Anya was fully awake when Giles sent the bonding circle at her. But she didn't let them know. And she didn't try to get out of the way, because that would just cause much more trouble than she intended. The foolish Brit didn't know that Anya was a demon once again, and apparently, Buffy and her gang weren't going to spill it. How had they found out anyway? But, Anya did not worry about that now. She had seen once, the same bonding circle used on a witch in the 1800's, but as far as Anya knew, that bonding circle was for witches. It never indicated that it could also restrain demons.
Unfortunately, though, Anya had to wait. If she morphed into vengeance demon form now, in front of all of them, they'd be prepared when she burst from her "restrain." She would have to wait for the Three Musketeers to leave so it'd just be her and the old nag. Then, she could break away and hopefully drain the magical power from Giles. That way, she could have his power, and it'd be only Willow and Tara against her with their powers instead of Willow, Tara, and Giles. And Giles was more powerful than the two of them combined.
It seemed like a while, but was probably only about twenty minutes later when Giles convinced Buffy, Willow, and Tara to leave. After they had unwillingly walked out the door, the man gave a quick glance to Anya. She had opened her eyes now, and stared at him. He seemed slightly perplexed, probably because she wasn't trying to get out.
"Um, stay there, Anya." Giles stated stupidly. Like she had anywhere to go… The man walked into the backroom, plotting something. Here was Anya's chance.
She stood up and concentrated on morphing. She could feel her body slowly changing, and when she felt strong enough, walked through the bonding circle.
Dawn was getting anxious. She was at Janice's house, sitting on her friend's bed and eating Doritos. Janice looked at her. Ever since Dawn had arrived and Buffy had explained why she was there (well, not the Anya being a witch part) Janice had been acting very awkward. She said she was sorry about a million times, hugged Dawn like, a thousand times, and the rest of the time she was just sitting there in silence.
Dawn grew more impatient by the minute. She was curious. She was defiantly more curious than worried, because she knew Anya would never do anything to hurt Buffy or Willow or Tara, and vice versa. Right?
"Janice- I have to go. Now." Dawn said firmly.
"What? Dawn? Where?" Janice questioned, staring at her.
"To the Magic Box. I just have to see what's going on. I can't just not know. Because Buffy's probably not going to tell me."
"Dawn- what's really going on? I know that Xander died- I'm really sorry- and that your sister said they were going to go help a friend. There's more to it, isn't there?" Dawn sighed. Janice always seemed to know beyond the truth.
"Janice, it's complicated. Anya isn't coping the way we are. Uh, now I sound like Buffy. Um, look… do you remember Halloween?" Dawn questioned.
"Yeah, unfortunately. My date tried to bite me!" Janice recalled.
"Uh, he was a vampire. Vampires exist. And so do demons, and magic, and witches. Evil witches." Dawn gave it a shot.
"Get out! You mean, all of that exists, for real?" Dawn knew Janice would believe her. Janice was the kind who went to graveyards and did séances and stuff like that.
"Yeah, and Anya, she, well, she kind of is evil. An evil witch."
"Whoa. But I thought she was just evil in the sense if you took her money?" Janice pondered.
"Well, yeah, but when Xander was shot, she got power, and she used it for bad. Buffy and Willow and Tara are over at the magic shop now, trying to help her. But I need to be there. I'm curious." Dawn knew that telling Janice all of this was a risk, but she was her best friend. She would have had to tell her sometime.
"Okay. I'm coming." Janice said simply, grabbing her jacket. "Good thing my mom's on vacation in Maui for a week."
"Maui, now that sounds nice."
It was almost ten by the time they had gotten to the Magic Box, walking a little slower and more cautious in the dark. There had obviously been a fight by the looks of the place. There was glass and fallen beams from the ceiling sprawled across the floor. But at least it was fixable. Janice and Dawn were clinging to each other out of pure fear, and that's when they heard the groan. The two followed the noise into the backroom, where Giles was lying on the ground.
"Giles!" Dawn screamed, half worry, half surprise. She ran to him.
"Whoa. You so were not kidding." Janice remarked, staring at Giles in shock.
"Giles, are you okay?" Dawn questioned, helping him sit up. He stared at her.
"A little out of breath," as if on cue, Giles took in a deep breath, "But not dead. I'll recover."
"Thank god." Dawn sighed, hugging him. Janice just stood off to the side, feeling awkward.
"Who's that?" Giles questioned, motioning to Janice.
"No one." Janice looked insulted at Dawn's comment, "What happened?"
"Anya…" Giles took another breath, "She… um…"
"Janice knows. About everything. You can say it."
"She drained me. Of all my power. She has all my magic now, and she was talking about a coven, and finding somewhere to stay…"
"Don't worry about it." Dawn said. "We'll just tell Buffy and the others. I'm sure they'll be able to do something about it."
"I'm sure."