Chapter 32: The Curse

Arcadia Oaks, January 28th, 2017

"Claire?" James Lake Jr asked, staring at her floating form. Why were her eyes glowing purple? And since when could she fly? And cast spells that knocked down hell-goddesses?

"That's not Claire! She's been possessed!" Buffy snapped next to him.

"Possessed?" Jim blinked. How could…? Oh, no! "Morgana," he whispered. Merlin had been right!

"Yes!" Claire's face twisted into an evil smile. "The little witch who stole my staff resisted for a long time, but this battle finally weakened her so much, I could take over!" She cocked her head to the side. "I would thank Glorificus for this - if that upstart hadn't tried to destroy the world."

"No one but you gets to destroy the world, huh?" Buffy yelled.

"Exactly! The world is mine to rule - or to destroy!"

She was still wearing Merlin's armour, Jim realised. And Merlin had placed a spell in the suit for this exact event! But where was he? He glanced back at the building where the others were.

"You first have to conquer it!" Buffy retorted. "And that's harder than you think! The world's changed a lot since your time! We're not living in caves any more!"

"You think I am as ignorant as Merlin was?" The witch threw her head back and laughed. "I've been watching this new world through my vessel's eyes ever since she picked up my staff!" Once more, she bared her teeth in a very unlike-Claire smile. "Why do you think I let her keep my staff, anyway?"

She had seen everything? Even when Claire and Jim had…? Jim felt sick. Then he felt rage. "You didn't let her keep the staff!" He shouted. "She won it!"

The witch scoffed in return. "A child barely out of the crib, with my staff? You wish!"

Where was Merlin? Why wasn't he using his prepared spell to take down Cl… take down Morgana? Jim glanced around.

"Looking for your precious Merlin?" Morgana cackled. "You'll be disappointed!"

What? What had she done?

"Did you think I would expose myself like this if there was the slightest chance that he could stop me? I'm finally free again!"

"You're not free! You're just possessing Claire's body!" Buffy yelled. "And we'll exorcise you!"

"Really? You and your scythe?" Morgana laughed, and, for a moment, she sounded like Claire. Then she sneered at Jim. "Or will you behead your precious girlfriend?" She scoffed. "Not that it matters. You did well in helping me get rid of Glorificus, but with that threat gone, your and your friends' usefulness has expired. It's time to tie up the loose ends."

No! Jim clenched his teeth and gripped Eclipse. Morgana was floating about ten yards above them - even if his leg hadn't been hurt, that would have been a stretch to jump.

"I'll distract her - you go and… check on the others," Buffy whispered.

"I'm not leaving you!" Jim snapped back.

Above them, Morgana pointed the staff at them. Its tip started to glow.

"Get ready to dodge!" Buffy hissed.

Dodge? With his wounded leg? Jim got ready to list his shield and block whatever was coming at them. "Get behind me!" he snapped.

Morgana laughed. "Any last words for your girlfriend? She can see and hear everything I do, you know!"

You monster! "Claire! We will save you! Don't give up!" Jim drew a short breath. "I love you!"

"How touching. Goodbye!"

The glow intensified. Jim stared at it, trying to guess the best moment to block the spell.

Then Morgan's arm jerked, and the staff swerved, a purple bolt smashed into the already damaged building nearby. A moment later, it blew up, sending broken bits of concrete and wood flying across the street while smoke billowed up.

Jim didn't care. He was staring at Morgana. What had…? Claire!

"Oh, you peasant!" Morgana snarled. "How dare you!"

Claire was fighting her!

"Push her out!" Buffy yelled. "You can do it! You're stronger than her! It's your body!"

"No, you can't!" Morgana shook her head - but she was trembling, Jim saw. And she was bobbing up and down in the air. "This body is now mine! I won it! I own it!" She jerked her arm downwards, pointing the staff at Jim and Buffy again. Then she opened her hand, sending the staff falling. "No!"

Jim started to move, but the staff stopped falling, then returned into Morgana's hand. "You!" she spat. "I will not…"

A rock hit her in the head, glancing off her helmet. Jim gasped - Buffy!

She was already picking up another rock. "Catch her when she falls!" she yelled.

Was she crazy? But Jim was moving, limping ahead, towards the spot directly below Morgana - below Claire!

"Enough!" A portal appeared in front of Morgana, swallowing Buffy's next rock. Then it disappeared.

And Morgana - Claire! - was gone.

No! No! "No!" Jim stared up at the empty sky. Claire was gone. Possessed by Morgana.

He fell to his knees despite the pain in his leg.

Claire was gone. He hadn't been able to protect her.

He had failed.


"She could be anywhere!" Buffy Summers whirled, then hissed at the pain in her leg. Damn Glory! "Stay on your guard!" If the possessed Claire returned...

"She's gone," Jim muttered. He was still on his knees.

"Get up! She could attack us at any moment!"

He shook his head. "Claire was fighting her. She won't fight us like that."

That was a good point. And Jim knew Claire best. Still… "Then we need to use this time to get away." Buffy gasped. "The others! What did she do to our friends?"

"Blinky!" Jim got up, groaning. "Toby!"

"Jimbo?"

Buffy turned. There was Toby, staggering towards them from where Claire's portal - or Morgana's - had deposited him. Well, he was alive. And...

Her eyes widened. "Spike!" He had disappeared into that smashed building, Flung into it by Glory's blow. And he hadn't come back!

She was off across the street - well, limping, not dashing. Damn Glory!

The entrance was completely smashed - she used the scythe to clear some broken glass - covered in blood, ew! - and entered the building. "Spike?"

"Slayer?"

So, he was still alive. Or not dead-dead. undusted. Whatever. But he sounded pretty…

She entered the backroom, through another smashed door, and winced.

Spike was hanging on the wall across from her - literally. Impaled on what had been some piece of modern art. Or a mangled metal chair. Two pieces of metal were sticking out of his chest, and another had pierced his right arm.

He coughed, trying to laugh. "Fortunately, it wasn't wood." He snarled. "But I don't have any leverage."

She shook her head - ow! - and approached him. "This will hurt," she said.

"I can take it."

She knew that. She put the scythe down, grabbed him under the armpits and pulled.

Her own hiss of pain was drowned out by Spike's scream. "Careful!"

She scoffed in return. "We need to move," she told him. "Glory's dead, but Morgana possessed Claire and wants us gone. Claire's fighting her, but…"

"Yeah, let's go." Spike coughed some blood, but he was a vampire - he'd be fine. Eventually.

She dragged him towards the door. "Also, Ben the intern was Glory's host."

"Fuck!"

"We'll beat her," she told him.

"Not that. My coat's ruined!"

Buffy couldn't help it - she laughed at that as she dragged Spike out into the street.

Toby and Jim turned towards them, and she saw both wince. Toby wasn't bleeding, from what she could tell, but he could've internal bleeding. Nothing they could do about right now.

"Where are the others?" Toby asked. "Did Morgana…?"

Jim didn't look like he wanted to answer that. Buffy scoffed. "She probably did a number on our friends. We need to check on them." She started towards the building where their friends had been hiding.

"You mean… she killed them?" Toby asked with a gasp.

"She didn't kill us," Jim said. "Claire didn't let her. She's still fighting the witch. So…" He looked at the roof.

"She might have left them alive in case she needed their help against Glory," Buffy said. But that was a slim hope. On the other hand… Jim was correct; Claire would have tried to stop her. So, maybe...

Buffy steeled herself when they entered the building. And stopped. The stairs had been blown away - right, that had been the trap for Glory. "Xander overdid it," she muttered. "And we need to get up there."

But with her leg, she would have a bad time climbing. And the others weren't in any better state. "Let's push the furniture together and make some stairs," Buffy said.

Moving the parts that weren't broken too much was painful, but they managed, and a few minutes later, Buffy was climbing up the stairs. She hesitated on the next floor - what if Xander had booby-trapped those stairs as well?

Damn it. She couldn't see any bombs, though, or any tripwire, so she moved upstairs.

As she feared, Morgana had done a number on her friends. Xander was crumbled against the chimney in the corner. Tara and Willow were slumped over each other. And Blinky was on the floor, snoring. They didn't look hurt, at least. Probably some sleep spell or curse. But Merlin… Merlin was lying in a pool of his own blood.

Obviously, Morgana hadn't wanted to keep him alive. Damn.

A cough made her gasp. Merlin was still alive?

"I am not as easy to kill as you or my former apprentice might believe," Merlin groaned. Had she said that out loud? "I was prepared for her - just not prepared enough, as it turned out. She neutralised my traps." He coughed, blood dripping from his lips. "But my spells deflected most of her curse. Yet, I need to sleep again. For a long while, before it's too late."

"Oh." Did they have to go back to England? They would need the Gyre again, then. But…

"No!" She shook her head.

"What is it?" Jim called from below.

"They're alive, but Merlin needs to magic-sleep soon. And… Without Claire's staff, we can't reach the others in the Shadow Realm!"

Mom, Dawn, the rest of the families… They were stranded in that dimension.

And Morgana could reach them!


James Lake Jr gasped. Their families - Mom! - were trapped in the Shadow Realm! They couldn't get out, not without Claire. Who was currently possessed by Morgana. "We have to save them!"

"Nana!" Toby whispered.

"First, we need to save our friends here!" Buffy yelled down. "I can't wake up Willow and the others." After a moment, Jim heard her add: "No, I can't break a magical spell. Unless a kiss works. Thought so."

Merlin had to be really hurt if he couldn't make himself heard two floors down. But Buffy was right - they had to move the others. And leave town before Morgana might return. And they needed a doctor to examine and treat them - what if Toby had more internal injuries? And Merlin needed help!

What could they do? Jim blinked. "We need a car. A truck or a van."

"Yes," Toby agreed. "Buffy can drive. And we can… Uh. We need to get to a hospital."

"The Slayer can't drive," Spike protested.

"I heard that, Spike! I so can drive! Come on, Willow, don't just hang there! Wake up!"

Jim looked around. The cars in the street had suffered during the fighting. And… "Do you know how to hotwire a car?" he asked.

"I can do it," Spike said. "Well, if you find a decent car, not one of those driving computers."

"I thought vampires were supposed to live in the past," Toby said. "Or un-live in the past."

"I'm not a wanker like Dracula who still thinks it's the 19th century! Do I dress like a dandy?"

Jim had no idea what a dandy was, much less how they dressed. But the vampire dressed more like a punk. Although he didn't have a mohawk hairstyle. It didn't matter - they needed a car. "Let's look for a…" Jim trailed off. That was the sound of an engine. A loud engine that… sounded familiar. Oh.

"The Army's coming!" Buffy yelled down. "And someone help me lower Willow down! Jim, grab her!"

Jim limped to the rackety stairs they had constructed. Buffy was balancing on one leg on top of them and held out Willow towards him. "I'll fetch the others!"

Jim managed to hold onto Willow and carry her - with Toby's help - outside. She was completely out of it; she was breathing regularly but deep asleep. Not even being jostled and almost dropped fazed her.

And before he could return inside to get Tara or Xander, three Humvees drove around the corner, soldiers manning the machine gun mounted on top of each car.

"You're late!" Buffy yelled from the roof.

The Officer - Major Ellis - who climbed out of the lead car didn't like that. He frowned as he looked around, an assault rifle in his hands. "What happened?"

"We killed Glory. But she killed Riley's unit before we could get her," Buffy explained from above. "That's the beheaded corpse of her human host."

Jim pointed at Ben the intern's remains as another Humvee drove past, taking up a position at the crossing.

"So, it's over?" one of the soldiers in the Humvee with the Major asked.

"Nope!" Buffy yelled. "Help me get the wounded down, will you?"

"Smith, Brown - help the Slayer," the Major ordered. "Anyone else hurt?"

Jim almost snorted. Was the Major missing how Jim and Toby looked? Or ignoring it for some reason?

"I'll be fine with a pint or two of blood," Spike mumbled from the floor.

A soldier aimed his rifle at the vampire, but the Major held up his hand. "Sitrep. What's the situation?"

Jim took a deep breath - and that hurt! - before answering. Could he trust the Army? If they knew about Claire, wouldn't they try to kill her? But if they didn't know, and Morgana in Claire's body approached them… Jim clenched his teeth. "An ancient witch possessed Claire," he said. "She escaped before we could take her down."

Spike snorted but didn't contradict him.

"And what kind of threat is this witch?" the Major asked.

"The kind of threat you cannot underestimate, soldier."

That was Merlin! Jim turned around. The wizard was leaning heavily on Buffy, but he was standing. And they somehow had managed to get down the stairs while the other soldiers had carried Tara and Xander out of the building.

"Who're you?"

"I am Merlin Ambrosius. Court wizard of King Arthur. You might have heard of me."

"What the fuck?" one of the soldiers - Smith, Jim thought - muttered. "King Arthur is real?"

Merlin ignored him. "And we are facing my former apprentice, Morgana. She managed to waylay me and the others. Now, do you plan to stand around here and watch us die, which will result in Morgana easily defeating you and your men, or will you ferry us to a location where we can get our wounds treated and then start on dealing with her?"

"This Morgana… can she use those portals?" the Major asked.

"Yes. And unlike Claire, Morgana is a sorceress I trained personally. You cannot underestimate her. Do you understand the threat now?" Merlin sneered at the Major. "I am dying as we speak, and if you are not going to render us any aid, I will look for an alternative."

Major Ellis glared at him - Merlin really had a gift to make friends - and then snapped. "Carlsen! Call an ambulance - make that four. We need a medevac!"

"Tell them to bring a few bags of 0 positive! Positive, not negative - it tastes way better."

Jim couldn't help it - he chuckled at Spike's comment despite the pain and their situation.


Military Base East of Arcadia Oaks, January 28th, 2017

Buffy Summers didn't like secret underground military bases. She hadn't met many of them - only one, actually - but that one had left an impression. A bad one. And while this secret underground military base wasn't hidden under college dorms, and the soldiers weren't masquerading as students or overly fit teaching assistants - she clenched her teeth; she wasn't going to think about Riley right now - the style was the same. 'Early 21st century concrete bunker period', Xander would joke if he were awake instead of being treated in the base's medical facilities.

Which were suspiciously extensive for what was supposedly a simple supply depot. She almost expected vivisected demons in the next room, but she hadn't smelt any demons since she had entered the base with the others. Then again, she wasn't the best at smelling demons. She hadn't even noticed that Angel had been a vampire at the start - talk about embarrassing!

"Miss Summers?"

She rolled her eyes at the doctor standing in front of her. "I'm fine. Go treat the others."

"We've done everything we could for them, Miss," the woman replied. "But you're still wounded."

"I'm healing." Buffy refrained from crossing her arms over her chest; that would've looked more pouting than intimidating. Besides, she was healing. Her leg barely hurt any more, and her bruises were fading. Her ribs still hurt, but she was familiar with that. "Just leave me some bandages," she told the doctor before the woman could try another line. "And some disinfectant."

She was fine. And she didn't want the soldiers to get her blood or inject something into her - Major Ellis seemed to be on the up and up, for a soldier of a secret special demon-hunting force - and wasn't it weird that she felt safer knowing the former initiative soldiers were present? - but the colonel in charge of the base here reminded her of Maggie Walsh. The way she looked at them, especially at Blinky, Spike and Buffy…

No, Buffy didn't like this base at all. But her friends needed help. Especially Jim and Toby, who had been beaten up by Glory. And Merlin, of course.

Speaking of… She cocked her head and listened to the argument in the next room.

"No, I do not need bed rest, you imbecile. I am perfectly aware of the state of my wounds - more than you are, seeing as I understand magic and you do not - and I know that resting here would only lead to my death. You cannot cure what ails me with your medicine. You did what you could to treat the symptoms."

"Sir, our examination clearly shows that you have been gravely wounded. Your vital signs are telling. We can treat you, but you should be resting. And some medication would relieve your pain…"

"And would let me meet my end in a haze of pleasant dreams, unable to think clearly - or think at all. Is that what you want? You can see the effects of the curse with which I was struck, but you cannot comprehend its source. Nor can you stop it. I am still alive because I am fighting it, but not even I can hold out forever by myself."

"Then let us help you, sir!"

"You cannot help me! Is not the fact that you have failed to wake up the others, struck by a fairly simple if powerful sleep curse, enough to make you realise that you are out of your depth? Enough of this! I shall talk to someone who at least is not as ignorant as you."

"But the Colonel is…"

"I wasn't talking about your leader."

The door opened, and Merlin slowly walked inside. "Slayer."

"Wizard."

"We do not have too much time."

Buffy bit back a pop culture reference. Merlin wouldn't get it. "Yes." Merlin was dying. Her friends were cursed, and Morgana was loose, probably about to take their families hostage.

"We need to wake up your friend. She is a mere hedgewitch, barely aware of the higher mysteries of magic, but her potential is quite impressive."

"Duh, I wasn't planning to let them sleep through this," Buffy replied. "But waking them up hasn't worked."

Merlin rolled his eyes, then coughed. "The reason for that is that this is a curse. And to break it, we need magic - more than I can currently spare without dying."

"So we need another witch?" Buffy didn't know any other witch. None that she would trust. The Council might be able to help out, but… She didn't really trust them, either.

"We do not have time to find a competent, trustworthy wizard - nor do we know if there is any such individual left in this world," Merlin retorted. "If my wayward apprentice were around, perhaps…" He tilted his head. "No, we will need to use your magic."

"What?" Buffy jumped up, then winced at the pain in her leg. Still healing. Damn Glory. "My magic? I'm the Slayer; I'm not a witch!"

"You are a magical creature. The latest of a line dating back to the dawn of history."

Well, only if you didn't count Kendra and Faith. Wait! "Creature?"

Merlin took a step closer. "And we can harness your magic."

Buffy refrained from taking a step back. The Slayer didn't run from dying old geezers. "That doesn't sound good. The last time we messed with the Slayer's magic, the Slayer Spirit almost killed all of us."

"Would you rather doom your friends to eternal sleep?"

Put like that… Buffy glared at him with clenched teeth. He was a jerk, but he had been correct so far. And she couldn't leave her friends in a coma. "What do I need to do?"

That smug smile on Merlin's face made her want to hit him, though.


"I need to guard you during a ritual?" James Lake Jr asked.

"Yes, Trollhunter. Do you require me to repeat myself again, or is this confirmation enough?" Merlin rolled his eyes. "And do not ask for the vampire to guard us instead; they still haven't fed him so he is quite useless."

That was a little rude, in Jim's opinion. Then again, the wizard was currently dying, so Jim wouldn't hold it against him. Or, to be honest, he wouldn't, if Merlin hadn't been as grumpy ever since they had accidentally woken up the wizard in his tomb.

Buffy sighed. "We need to do a ritual so Merlin can syphon off some of my magic in order to wake up our friends. And we need to do it outside the base. Don't want to rile up the Slayer Spirit any more than necessary. She's not… nice."

Now that made sense. Waking up Blinky and the others? Jim would do anything to help with that. The sight of Blinky, still as a statue, being loaded into a truck...

"And what about me?" Toby asked, rubbing his side - he was out of his armour, and his chest was covered with bandages. He had been hurt worse than Jim - Eclipse had resisted Glory's blows much better than Toby's armour.

"You keep an eye on our friends here," Buffy told him. "It's not that I don't trust our generous hosts but… Well, I don't trust them."

"But… they're the Army!" Toby protested.

"They also shot at us," Jim told him.

"Right." Toby nodded firmly. "I'll have to don my armour again."

Jim wasn't sure if that was a good idea. On the other hand, without his armour, Toby wouldn't even be a speed bump for anyone coming for their helpless friends. "I'll help you."

Merlin sighed loudly, but Jim ignored it - if the wizard had enchanted the armour to cover the wearer automatically, they wouldn't have to do this.

He was careful, and Buffy helped, but Jim still felt Toby tense and jerk while they put the armour on him. It couldn't be helped, of course - Jim wasn't exactly unscathed, either. Fortunately, he hadn't suffered a broken leg; that would have been horrible. The bruises he had were painful enough, and he thought he had cracked a rib…

But they finished before Merlin had to comment more than three times about their 'appalling lack of skill and speed compared to even a half-witted squire', and Jim, Buffy and Merlin were on their way out of the base.

Or would have been, if not for three guards trying to bar their way to the elevator. "No one gets in or out. Commander's orders."

"What?" Buffy snapped. "Who ordered this?"

"The base commander." The guard in charge sneered a little.

"Does the commander have a name?" Buffy glared at them, and two of the soldiers flinched.

Not their leader, though. "Colonel Kubritz's orders were very clear."

"Are you trying to tell me that we're prisoners?" Buffy asked. "Because if so, I'm going to break out and break you in the process." She took a step forward, and the soldiers raised their guns.

"The base has been sealed. No one is allowed to enter or leave."

"Good for you. But we need to get out. You know, to save the world."

"Our orders are clear."

Jim wet his lips. This was… something was wrong. "Where's Major Ellis?" he asked.

"He's not the base commander!"

"Can you turn those stooges into frogs?" Buffy asked Merlin, cocking her head sideways. "I don't think they're going to listen to us."

This was going out of control. Jim took a step forward. "Call Major Ellis. This is important."

One of the soldiers pointed his gun at him in return. He tensed - Buffy might be able to ignore that, and Merlin acted as if he was dealing with annoyances of no consequence, but… Jim couldn't just ignore this. He was in his armour, but a gun was a gun. "Call Major Ellis," he repeated himself. "We're working with him."

"He's working with us!" Buffy cut in.

The soldier's leader looked unsure. Jim kept looking at him, trying to ignore the guns pointed at them.

After a few seconds, the leader clenched his teeth and muttered a curse, then tapped the headset he was wearing. "Checkpoint Beta. I need Major Ellis at the main elevator ASAP."

Jim allowed himself to relax a little while Buffy rolled her eyes, seemingly in sync with Merlin. Good. They could sort this out.

"We do not have time to waste," Merlin complained anyway. "Every minute we are held up on the orders of some ignorant soldier grants Morgana more time to complete her plans."

"But going through the guards here will cause even more delays," Jim pointed out. Especially since they would have to carry their friends out - and moving Blinky would be a problem by itself.

Merlin grumbled, which Jim took as agreement.

Fortunately, Major Ellis arrived quickly. Unfortunately, so did the base commander.

"What's going on here?" the Major asked.

"Those three stooges are trying to keep us from saving the world. Again," Buffy said, pointing her thumb at the soldiers.

"We need to get out of the base for an important ritual," Jim explained.

"The base is sealed!" the Colonel snapped. "We cannot risk any threat escaping."

"Can't you do the ritual in here?" the Major asked.

That was actually a good question. Was the Slayer Spirit really that bad?

"If you like the possibility of an out of control spirit cutting her way through your soldiers, sure," Buffy replied with a shrug.

Right. That was a good reason.

The Major looked grim but nodded. "Let them out."

"This is my base, Major!"

"And my mission, Colonel. And I get my orders directly from Washington. Do I have to call the Pentagon to remind you that you are supposed to support me?"

Jim pressed his lips together as he watched the Colonel grind her teeth so he wouldn't smile.

After a moment, the woman turned to the soldiers and snapped: "Let them through!"

Whew. Catastrophe averted. For now, at least.


Forest Outside Military Base East of Arcadia Oaks, January 29th, 2017

"Is this a suitable location?" Buffy Summers wasn't whining. Not really. She was merely asking a pointed question. Maybe with a little annoyed undertone to let Merlin know that time was pressing. Perfectly understandable, too, since they had been walking through the forest for a while, so it was now past midnight. And Buffy was also still hurting from the fight against Glory - even the Slayer didn't heal up that quickly.

And she'd gotten her best Slaying boots dirty, too!

Merlin, however, didn't seem to be impressed by her question's undertones. He looked around, the almost permanent scowl on his face barely changing. How he could see anything - it was the new moon, after all - Buffy didn't know. Probably magic.

Finally, he nodded. "I think this is a suitable spot. Barely so, but it shall have to do. We cannot waste any more time."

Buffy bit down on pointing out that the only person who had been wasting time had been Merlin himself - she would have been fine with doing the thing right next to the road leading to the military base.

"Thank God!" Jim said, leaning against a tree.

Buffy frowned as she glanced at him. He hadn't said much during their trek up the mountain. Hadn't complained either, and she knew he was hurting. But he had to be thinking about Claire. Well, having your significant other be possessed by some evil demon - or, in this case, an evil witch - was something she was familiar with. And she knew how hard it was to fight someone you loved. She should talk to him about that.

"Sit down here," Merlin interrupted her thoughts, pointing at the ground in front of him.

"On the bare ground?" Buffy asked, putting a hand on her chest in fake shock. "But my pants will get dirty!" They already were, but that was beside the point.

The old wizard rolled his eyes. "A sacrifice I am willing to make. Sit. Down."

"It's not your sacrifice," she shot back as she moved to the spot. "So… cross-legged? Or in some eastern meditation pose?" She used a flippant tone, but that would hurt - her leg hadn't healed up yet, and hiking the forest hadn't helped with that.

"Whatever suits you," Merlin replied as he sat down with a slight groan - he was sitting cross-legged.

Buffy huffed and sat down in a more comfortable position, resting her weight on her good leg.

Merlin pulled out a jug from somewhere and put it down in front of him.

Buffy blinked. "'Property of the U.S. Army'? Did you steal their coffee pot?"

"I appropriated a necessary ingredient for this ritual," Merlin replied. "Now be quiet - I have to focus."

"You're turning my magic into coffee?"

"No. Do you think I am a hedge-witch forced to stoop to such mummery? This is merely a symbolic vessel to facilitate the transfer. Now be quiet lest you want to risk losing more than a bit of magic."

Buffy clenched her jaws. The old man was seriously getting on her nerves, dying or not. He'd better save her friends if he knew what was good for him! But she shut up - magic was tricky, and she knew from experience what could go wrong when things went wrong. Or something like it.

Merlin started chanting in Latin. She didn't quite catch the exact meaning - his pronunciation wasn't like Giles's - but she could feel something in the air. A sort of tension growing stronger.

And the tip of his staff, laid across his legs, was glowing. If anyone were looking for them, they would soon have an easy time finding them. Like Morgana.

Buffy looked up. Just in case the bitch opened a portal above them. Fighting flying enemies wasn't fun at all. She should've nicked a gun from the soldiers, now that she thought of it. Although Jim would probably not be happy if she shot his girlfriend's body, even if it was only the leg and arm or something. If she even got through the armour, of course. That might be…

She gasped as she felt something gripping her. But there was nothing - just a green light. And… something felt as if it was tugging at her. Without exerting any force. Magic.

She suppressed another gasp as she saw a faint wisp of glowing mist or something leave her as she breathed, flowing towards the pot of coffee, to swirl above it for a moment before vanishing into it.

And suddenly, she felt as if she had just run a marathon or something. Everything felt… weaker. Tired. Not exhausted, but...Her leg hurt some more. And her ribs as well. Damn.

And Merlin rose, holding up the pot. "And we're done." He moved his staff, and the glowing mist moved out of the pot, to the staff - and disappeared. "Perfect," he said with what probably was meant to be a smile on his face. "This should be enough to break the curse on the others."

"It better be," Buffy mumbled. She wasn't looking forward to hiking back to the base in her present state. And if the evil Colonel had planned something - and Buffy would bet her second-best pair of boots that the woman was planning something - then fighting a bunch of soldiers would be a pain in her current state.

"Great!" Jim interrupted her thoughts. "Let's go back then!"

Well, someone was happy. Or, at least, not as brooding as before.


Military Base East of Arcadia Oaks, January 29th, 2017

Lying on a specially reinforced bed in the base's infirmary or whatever they called it, Blinky didn't look like a dead troll. His skin had his usual tone, not the grey of stone James Lake Jr knew far too well. Jim still pressed his lips together as he watched his friend - Blinky wasn't moving at all, except to breathe, and it was easy to miss the slow movement of his chest.

"No one did anything to them," Toby reported, gesturing vaguely into the direction of the cots on which the others had been placed.

"They better not," Buffy growled.

Jim pressed his lips together. The soldiers were supposed to be their allies - were their allies in the case of Major Ellis's troops. But the soldiers stationed on the base here… They were acting a bit odd, indeed. Always on their guard, seemingly ready to shoot them at a moment's notice.

Of course, they did have a troll and a vampire in their base. But Jim hadn't forgotten that they had shot at him and Toby.

"Welcome back, Slayer. Happy to see you too."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spike."

"They still haven't given me any blood, even though they have tons of it in stock!" the vampire complained. "Do you know how annoying it is to try and rest with holes in your body?" He was sitting upright in a bed, dressed in a hospital gown.

"No, can't say I do," Buffy replied. "Seeing as such wounds would have killed me."

Him as well, Jim knew. Impaled on several pieces of metal pipes or whatever it had been.

"Well, it's bloody annoying!" Spike snarled. "I've spent way too long in such a state before and I don't want to go through that again!"

"At least you aren't bleeding to death," Merlin commented. "Or over all your clothes."

"Don't remind me! My coat's been ruined! That was a great coat!"

"A mere trifle. Material things are immaterial, especially in our current situation," the wizard retorted. "We need to stop Morgana at all costs before she frees her own body - and Gunmar from the Darklands."

"Wait! She can do that?" Jim blurted out. "Gunmar's sealed there!"

"If she uses the Key," Merlin replied with a slight sneer.

Jim clenched his teeth. Right. The Key. Anything with the power to free a hell-goddess banished to Earth would be able to free Gunmar as well. But…

"She touches the Key, I'll rip her head off!" Buffy snarled. "I mean… her real head, not Claire's," she added after a moment, with a sheepish expression.

Jim wasn't quite sure that she meant it, though.

"We can only hope that the Key's current guardian will not let her use it," Merlin said.

Dawn. But how could Dawn stop Morgana? Jim drew a hissing breath. "What if she fools… them?" he asked. "The others wouldn't know she is possessed."

The lack of any surprise on Merlin's face told Jim that he had considered that already.

"Don't underestimate Giles!" Buffy said.

But even if they managed to see through Morgana's lies, what could they do? Everyone who could fight had been with them facing Glory. And, Jim added with a frown, some who shouldn't have been here.

"We shall have to quickly find a way back to the Shadow Realm to evacuate your families," Merlin said. "And for that, we need to wake up your friend the witch." He nodded at Willow. She lacks the training to even be considered as an apprentice wizard, but she has enough potential to serve as a source of magic."

"You're not going to use her as a battery!" Buffy spat.

"Needs must. The world is at stake," Merlin replied. "Would you sacrifice your family for your pride?"

Buffy glared at him, all tense. Jim took a step back.

"I thought not. Do you think your friend will let her pride stand in the way of saving them?" Merlin didn't wait for the answer and took a few steps to stand next to Willow's cot. "Let her decide."

"You just want her magic so you don't die!" Buffy spat.

"Keeping myself alive long enough to help prevent the destruction of our world is amongst my goals, yes," Merlin said, holding his staff over Willow's chest. "Though only because you need my help to save the world."

"Are there other sources of magic?" Jim asked.

Merlin cocked his head sideways. "Magic freely given is best. The alternatives are… morally questionable. Many a wizard using such means has fallen to the lure of power, often becoming nothing more than a parasite leeching magic off others in pursuit of power that is increasingly used for nothing but to feed their cravings."

"Warlocks," Spike said. "Some of them can drain other wizards."

"Precisely," Merlin said. "And your other friend has not quite the same potential. She would be at a grave risk. Now, be quiet, all of you - curse-breaking is a delicate task."

He raised his staff, closed his eyes, and started chanting in Latin. Green mist appeared around Willow, glowing softly. A few more chants later, parts of the mist - around Willow's head - glowed more brightly.

"Too obvious, even for a rushed ambush," Merlin muttered. He waved his staff, and the mist dispersed. "But there is no time to carefully sound out the traps."

"Wait! Traps?" Buffy asked.

But Merlin was already muttering short, harsh words in a language that Jim didn't recognise, and then Willow's entire body glowed - and jerked.

"Willow!"

"Whoa!"

"Watch the magic, wizard!"

Merlin ignored them as purple tendrils rose out of Willow's chest and flung themselves at him. He took a step back and parried them with his staff in a flurry of quick movements, then drove the tip of it down into Willow's chest.

A light so bright, Jim was blinded for a moment, filled the room. When he could see again through blinking eyes full of tears, Buffy had Merlin pressed against the wall, one hand on his throat.

"What did you do?" she spat through clenched teeth.

"I broke the curse," the wizard replied.

And Jim saw Willow open her eyes.