Chapter 25

Buffy ducked under Spike’s punch toward her face, and countered with a side-kick to his chest. He flew back, and hit the wall. They had discovered that the anti-violence spell didn’t work on Buffy, and since Spike hadn’t really gotten any hits in, it hadn’t been a problem.

“How ‘bout a break, luv?” he asked as he rubbed the back of his head. “Don’t know how many more times I can hit that wall before I go straight through it.”

“Oh, come on.” Buffy protested as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “We’ve only been doing this for two hours. You can’t be tired already.”

“’M not tired,” Spike protested. “I’m the big, bad. Don’t get tired.”

Buffy laughed as she watched Spike slide into a sitting position onto the floor.

“Okay,” she said as she sat down next to him. “You’re not tired, you’re just resting. Resting is not the same as being tired.”

“Right,” he said as he put his arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into him.

“Hey, Spike?” Buffy asked softly as she snuggled into his chest.

“Yeah, luv?”

“Did you…did you mean what you said…about the staying with me forever and stuff. I mean, if you didn’t mean it that’s okay, I was just wondering…”

Spike lifted her chin to look into his eyes.

“Meant every word of it. Never gonna leave you. EVER. ‘M here until you throw me out, and even then I’ll probably camp outside your window until you let me back in.”

Buffy smiled, and reached up to trace his cheekbones with her finger.

“Good. I kinda like having you around.”

Slowly Buffy ran her fingers though his hair, and brought his face closer to hers. She lightly brushed her nose against his before pulling his mouth closer. As his tongue entered into her mouth, Buffy let out a low moan, and his arms snaked around her waist and pulled her closer.

“Want to make you mine forever. Want to show you what you mean to me,” Spike whispered against her mouth.

“Yes,” she whispered back. “Yours. Forever yours.”

“Not here though. Not like this. Gonna make it perfect,” Spike murmured against her neck.

“The only perfect moments I have are with you,” Buffy said pulling him on top of her.

Spike groaned, and ground his hips against hers. Buffy reacted by arching up into him.

“Please,” she moaned as his hands wandered up her shirt. “Need you.”

Buffy reached down and pulled his shirt over his head.

“Buffy…luv…” Spike kissed a trail down her chest and to the edge of her shirt. He slowly pulled the shirt up, and kissed a reverse trail back up to her mouth.

“Are you sure?” He closed his eyes as he felt her hands on his jeans.

The sound of his zipper gave him his answer, and Spike slowly slid his pants off. His eyes never left hers as he undid her zipper and pulled hers off too. He kissed his way from her feet all the way back to her mouth.  Spike paused, when he was directly over her to look in her eyes one last time, before sliding himself completely inside her.

They both moaned at the feeling of each other, and Spike stilled a moment, pressing his forehead against hers, before he began to move his hips achingly slow. He captured her mouth again, and began to move his hips faster. Buffy moaned into his mouth, and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Do…you…want…to belong..to..me? Really…belong to me?” Spike panted in her ear.

“Yes…forever…I…I love you, Spike…always…”Buffy pulled his mouth back against hers as he let out another groan.

“Christ, luv….no one…makes me feel…like you…Love you…so much…never gonna…let you…go”

“Never,” she answered.

Spike buried his face in her neck.

“Love you…forever…” he repeated as his face shift form. Spike lightly slid his fangs into her neck.

Buffy felt herself begin spasm as the most pleasurable sensations flowed through her body. Her moaning became frantic, and she struggled to arch her hips further into Spike. With a final cry, she reached up and bit him on the neck. Buffy felt his hips lurch into her, and heard his buried cry in her neck. She shivered as his release spurted through her system, and lay back panting underneath him.

“Mine,” Spike whispered against her neck.

“Yours, always,” she answered him. “And you’re mine.” Buffy turned her head to face his.

“Yours, always,” he said as he captured her mouth again.

XXX

Giles and Xander arrived back at the club at the same moment that Cordelia and Angel did.

“Were you able to get us transportation?” Angel asked.

“Yes, em, I called in quite a few favors, and managed to get us our own jet.”

”Wow!” Cordelia muttered. “You were owed some favors.”

“Er, yes, well. Shall we get inside?” Giles brushed past them, and into the building.

Cordelia shot a curious glance over at Xander, who shrugged his shoulders at her. He hadn’t been allowed in on the meeting between Giles and his friend, so how in the world they came to be borrowing a jet from some guy named Sirk was beyond him.

The only people in the main room were Wesley, Fred, and Lorne. Giles immediately hurried off to take a look at the scrolls that Wesley and Fred were loudly arguing over, while the rest of the group joined Lorne at the bar.

“Sea breeze?” Lorne asked holding up his glass.

“I think you’ve been sea breezed out there,” Xander said as he took the glass away.

“Hey, that’s mine…Are there three of you?” Lorne blinked at Xander.

“Lorne, how many of those have you had?” Cordelia asked.

Lorne shrugged.

”Eh, I lost count after five. Bad things are coming. I can feel it, and I have no desire to face them sober.”

“And being drunk makes them better?” Xander asked.

“Yes, much,” Lorne answered.

“What are you sensing?” Angel asked.

“Oh, lies, deceit, power, the usual.” Lorne reached out to grab his glass back.

“Care to elaborate just a little more?” Angel moved the glass out of Lorne’s reach.

Lorne sighed.

“Look, there some heavy power coming from the room where Minda’s got the little witches stored away, and I get the feeling there’s something that she’s not telling us.”

“How long of you known Melinda?” Angel asked.

“Since I got here. About six years I guess. She showed up at the club one day, and we just kept in touch.”

“She just showed up?! A goddess, and she just ‘shows up’ at your club?!” Xander pushed away from the bar. “Uh, hello, goddesses don’t just randomly show up. Even I know that.”

“Whelp’s got a point there.”

Spike appeared in the doorway to the backroom with Buffy slightly behind him. Within seconds of his appearance, Angel had him pinned up against the wall.

“What did you do, Spike?” Angel growled at him.

“Oi! Wot’s your problem, peaches?”

“I can smell her on you. Just had to take advantage of her, didn’t you?”

Buffy grabbed Angel by the back of his shirt, and hauled him off of Spike. She glared at him a moment, before spinning around to check Spike for injuries. When she turned, her hair shifted and Angel caught sight of the bite marks on her neck. With another growl, Angel stepped up behind Buffy and pulled the hair off her neck. Spike snarled, and attempted to hit him with a left hook.

“That’s mine,” he warned even as the furies ward stopped him.

“You bastard! You claimed her!”

“What’s wrong, Angelus? Jealous are we? See, she claimed me back,” Spike tilted his head to the side so that Angel could see the tiny bite marks on his neck.  “Didn’t do that for you, did she?”

Angel lunged at Spike, and the two attempted an unsuccessful assault of each other.

“STOP!” Buffy yelled, trying to get between them. “STOP! STOP! STOP!”

“Separate!”

The three figures flew back away from each other.

“Oh! I did it.” Dawn stood at the side of the room, looking very pleased with herself. “Did you see that Tara? I totally said ‘separate,’ and they did!”

“Yes, that was good. A bit too forceful, but good.” Tara smiled at Dawn’s enthusiasm.

“What is going on here?” Giles asked walking up from the corner of the room.

“He claimed her,” Angel muttered.

“Dear lord. He did what?” Giles removed his glasses and began to furiously clean them.

“What does that mean?” Xander asked.

“Buffy, what on earth were you thinking?” Giles asked, still cleaning his glasses.

“It’s none of your business what I was thinking. I didn’t want to be alone forever, so Spike made it so that I wouldn’t have to be. I didn’t see you offering to spend eternity with me.” Buffy moved so that she was standing next to Spike, who immediately linked hands with her. “All you care about is that I fight your precious apocalypses. Well I don’t want to. Get that other Slayer to do it for you.”

Xander snorted.

“Yeah, we’ll just march on down to the ladies penitentiary and ask them ever so nicely to release her.”

“Maybe we should,” Wesley said. “I admit that I am the last person who wishes her to be free, but…we may need her. There are things in this prophecy that…I believe that, um…”

“Melinda left a lot of details out,” Fred finished. “From what we can decipher, the prophecy actually reads more like this, ‘The one of all power shall breathe life into the chosen champion of yore. This champion shall align with past enemies, and use the key of light to end the rivalry of the two ancient ones. Then the one of all power, and the one of all balance shall combine in body and soul to bring about the new champion, and this champion shall topple the empire of eternity.’”

“New champion? What new champion? Not Faith, right? Couldn’t be Faith?” Xander looked about the room.

“Oh, we’re all back. Good. Giles, do you have our transportation?” Melinda stepped into the room with Anya right beside her.

“Oh, my. What hostility we have in here. What have I missed?” Melinda surveyed the group curiously.

“You lied to us,” Giles said. “We are not going anywhere until you tell us the truth.”

Melinda glared at him.

“I am a Goddess. I never lie. I merely change the truth to please me. Before was not your time to know the entire truth, and it is still not your time. If you knew the whole prophecy, you would try to change it, and this cannot happen. Buffy had to be resurrected by Willow, and then align herself with Spike. Dawn must learn the power of being the key. Willow and Tara had to be joined together. The new champion must be chosen.”

“The rivalry. You are one of the ancient ones, are you not?” Wesley asked.

“Yes,” Melinda answered. “But we do not have time for the whole story now. I will tell you on the way. I suggest we rest, and leave just before sunrise.”

“Where we going?” Gunn asked entering the room. “ ‘Cause I gots all the supplies we need.” He grinned at the group, and held up a large bag of weapons. His grin slowly faded into a look of confusion as he surveyed the room. “What’d I miss?”

Chapter 26

Wow! Giles, I never knew you had such rich friends!" Dawn exclaimed as she picked a seat on the private jet.

Giles ignored her and took a seat near Wesley and Fred, who had already begun to lay out the scrolls again.

"Giles, this is a Wolfram and Hart jet. How did you get it?" Angel asked through a clenched jaw.

Giles stiffened.

"The council has an undercover man there."

"The council has someone at Wolfram and Hart? Why?" Angel demanded.

"I'm quite sure that I don't know. It's not my place to question everything the council does, as much as it may bother me," Giles answered.

Wesley paused in his translations.

"We must assume that this plane is bugged. It would be best not to talk about anything."

"Please," Anya muttered. "You are traveling with two powerful witches, a transdimensional key, and a Goddess. I think they can take out a few technological buggy things."

"Yes, you may speak freely here. I have set up a protection barrier around us. If they are any bugs, they will watch us playing cards for the next several hours." Melinda said as she stepped onto the plane, flanked on either side by Willow and Tara.

"What about the pilot?" Gunn asked.

Melinda smiled.

"I'm afraid that the pilot has gone temporarily deaf where we are concerned. Now, if you'll all take your seats..."

XXX

Buffy and Spike picked seats near the back of the plane, and away from the rest of the group. Spike laughed as Buffy insisted that she sit by the window.

"What? I can't remember having ever flown before, so I want to watch out the window." She protested at his laugh.

"You can sit anywhere you like, luv. But if I have my way, we'll be doing a lot of traveling, so get used to it."

"Traveling is good. Especially if we can get on more planes with these special windows...I like looking at you in sunlight."

Spike kissed her on her nose.

"And I like looking at you in sunlight, so we're even."

"Spike? You were born in England, right?"

"Born, raised, and died, luv"

"Will you show me where you were born? I-I would like to see it," Buffy asked shyly.

Spike raised his eyebrow at her and smiled.

"Want to see where the big, bad came from? S'pose I could arrange that."

Buffy laughed again, and Spike swore that he would move heaven and earth to keep her laughing like that for the rest of their days.

XXX

In the front of the plane, the group had gathered around Melinda.

"I find that in stories like these, it is always best to start at the beginning and go from there. In the beginning, the gods walked on the Earth and they were feral. They waged war against each other, and against the other living creatures. Finally it was decided that the time of man had come, and the time for the gods had to be put aside. The remains of these gods were placed in a place called the Deeper Well, and the one called Drogyn was granted eternal youth in exchange for guarding these beings. Drogyn had been a favorite among the gods, a laughing youth known for purity of soul, but one god was jealous, and as Drogyn accepted his fate, cast a spell on him that made him forever incapable of lying. As the world of man grew, Drogyn became a recluse lest the remains of the gods fall into the hands of evil ones.

"I was born at the changing point of all this, although born is not really the correct word, as goddess are not so much born as...come into being. I had a twin sister named Aaliyanna, and she and I loved each other very much. For a while, all was good, but as we know all good things must end. It came to be that while we were still teenagers, Aaliyanna became quite interested in the dark arts. I was appalled, and tried to make her see how evil that sort of thing was, but we were both young, and we quarreled. She left, and I was not to see her for many years.

"Eventually, word reached my ears that she was living in the remotest part of the jungle, and understand that the world was...different then it is now. The continents had not yet begun to drift apart, and this jungle was a frightening thing to me. Aaliyanna had submersed herself in magic so dark that the villagers were afraid, and had sent out a calling to me. I rushed to the jungle, only to find that my beloved sister had been turned black and twisted with the darkest of magics known. These magics were a thousand times more powerful then any of the black magic that you have ever come across. Like many things, black magic has been diluted with time, but back then...it was quite potent.

Aaliyanna had sequestered the most powerful seer in the village, and driven the woman mad. She plucked out the seer's eyes to make her more powerful, and kept her chained in a cave, writing prophecies all day. The scrolls of Phenyellenian were her greatest achievement, as Aaliyanna was convinced that she and I were destined to rule the world. The scrolls offered the only way that she could be defeated.

"Once I found her, I pleaded with my sister to come home with me, and allow me to heal her, but her heart had become just as black as her magic. We waged a great battle, and in the end, I buried her in that jungle, and took the scrolls with me. Until two weeks ago, I had never heard a word of my sister since.

"When I returned to my school to retrieve the scrolls, she was waiting for me. Her power has grown and darkened in the time we have been separated. I believe that she has gone quite insane in that time as well, and she believes that the scrolls, the witches, and the prophecy belong to her. She still believes that she is meant to rule this world. This is what we must band together to defeat. This is why I could not tell you everything up front. I needed you to believe me, and before this moment, you would not have."

There was silence as everyone regarded the tale they had been told.

"Why do we need to go to the Deeper Well? Is Drogyn the new champion that must arise?" Wesley asked.

Melinda shook her head.

"I must ask you again to trust me when I tell you that the time for you to know that has not yet arrived."

"How can we trust you when you hold so much back?" Giles asked.

"You must trust that I do these things in your best interest. That is all I can tell you. Now, please excuse me, I'm very tired. I must rest now."

Melinda stood up, and moved herself farther back into the plane.

"Huh, you do you think this champion is going to be?" Xander asked, and no one noticed as Anya suddenly looked very interested in the hangnail on her hand.

Chapter 27

Most everyone on the plane had fallen asleep, except Willow. She was too fidgety to sleep. The different parts of the spell that had joined her and Tara kept replaying themselves in her mind. It was weird. If Willow closed her eyes, she could almost hear Tara’s thoughts. It was times like these when she really missed having a close female friend to talk to, one that wasn’t her girlfriend. With a sigh, Willow stood up, braced her shoulders, and walked to the back of the plane.

 Neither Buffy nor Spike was sleeping. Instead, Buffy was giggling as Spike amused her with stories about his past. This current story being one about him getting locked in a submarine with Angel and some prince of something or other. Spike was just at the part where he emerged dripping wet from his swim in the ocean to find a very cross Drusilla muttering about how he had “visited the fishies” without her, when Willow appeared in front of them.

They both got quiet as they waited for the red head to inform them of why she had forced her presence on them, but Willow just stood fidgeting with her shirt.

“Um, hi Buffy, Spike,” she muttered. “I, uh, well, I couldn’t sleep, and I felt like talking to someone, and everyone else is asleep, and I thought well, Buffy and I used to talk lots, and maybe she wants to talk too, so I should just see if she wanted to talk, but you guys seem very busy with the talking between yourselves, which I am obviously interrupting, so I’ll just go.”

She turned and ran back to the front of the plane, tears stinging her eyes as she threw herself back into her seat. What had she done to her best friend? Oh Goddess, what had she done? And Willow finally realized for the first time that Buffy, her best friend since she was fifteen, was really and truly gone.

XXX

The seer ducked blindly as she felt another object whiz by her head. She huddled herself as far into the corner as she could. She was an ancient thing, should have been long dead, and kept alive only by the hatred of her mistress. At one time she had a name, she knew she did, and she had been able to see to. Really see and not just See, like she could now. Sometimes in her dreams she could remember the Before time. Those dreams were nice. She was loved and safe, not like reality where she was kept as a tool to her mistress. Her one goal in life was to find her writings. The beautiful scrolls that she had written in virgin blood for the goddess…or was it her mistress she had written them for? She couldn’t remember. She knew that once they were written, she had lost her eyes and…something else…but she couldn’t remember now and it didn’t matter anyway. The mistress was angry at her. She didn’t like the newest vision.

“ENGLAND!!” Aaliyanna screeched as she threw another vase at the seer’s head. “HOW DARE THEY!”

“I know not mistress, I’m sure,” the seer said quietly.

“Well you SHOULD know. You are MY seer, and you are supposed to tell me these things.” Aaliyanna kicked out angrily at the nearest chair. “They have my scrolls.”

“Oh, the pretty, pretty scrolls? The pretty scrolls that I wrote?”

“Yes, the ‘pretty pretty scrolls’ that you wrote,” Aaliyanna mimicked the seer’s childlike whisper.  She glanced down in disgust at the old hag. “Ug, why do I keep you around? You’re like this two thousand year old bag of bones, and you smell bad.”

“Sorry mistress. Tripped and fell I did. Didn’t mean it. Would never offend you, mistress.”

“Now what would that sister of mine be doing? What’s in England? She has MY scroll, and MY witches…wonder what else of MINE she’s got with her. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. MINE. She shouldn’t touch things that are mine.”

“Yes mistress. All things are yours, only yours. Has them, yes she does. The pretty green light, the witches red and white, the enemies align though one has forgotten her plight, the new champion awaits, and in the Deeper Well your terror now awakes.” The seer had slipped into a trance, an eerie glow emerging from the empty sockets in her head. When she stopped speaking, she slumped back down against the wall.

Aaliyanna stepped forward and placed her hands on the seer’s head. Her hands glowed for a moment as Aaliyanna sucked the entire image out of the woman’s head. After a moment, Aaliyanna threw back her head and released an evil laugh.

“Oh ho ho, isn’t she clever. Clever, clever, clever, clever. Missed Glorificus’ return, did I? Killed by the Watcher of a common vampire Slayer. Too funny. Funny, funny, funny, little lost slayer. Her soul is all split up. Have to fix that, don’t we seer? Wouldn’t want the poor slayer playing without a full deck.”

Aaliyanna began pacing, kicking a path through the broken glass that littered the floor. She tapped her index finger against her head.

“Thinking, thinking, thinking while I pace, pace, pace.” Aaliyanna had gotten into the habit of dictating her actions out loud so that the seer knew what she was doing.

She stopped pacing suddenly.

“I have stopped pacing,” she announced. “We are going to England…Now.”

And with that, both women disappeared with a small popping noise.

Chapter 28

They were tired and crabby by the time they reached Giles’ flat, and immediately began fighting over sleeping arrangements. Giles had two bedrooms and a pullout couch, the rest was floor space which nobody wanted.

“I’ll make this easy,” Melinda said, holding up a hand to stop the bickering.

“Wot? You gonna magic us some beds or something?” Spike asked through clenched teeth.

“No, I’m going to take Tara, Willow, Dawn, and Anya to the Deeper Well now.”

“You are not taking Dawn anywhere. She needs her rest,” Spike insisted.

“You’re not her father! You don’t get to decide things like that!” Xander exclaimed.

“Hey! I don’t ‘mem you being all father figure of the year there, whelp.”

“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Tara put up her hands, and everyone looked at her in shock. Tara never raised her voice. “We have an apocalypse to advert. If Melinda needs us to go now, we go now.”

“I have to agree with Tara on this,” Giles was cleaning his glasses again. “Now let’s figure out the bedding arrangements so that we can all rest.”

The watched in silence for a moment while Melinda herded her small group out the door.

“What size bed do you have?” Cordelia demanded after the click of the lock was heard.

“W-why do you want to know?”

“Because if you have a king size bed, then you need to share it. No sleeping alone when there’s so many of us.”

“But it’s MY house.”

“Oh, cry me a river Giles,” Cordelia snapped. “We have an apocalypse,” she mimicked his voice.

“Oh, good lord. Fine, I will share my bed.” He made to move toward the stairs.

“Uh where do you think you’re going?” Cordelia demanded.

“To my bed.”

“Nope. Fred and I get your bed…and Buffy too if she wants.”

“And where am I supposed to sleep?”

Cordelia sighed.

“You, Wes, and Lorne can sleep in the guest room, Gunn and Lorne get the pull out bed, and…um…god, don’t you have air mattresses?”

“Well, it’s not like I was expecting tons of company.”

“Angel can have my spot in the bed,” Buffy said. “Spike and I will sleep on the floor.”

”You sure about that Buffy?” Angel asked.

She shrugged. “I’m just tired, and I want to go to sleep. Besides, I’m not the one putting her head on the ground.” She giggled at Spike’s raised eyebrow.

“Fine. Settled. Bed Everyone,” Cordelia announced.

XXX

When the stepped outside of Giles’ front door, Dawn was expecting them to be his front porch. Instead, she found herself standing in a lush field with a tree in front of them.

“Oh, Goddess,” Willow breathed.

“W-where are we?” Tara asked.

“The Deeper Well,” Anya answered as a youthful looking man approached them.

“Drogyn,” Melinda greeted him.

“Metalardina,” he returned. “To what do I owe this honor?”

“You are holding something for me. I have come to claim it.”

“Do you come prepared?”

“I do.”

“They know the risks?”

“They do.”

“Then, please,” Drogyn gave them a bow and motioned to the side of the tree. “Begin your ceremony.”

Melinda led them to a small spot next to the tree. She produced the bag that Gunn had brought into Caritas with him, and began pulling items out. First came a golden knife followed by a flask of powder, two round stones, some black ink, and a paintbrush.

“Lie down please, Anya, and remove your shirt.”

Anya lifted the shirt over her head and lay down on her stomach. Melinda picked up the paintbrush and began muttering as she painted symbols over Anya’s back. For half an hour, none of the girls moved as they watched Melinda cover both the back and front of Anya’s upper body in strange markings. When she finished, she picked up the flask and began to pour the powder around Anya.

“Dawn, come here please,” Melinda said when the flask was empty. She handed Dawn the gold knife. “I need you to cut the palm of your hand and sprinkle your blood around the powder.”

“B-but won’t I open a portal?”

“Yes, but that’s what we need. Tara and Willow will be able to control it.” As she spoke, Tara and Willow arranged themselves, one at Anya’s feet the other at her head. It was as though the spell had suddenly appeared in their heads, and they knew what they had to do in the ceremony.

Dawn doubtfully took the knife and slashed her palm open. She watched in awe as the first drop hit the powder and began to swirl together. Quickly she made her way around the entire circle, and when the last drop met the first, a swirling portal opened beneath Anya and Willow and Tara began to chant. The two witches raised their hands toward the sky, and Dawn watched in awe as their eyes began to change colors. Willow’s turned coal black while Tara’s turned pure white. From the swirling vortex beneath Anya a blue mist began to float up. It whirled around the circle for a moment before entering Anya’s body. Anya’s eyes glowed blue for a moment before returning to her natural color. Tara and Willow slowly stopped chanting, and the vortex closed with a whoosh.

Slowly, Anya stood up taking in her surroundings. She turned to face Melinda with a questioning look.

“I am here again.”

“Yes, you are.”

“For a second I was somewhere else, I think.”

“You were. You were where the spirit lay dormant. Now the spirit is in you.”

“I feel different. I feel power, but not like when I was a vengeance demon. This feels…stronger, older somehow.”

“That’s because it is.”

“Will I know how to use it?”

“When the time comes…Come, let us leave now. We need rest.”

The girls followed her back up the path. Dawn gave a little wave to Drogyn as she passed by, and he bowed in return.

Anya froze as they reached the spot where they had originally arrived, and her eyes glowed blue. Melinda froze at the spot as well.

“Trouble,” Anya let out in a voice two octave lower then her normal one. “We must leave, NOW!”

“Aaliyanna,” Melinda breathed. “What have you done?”

XXX

Aaliyanna laughed when she saw her sister disappear with all the creatures of power from the group. Silly, silly Metalardina. Always sloppy when overtired, didn’t set up any wards. Anyone could just waltz right in there and snag those scrolls, and wreck havoc on those poor, poor, humans. Well, she didn’t mind if she did.

Quietly, Aaliyanna approached the front door only to realize that she was alone. Sighing with impatience she spun around to glare at the decrepit creature behind her.

“I’m glaring at you right now. Why aren’t you following me?”

“Didn’t feel you move, mistress. Forgive my blindness for offending you. Speak a word and I shall follow.”

The seer put her hands out in front of her and attempted to follow her mistress’ voice.

“Good,” Aaliyanna said when the seer reached her. “Now be quiet. This is going to be fun.”

Stifling a laugh, she pushed the door open. There was a pullout bed with three sleeping figures on it in front of her. The figure closet to her was green with horns. A delightful thought of how to get their attention came to her mind. With a grin, she reached out and twisted one of the red horns.

With a scream, Lorne sat straight up.

“What in Pylea’s good graces did you do that for?! That hurt!” he cried clutching his forehead. His eyes came into focus at Aaliyanna’s grinning face. “Oh, this can’t be good.”

At the scream, everyone else in the house had woken up and come running into the living room. Buffy and Spike reached there first, and took in the appearance of the woman holding Lorne’s horn. She was identical to Melinda in everyway, except that her hair, eyes, and dress were black.

“You must be the evil sis, then?” Spike cocked his head at her. “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Aaliyanna laughed and motioned to her seer.

“I’m motioning you forward seer, come look at our new friends.”

The woman slunk forward and stared blankly in the direction she head Spike’s voice.

“That is she,” the seer’s voice was flat.

Spike moved in front of Buffy and vamped out.

“Not comin’ any closer here, pet.”

Gunn had tried to grab his sword, which was next to the bed, but Aaliyanna caught his movement.

“Looking for this?” she asked, and with a flick of her finger impaled the sword through his leg, pinning him to the bed.

Gunn let out a single scream, and tried in vain to remove the sword from his leg. It was stuck fast.

At that point, both Buffy and Spike lunged toward Aaliyanna and the rest of the group made it into the living room. Fred let out a strangled cry, and rushed to help Gunn with the sword. Wes and Giles took one look at Aaliyanna and ran back upstairs to secure the scrolls. Cordelia, however, took one look at Spike and Buffy and grabbed Angel’s arm.

“My vision,” she murmured. “It’s my vision.”

Angel watched as Buffy rushed Aaliyanna only to be stopped with a flick of the goddess’ hand, and Spike, in full vamp face, rushed after her. With another flick of her wrist, Aaliyanna sent Spike careening into a wooden bookcase. Knowing that he couldn’t go after the goddess, Angel shoved Cordelia back upstairs and ran over to check on Spike.

Spike was lying on the ruined bookcase, but he was mostly uninjured. He accepted Angel’s hand to pull him up, and then froze as they heard Aaliyanna begin to chant. With wide eyes, they watched as a stream of light shot from her fingers and enveloped Buffy.

When the light hit her, Buffy let out a deafening scream and fell to her knees. Both vampires rushed to the girl’s side, only to be met by a force field. Buffy was lying on her side now, completely curled into herself with her hands clutching her head, still screaming.

The front door flew opened, and a glowing Anya charged in.

“Ahn?” Xander asked incredulously from where he sat next to Fred trying to help with the impaled sword.

Aaliyanna turned toward Anya and screamed in rage.

“YOU!”

Anya raised her hand and with a flick of her wrist, sent Aaliyanna flying into the wall. Aaliyanna stood quickly and glared at Anya.

“Now is not the time. Enjoy my present,” she said and with a popping noise, both she and the seer vanished.

Tara, Willow, Dawn, and Melinda appeared in the doorway behind Anya and rushed into the house.

“Buffy!” Dawn cried and ran over to where Spike was already gingerly sliding his hands under her still form.

Melinda rushed up beside her and glanced down at Buffy. She quickly placed her hands over Buffy’s head and closed her eyes. After a moment, she backed away from her slowly.

“What is it? What’s wrong with her?” Angel demanded.

“She did it. Oh, she did it,” Melinda moaned.

“Wot? Wot did she do to her?” Spike asked through clenched teeth.

Buffy let out a small moan and opened her eyes.

“Luv?” Spike asked. “You okay?”

“Ssspike,” she whispered. “I-I remember…” And then she passed out.

XXX

Chapter 29

Spike carefully carried Buffy upstairs and tucked her into Giles’ bed before turning to face Melinda.

“What.did.she.do.to.her?”

Dawn flinched at the tone of his voice. She’d rarely heard Spike sound so pissed off.

Melinda sighed as she looked at him.

“She gave her back her memories.”

“I thought you said that was impossible,” Wesley said.

“It is, but in a way it isn’t. Aaliyanna did a-she did a spell, a horrible spell…she-she killed off everyone who had a piece of Buffy’s soul in them, and then redirected the pieces back into Buffy’s body…” she trailed off at the looks of horror she received.

“W-w-why am I-I still here then?” Dawn asked shakily.

“Cause I told you, honey muffin,” Lorne said, holding one hand over his injured head. “That part of her in you is already gone.”

“What kind of consequences are we looking at?” Angel asked.

“Well, in addition to her old memories and the ones she has made in her time being here…she’ll have the memories of each of the other people her soul was in…including the moment that they died.”

“Tell me, oh great goddess, was this something else you just chose not to tell us?” Spike couldn’t hide the sarcasm in his voice.

“No!” Melinda shook her head to emphasize the point. “I never would have imagined she do such a thing. This is beyond…anything.”

Buffy’s moans brought their attention back as she began to writhe on the bed. Her eyes popped open and searched the room wildly for a moment before settling on Spike. He watched a variety of emotions flit through her eyes, and he suddenly began to feel very worried that the old Buffy might not want him around anymore. He didn’t know how he would survive if she suddenly went back to her old ways.

“Spike,” she whimpered, and his fears were immediately put to rest. “It’s so loud, in my head. It hurts.”

“Ssshh, it’s okay luv.” He gently ran his fingers over her cheek.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

“Make the voices stop. Too many thoughts. Old thoughts, new thoughts, old voices, new voices, all stuck in my head. The old Buffy is in here…she thinks you’re evil…I don’t…there’s a girl…she became a vampire…she’s in here too…she doesn’t think you’re evil either…”

Everyone in the room turned their eyes on Melinda, looking for answers.

“Erm, if Buffy was only gone for two hundred days or so-“

“147,” Spike interrupted.

“Er, yes, 147, then any beings her soul went into would have to be babies, right?”

“Not necessarily. Her soul could have been sent into parallel dimensions, and time moves differently there.”

“So, you’re saying that the memories in Buffy’s head could be from any age group and any number of parallel dimensions?” Giles asked.

“Fascinating,” Wesley muttered.

“Tired. Spike, I’m so tired. Hold me. Keep away the bad thoughts,” Buffy whimpered.

“Of course, luv,” he whispered to her. Turning back to the group in the room, he gave them an evil look. “Out,” he ordered.

The last person out the door was Dawn, and Spike gently kissed the top of her head.

“Get some rest, bit. I mean it. Sleep, no more research or magic lessons for now,” he said as he closed the door behind her.

Spike rubbed his forehead tiredly as he climbed into bed and pulled Buffy into his arms. She whimpered slightly, and for just a second he caught a glimpse of her old self in her eyes before she tucked her head under his chin and curled into him.

“This,” he thought, “is going to get real interesting.”

XXX

The voices in Buffy’s head echoed into her dreams, and she couldn’t stop them. One was a baby, and it cried constantly causing a dull ache to build in her head. There was her former self which felt the need to lecture her about sleeping with a soulless vampire, and which remembered heaven. That part really hurt, remembering heaven. She’d been so happy, so at peace. Another girl had been turned into a vampire when she was seventeen, then there was the old lady who was a witch, and finally there was a picholeta demon that ran a bar. Six people living in one head.

Spike lay awake watching the girl in his arms moan and shift in pain. There was nothing he could do but tighten his arms around her and pray that everything would be okay. It wasn’t fair, the amount of stuff that she was forced to put up with. Any lesser person would break, but not his girl. His girl. God he hoped that was still true.

Buffy gasped, and her eyes popped open.

“Ssshh, it’s okay luv. ‘M here,” he rubbed her back in soothing circles.

Buffy pulled back a bit to look at him.

“How you feeling pet?”

“Like Sybil,” she replied.

“Who?”

“You know, Sybil, the chick with the multiple personalities?”

“Must have missed it.”

“Oh, well, it’s like, there’s all these different people…and they all want attention…and I remember every moment of all their lives, but…I’m still me, you know?” she buried her face back into his neck, and nuzzled her bite mark on his neck.

Spike closed his eyes and swallowed hard.

“So, so you still want me ‘round then, yeah?”

Buffy pulled back and looked at him in shock.

“You-you thought I wouldn’t want you anymore?”

“Well, the old you, she didn’t think so much of the big bad. Didn’t much like me around.”

Buffy laid her head back on his shoulder.

“She did, she just didn’t think that she should. I mean, the sex bot thingy was way wiggy, but…when you tried to save Dawn and you took that beating from Glory…she did start to look at you differently.”

Spike tried to look down at her.

“Why you calling yourself ‘she?’”

“Cause she is not me. Just like the baby and the witch and the vampire and the demon, they are a part of me, but not me. I’m still who I was yesterday, just with lots of other things floating around in here…and giving me a headache.”

“What you talking ‘bout, luv?”

“The other people in my head with me now. There’s a baby, who won’t stop crying by the way, a witch, who was like eighty when she died, a vampire, and how ironic is that, and this demon that ran a bar of sorts. It’s weird.” She propped her self up on her elbows to look at him, “I know all this stuff now. Like I know how to do a locator spell and how to make a Bloody Mary with real blood and where the best spot is to bite someone without killing them, and I remember how I met Willow and Xander…and you.” Buffy put her head back on his chest, and began doodling on his chest with her finger. “But it’s like, all those other people, they’re in the back of my head…like fantasies or characters in my imagination. The person in control is still, well, me. The me that’s been here since you found me…the me that loves you.”

Spike placed his finger under her chin and tipped Buffy’s head up to face him. Slowly, he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. When he pulled back, he noticed Buffy was grinning at him.

“So…you’re still stuck with me for eternity, just so you know.”

Spike laughed, and leaned in to kiss her again.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way, luv.”

XXX

Melinda paced the living room, running her fingers through her hair. She was oblivious to the stares she was receiving from those in the group who were still awake.

“Okay, hi,” Cordelia jumped into Melinda’s path. “I don’t mean to be all interrupting girl here, but what the hell is going on?”

Melinda looked at Cordelia for a moment before stepping around her and continuing her pacing.

“Or, you know, ignore me like I’m not here.”

“Um, goddess, um, hi,” Fred gave a little wave. “We, well, we were hoping that maybe you could tell us, um, you know, what has happened with, well, Anya and the glowing eye thingy, and Buffy with the memories, and stuff.” She threw a glance at Wesley who shrugged at her.

Finally Melinda stopped pacing and sat down in a chair.

“Things are not going well for us, not bad though because we are still ahead of her in terms of the prophecy. The fact that she found us though, well, we are going to need to leave here once the injured are healed and everyone is rested.”

“Where are you going?” Lorne asked.

“The jungle,” Melinda answered. “That’s where this began, and that is where it will end.”

XXX

Chapter 30

Author's note: I'll be out of town next week, so there'll be no posting...and yeah I'm evil and there's a huge cliffhanger.

Aaliyanna clapped her hands in glee. This hadn't worked out quite the way she wanted it to, but it was still fun.

"Shall I describe their faces when I killed off those people and put all those fun things in the Slayer's head?" she frowned then remembering Anya. "I'm frowning now because Melinda has released the spirit. Put the spirit in a powerful body, she has."

"A vengeance demon mistress. Loves a human, she does," the seer informed her.

"Has a key, has the witches, has the spirit...what else does she need. Seer, what else is needed for the prophecy?"

"The jungle, the trees, the beginning is also the ending."

Aaliyanna twirled around to face the seer.

"Will we win? Tell me!"

"Know not mistress. Could win, could lose, could live forever, could be released...death would be lovely, all restful."

Aaliyanna grabbed the old woman by her shoulders and pulled her up so that they were face to face.

"No rest for the wicked. You are mine! You belong to me!"

The old woman cringed.

"Yes mistress. Yours, always yours."

Aaliyanna dropped her back to the ground and made a show of wiping her hands together.

"Uck! Have I mentioned how disgusting you are? Look at me having to wipe your filth off my hands. So...back to the jungle we go...How...fun." She grimaced at the thought of having to go back to the jungle that had been her prison for so long. "I'm grimacing at the thought of the jungle."

"Sorry mistress."

"Yes, quite."

XXX

Buffy and Spike were the last to join the group in the lobby because Buffy was nervous about facing everyone with her new and improved memory. Therefore by the time they made it down the stairs, everyone was staring at them.

"B-buffy?" Willow asked hesitantly as she stepped forward.

"Hi Wills," Buffy said softly, tightening her grip on Spike's hand.

"Oh, oh Buffy! I'm so sorry," Willow burst into tears and ran forward, throwing herself into Buffy's arms.

"It's okay. I forgive you," Buffy replied, her own tears falling into Willow's hair. "I forgive you," she repeated when the two broke apart.

Buffy and Willow stared at each other for a moment before they were both swept into a bear hug by Xander.

"Oof!" Willow cried as she and Buffy banged heads.

"Jeez, Xan, we get the all excitedness but watch the injuries," Buffy muttered as Xander sheepishly pulled back. "We can't save the world with concussions, you know."

Buffy caught Giles' eye as he began to move toward her, and she launched herself into his arms.

"Giles," she said, inhaling the fatherly scent that she associated with him.

"Buffy," he replied stroking her hair. "Uh, Buffy? Buffy? I can't breathe."

"Oh!" Buffy exclaimed and let go of him.

"So your memory has returned then?" Angel asked, stepping forward.

"Yeah, it has...well, sort of. I mean, I remember everything that happened before I died, but...I'm still the same girl that I was yesterday, you know? There's just...more to me now. Everything is like...it's like this movie that I saw, and I remember it and I remember how it made me feel, and I remember how I connected to all the characters, but it's something that happened to another person."

"Did the movie get good reviews?" Anya asked. Everyone looked at her in shock. "What? I want to know how I was portrayed. Who played me?"

Buffy smiled at her.

"Some parts did," she glanced back toward Spike and her smile widened. "But I think real life is decidedly better."

Lorne studied her. He could sense the change in the aura around her, but when she looked at Spike it shifted back to the aura she had when he first met her. That made him smile, those two were fated to be together. He glanced over at Angel and Cordelia. Now if he could just get those two to see they were fated as well...

"So, we ready to leave then?" Melinda asked.

"How we gettin' there?" Gunn asked from the couch where Tara was applying the last of a healing cream to his leg. "We don't have that jet, do we?"

"Er, no I'm afraid we don't," Giles replied.

"Anya is going to teleport us," Melinda replied.

"Oh, right...That reminds me, what did you do to my girlfriend?" Xander asked glancing over at Anya.

"Relax Xander, I'm still the same lovable me that you adored yesterday. Now I just have great and magnificent powers that make it so you never want to cross me again. Isn't that great?" she grinned and scrunched up her shoulders at him. "It's like being a vengeance demon again, but with no boss and no waiting for stupid wishes."

"Oh, well, great...I think," Xander replied.

"So this spirit," Wesley began to ask.

"We don't have time," Melinda cut him off. "We need to leave."

Anya shook her shoulders like she was loosening herself up, closed her eyes, and cracked her neck. When her eyes opened again, they glowed blue. With a nod of her head, there was a great flash and a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared Gunn, Giles, Wesley, Fred, Lorne, and Xander found themselves still sitting in the living room.

"I guess we don't get to go on the fun apocalypse," Lorne muttered looking around.

"Oh, this can't be good," Giles muttered.

XXX

"Oh!" Dawn moaned clutching her stomach. "Have I mentioned how much I don't like teleporting? I think I'm going to puke."

Anya hastily moved away.

"Not on my new shoes please. They were expensive."

Tara moved over to Willow and clasped her hand.

"W-where's everyone?" she asked looking around.

"OI! Demon-girl, could you not teleport us into a swamp next time?" Spike and Buffy entered the clearing, both shaking water from the bottom of their pant legs.

"Oops, sorry. I've never teleported such a big group you know. Where's Xander?"

"Well, he's not here with us monkeys, I can tell you that. Have I mentioned how much I hate heights?"

They arched their necks up toward the sound of Cordelia's voice. It was too dark for them to see anything though.

"Uh, hello! Getting down would be nice. I would prefer not to fall and break my neck!"

"I think we're going to jump," Angel called down.

"What?! No! No jumping!" came Cordelia's response.

"Relax, I'll hold on to you."

"If you drop me..."

"I'm not gonna drop you."

"Okay...and no landing on any broken branches either. You can't pay my salary as a pile of dust."

There was a shuffling sound, and then Cordelia screaming. With a small thud, Angel hit the ground stumbled a bit, but managed to hang on to the still screaming Cordelia.

"Cordy! You can stop now," he said, setting her down and massaging his eardrum.

"I know. I just want you to know how much I did not enjoy that."

"Where's everybody else?" Angel asked looking around.

"That's what we were just trying to figure out," Spike retorted.

"Anya, you did teleport everyone, right?" Willow asked.

"Well, I thought I did but I also felt something pushing back. Maybe they're still at the house. I'll go check." Anya tried to harness the power to take herself back to London, but nothing happened. "Hey, that's not right. Let me try again...Um, I think we're stuck."

"Is that supposed to happen?" Dawn asked creeping over to where Buffy and Spike were standing.

"Don't think so, bit."

"Maybe Tara and I should try," Willow suggested.

Both witches appeared to concentrate a moment, but didn't disappear.

"Oh, well this isn't good," Willow said.

"Where's Melinda?" Buffy asked looking around.

"Well this is just great!" Cordelia announced throwing her hands up in the air. "We're in the middle of the jungle with no supplies, no goddess, and no clue. Just what the hell do we think we're doing here?"

"That's what we'd like to know."

Spike let out a low growl and whirled around to face the owner of the voice.

"Hello, Hostile 17, so nice to see you again."

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