Don’t insult the pigs they said but since they also said Buffy was alive, Xander figured he was taking a lot on faith. The moment he saw her, he rushed over and pulled her into his arms for a hug. Screw the pigs, he would take his chances. “Man Buffy, I’ve missed you so damn much.”
Buffy enjoyed the hug, fully expecting the lectures and harsh words to follow and when he pulled away and turned to Spike, she tensed.
“You’re her mate or vampire husband right?” Xander asked his eyes cold and empty.
“Yeah.”
“As long as she’s happy, I’ve got no problem with that but if you hurt her, you’re dust.” Xander said offering Spike his hand, barely holding back a snicker when his jaw practically hit the floor.
Tentatively, Spike took his hand and nodded somberly. “I’ll take care of her mate, till the end of time.”
Unable to help herself, Buffy couldn’t keep the tears from gathering in her eyes as she watched Xander of all people; accept Spike and his place in her life. “Thank you Xand.”
Smiling, because he knew exactly what she must have been expecting he turned back to her, taking her hand in his own. “I thought you were dead Buff, gone for good and all I could think was that you had died somewhere all alone. At first I blamed you, hated you for taking off again but when I heard the news, I realized we had let you down. After all the things I said to you about your life, it wasn’t all that big of a surprise that you didn’t think you could talk to me about what you were feeling. Will was with Oz and I was seeing Anya but I was riding you, because your boyfriend was a vampire. I was doing a happy dance because Angel was leaving instead of being there for you. You were hurting, I was happy, and that’s not the kind of friend anyone needs. You were always there for me Buffy, through bug lady, mummy girl and Cordelia and I lied to you, making you send the love of your life to hell. So you didn’t owe me anything Buffy, you had every right to walk out without a word but if you’ll let me, I’d like another chance to be the kind of friend you deserve...one like the friend you always were for me.”
Overwhelmed Buffy pulled him into another hug. “Air, Buffy!” Xander said squirming against her as she literally hugged the life out of him. When she pulled away with a slight blush scoring her cheeks he flicked his gaze over to Spike. “I can see where that whole no breathing thing comes in handy.”
Laughing, Spike wrapped his arm around Buffy’s waist as her sense of contentment flowed into him through the bond. It seemed the Whelp had grown up and if he made Buffy happy, Spike figured he could learn to tolerate him. He figure Xander was one of those people who could grow on you. “So who’s the little blonde?”
Xander’s smile grew impossibly large as he turned around to grab her hand, leading her forward. “Spike, I’d like to introduce you to Anya Jenkins, my fiancée.”
Anya lifted up her hand to show-off her ring before narrowing her eyes on Buffy. “He looks like he can give you lots of orgasms, so you can’t have Xander. Xander is mine.”
“Xander is yours, all yours.” Buffy said figuring that was the safest of answers. She remembered Anya and her blunt way of saying things but since Xander had made an effort to accept Spike, it was time to return the favor. “D’hoffryn still speaks fondly about you; I think you were his favorite.”
Delighted, Anya preened slightly before giving her a dazzling smile. “No-one wants to talk about my demon days but they warned us about your vengeance pigs, very original. I can see why Hoffy was interested in you. From the broody one with the enormous forehead’s reaction I could definitely see your potential.”
“I think we are gonna get along just fine pet.” Spike said, charmed by the brazen little chit who was clearly not an Angel fan. “Anytime you want to talk about the good old days, you give me a yell. I think I came across a bloke you cursed, his...”
Buffy and Xander shared a look that said, demons what can you do before moving aside to let them bond like once evils peas in a pod. “So where are the others?” Buffy asked leading him over to the sofa. “Did they...well are they coming back?”
Xander let out a sigh before running his hands through his hair. “Things haven’t been good. Faith and Angel have been doing a great job dealing with things but what were up against now is like nothing any of us have ever faced before. I won’t sugar coat it Buff, all of us are scared shitless and because of that, some old resentments have flared back up. If we’d found you before this all came down, it would be a big party all with the happiness but because of stuff, Will’s mad at you. She blames you Buff, for not being there to stop this thing and all I ask is that you hear the whole story before deciding where you two will go from here. I’m not saying she’s right but I understand why she needs someone to blame.”
“Why don’t you just tell me what’s up, why beat around the bush?” Buffy asked realizing something big must have happened.
“Giles wants to give you the story himself and they’ll all be here once Will calms down. You need to hear it from him Buffy but I think once it all comes out, you’ll understand why I’m asking you to give Willow some slack. A lot‘s changed since you‘ve been gone but jut try to remember who she was and not just judge her on how she acts.”
“Alright Xand but I can’t promise you anything.” Buffy said after a few moments. “I get there are big extenuating circumstance but if she attacks me or mine, I won’t hold back.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to.” Xander said, knowing he would react the same as Buffy in that situation but also understanding how Willow must be feeling. He was stuck in the center and all he could do is wait until his two oldest friends met him in the middle.
Buffy told herself she’d heed Xander’s advice, that she’d be understanding but the moment Willow walked into the lobby, she knew she had wasted her time. The energy around Willow was crackling with magicks just waiting to be unleashed and it was clear that she didn’t come here to talk but to fight. Buffy could feel the darkness in her power, it was dark and thick like spilled ink and it was the last thing she would have expected to find in the shy, sweet girl she’d once known.
Using her link to Spike, she warned him to keep the others back as she crossed the lobby and prepared herself for whatever was to come. “Willow, I can see you’re pissed off and just looking for a reason to let lose but what I don’t see is a lot of control. So if you think there is even a chance you will cause problems you better leave my home now.”
Forgetting all Giles’s warnings and orders to play nice, Willow narrowed her eyes and sneered at Buffy. “So this is where you’ve been living the good life while the people you were suppose to be saving were out there getting hurt.”
“It’s not my job anymore, it’s Faith and that’s direct from the Powers themselves.” Buffy said coolly, mentally running an incantation in her head as she felt the steady rise in Willow powers. She was charging up and when it happened, Buffy knew she had to be ready. “I help people because I want to and I am going to help you all with whatever is going on in Sunnydale. So calm down and let’s figure out how to stop this before anyone gets hurts.”
Willow eyes went as dark as the midnight at her words and without even realizing she had done it, she screamed out a spell and sent a bolt of burning blue energy towards Buffy.
When it slammed into her chest, knocking her back Willow came back to herself but the power inside her suddenly had a mind of its own. Wave after wave of burning energy shot out of her and into Buffy. Bleeding from her nose, she trembled at what she had done and helplessly watched her friend suffer blow after blow. Dimly she heard someone screaming, never even realizing that it was herself until her powers were completely exhausted. Falling to her knees, she pushed aside her own weakness and tried to crawl to Buffy who like her was now on the ground.
Only Buffy wasn’t moving.
“No! I didn’t mean it...god Buffy I didn’t mean it!” She screamed out as strong arms wrapped around her pulling her back. Seeing it was Faith, Willow began to beg. “Please, I need to help her...I need to make sure she’s okay. I didn’t mean it!”
“You’ve done enough.” Spike said coldly, pulling his trembling mate into his arms as Angel moved beside her, protecting them both in case of another attack. With Buffy hurt, it didn’t matter whose girl she was it just mattered that she’d be all right. “Talk to me luv, tell me how you feel.”
She shook her head before pulling out of his arms, so she could throw up all the blood filling her stomach. Taking a second to consider her options, trying to focus through the pain, she knew what needed to be done. “I’m so sorry...it hurts.”
When she started to cough again, he could feel her broken ribs, moving beneath the surface of the skin and knew what she was telling him. Cradling his face in his palms, he placed a quick kiss against her lips before jerking her neck sideways, snapping it with a sickening crunch.
Angel whirled around, knowing that sound intimately but before he could attack Wes and Doyle grabbed his arms, jerking him back. “She’s immortal; it’s not the first time this has happened.”
“Don’t make it worse than it is.” Doyle said gently, his rolling lilt tinged with sadness.
“I don’t understand.” Angel said softly, unable to tear his eyes away from the naked and raw misery on Spike’s face.
“She was fatally injured and in a great deal of pain, he ended it.” Wes explained his own pain painfully close for the surface. “Her body will be completely healed when she awakes.”
“How long will it take?” Faith asked, still holding on to Willow who had continued to sob uncontrollably. “I mean you’ve all done this before right, so she’s definitely going to come back...right?”
“It won’t be long.” Was all Wes could bring himself to say. She had died numerous times, too many times but this was only the second time Spike had been called upon to end her suffering. Nevertheless, it didn’t matter how many times they had witnessed this, they all had the same unspoken fear...what if she didn’t wake up.
Stroking his hands over her face, Spike ignored the conversations going on around him, silently willing her to return to him. They had been through this enough to understand that each time she died was different but they knew that with each new awakening, the next time would be shorter. Wes and Fred even have a theory that one day she’d heal everything but the most serious of wounds instantaneously as her reanimative powers grew and Spike hoped they were right. Waiting for her to open her eyes again was the vilest form of hell.
Slowly, he felt her lungs expand to draw in air as her heart started to beat again and he sent a quick thank-you to the Powers for bringing her back once again. “That’s it luv, time to wake up.”
Her eyes fluttered for a few seconds as she left the ether and returned to this world and like always, the first thing she saw was Spike’s eyes watching over her. “I’m so sorry you had to do that baby...I wasn’t expecting her to take it that far.”
He helped her to her feet, knowing that she always came back a little disoriented. Without an ounce of pity, she looked at Willow, her eyes cold and unforgiving. “As of right now I officially don’t give a damn about your issues. If I was anyone else the first hit would have killed me...”
“I didn’t mean it...I was just soo..”
“Stupid!” Buffy yelled back at her. “You have been building up your power, completely unconcerned about the danger! I bet this isn’t the first time you’re magicks have gone wrong, I’m guessing you have just as many spells go wrong as you have go right.”
“You can say that again.” Anya said dryly. “She turned Xander into a demon magnet on accident and made Faith and Angel think they were engaged. Oh and she made Giles go blind.”
“If you can’t control your magicks, that’s a sure fucking sign that you’re in over you damn head! God Willow you used to be one of the smartest people I knew and suddenly you’re as bright as a kid playing with his daddy’s gun!”
Angry now, Willow jerked away from Faith and stalked over to Buffy. “You’re just jealous that you’re not the only one with power anymore. I heard about your stupid little pigs but that is nothing compared to the things I can do.”
“Can you even hear yourself?” Buffy asked, closing the distance between them so that they were almost nose-to-nose. “You have power Willow, you’re the fucking nuclear bomb of magicks but you’re also just as deadly. Without control, you don’t work the magicks, they work you. I spent months learning discipline from some of the most experienced casters in this world. They didn’t just teach me nifty tricks, they taught me to respect the magick and not abuse it. You taste like strawberries Willow, simple and sweet like summers but you’re power is dark and it’s rotting you from the inside out. Do you really want that coming back on you times three?”
“You ran away again Buffy, you don’t know me so don’t act like you get to tell me what to do and what not to do.” Willow shot back, certain that Buffy was trying to scare her. “You’re the one who decided to be evil’s whore, so who in the hell are you to judge me?”
Spike felt it happen before he saw it, like the first tremble before an earthquake and when Buffy’s golden hair became as black as shadow, he knew Buffy wasn’t just tapping into her magicks she was becoming them.
With nothing more than a flick of her wrist, Buffy sent Willow crashing down to the floor, as the first scream tore its way out of her throat. No one dared to interfere; everything about Buffy seemed to scream danger and death. “What you’re feeling is just a taste of the darkness you shot into me but as you can see I have my own. I am the Slayer, my power comes from the source of all evil and it’s a power older than man. I could drain away you’re life, rip away your skin, or cause your bones to shatter inside your body until they were nothing but dust and I’d never have to move a muscle. I was given this power to hunt, to fight, to kill and right now, it’s whispering to me to punish you, destroy you for attacking me. Anger isn’t what I’m feeling, I’m past that, rage is a living beast inside my blood but I am strong enough to control it. I use the power but it does not use me and that is where we are different.”
Calming herself Buffy willed the power to recede like floodwater drawing back after the storm and before their eyes, her hair returned to its normal color. “I bind you Willow, I bind you from doing harm against others and harm against yourself.” Buffy repeated the phase two more times before ending the spell needed to lock Willow’s magicks away until she could be taught to deal with them. “By the power of three time three as I will it, so mote it be.”
Buffy turned her back on the girl crying on the floor and looked at Xander. “Take her to one of the rooms. Fred, if he needs anything for her, can you please see that she gets it?”
“Sure Eliza...I mean Buffy.” Fred said, her sharp Texas twang even more pounced than usual due to her agitation.
“Buffy, I blame myself for not teaching Willow the correct way to explore her magicks. I should have realized that she was getting out of control.” Giles said as soon as the others led Willow away. “But right now her magicks may be needed and if she is bound...”
“She won’t accidentally kill someone who won’t come back.” Buffy finished firmly, making it clear she wasn’t about to reconsider her actions. “I don’t know what going on but the more charged her emotions get, the less control she has. In school, she mentioned that it was all about emotional control and I am guessing that it’s her foundation. Now that it’s crumbling, the magick will only get harder and harder for her to contain and I am not about to risk my friends lives or hers, she might as well be as much as a threat as the one we’re facing. If I had died and stayed dead, Willow would have taken a human life and unlike Faith, she might not be strong enough to come back from that because of whatever has her so messed up to begin with.”
“I understand your concern but she never meant to kill you.”
“That didn’t make me any less dead now did it? Spike may have ended it but if he hadn’t I would have gotten to experience a long painful death. So whether she meant it or not isn’t the issue, she took a life today.”
Having it put so bluntly, he couldn’t ignore the truth of her words. “You’re right my dear girl but what do you intend to do?”
“The magicks won’t just go away, she’s got to learn how to deal with them and once we’ve dealt with the big bad, I’ll call the clan and see if they can send someone to help her.” Buffy said already planning it all out in her mind.
“Clan?” Giles asked. “Don’t you mean coven?”
“No, I was trained by gypsies...the same ones that cursed Angel.” Buffy said, flushing guilty. “I guess I left that part out earlier huh.”
“I need to sit down.” Angel muttered, suddenly realizing where the idea for the cursed vampire pigs came from. “Just tell me do you have any more surprises?
“No...” Buffy said after thinking it over for a few seconds.
“Why don‘t I believe you sweetheart?” Doyle asked her in Gaelic.
“That’s because you’re a horrible little toad of a man.” Buffy shot back with a grateful smile. Doyle was her like her big brother and as such, he was great about lightening her mood with a good argument.
“Aye, that I am but since you’re a wasp tongued, harpy of a woman I love ye anyways.” He replied with a wink.
They all watched as they insulted one another in perfect Gaelic that sounded like the sweetest of songs despite it bawdy content.
Touched that Buffy spoke his language as though she’d been borne to it, Angel gave her a soft, intimate smile as his heart once more blossomed with hope. “I’ve missed hearing the tongue of my people, it brings back many memories.”
Knowing that he was referring to the one night they spent together, Buffy returned his smile but it was the type of a smile that one bestowed on a friend instead of a lover. “Memories are all I have left to give you Angel. You are my past and Spike is my future, please understand that.”
Angel nodded but in his heart, he believed that all it would take is for her to be around him again for all of those feelings they shared to come back. If you live long enough you learn that the past repeats itself and while all she was offering now was friendship, he had no doubt her heart would once again be his.
Thinking they had reached and understanding, Buffy turned back to Giles. “So tell me what kind of demon we’re going to be up against.”
“It’s not a demon Buffy...it’s a god.”