Title: Family (part 3/3 in the Bound series)

Rating: PG (If you can watch the show, you can read this fic.)

Spoilers: The story takes place in what would be season 6. Basic Plot information through the first several episodes of season 5 implied.

Author’s Notes: Takes place about 6 weeks after end of Closer. It is highly recommended that you read the first parts before beginning this one. If
you have not, contact me and I’ll send them to you.

Summary: One enormous wedding followed by an even bigger battle.
 
 
 
 

Willow was nervous, but in an okay way. She was insanely happy but so afraid that something would go wrong at the last minute. She and her
friends had spent the last six weeks frantically planning and preparing for this day. She glanced up and looked around the room. She laughed
suddenly realizing that Anya and Buffy wore expressions nearly identical to her own.

"What’s so funny." Anya sounded almost cross.

"We are, I mean look at us. Isn’t this supposed to be the happiest day of our lives. Here we are looking like we are about to take the biggest final
ever or something equally dreadful." Willow seemed truly amused at this.

"You’re right, it is funny. Who do you think is most nervous?" Buffy questions.

All three girls look at each other and simultaneously say, "Giles" Bursting out laughing at the absurdity of it all.

And they were right of everyone in their home, Giles was the most nervous. Just days after Spike proposed to Willow, both Riley and Xander had
proposed. This was enough in itself to fluster the poor watcher, but he’d been completely undone, when the three girls came to him with their plan.

"We might as well do this all together since we are family," Willow had reasoned.

"And you know my father’s never really been there for me, Willow’s parents are gone, and Anya doesn’t have a family other than us." Buffy cajoled.

"And anyway, you are the patriarch of our little family, it is your duty to give your daughters away. You’ll do it." Anya commanded.

And so Giles was going to play the part of Father of the Bride, to three young girls who had all become precious to him over time. They would have
a triple ceremony. It would be beautiful. Giles was scared to death.

Ever since they had convinced Giles, the girls had been planning. They wanted a simple ceremony. They decided they would hold it in the garden of
their new home, after dark so Angel could attend. With Cordelia’s help they bought Wedding dresses and dresses for their bridesmaids. There were
really not going to be many guests in attendance at this wedding. They only wanted those very close to them, and most of them had a part to play
in the ceremony itself. Cordelia was going to be Willow’s bridesmaid. Angel Spike’s best man. Buffy was letting her baby sister Dawn be her
bridesmaid, while Riley had invited a friend to be his best man. Anya had asked Joyce Summers to be her matron of honor, and Wesley was going to
act as Xander’s best man. That took care of family. Each of the girls had invited a few guests they new from school or work. Xander and Riley had
done the same. Spike’s only friends that were not part of this family were demons he had known. Even if he would have invited them, they would
have never come to see a wedding to a human. No there would be very few guests.

The girls sitting in the room they were using to prepare for the ceremony turned their attention to another mystery, the rings. The men had all gone
out one evening, ring shopping. Anya had an engagement ring, it seemed that Xander had been planning on proposing for some time. He had not,
however; bought the entire wedding set. They had told the girls that their rings were to be a surprise.

"What do you think our rings are going to be. Just normal wedding fare?" Buffy questioned.

"I don’t think so. I don’t think Spike has it in him to do anything normal. And besides if they were just regular wedding bands they wouldn’t have
made such a big deal about them. I wish I knew what they were though." Willow sounded wistful.

"Cheer up, We only have a little bit left to wait. We’ll see them soon enough." Anya replied. As if on cue, Giles knocked on the door to their small
room.

"Girls, are you ready. They tell me it’s time."

Giles escorted each girl down the aisle in turn, their attendants trailing. When all three couples were together at the front of their arrangement
vows were exchanged. It was all over quite quickly.

A short time later three very excited young women were comparing the rings they’d been given. Anya’s was the most traditional of the three. It was
a simple gold band, but had intricate scrollwork running through it. Riley had found his set in an antique shop. Their bands were gold with fancy
engraving on it. When Buffy examined them she realized that the scrollwork formed words in French. Vous et nul autre. You and no other. They
were special and romantic. Spike it turned out had ordered Willow’s and his rings specially. He had made some big threats and promises to get them
done in time for the wedding too. They each had a platinum band engraved with Hebrew script. Willow read it and realized it was a quote from the
Song of Solomon. I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. It was a lovely sentiment. Fused to the bands Spike had eternity bands placed on
either side of the main ring. On his one side held rubies and the other emeralds. On Willows one side held diamonds while the other held sapphires.
The stones reflected their coloring she realized. Red and green for her hair and eyes. White and Blue for his. They were having a small celebration
but not really a reception, just a little champagne among the family. Willow spoke to the other two brides. "I propose a toast, ladies."

"What to?"

"Forever"

The three girls raised their glasses, "Here’s to forever." Buffy added. "Forever and ever" The girls exchanged serene smiles. They were all happy,
truly happy.

At the next moment a tremor could be felt through the house. Anyone else living is Southern California would have assumed they had experienced a
small earthquake. They did not. Everyone immediately turned to Giles, who was rushing outside. They all followed.

20 minutes ago, the night sky had been clear. One could count every star. Now, it was utterly black outside. It wasn’t just cloud cover, that leaves
a kind of hazy light from the moon and stars. This was a complete darkness, as if someone had pulled a velvet veil across the sky. It might have
been beautiful, if the utter wrongness of it had not sent icy bolts of terror down their backs.

"Giles, what’s going on." Buffy asked, not allowing her fear to creep into her voice.

"I had hoped we had a few more days, I planned on explaining in the morning." Giles sounded as though he were a second away from hysterics.

Buffy was truly worried. Nothing made Giles this upset. He had faced more horrors than she cared to think about. What could possibly be causing
this sheer terror in him. "Giles, what is it. You have to tell me."

"The prophecy. I finished the translation yesterday. I thought there was still time."

Buffy new that their only chance of defeating whatever this evil was, lay in her watcher’s words, his mind. She had to bring him back to her senses.
So she did something she hated, but felt she must. Buffy reached out and slapped Giles. The sound of flesh against flesh rang out in the night.
"Giles you have to pull yourself together. I need to know what this is to fight it."

Giles had stared in shock, one hand to his cheek where Buffy had struck him, the whole time she was talking. He shook his head as if to clear it.
When he spoke again his voice was calm. "Of course, I apologize. The evil the prophecy speaks of is a band of six beings known as the black riders.
This unnatural dark is their calling card. They have in the past led great armies dedicated to chaos. They have never been defeated in battle."

"What are they?" Willow asked. She knew that this was the evil she had been bound to Spike to fight.

"No one knows actually. It’s clear they are not human, but they don’t appear to be a species of demon either. It would seem that they are rather a
separate phenomenon, perhaps they were human at one time. Rather like the Master of the Hunt, or the three ladies of fate." Wesley trailed off as
his knowledge reached its end.

Riley, ever the practical one, stepped forward. "Giles you said that these riders have never been defeated in battle. If that’s true, then what
happened to their armies. Why haven’t they already overrun the world."

Giles took a moment to reply, silently running through all the appearances, he had read about. "I believe that every time they came they had a
specific goal. Something to take back with them, or a particular life to end. When that goal was reached, they left. If the prophecy is to be believed
all of the previous battles were in preparation for what will happen tonight."

"Okay, whatever they are. They are obviously coming so if we are going to fight them, we’d bloody well better get ready." Spike interjected.

"I believe we have nearly an hour before they arrive. If their past appearances are any indication, they will probably bring an army of sorcerers and
vampires with them. It would seem their goal is to kill the slayer. With her death they will buy the apocalypse. All the barriers between earth and
hell, and all the realities in between will fall." Giles, spoke matter of factly, belying the turmoil that he was in.

"Can just the three of us beat six plus their army Giles." Buffy sounded tired, resigned. She believed it was likely that she would die that night.

Behind her Spike stood with Willow gathered in his arms. Their expressions echoed her own. Fear, resignation, and bone deep weariness.

Xander stepped forward, "What do you mean, can the three of you beat them. There are a hell of a lot more than three of us. We’ll all fight. One for
all and all for one, just like the musketeers."

"Xan, I don’t want you to get hurt." Willow spoke quietly. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she realized that they were the exact ones
which Buffy had spoken so many times to them all. When she had been on the receiving end, she had resented it. She had fought for her right to
stand with her friend. She realized she had no right to take that away from Xander now, "I’m sorry. I would like to know I had you at my back,
Xander."

"Where Buffy goes, I follow. I’m not letting you guys face this stuff alone." Riley walked up and took Buffy in his arms as he spoke.

"I am your Watcher Buffy, I’d never let you go into battle alone." Giles knew that Buffy needed this reassurance.

"I would never leave you to fight alone." Angel added his voice.

"Hey, I’ve gotten pretty decent with a crossbow, after my time in LA. Count me in." Cordelia sounded almost flippant. As always either not grasping
or choosing to ignore the seriousness of their situation.

"I shall also be at your sides. This is my fight now as well." Wesley’s voice was almost inaudible, but did not tremble or quaver with the fear he new
was evident in his eyes.

"Well, Buffy, I think you have your own army." Anya said as she stepped into Xander’s waiting arms.

Buffy’s eyes filled with tears, but her voice came out clear and strong, "Thank You guys. I think we should change if we are going to fight a war."

"Yes, definitely change, but lets try and make it somewhere else for the actual fighting. This is my house, and a war would wreck it." Willow’s words
were only half joking. In the last months her home, had become something of a haven for her, symbolizing order, peace, harmony, all the things that
seemed to be denied to herself and her friends.

"Yes of course, it might actually be a good idea to move to more open ground in any case." Giles said.

"The old high school. It has that field behind it. I think we should go there. Can’t do too much damage to that building anyway." Buffy liked the
symmetry of it. After all one of her previous great battles for humanity, was won there.

"Very good, now I suggest we all get ready."

Half an hour later, they stood just behind the burned out shell of a building that had been Sunnydale High School. Everyone carried weapons, and
they had all changed into sensible clothes for battle. Even Cordelia had changed into jeans and a simple blouse. They had just arrived unsure of
what to do next. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light some distance away. In that bright flash they could see the silhouettes of six men on
horses.

They watched, there was little else they could do, while the men rode towards them. A few moments later, just a few feet from them the six horses
stood. All of the horses were black. The riders were large powerful looking men, They all wore long black hooded cloaks. Their faces were hidden in
the shadows of the hood. Everyone could feel the power radiating off of them.

"Slayer, Child of Light. With your death the apocalypse shall be bought." When the riders spoke it was as one entity. All of their mouths moved, the
voices melding into one.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Kill me, world goes bye bye. Can we get on with the fighting now, All this chit-chat bores me." As was usual for her, Buffy
used sarcasm as a defense mechanism. Sometimes it was very effective. This time it was not.

"Fool, we were to offer you a chance for your life, but no longer. You will die tonight." With that, the riders turned and went back in the direction
they had come from.

"Hey where’d they go?" Buffy was puzzled at their abrupt departure.

Riley stepped forward and laid a hand on Buffy’s shoulder, he spoke gently, "Probably to get their army, hon."

Riley was correct. A moment later the riders were on their way back at least a hundred sorcerers and vampires with them. Willow was worried about
those in the group with no special abilities. She had warded them all, spoke enough protection spells, that they could probably survive a direct hit
with a missile, but she was still worried.

The Riders reached them and the fighting quickly broke out. Everyone was soon separated by the violence. Ever since the first appearance of the
riders, Willow had been troubled by something, She felt an energy from them. She knew she should recognize but did not. Just then she found
herself directly between two of the riders. In that instant she felt the lines of power between them. They were bound in some way. She must get
to Spike, confirm her observation.

Meanwhile, Spike had noticed the same phenomenon. The two fought their way towards each other. It was difficult, they were on opposite sides of
the battle, but they made sure progress. The "army" had caused the two of them little trouble. In magic they had far surpassed even the best of
these sorcerers, and as for the vampires, well, Spike could best nearly any other vampire in the world on his worst day, and Willow shared that
strength. They finally reached each other’s side.

"Spike do you feel it?" Willow asked, half expecting Spike to tell her she was crazy.

"Yes, luv. They are bound somehow. Not like, us, not quite, but bound."

"I want to try something. You know how we can feel and manipulate the lines of power that connect us if we concentrate hard enough. Well, I’ve
felt the lines between these guys, so maybe we can manipulate them also." Willow sounded detached, almost academic. She was back in her
element.

"I don’t know. Sounds dangerous. Maybe we should just feel ‘em out a bit first."

"Not a bad idea I guess, let’s try it."

Willow and Spike stood side by side, and concentrated first on the lines of power that connected them and then on the power that connected the
riders. They left just enough of their conscious minds focused on the battle to destroy any of the dwindling numbers of vamps and sorcerers that
might try to come near them. Finally they could see the lines of power, almost like thin silver threads connecting the six men and their mounts. After
a few moments of scrutiny Willow realized something. They were all connected to one central figure. She reached out her energy to touch the lines
trace them. When she did she realized that the power rested in that central figure. The others were little more than corpses. Corpses she could
handle. "It’s just the one. We have to tell Buffy."

"Agreed, but how will she ever tell the one apart." Spike wondered.

"Look his horse, it has a white forelock. Let’s find her." Willow was already moving. Even though it was his own speed she used, Spike could barely
keep up with the small witch. When they reached Buffy she was fighting two vampires and trying to evade the magical attack of one sorcerer.
Willow dispatched the sorcerer, a flick of her wrist had him burnt to ash. Spike meanwhile had relieved the slayer of one of the vampires. Buffy
dusted the other.

"Slayer, the riders, they are bound." Spike tried to relay the information to Buffy.

"What’s he talking about Willow." Buffy was obviously confused.

"They are bound Buffy. Sort of like Spike and I only not. That one over there is the power source. If you beat him, you have beaten them all. Trust
me." Willow hoped that Buffy had understood that rather hurried explanation, or at least, did indeed trust Willow enough to take the last on faith.

Buffy seemed to think about it for just a moment, then she nodded. "Which one Willow. In case you hadn’t noticed they all look alike."

"That one. See his horse has a white forelock. The other’s seem to gather around him. We have to get you through to him. I think Spike and I can
probably use their ties to pull them away. We can try it anyway."

Buffy nodded again, "Do it."

Spike and Willow went back to concentrating as they had done before. They reached out with their energy, their essence, and touched the lines of
power that connected the riders. This time, instead of gently tracing those lines to their sources they tugged at them. They pulled hard against
those lines and it did seem to have an effect on the riders. As if they no longer controlled their own movements the five secondary riders began to
come towards Willow and Spike.

Buffy in the meantime was circling around behind them, having traded her stake for the dagger she had hidden in her clothes. It was the very
dagger that had been used in the binding ceremony. As the one primary rider recognized her approach he hurtled balls of energy at her. Buffy deftly
dodged these. Finally she leaped and thrust the dagger into the heart of the rider. As he slowly slipped to the ground, all of the other riders fell from
their mounts, dead. The few remaining members of the "army" fled.

The group of friends gathered together. They had all miraculously survived this battle. Most of them only had assorted scrapes and bruises. They
were basically unharmed. Buffy thought she might have a couple of broken ribs, and Angel had been burned by an energy bolt, from one of the
sorcerers. These appeared to be the only serious injuries any of them had suffered. And those would probably heal over the next day given the
healing properties shared by the slayer and vampires.

Their were hugs and words of congratulations all around.

"I head to break up the celebration guys, but dawn is coming quickly and I still need to get in out of the sun, even if no one else here does." Angel
reminded them all. They quickly got into the cars they had come in and went home.

A few hours later, Willow was still nearly giddy with exhilaration after winning the battle. "We did it. We really did it."

"Yeah, it wasn’t even that hard, after I knew how to kill them." said Buffy, riding her own victory high.

"But you did need the power of the binding just as the prophecy indicated. If they had not recognized the power for what it was, we would have
never won this battle." Giles spoke confidently. He knew that if he didn’t make this statement now, later, Buffy would remember how easy it had
been and believe that the binding of her friend and the vampire had been unnecessary. He did not want that to happen.

"Of course. Without Will here, and okay Spike too. I would have never figured it out. but we did it." Buffy was still triumphant.

Angel stepped forward, "I guess they underestimated our strength. They thought you’d be alone, easy to fight. Most slayer’s would have been. But
you will never be alone Buffy."

"That’s right, because we’re family. They should have known better than to mess with family." Anya’s response was almost indignant. Even so, the
other’s could all feel the truth in her words. They were family. None of them would ever be alone again. They had each other.

"Uh guys, I think we’ve all forgotten something very important here." Buffy suddenly seemed almost troubled.

Worried, Giles replied, "What is it Buffy?"

"Well for six of us this is our wedding night, or I guess technically it’s now the morning after our wedding night. Doesn’t that traditionally involve
much less clothing and a little more privacy."

Realizing that this was her only concern, Giles laughed. "Indeed it does Buffy. I certainly think the six of you deserve that. And the rest of us could
no doubt use some sleep."

They said their goodnights and went to bed.

That evening, having spent the day in each other’s arms, Willow quietly spoke with Spike. "Anya was right. We are family. And for as long as this
lasts I’m happy, content. But Spike, someday we’ll lose them. We’ll lose them all. What will happen to our family then." Willow was happy. Happier
than she’d ever been, but her voice also held a gentle sadness.

Spike sighed. He’d actually been expecting this question for some time now. With the binding, Willow had gained a vampire’s lifespan. She seemed to
have just realized that this would mean outliving her friends. For a moment Spike was unsure how to respond. He wouldn’t lie to her, but he didn’t
want her to be sad either. "Luv, we’ll always be a family. At least three of us will live for a very long time, and as for the others, well they’ll have
children. Our family may change, but it will always be here. And we will protect it. I promise you."

Willow believed him. She knew that she would never have children of her own, but in that moment vowed that she would love and protect the
children that Buffy and Riley, and Xander and Anya would surely bring into this world, and their children after them. She would have a family for
eternity, with Spike by her side. Willow finally knew peace and contentment as well as happiness.

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