Buffy sighed. All this much trouble, just because Giles had been foolish enough to enter some other dimension. And as always, she was the one who had to do the rescuing. Well, it was all over now. Willow had said that as soon as Giles turned unconscious, the world around him would crumble, and their way home would appear. So all she had to do now was to wait for the portal to turn up, and bring Giles back home.
"Stay right there", a weak voice said. The black haired boy who'd been standing in the background all along took a step forward. His hand was raised.
"Look", Buffy said, "I really don't want to hurt you, so just stay where you are, okay? I'll be gone soon, and you will all forget we were ever here."
"No", the boy said. In the corner of her eye, Buffy could see the black hole appearing.
"No?" Buffy was surprised. This boy was braver than she'd thought he'd be. But she didn't have time for bravery. The hole was growing bigger. "Didn't you see what happened to the others?" she asked. "You wouldn't want that to happen to you, right?"
"No", he said again.
"Well, good then", Buffy said, slightly confused. "So we're just gonna go now." She grabbed Giles by the arm and started pulling him towards to the empty void.
"No", the boy said for the third time. "I won't let you kidnap the king."
"Look. He's not really the king. He's my watcher, and I'm gonna do what I want with him." Buffy made a face. "That came out wrong, but you know what I mean. And anyway, there's nothing you can do about it."
The boy's eyes flashed with a fiery red. He started speaking in words Buffy couldn't understand, but knew too well.
"Oh, crap", she said.
And to think, that he had wanted to rescue her! That he had been willing to help her, save her! Only to realise that she was using her magic to destroy the kingdom, to abuse the prince and kidnap the king!
"Cumhachtaí, a bheith imithe." He recalled the words he had looked at so many times, the words that would bind the magic inside a person, make sure that the witch or the warlock never would be able to cast a spell again. "Fág an duine seo gan a neart!"
The king slipped out of the witch's hands. She looked at them like they were covered in hives and blemishes.
"What are you doing to me?" she whispered, her hands still in front of her.
"I am releasing you from your powers", Merlin said in a strained voice. It was barely possible for him to do this. She nearly overpowered him. Him, the greatest wizard of his time! How could that be?
"You're taking my powers?" she yelled. "The hell you are!" She left the king on the floor and ran over to him, pushed him right in the stomach. He didn't even move his feet.
She looked at him with fear in her eyes. "Give them back", she said in a bleak tone.
"You don't deserve them", Merlin said. He kept going. The spell was almost finished, and then, she'd be stripped from her powers for all of eternity. "Ceangail iad go deo, agus ainm an ..."