“How could you keep this from me?” Willow asked Giles angrily.
“I-I thought it would be best. I didn’t want to-to frighten you.”
“FRIGHTEN me? The prophecy was about me! My LIFE! I deserved to know,” she argued, trembling with unexpressed rage.
“What if you had known, eh Red?” Spike piped up. She swung to face him. “You think you wouldn’t have been quaking in your little boots? The Watcher knows you, and he knows what you’d have done if the whole damned shebang rested on your skinny shoulders. You’d have caved.”
“Well, I caved anyway, didn’t I?” She spat back.
“Willow, you did the best you could,” Tara pleased gently, touching Willow’s arm.
“Well, my best wasn’t good enough, was it? Th-that Kellan guy has the book, and I didn’t even know that the world was going to end if I didn’t get the book or maybe I might have done something a little bit differently, and then maybe we’d have the book and I’d be casting the spell right now and yeah, I know, apocalypse, nothing new, but not exactly something I’m looking forward to and I just-“ Willow babbled. Xander stepped forward, grabbed both her shoulders and shook gently.
“Willow!” He barked. She looked at him for a moment, stunned, then broke down sobbing.
“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” Spike muttered.
Willow got herself under control, then shot a watery smile at Xander.
Just then, Faith stood up from her chair, where she had been watching the proceedings quietly. She headed for the back room, where Buffy was laid out, Angel sitting by her side, his hand clutching hers desperately.
“How’s she doin?” Faith said quietly. Angel’s head shot up, as though he hadn’t heard her come in.
“The same,” he said, clipped. She looked at him sympathetically.
“She’s going to be okay,” Faith said, stepping forward uncomfortably.
Angel didn’t say anything for a moment. “Have they found anything, yet?”
“Wes and Gunn are still looking. Willow came back with Spike and Tara.” Angel’s head shot back up at her. “They don’t have the book. Some warlock guy came and got it first. I guess Giles lied to her about the prophecy. To all of us.”
“I know,” Angel replied simply. She didn’t seem surprised at this.
“I’m gonna go see if Wes and Gunn are getting anywhere new. Willow told us that Kellan guy called whatever you fought a Growk-something. I guess it’s all magic. They’re looking for the antidote.”
“Thanks,” Angel told her. Faith looked at him for another moment, then turned and went back out to the front of the store. As the door opened, Angel over heard Giles’ voice.
“…but right now our most important priority is to help Buffy. Then we’ll work on retrieving the, er, the book…” Angel tuned him out as the door closed, and looked back at Buffy, lying on the floor, the picture of vulnerability. He sighed shakily.
*~*~*
“Come, now, Saba. Surely you must see SOMETHING in that pretty little head of yours. Is the Slayer dead yet?” Kellan asked, stroking the stolen book lovingly, cold malice in his eyes as he smiled at his seer. Saba was skittish, but her answer was clear and confident.
“I see nothing, Kellan. I cannot reach her. Perhaps this means she is dead.” She took a shaky breath. “Not that it matters, as you have the book now.”
“Ah, but it DOES matter. For, you see, Saba, I cannot use the book yet. Not for another three days. I need to keep the Slayer out of commission for a few days. Enough time for me to finish my task. Then she can heal. Not that it will do her any good.”
“But did you not tell the Witches what the creature was?” Kellan’s face paled considerably. Saba noted it the realization on his face. He was becoming too confident. He had let the truth slip. The power was corrupting him.
“No matter,” he started, shaking only a little. “They can’t defeat me, anyway.”
“Are you sure? You’ve grown too confident, Kellan. The slayer and her friends can play on that. They can use it.” Kellan suddenly grew red with rage.
“NO!” he screamed, his eyes flashing a deep red. “They won’t defeat me. I’ve already won!!” With that, Kellan raised a hand, pointed to Saba, and watched as her body caught aflame. The seer screamed as her body burned, and Kellan laughed until her screams had quieted to nothing.
“I’ve already won.”
*~*~*
“I’ve found it!” Wesley cried triumphantly. Ten heads shot up to stare at him. He smiled. “I have the antidote. I-it’s a spell of some kind. It’s fairly straightforward, actually.”
“What is it?” Willow said forcefully. Wesley looked taken aback for a moment. He still wasn’t used to this version of Willow. He remembered the mousy high school senior she had been years before.
“It includes a few roots, some sands…nothing particularly difficult to acquire. In fact, I think Mr. Giles has all the essential ingredients here at the shop.”
“Then let’s cast it!” Xander piped up. “Or, um, you know, let Willow and Tara do it. Obviously.”
“Right. Give me the list, Wesley,” Giles said. He took the book and began gathering the different ingredients.
Soon, they were ready, and Spike went into the back room to collect Buffy and Angel.
“We’ve got it. Grab the girl and bring her out,” he said unceremoniously. Angel stared after him for a moment, then hurriedly gathered Buffy’s limp form up in his arms and carried her out to the front of the shop.
Willow began to burn the herbs in the circle, while Tara spread sand crystals around Buffy’s flat body. The two witches shared an intense look, then Willow began chanting. Tara chanted different words at the same tone, creating a strange harmonized effect. The words seemed like gibberish…but neither girl slowed down, and soon a light began to engulf Buffy’s body. Angel took a tentative step forward. Suddenly, the light exploded into a bright array of sparks, and there was blissful silence for a full five seconds as the scoobies watched on to see if the spell had worked. Suddenly, Buffy’s body began to convulse uncontrollably.
“What the hell?!” Faith cried, lunging forward. Angel got to Buffy first, and used his vampire strength to hold her to the floor, so she had less chance of hurting herself.
“It’s just the magic fighting the poison,” Giles said, stepping forward. Spike laid a reassuring hand on Faith’s arm, but she continued to panic.
Suddenly Buffy’s body was utterly motionless. Then she shot up, stiff as a board, eyes wide. Angel looked into her eyes with concern. She blinked, then stared at him, confusion evident on her face.
“A-angel?”