"Giles, it's Buffy." Xander said, covering the mouthpiece of the phone.
Giles got up and came over to the phone. Xander, Fred, and Willow listened eagerly.
"Buffy?"
"Giles." She replied. She sounded worn out.
"Buffy, is everything alright?"
"Yeah. As all right as someone can be after surviving a collision with a diesel truck. We ran into Laibach. He caught us all off guard. Spike and Angel are okay, but we're all a little dented."
"Do you, um, need assistance?" Giles asked.
"Several hours of massage therapy and a hot Jacuzzi would be great, but we should be okay. We're still waiting for another part of Angel's team to show up. In the meantime, we'll try to stay out. Although I don't know how long we can hold out after our run in with Laibach, I can't rest knowing that people are still dying out here."
"I understand. Well, Wesley should be here shortly."
"Great. Any word on Willow and Tara?"
"Willow is, um, actually here right now. She arrived here with Xander not too long ago. Would you like to speak with her?"
Willow snatched the phone up before Buffy replied.
"Buffy. Hey!"
"Will! How's it hangin'? You doing okay?"
"I'm doing fine. Although a little shaky. I'm looking up a spell to close the portal. I'm not sure if I have enough power to do whatever needs to be done, but I'm not gonna let that stop me."
"I understand, Will. Work your mojo. Me, Angel, and Spike are out here taking care of the demon population. How's Tara?"
"Not good. She's still in the hospital. Anya and Dawn are there now watching over her. Dawn is doing okay."
"Willow, I'm sorry. I..."
"Don't worry, Buffy, we'll get to the bottom of this. All that Tara had to suffer won't be in vain. I mean, hell, we stopped Laibach before, right?"
"Yeah, but this is different. He's much stronger now. I had the luxury of running into him a few minutes ago. He's powerful, Will. I don't think closing the portal is going to do it. We need to find a way to get rid of him for good."
"We'll get right to it. Take care, Buffy."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Willow hung up the phone. She sighed and glanced around the shop. Giles and Xander sat around the table, going through books. Xander was lightly tapping the eraser end of his pencil as he reads through a book titled Portals, Black Holes, and High Speed Traveling: Volume 1. Giles sat across from him, thumbing through the second volume. Fred was at the counter, looking through the internet on Willow's laptop, Cordelia sat besides her, helping out with the search. They had picked it up from Buffy's house after getting out of the hospital. Willow walked up to check on Fred.
"Find anything interesting?" she asked.
"Nope." She sighed. "I've been looking for awhile, and the most I've gotten are a bunch of scams and pop-ups that give the opportunity to win a million dollars in big bright letters."
"We did find one article earlier about this guy that mentioned something about an inter-dimensional portal that showed up in his backyard, but it turns out that he was suffering from an acid trip." Cordelia added.
"Great." Willow sighed.
She told everyone that she didn't want to just sit around and she was doing just that. She wanted to be out there with Buffy and the others, fighting demons and saving people. But without her powers, she was useless.
Willow took a glance outside. Even though it was almost six in the morning, the sky was still pitch black. It seemed like some kind of dark shroud was covering the sky, blocking out the moon and stars. It seemed to block the sun out as well.
Something flashed in the corner of her eye. The light deflected for as second, a shadow.
"Something wrong, Will?" Xander asked.
"Um…nothing. It's probably nothing. I'm just a little paranoid."
With her condition and the stressful situation that they were in, it made sense to her. Still, there was unspeakable evil out there and they should be aware of what might decide to come in. Willow took one more glance and focused back on the computer. A loud crash, like the sound of breaking glass sounded from the basement. Giles signaled to Xander, pulling an imaginary trigger with his fingers.
"Weapons." He whispered.
Xander jumped up from the table and jogged quietly to the training room.
Willow, Fred, and Cordelia ducked behind the counter. Willow opened up a cabinet and took out four stakes. She popped her head back up and tossed one of them to Giles. She split the remaining three between Fred, Cordy, and herself.
The door to the basement busted open. Giles watched from behind a shelf as a huge bald vampire came walking in. He appeared to be at least six feet tall. Three other vampires followed closely behind.
Fred, Cordelia, and Willow waited in silence as footsteps lingered into the shop. Fred estimated at least three or four intruders. She could hear them whispering amongst themselves, but she couldn't make out what they were saying.
The whispering stopped. For a minute there was complete silence. Cordelia sat close to Fred, waiting nervously.
A rough hand suddenly grabbed Fred's wrist and pulled her from behind the counter. A dark-skinned vampire with short hair held her by her arm.
"What do we have here?" he asked, menacingly.
Fred felt a hot tear begin to drop down her eye. She stared pleadingly at the vampire, praying for Giles or Willow to save her.
A loud bang sounded from behind the vampire, and she was dropped to the ground. The vampire fell on top of her, and then suddenly exploded into a cloud of dust as it wore a pained, surprised expression. Fred looked down at her dusty clothes to see that she had her stake pointing up in her hands.
Xander stood in the doorway by where the vampire once stood holding a crossbow. Xander had kicked down the door and apparently saved Fred's life. The vampire was knocked from the impact and landed on Fred's stake.
"Whoops." He said sheepishly.
The vampires charged towards Xander. One of them reached him and smacked the crossbow out of his hand. He grabbed Xander by the throat and picked him up, throwing him on top of the table.
Another vampire charged towards Giles. Giles lifted up a bottle of holy water and threw it into his face. The vampire screamed and scratched at his face as it incinerated. Giles took him out of his misery with a stake to the heart.
Willow snatched Xander's crossbow off the ground and aimed towards the vampire that held Xander against the wall. She fired the bolt straight into the left side of his back, dusting him instantly. Xander fell to the ground, coughing as the dust got into his lungs.
Giles trained his crossbow on the remaining vamp, the lead guy.
"Who sent you?"
The vampire bared his fangs defiantly. He glanced around the shop to see Willow trained on him as well.
"Laibach sent us…to destroy the witch." He said, nodding towards Willow. "But this is all just a diversion. Just wait until…" He suddenly dusted. His sentence trailing off as his dust settled to the ground. Cordelia stood there, holding a stake in her hands.
"Cordelia." Giles said, sighing.
"What? He was here to kill Willow. I was just trying to do you all a favor…sorry."
"That's quite alright." Giles said.
"Yeah, we still love you." Xander said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"So, what do ya'll think the vampire guy means by 'diversion'?" Fred asked.
"I'm not sure." Willow said. "I don't want to think about anything else coming in here after me. Though it is kinda flattering that I'm all important enough to have someone assigned to kill me, still…yeesh."
"J-just hang tight for now, stay on guard." Giles said.
Fred hugged herself for security. The whole idea that something was out there with a hit out on them freaked her out quiet a bit.
She heard a loud creak behind her. A mild breeze brushed past her hair. She spun around to face a pair of glimmering, diamond-shaped eyes. The thing lifted up one clawed hand quickly and smacked her across the face. Fred fell back, bumping her head against the table. She hit the ground, unconscious.
"Fred!" Cordelia yelled as she watched Fred's head hit the table and fall out cold.
There were three of them. They had reptilian-like features, clawed hands in all extremities, and wore dark hooded robes. They moved with ninja-quick speed. One of them rushed up to Giles and smacked the crossbow out of his hand, then smashing its fist into his gut in one fluid motion. Willow fired her crossbow at the one closest to her. The demon smacked the bolt out of midair and leaped in front of her, coming down with a stunning blow that sent Willow to the ground. The demon bent down and grabbed her by the throat. Willow kicked and gagged helplessly as the demon choked the life out of her.
Xander walked up to Cordelia holding a small hatchet. The rept-face that had knocked out Fred came up to face them. Without thinking, Xander swung the hatchet towards its face. The demon spun around, blocking the blow and following it with an uppercut to Xander's chin. Cordelia screamed as his head snapped back. The demon shut her up with a blow to the face which sent her flying back into the counter.
Nava watched as Willow began to pass out. He and his crew were ordered by Laibach to eliminate her, as well as the Watcher, to prevent them from being any kind of threat. He sent Dawson and his crew earlier to catch the group off guard. Once the Slayer's friends were dead, Batal would continue to swallow the world. Laibach promised him control over this whole area if he succeeded.
Willow's eyes rolled back and her head went limp. Nava snickered in glee as her whole body went limp as well. He tightened his grip on her throat, ready to snap her neck, when her head suddenly snapped up. She glared back at him with tar-black eyes which seemed to envelope her entire iris. She began to say a chant in a language he wasn't familiar with. A jolt of electricity surged through him, and he quickly released his grip on her. To his surprise, her body remained aloft. All of the other warriors stopped to gasp as the witch remained floating in the air, chanting some sort of spell. A sphere of glowing red energy materialized around her, encasing her. Everyone began to back away. Willow's head jerked up suddenly towards the ceiling and screamed out the last line of the chant. The sphere suddenly expanded, covering the whole room. All the demons in the room combusted, bursting into ash that flew about the room. The sphere dissipated, and Willow fell to the ground, coughing.
Giles dusted his sweater off, and looked towards Willow's direction. She was laying against the wall, breathing hard. Giles ran up to her, placing a hand on Willow's shoulder.
"Willow, are you okay?"
Willow turned to Giles with a pained smile.
"I'm fine, better than fine. I have my power back, Giles." She said, breathlessly.
"Yes. Well, it seems like you had it all along. I don't think magick is something that you could just have taken away from you, Willow. It's who you are. You have just lost the capability to control it since Laibach drained you."
Xander was helping a groggy Cordelia up, and Fred was limping towards the group, holding her head.
"Is everyone okay?" Willow asked.
"Well, I was about to faint in girlish fear until you helped out, Will." Xander said. "So thank you for keeping my manliness untainted." Willow smiled at him. "Looks like you got the mojo working out now, eh?"
"Yeah, way to go, Carrie. If I knew you were that powerful I would have rethought everything I used to say to you back in high school." Cordelia said.
"You okay?" Xander asked, turning to Cordy.
"Not that my head wasn't already throbbing before I got my lights knocked out. I just need to lie down." She replied.
"Well we can't rest here. More demons might be coming after us. We should go to my place." Giles said.
"What are you gonna do now that you can do magic and stuff?" Fred asked.
"I should go out and kick Laibach's ass." Willow said.
"As tempting as that may be, Willow, you should rest." Giles said. "If you still have your powers, that just increases the possibilities of your ability to do whatever needs to be done to close the portal. You should rest and build your power up."
"Fine." She sighed. "But I'm calling shotgun."
---
The shotgun blast echoed through the dark streets of Sunnydale. The rounds from the blast struck Laibach square in his chest, compacting on impact and falling to the ground, leaving him unharmed. Lilah watched as one of her men whom had fired the gun was pulled towards Laibach by a mere hand gesture. Laibach picked him off the ground and twisted his head. Lilah heard a brutal snap before his body went limp. Laibach tossed the lifeless body into a group of men training their weapons on him, causing them to fall back as their dead comrade landed on them.
From a short distance, Drusilla watched eagerly. After hours of searching, Lilah had finally spotted her. Her men captured her, ready to send her back to Los Angeles and claim the demon inside her. It was already too late before Lilah realized her mistake. Laibach had already taken a few men out, and it appeared that the rest didn't stand a chance against him.
Laibach suddenly vanished. His whole body became transparent, then quickly faded away. The air was quiet save for her own breathing and the confused whispering of the soldiers. A loud scream suddenly sounded. She looked to see Spencer screaming painfully as he covered a hand across his left eye, blood oozing. Another loud scream followed by a gurgle, and Hempstead was on his knees, blood splattering from a gaping wound in his throat.
Soon men all around her began dying. Drusilla began laughing manically, throwing her hands into the sky and twirling about singing as men around her were being eliminated.
"There's a gathering at the square! All the maidens foul and fair, shall be dancing hand in hand, as blood is spilled across the land! We're all invited to the feast, we shall consume both man and beast, and like our presents open wide, their chests and taste the heart inside!" she sang madly.
Lilah ran. She jumped into the nearest jeep and started the ignition, the keys already sitting in there. She sped off, screams still echoing from behind her and the calls of the surviving soldiers. She was fooling herself. There was no way in hell they would be able to subdue Laibach and convince him to join the firm.
That's what they think anyway.
Who was she fooling with that cover story? No demon in his right mind as powerful as Laibach would even consider letting Wolfram & Hart take them over as one of their clients, especially with plans as big as Laibach's. The real reason why Lilah was out here was to actually let Laibach carry out his entire plan and merge Batal with Earth, because she wanted a piece of it. If there was a way she could convince Laibach to let her join him, she could gain ultimate power and own a piece of the world once the merge was complete. It was a risky idea, and a dumb one at that. She let that all go to her head. Years of being pushed around by the Senior Partners driven to the point where she actually thought a stupid plan like that would work.
Lilah gasped as the towering form of Laibach suddenly materialized in front of the road. She swerved the car to the right in a panic. The jeep spun out of control, going off the side of the road and onto the sidewalk. The car slammed into a tree, bringing it to a halt. Lilah's face smashed into the steering wheel.
Every inch of her body hurt, especially her forehead. She silently cursed to herself for not having airbags installed. She rested her head back against the seat. She felt like she was still spinning uncontrollable. The sensation made her sick to her stomach. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the throbbing pain and dizziness. She heard loud footsteps and heavy breathing coming towards the car. She glanced to her side to see Laibach standing in front of her window. He raised a massive hand and punched through it, grabbing her by her hair and pulling her out. She screamed as her scalp burned from the violent tug. Shards of glass cut at her legs as she was pulled right out of the broken window. Laibach tossed her to the ground.
She sat up and faced him.
"It doesn't have to be like this." She said breathlessly. "I want to help you. Those soldiers were just a diversion. I just needed them to convince the Senior Partners to let me go. I can help keep the vampire and the Slayer out of the way, to ensure that your plans go uninterrupted. All I ask for is a little bit of power. Everything else is yours."
"I don't need your help." He replied in a throaty voice. "The Slayer and her friends are not a threat to me. I have no desire to share any of this with anyone. You're just in the way. It was foolish of you to come out here. Your life will be wasted just as easily as those who inhabit this town and are unwary to there destruction."
"Oh. Looks like I missed out in all the fun. Mind if I join?" a soft voice said.
Lilah turned to see Drusilla walking towards them. She glanced at Lilah. A wide grin planted on her face and she spun towards Laibach.
"Can I have her? Can I?" she asked. "You got to play with all the other pets, leaving me behind with only a young whimpering one. I didn't like 'im. He made my tongue taste all bitter."
"Very well, then." Laibach replied.
With the woman's current condition, it wouldn't be as fun anymore. He had other stuff to worry about. Laibach disappeared. His features became a black shadow, which carried itself off into the wind.
Drusilla grinned.
"I remember you. You're the mean lady from the place with all those funny little people in black suits. I had a great time at the gathering. All those delicious treats."
"Stay away from me, you crazy bitch!" Lilah spat.
Drusilla pouted.
"No fun when they don't scream." She whined.
Her lips suddenly tightened. She glared at her with piercing eyes.
"Why don't you ask mommy to let you have one last supper with the family before mommy makes you bleed until you see all sorts of pretty lights."
She began swaying back and forth madly, as her demonic features began to form.
"Twinkling lights while you dance to the music that comes bursting through your throat."
"Enough with the freak show, already." An approaching figure said.
The newcomer kicked out at Drusilla, hitting her in the stomach and causing her to fall to the pavement.
Lilah glanced at the woman in recognition.
"I've seen some freaky stuff between some girls where I've been, but this takes the cake."
Faith.