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Soulless -- by Katie
Rating: PG-13
Description: Willow gets a diary, that tells her, about her soul mate.
Disclaimer: Joss owns all, I'm making no profit, all is his, except for a few characters I made up, and the plot. Other than that, it's his.
Willow had thought for a long time that she and Oz were soul mates. That no matter what they were meant to be together. That all changed the day Eliana Mishna came to town. She had gone to her when Tara had told her about Eliana. Eliana was an old but very powerful witch. So on a beautiful spring day Willow thought it couldn't hurt and she walked to her house. Timidly she knocked on the door. An ancient looking woman answered.
"H-hi I'm Willow Rosenburg. One of Tara's friends." Willow said. The old woman nodded.
"Oh yes. Tara said you might come to see me." She spoke in a think Romanian accent. "Please come in." Willow walked into the dimly lit house. She saw a table in the middle of a living room with a crystal ball on it. "Please sit down." Eliana said. Willow obediently sat in one of the chairs at the table.
"Let me see..." The old woman muttered as she looked through her bookcase. She pulled out a crystal and sat down across from Willow. She handed the crystal to Willow. "Hold this." She said.
"OK." Willow replied. Eliana closed her eyes. Then she looked into her crystal. To Willow's surprise it began to glow.
"Ah I see you have not been a witch long." She said. Willow nodded.
"Just a little over a year." She answered. Eliana nodded.
"And you have lost love." Eliana said. Willow nodded sadly. "But he wasn't the one." Eliana added. Willow looked at her in surprise. "Your true love is very close. In fact he is closer then you think..." Eliana got up suddenly and went over to her bookcase. She looked through her ancient volumes. She chose a thin leather bound one. She walked back to the table and handed it to Willow.
"This belongs to you I believe. That is all I can tell you." She said. Willow was baffled. She got up with the book and the old woman led her to the door. "Thank you for coming." She said as she pushed Willow out the door. Willow turned around and the door shut. She faced the street.
"Well that was interesting." She said quietly. She looked at the small darkly covered book. It had no title. She opened it and saw that was hand written. A diary, she thought, why would she give me a diary? Willow shrugged and put it in her purse.
"Hmmm...Some fortune teller." Buffy said. Willow nodded.
"Yeah I mean all she said was that my one true love was still coming and she gave me a book." Willow finished. She had just told Buffy about visiting Eliana.
"You didn't pay for that did you?" Buffy asked. Willow smiled and shook her head.
"No." She said. Buffy nodded.
"Well good. Cause it would have been a rip off." Then Buffy looked at her watch. "Oh man I have to go to class. Talk to you tonight OK?" Willow nodded and Buffy grabbed her bag and raced out the door. Willow sighed. She didn't have a class all day. She really liked the college life. Then she remembered the book. She grabbed her bag and took it out. She didn't have anything to do so she decided reading it couldn't hurt. She opened to the first page. It was yellowed with age and on the top of the page it said 1653. Willow had an idea it must mean a date so she decided this might be very interesting.
March 3, 1653
I am in hopes that they shall meet today. He has been avoiding her in the village but the time will come. Adriana and Ethan shall be together. It is their destiny. My daughter pretends she does not care for men or boys but I have seen her notice Ethan so that is how I chose him. He is the one.
March 10, 1653
Ethan has been coming to see her more and more. As I have hoped they have fallen into Cupid's spell. It was inevitable. She likes him. I can tell these things. She is singing to herself little love sonnets that she read in a book. Ah young love is the best to see.
April 23, 1653
After a long time and little hesitation Ethan has finally asked her. It took a spell of courage for him but I am not to meddle with them too much more. I just want to see that they are happy. They shall be. I will see to it. My daughter will have the best man in our clan as her husband.
May 2, 1653
The shadow of death has fallen onto us. Many of the family have taken ill with a disease that seems incurable with all of my spells and herbs. The worst of these is Adriana. She is in death's grasp I can feel it. I fear what shall happen to Ethan if she is taken to the Lord.
May 12, 1653
The tragedy has happened. Alas the day that the powers should take my daughter before me to her grave. And if this not were enough they take her love as well by his own hand. He saw Adriana breathe her last breath and then he took a dagger and stabbed his broken heart. They shall be buried but their spirits are not at rest. I shall find a way for them to be together. No matter how long it takes.
Willow was a little confused by the entries but they saddened her. The mother of Adriana had loved her very much and was willing to do a lot to get her to be with her love. Willow sighed. So where's my true love, she wondered. She continued to read and saw that the next entry was dated almost 50 years later.
February 23, 1712
I have found my daughter's new life. She is now named Yvette and she is French. Ethan is also with her but it shall take a little bit of work to get them to see each other. Now he is Jean-Luc and he is a lover. He takes many women but will not settle on which to marry. It will be difficult but I believe I can rest the spirits at last.
March 15, 1712
That damned boy. He is just a rat. He does not know that he and Yvette belong together so he just strings her along. She will not see his evil ways. I fear it shall hurt her.
April 2, 1712
I knew this would happen. He has found a new woman. A woman of the night. She is not human by nature. She is the devil herself. Her name is Darla. She is pure evil.
April 15, 1712
As I feared. Jean-Luc is now one of her kind. His first victim was Yvette. She did not know any better. I was too late to save her but I finished the boy. H is soul is in the hands of God. As soon as I had killed him Darla entered. She was prepared to kill me for killing her new lover but I held a cross to her. I cursed her. I cursed her to be killed by her love as Yvette was killed by hers. The spirits are still restless.
Willow stared in shock at the pages. This woman had met Darla. Angel's Darla, the same vampire that had tried to kill Buffy's mom. This woman had cursed her to be killed by her love. Willow had always known that the only reason Darla was trying to kill Buffy was because she thought Buffy was holding him back. This was too much to believe. She almost didn't believe it. Was it possible that the reason Angel had killed Darla was because of a curse? She was caught in the story of this woman and her journey.
August 29, 1804
I am old. I am lonely. This journey has taken all of my strength. I have a new daughter. Her name is Diana after the Greek goddess. She is as lovely as the moon itself. The girl is young. She will be three in two day's time. But she will carry on the burden I have. She will try and make peace with the spirits of Adriana and Ethan for I will not be able to finish it.
October 31, 1817
My mama has died. This is my first entry in her "soul diary" as she called it. She made me promise to continue with her spells and her journeys and I shall. I have promised to keep her curse upon the undead and rest the spirits of my elder sister and her love. It is my mission as it was my mama's.
Willow felt sad for Diana. She had to help someone she didn't even know and had to deal with things at such a young age. It made her think of Buffy. Not a lot of kids had to deal with demons and darkness as a teenager.
December 14, 1823
Oh what a happy day. It is my wedding day. I have married into another clan. The Kalderash of Romania. They travel a great deal so I will still be able to continue my mama's mission and be with my love and husband, Fernando. The spirits will rest I promise that.
August 24, 1894
Finally I have found them. They are in England of all places. I recognized the souls at once. They know each other but do not love yet. William and Claudia are hesitant to love I fear. Well I shall cast a spell and perhaps they will see what needs to be seen.
September 13, 1894
I shall kill every vampire that roams this earth and I promise that. William has been changed as Jean-Luc before him. He did not kill his red haired love though. When he saw Claudia he knew he loved her. Even without a soul he knew. I could not believe it. There may be hope yet but I have to work fast. The time is short.
Just then there was a knock at the door. Willow groaned and sat up. Of all the time for people to visit. She threw the journal across the bed and went to answer the door. She was greeted by an impish grin.
"Hello Red." Spike greeted. Willow sighed.
"Hey Spike." she said. She turned around and went back to sit on her bed. Spike walked in and closed the door.
"Some greeting." He snorted. Willow smiled slightly. Spike loved to see her smile at him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. Spike shrugged.
"I was bored." He said. And I really wanted to see you, he added silently. Willow looked outside and saw the late afternoon sun shining.
"OK then how did you get here?" She asked. Spike grinned deviously.
"Oh I've been here all night." He said. Willow rolled her eyes.
"Whatever." She said. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Spike sat down on her bed and saw the book lying there. He opened it to where Willow had left off and saw the dates and then the name, Claudia. Then Willow walked back out and saw Spike.
"What are you doing?" She asked. Spike looked up at her and dropped the book. She looked down at it.
"Oh Um... I was just reading." He said. Willow kneeled down to pick it up and looked up right into his eyes. They both stared at each other silently for a moment. There was a sudden connection between them. Spike moved slowly toward Willow then she looked away suddenly.
"It-it was a gift." She said. Spike came out of his daze and looked at her.
"What?" He asked. Willow held up the book.
"This was. Find anything interesting?" She asked. Spike shook his head.
"No I was just looking at it." He said. He had regained a little of his composure. "I told you I was bored." He said. Just then it hit Willow. Spike's first name was William. She pushed the thought out of her head. There was probably a lot of vampires name William. Then the numbers calculated in her head. She looked at Spike.
"Hey Spike can I ask you a question?" Willow asked. Spike smiled.
"You all ready did?" He teased. Willow sighed.
"When were you born?" She asked. Spike eyed her curiously. Then he looked back at the book.
"I-Uh-I have to go." He said. Willow looked at him confused and he was gone by the time she had a chance to say anything. She sighed and shook her head. Things almost seemed to fit but she couldn't quite connect everything in her mind. She sighed and got comfortable and opened the book. She wanted to see what had happened next.
Spike decided to take the sewers so he could get back to his crypt. He didn't know how Willow had gotten the book but he did know she was about to find out more then he wanted her to know about him. Maybe even a little too much. No one knew about that part of his life and he wanted it to stay that way. But then he thought of Willow. Suddenly he realized he wouldn't mind if she knew. But how much was he himself willing to tell her.
September 18, 1894
Claudia is dead. I have no idea who has killed her but it was a vampire. I am not willing to believe William had anything to do with it but that seems like the only other answer. I saw him leave her house and when I went in she was dead. I can not believe it. He is only an animal. That is what they all are.
October 5, 1894
I have given up my mother's search for my sister's spirit. The clan is going back to Romania and I am as well with my two granddaughters. I am not going to pass this awful burden to them for they do not deserve it. It is too much for them.
November 17, 1898
My burden has changed. I now vow to make sure that the vampire suffers. He killed Gabriella. He deserves a punishment worse then death. My little granddaughter was so beautiful. She died so violently. The vampire will pay I will see to that. Angelus and his minions will never find peace as long as our family lives.
In shock Willow reread the last entry to make sure she had been reading correctly. But she had been. This was the diary of the woman who had cursed Angel. Suddenly it all clicked. Everyone in this story was related. Darla, Angel, the gypsies, William, and the minions, Ethan, and Adriana, they were all connected. Then it all clicked. She picked up the phone and dialed Giles.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Hi Giles it's Willow. Do you mind if I come over to do some research?" She asked.
"No Willow of course not." He said. Willow smiled.
"Thanks I'll be there in about ten minutes." She said. She hung up the phone grabbed the book and walked out the door. As she walked out a single sheet of paper slipped out of the book and fell to the floor. Willow didn't even notice.
Giles was reading the diary while Willow searched through some of his books. Suddenly he looked up at Willow.
"Willow did you read the last few entries?" He asked. Willow shook her head.
"No I read up to November of 1898 why?" She asked. Giles looked back at the book.
"I think you'd better look at them." He said. He got up and handed her the diary.
December 13, 1898
The curse was done but it is not enough. I shall punish him as long as it takes. He will live only as long as I say and will find no happiness in that time. The ritual to restore the spirits shall take place during the vernal equinox of the millennia. It is the only time. He shall be the sacrifice to restore the spirits to the sprit world so they will roam no longer.
July 23, 1903
My grandmother has passed to the spirit world. I shall continue the curse for her on all for our family. He killed my sister and for that he shall suffer. I know nothing of the spirits that my grandmother speaks of but I shall complete the ritual for her when the time comes. For they were my family as Gabriella was my sister. I fear what shall happen to the people who the souls inhabit at the time.
August 3, 1903
I have done the research. The soul of Adriana was born again but I have found that the soul of Ethan is lost in the nether. For William is a vampire and the only way to complete the ritual will be to restore his soul. I am in America for that is where Adriana is and where Angelus has fled. He still suffers, as he should.
March 3, 2000
It has been a long time old friend. The time of the equinox is near but I have not found the soul of Adriana yet. William is here though which helps but as for the sacrifice he is not far. I will call upon him when the time comes. So little time and still I must find the girl.
Willow saw that it was the last entry. She looked up at Giles.
"I don't get it." She said. Giles grabbed a book of magic from his shelf.
"Well it appears that the sister of the gypsy girl that Angel killed is planning on restoring the souls of her Adriana and Ethan to the spirit world. This can only be done on the first day of spring in the year 2000." He looked for a page in the book.
"But Giles that's in two days." Willow said. Giles nodded.
"Yes I know." He said. He found the page he was looking for. "Now the only way to perform the ritual is to use a souled demon. The soul of Ethan must be restored to this vampire William. Now when the two people are brought together in a circle, the souled demon is then slain to open the spirit world. Now the spirits shall take the souls of Adriana and Ethan and any one else alive in the circle as the portal." He looked grim.
"Giles this sounds like Angel is the intended sacrifice." Willow said. Giles nodded.
"And I know why this person is in Sunnydale." He said. Willow nodded.
"Because Spike is the vampire isn't he?" She asked. Giles nodded.
"Now we have to find Adriana before she does." He said.
Willow walked into the crypt that Spike had been staying in. He wasn't there. She didn't care though. She would wait. She sat down in a chair he had in there and felt something uncomfortable under her. She looked and saw she had sat on a book. It too was a diary. Out of curiosity she opened it up. The title of the book shocked her. The Diary of Claudia Marshall, it read. Willow realized it was the same Claudia that William had killed. She flipped through and saw that most of it was just about daily life and such. But then it was the year of 1894 that caught her.
July 15, 1894
Dear Diary,
William shall never catch my hints. Tonight we went to the summer dance in town and we just sat there. We talked of course but he wouldn't dance with me at all. He just complained about the fact he didn't have a girl to dance with. What did I look like to him a cow? He shall never understand.
August 1, 1894
Dear Diary,
I give up on him. He is a thick idiot. Tonight I kissed him and told him that I loved him. He looked at me like I was crazy and ran off. Not only do I now never have a chance but I have also lost my dearest friend.
August 20, 1894
Dear Diary,
Finally he spoke to me. He told me he just wanted to be friends. I was fine with that nor do I care about anything else. Without William my world would be lost.
September 10, 1894
Dear Diary,
It has happened, as I knew it would. My William has fallen in love with another girl. She seems to be a lady of some sort but she had no concern carrying on with William. She fancies him as well. But poor William is lost to his heart.
September 12, 1894
Dear Diary,
All is lost. William is dead. I have lost my true love and now nothing else matters. The town talks of demons and such but I care nothing for their talk. My love has perished and with him went my heart.
Willow thought that, that was the last entry but then she saw that on the next page was one final one written by a different person.
September 19, 1894
This was Claudia's but I will finish it for her. She is dead. That is all there is to say. I am dead as well but she is in a way that will never return. Drusilla and Angelus my new friends tell me to forget her and move on. But I can't. She is the only thing I actually care about from my life. But she is dead and life; my life will go on. I am not human and I have no heart so I don't care whether she is in heaven or hell. I don't care about anything at all.
Willow saw that there were tearstains on the last two entries from both Claudia and William. Willow felt the sadness in the words.
"I loved her you know." A voice behind her said. Willow was startled out of her thoughts. She turned around and looked at Spike. He sighed and walked around to face her. He took the book gently out of her hands.
"But you didn't say anything to her?" Willow asked. Spike looked down at the book.
"I had known Claudia all of my life. We were the best of friends. That was all I saw in her, a friend. But then there was the day she kissed me." He smiled at the memory of her red hair pulled into a ponytail and the way it swished as she leaned forward to kiss him. "I didn't know what it meant. I was just a dumb kid. So I ran. When I saw her again I told her we were just friends. She looked so sad but she nodded and just said 'Of course William'. Then I met Dru. I thought she was the only woman for me. She changed me into a vampire and the first person I saw Claudia." He closed the book and his eyes were shut tight.
"But you couldn't kill her could you?" Willow asked. Spike looked at her and shook his head sadly.
"No I couldn't. I don't know what stopped me but I just couldn't. So I walked away and never said a word. A few days later I went to say goodbye and I found her...dead. And I found her diary so I kept it." He said. Looking at the book.
"Who killed her?" Willow asked. Spike shook his head.
"Oh that's the best part. You see Drusilla was jealous of her, so she killed her. She told me the last time I saw her. All this time I never knew. I had assumed it was Angel or one of the other vamps that hung around but I never thought of Dru." He took the book and threw it across the room. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Willow got up and sat on the ground beside him. She put her arms around him. Spike looked at her. For a moment all he could see was his Claudia of a century ago. Then he saw Willow.
"It wasn't your fault." She said quietly. Spike hung his head.
"Yeah it was. I should've warned her. I should've-" Willow put her fingers to his lips to silence him.
"Spike you couldn't have done anything. It wasn't your fault." She looked into his eyes. Spike had never felt such guilt before. In fact he hadn't felt guilt in over a century. He didn't understand why he did now. Willow hugged him and he hugged her back.
Cordelia sighed. LA was rough sometimes. She sat at her desk very bored.
"I am so bored." She said aloud to no one. Suddenly a pain ripped through her head. She held her head and the vision came. She saw a forest with gypsies. Then she saw Miss Calendar. Then Willow and Spike. Then the pain stopped and so did the images. She sighed and got out some aspirin.
"I spoke too soon." She said. Then the elevator began to move. She heard the door open and saw Angel come into the office. Cordelia looked up at him and then grabbed her water so she could take her aspirin.
"Headache?" Angel asked. Cordelia smiled tightly.
"Oh aren't you funny." She said haughtily. "I had a vision." She swallowed the aspirin. Angel glanced at her. She looked at him. "What?" She asked.
"Are you going to tell me about it?" He asked. Cordelia sighed.
"Oh all right. I saw trees. A lot of trees. Then I saw Miss Calendar and Willow and Spike. All I felt was fear. Oh and there were some gypsies in it to." She looked at him and saw his troubled look. "What?" She asked. Angel looked away.
"You saw gypsies and Jenny?" He asked. Then it hit Cordelia. She had seen the Jenny he killed is what he was thinking.
"Yeah." She said. He looked outside and knew that the sun would be rising in about 4 hours or so. Plenty of time to drive to Sunnydale. He grabbed Cordelia's hand.
"Let's go." He said. Cordelia grabbed her purse and begrudgingly followed.
Eliana sighed. The time was soon. Soon the spirits would be rested. She didn't know why she had given the book to the girl. She knew that it was the soul she was looking for. Maybe she wanted this to stop before it would start. But it was too late. The cursed had been called and the soul had been restored to the vampire. All was ready. Eliana wanted it all to stop but she was helpless. She couldn't do anything to stop what was about to come.
Willow looked into Spike's eyes. He smiled.
"Thanks Red." He said. Willow smiled.
"No problem. I know how it feels." She said. He nodded and stood up. He took Willow's hand and helped her up. When she stood up they were only inches apart. For a moment neither one of them said anything. Then he slipped his hands around her face and kissed her gently. Willow didn't try and stop him. The kiss ended and he looked at her.
"Sorry 'bout that." He said. Willow shook her head.
"Don't be." She said quietly. She slipped her hands around his neck and kissed him back. To Willow it was the sweetest kiss ever. He held her close and didn't want to let her go. The fire each felt was unmatched by anything. But the kiss did end.
"I have to go back to Giles'." She said almost regretfully. Spike smiled.
"Don't let me keep you." He said. Willow smiled.
"I don't mind really." She said. He kissed her softly, a last kiss to savor until the next.
"You'd better go." He said. Willow nodded.
"All right." She said. She walked out of the crypt and didn't look back. She knew that if she did she wouldn't have left.
Giles looked up as his front door opened. He saw Willow walk in.
"Ah Willow you're back." He said. Willow nodded. She looked as if she was in a daze. She closed the door and sat at the table next to him. She didn't say anything. Giles looked at her. "And?" Willow came out of her daze.
"Oh we were right Spike is the William." She said. Giles nodded. She didn't say anything else.
"Is that all?" He asked. Willow looked up at him slightly confused.
"Oh yeah that's it." She said. Giles looked her over.
"Are you all right?" He asked. Willow nodded half-heartedly.
"Yeah I'm fine." She said. Giles shook his head and looked back at his book.
"Well we may have a little more trouble then we thought with this ritual." He said. Finally Willow was pulled out of her little daze. Thank God, Giles thought, one might think she was in love or something.
"What do you mean?" She asked. Giles turned the book toward her and showed her a picture of a large demon with no mouth and thick claws for fingers. He didn't look very nice.
"When the spirit world is opened that is what comes out to claim the souls." He said. Willow looked at it anxiously.
"It doesn't look very nice." She said. Giles sighed.
"Well it isn't." We're going to need Buffy's help on this and even then I don't think that will be enough." Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Giles walk over to answer it and Angel and Cordelia were on the other side. Willow smiled.
"And help arrives." She said. Giles looked back at her.
"Well I wasn't expecting you but it's a good thing you're here." He said. Angel glanced at him anxiously.
"What's going on?" He asked. Willow sighed. She pulled out the diary and began to explain.
It was a little after sunrise when Willow knocked on the door of Eliana's house. She didn't think it would be a problem. Eliana opened the door and smiled.
"Ah yes you are looking for your answers." She said. Willow wasn't surprised at all.
"Yes I am." She said. Eliana nodded and opened the door for Willow. Willow followed her to her bookcase. She pulled out a large book.
"This is the is the book of magick that was used to curse the vampire. It will also be used to restore the spirits to the spirit world. My mother gave it to me on her deathbed. She was the sister of Gabriella. She made me promise to do the ritual tomorrow night and I did. But as time went on I realized what would happen if I did so I gave up the old magicks. But my sister did not. She was the mother of Janna." The old woman smiled sadly. Willow nodded.
"You mean Miss Calendar?" Willow asked. Eliana nodded.
"Yes. She found out that the vampire had killed her as well and she promised to do everything she could to destroy him and to complete the ritual of restoring the spirits of Adriana and Ethan." The woman looked at Willow fondly. "When I saw you I recognized the soul instantly. I do not have the strength to stop my sister so I gave you the soul diary. I want you to help me stop her." Willow was confused.
"You mean that I am the other spirit?" She asked. Eliana nodded. The image of the demon came into Willow's mind and she shuddered.
"Can you help me stop this?" She asked pleadingly. Willow looked into her scared eyes and nodded.
"Where can I find your sister?" She asked. The woman thought for a moment.
"I do not know. But she will be trying to collect the vampire for the ritual tonight. She will track him." Eliana said. Willow nodded.
"We'll find her." She said. Willow got up and walked out. Eliana watched her go.
"For your sake child I hope you do." She whispered.
Buffy walked into Giles' house. He had called her at the crack of dawn and said that he had needed her there at once. Well Buffy wasn't going to argue his stubborn Britishness so she skipped class to come over. But she didn't see anyone in the house.
"Giles are you here?" She called. There was no answer. She decided he might kill her if she didn't find him so she decided to sit down and wait. She just wasn't expecting anyone to be on the couch.
"Ouch!" Angel said. Buffy stood up in shock.
"What are you doing here?" She asked. Angel sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Good morning to you too." He said. Buffy looked at him. She wasn't amused.
"Sorry it's just that I wasn't expecting you to be there." She said. Angel smiled slightly.
"It's ok I wasn't expecting anyone to sit on me." He said. Buffy smiled. Suddenly she realized how much she loved that smile of his. She shook the thoughts away. They didn't have that anymore.
"So what are you doing here?" She asked again. Angel looked at her.
"Just here to help you out." He said. Buffy looked around confused.
"I don't even know what's going on." She said. Angel nodded.
"Well Giles is asleep but I guess when he wakes up he'll fill you in." Angel said. Buffy looked around the living room.
"So in the meantime…" She looked at Angel. The room suddenly seemed very hot for both of them and very uncomfortable.
"I guess we can just hang out." He suggested. Buffy smiled and sat down beside him.
"I'm not seeing a problem with that plan." She said Angel smiled slightly. He didn't see any either.
Giles was falling through fog. Suddenly everything stopped and he was in the school. Sunnydale High as it used to be, before the graduation of the class of '99. He walked through the silent halls. He didn't see anyone. It was too quiet. Then he saw a woman with her back turned toward him.
"Excuse me miss…" His words stopped when the woman faced him. It was Jenny.
"You don't have a lot of time." She said. Giles looked around.
"Where is everyone?" He asked. Jenny gazed around the halls.
"They're all gone Giles. Or they will be." She said. Giles was confused.
"What does that mean?" He asked. Jenny smiled. She touched his cheek gently.
"You always did have to have an answer for everything. The kids…they are in danger." She said. Giles touched Jenny's hand. It all felt so real.
"How can I help them?" He asked. Jenny's smile disappeared.
"You have to stop her." She said. "She'll try and trick you and them but don't let her." Suddenly a scream pierced the halls. Jenny became scared.
"Who Jenny?" Giles asked. Jenny looked at him.
"My mother." She said. "I have to go." She said. Giles shook his head and held on to her hand.
"Stay." He said. Jenny shook her head.
"I can't. But we'll see each other again." She said. Then he bolted upright in bed. It had been a dream. But he wasn't so sure. But it was definitely a warning.
Cordelia walked around Sunnydale. Nothing had changed since the last time she had been here. It all seemed the same. She decided to get a cup of coffee. That was when she saw Xander. He hadn't changed either.
"Cordy?" He asked. Cordelia nodded.
"Hi Xander." She said. Xander gave her a hug.
"How have you been?" He asked. Cordy nodded.
"Fine how about you?" She asked. Xander nodded.
"I'm all right. So what brings you back home?" He asked. Cordelia sighed.
"Well it's a really long story." She said. Xander smiled.
"I've got time." He said. Cordelia smiled and began to fill him in on her last few months in LA.
Willow walked into Giles' and smiled at the sight of Buffy and Angel talking. It was actually something she had missed.
"Hey Will!" Buffy greeted cheerfully. "Angel filled me in a bit on what's happening. Did you find the other spirit?" She asked. Willow's smile disappeared. She nodded slowly. Buffy got up and walked over to her.
"Willow what is it?" Buffy asked. Willow looked at her.
"The other spirit is me." She said. Angel looked at her questioningly.
"You mean you are Spike's soul mate?" He asked trying not to smile. Buffy had the same look. Willow nodded.
"You know I don't find this funny." Willow said. Buffy and Angel tried to remain serious but Buffy broke first. She started to giggle and Angel started to laugh along with her. Willow remained very serious. Finally they controlled their laughing and looked at her. "You two done now?" She asked. They both nodded silently. "Good." She said. Then Giles came down the stairs.
"Oh good Buffy you're here." He said. Buffy nodded.
"Yeah so what's up. Angel just explained what was going on to me and Willow found out who the girl is." Buffy said. Giles looked at Willow.
"Ah yes who is it?" He asked. Willow turned red and looked at the ground.
"It's Um…me." She said. Giles didn't say anything at first. He nodded and was silent for a moment.
"Well that will make things a little easier." He said. Buffy could see that he was also trying not to laugh but he was doing a better job then Buffy and Angel had done.
"I also found out who is performing the spells." She said. Giles nodded.
"Yes I know it's Jenny's mother." He said. Willow looked at him in surprise and Angel became very quiet.
"How did you know?" Willow asked. Giles looked at her.
"Um it's rather difficult to explain really." He said. He looked at Angel. "But that's why she is so set on doing this." Angel nodded. Buffy slipped her hand into his. She knew they weren't supposed to be together but she could comfort him. Angel didn't hesitate to take it either.
"Well Eliana said that she didn't know where she was but she did know that she'll be looking for Angel tonight so that she can prepare for the ritual tomorrow." Willow said. Giles nodded.
"Well then we had better hurry. I think I have a plan." He said. Buffy nodded.
"Let's hear it." She said. Just then Xander and Cordelia walked in. Giles nodded.
"Good I am going to need your help as well. It's going to take all of us to pull this off." He said. They all listened as he told them what he had in mind.
Spike watched the sun as it started to dip below the horizon. He had had only one thought all day, and that was Willow. The way she had felt when he held her, her red hair, her green eyes, he just couldn't get it out of his mind. He didn't understand it but he wasn't fighting the feeling. No one had ever cared about how he felt like Willow had. At least not since Claudia. Suddenly Spike realized he was falling for her. OK stop, he ordered his brain. But it wasn't listening to him. Then he saw Willow come in.
"Um…hi." She said. She was blushing a little. Spike smiled.
"Hello red." He said. Willow looked around nervously and tucked her hair behind her ear. He knew she was thinking the same thing he was.
"Well we found the other soul." She said. Spike nodded.
"Who is it?" He asked. Willow just blushed harder.
"It's…Um…it's me." She said. Spike just looked at her in disbelief. "That's why we really shouldn't go any farther with whatever it is we have." She said. Spike nodded.
"Yeah you're right." He said. "But…" Willow looked at him.
"But what?" She asked. Spike looked at her.
"When this is over what will we do then?" He asked. Willow shook her head.
"I don't know. But I mean look at us. We aren't…I mean this isn't exactly a match made in heaven." She said. Spike nodded.
"But you can't fight it either." He said. Willow looked at him wide eyed.
"I…I…I mean we can't be meant for each other." She said. Spike nodded.
"Oh all right then who is meant for you? A college frat boy who is going to use you and then move on to the next little girl. No, no I think you want a guy who loves you. I mean a guy who would care about what you liked and would kiss you just because he felt like it." Willow looked at Spike in shock.
"And some one who likes poetry." She whispered.
"A guy who wouldn't leave you pet, no matter what." He said. Willow shook her head.
"No I don't know whose meant for me but I mean we just can't…" She said. She turned around and faced away from him. Spike took a step toward her but he didn't know what to say. Then he remembered a line he had learned a long time ago, from another girl he had loved.
" 'Make me a willow cabin at your gate and call upon my soul within the house,'" He tried to remember the next line. Willow sighed. She knew it.
" 'Write loyal cantons of contemned love and sing them loud even in the dead of the night.'" She said. Spike smiled.
" 'Hallo your name to the reverberate hills and make the babbling gossip of the air.'" He said. Willow turned around and looked at him.
" 'Cry out Olivia O you should not rest between the elements of the air and earth but you should pity me.'" Willow finished. Spike shook his head.
"Cry out Willow." He corrected. He kissed her softly. And with that kiss all of Willow's resistance melted. She smiled at him.
"You quote Shakespeare pretty well." She said. Spike smiled.
"Yeah well so do you." He said. Willow sighed. She had fallen.
"I came to tell you what we're going to do." She said. Spike nodded and became serious.
"What's the plan?" He asked.
Buffy walked quietly through the dark. But tonight it was different. It was the first time in a long time that a lot of the Scooby gang was together. It felt good to be working together again. She was just praying Giles' plan worked. It was a simple plan. Let Angel get captured by the gypsy so that they could catch her. It wasn't hard. So Angel was now sitting on a bench in the middle of the park just waiting. Giles and the others were in the woods as well. They all surrounded him. But little did they know that the plan wasn't going to work.
Willow watched Angel from her position in the woods. It was quiet. Almost too quiet, she thought. That's when she realized they weren't alone in the woods. But it was too late. She sensed the sleeping potion just as she passed out.
Angel sensed something was wrong but he didn't know what it was. Then he heard the screech of demons. He ran into the woods and saw them dragging Spike and Willow off. Willow was passed out but Spike was fighting. The demons were Gargoyle looking and had wings. Spike was fighting hard to stay on the ground.
"Help Willow." He yelled. But Angel was all ready on it. But just as he got two her, a pair of talons grabbed his arms. He struggled to get them off of him. Finally he just slipped out of his jacket and fell a few feet to the ground. He raced to Willow and tried to grab her but her was too late.
"The sacred circle. Tomorrow at dusk." One of the gargoyles said. And then they three flew off into the night. That's when he saw Cordelia just getting up from the ground. She looked at him.
"What happened?" She asked.
Buffy paced back and forth. Everyone just watched her.
"So this old witch knew we were coming?" Buffy asked. Angel nodded.
"It looks that way." He said. Buffy was mad at herself and at this old woman.
"I can't believe this. I mean what did Willow and Spike ever do to her?" Buffy asked.
"I don't think it's about that Buffy. For Angel yes but not for Willow and Spike." Giles said. "She thinks she's helping by doing this ritual." Buffy sighed and stopped pacing.
"I guess you're right. But we're going to stop her." Buffy said. She looked at Giles. "So what is the new plan?" She asked. Giles looked at her slightly baffled.
"Well… I really haven't thought of one yet." He said. Buffy sat on the ground.
"Great." She said. "Let's just give up now." She said. Angel touched her shoulder.
"It's OK Buffy." He said. "We'll find them. She still needs me for the ritual." He said.
"He's right Buff." Xander added. Buffy looked up at them and smiled.
"OK so let's get a plan." She said.
Willow woke up in a dark room. She had no idea where she was. She sat still until her eyes adjusted to the light. Then she saw someone was in the room with her. It was Spike.
"What happened?" She asked. He looked at her.
"We feel right into a trap." He said angrily. He slammed on the wall with his fist. Willow put her hand on his.
"We'll be OK." She said. Spike looked at her and sighed. He kissed her forehead.
"That's supposed to be my line." He said. Willow smiled despite the situation.
"I know." She said. Spike held Willow in his arms. The only thing in the world he wanted was to keep her safe.
Eliana cursed herself. She wasn't helping them. She wasn't even trying. Her sister looked through the book of magick.
"Marina why must we continue with this?" Eliana asked. Her sister glared at her.
"Because he killed my daughter. You do not know how it feels to lose a child. I will finish the journey of our grandmother. I will rejoin the spirits." She said. Eliana sighed.
"It is not worth it. You shall kill three people and yourself and let God know what loose on the world, all in the name of revenge and spirits." Eliana said. Marina shut the book and looked at her.
"I will be killing myself yes…and that girl she does not deserve to die but in the end she will be happy. The vampires I care nothing for. One of them killed his own true love and the other has been hurting our family for a hundred years. Why do you care so?" She asked. Marina's eyes bore into Eliana. She would not move until she got an answer.
"The girl is young. She has a whole life ahead of her. We shall be taking that before she has had a chance to even live it. The vampire Angelus…he is different now. He is suffering enough without doing this to him. The other one he can't even hurt anyone now and he didn't kill that girl. I can even sense that he loves this one." She said. Marina looked at her in disbelief.
"It isn't possible." Marina said. Eliana smiled.
"Oh there is something that the great older one does not know. It is possible. You see William retained much of his humanity when he changed. Including the ability to love. That is why he couldn't kill Claudia. He can control his demon more easily then Angelus. So he at first liked this girl…Willow. So when I gave him back his soul it only intensified the love. We have rejoined the soul mates and now you wish to kill them. How stupid can you be? Janna would never have wanted this. She loved this girl and her friends. You know that. You are after all her mother." Eliana and Marina looked at each other. "So now my sister I will ask you, are you doing this to help or out of your own hurt?" Marina stood up and slapped her sister.
"How dare you ask me such a thing." She said. Eliana just smiled.
"Then that is my answer." She said. Marina's eyes burned into her sister.
"You will not stop me." She said. She turned and left. Eliana went to her bookcase. She picked out another book similar to the one Marina had. It was also an ancient book of magick. Inside the book was the single piece of paper the red headed witch had dropped. It read "To restore life".
"I can try." She whispered.
"Ok the sacred circle that Angel mentioned is in the woods where Buffy often patrols. It is a place where in the late nineteenth century witches practiced their craft." Giles informed them. Buffy nodded.
"So this is where this witch is going to bring Will and Spike?" She asked. Giles nodded.
"It is a very powerful energy source. Presumably because of the Hellmouth." Giles said.
"So how are we going to take her out?" Xander asked. Giles looked at his book.
"Um…we can't." He said. Everyone looked at him in shock.
"What do you mean we can't?" Angel asked. Giles looked at them.
"Because the spell is all ready at work." Giles said. Buffy looked at him worriedly.
"What?" She asked.
"The spell is all ready at work. No matter what we do we can't stop it. She has to continue we just have to prevent her from finishing." He said. Buffy nodded.
"Well let's go then." She said. Everyone headed out the door and Angel held her back.
"Buffy if…if it comes down to it…" He couldn't find the words for what he was trying to say. Buffy smiled sadly and nodded.
"Them before you." She said. Angel nodded. She kissed him on the cheek. "I know." She whispered. Then she headed out the door.
The old gypsy woman was walking quickly through the woods while two demons dragged Spike and Willow behind her. Willow had no idea where they were going but it didn't seem good. Spike looked at her every now and then just to make sure she was Ok. Finally they got to a large clearing. In the clearing Willow saw Eliana was all ready there.
"I thought you weren't going to help." Marina said.
"Oh Marina how little you know. I am here to watch. I will not help you." She said. Marina nodded.
"Fine. Do as you wish." She said. Willow saw that in the clearing there was a large pentagram of stones. Marina motioned to the demons and they put Willow and Spike in the center of it. They were tied up so there was no escape. Marina knelt beside Willow. "I am sorry girl." She said. Willow looked at her confused.
"You're sorry. You are about to kill me. What you want me to forgive you so you can have a clean conscience about it?" Willow asked incredulously. Marina looked at her. "Well I really don't think so." Willow finished. Spike had to smile despite the position they were in. Willow knew how to tell them off when she wanted to. Marina just turned red and got up.
"Aren't you going to apologize to me?" Spike asked. Marina just glared at him. Willow glanced at him.
"In a time of crisis you are joking with our would be murderer?" She asked. Spike smiled at her.
"Well I have to do something pet." He said. Willow just sighed.
"We're gonna die." She said. Spike looked at her seriously.
"No we aren't. Trust me." He said. Willow nodded and Marina began the incantation.
"O Spirit world I seek thee." She began. Eliana began to pry.
Xander heard the chanting first. He began to pick up speed.
"I hear something." He said. Everyone listened as the hurried.
"I hear it too." Cordy said. They ran raster. Suddenly they broke through to the clearing. Just as they did her demon henchman attacked them. Marian wasn't even paying attention. Eliana rushed over and called the demons off.
"Go." She said. The demons obeyed. She looked at them.
"Can you help?" She asked. Giles looked at her.
"Is there anyway to reverse the spell?" He asked. Eliana nodded.
"Are they in love?" She asked. Everyone looked at each other.
"No I really don't think so." Xander said. Eliana shook her head sadly.
"Then we can not stop her." She said. Buffy looked at her.
"But doesn't she need the souled demon?" Buffy asked. Suddenly Angel fell to the ground in pain. Buffy knelt down beside him.
"The souled demon is here." Eliana said sadly. Giles looked at Willow and Spike in the center of the circle. The wind began to pick up around them. Then it hit him.
"Wait Willow is in love." He said. Everyone looked at him.
"What? With Spike?" Cordy asked. Giles nodded.
"Yes. She went to see him and when she came back she was in a total daze. I was thinking that she must be in love but I couldn't figure out with who." He said. Xander shook his head.
"I really don't think its Spike." Xander said. Eliana nodded.
"No I saw them together I think you are right." She said to Giles. Buffy sighed.
"OK guys Angel is like seriously in trouble can we hurry." She said. Eliana nodded.
"I shall stop Marina and in the moment she stops they must declare their love. It is the only way." She said. Giles nodded. Angel moaned. He wasn't looking good. In fact Buffy thought he was paler that usual. They had really better hurry.
Eliana walked over to Mariana. She whispered a burning spell and suddenly the ropes were gone. Willow and Spike tried to escape but they couldn't leave the circle. Mariana kept chanting.
"Help me O spirits and restore the spirits to your world." She said. Eliana walked up to her.
"Stop." She said. "I won't let you do this." Marina stopped and looked at her.
"Oh yes dear sister please try and stop me." She said. Eliana smiled. Then she punched her sister.
Giles walked over to the circle. Willow looked at him helplessly.
"We can't leave." Willow said. Giles nodded.
"I know." He looked at Spike. "Do you love her?" He asked. Spike was startled by the question. But Giles did not waver. "Do you?" He asked. Willow didn't look at him. She knew the answer to the question in her heart but she didn't know how he felt. Spike didn't say anything. Giles nodded. "It's the only way to stop the spell." He said. Willow looked at him confused.
"What do you mean?" Willow asked. Giles walked back towards the woods.
"You'll both know what to do." He called back. Suddenly the wind picked up. Above the circle was a flash of light. The spirit world was opening.
Marina looked up at the sky and smiled.
"I have won." She said. But Eliana showed no signs of defeat. She just looked at the circle.
"Not yet sister." She said.
Willow turned to face Spike. They looked at each other. Neither one said anything. Above them the portal began to open wider.
Buffy held Angel and felt him begin to slip away.
"Hurry, please hurry." She whispered.
Spike put his hands on Willow's cheeks. They looked into each other's eyes.
"I love you." He said. Then he kissed her. Willow felt a rush of energy go through her. The wind stormed around them as they slipped deeper into each other's arms. A scream ripped through the air. It chilled Giles to the bone. It was like the one from his dream. It was Marina.
"No!" She screamed. A demonic hand reached out of the portal. It ignored Willow and Spike in the portal and instead went straight for Marina. It swept her into the spirit world and then everything was quiet. For a moment the world was still.
Willow and Spike smiled at each other. Then they stepped out of the circle. Angel opened his eyes and looked into Buffy's.
"Welcome back." She said. He smiled at her. Everyone gathered and looked at Eliana. She smiled at all of them.
"Thank you, all of you. You have helped me end a three hundred year old burden." She said. She looked at Willow and Spike. "You two have defied destiny and in doing so have earned the right to be together in this life." She said. Willow looked at her.
"What does that mean?" Willow asked. Eliana looked at Spike and he knew what she meant automatically. Angel saw it to.
"He's breathing." Angel said. Everyone looked at Spike.
"The spirit world gave you this gift." Eliana said. Willow hugged Spike.
"I don't believe it." She said. Xander and Cordelia shook their heads.
"I don't believe it." Xander said. Eliana smiled and began to leave.
"Thank you again." She said. She didn't tell them it was her who had made him human. She didn't see the need. And then she left. Everyone looked at each other.
"Well I guess that was all in a night's work." Giles said. Buffy nodded.
"Yeah we didn't do too bad." She said. Cordelia sighed. She looked at Angel.
"Well I guess we're LA bound." She said. "And I swear if I get one more Sunnydale vision…" Xander smiled at her.
"Awe come on Cordy you enjoy visiting us don't you?" He asked. Cordelia huffed and walked into the woods. He followed her. Buffy began to walk and Angel touched her arm.
"Hey Buffy…" He began. Buffy smiled sadly.
"Just come back and visit." She said. They followed Giles' lead into the trees. Spike and Willow walked hand in hand.
"So what do we do know?" She asked. Spike smiled.
"Well one thing's for sure." He said. Willow looked at him.
"What's that?" She asked. He smiled at her.
"I'm starving!" He said. Willow laughed and kissed him. "And that'll work too." He said. Willow smiled.
"I think I'm going to like this human thing." She said. Spike nodded.
"Yeah well you better." He said.
"And just what if I decided to dump you?" She said smiling. Spike looked at her.
"Love you're the only girl I want. I'm sure we'll come to some arrangement." He said. Willow shook her head.
"I don't know I'm a one guy kind of girl, and you have been know to have many a ladies. You're going to have to convince me." She said. Spike took her into his arms and kissed her.
"Way to go Spike!" Xander called. Willow and Spike smiled.
"How's that for convincing?" Spike asked. Willow sighed.
"It'll work I suppose." She said.
"Oh yeah?" Spike asked. Willow smiled and kissed him lightly.
"It will definitely work." She said. He smiled and put his arm around her. He wouldn't want to be anywhere else for all the money in the world.
"I love you." He whispered to her. She smiled up at him.
"I love you too." She said quietly. They walked slowly into the woods. They had all the time in the world together. Love is after all forever…
Then one man stepped into the circle. A man no one had noticed. He smiled at the conversation they were having as they walked back to town. They thought they were finished. But they weren't even close to done with this adventure. He looked at the paper Eliana had given him.
"To restore life." He said quietly. He smiled and followed in the path that Willow and Spike had taken. He began to sing a Sinatra tune.
"That old black magic called love…" He sang softly into the dark. No he wasn't done yet.
To be continued…
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