Tara sighed. She had been by Willow's side for the last few hours, but she was still knocked out by the medication she had been given. Tara hadn't yet faced the fact that Willow was going to die. Something in her told her that this would all be fixed.

Buffy sat across from Tara. She didn't dare even glance at her. Buffy knew her eyes would reveal what she really thought. I'm going to lose my best friend. I lost Xander and now I'm going to lose Willow, too. Buffy looked out the window at the sun shining down on the trees. It's not supposed to be this cheerful. Willow's dying. The world should be mourning. Buffy let out a breath of air, rising to her feet. She couldn't take being in the room anymore. She wanted to say something to Tara but she was at a loss for words and just strolled silently out of the room.

Everyone around me is dying. Dawn thought. First mom, then Xander, now Willow. I'm bad luck. It's my fault. It's my fault Buffy died. At least Willow brought her back. Dawn almost sighed out loud in relief, but it ended briefly. Willow.

Giles leaned his head against the wall. He hadn't wanted to admit it to any of them, but when the Council had told him what happened to Xander, he had run straight to his room and sobbed until even glasses hadn't helped his sight. He was Giles. He was their mentor, their wall. He was supposed to be strong for them. But Giles didn't feel strong at the moment. He felt so weak, everything was hurling out of control. Willow was dying, and he wasn't sure if he could handle that. But suddenly, the wave of nauseous sadness that had been there was replaced by a roaring fire of rage. This was all Anya's fault. Everyone wanted to feel sorry for her, but how could they? She infected Willow. She's the one causing Willow to suffer, to die, to take another life from them. Giles turned around quickly to face the bright lights of the hospital. A sudden power overtook him and he clenched his jaw shut. Dawn seemed out of it, not noticing he was even there. Buffy stood in the hall across from him, gazing out the window. This was his chance. Giles moved swiftly down the stairs and out the hospital door, the birds greeting him too cheerfully.

"Some people are outside." Audrey sighed exasperatingly, rolling her eyes. "When is all this chaos going to stop?" She plopped down on the staircase. "Really, it's getting so irksome."

Anya ignored her, rushing to the new wood door she had built with a quick, shaky spell. She didn't bother asking who it was. She could feel Ashan's strong vibe from where she was standing. Anya opened the door, and, sure enough, the dark-eyed girl stood in front of her, this time her black hair waving freely down her back. Five girls stood behind her. Anya recognized Reese from her bright red hair. Inya, whose blond hair was cropped close to her head, stood slightly behind her. There were three other girls that Anya didn't recognize, but she gestured for them to come in never the less. Janice stood behind Anya, raising her eyebrow curiously at the new arrivals. Ashan drilled her eyes into hers, causing Janice to glance nervously down at the ground. Ashan turned to Anya, nodding her head towards the pack of girls.

"You remember Inya and Reese, right?" She questioned, her deep voice sending chills down Anya's spine. She nodded. Ashan nodded also, as if in agreement. She motioned to a dark-skinned girl with a high, graceful ponytail snaking down her back. Her blue eyes shone brightly. "This is Rhea." Ashan whispered as the girl nodded at the sound of her name. Ashan pointed to a petite girl next to Rhea whose long brown curls matched perfectly with her eyes. "That's Ardennais and that-" Ashan continued pointing to another brunette, her hair resting on her shoulders. "That's Akhal."

"That's a lot of A-names to keep straight." Inya chuckled, but no one laughed with her. "You know, Ashan, Ardennais, Akhal, Anya." Eyes were rolled at Inya while Audrey piped up from the staircase.

"And me, Audrey."

The girls looked perplexed, but the only one with enough courage to speak up was Ashan. "Who is she?" Ashan questioned, raising her eyebrows. She gave Audrey the look-over. Anya hesitated in answering, therefore Audrey took the reins.

"Well, I'm her daughter, of course."

Ardennais, then, at that point, decided to interject. "You have a daughter!?" She voiced everyone's thoughts.

Anya rolled her eyes slightly. "Metaphorically. She was brought here by a spell I did. We'll need her for what we'll be doing."

Reese took another step forward into the house. She glanced from Inya to Ashan, as if she needed their approval. Ashan nodded and Reese opened her mouth to speak. "What, Anya, exactly are we doing?"

Anya took a few steps forward until her face was about two inches away from Reese's. "You're the youngest, aren't you, Reese?"

There was silence from her, and Anya gave her a look, that said, "Go on, answer." Reese nodded solemnly.

"Okay, then. Shouldn't, you Reese, be the smartest, brightest, one here?"

Reese seemed to grind her teeth together. "Maybe I am, Anya. But I would like to know what we are getting ourselves into before you deceive us."

Anya scoffed internally at this, but the other girls, even Ashan, looked frightened. Surprisingly, Reese opened her mouth to speak again.

"I'm the leader here, and I just want to know what we're doing!"

There was a glare shot from Ashan to Reese at this statement, and Inya looked as if she was about to turn around and run. The others huddled far behind, hoping to shield themselves.

"You're the leader?"

Janice hung by the staircase with Audrey, for she knew what would happen to Reese.

Reese seemed to grow more unsure of herself, however, took the notion to nod anyway.

At this, Anya whipped her hand down and grabbed hold of Reese's hand, who's face grew frightened. Anya began to stare down at the palm of Reese's hand. Reese began to scream, though the others could see nothing wrong with her. Anya released her hand and Reese lifted it to her face, shrieking. Anya smiled and began running a hand through Reese's hair.

"What pretty, red hair." Anya muttered. Suddenly her face twisted with anger and she let go of Reese's hair, stepping back.

With her other hand, Reese grabbed her own hair, looking at it and letting out a blood-curdling screech. She tore at it until bits of it started coming out, then clumps.

Anya laughed cruelly, but grew serious suddenly. "Okay, Reese, stop it. There's nothing the matter with you."

But Reese didn't stop. She tore around the room, screaming her lungs out until blood started spurting from her mouth with every shriek. Anya's head pounded. She had had enough. "STOP IT NOW!" She shouted and, with one swift hand motion, tossed Reese into the air and slammed her against the wall. Reese fell to the floor in a crumpled pile.

Ashan looked directly at Anya. "She's dead! You... you killed her!"

Anya faced the now terrified girls coldly.

"I'm the leader here."