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Spike howled in pain even before he could pull the trigger all of the way. The gun fell to the concrete sidewalk with a clang again. Willow managed to snap out of her shock and pick up the gun. She held it nervously in her right hand and held Tara's hand tightly with her left.
"Bloody hell!" Spike stared at Riley. "You're human!"
"Of course he's human." Buffy came and stood between Spike and her boyfriend. "What exactly were you expecting? A robot? A demon? Come on, Spike. What the hell are you doing?"
Spike kept his hand on his temple where there was still a lot of pain throbbing in his head. "When we were at Giles' I couldn't smell the bloke. I was biding my time, trying to prove it since I knew you wankers wouldn't believe me. But he's now bloody human. What the hell gives?"
"Spike, if this is somehow a way to try and get in good with us, it's not gonna work." Buffy took a step towards the vampire. "In fact, it's just pissing me off more and more."
"Buffy." The slayer turned, surprised by Willow's tone. "We think that Spike is right."
"Say what!" Buffy eyed her friend. Riley stood looking dazed and confused at what was going on.
"Tara sensed that Riley wasn't exactly him when we were all back at Giles'." She looked at Tara who nodded. "But now, he seems to be back to his old self. That's why we said what we said. You know, about following us. We were sure that Riley would try something. And he sorta did. Until Spike stopped him."
"What was with the gun, Nancy boy." Spike was finally fully recovered from his little shock of pain. "You aren't going to be killing a whole hell of a lot of vampires with that. Or demons, for that matter. This thing works best on humans."
Riley shook his head. He knew that he should say something. But he could not. It was as if he were being restrained somehow. He did not even know what was going on. Finally, he was able to speak. "Listen, the last thing I remember was being really worried when Giles and Buffy disappeared. I went looking for them. Something happened. But I'm not sure what."
"It's just conveniently escaped your mind." Spike started to laugh as he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. "That sounds like a bloody story to me."
"If you'd shut up, maybe we could get to the truth." Buffy glared at the vampire who blew smoke into her face. She turned her attention back to Riley. "You don't remember anything else? Like someone hitting you from behind? Nothing?"
"I'm sorry, Buffy. But my mind is really fuzzy." He shook his head as if to clear it. "I want to remember but there just is something not letting me remember."
Willow and Tara both closed their eyes for a moment. At the same instant they flashed back open. Willow looked at Riley. "You've had a spell performed on you. Both Tara and I can sense it. I've felt those kinds of magicks before. I just can't quite remember where or when." She turned to the blonde witch. "You sensing anything else?"
Tara shook her head. "It's someone powerful. But other than the familiar feeling, I can't quite place it. I think that we may be getting blocked as well."
Buffy shook her head. "This is getting confusing. But if I can gather things right, Riley is under some sort of spell. Earlier, he wasn't Riley but possibly a lookalike. And now, the two of you are getting blocked magickally." Buffy looked like her head was going to explode.
"That pretty much sums it up." Willow smiled sheepishly. "And with us being blocked right now, that spell that we were going to try in the morning is pretty useless. I mean, we can try, but if we're still being blocked, there is no real point in it, now is there."
Buffy sighed heavily. "I'm going to take Riley home. Maybe some sleep will get him less confused." She turned to Spike. "Since you really don't have anything better to do, care to watch over these two until morning? They are powerful witches, but if they are being blocked..."
"They are as helpless as a kitten up a tree." Spike nodded. "I've got their back, slayer. You just worry about Nancy boy there. After all, it seems that whoever is out there is also after him as well as these two. We've just got to connect the dots, sorta speak."
The slayer could not help but eye the vampire suspiciously. She was still getting this really weird vibe off from him. What did he really expect out of all of this. She had to wonder. "I do wish we knew. But that would make life just a little bit simpler now wouldn't it."
"We'll try and see if we can either tell who's blocking us, or, see if we can get ourselves unblocked." Willow looked at Tara. "But it might take a while for either scenario so don't be holding your breath."
Buffy nodded, grateful that her friends were still willing to do what they could to help out. "Whatever you guys can do will help. We still meet in the morning. I'll call Giles when I get home and let him know what little more we know."
Willow waved goodbye at her friend. The two witches left Spike alone on their doorstep. After a few minutes, Willow peaked out the curtain beside the door. Spike still stood, alert as ever. She could not help but wonder why a guy that had so short a time ago wanted to kill her and her girlfriend would now watch over the two of them so intently. It just seemed strange to her.
Riley (the evil one) stood in the caves watching the monitors. He also could not help but wonder what the vampire was up to. He had originally wanted to offer the vampire the chance at having his chip removed. But the vampire now seemed to be getting in too close with the slayer and her friends.
It was not a good thing. That is when Ethan walked in. He was sweating quite profusely. And he looked like he had not slept in weeks. The man was looking quite haggard to say the least.
"I take it the blocking spell is still in place?" Riley looked at the sorcerer carefully. He got the feeling that the little man could not be fully trusted.
"I'm doing my best." Ethan sounded as tired as he looked. "But those two witches are too damn powerful! We have got to get rid of them. Otherwise, I may not be able to hold up my end of the bargain."
Riley took a couple steps towards the cowardly man. "I don't like to hear that kind of talk. I expect those that are working for me will deliver. And you need to deliver." Riley again took a dangerous step towards the little man. "I've yet again changed my mind. Those two witches have even more power than I realized. Or more power than they realize. I want to utilize it. You see, I want there to be a merging of the races. It was mother's dream. And I plan to pickup where my brother failed so miserably. Of course, if he hadn't been so stupid and killed her, mother would still be alive to assist me."
Ethan did not like what he was hearing. Using magicks to combine humans and demons. That was even more than the chaos that he had originally signed on for. He had only wanted to get back at Ripper and all of his little friends. Now it was becoming more dangerous. And more complicated. "I won't be able to hold them off. Not forever."
Riley smiled. "I know that you alone can't. That's why I'm going to get you some help. There is someone that has power but the lack of knowledge of how to use it. And I believe that after we help her out, she will come to our way of thinking and help us with our little problem."
Willow watched as Amy the rat seemed to happily spin around her little wheel. The red head kept the cage spotless. It was the least that she could do. After all, it had been nearly two years since Amy had changed herself into a rat. And she and Tara had yet to be able to find a way to derat her. It made her sad.
"Sweetie?" The voice brought her back into the now. Tara sat on their bed. It was closing in on three in the morning. All their attempts to do any spell had come up empty. Willow had even tried doing a simple locator spell she had learned in England. It had said that all of her friends no longer existed. Damn blocking spell. "Are you all right?"
Willow smiled at the blonde. "As right as I can be knowing that I could possibly get answers but that somebody is blocking us and therefore there is no way of getting the answers." She shook her head. "Magick can sometimes be just a little frustrating. I hate that part of it."
"I understand." Tara patted the edge of the bed. Willow quicky made her way next to her girlfriend. She gladly leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder. "Magick is both a gift and a curse. We've both learned that over the years."
Willow sighed. "I know. It's gotten me and the others in trouble on more than one occasion. But it's also gotten us out of jams on more than one occasion. I just wish I could access any amount of my powers. It would make me feel better."
Tara kissed her on top of the head. "You know, there are others out there that can help. We aren't the only ones that save the world every day. Buffy has done a lot the past few years."
The red head laughed. "I know. Just getting used to the magicks and what they can or cannot help with." She sat up and looked into her girlfriend's blue eyes. "Maybe I'm getting a little to used to it. I had been so worried about the control thing. Especially hurting you. And than we went to England and it appeared that I had my powers under control. But than, there was that spell that I didn't know I was doing spell. Yeah, it worked in the way that I saved Buffy and Giles. But what if there comes another time when I do a spell without realizing it. It might just not have the yay consequences that this one did. Maybe I should lay off the magicks. After we defeat whatever this magickally powerful bad guy is."
Tara nodded. She was proud of her girlfriend. It was not that she felt that Willow was over using magicks, it just could become so easy for someone to get overloaded without even realizing it. It took a strong person to realize that. And an even stronger person to follow through with it. "You are so smart and wise and good." Tara leaned close to her girlfriend's lips. "I love you."
Willow smiled. Their kiss was interrupted by a pounding on the door. "Bloody run for it girls! There's too many of them. Oh, bloody hell!" Spike's voice was full of pain. That is when the door exploded open. The girls ran from the bedroom to see what was going on.
Standing in the doorway were three big demons. They had curved horns. They were bigger than the doorway. They broke the frame from the doorway as they made their way in. The three simply looked past the two witches and around the apartment.
Willow and Tara joined hands. Both started chanting. There was a little bit of a light forming around them. But as fast as it formed, it blinked out of existence. Both were still being blocked. And that was so not good.
The first demon went towards the girls. They tried to move, but were not fast enough. He shoved them into the wall, knocking both of them unconscious.
The light was streaming down now. Spike was pressed against the invisible barrier as he tried to get away from the sun. "Ladies!" He shouted for the fifth time.
Willow looked up, her vision blurry. "Spike?" She looked around the room. No other damage seemed to have been done. "What's going on?"
"Invite me in, please!" Spike was starting to smoke. "Or I'll be just ashes instead of a bloody bruise."
Willow took in his appearance. "Come in, Spike!" The vampire staggered in and fell to the floor. "Tara!" Tara's eyes slowly fluttered open. "You all right?" The blonde nodded weakly. "I wonder what they were after." Willow made her way to the bedroom. She found Amy's cage missing. "Uh-oh!"