eyed for help is the day my ashes will be blowing in the wind. Even then you don't stand a chance."
"Want to bet on that?"
The two vampires closed in on each other, challenging each other to make the wrong move.
"Guys, let's save blows right now. We got company." Buffy said.
Angel glanced in the direction Buffy was looking. Up ahead were a gang of demons with human bodies and pink, slimy fleshy heads, holding a variety of weapons. Angel saw a few holding bats, kitchen knives, and even one with a golf club.
"Daemites." Spike said quietly.
---
Giles removed his glasses and rubbed at his temples gingerly. His mind was full of worry, clouding up almost any possibility of getting anything done. Laibach was loose, Willow and Tara were in a coma, the portal was open and people were dying, and Buffy and the others were out there for a long time and he hasn't heard anything back. Not that he was all that worried over Buffy. She had proven to him that she could handle almost anything. Plus, Angel was there to help her and Giles had no worry over him as well. Giles suddenly thought of something he didn't think of before.
"Winifred, you came back from a hell dimension, correct? Do you recall anything about inter-dimensional portals from your experience?"
Fred looked up from the book she was looking at. Her eyes squinted, deep in thought.
"Well…there was this one book Wesley said he had used to get to Pylea. But I don't know what he did with it. If he still had it I'm sure he would have sent it down with us in case something like this did happen."
Giles sighed.
"T-thank you, Winifred."
"You can just call me Fred." She said, smiling.
Giles grinned back at her. The girl had an adorable charm to her. She reminded him of how Willow was when they all spent their days at the library in Sunnydale High. She seemed so eager to participate in research, and even offered her own insight from time to time, even though they were still unable to come up with an answer to all this.
Just then, the front door opened. Giles turned to see Willow and Xander standing in the doorway. Willow looked like a wreck. Laibach had apparently taken a lot out of her. Xander, though not as bad, looked a mess as well.
"Hey." She said with a weak smile.
Giles stood up, returning the smile. He was so surprised he didn't know what to say.
"Aw come on, hug already." Xander said.
Giles walked up and gave her a warm hug.
"It's good to see you, Willow."
"I'm good to see." She replied, still grinning.
Fred came over. Giles had almost forgotten about her.
"Oh yes, this is, um, Ms. Winifred Burkle. She arrived here with Angel and Cordelia shortly before you passed out."
"Just call me Fred." Fred replied.
Fred came up and they gave each other a hug.
"It's nice to meet you, Fred." Willow said.
"Nice to meet you too."
"Well, since we got all the X's and O's out of the way, what's next?" Xander asked.
"Well, um, I-I'm not too sure, actually." Giles replied. "Winifred, ah, um, Fred and I have been doing a little research on inter-dimensional portals and such with no luck. Buffy, Angel, and Spike went out to keep the murders down for awhile until we can come up with a stable solution. Cordelia has been suffering from a series of visions of the various dangers that have occurred over the past few hours and it has rendered her in a sort of catatonic state. They seemed to have died down a bit though. She still seems to be bothered in her sleep, but at she doesn't seem to be suffering as badly."
Willow turned to see Cordelia. She was frowning in her sleep. Soft moans escaped her lips as she tossed and turned.
"The gang's all here then." Willow said. "Well, except for Wesley, if you want to count him. What made him decide not to go?"
"Someone needed to keep a watch out for things in the city while Angel is away. If what Angel says is true, he might be on his way right now actually. We certainly could use the help."
"Well, I'm up now. Let's crack these spell books and see what I can come up with."
"Willow, are you sure?" Giles asked, worriedly. "Laibach took a lot out of you and I don't know if you're capable of handling spells at the moment."
"I don't know exactly how much power he took out of me." She said "But I can't just sit here, Giles. All that out there is happening because of me. Because of my addiction to magick, I allowed my girlfriend to be completely violated by that thing, and work behind our backs to lead the world into destruction. I'm not gonna sit here all night and play with my fingers, letting you do all the work with all that on my soul. I'm just not."
Giles sighed.
"Of course."
"Good. I'll check the net for sources."
"I'll keep going through the books. Fred and Xander, you two will assist." Giles said.
"What about Cordelia?" Xander asked.
"What about me." Cordelia said hoarsely, sitting up from the chair.
"How are you feeling?" Giles asked.
"Ask me that after this jackhammer stops pounding in my head." She replied. "At least the visions stopped for now. I should be well enough to do something rather than just lay here. What do you need me to do?"
"You can help us all out with the research. We're looking for a way to close to portal." Giles said.
"Good. I'm in."
"Let's get crackin." Willow said.
The four of them went down to get to business. Giles turned back to Willow.
"Um, Willow, how exactly did you convince the doctors to let you go? Wouldn't they have liked if you stayed for a day or so to run some tests?"
"They um, sorta don't know that I'm gone." She said, playing with her fingers.
Giles stood there for a moment.
"Right." He said, brushing it off.
---
Angel swung his blade towards the nearest Daemite, slicing cleanly through its neck. Blood spilled from its severed neck and it fell to the ground, twitching in agony.
Meanwhile, Buffy was in a tug-of-war match with one that held a wooden shovel. Angel came up from behind it and took out the back of its legs with the hilt of his sword. The Daemite lost its grip on the bat and fell to its knees. Buffy broke the handle of the shovel in half and drove the pointy end into the demon's chest, killing it instantly.
"Why did you stake it?" Angel asked.
Buffy thought for a moment.
"Habit…I guess." She said, throwing the weapon down. "Well, hey, at least it worked." She said cheerfully.
"That it did."
Buffy smiled up at him.
Suddenly, a Daemite appeared from behind her and lifted her off the ground. Buffy swung her head back. She heard a loud crunch as her head connected with its jaw. The demon released its grip and she fell to the ground. She swept her leg out on the ground, knocking the demon over. Angel tossed Buffy her hatchet she had dropped earlier. She swung it down and buried it into the Daemite's chest.
The Daemite swung the giant wrench towards Spike's head. He ducked out of the way, and grabbed hold of it. He kicked his leg out, smashing it into the Daemite's chest. He came back in just as the demon staggered backwards, and swung the wrench into its soft skull.
Spike heard a cocking sound, and turned to see a Daemite holding a shotgun. The demon aimed at him and fired before Spike had time to react. A sharp pain burrowed into his chest. Spike clenched his gut and fell down in agony. Gasping, he looked up in time to see Buffy kick the shotgun out of the demon's hands and bring the barrel down on its head.
"Well, that's all of them." Buffy said. "Now what? Should we check on Giles?"
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." Angel replied. "He's probably worried about what's going on. Plus, I want to check and see if Wesley or Gunn arrived yet."
"Why in the bloody hell do we need another one of your flunkies out here, Angel? We can handle this all on our own." Spike asked, annoyed.
"Don't start, Spike." Angel warned.
"I'm not trying to start anything. But the old Angelus I knew didn't have to depend on a bunch of blood bags all the time when things get a bit rough around the edges."
Angel opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly stopped. He studied the air, his face tense.
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Do you feel that?" he asked quietly.
"I feel it too." Spike said.
A powerful blast suddenly erupted, causing the three of them to fly backwards. A large black shadow-like figure formed where they once stood. The black figure began to take shape, and Laibach stood there, glaring down at them.
Spike jumped up, faced vamped out. He bared his fangs at Laibach and starting moving towards him. Laibach lifted one huge claw hand and made a clenched fist. Spike's neck suddenly jolted and a brutal snap sounded. He fell to his knees.
The splintered bat Buffy had earlier levitated from the ground and flew towards Spike. Spike cried out in pain as the bat drove into his chest, right below his heart.
Angel was already on him. He took his sword and swung it towards Laibach. Laibach grabbed the end of the sword in mid-swing. The hilt of the sword began to feel hot. Angel clenched his teeth, trying to ignore the searing pain and release the weapon from Laibach's grasp. To Angel's surprise, the blade began to melt. Angel let go of the handle just as it began to liquidate. Angel looked down at his burned hands. He looked up to see Laibach's huge fist smash into his face, causing him to fly back.
Laibach spun around and grabbed Buffy's foot, catching her off guard from her sneak attack. He brought her foot further up, causing her to loose her balance and fall to the ground. He smashed his foot into her side. He was rewarded with a pained cry.
He surveyed the damage around him. Both vampires and the Slayer were in bad condition. He thought about finishing them off, knocking them out of the way as to not interfere with his plans.
He felt another presence somewhere in the town. Another threat. He would take care of that first. He was no longer worried about the Slayer and her friends. She would die along with the rest of them once Batal reigned over the world.
Especially with her Watcher and her witch friend out of the picture.
Laibach already knew about Willow waking up. He could feel her. He would take care of her and Giles with no problem. There was another threat to take care of