Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
So this idea was inspired by a conversation with Brainstorm Sorcerer, so thanks a lot to him for his help on this, its very much appreciated.
Anyway, most of the Scoobies will be really OOC here, but that's because something magical is influencing them to act like that, keep that in mind.
And this is gonna go into some dark territory too before things are fixed.
For Buffy this takes place between 'Potential' and 'The Killer in Me', and for Angel its between 'Spin the Bottle' and 'Apocalypse, Nowish'. Most of Angel Season 4 starting from 'Spin the Bottle' to 'Inside Out' seemed to take place in a very short time frame too, about 2 weeks max IMO, so I think the timeline works.
Hope all enjoy.
Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Giles and Xander watched as Andrew put what looked like balance scales on the table, though these ones looked quite ancient, and on top was the head of the Egyptian God Set.
"Right, what does it do?" Buffy asked.
"I got this when I was buying blood from the butcher's shop, where the Dark Wicca of great power cornered me", Andrew admitted, and all shot him glares for talking about Willow like that, so he gulped and continued. "So, anyway, uhhh…."
"You don't know what it does, do you?" Giles asked and Andrew looked sheepish.
"Well, only someone with a righteous heart can activate it to access its power", Andrew explained what he did know. "And that summons help from the dead."
"Anything else?" Dawn asked, and they got no answer.
"This is a waste of time", Xander scoffed as they all started walking away.
"Come on guys", Willow said, leaving the embarrassed Andrew behind.
"Maybe we can research it!" Andrew then suggested.
Giles turned to Andrew and spoke for all them. "This thing has no relevance to what we are doing or up against, and it doesn't work, probably just a knockoff, and researching it would be a waste of time!"
Andrew now cowered as the five of them walked off.
Unseen to all of them, the eyes of the depiction of Set began to glow, with one scale slightly lowering.
A while later, Buffy was discussing strategy with Willow and Kennedy.
"So, the Turok-Han is down, and we are learning", Kennedy was saying.
"Learning? What exactly? To be a pain in the ass?" Buffy asked, taking Kennedy back.
Kennedy started. "Look, you and I don't see eye to eye bu-"
"But you are just here to get into my friends' pants and get eternal bliss, you don't care about anything else!" Buffy snapped, and Kennedy backed off from her glare, as Buffy then turned to Willow. "And you! Still afraid of magic, huh?"
"It's too dangerous", Willow pointed out, getting up as she and Buffy faced each other.
"Right, and the First Evil isn't?" Buffy asked, shaking her head. "It's upon us, Willow, war is upon us, I need fighters, not cowards."
"Using magic dangerously without understanding would be the coward's way out", Willow told Buffy, but she was having none of it.
"Oh right, I am the coward now! I have died for us all TWICE! And yet I'm standing here, trying to save us all!" Buffy yelled, and now Dawn came in, seeing the whole thing, with the others not too far behind.
"You want my power? Well, you'll have to wait", Willow flashed a nasty smirk that reminded them all of Dark Willow. "It's my power, it's a lot better than yours." Willow's tone turned threatening. "Or did you forget that?"
Dawn came in between them, pulling them apart. "Guys, stop it, fighting's not gonna solve anything."
The two women glared at each other but said no more words, as Dawn prepared to walk off, accidentally bumping Kennedy's shoulder.
"Watch where you're going, kid", Kennedy commented, and now Dawn whirled on Kennedy in anger.
"What did you call me?" Dawn snarled, and Kennedy, while scared of Buffy, wasn't gonna let this teenager talk to her like that.
"I called you 'kid' because that's what you are", Kennedy told Dawn.
Buffy and Willow were both going to say something before Dawn snarled. "Right, feeling special because you're a Potential and I'm not, huh? Well, not being a Potential is still better than being the most useless one."
"Oooh, nice one sis", Buffy quipped, a satisfied smirk on both hers and Willow's faces.
"I have actually worked my ass off and learnt to fight the best out of all these Potentials, so I'm the most useful one, what useful thing have you done to warrant staying around here?" Kennedy asked Dawn, who was angry.
Kenned had been in controlled fights with multiple other Potentials helping her, while her friend Amanda had fought off Bringers and staked a Vamp by herself. And Dawn had fighting skills too.
How dare Kennedy think herself better than Dawn and Amanda?
"Right, you think you can fight?" Dawn asked, and then punched Kennedy hard, sending her staggering back, as Kennedy held her split lip and glared in rage. "You should have seen that coming."
Kennedy charged with a roar as she and Dawn grabbed each other by the neck and hair, struggling, and then Dawn bit Kennedy's hand, making her scream and let go as Dawn decked her face again, sending her staggering back.
Before it could carry on, Giles stepped in. "Stop it!" They stopped as Giles said. "We are facing a great disaster, and you are fighting amongst yourselves!" He turned to Buffy and Willow. "And you two! Very mature letting them fight instead of stopping them. Shame on all of you!"
"You think you can just come back and give orders because you're the oldest, huh?" Buffy asked Giles, who was taken aback by her tone.
"He still thinks he's the role model to be followed", Willow scoffed. "Even though he has shown us just how good of a mentor he actually is, not very good."
Xander walked by and commented. "You know, wouldn't mind seeing some more action here, maybe with some oil thrown on the lot of you."
He was ignored because the argument inside became more intense while Anya, who'd heard Xander, asked him. "What the hell is the matter with you?"
"Nothing than what usually is", Xander said with a shrug.
Spike walked in, and he heard the loud sounds of argument from Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Xander, Giles and Kennedy, and narrowed his eyes, walking by the room to see the whole arguing, and decided to put an end to it.
Xander shoved by him, pushing him a little. "Out of the way, rapist."
Spike was stunned as he looked at the retreating Xander. Xander was never like this.
"Uhhh, Willow", Kennedy now called out to Willow who turned to her. "Look, uh, this argument, let's forget it, I want to admit, I have a huge crush on you, I want you to be mine and no one else's, and I know you want it-"
"Shut up!" Willow snarled, taking Kennedy back. "You don't know anything about me, and you come onto me like I'm some prize to be won!" Willow got into Kennedy's face, her glare terrifying the Potential. "The only one for me, the love of my life, her name was Tara. She was taken from me, but I will not degrade myself into even holding hands with you. So get out of my way, you whiny little brat and don't even shoot me a look again!" She pushed past Kennedy and stormed out, with Kennedy looking like the ground had shifted from her feet.
At that point Buffy, Dawn and Giles parted too, and Spike looked around at them all, wondering why they were behaving like this.
A while later, Giles was reading a book by himself when Andrew walked in. "Hey old man."
Giles didn't even look up as Andrew said. "So, Dawn ate my sandwich, I know she listens to you, tell her its not polite to-"
"No one cares for your food or you", Giles snarled as he glared at Andrew, who backed off in fear. "What is someone like you even doing here?"
Andrew tried to open his mouth to respond but Giles stood up, giving him a glare of death. "We used to have people we cared about, who we loved", he thought about Jenny and his face softened a little, "who helped, who contributed", his face hardened. "You don't even deserve to breathe same air as them."
Andrew was taken aback as Buffy, who was walking by, added. "At least Jonathan had some remorse for what he did, he could have had a chance, you took it away from him."
Andrew looked at the two in fear and scampered away.
Spike was sitting on the stairs, watching all of them arguing at times as Anya walked by. "Hey Spike."
"Hey Anya", Spike greeted back, then narrowed his eyes at her.
"What? Did I grow horns or something?" Anya asked, touching the air over her head.
"You seem normal", Spike realized.
"Normal? What do you mean?" Anya asked.
"Have you seen the others?" Spike asked back.
"Right", Anya nodded. "All of them are being quite honest and upfront about everything, it's so refreshing to see something like this."
"Refreshing?" Spike asked with a smirk, and Anya's eyes then widened in realization.
"They are stealing my shtick!"
Willow heard whispers in head and found her way to the scales as the voice said to her. 'You can have your beloved back, but it is a permanent exchange. A life, for a life."
Giles was in his room when the scales appeared before him. 'You can have back who you loved, but the exchange is permanent. A life, for a life."
Buffy was in her room when the scales appeared to her too. 'You believe the young boy does not deserve any chance, while the one who passed did. You can give it to him, but the exchange is permanent. A life, for a life."
The eyes of Set on the scales flashed red.
Spike walked up from the basement and was horrified by the sight before him. Buffy decked Kennedy, sending her to the ground. "Don't you dare justify yourself to me again."
Andrew tried to intervene but was grabbed in a chokehold by Dawn who pulled him off. "You little creep, how dare you come into this house after your friend killed Tara?"
"Buffy", Spike called out and she turned to him, glaring. "What are you doing?"
"Teaching this brat her place", Buffy snarled, kicking Kennedy who cried out in pain. "What's it to you?"
"I like her about as much as you do, but this isn't you", Spike pointed out, slowly walking to her. "You're good, kind, the best person I know, you don't want to do this. She doesn't deserve this much."
"Guess you're right, I'm all that", Buffy said, and Spike sighed in relief until her next words. "But then you corrupted me."
Next moment, Spike was hurled out of the room and crashed to the ground, groaning.
Anya came next to him as he staggered up.
"Bloody hell!"
"You know, I think we may need some help here", Anya told Spike. "The two of us are the only ones acting normal."
"Ain't that ironic?" Spike chuckled, since the two of them were usually the more insane ones, now they were the only sane ones. "I say we can do it."
"Right, one Slayer, one Witch, one Watcher, my ex, the brat, and so many Potentials", Anya pointed out. "And, I don't have my powers and you still have your chip inside."
Spike admitted she had a point and reluctantly admitted. "Okay, maybe a little."
He then noticed Amanda pushing Rona away. "You just want protection, I actually fought against Vampires and Bringers, so you should shove off!"
"Oh boy", Spike rushed to stop the fight while Anya made a call.
"Yeah, oh yes, this is Buffy's house….I am Anya, you don't know me? Xander's fi…..ex-fiancée. Former Vengeance Demon? I granted a wi….you don't remember, anyway, something is affecting everyone here. Xander, Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Giles and everyone else except Spike are acting crazy…yeah, Spike is not acting crazy, well not crazier than usual, it's a mess, we need help, please…oh, you're coming? Thank you, thank you, thank you."
The call was cut as Anya looked around to see things had gotten worse.
Angel told his team the whole situation back at Hyperion.
"So, they are whammied and doing messed up stuff, and you think we are enough?" Gunn asked, sharing a look with Fred for barely a second, and a longer one with Lorne, which Angel noted.
"It's just a house full of impressionable young women and three guys, what's the worst that can happen?"
It was night time now when Angel, Wesley, Lorne, Fred and Gunn arrived at the Summers House. Angel had called Wesley as he believed they'd need some help in this matter.
Fred had a strange device in her hand she'd made with Wesley's help (and to Gunn's jealousy) as the Team Angel members looked around, surveying the chaos.
"If I ever say that again, kill me."
Potentials were fighting on the lawn, there was a fire that could be seen in the window, and glass breaking and furniture shattering could be heard all over too.
"This is complete chaos", Wesley noted, looking around.
"I feel some strange power here", Lorne told them. "Really….I don't know, chaos-y."
"Explains this", Gunn shrugged.
"We have to stop them before it gets worse", Fred pointed.
"Yeah, let's go", Angel said when they saw Anya being chased by a Potential with a knife.
"Oh, my tall and handsome savior!" Anya hid behind Angel, who grabbed the Potential's knife hand and decked her, knocking her out.
They walked inside as Anya said. "So, come morning, all was good, then suddenly everyone argues and fights and is completely brutally honest, which was refreshing at first until I realized they were stealing my shtick, which they don't do-"
She stopped when Spike was thrown down the stairs and rolled away with a groan as the team looked up to see Buffy, Willow, Giles and Xander looking down on him, no emotion in their eyes.
Behind them Kennedy, Andrew and Rona were tied up, gagged and on their knees.
The four Scoobies stepped down and said together. "We must make the exchange."
"Exchange, what exchange?" Wesley asked.
"For Set!" They chanted together. "For Set!"
Spike stood up and turned to Angel, and the two would have cracked comments if not for the situation, as Spike told them. "They've been going on about bloody Set for hours now."
"Maybe this Set is the power you feel", Fred pointed out to Lorne.
"Sounds right, sugar plum", he agreed.
"For Set!"
"Hey Buffy, you think you're a great leader, right?" Angel asked her with a smirk as she glared at him. "How about, you take on me, leader to leader, winner gets to be best leader!"
Buffy fell for it and jumped at Angel as he leapt out of the way and kicked her back, staggering her forwards, and she turned to him with angrily.
"Come on, show me what a Slayer can do, unless you're afraid of dying like the ones before", Angel taunted as Buffy charged and decked Angel, sending him flying off and crashing into a wall.
Spike held Buffy back but Xander pulled him off, and Spike pushed him away but was hurt by the chip. "Ow!"
Angel got up as Buffy kicked his chest, sending him crashing into the wall again, but he blocked her next kick, only for Buffy to flip and kick his face, sending him off once more.
Xander pushed Spike away when Gunn grabbed him by the collar and threw him off. "Fight someone who can fight you."
Xander got up and charged Gunn with a punch but Gunn blocked and decked Xander's face, staggering him back.
Giles charged down but Wesley came in his way. "Not so fast."
Giles threw a punch but Wesley blocked and punched him, staggering him back. "I'm not the same bumbling fool I used to be, Rupert."
Giles grabbed Wesley's collar and pinned him to the wall, decking his abdomen twice before Wesley blocked the third punch and head-butted him, dazing the older Watcher, and pushed him off, sending him crashing.
Angel side-stepped to avoid a flip by Buffy and backhanded her, sending her away, and then with a flip, spin kicked her face hard, sending her back again.
Xander punched Gunn's face once but Gunn blocked the next blow and punched Xander, sending him crashing into the table.
Willow was now in the back garden, the scales right there, and the bound and gagged Kennedy, Andrew and Rona were hovering behind her due to her magic.
Lorne arrived, about to speak when Kennedy, Andrew and Rona slowly started transforming into energy, and Lorne then noticed two coffins nearby alongside a wrapped-up body, from where energy was emanating too.
The three hostages, and the three bodies were on either side of the scales that were going up and down.
Angel crashed into the wall before weaving away to avoid the next kick and spin kicked Buffy away, then grabbing her, threw her off.
Gunn slammed Xander's head on the table, then on the wall before throwing him off.
Giles elbowed Wesley's face, staggering him, then Wesley blocked the next blow and punched Giles' gut, winding him before kneeing him there, and then he leapt and head-butted his former colleague, dazing him badly before pushing him off.
Buffy blocked Angel's blow and kneed him before spin kicking him onto a table, shattering it, then tried to kick but Angel grabbed her foot and tripped her, sending her down as he staggered up.
Gunn kicked Xander's abdomen, then grabbing him by the collar, smashed him hard on the ground, finally knocking him out.
Wesley ducked to avoid a punch from Giles and got behind him, grabbing him in a chokehold as Giles struggled but age was catching up to him, while Wesley had just discovered his potential and reached his peak, so Giles finally passed out in his grip.
Angel and Buffy both punched each other before Buffy grabbed Angel's collar and threw him off, but he rolled away and got up as she charged and kicked her into the wall, then leaping on the wall, spin kicked her down again.
"Uhh, madame Witch", Lorne called out as Willow turned to him.
"What?" She asked with a sneer.
"You do realize what you're doing, right?" Lorne asked her.
"I do."
"This won't make it better, roses."
"You don't know that, you don't know anything about it", Willow told Lorne with a snarl.
"Uhhh, your pain, its so intense, you don't need to below out a mellow note for me to know what you're going through", Lorne told her, raising his hands to ensure he meant no harm. "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, must be hard with all that happening."
"It is", Willow nodded with a sigh, Lorne slightly getting through to her.
"So trust me when I say, doing this won't make it better", Lorne told her.
"You don't know that", Willow snarled.
"Guess I don't", Lorne sighed and jumped out of the way when Fred fired her device and it hit Willow, making her gasp and convulse.
"I'm sorry Willow", Fred said sadly as the beam from the device stopped and Willow kneeled on the ground, weakened.
"It's temporary, you'll be back in half an hour", Fred assured when the scales suddenly released the lights from the side of the bodies while Kennedy, Andrew and Rona faded away.
The lights from the side of the bodies turned human sized, and then appeared Tara Maclay, Jenny Calendar and Jonathan Levinson, looking around in shock.
"It's that thing", Lorne pointed at the scales as Fred rushed to it and kicked it away into a corner as Set's eyes stopped glowing red, the spell broken.
But it had been done.
Buffy was being restrained by both Angel and Spike when she gasped, looking around with wide eyes. "Angel? Spike?"
Dawn was arguing with Anya when she came back to normal too. "Anya…..what's going on?"
Giles and Xander stood up, looking around in surprise too.
Willow fell to her knees, horrified at what she'd just done. "Oh my…what have I…?"
She burst into tears as Tara rushed to her and kneeling nearby, hugged her. "Willow, it's all right."
"Tara!" Willow sobbed out, basking in her resurrected soulmate's presence, but even Tara wasn't enough to calm Willow down this time.
"What happened?" Jenny asked.
"The great Egyptian God Set whammied them, made them exchange three lives for yours", Lorne told her.
"Someone's life was exchanged for mine?" Jonathan asked, shocked.
A while later, all were inside together, the Scoobies other than Spike and Anya all looking ashamed. Willow and Giles respectively were glad to be in the presence of Tara and Jenny again, but they were horrified by their actions.
"The scales of exchange, they controlled you all, made you lose all inhibitions", Wesley explained. "They demand life for a life, and that's what they did."
"Why weren't we affected?" Spike asked, gesturing to himself and Anya.
"Could be the First's influence on you", Fred told Spike.
"And me?" Anya wondered.
"Well, you lack all inhibitions luv", Spike said to her with a shrug, realizing it himself.
"Kennedy….Rona…Andrew…" Willow trailed off, guilt and shame filling her, Buffy, Xander and Giles.
"We….they trusted us and we…" Buffy sobbed.
"We did evil things", Giles said sadly as Jenny held him.
"You were all mind-controlled", Jenny pointed out.
"But it was us", Xander sighed.
"I've done horrible things to. And you guys…..deal with it", Angel told the Scoobies who looked at him in surprise.
"You say it like its easy", Dawn scoffed.
"Its the hardest thing in the world", Spike told her, exchanging a look with Angel.
Gunn walked in, holding his ax. "Shattered it into bits."
They sighed in relief as Tara grasped Willow and assured. "We don't blame you, you were not yourselves, none of you were."
The two exchanged a little smile as Buffy told Angel and team. "Thank you for stopping us", she looked at Spike and Anya. "You two as well."
"No problem", Angel assured.
The Scoobies had done horrible things, but Angel and Spike were right, they had to deal with it now, that's all they could do.
The returned Tara, Jenny and Jonathan helped them cope with their guilt, and the former two eventually rekindled their relationships with Willow and Giles respectively.
The battle against the First went better too, though Spike was still lost for the time being, while Willow and Tara returned the favour to Team Angel by re-ensouling Angel and saving Cordelia from the Power controlling her.
This event haunted the Scoobies but they could do only one thing- live with it.
Abrupt ending I know, but couldn't think of a better way to end it.
Either way, hope all enjoyed and thanks a lot to Brainstorm Sorcerer for his help again, and Marcus S Lazarus for a suggestion too.
See you all next time with another chapter.