FicWad

"There is no party." ER grinned from ear to ear. "This is how things are going to be from now on. All of you will join my race, of that, I promise. And the witches will do my bidding."
"Do you really think so?" Buffy shook her head. Seeing Willow yet again in danger was really pissing her off. Her best friend was always in danger because of the whole slaying thing. Enough was enough. This evil thing just had to die.
"You are so stupid to try and defeat me." ER took several steps towards the tiny slayer. "Or have you forgotten what lengths you had to go to defeat my brother."
"Well, no." Buffy could feel Spike by her side. Her heart was beating faster. It just had to be because of the possibility of a big fight. It couldn't be because of the nearness of the vampire with a chip. "But that just made it that much more fun."
ER laughed. "You do have guts. You will make a fine addition to my army."
"Thinking not." Buffy pulled a sword from behind her back. "Always come prepared." As she started towards the demon hybrid, she was tackled to the ground.
"This is my fight, Buffy."
"Riley?" Buffy stood up and stared at her boyfriend. Although the way things had been going, boyfriend was a very loose term indeed. She hadn't seen him for two straight days. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I sent for him." ER smiled. "And now little brother wants a piece of the action. He doesn't realize how powerful I am."
"Oh, I realize." Riley put a hand to his face. Buffy noticed a huge scar running from his right eye to his right ear. There was another running across his neck. "And you'll do anything to get your way. Hate to say this, pale, but it's not going to happen in my lifetime you controlling me."
ER just laughed. "I've never wanted to control you. You came here on your own. You want in. You may have convinced yourself that you don't, but you do. There is power here, little brother. And you could be part of that power."
Riley looked at Willow and than Tara chained to the wall of the cave. "But at what price?"
"Human lives mean nothing." ER shrugged. "Demons are the future and the past and the present. Humans are the animals that will someday be extinct. I say that we make it that way a little sooner than later."
"No!" Riley charged at his lookalike. He tackled him to the ground. Why the two twins were engaged in battle, Buffy made her way to Willow while Spike helped to free Tara. The battle between evil and good continued.
"Spike, get these two out of here." Buffy could see in his eyes that he did not want to leave her. "I will be right after you. Protect them with your undead life." Spike didn't bother to say a word. Willow tried to protest but was pulled out of the cave by the vampire.
Buffy turned back to watch the battle. What she saw nearly made her sick. Riley, the one that she had thought that she loved was being held up by the neck. Blood dripped from nearly every part of his body.
"One last chance, little brother." ER held him tight in his grasp. "Do you want to live and join me? Or would you prefer a quick death. Your choice."
Riley simply spit blood in the demons face. There was a sickening snapping noise as ER twisted Riley's head around. "No!"
ER turned towards Buffy. "You are next, my dear. Which would you prefer?"
Buffy looked at the demon for a moment before taking off out the cave entrance. She felt like she was going to be sick. She and Riley were never going to be a couple again, but this was just too much. She was having trouble running because of the dry heaves that kept coming.
Finally, she stopped and looked around. She was halfway to Giles' and hadn't even realized it. Spike and the others were nowhere to be seen. She just hoped that they were there waiting for her.
***
"I can't believe we just left her." Willow was pacing in front of the couch in Giles' place that Tara was sitting on. "She could be..."
"And so could you, pet." Spike leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. "Do you think I like the idea of running? I'm a fighter. I stay and fight. But we need you two birds alive in case we need some major league mojo."
Willow stopped in her tracks. "We are going to need that mojo. But how are we going to get it? We're being blocked again. There is no power to tap into. Well there is, but no way of tapping into it."
Giles made his way out of the kitchen and handed Spike a mug full of blood. He rolled his eyes as Spike swigged down the whole thing in one gulp. "This is getting to be a disgusting habit." He sighed heavily and turned towards Willow. "We'll find a way. Didn't you say that you now know how to defeat this demon hybrid?"
"I hope so." Buffy walked in at that moment. "Where's Xander and Anya?"
"They're still searching." Giles took in Buffy's demeanor. "Something happened. Are you hurt?"
Buffy shook her head. "No. Not me. But Riley's dead. That evil thing snapped his neck like it was nothing."
"Dear lord!" Giles managed to sit down on the arm of the couch opposite that Tara was sitting on.
"Will, do you really have a way of defeating this thing?" Buffy made her way over and stood in front of her best friend. "We could sure use it. I have the feeling that he's going to get out of control and fast."
"He's already out of control." Willow sighed heavily. "And I do know how to stop him. He kinda let something slip in that one dream sequence he put me through. Only he didn't realize it at the time. I know how to defeat him. I just have to get our powers back. That's the only way."
Buffy turned to Giles. "Any suggestions?"
Giles shrugged. "I've contacted the coven. There is one witch that may be able to help. Her name is Althena. I believe she was of good help to you and Tara while in England."
Willow nodded. "Yeah, she seems to really know her stuff. Maybe even better than Mrs. Foster did. Do you really think she can help? I mean, remember we're not only dealing with that evil thing but Amy has a case of revengitis."
"She is still powerful, right?" Buffy asked.
"Well, as far as I could tell." Willow smiled shyly. "She was good at the knocking us out with the magicks so that we got stuck chained to a cave wall and nearly killed. I can imagine what her powers are like now."
"Giles, I just noticed something." Buffy turned to her watcher. "Where's Ethan?"
"What?" Giles looked around the apartment. "Oh, bloody hell. I forgot about him in all of this. Who knows where the weasel has gotten him self."
"That's not important, mate." Spike made his way fully into the living room with the others. "We have to figure out how to bloody well give these two birds their power back. Any more suggestions than the ones that have been given."
"I think I know." Tara's voice surprised everyone. "But I don't like it. It's very dangerous."
"And what isn't dangerous?" Everyone glared at Spike.
"What is it, baby." Willow made her way to sit next to Tara. She took her hand in her own. "What have you got going on in that gorgeous head of yours."
Tara blushed a little at the comment. "Well, we would need to be close to Evil Riley. We all thought it was Ethan or Amy that was doing the blocking spell. Well, while we were there, I felt it coming from Evil Riley himself. I think he only needs Amy as a power source."
"Of course." Willow got all excited. "That make sense. And that would explain him in control of the dream sequence." She looked up at Buffy. "The only way to break the spell would be for either Tara or me to physically touch him."
"What!" Buffy looked at her friend like she was crazy. "There has got to be another way. You can't be serious, Will. It's too dangerous."
Willow stood up and looked her friend in the eye. "And just sitting here waiting for that thing to make all the humans into demons or just killing them is the right thing to do?" She took her friend's hands in her own. "You know that we are the only line between evil taking over the world. If it weren't for us, how many times would the world have been destroyed by now?"
"True, Will." Buffy turned to Giles. "You're with me on this one, right? This is too much to ask of Willow and Tara. Maybe too much."
"It's there choice, Buffy." Giles smiled at the slayer. "If this is their wish, than so be it."
"I hate being the slayer." Buffy pulled Willow into a hug. "I don't like this, you know that right?"
Willow smiled and held her friend tight. "It's my choice. It's time to take out this evil."
***
Xander and Anya had been briefed on the plan. They weren't a part of it. Neither was Giles. Only Spike, Buffy, Willow and Tara were to make their way into the cave and try and stop yet another apocalypse from happening.
ER stood in the middle of the cave. He was waiting. He knew that the two witches were coming. And he knew that they would not be alone. A short time later, he saw the four enter.
"It's time." ER smiled. "Do you think you have what it takes to defeat me, little witches?"
Willow nodded as she took Tara's hand in her own. It was now up to her and her soulmate to finish this here and now. Enough was definitely enough. "We're ready. Are you?"
ER smiled. "And the two of you are going to do what? Just stand there and watch."
"Yeah." Buffy hated what she was about to let happen. "We're here just in case."
"Very well." ER stood tall. "Come to me, little witches."
Willow and Tara slowly made their way to stand within inches of the demon. None of the three moved for what seemed like forever. Finally, Willow and Tara took a deep breath and placed their hands on the chest of the demon.
There was this sudden burst of white light throughout the whole cave. Along with the light, there was a burst of wind swirling around and around. It knocked both Buffy and Spike to the ground. They quickly made their way to their feet.
The threesome was involved in an awesome light display. There were dark lights that seemed to be attacking Willow and Tara, while the white lights went after the demon.
Finally, there was this great big explosion that knocked both Buffy and Spike out of the cave. Buffy made it to her feet first and tried to go back in. But the cave was no more. It had crumbled to the ground.
Buffy sank to the ground, tears freely falling. Spike came up from behind her and put his hand on her back. She looked up at him. "They're gone." She squeaked out the sentence.
"I know they are love." Spike pulled Buffy into a hug. "I'm so sorry, my pet. This shouldn't have happened to them."
Buffy stayed crying in Spike's arms for what seemed like forever. She sobbed and sobbed. After all that they had been through, she couldn't believe that her best friend was gone. It should have been her that died. She was the slayer. She was the one that was supposed to die.
"Hey, Buffy." The slayer turned to see two familiar faces smiling at her.
"What the..." She trailed off. Was it really them?
Willow smiled even bigger. "Sorry for the scare and all. But we did it. We defeated Evil Riley. And Amy is out of the picture for a while."
"Will, is it really you?" Buffy could not believe her eyes. There was no way anyone could have survived that type of an explosion. Except for maybe two very powerful witches. She managed to free herself from Spike's grip. Slowly, she made her way over to where the two witches stood.
"It's me." Willow opened her arms. Buffy ran the rest of the way and tackled the redhead to the ground. "Uh, Buffy. Oxygen."
"Sorry, Will." Buffy smiled big. "You really did it, didn't you. And you're alive. But how."
Willow took Tara's hand in her own. "Two things. Love and magick."