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Chapter 34

**
.
Previously:

Buffy looked over at the gift with the pink bow.

“Bloody unicorns!”

“Harmony,” the Slayer growled.

**

Buffy turned a speculative eye on her vampire boyfriend. “How close is this to your crypt?”

Spike pointed to the second opening. “Main chamber’s just through there,” he said tilting his head to the side. “What’ve you got in mind, pet?”

“We could pack up your stuff while we decide what to do about Riley,” she suggested.

Spike snorted. “You just want to decide what I can take with me and what you want me to buy new!” He knew his girl. Buffy’s desire to get her hot little hands on the contents of his wallet and start spending should be just about driving her nuts by now.

“I’ll let you buy me lingerie.” She grinned unrepentantly. She knew her man.

“Anything I want?” Spike’s eyes turned dark with desire.

Buffy nodded at the lusty vampire.

“Well, what are you waiting for, woman? Packing won’t do itself.”

“What about him?” she said seriously, pointing to the body of her former lover.

“He’s not going anywhere for a couple of hours at least.” Spike understood her concerns. The last thing he wanted was the idiot getting near his Nibblet.

Buffy accepted his word and made her way through to his crypt.

They worked together in companionable silence, packing all his personal items first.

“Spike,” Buffy focused on her love, waiting for him to look back at her. “What were you thinking about when you said we couldn’t let Graham have Riley?”

“A lot of things, pet. As much as I hated the bloody wanker, I wouldn’t want anyone to have to go through what the bloody Initiative did to me. Then there’s the chance that they might try and turn him into a super soldier and that’s not something I expect would end well. Worse case scenario, we’d have another bloody Angelus coming after all of us. The Doc’s right about the demon being influenced by the human, luv, and you need to remember that this was a human that thought plastic stakes were acceptable. I’ve been around for one lot of fanatical Nazi’s. Don’t really fancy being around for another.”

Spike continued to work as he explained his thoughts to Buffy. He hoped that it wouldn’t take too much argument from him to get her to agree to dust her former lover, but he was very much afraid that she would try to help this one. The silly bint had a heart as big as the world.

“What do you think we should do with him?” Buffy kept her voice carefully neutral.

“Dust him,” Spike said without hesitation. “He was a cruel bloody human, and the demon is just gonna make him worse. That is, if he has any brain cells left. Harmony is the one that turned him, remember.”

Buffy sighed heavily. She didn’t love Riley, but he had been an important part of her life for a while and that made the idea of dusting him just a little depressing. It wouldn’t stop her and she totally wasn’t looking forward to having to listen to his demon but…

“Spike,” Buffy turned to the vampire and asked, “is it possible to stop him from rising?”

“Sure, pet, stake him now and leave the stake there. As he wakes, he’ll dust.”

“I don't know if I can do that.” Buffy admitted. It was one thing to stake an animated dead body but the idea of staking a dead dead body was really squicking her out.

Handing the embarrassed blonde a pad and pen, Spike made his way towards the opening to the other chamber. “Just make a note of the furniture you want me to take, luv.”

Unlike Buffy, Spike had no problem staking the soon to be dust body.

~*~*~

“General,” Dante breathlessly called to his leader. He’d run all the way from the other side of the ancient fort, desperate to pass on the clerics message. “It’s over, sir.”

“What do you mean?” Gregor asked calmly. He would not celebrate until he knew that the beast was dead.

“The clerics say that Divine Intervention has ensured that the beast will be unable to obtain the key in time for the ceremony. The beast will be forced to live out her existence through the human she has been tied to. Without the key, she will die when he does.” Dante happily recited.

“And when we destroy the key, the beast will know and suffer.” Gregor announced, his tone firm.

“But, sir, do we need to go after the key now?” Dante stated his confusion.

“The key is the link. The link must be severed. Such is the will of God.” Gregor intoned fanatically.

~*~*~

When Penny and Giles returned to the Magic Box, it was to a very subdued group. Anya looked over at the other two and made the quick decision to start with the explanations. If she waited for the two witches, Penny and Giles may never find out.

“Tara’s mother was a witch who had visions. She saw all this happening and wrote it down. There’s some stuff about Buffy, slayers, the council and the hell god. Oh, and some group of knights and the first evil and Willow turning evil and…”

“It doesn’t say I turn evil,” Willow shouted defensively.

“You’re right. It says that you lose all control of your magic and try to destroy the world,” Anya replied happily.

“My mother left a note th-that when we meet a visitor from another dimension it would be time for the journal to be kn-known,” Tara quietly informed Giles and Penny.

~*~*~

“This is not gonna be pleasant,” Cordy whimpered. “If he starts dancing, I’m outtah here.”

It's not unusual to be loved by anyone
It's not unusual to have fun with anyone
but when I see you hanging about with anyone
It's not unusual to see me cry,
oh I wanna' die
It's not unusual to go out at any time
but when I see you out and about it's such a crime
if you should ever want to be loved by anyone,
It's not unusual it happens every day no matter what you say
you find it happens all the time
love will never do what you want it to
why can't this crazy love be mine
It's not unusual, to be mad with anyone
It's not unusual, to be sad with anyone
but if I ever find that you've changed at anytime
it's not unusual to find out that I'm in love with you
whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh

“WHOA! Whoa there, tiger,” Lorne shouted to get the brunette vampire’s attention. “I got what I needed. There’s no need to…er…sing anymore.”

Cordelia had fled at the first sign of swivelling vampire hips.

Wes rubbed his forehead as if he were in excruciating pain.

Even Gunn looked positively pale. “You call that singing? Where did you grow up, man?”

Ignoring the retching sounds coming from his friend, Wesley faced the Empath demon and crossed his arms. “What did you see, Lorne?”

“A whole lot more than I wanted to, Einstein.”

~*~*~

“But why do I have to leave?” Willow whispered, devastated.

Giles considered the miserable redhead carefully. He had no desire to hurt her, but he needed her to understand. “Do you want to lose control of the magic, Willow?” the watcher gently asked.

“No,” she replied petulantly. “But now that we know it could happen, why can’t you teach me to control it?”

“Willow, you have the chance to learn control from the strongest coven in the world.” Penny earnestly stepped in when Giles cast her a pleading glance. He was obviously too close to the redhead to remain firm with her on this. “They can help you become the type of witch you want to be. The type of witch that can be an asset to the Slayer. Think about it, Willow. No more spells that go wrong. You have the chance to ensure that this time Buffy will live.”

Willow looked at the faces around her. They all seemed to show concern and love- well except for Anya. She seemed more interested in other things about the journal than Willow’s imminent banishment.

The young witch was torn. The idea of going to another country to study with some of the best witches in the world thrilled and excited her. The chance to help her power grow was enticing. She wanted the power. She wanted the chance to shine. She wanted to fix things.

On the other hand; if she did this, it would mean having to leave her friends for an unspecified time. She would have to defer her classes, get her passport renewed, and then travel half way around the world and meet a group of strangers all by herself. It so wasn’t fair.

“Couldn’t Tara come with?” the frightened girl asked desperately.

“That would be Tara’s choice, Willow,” Giles replied. He was visibly relieved, having expected much more of a fight from the controlling redhead.

For once, the dishwater blond was determined not to be swayed by her beautiful but manipulative lover. “I can’t, Willow. I have to stay with the journal. You need to do this on your own,” Tara stated firmly.





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