Author's Note: Song lyrics will be Bolded and in Italics, this is so I don't have to keep repeating who sang what.
Chapter 6: Once More With Feeling
November 6, 2001 – Tuesday
Summers Home
On a gorgeous day, Buffy turned over in bed as her alarm went off. As she grabbed it up, she glared at it for waking her up. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes and dreading the day ahead. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to get out of bed and face the day.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
As Dawn raced out of her room, she headed for the bathroom door as fast as she could. Hoping from foot to foot, she banged on the door, desperately wanting to pee. She dashed past Willow as the redhead emerged from the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
The Magic Box
As a customer approached, Xander and Anya sat looking at a bridal magazine, smiling and talking. They were discussing their upcoming wedding and all the details that needed to be taken care of. Anya was excitedly pointing out different dresses and decorations in the magazine, while Xander listened intently. Upon hearing the customer's request to pay, Anya got up and led her to the register.
Next to Xander were Willow and Tara, reading a book together and taking notes. Next to them sat Buffy, sketching on a notepad. Dawn and Lynn sat close to her, both finishing their homework.
It was at that moment that Giles approached the sisters, a large battle axe in his hand. Before walking away, he motioned for them to join him in the back for training. The sisters looked at each other, hesitating for a moment as they put down what they were doing. They then stood up and followed him toward the rear of the store.
Restfield Cemetery
Buffy and the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger strolled through the cemetery as the music began to play all around them. As she opened her mouth, Buffy sang. Her voice was strong and clear, echoing off the tombstones. "Every single night the same arrangement. I go out with Dawn and fight the fight. Still, I always feel this strange estrangement. Nothing here is real, nothing here is right. I've been making shows of trading blows. Hoping Dawn is the only one who knows. I've been going through the motions. Walking through the part. Nothing seems to penetrate my heart."
As the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger inserted one of her power stakes into a vampire's heart, he burst into flames before exploding into ashes. As two additional vampires and a demon approached her and Buffy, they noticed that a young man was tied to a tree. He was about to be ritually sacrificed by the vampires and the demon. The Ranger and Buffy leaped into action.
"I was always brave and kind of righteous," Buffy continued. "Now I find I'm wavering. Crawl of your grave you find this fight. Just doesn't mean a thing."
"She ain't got that swing," one of the vampires sang as Buffy punched him. He then slammed his elbow into Buffy's face, knocking her to the ground.
"Thanks for noticing," Buffy sang as she got back to her feet.
The two vampires and the demon marched past the Slayer and Ranger as they all sang in unison. "She does pretty well with fiends from hell. But lately, we can tell. That she's just going through the motions. Faking it somehow."
"White Phoenix Power Sword," the Ranger said as she spun in a 360-degree arc. When she faced the vampires and the demon again, she grasped her sword. She swung it in a wide arc, decapitating one of the vampires. He burst into flames before dusting.
Buffy snatched the demon's sword and fatally slashed him just as he erupted into song. "She's not even half the girl. She—Ow…" He dropped to the ground dead.
As the Ranger approached the young man to fee him with her power sword, Buffy came up beside her as she resumed singing. "Will I stay this way forever? Sleepwalk through my life's endeavor?"
As he sang, the man wondered how he could repay them for saving him. "How can I repay—"
"Don't bother," replied the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger before she too broke into song. "We're not in this for compensation."
Buffy resumed singing as she and the Ranger walked toward the entrance to the cemetery and Dawn's Zord. "I don't want to be going through the motions. Losing all my drive."
The last vampire stood up and came at them. The Ranger spun in a wide arc decapitating him and he burst into flames before dusting.
"I can't even see if this is really me. And I just want to be alive!" As Buffy sang the last line, the music faded away.
"Power Down!" the Ranger called as she de-morphed. Dawn then turned to her sister. "Okay, two things. What in the heck was that?"
"I don't know," Buffy admitted knowing Dawn meant the singing and the unseen musical accompaniment. "It was weird. I just felt the need to sing and then there was music." She shrugged. "What was the second thing?"
"Why didn't you tell me any of that?" Dawn asked as she wrapped an arm around Buffy.
"You've been here for me so much," Buffy said as they came upon Dawn's Zord, vehicle-sized. "But some stuff is difficult to admit even to myself. It's nothing against you, Dawnie. It's just me."
"I understand," Dawn said sadly.
November 7, 2001 – Wednesday
The Magic Box
Buffy walked into the store to find her friends gathered about. She saw that Giles and Anya were going over her ledgers, Tara and Willow were in a corner stocking jars and being touchy and giggly, and Xander sat at the table with a bunch of pastries trying to choose one.
"Good morning, Buffy," Giles said noticing her when she walked up to him.
"Dawn get off to school all right?" Willow wondered. "Did Lynn orb them?"
"What?" Buffy asked her mind going over the song she sang last night. "Oh," she said realizing what Willow had asked. "I think so."
"I left her lunch in the fridge," Tara informed Buffy. "Brown paper bag that said 'Dawn' on it. And also said 'lunch'."
"Then she probably took it," Buffy said as she walked over to Xander and dropped her purse on the table.
"Respect the cruller. And tame the donut!" Xander said playing with his food while holding both a long-glazed cruller and a powder donut."
"That's still funny, sweetie," Anya told him while still looking at the ledger.
"So, uh… no research?" Buffy asked hesitantly. "Nothing going on? Monsters, or whatnot?" Everyone shook their heads in the negative. "Good. Good. That's uh… so, did anybody, um… last night, did anybody, oh… burst into song?"
Everyone stopped and looked at each other in the realization that it hadn't just been them.
"Merciful Zeus," Xander cried.
"We thought we were the only ones!" Willow said looking at Tara. "It was bizarre!"
"Well, I sang, but I have my guitar at the hotel and I often…" Giles muttered to himself.
"We were talking, and then… It was like…" Tara said trying to put into words what it had felt like.
"Like you were in a musical?" Buffy asked as Tara nodded in confirmation.
"…of course, that would explain the huge backing orchestra I couldn't see and the synchronized dancing from the room service chaps…" Giles continued with realization.
"Xander and I were fighting about Monkey Trouble," Anya informed them.
"You have monkey trouble?" Buffy asked as she looked between Xander and Anya confused.
"It's a film," Xander said unenthused.
"It's a corker!" Anya admitted.
Xander rolled his eyes. "Especially the ninth time," he said sarcastically.
"And we were arguing and then everything rhymed, and there were harmonies and a dance with coconuts…" Anya explained.
"It was very disturbing," Xander admitted.
"What did you sing about?" Giles wondered looking at one of his two Slayers.
"I, uh... I don't remember. But it seemed perfectly normal," Buffy admitted with a shrug.
"But disturbing. And not the natural order of things and do you think it'll happen again?" Xander wondered looking at everyone as they gathered around him and the table. "Because I'm for the natural order of things."
"We should look into it," Giles said as he sat down.
"Exactly," Willow agreed. "With the books and mulling, there could be mulling…"
"Do we have any books about this?" Tara wondered looking at Giles and Willow, who would be the ones to know.
"Well, we've just got to break it down, look at the factors, before it happens again—" Xander said.
It was at that moment that they all heard an unseen orchestra start to play and then Giles burst into song. "I've got a theory that it's a demon. A dancing demon… nyehh, something isn't right there."
"I've got a theory some kid is dreaming. And we're all stuck inside his crazy Broadway nightmare," Willow sang as she motioned toward Tara who waved her hands with the palms facing forward and the fingers wide open.
Xander looked at everyone. "I've got a theory we should work this out."
"It's getting eerie what this cheery singing is all about," Willow, Tara, and Anya sang as Anya moved next to the couple.
Xander stood urgently. "It could be witches, some evil witches…" he sang. He looked at Willow and Tara and noticed them glaring at him. "Which is ridiculous. Because witches were persecuted. Wicca is good and loves the Earth and woman power. I'll be over here." He sat back down dejectedly in his chair.
Anya smiled as an idea came to her mind and she went next. "I've got a theory. It could be bunnies." Everyone stared at her as if the idea it could be bunnies was ridiculous. Suddenly the unseen orchestra becomes more heavy metal-like. "Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes," she sang doing a rendition of a heavy metal wail. "They got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses. And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyway? Bunnies, bunnies, it must be bunnies."
As Anya finished her solo the music returned to what it was before and she got in one more line in defeat. "Or maybe midgets."
Willow looked around at everyone before sitting down next to Giles as she sang the next verse. "I've got a theory we should work this out."
"Because it clearly could get serious," Giles sang joining Willow. "Before it's passed."
Buffy glanced at each other as whatever they all were under forced her to sing. "I've got a theory. It doesn't matter." Giles looked at her, perturbed, as she moved on to explain. "What can't we face if we're together? What's in this place that we can't weather? Apocalypse. We and Dawn have all been there. The same old trips. Why should we care."
Except Giles, the rest of the Scoobies joined Buffy as they added their voices to hers. "What can't we do if we get in it? We'll work it through within a minute. We have to try. We know we'll pay the price. It's do or die."
Buffy gave Giles a wry smile as she sang. "Hey, I've died twice."
Giles, who was won over, finally joined the rest of the group. "What can't we face if we're together? What's in this place that we can't weather if we're together? There's nothing we can't face."
As the music began to fade away, Anya took the last line. "Except for bunnies…"
"See okay that was disturbing," Xander admitted looking around.
"I thought it was neat," Willow admitted as Tara sat next to her.
"So, what is it?" Buffy asked looking at Giles for the answer. "What's causing it?"
"Thought it didn't matter," he reminded her.
"Well I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots but there's something unnatural going on," Buffy said. "And that doesn't usually lead to hugs and puppies," she said as her wrist communicator went off. "Buffy here," she said bringing the communicator to her lips.
"Buffy," came Dawn's voice from the communicator. "It happened again."
"You sang?" Buffy asked looking up at her friends.
"Yeah. Me, Lynn, and our entire math class," Dawn replied. "It was weird we just started singing about math. Have you asked the guys about it yet?"
Giles stood and walked around the table. "Dawn," he said as Buffy moved her wrist communicator so he could speak into it as well. "We just burst into a song here as well. We're going to be looking into it. You and Lynn come to the Magic Box when you both get out of school."
"Will do."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Dawn and Lynn stepped out of the training room after orbing there from school. "Anything?" Dawn asked as she walked over to Buffy.
"Still looking," Buffy answered.
Lynn sat at the counter and was about to pull out her textbooks to do her homework when she spotted a necklace almost hidden by other items on the counter. She found it beautiful and thought it might make a nice gift for Dawn. "Mr. Giles," she said and he walked over to her. "How much?" she asked looking at Dawn.
Giles followed Lynn's gaze and nodded in understanding before turning his attention to the necklace. "How about twelve dollars?" he whispered.
Lynn smiled as she pulled out the money from her purse and handed it to him. "Thanks," she said before turning her gaze back to Dawn. "Hey, Dawn."
"Yeah," Dawn said as she approached her girlfriend who stood up.
"Got a gift," Lynn informed her and Dawn smiled as she looked at the necklace. She pulled her hair aside so Lynn could fasten it around her neck.
"That's right," Tara said suddenly. "The volume! The text!"
"What text?" Giles wondered as he walked back over to the table, retaking his seat.
"The volumey… text," Willow answered cryptically.
"You know," Tara added.
"The... murnenfurm report," Willow mumbled.
"The what now?" Xander questioned as he looked at the two witches in confusion.
"We just have a few volumes at the house that deals with mystical chants, bacchanals… might be relevant," Tara suggested.
"We could…" Willow offered.
"Well, I'm a hair's breadth from investigating bunnies at this point," Giles said sadly. "So I'm open to anything."
"We'll check it out, we'll give you a call," Willow said as she and Tara stood up.
"Yeah," Tara agreed. "This could blow the whole thing wide open."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"I bet they're not even working," Xander said looking up from the book he had been going through.
"Who now?" Buffy wondered.
"Willow and Tara," Xander answered. "You see the way they were with each other? The get-a-roominess of them. I'll bet they're—" he hesitated as he looked over at Dawn and Lynn who sat across from him going through two more books, "—singing. They're probably singing right now."
Dawn and Lynn looked at each other with a roll of their eyes.
"I'm sure Willow and Tara are making every effort," Giles informed him as he looked up from his book.
Streets of Sunnydale
A man stood frantic tap dancing unable to stop. As he breathed heavily, he somehow managed to plaster a fake smile on his face. It was then that he began to smoke before igniting spontaneously. The flames rapidly spread across the body till he finally fell to the ground a charred corpse.
It was at that moment a demon in a retro kind of suit, similar to the old-style zoot suits, stepped out of the shadows. He looked down at the corpse and smiled. "That's entertainment…"
November 8, 2001 – Thursday
Streets of Sunnydale
The next morning Lynn walked down the street with Giles, Xander, and Anya. Her mom had called the school saying she was sick so she could help discover what was going on. She listened as Xander and Anya told her and Giles about their morning when they had burst into song.
"It's a nightmare. It's a plague!" Xander cried.
"It has to be stopped—" Anya added.
"It's like a nightmare about a plague—" Xander said cutting Anya off. "It was just like, I didn't want to be saying things but they just kept pouring out of me and they rhymed and they were mean and…" he looked at Anya. "My eyes are not beady!"
"I felt like we were being watched like a wall was missing from our apartment like there only three walls, no fourth wall, and…" Anya said as she looked at Xander. "My toes are not hairy!"
"Giles… Lynn, you got to stop it," Xander cried looking at the Watcher and Witchlighter.
"Well I intend to orb to the Elders and see what they know," Lynn informed them.
"And, I am following a few leads, and—" Giles added.
"Plus," Anya said cutting Giles off. "Our number was clearly a retro pastiche that's never going to be a breakaway pop hit."
"Work with me. Giles… Lynn, either of you, give me an axe and show me where to point it," Xander begged.
Giles and Lynn glanced at each other knowing it wasn't that simple. "As ever, it's not quite that simple," Giles admitted. "But I have learned something quite disturbing. There were reports of a man who burned to death."
"Somebody set someone on fire?" Lynn questioned.
"That's nuts!" Xander added.
"I don't know," Anya admitted looking at her boyfriend pointedly. "One more verse of our little ditty and I woulda been lookin' for the gas can…"
"Certainly, emotions are running high, but as far as I could tell the victim burnt up from the inside," Giles informed them. "Spontaneously combusted. I just saw the one—I managed to examine the body while the police were taking witness arias."
"But we're sure the two things are related?" Xander wondered. "Singing and dancing and burning and dying?"
"We don't know anything yet," Lynn said.
"Dawn said she was going to speak to Dimitria in Angel Grove. And Buffy's looking for leads in the local demon haunts… at least, in theory, she is. She doesn't seem to…"
"She's easing back in. We brought her back from an untold hell dimension, remember?" Xander reminded the Watcher. "Ergo, weirdness. The important thing is that you're there for her."
Giles glanced at Lynn for a moment before turning his attention back to Xander. "I'm helping her as much as I can, but…" he confided quietly.
Power Chamber
"Hello, Dimitria," Dawn said when she appeared in the middle of the room in a white beam of light.
"Hello, Dawn," Dimitria replied. Unlike the last time, Dawn saw the woman. This time Dimitria's face was projected onto the tube, she wasn't there in person. "What can I help you with?"
"Something is going on in Sunnydale," Dawn informed the woman. "We believe there could be a demon at work, though we can't figure out who. Whatever it's done it's causing everyone in town to break in song."
"There is several deities and demons who could fit what you are describing," Dimitria replied. "There is Terpsichore a Greek goddess. There is Ame-No-Uzume-No-Mikoto a Japanese goddess. There is Baal Marqod a Canaanite god. There are nymphs known as Apsaras. There is Shiva Nataraja who was called the dancing king. And there is even the demon known as Sweet. It could be any of those or any others."
Restfield Cemetery
Buffy stepped into Spike's crypt just as he came up a ladder that led underground. She shut the door behind her before turning back to Spike.
"The sun sets, and she appears," Spike said. "Come to serenade me?"
"So, you know what's going on," Buffy said as she moved over to a chair and sat down.
"Well, I've seen some damn funny things, the last two days," Spike answered thinking back on what he had seen. "Six-hundred-pound Chorago demon making like Yma Sumac, that one'll stay with you. I remain immune, happy to say." He held up a bottle that he carried in his hand. "Drink?"
"A world of no," Buffy answered with a vigorous shake of her head. "You know anything about what's causing this?"
"So that's all, then," Spike said bitterly. "Just want to pump me for information."
"What else would I want to pump you for?" she asked before realizing as he worded that. "I really said that, didn't I?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Well, I won't bore you with the small talk. Don't know a thing."
Buffy looked at him sensing the tension within him. "What's up? You're all bad moody."
"S'nothing. I'm glad you could stop by," Spike answered as she opened the door to his crypt. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "It's nothing."
"What," Buffy asked knowing it wasn't nothing.
"I died," Spike sang startling both himself and Buffy as he slammed the door shut. "So many years go. Bloody hell. And you can make me feel like it isn't so. But why come to be with me I think I finally know." As he rounded on her he gave himself over to the music. "You're scared, ashamed of what you feel. And you can't tell anyone but Dawn, because you know they couldn't deal. But whisper in a dead man's ear, that doesn't make it real. That's great. But I don't want to play. Because being near you touches me more than I can say. And since I'm only dead to you, I'm saying stay away. And let me rest in peace." He flopped onto the stone slab of the tomb.
Buffy looked at him thrown not only by the request. But by the fact that he just admitted that he knew where she was and that she had told Dawn.
Spike jumped off the tomb and circled Buffy. "Let me rest in peace. Let me get some sleep. Let me take my love and bury it in a hole six-foot deep. I can lay my body down, but I can't find my sweet release. So, let me rest in peace." He knelt in front of her close. "You know, you've got a willing slave. And you just love to play the thought that might misbehave." He looked up at her face. "But til you do I'm telling you stop visiting my grave and let me rest in peace."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
As Buffy walked through the cemetery, she spotted something quite unusual even for Sunnydale. Someone was holding a funeral at night. Next to her Spike continued to sing. "I know, I should go but I follow you like a man possessed. There's a traitor here beneath my breast. And it hurts me more than you've ever guessed. If my heart could beat it would break my chest. But I can see you're unimpressed. So, leave me be, and let me rest in peace."
He turned and jumped off a tombstone right onto the casket the men were carrying. He then threw himself flat on the casket as the men drop it and he somersaulted right into the midst of the mourners, frightening them all away as he morphed into his vampiric visage.
"Let me get some sleep," he continued. "Let me take my love and bury it in a hold six-foot deep. I can lay my body down, but I can't find my sweet release."
Buffy roughly grabbed Spike pulling him away from the mourners as his face shifts back to human. They stumble and fell into the grave. She landed on top of him, aware of the closeness.
"So, let me rest in peace. Why won't you let me rest in peace," he concluded as Buffy pushed herself up and jumped out of the grave running away from him.
Summers Home
Dawn appeared in the middle of her room just as Tara was passing by the door.
"Did you find anything out?" Tara asked as she poked her head through the door.
"Some potentials, but that's it," Dawn said. "One of them was a demon."
"Let me guess some Lord of the Dance, a demon that can be summoned?" Tara asked.
"Yeah," Dawn said as she looked at Tara in surprise. "How did you…?"
"Lynn said the Elders told her that he was likely the demon we're after," Tara answered.
"Did they know who summoned it?" Dawn wondered.
"No," Tara answered. "But now that we know what we're looking for. Willow'll find out. She's the brainy type."
Dawn nodded as she smiled at her friend. "I'm glad you guys made up," she said.
"What?" Tara asked confused.
"The fight you guys had the other day about magic," Dawn shrugged.
Tara looked at her friend even more confused. "Dawn, we never talked about…"
"It's okay," Dawn said cutting Tara off. "It's none of my business. And it's not like I can say much when it comes to magic since my girlfriend is part witch. That said it kind of surprised me since that was the only real fight, I've seen you guys have."
Tara touched a flowery herb that was pinned to her shirt as she began to realize something bad had happened. "Dawn, I... there's something I need at the shop. Will you be okay for a little while?"
Dawn rolled her eyes. "I'm not only a Slayer but a Power Ranger, remember? I'll be fine. Besides I'm just a wrist communicator away."
Tara nodded. "Okay," she said as she headed out the door, heading for the stairs.
Dawn opened her jewelry box and pulled out the necklace Lynn had got her the day before. She slowly put it on and looked at it in the mirror thinking how blessed she was to have such a wonderful girlfriend.
In the mirror, she spotted three men, with what looked like puppet heads. And she spun around. "Shift into…" Before she can finish the morphing sequence the men grab her and throw a burlap sack over her head.
The Bronze
Dawn woke to find herself, no longer in the sack, lying on a pool table. As she started to move, she frowned as she heard, music beginning to play. She realized she wasn't in complete control of her movements as they seemed to be deliberate. The moment she was off the pool table she danced almost classically. She looked around her and then… "Shift into Turbo!" she called as she swung her left arm in front of her.
Once again, she was interrupted as one of the puppet men appeared. One of them grabbed her arm and spun her around, throwing her toward the stage. She landed on her knees and slid across the floor ending up right in front of the stairs coming down from the middle of the stage. As she looked up she spotted the demon Dimitria had mentioned… Sweet.
Twice now the morphing sequence had been interrupted, Dawn decided as she stood up that it would be best to wait for a third attempt when she knew it could be completed.
Sweet smiled as he tapped his way down the stairs. "Why'd you run away; don't you like my style?" He stamped his foot and his suit changed from blue to bright burnished red. "Why don't you come and play? I guarantee a great big smile." He reached up magically peeling his mouth off his face. "I come from the imagination." His mouth suddenly appeared back on his face. "And I'm here strictly by your invocation." He unraveled a parchment, as Dawn got a look at it she could tell that it looked like it could have been an actual invitation. "So, what'd you say why don't we dance a while."
He smiled at her as he danced around her. "I'm the heart of swing. I'm the twist and shout. When you got to sing. When you got to let it out. You call me and I come running. I turn the music on—I bring the fun in. Now we're partying—that's what it's all about. I know what you feel, girl. I know just what you feel, girl."
He swayed with Dawn, who found herself somewhat drawn in by his power. "When these melodies they go on too long. All that energy well it comes on way too strong. All those hearts laid open—that must sting. Plus, some customers just start combusting."
He snapped his fingers and a door appeared beside him. As he opened it a smoking corpse fell out her feet. "That's the penalty when life is but a song." He rounded on her. "You brought me down and doomed this town. So, when we blow this scene. Back we'll go to my kingdom below. And you will be my queen!"
Dawn looked at him a plan forming her mind. If she could get Buffy here. Maybe they could defeat him together. "No, you see. You and I wouldn't be very regal."
"And I make it real, girl," he sang.
"What I mean, I'm fifteen so this queen thing's illegal," she stated not that he paid her much mind.
"I can bring whole cities to ruin," he sang as he danced around her. "And still have time to get a soft shoe in."
"No that's great. But I'm late and I'd hate to delay her," Dawn told him trying to work in how to get Buffy there.
"Something's cooking—I'm at the griddle. I bought Nero his very first fiddle," he told her while miming playing a fiddle.
"She'll get pissed if I'm missed. See, my sister's the Slayer," she sang finally working Buffy into the song. She didn't need him to know, not yet anyways that she too was a Slayer as well as a Power Ranger.
He stopped and turned to her. "The Slayer?" he asked as Dawn nodded. He turned to face the puppet men. "Find her. Tell her... tell her everything. Just get her here. I want to see the Slayer burn. Now we're partying, that's what it's all about."
The Magic Box
Buffy kicked a wooden plank in two that Giles was holding. "Good. Good," he informed her just as Lynn orbed in.
"Buffy," Lynn said. "Have you seen, Dawn?" she asked a look of worry on her face.
"No, why?" Buffy asked looking at her sister's girlfriend in confusion.
"I can't sense her," Lynn answered.
"What would account for that?" Giles asked suddenly concerned.
"Many things," Lynn answered. "She could be in a demon dimension. She could be magically cloaked. Or she could be dead."
Buffy spun as Giles and Lynn followed and marched out into the front of the store. "Okay, has anyone seen Dawn?" she asked as Tara came down the stairs behind them from the loft area.
"No," Willow said. "Not since she left to see Dimitria."
"She was at the house last I saw her," Tara said as she came up beside Buffy. She noticed that Willow was surprised that she was there. "Why?"
"I can't sense her," Lynn informed everyone as the front door suddenly slammed open.
Spike shoved one of the puppet men through the door. Lookie what I found," he told them.
"Is this the demon guy?" Tara wondered.
"Works for him. Has a nice little story for the Slayer, don't you?" Spike said as he thrust the puppet man forward. "Come on, then. Sing."
The music swelled for a moment as the puppet man took a breath. "My master has the Slayer's sister hostage at the Bronze because she summoned him and at midnight he's going to take her to the underworld to be his Queen," he said flatly.
"What does he want?" Lynn asked with concern.
The puppet man pointed at Buffy. "Her," he informed them. "Plus, chaos and insanity and people burning up, but that's bigger picture stuff."
Spike grabbed the puppet man. "If that's all you've got to say, then—" he said as he was flipped by the puppet man, who bolted out the still-open door. "Strong. Someday he'll be a real boy…"
"This isn't good," Buffy admitted. "This demon has not only a Slayer but a Power Ranger hostage." She looked toward her watcher. "Giles, what's the plan?"
"Plan, shman, let's mount up!" Xander suggested.
"No," Giles countered and they all turned to him surprised.
"Uh, Dawn may have had the wrong idea in summoning…" Anya started.
"She summoned nothing, Anya," Buffy said glaring at the ex-vengeance demon. "Dawn's a Slayer and Power Ranger she would know better."
"Regardless," Anya said. "I've seen some of these underworld child-bride deals and they never end well. Maybe once."
"We're not just going to stay here…" Willow stated looking at Giles.
"Yes, we are," Giles informed them. "Buffy's going alone."
"What?" Lynn said surprised.
"Don't be a stupid git," Spike said, he too was surprised at what Giles was telling them. "There's no—"
"When I want your opinion, Spike," Giles said cutting the vampire off. "I… will never want your opinion."
"A little confusion spell would—" Willow suggested.
"No," Tara cried surprising Willow be the vehemence in her tone. "I don't think that'll help."
"Forget them, Slayer, I got your back," Spike informed them.
"I thought you wanted me to stay away from you," Buffy reminded him as she glared at the vampire. "Isn't that what you sang?"
Spike took what she said hard as he looked embarrassed about him.
"Spikey sang a widdle song?" Xander mocked with a small chuckle.
"Would you say it was a breakaway pop hit or more of a book number?" Anya asked earnestly.
"Let it go, sweetie," Xander pleaded.
"Fine," Spike snapped. "I hope you dance til you burn. You and the Ranger." He turned and walked out the door.
Buffy turned and looked at Giles pointedly. "You're really not coming."
"It's up to you, Buffy," he informed her.
"What do you expect me to do?" Buffy asked with a sigh.
"Your best," Giles said.
"Would you like me to orb you?" Lynn asked.
"Please," Buffy told her sister's girlfriend. She was glad that at least one of her friends was siding with her.
Lynn nodded as she wrapped her arm around Buffy and they disappeared in blue and white orbing lights.
The Bronze
Buffy and Lynn orbed in outside the club just in front of the door. "Go back to the Magic Box. Persuade them, they have to come. In case I fail. They can't let Dawn die."
"Okay," Lynn agreed as she orbed out.
Buffy turned and walked toward the front door.
The Magic Box
Lynn reappeared in the middle of the room. "So, you all are cowards," she said.
"Lynn," Giles started.
"Shut up," Lynn snapped at the Watcher. "You all need to think. Dawn could die. My girlfriend, the person I love could die. Or could be taken to any number of demon dimensions to become a demon herself.
Giles sighed. "Your right Lynn. And I'm worried for them both. Have you noticed how Buffy is since she came back?"
"Yes," Lynn answered sadly. "I don't know why. All I know is Dawn is the only one she talks to about what happened before she came back."
"I hate to say this," Xander admitted sadly. "But what if Buffy can't defeat it? Then we're down one Slayer and the other one is being held hostage."
"If Buffy loses like she thinks she might," Lynn told them. "We have to be there to save Dawn. We have to, we have no choice. So, I say you all need to grab some weapons and come on."
"She's right," Tara agreed.
The Bronze
Buffy kicked the door off its hinges and walked slowly in to find Sweet sitting in a chair on the stage. She spotted her sister on the floor leaning up against his chair, almost like an exotic slave girl.
"I love a good entrance," Sweet informed Buffy as the puppet men surrounded the blonde Slayer.
"How are you with death scenes?" Buffy asked as he laughed. "You got a name?"
"I got a hundred," he informed.
"His name is Sweet," Dawn informed her sister.
"I know Dawn didn't do it," Buffy informed him. "You want to know why. Because Dawn is a Slayer as well as a Power Ranger. She would never summon you not when it means jeopardizing those she's meant to protect."
Sweet glanced at Dawn who nodded.
"So, here's the deal," Buffy continued. "She's not going anywhere. She's needed here to protect this world. I know I can't kill you. So you will be taking me to hellsville in her place."
"What?" Dawn asked in surprise.
"What if I kill you?" Sweet asked.
"Ask her," Buffy asked nodding toward Dawn.
"She's been brought back twice already," Dawn informed him.
"That's gloomy," he admitted in realization at the mention of Buffy dying twice and being brought back.
"That's life," Buffy said as the unseen orchestra began to play. "Life's a show and we all play our parts. And when the music starts, we open up our hearts. It's all right if something comes out wrong. We'll sing a happy song." She smiled at her sister. "And you can sing along."
As Buffy sang, she was attacked by the puppet men. She punctuated each happy platitude with a grueling blow. "Where there's life there's hope. Every day's a gift. Wishes can come true. Whistle while you work. So hard. All day. To be like other girls to fit in this glittering world." She finished up the puppet men before turning back to Sweet and her sister just as Lynn orbed in with the Scoobies and Giles.
"She needs backup. Tara. Anya," Giles said immediately taking command. As Anya and Tara hurried to back up Buffy, he and the others circled around to get closer to Dawn. Once in place, the music and the song compel Anya and Tara to become Buffy's backup dancers.
"Don't give me songs. Don't give me songs. Give me something to sing about. I need something to sing about." Buffy finally noticed her friends and so she split her attention between them and Sweet. "Life's a show you don't get to rehearse. And every single verse can make it that much worse. Still, only Dawn knows why I ignore the million things or more I should be dancing for. All the joys life sends. Family and friends. All the twists and bends. Knowing it ends. Well, that depends. On if they let you go. On if they know enough to know that when you've bowed. You leave the crowd."
Suddenly the energy went out of Buffy and she can hardly look at her friends as Tara and Anya backed off. "There was no pain, no fear, no doubt. Til they pulled me out of Heaven. So that's my refrain. I live in Hell because I was expelled from Heaven. I think I was in heaven." She turned to sweet, vehement. "So, give me something to sing about. Please give me something…"
Sweet shook his head smirking as Buffy began to dance faster. and faster. She then began to spin as she began to smoke, practically on the edge of combusting.
Suddenly she was forced to stop as Spike rushed forward and grabbed her. "Life's not a song. Life isn't bliss. Life is just this: It's living. You'll get along. The pain that you feel, you only can heal by living. You have to go on living so one of us is living."
Dawn stood and walked to the edge of the stage. "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it," she said with affection, parroting her sister's words back to her hoping to finally get through to Buffy that she needs help. She briefly looked at hers and Buffy's friends. She smiled at Lynn who stood at the base of the stairs, the closest to her. She spotted Willow quietly crying, overwhelmed by the implications of what she had done. She spotted Tara wanting to comfort Tara, despite her own pain.
"Now that was a showstopper. Not quite the fireworks I was looking for—" Sweet said.
"Get out of here," Willow said with quiet vehemence in her voice.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," Lynn added.
"Hmm, I smell power," Sweet said looking between Willow and Lynn. "I guess the little missus and I should be on our way."
"That's never going to happen," Giles informed the demon matter-of-factly.
"I don't make the rules; she summoned me," Sweet said waving his hand at Dawn.
"I didn't someone anything," Dawn snapped at the demon. "And you want to see why?" Sweet shrugged. "Shift into Turbo!" she called out swinging her left arm in front of her as she summoned her morpher. "White Phoenix Turbo Power!"
Sweet watched as the morphing sequence transformed Dawn into the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger. "Interesting, that changes nothing. As underneath that armor you now wear. You still wear my talisman."
"The necklace," Lynn said in realization. "The one I bought for you."
"You bought?" Sweet asked Lynn in surprise. "Well now, that's a twist."
The Ranger turned and looked at Giles. "That means…."
"That means one of us had to…" Giles said finishing what the Ranger was thinking.
Everyone looked around wondering which of them had summoned the demon and then slowly as if shamed to admit it, Xander raised his hand.
"Xander?" Anya said in surprise.
"I didn't know what was going to happen!" Xander said exasperatedly. "I just heard, you know, revelries and song and... I wanted to be sure we'd work out. Get a happy ending."
Sweet laughed. "And I think it worked out just fine."
"Does this mean I have to…" he said with a gulp. "Be your queen?"
"It's tempting," Sweet said not liking the idea of a male bride. "But I think we'll waive that clause just this once. Big smiles, everyone: you beat the bad guy! What a lot of fun, you guys have been swell. And there's not one who can say this ended well. All those secrets you've been concealing say you're happy now—once more with feeling. Well, I got to run see you all in Hell!" As he disappeared his final two words rang out from the emptiness.
"Power down!" the Ranger said and she de-morphed. Dawn walked down the stairs to Buffy and pulled her sister into her arms and hugged her a second before they both felt Lynn's arms around them.
"I need to go, I have someone I need to talk to," Lynn said as Dawn nodded. She disappeared in blue and white orbing lights.
Angel Grove Bay Bridge.
Lynn stood on the tallest tower. "I need to talk to one of you," she said a second before Jonas appeared in blue and white orbing lights. "Jonas, why wasn't I told that Buffy had been up there?"
"Because Buffy faced two paths, two destinies that hinged upon her death," Jonas answered. "The first she would become a Whitelighter if the spell that brought her back was reversed."
"What?" Lynn asked in confusion. "I was told she…"
"You were told she couldn't have a Whitelighter, not that she couldn't become one," Jonas reminded her. "When the deal was struck with the Powers that Be to allow Slayers to become Champions for them. It was agreed that should they die protecting human life then we can offer them the chance to become a Whitelighter. If she had not been brought back or the spell was reversed. That was to be her destiny. Her other destiny revolves around her remaining alive. An ancient enemy is on the horizon. Her resurrection greatly accelerated its plans. We believe within the next few years it will strike."
"What enemy?" Lynn wondered.
"The First Evil."
The Bronze
Buffy stood outside the club with Spike unseen by her sister or her friends who were inside singing, having been cursed by the demon as it left to sing one more song. She stood there as she kissed Spike.