The Red Moon Rises

by KyliaQuilor

Medieval AU. 600 years ago, the Daughters of Sineya sealed away a powerful master vampire. Now as a red moon rises in the sky, events will bring together a confluence of heroes to prevent his return. A collection of Slayers, Witches, former Watchers and normal human beings of no powers are all that stands between the world, and its impending doom. Final Chapter is Up!

20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, Angel or any associated media, which is instead owned by Joss Whedon et al. I do own any and all original characters, settings, concepts and other original content, as well as my original variations on canon material that exist for this story (such as the 'Daughters of Sineya' as written, et cetera). No copyright infringement is intended, no money is being made. Written by a fan for other fans for amusement purposes.

A/N: If anyone who makes covers/fanart for fanfics, is reading this fic, and would be willing to take a request regarding this fic, please contact me. Thank you.

Thanks to Starway Man, my Beta

The Prophecies Cycle

Book I: The Red Moon Rises

By Alkeni

Chapter 20: The Battle of the Red Moon, Part I

The Day of the Red Moon

Castle Maestro,

Lordship of Sunnydale

"So, here they are. The Slayers have finally come, at the last moment, on the eve of the Red Moon." Luke said, looking carefully out the window, thankful for the momentary cloud cover that was blocking the deadly rays of the sun. "When we move against them, I will feed on their blood to fuel the Master's return, and deliver unto him a Kingdom defenseless against His wrath!"

Darla rolled her eyes. With the sun out, they met not in the castle courtyard, but near the entrance to the dungeons where she had moved the main body of her remaining followers. "The only thing you will be presenting the Master with is a vastly weakened force, an army of ashes. There is no reason for us to go out and fight them, you fool, with our ultimate triumph so near! This night, the Master rises... and under his leadership, there can be no defeat!"

"When I have ensured the Master's return to this world, I will speak to him of your cowardice. He will reward my faith in him, and in the prophecies of Aurelius, by allowing me to end your existence. Your final death will be long in coming, Darla, this I promise you."

"And when the Master rises, despite your insane foolishness, I will in due course feed your ashes to a pig and watch it choke on your remains." Darla countered, unable to believe this... this blockhead's short-sightedness.

"Keep your five score less one." Luke drawled. "Hide in this castle's dungeons, too, if you must. I have over four-hundred and fifty. I have The Three. I even have your greatest warrior, William the Bloody. I will have victory, and you will have nothing."

"We shall see, Luke." Darla shot back, her tone as cold as ice. She returned to the castle dungeons, fuming, but also pleased that Luke was so committed to a strategy that would result in his becoming ashes. And if that idiot truly thinks that Spike is on his side... Darla resisted the urge to laugh aloud where Luke could hear her. She knew William's only true loyalty was to Drusilla, and since the mad seer was still among Darla's faithful...

Having a set of spying eyes and ears in the midst of Luke's forces could only be useful.

Outside Castle Maestro

Lordship of Sunnydale

"Prepare the defensive wall!" Nikki barked orders to her Slayers. "We must be ready for any move the vampires will make against us after sunset. We attack the castle at dawn!" The High Priestess of the Agaden Temple watched as the Slayers acted as directed, working in teams to build a makeshift waist-high wall of trees from the nearby forest, shorn of their branches. As of yet, they'd disturbed no birds, the winged animals having either been killed by the vampires as food, or fled from their unnatural neighbors.

The industriousness and strength of the Daughters of Sineya meant that the work was going quickly, and would be done well before sundown. With two days – at least – before the rising of the Red Moon. More than enough time for victory, even if the vampires weren't defeated tomorrow with the rising sun. The Master would not be raised. And Spike would be brought to an end.

Nikki turned to Janna, scowling. "Can you perform the ritual from here? Strengthen the seals on the Master's prison, and prevent his release from even being remotely possible?"

Janna gave the High Priestess' question serious consideration for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't believe so. We dare not risk tampering with the spell from so far away, if no one else is tampering with it. For the ritual to work as to strengthen the Master's bindings, one of two things would have to happen. Either we'd have to be in the castle itself, right there in the room where the seals are located; or we could be out here, but the Red Moon would have to be in the sky and the vampires would have to be tampering with the seals with their own ritual. Since you plan on attacking at sunrise, we can do what needs to be done afterwards."

"I'm afraid that your plan and timetable will have to be both radically adjusted and severely contracted." Wesley said from behind the two women, speaking as he approached. "The Red Moon will be rising tonight." His tone lacked his customary snark and sarcasm, but was instead deadly grave.

"What? The message Rupert Giles sent told us the range of dates we could expect the Red Moon to fall on. The closest is still three nights away." Nikki said suspiciously.

"The Red Moon is coming tonight." Wesley repeated. "And with regards to why Giles gave you those dates, it was because those were the best dates he could come up with from the available source material. But as it turns out, they left out a rather critical detail." He reached into his pocket and produced a small crystal sphere.

"A Yherrin Crystal?" Nikki murmured. "Well, well. You and Rupert Giles are indeed full of surprises." She extended her arm and Wesley let it fall into her hand. "How do I-?"

"Tap it twice with your left ring finger." Wesley replied. "He's waiting on the other end."

Nikki tapped the crystal as directed and watched as an image – a projected illusion, about six inches high – of Rupert Giles rose up out of the crystal, appearing to all the world as if she had a small man standing in her hand.

"High Priestess Wood, I presume?" The mini-Giles asked, adjusting his spectacles.

"Yes." Nikki replied, then went straight to the point. "Why are you so sure that the Red Moon is coming tonight?"

"Yes, well, the sources I referenced gave a number of dates, but I wanted to determine if I couldn't use the same information the authors did to calculate a date myself, to get a better idea of when the Red Moon was coming. One should never trust the work of others too blindly, after all. But there's something that the sources I referenced didn't figure into their actual calculations, even though they referenced the phenomenon. The Red Moon has what is called a 'decaying cycle'. While it only arrives every six hundred and seventy three years, it can be observed in other ways in its trajectory en route to its arrival in our skies. While we lack much in the way of data points, given the timescale, it appears that the Red Moon shortens the time between arrivals in the night sky every time it arrives. Which accounts for the missing two days off my previous estimate."

"And you're sure of your math?" Janna asked, finally speaking up.

"I've checked it repeatedly. I'm as certain of it as I can be, given the circumstances. Of course, sunset will bear me out one way or the other."

"True." Nikki agreed. She briefly cursed the fact that he could not have learned this sooner, or that the Daughters had not wasted all that time in Sunnydale Town. "Thank you for your efforts, Rupert Giles."

"You are quite welcome." Giles's image flickered a moment. "I could linger, but it appears something has come up. If you'll excuse me." His image vanished completely and the crystal went dark.

"Are you going to give the attack order, then?" Wesley asked the High Priestess, as Janna departed to spread the news among her followers; even Amy Madison, who was hanging around somewhere, shunned by everyone else.

"No. Not until sundown. Especially since that is when the vampires will come out to meet us. If we cannot attack tomorrow with the sun as our ally, then fighting them in an open battle under the light of the moon – red or not – is our best bet. If Luke and/or Darla don't come out to fight alongside their soldiers, then we'll have to send in a team to kill one or the both of them that stays in there."

"But with the sun still out-" Wesley started.

"My Slayers have been on the march all day, Britillian, not to mention building that wall. I will not send them into an attack against the enemy while they're tired, without at least some chance to rest."

"But how can you be sure that the vampires will come out and attack?" The former Watcher inquired. "It would be monumentally stupid for them to do so, tactically speaking. Surely it would occur to them that all they need do is just wait us out, until the Master rises?"

Nikki smiled, and it was not a nice smile. "They're vampires, remember? Vampires that have been living on animal blood for at least the last ten days, mostly, if not more and entirely. And they're fanatical cultists, who believe they have inevitable prophecy on their side. And they outnumber us at least three to one, if not more. You tell me what is the most likely course of action those damned demons will undertake."

Wesley had to give her that. "A fair point." He conceded. "But that hardly means Luke and or Darla are sure to come out with their forces. Which means they still need to be dealt with."

"Also true." Nikki agreed. "Which is where you and your friends come in. On a pitched battlefield, you and yours are a great deal less useful than any of the Daughters; or even our undead ally. You and those that came with you, plus that House Chase guardsman – Harris, or whatever his name is – will go in and deal with the leader or leader that stays inside the castle. The five of you should be enough, given that most of the vampires will be outside fighting the rest of us."

"Just the five of us?" Wesley shook his head skeptically. "Unsupported?"

"You lack trust in your abilities and those of your traveling companions?" The question came out deadpan.

"Not in the least." Wesley countered. "I have a completely accurate measure of our abilities. And I doubt that the five of us alone would be enough to handle even one six-hundred plus year old vampire and whatever personal guard they have. I have absolutely no desire to commit suicide-by-vampire, and neither does everyone else."

Nikki was silent for several minutes, then finally, she spoke. "Very well. I'll send Buffy, Faith and Angel in with you. There are no others that can be spared."

Wesley didn't like it, but he had to agree with the High Priestess's logic. The numbers truly were noton their side, after all, and a team of eight was better than just five. "Agreed."

The Night of the Red Moon

In the Shadow of Castle Maestro

Lordship of Sunnydale

The idea of large, pitched battles was not an alien concept to the Daughters of Sineya. Indeed, during the Dark Times, the High Priestess had on occasion led massive armies of Slayers and normal human soldiers into melee battles against demons and vampires, and massive set-piece fighting was the norm, rather than the exception.

But it had been centuries now since those chaotic, bloody times. Still, it was something that cropped up every now and then – a demonic or vampiric horde gathered in large enough numbers that many Slayers had to be mustered together to fight them. To Nikki's recollection, the last time it had happened before tonight was two-hundred twenty-seven years ago, in the now-defunct Kingdom of Jalcwyn. One-hundred and seventy-three Slayers from two Temples had joined with five-hundred and sixteen soldiers of the Jalcwyn army to stand against the forward companies of the Archduke Sebassis. If those early troops hadn't been thrown back through their portal, doubtless that demonic warlord could and would have marched legion after legion into the mortal world and enslaved it.

Of course, what she had was closer to one-hundred Slayers and no soldiers, against what could be up to six hundred vampires.

Not an optimal situation.

Nikki looked out into the night, seeing the massing vampires, formed up in blocks of soldiers, ready to plow across the open field between the two sides at a moment's notice.

At least there won't be any problem with seeing the enemy. Nikki thought with a hint of irony as she looked up at the full moon above, casting a red tinge across the earth below it. And not that I ever truly doubted it, but Rupert Giles was right. The Red Moon is upon us.

She turned back to stare at her Slayers, massed as they were in two ranks, crossbows at the ready. Behind them stood the seven witches she had at her disposal; Janna, Willow and Tara beginning the counter-ritual to prevent the release of the Master, joined by that bitch Amy. I still don't trust her not to betray us somehow, damn it...

"Daughters of Sineya! Witches of the Agaden Coven! Tonight is the night when we must stand firm! Across this field of battle lies our enemy, the very beings we are sworn to protect mankind from. Across this field lies hundreds of vampires, dedicated to a cause that seeks to end all human life on this world! They outnumber us, but I know that each and every one of you is worth ten vampires! Twenty vampires! We are blessed by Sineya! We will stand firm against this menace, as we have since the creation of our Order! We will not run! We will not surrender! We will fight, and we will win!"

"First Rank! Kneel!" The first rank of Slayers knelt, such that both ranks could fire their crossbows without risking hitting any of their own.

On the other end of the field, Luke began to exhort his followers.

"Millennia ago, this world belonged to the Old Ones! The great demons of old! We have their blood in us! We are their loyal servants! We serve the Order of Aurelius, and we serve the Master! We will bring hell to this earth! We will offer the Master a hundred dead Slayers as a gift when he rises! And then, and then, we shall conquer! We shall burn this mortal world to the ground, feasting and gorging on the blood of human cattle, and we shall bring the Old Ones back! When they come – and they will come – we will be rewarded! Are you ready to kill, followers of Aurelius?" Luke threw his arms out to the sides in dramatic fashion, like a preacher waiting for an amen. His question was answered with a screamed 'Yes!' that reached all the way to the Slayer line.

"Are you ready to die for the cause?" Luke asked. Once again, the fanatical cultists provided exactly the answer he wanted.

"Then tonight we kill, and tonight we die! For the Master!" Luke shouted loud enough that he could be heard even down in the castle dungeons.

"FOR THE MASTER!" The vampires screamed, even louder.

One of the few vampires who didn't take part in the chanted responses was standing just a bit off to the side from the main body of Luke's forces: William the Bloody himself, Spike. Checking his carefully maintained black fingernails in boredom, he waited for the order to charge to finally come.

Bloody hell. Do these idiots really want to end the world by bringing back the soddin' Old Ones? In his mind, this world had a lot of things going for it. First and foremost, all the bloodbags walking around it. These last few weeks living on mostly animal blood had been hell in a handbasket.

The chance to taste Slayer blood again was enough to draw him out to fight, and to hell with all this talk of Aurelius or bringing back the Old Ones. Well, that and Drusilla had told him what to do...

"Warriors of the Order of Aurelius! Warriors of the Master! Charge!" Luke turned from facing the vampires and towards the enemy Slayers, as a great war cry rose up from the vampires. In a singe rolling mass, the vampires charged their enemies.

"Hold your fire!" Nikki ordered from her position on the left of the Slayer line. "Wait until you are certain your shot will count! We only have this one volley!"

The vampires drew closer...seven fireballs flew up from the witches, arcing up and then crashing into the back ranks of the vampires, incinerating some, wounding others, and serving as to break up the formation, as artillery the world over did again and again throughout history. A second barrage was fired, disrupting the undead's lines even further – before the twang of the crossbows sent nearly one hundred wooden shafts flying straight into the vampire ranks.

One hundred bolts didn't mean one hundred dead vampires, as the wooden weapons bounced off the armor of some, or hit others in places not the heart, or missed them altogether. But close to fifty vampires were taken out, one way or another, as the charging undead mass grew even closer.

"Draw your swords! Break formation, form groups, and attack!" Nikki ordered, pulling the twin swords from their sheaths on her back as she charged right into the vampire ranks, a windmill of death, beheading a vampire with each of her opening strokes.

The Slayers broke into groups, clumps of two or three, sometimes four, each one wielding a sword and a stake, breaking through the vampiric ranks like rocks into water, surrounded and subsumed by wave after wave of the undead.

Here, two Slayers swung their swords, back to back, stabbing out with stakes, keeping the vampires at bay.

There, one vampire ducked under the wild, inexperienced swings of a Slayer, grabbing at the girl's arm, snapping it back with a sickening crack. Eagerly, he went for her neck – only to fall to dust as a stake from another Slayer got him in the heart.

Elsewhere, three heavily armored vampires used spears as twice as long as they were tall to skewer two Slayers, tossing their bodies into the air, letting them land among vampires, who fell upon them with a hungry abandon.

For his part, Luke ignored a painful slash into his arm as he grabbed a Slayer that had been separated from the others and dug his fangs into her neck, feeling the blood flow into him, as the power began to flow from him to the Master. "More blood!" He called out. "I must have more!" He ducked under a punch from another Slayer.

A dark-skinned young woman suddenly rose up into a flying leap, driving her feet into Luke's chest, knocking him to the ground. She rolled off of him in a smooth motion and stabbed her stake down into where the vampire's heart should have been; but Luke had already rolled away, taking a scrape along his side as he grabbed the woman's arm and flung her into three vampire minions, who fell to the ground as Luke rose to his feet.

Kendra took advantage of the opportunity and took out a second stake from her belt, driving both into vampiric hearts, elbowing the third right in the face as it tried to go for her neck before staking it in the back. Somersaulting up to her feet, she ran at Luke.

"A real challenge!" Luke said with glorious fury. "Come at me then, Slayer! I will end you!" He beckoned to the woman who charged him again, ducking under his swings, sliding right under him, jumping back up behind him – a kick got her right under the chin, sending her sprawling some five feet away.

Luke savored the moment as he approached her.

On the other end of the battlefield, Spike saw a the windmill of blades up ahead, taking out vampire after vampire. "Now this looks like fun!" Not bothering to draw the sword he'd brought along, Spike ran at the deadly Slayer. He drew up a moment short as he recognized the woman, plus some twenty years.

"You!" Spike roared with a hearty laugh. "I never thought I'd see you again. Thought I killed you, actually!"

"You tried, William the Bloody." Nikki Wood spat, casually beheading a maimed vampire on the ground beside her. "But Sineya protected me. Kept me alive. For this night. For this purpose. I will end you, at long last."

Spike donned his true face. "We'll see about that, luv. And it's Spike."

Not bothering to reply, Nikki swung her swords at him, coming at his neck from either end. Spike just lifted his arms and let the blades bounce off his enchanted coat. "Didn't forget about this nifty little thing, did you?" He asked with a smirk. He kicked out at her, knocking a leg out from under her, but Nikki stabilized, stabbing a sword into the earth and using it as leverage to spin into the air, legs crashing into his arm. Spike flew to the ground, landing on his side.

The vampire laughed as he pulled himself to his feet. "A lot more interesting fighting you, now. I remember how you cried out in pain as I drank from you. I wonder if you'll taste just as sweet now as you did last time?"

"You won't get a chance to find out!" Nikki pulled her sword out of the ground and came at him with both again.

"Now that just ain't fair." Spike mocked as he ducked and dodged swing after swing. "Here you are, swinging swords, and all I've got is my fists. Give a chap a chance, hm?" Nikki ignored him and swung at his legs. Spike jumped over the blades and stamped his foot down on one, pulling it from her grip. Nikki jumped back, reaching for the stake at her belt, as Spike drew his own sword, a cruel, curved cutlass. "Now, that's a bit more fair, wouldn't you say?"

"Die already, you monster!" Nikki didn't come at him, however, but readied herself for his attack.

Not that far away, Luke sidestepped a kick from the dark-skinned Slayer, but even though he'd managed to score hits on her – and she on him – neither had gained any serious advantage. The two combatants had dueled their away across the battlefield, weaving in and out of other fights, not being disturbed by the mortal death-matches around them, as the occasional jet of flame struck out at vampires, or landed on the ground.

"You fight well, Slayer. But the Red Moon is in the sky. Prophecy dictates that I will succeed. Surrender now, and I will make your death painless. Perhaps I will even reward your skill, by granting you eternity as my newest daughter."

"I would sooner stake myself than accept such an offer." Kendra shot back.

Back at the other battle – Spike didn't move at Nikki either, as the two enemies started to circle around each other. Nikki flung her stake at him, hoping to catch his heart, or at least hit him; but Spike dashed it to the side with his sword, sending the wood flying off into the ground. "Try harder." He replied, smirking.

Nikki didn't bother to reply, continuing to circle, looking for an opening, any sort of opportunity. Her best chance was to drive for his stomach, since it wasn't covered by the coat...but it would open her right to an attack...

"You're wondering what it's like...what it would have felt like to die that night." Spike said with a smirk. "Surrounded by all those dead bodies – covered by them – you remember what it felt like...and now you're wondering what if you'd joined them." Without any indicating moves, he rushed at her, sword hanging loosely at his side.

Nikki saw her chance, stabbing the sword at his stomach –

The weapon went right into Spike's stomach, as planned...but then as Nikki raised the stake to finish him off, there was...she saw, and heard, more than felt it as the vampire's cutlass slashed right through her wrist...the dull thud, as her right hand landed on the ground.

She was too numbed to react, shock flowing through her, as the undead hand closed around her neck. "How..."

"You heard me...and you wondered if I was right." Spike said, driving his teeth into her neck as he finished that last word. Once Nikki was drained, he let her limp body fall to the ground. "You shouldn't have listened." he added, grunting as he pulled the Slayer's sword out of his stomach

A short distance away Kendra stood semi-crouched, a stake in both hands as Luke came at her once more. Letting her eyes drop to the ground for a moment, she smirked as he took the bait and grabbed her throat, tightening his grip.

"Can you feel that? The power of the Red Moon? Soon, the Master will rise! And with him, will come Hell, as it walks the earth on our march to glory!"

"A fight should be less talking-" She drove her stake into the reverse of Luke's elbow, then brought both hands onto his arm, snapping it with the force of her twisting. She staggered back and breathed deep for a moment. Then Kendra flung her other stake right into Luke's exposed heart, watching the vampire turn into a skeleton for a moment, before the bones exploded into dust.

"And more Slaying."

So saying, Kendra flung herself back into the fray, killing every single vampire she came upon.

Just outside Castle Maestro

Lordship of Sunnydale

The group of eight moved stealthily towards their target, each member of the team knowing what to do and when to do it. Buffy and Faith looked a bit conflicted about not being on the battlefield alongside the rest of their sisterhood, but nonetheless they knew that theirs was the more important job; if they failed to kill both Luke and Darla, then the sacrifice of however many Slayers this night would be for nothing.

If I know her, Darla will be holed up somewhere secure... Angel thought to himself as they were about to leave the tree cover. Hopefully Like will still be as much of an egotistical idiot as I remember him to be, personally leading his minions into battle, and the Daughters will destroy him for us; but Darla will be too smart for that. I'll have to slay her myself...

"Concentrate on the here and now." Xander's voice said sharply, bringing Angel back to the present. "We need you to be focused, remember?"

"Yes, I..." Angel abruptly cut himself off as he heard and smelled something nearby, and darted to the side. There was a muffled yelp, before Angel came back dragging Cordelia before the group.

"What are you doing here?" Buffy demanded furiously, recognizing the young noblewoman. "You fool, you could have gotten us all spotted and killed!"

Cordelia sniffed, "As if I didn't know how to remain safely under cover? Besides, these are my lands. The Lordship passes to me, with the death of my father and the incapacitation of my mother. If anyone has any right to be here, it's me; and not any of you!"

Faith somehow restrained the urge to rip Cordelia's head off. "Are you insane, coming here? And you still haven't answered Buffy's first question. Why are you here?"

"To help destroy that evil vampire your ancestors imprisoned so long ago, of course." Cordelia said snidely. "This is my world as much as it is yours, after all. And I am hardly insane, Slayer! If this was a month ago, I'd have had you flogged for daring to say that!"

"We don't have time for this." Lilah said, looking irritated at Wesley.

"For once, I must agree. Lady Chase, you must depart at once." Wes nodded.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere!" Cordelia shot back. "Besides, I have my own reasons for coming. After we succeed, when I appear before the Baron, it will be as the victorious Lady Chase; not a penniless beggar appealing for help."

"And if we fail?" Fred asked with a small grin.

"Well, then, it probably won't matter if she's here with us; or elsewhere." Gunn grinned back at his wife.

Angel looked at Xander. "You'd best get her out of here-"

"And leave the rest of you to face killing those vampires without me? We're already short-handed enough!" Xander pointed out, and Angel reluctantly had to acknowledge the point.

"All right, fine, you can come with us. Xander, you keep an eye on her ladyship; and if she becomes a hindrance rather than a help... kill her." Buffy ordered coldly.

Cordelia's eyebrows rose nearly to her forehead, and she opened her mouth to furiously shriek at the commoner for daring to say that; but luckily, Xander clapped a hand over the noblewoman's mouth. "Maybe I ought to just kill Cordelia now, and save us the time and worry?"

Lady Chase immediately glared at her former minion for that, and as Xander removed his hand she said snootily, "Not if I kill you first, Xander. And I refuse to let you be my bodyguard any longer; the handsome knight over there is the one I choose as my personal protector!"

Xander smirked. "I'm not going to get any better opening than that! Show her, Angel."

Lady Cordelia's eyes went as wide as saucers as her intended future husband's face changed, becoming that of a monster. A vampire. She opened her mouth to scream in fear; and yet Xander's hand immediately clamped down before she could make a sound.

The noblewoman immediately shrank away from the...thing into Xander's arms. Removing his hand from her mouth Harris impatiently whirled her around, and forced Cordelia to look directly into his eyes. She found herself oddly captivated by his blazing, brown orbs...

"Yes, he's a vampire. Yes, everyone knew except you. Yes, he really is on our side. And no, he's not going to kill you; well, not unless you start screaming like a spoiled princess, instead of the woman who helped get me, your mother, and the surviving townsfolk to the Agaden Temple over a week ago." Xander's voice became lower-pitched, and Cordelia suddenly felt mesmerized. "Tell me something, Cordelia. Did you truly mean it when you said you wanted to take part in this fight, for all the right reasons?"

"I...yes." The brunette said, unable to look away. "Yes, Xander, I meant it!"

"Good. Then let's get moving...my Lady." Xander said with the ghost of a small lopsided grin, one that made Cordelia's stomach flutter madly for some reason she couldn't understand.

The Slayers leading the way, the group of nine then headed for the enemy's stronghold...and the fight of their lives...

Next Time, on the Last Installment of The Red Moon Rises: Luke may be dead, but if the raising of the Master is to be stopped, Darla must soon join him. Can Wesley, Fred, Gunn, Lilah, Cordelia and Xander, joined by Faith, Buffy and Angel, find her in time to prevent the apocalypse?