Chapter 11

5 months later

Cassandra stared ahead, eyes glazed as she drifted through thought. It had been months since Angel lost his soul and as time passed, the horror increased. His terror tactics had been slowly edging them in, leaving the gang feeling cramped and hopeless. The Hellmouth gave them it's usual fun, spitting out weekly evilness to add to Angel's terror crusade. In the past couple of months, Buffy had almost died from the flu, the swim team had turned reptile and Oz had been turned into a werewolf. None of those could compare to the worst of all.

Jenny was dead.

Cass screwed her eyes shut to stop the tears. It still hurt to even think about it.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Cass jumped, her eyes shooting open. Little flecks of water spraying from the tears she tried to keep back after thinking of Jenny. Noting her reaction, Buffy smiled at her softly, her eyes wane and tired. With such different colouring, it was surprising that their tired appearance could look so similar, but in that moment they had duplicated expressions of exhaustion.

It took a moment to realise Xander was re-enacting Buffy's battle from the night before. Ever since Angel's change, no one allowed Buffy to patrol alone. She didn't know, but they had arranged a rotating schedule to make sure someone could always be there. Last night, both Cass and Xander had joined her.

Xander made an anguished face as he dropped one of his fish stick acting dolls

"Ah!" Xander yelled out, "Mother!" Finishing his telling, he smiled at his attentive audience with glee.

"Is that it?" Cordelia asked a small smile on her face. The last months of trouble had slowly pulled her into their fold. Nothing like being constant near death to bring a group of people together

"Yeah. That's it," Xander replied with a small chuckle, "Scene!"

"That's exactly how it happened," Buffy supplied solemnly.

"Well, I thought it was riveting. Uh, I was a little unclear about some of the themes," Oz replied stoically, his arm wrapped around Willow. She was perched on his lap, a small constant smile on her face.

"The theme is Angel's too much of a coward to take me on face-to-face," Buffy replied, steel in her voice.

Xander looked down at the fish stick that was still in his hand, "And the other theme was 'Buy American', but it, uh, got kind of buried."

Willow turned to Buffy, a hint of worry in her eyes, "Do you think you're ready to fight Angel?"

Buffy looked irritated and cagey as she replied, "I wish people would stop asking me that. Yes, I'm ready. I'm also willing and able. Just the one test I might actually pass."

"Don't say that! You're gonna pass everything. I will get you through this semester if I have to sweat blood."

Cass chuckled at Willow's over-enthusiasm as Xander made a face of disgust, "Do you think you're likely to? 'Cause I'd like to be elsewhere."

"It was only metaphor blood."

"I think you'd sweat cute blood," Oz chimed in, causing the girls of the group to smile at him appreciatively.

"Sixth period, after my computer class, we'll rock on chemistry," Willow said to Buffy, while leaning into her boyfriend.

"Ready to rock."

"Boy, Willow, you've really got the teaching bug: taking over computer class, tutoring," Cordelia said with a kind smile. It was a welcome change to her usual nasty smile, but it still seemed off on her face.

Willow sent a large smile Cordelia's way, "I love it. I really do."

Cordelia nodded, "I think it's great to do that before you go out and fail in the real world. That way you're not falling back on something. You're falling, well, forward."

Cassandra's good opinion of Cordelia quickly dropped.

"And almost sixty-five percent of that was actual compliment. Is that a personal best?" Xander replied with an eye roll.

"Gee, Xander, what are you gonna teach when you fail in life? Advanced loser-being?"

Xander smirked at her, "I will teach," He began to say, before turning to Cass and adopting a fake accent, "zee Language of Love!" Xander reached for her.

Cass cringed away unwittingly. She noticed the hurt in Xander's eyes, and sent him a weak smile. "You have fish hands!"

She felt relief when the smile appeared back on his face. He reached for her again, not noticing Snyder behind him.

"Come, let me caress you!" Xander said enthusiastically.

"That's enough of that," Snyder put in brusquely, stopping Cass from making another awkward dodge. He quickly turned his attention to Willow, "And you! Are we having a chair shortage?"

"I didn't read anything about" she began to reply before realising, "Oh." She sheepishly slid off Oz's lap and into her own chair, "I get it."

"These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school. This isn't an orgy, people. It's a classroom."

"Yeah!" Buffy put in cheerfully, "Where they teach lunch."

Snyder glared at her, "Just give me a reason to kick you out, Summers. Just give me a reason," he threatened before stomping off towards his office.

"How about because you're a tiny, impotent Nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an emu?" Cordelia mocked, causing the group to smile in response.

"Sums it up," Buffy replied with a grin.

"Don't you think?" Cordelia added contemptuously.

Still smirking, Willow turned to Buffy, "Do you wanna come by my house tonight and study, too?"

"Maybe. I-I do have to patrol," Buffy replied, her anxiety showing. Cass knew each night she didn't go out, Buffy felt like she was leaving someone to die by Angel's hand. She couldn't blame her sister. Cass had lost count of the time's she had spotted Angelus' smirking grin from their backyard. It was a constant reminder of who he was now.

"Again? Do you really expect Angel to turn up tonight?"

"No, I don't expect him to. But that's usually when he does."

Cass nodded in quick agreement, "I'll come too," She put in. Buffy looked like she was about to object but Cass steamrolled over her, "I'll bring a text book. We'll quiz between Slaying." She gave her sister a sunny smile knowing Buffy was too run down to argue.

Spike sat quietly in his chair, newspaper in hand, only half paying attention to the words in front of him. Cassandra's face raced across his mind over and over. He could picture the shock on her face with stinging clarity. It had been months since he'd seen Cass, but he could still picture her as if he'd seen it moments before.

Every inch of her was engraved into his mind.

His musings were interrupted as Drusilla descended the stairs into the mansion's courtyard. The sun was at the horizon, letting in sun to shine through the garden. It wasn't enough to burn, but reflected against the high up brick.

"Nice walk, pet?" Spike asked halfheartedly, an article in the paper catching his attention.

Drusilla held her stomach, and scrunched her nose in disgust, "I met an old man. Didn't like him. He got stuck in my teeth." She begun to lick her fingers, claiming the remains of her kill as she turned to Spike, "But then the Moon started whispering to me," Spike shot his head up to look at her. She closed her eyes and swayed slightly as she stood, "All sorts of dreadful things."

Spike almost stood from his chair in shock. The moon, he thought to himself, Cassandra?

Before he could question her further, Angelus walked into the gardens. Spike directed his focus back on the newspaper, not wanting to show any interest in something that could be used against him.

"Well, what did it say?" Angelus asked as he sauntered through the courtyard.

"Oh. Look who's awake." Spike mumbled under his breath, knowing the others would hear him fully.

Angelus didn't miss a step as he wrapped his knuckles over the back of Spike's head as he walked past.

"What did the Moon tell you?" He asked again, circling Drusilla, "Did you have a vision? Is something coming?"

"Oh, yeah," she whispered, "Something terrible. Psst, psst, psst, psst, psst, psst."

"Where?"

"At the museum. A tomb," she smiled brightly, "with a surprise inside."

Angelus put his hand up against her head, "You can see all that in your head?"

Spike scoffed, "No, you ninny. She read it in the morning paper." He handed it to the other vampire.

Angelus ignored the remark as he took the paper, "Oh, my."

Spike turned to read the heading again. 'Mysterious Obelisk Unearthed'. He turned his head to watch the glee spread through the faces of the other vampires.

"That's what's been whispering to me. Shh," Drusilla said to Angelus, a finger on her mouth at the last word.

"Oh, yeah," Angelus replied before turning to look at Dru, "Don't worry, though. Soon it'll stop." He turned to Spike, "Soon it'll scream."

The smile Angelus sent in his direction was enough to make Spike's stomach drop. Drusilla waved her head, open-mouthed and then playfully snapped her mouth closed next to Angelus' cheek.

Buffy stared at the papers in front of her, a frown creasing her brow. Cass felt pity well up in her as she watched her sister suffer through her studies. With all the responsibility on her shoulders, it didn't seem fair that she had to live through high school as well.

Crying out in frustration, Buffy threw her pencil down on the table, "waah! This doesn't make any sense." She turned her puppy dog eyes toward Willow in the hopes that the teen tutor would give her a break.

"Well, sure it does," Willow said with an upbeat tone, "See," she continued, pulling the paper towards herself, "Oh, no, this doesn't make any sense." Willow sat back in her chair, reading the answers. Cass couldn't help but think how natural she looked, sitting at Ms Calender's desk. With a desk filled with books and a laptop, Willow looked like the Doogie Howser of teaching.

Buffy shrugged, "It's senseless." She began to play with her pencil, her hazel eyes becoming glazed as she drifted away.

Willow smiled towards her, "It is, but at least you know that, so you're learning." She inspected the paper closely, trying to find the solution.

"Yay me. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I mean, when in the real world am I ever gonna need chemistry or history or math or the English language?"

"Oh, you mean every day life?" Cass replied with a dry tone. Her sister poked her tongue out at her in response.

Willow looked at her, their sarcasm wearing her down, "Okay. I see your problem."

"I'm a moron?" Buffy replied deprecatingly.

"Will you stop that?" Willow replied in a sharp tone, "You're not stupid! You've just had a lot on your mind. You can learn this real easily, but if you're just gonna give up, then don't waste my time."

"Wow," Buffy replied, taken aback, "you really are a good teacher."

"Okay. Look at this. A covalent bond, which means these two atoms are linked by this," as Willow spoke, Buffy leaned closer putting her pencil down on the open book in front of her. It slowly rolled off of the desk and down into the space between the desk and the filing cabinet.

Buffy's head shot up, "Ohh! Hold that thought." She reached down and grabbed the pencil. Sitting back up, she turned towards Willow smiling, "Okay. I'm Learn Girl."

"Okay." Willow pointed towards the paper, "So, see here..."

Cass saw Buffy's face light up before she interrupted Willow again, "Deja vu."

"Really?" Willow said, obviously wanting to get back to studying.

"Yeah. I have this perfect memory of the pencil and," her voice trailed off as she placed her pencil on her book as she did before. It rolled again, falling and hitting the ground between the gap of the two desks. Cass watched her sister lean over the gap and frown in confusion. She reached down and pulled out a yellow floppy and her pencil.

She shrugged and handed it to Willow, "Oh, hey. You dropped this."

Willow's face was sad when she replied, "It's not mine. It might be something of Ms. Calendar's." She inserted the disk into the computer's drive.

"This feels kinda morbid," Cass said coming to stand behind Willow and Buffy, looking at the screen with curiosity.

"I've gone through most of her files already," Willow said with a small sad smile.

"Does that make it less morbid or you really morbid?" Buffy asked, sharing a grin with her twin.

"I had to, to teach her class" Willow sighed as the computer program began to run.

A translation program popped up, with a percentage bar across the screen. It began to run as they watched.

"Relax, Will. I was making with the funny," Buffy replied absentmindedly, her eyes glued to the screen.

The bar reached the far side and disappeared. A new screen flashed up with English translations on the right hand side.

Buffy leaned closer, "Does that say 'restoration'?"

"It's one of her spells, I think," Willow explained, she turned to Buffy, "Ms. Calendar wasn't a practising witch, but she did dabble," Cass interrupted her before could continue, "Willow," and pointed to the screen. Willow looked back at the screen, her eyes widening.

"Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy."

"What are you saying?" Giles asked, looking slightly overwhelmed.

"The curse," Buffy replied, her voice numb, "This is it."

"Looks like Ms. Calendar was trying to replicate the original curse," Willow added, "To restore Angel's soul again."

Giles took the print out, staring at the content but not absorbing it. His mind obviously occupied with thoughts of Jenny. "She said it couldn't be done."

"Well, she tried anyway. And it looks like it might have worked," Buffy replied.

"So he killed her," Xander said from his seat at the library table, "before she could tell anyone about it. What a prince, huh?" He stared back at the table top, his face brooding. Cass moved over to him, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He rolled his arm, knocking her hand off.

"This is good, right? I mean, we can curse him again." Cordelia prompted next to Xander, looking at Buffy for confirmation.

"Um, well, this, um," Giles put in, still looking lost, "certainly points the way, but... the ritual itself requires a greater knowledge of the black arts than I, I, I can claim."

Stepping forward, Willow gazed up at Giles with confidence, "Well, I've been going through her files and, and researching the black arts, for fun, or educational fun, and I may be able to work this."

Giles brow creased in concern, "W-Willow, channelling such potent magicks through yourself, it could open a door that you may not be able to close."

"I don't want you putting yourself in any danger, Will," Buffy added, her arms crossed tightly against her body.

"And I don't want danger. Big 'no' to danger, but I may be the best person to do this."

"Hi! For those of you who have just tuned in," Xander added, rising from his chair and moving over to the others, "everyone here is a crazy person. So this spell might restore Angel's humanity? Well, here's an interesting angle. Who cares?" He finished with a harsh tone.

"Xander," Cass started, seeing the hurt on her sister's face. Xander looked at her in irritation before coldly turning back to Buffy.

"I care," she put in softly.

"Is that right," he replied, not surprised by her answer.

"Let's not lose our perspective here, Xander," Giles tried to mediate.

"I'm Perspective Guy," he replied, standing his ground, "Angel's a killer."

"Xander," Willow started, her face filled with anxiety from the tension. Buffy cut her off before she could continue, "It's not that simple."

"What?" He asked disgustedly, "All is forgiven? I can't believe you people!"

Cordelia moved from her chair to stand behind him, "Xander has a point."

"Angel needs to die," he added grimly.

"Curing Angel seems to have been Jenny's last wish," Giles put in, his eyes far away.

"Yeah? Well, Jenny's dead." The brutality of his words brought a gasp to Cass lips, and Giles to lash out in anger.

"Don't you ever speak of her in that tone again!"

"Can't you hear what I'm saying?" Xander yelled back. Their voices became mixed as they yelled over at each other, the tension thick in the air.

Buffy rushed over, putting herself between them, "Stop it! Stop it!"

They both shut up, and glared at each other. Buffy moved away, turning to Willow as Xander and Giles separated from each other.

Xander made his way to Cass, and tried to put an arm around her shoulder. She stepped away from him and moved closer to her sister in support. His arm dropped to his side, hanging uselessly.

"What do you wanna do?" Willow asked quietly.

Sighing, Buffy replied softly, "I-I don't know. What happened to Angel wasn't his fault."

"Yeah, but what happened to Ms. Calendar is," Xander put in loudly.

Buffy, Willow and Cass looked at him disbelief as he stared at Buffy in anger.

"You can paint this any way you want," he said coldly, "But the way I see it is that you wanna forget all about Ms. Calendar's murder so you can get your boyfriend back."

Buffy stared at him for a second longer before turning and leaving the library. Willow and Giles glared at Xander in shock, a matched stunned look on their faces.

He moved his gaze from the closing door to his girlfriend. Her anger didn't thaw the feelings inside him. Neither of them made a move for the other. With a last lingering look Cass left, chasing after her sister.

Cass laid on her sister's bed, staring out the window in thought. Buffy was packing a bag with Slaying equipment while on the phone to Willow. She drowned out her sisters words as she processed the day. She was still upset with Xander's attitude but didn't know if she had the right to be outside of indignation on her sisters behalf. Cass knew she had been pushing Xander away. Maybe not intentionally but she could feel herself putting distance within their relationship. She didn't want it to, but she knew finding out Spike was alive had changed everything.

"Well, we'll do a couple of sweeps, and then we'll stop by. Yeah, Xander was pretty much being a, Willow!" Buffy gasped, drawing Cass' attention. "Where did you learn that word? My God. You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

Cass smiled at the exchange, appreciating Willow for always having Buffy's back.

Moving over to her draws and picking out stakes, her sister signed, "I don't know. I don't know what I wanna do." She stilled her movement as she stared into the draw. She pulled a ring out and stared it, her eyes lost.

"I'll, I'll see you in a little while, okay?" Buffy said, her gaze distant as she hung up.

"Angel's ring?" Cass asked quietly from the bed.

Buffy nodded as she sat down beside her. They sat in silence for a moment as she stared at the ring she gripped in her fingertips.

"It's okay to want him back," Cass prompted softly.

"Then why does it feel wrong?" She whispered in reply.

"Angelus did these things, Buff, Angel didn't. It's okay to miss the man you loved."

Buffy looked down at her sister, a single tear down her face.

"Do you miss Spike?"

Cass opened her mouth to answer, but found no words. How could she miss something that she never had?

The sisters walked through the park silently, not wanting to give away their location. A snapping noise grabbed Buffy's attention. Putting her hand out to stop Cass' movements, Buffy took a few cautionary steps.

Quicker than Cass could blink, Buffy spun around with her fist raised. Cass jumped when she saw Kendra standing behind them.

Buffy exhaled, "You know, polite people call before they jump out of the bushes and attack you."

"Just wanted to test your reflexes," Kendra replied with a smirk.

"How about testing my face-punching? 'Cause I think you'll find it's improved.

"I was on my way to your house. Saw youse walking. Couldn't help meself."

Buffy smiled, "Which begs the question, and don't think I'm not glad to see you, but, why are you here?" Kendra opened her mouth in response but Buffy forestalled her, "Oh, wait. No, let me guess. Your watcher informed you dat a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale," she finished with a terrible impersonation of the other girls accent.

"Dat's about it."

"Great. So, you have any idea what this dark power is?"

Spike sat in his chair, staring at the obelisk that was set on the marble floor in the middle of the large chamber room of the mansion. A sick pool of dread roiled in his stomach as he stared at the stone. Anything Angelus wanted this badly could not be good news.

Hearing Drusilla and Angelus approach, he sarcastically remarked, "It's a big rock. I can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a rock this big."

"Spike, boy, you never did learn your history," Angelus replied condescendingly.

"Let's have a lesson, then," Spike replied, biting his tongue.

"Acathla the demon came forth to swallow the world," he lectured, strolling to the obelisk, "was killed by a virtuous knight who pierced the demon's heart before he could draw a breath to perform the act. Acathla turned to stone, as demons sometimes do, and was buried," he turned back to Spike, "where neither man nor demon would want to look," he walked away from the stone with a smirk. "Unless of course they're putting up low-rent housing." He lazily lifted a hand toward the obelisk, "boys.."

On cue, two vampires moved forward and pried the tomb open with a pair of crowbars. The lid crashed to the floor, stirring up years of dust. Inside the case was a tall, stocky, horned stone demon with a sword sticking out from its chest. Drusilla closed her eyes, raising her hands to the side of her head and beginning to sway back and forth.

"He fills my head," she breathed, "I can't hear anything else."

"Let me guess. Someone pulls out the sword," Spike said dryly.

"Someone worthy..." Angelus corrected.

"Mm. The demon wakes up, and wackiness ensues."

Drusilla opened her eyes and lowered her arms to her side, "He will swallow the world."

"And every creature living on this planet will go to Hell," Angelus continued, moving toward the stone demon. He turned to face Spike and Drusilla. "My friends... we're about to make history... end."

He grinned viciously, making Spike's skin crawl.

Giles came out of his office with a concerned look, crossing over to Buffy, Cass and Kendra.

"I've been on the phone to the museum. The artefact in question is missing, and the curator has been murdered. Vampires," he leaned down on the table, letting out a tired sigh.

"And you're sure this was the tomb of Alfalfa?" Buffy's serious question turned flippant with her mispronunciation.

"Acathla. And yes, the information provided by Kendra's Watcher seems conclusive," he confirmed, straightening as Willow walked out from behind the library counter.

"Okay, somebody explain the whole 'he will suck the world into Hell' thing, because that's the part I'm not loving."

"Well, the, uh," Giles begun, putting on his glasses, "the Demon Universe exists in a dimension separate from our own," he sat down, "with one breath, Acathla will create a vortex, a-a kind of, um... whirlpool that will pull everything on Earth into that dimension, where any non-demon life will suffer horrible and... eternal torment."

"So that would be the literal kind of 'sucked into Hell'." Buffy smiled anxiously, "Neat." The smile quickly dropped, a frown replacing it. She turned to the red head beside her, "Willow, I think you should try the curse."

"I tend to side with your friend Xander on this one," Kendra said, "Angel should be eliminated."

"Oh, I'll fight him," Buffy replied determinedly, "I'll kill him if I have to. But if I don't get there in time, or if I lose, then Willow might be our only hope."

"I don't wanna be our only hope!" Willow burst, "Uh, I crumble under pressure! Let's have another hope."

"We have." Kendra said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a sword. "Blessed by the knight who first slew the demon. If all else fails, this might stop it. I tink." She finished, the look of confidence slipping from her face, being replaced with uncertainty.

As she spoke, Giles moved closer to the Slayer, peering at the sword in her hand. "Ooh. May I? May I?" He carefully took the sword from Kendra, "Thank you. Well, l-let's, uh, hope all else doesn't fail." He turned to Willow, his attention still distracted by the sword, "Um, how close are you to f-figuring out the ritual of the curse?"

Willow moved to her backpack, "I need about a day, and," rummaging nervously, picking up some papers and reading them, "an 'Orb of Thesulah'? Whatever that is."

Giles handed the sword back to Kendra, "Spirit vault for rituals of the undead." He turned towards his office, "I've got one." He turned away abashedly, "I-I've been using it as a... paperweight."

"This means I can't help you study for tomorrow's final," Willow said to Buffy. Cass smiled, knowing that to Willow, the end of the world and failing a final was par for the aspiring witch.

"Ah, I'll wing it. Of course, if we go to Hell by then, I won't have to take 'em." she adopted a look of concern, "Or maybe I'll be taking them forever."

Giles came back into the library, Orb in his hand, "Angel has a ritual of his own to perform before he can remove the sword and awaken Acathla. With any luck, it should take some time."

Buffy stared at the Orb as Giles handed it to Willow. Buffy's eyes followed the Orb, studying the object that held the weight of Angel's soul.

Spike paced his room, his mind a blur. Options ran through his mind, none of them without their troubles. He didn't want to die, but he was out numbered. He needed allies. He had begun to form a plan when he heard Drusilla calling him from the other room.

He ran to his chair and quickly settled himself in as Drusilla opened the curtain into the room.

"Spike, my sweet! The fun's about to begin."

Without betraying his reluctance, he wheeled himself out of the room and into the main hall.

Spike arrived in time to watch two of their cronies drag a half naked young man into the room. They dropped him in between the three master vampires and the huge stone statue.

Angelus stepped up to the young man, "I will drink the blood will wash in me, over me, and I will be cleansed. I will be worthy to free Acathla," he looked to Spike, "Bear witness," and then looked at Drusilla, "as I ascend," he looked forward, his face morphing, "as I become."

The tall vampire grabbed the young man by the hair, lifting him up and turning his head on an angle, exposing the smooth line of his neck. He growled and bit down viciously. He drank deep and fast. Angel moved his mouth away, wiping his hand across the gushing wound before letting the lad fall to the floor, dead.

He moved towards Acathla, his hand dripping, "I have strayed, I have been lost. But Acathla redeems me. With this act, we will be free." He gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands.

A blindingly light shone from the sword.

Spike watched Drusilla stepping forward with a smile, letting the light shine over her.

With a sinking feeling, Spike watched as the power of the sword shook Angelus.

With a gritted smile, Angelus tried to pull the sword. The smile slipped as the sword wouldn't budge.

A bright red flame shot from the sword, throwing Angelus off the hilt and across the floor.

"Someone wasn't worthy," Spike sing-songed with a satisfied smirk.

Angelus scrambled to his feet, "Damn it!"

"This is so... disappointing!" Drusilla groaned, her body shaking in anxiety.

"There must be something I missed. The incantations, the blood... I don't know!" Angelus exclaimed with frustration.

Unable to hold it back, Spike snickered behind his hand.

"What are we going to do?" Dru pleaded.

"What we always do in a time of trouble: turn to an old friend," Angelus replied with malice. Drusilla's eyes light up. "We'll have our Armageddon. I swear!" He grabbed a near by vase, smashing it across the room.

Cass sat at her desk, her mind running furiously as she filled out bubbles. She knew that third coffee hadn't been a good idea. She was confident in her answers, but was nervous under the pressure. Caffeine had felt like a good idea at the time.

She turned to the next page as a voice sounded from the front of the room.

"Tonight... Sundown..." Her head shot up to see a hooded figure standing in front of the chalkboard, "At the graveyard..."

Ms Charter stood up, confused, moving towards the woman, "Excuse me..." She stopped as she noticed the woman start to smoke.

"You will come to him." She shook the shawl off, revealing a woman in full vampiric face, "You will come to him or more will die."

The vampire pointed to Buffy. Cass looked at her sister with wide eyes. Her sister had an identical expression, staring at the vampire in shock.

"Tonight!"

The rest of the students began to scream and run from the room. Buffy remained sitting as her friends got out of the seats and coming closer to her.

"His hour is at hand!"

The vampire burst into flames, crumbling to dust.

Cass looked to her sister to see her staring at the pile of dust with a blank look, her eyes wide and far away.

"She said more would die. I have to go."

Cassandra looked up from her book to watch Buffy debate with Giles. The Watcher had been concerned the call out was an obvious trap. They had all agreed with him, but knew Buffy wouldn't let Angel kill anymore people if she could do something about it.

"Den I should go wit you."

Buffy turned to the other Slayer, "No. I need you here just in case," She bounced down the stairs, "I can take care of myself. And look, as long as Angel's fighting me, then he can't do this end-of-the-world ritual thingy, and that's a good." She stood next to the table, looking down at the red headed Witch, "Will, what do you think?"

Willow looked over her paperwork anxiously, "I just want to cross-check..."

"We don't have time. If this is gonna work, it has to work now."

"Okay. Then I need maybe half an hour once we're all set up."

Giles continued to rummage through the library shelves, "Which means you just have to hold Angel off. Don't let him close on you." He found the book he needed and pulled it from it's place. "If the curse succeeds, you'll, you'll know."

He tossed the book down to Xander who checked the title and handed it over to Willow.

"Why don't you just wait here to find out if it worked, see if he phones you?" Cordelia asked sincerely, with slight anxiety tinging her voice. The roiling oil of emotion in Cassandra's stomach agreed with her statement, but knew her sister well enough to know it was pointless to try and convince her to stay.

"I can't risk him killing any more people. I better go." Buffy moved to the door but was delayed by Xander.

"Be careful."

She looked back at him, "I will."

"Here," Kendra grabbed a stake from the table. Walking over to Buffy, she held out the twisted but sharp stake. "In case de curse does not succeed, dis is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires wit it. I call it Mr. Pointy."

"You named your stake?" Buffy asked, a tad incredulous.

Kendra lowered her head abashedly, "Yes."

Buffy smiled "Remind me to get you a stuffed animal." She accepted the stake, looking it over. "Thanks."

"Watch your back."

Cass moved forward, catching her sister in a tight hug. "I'll be okay," she heard her sister whisper in her ear.

"I'm scared, Buffy."

The sisters pulled apart with only their hands touching. Buffy gave her sisters hands a tight squeeze. She dropped them and left the library in a brisk pace.

With a deep sigh, Cass moved to the table. She begun to clear the books that Willow wouldn't need for the spell. She gathered a large stack and moved to the Library's upper level, intend on cataloguing them correctly to disquiet her chaotic mind.

Xander jumped up from his seat, taking the top couple of books from her pile and moving with her to the stacks. As the turned the corner into the back area, Xander grabbed the rest of the books and put them down. He turned to her, putting his hands on her hips and tried to pull her forward, "Cass I-"

He cut off as she wiggled out of his grip.

"What's with that?" He demanded, frustrated, "And don't say it's because of Angel. You've been avoiding me for weeks."

"I-I" She stammered, backing away overwhelmed. She should have seen this coming, should have been prepared for this conversation, because he was right. She'd been pulling away.

"No, don't avoid this too," He pushed, stepping forward and grabbing her hand. The frustration leaked from his face, being replace with anxiety. "If I've done something wrong, tell me. I'll try and fix it, just don't bail on me, okay? Just talk to me."

Guilt overcame Cass as she took in her boyfriend's face. How could she explain something she barely understood.

She was saved from the conversation by Willow's voice, "Alright, let's do this."

Xander signed in disappointment, "C'mon," he moved away from her, the two foot distance feeling like miles. "We can finish this later."

Willow sat cross-legged on the table. The Orb was placed within sacred circle in front of her, surrounded by bones, candles and stones. She threw stones down on the table, before turning to Giles and giving him a nod. He opened the book in his hands and begun to chant.

"Quod perditum est, invenietur."

Cordelia swirled incense into the air as Xander and Cass watched at the top of the stairs, with Kendra guarding the Library doors.

"'Not dead nor not of the living. Spirits of the interregnum I call…'" Willow recited, "'Let him know the pain of humanity, gods. Reach your wizened hands to me. Give me the sword...'"

Without warning, Xander stumbled forward, a grunt of pain coming from him. Cass turned in shock to find a vampire rushing her. Before she could react, he backhanded her causing her to stumble down the stairs.

Her head hit the floor with a crack. She tried to lift her head, her ears ringing as she looked up to find the room in chaos. Kendra was fighting against two vampires who had come through the Library doors, with another appearing from the stacks.

"Get out! Go!" Giles yelled. Willow and Cordelia ran up the stairs opposite of Cassandra's. She tried to follow but found her body too heavy to move. She felt paralysed as she watched her friend's flee and fight for their lives.

"No!" She whimpered as she saw the fourth vampire leap on Giles back, knocking him into the table. Her eyes hazed, and all she could process was screams and yelling. She couldn't move as she heard Willow's panicked screech or Xander yell in pain.

It felt hours had passed as Cassandra steeled herself, and opened her eyes. She saw Giles' crumpled body on the Library floor. She managed to push herself up on shaky arms, the adrenaline from fear giving her strength. With wobbly legs, she made her way to the Watcher. Sinking back to the ground, her trembling hands searched for a pulse. With a relief that brought tears to her eyes, she found a steady beat. Her relief was cut short as the banging of the Library doors drew her attention.

Drusilla strode in, a content satisfied smile on her face. She clapped her hands, "Enough."

Her eyes focused on Kendra, the vampire's gaze intense. She made a come hither motion with her fingers towards the Slayer. Cass watched as the three other vampires that had been surrounding Kendra backed off.

Face determined, Kendra stepped up to the vampire. Her body was tight, ready for battle.

Drusilla circled the Slayer, drawing her in.

Like a whip, Kendra kicked her leg out to Drusilla's face. She blocked the kick easily, as well as two quick punches. The vampire punched Kendra, making her tumble to the ground. Kendra flung out another kick, with Drusilla ducking and grabbing the girl by her arms. With a sharp motion Kendra was flung away. Recovering quickly, Kendra kicked out to the vampire's stomach. Drusilla doubled over at the impact.

Kendra seized the moment to move forward with a lunge. Quick as a snake, Drusilla had the girl by the throat, backing her to the counter. Her grip tightened, causing Kendra to pause.

"Look at me, Dearie," Drusilla murmured. She extended two fingers before Kendra's eyes, moving them slowly in front of the girls face. "Be... in my eyes. Be... in me."

Letting go, Drusilla kept Kendra's gaze, the girl stilled by the vampire's spell.

Drusilla begun to sway back and forth, Kendra following her movements identically.

Taking a step back, Drusilla the Slayer another lingering gaze before an evil smile crossed her face. Drusilla whipped her nails across Kendra's throat.

Kendra's eyes widened as she grabbed her neck, the blood spilling over her own fingers. Her eyes glazed as she fell to the floor.

"Night-night" Drusilla sung, kissing the air above the dead Slayer's body.

She turned to the other vampires with a soft smile, "Let's get what we came for, dears."

Two of the vampires moved to Cassandra and Giles, roughly pushing her aside to reach the man. The movement caused Cass to moan in pain.

The sound drew Drusilla's attention. She glided over and leaned over Cassandra.

"Sweet sister!" Drusilla cried, her face gleeful. The woman knelt down, lifting Cass into her arms with ease. The jostling movement caused a spike of pain in Cassandra's head. She swiftly passed out.

Cass moaned as consciousness crept onto her. Her eyes felt heavy as she tried to lift them, a blind ache in her head. She moaned as she lifted her head. It was when she tried to touch her head in pain did she realise she was tied up.

Her eyelids shot up as looked down at herself. Her eyes widened as she found herself tied to a chair.

A groan of shock and pain escaped her mouth, causing a dark chuckle to sound from in front of her.

Her head whipped towards the laugh.

Angelus.

His mad grin widened as he watched the terror cross her face.

So absorbed by her fear, she almost didn't notice the sitting figure behind Angel.

Spike stared at her, his face uncaring and bored.