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Part TwelveXander was the first to recover. “Angelus,” he said deliberately, “What kind of sick joke is this? Buffy would’ve rather been tortured for a year than drink vampire blood. You know it, and I know it. So,” he said angrily, “Whoever you are, you’re not her!” Cordelia was moving her mouth, but no sound was coming out, and Willow was openly crying.
Elsza said, “Xander, Xander, Xander. Shouldn’t be surprised you can’t accept it. You always were a pigheaded jerk. Never knew anything. Willow loved you. You couldn’t tell. I loved Angelus and you couldn’t accept that either. So on the rebound you picked up this skanky bitch.” She pointed at Cordelia, who was still standing there in shock. “When I had the chance to be with Angelus forever, how could I say no? I love him.” Xander snarled and stepped forward. Emily grabbed his arm and stopped him from going any further. Slowly the extra vampires were backing out of the chamber single-file.
Angelus spoke. “No, Elsza. Why lie when the truth hurts even more?” He turned to face the four. “Xander, you’re right. I know you don’t hear that very often, so cherish the moment. Buffy didn’t drink my blood. Her body did.” He laughed scornfully. “Giles, that incompetent fool, botched the ritual. He didn’t restore my soul; he removed Buffy’s! In sincere gratitude, I didn’t kill him. I drank Buffy’s blood, forced her to swallow mine, and dumped her down a sewer access tunnel. Then I torched the warehouse and staggered out with Giles.” He broke into a big grin and laughed.
Emily cut in before Xander could say anything. “Ten years a vampire and you’re the Master?”
Then Xander said, “What did you need us for, anyway?”
Elsza sneered. “Look at them. They must think we’re feeling movie-villainy.” She paused. “Hey, look, I don’t know why I need you here, but prophecy say, vampire do. And as for the rest … well, we’ll just let you torture yourselves for awhile about that, ’kay?” The last of the other vampires had left the room, leaving only Elsza and Angelus to face Emily and the original Slayerettes. Xander could feel Emily’s arm tense and suddenly he was flying backwards as the Slayer kicked Angelus in the chest and threw a stake at Elsza in one smooth motion.
Which the Master caught, turned and flipped back at Emily, who couldn’t quite get out of the way and yelped in pain as it struck her left arm. Elsza snarled, “Amateur night in Sunnydale. Two out of five stars,” as the Slayer shook off the pain and stalked towards her.
Xander sagged inside. That was a Buffy move, and a Buffy line, all right. He recovered. He couldn’t attack Buffy, but that didn’t stop him from taking on Deadboy. He yanked out a stake and advanced on the traitor. Willow and Cordelia had finally shaken off their shock and pulled out weapons of their own, though Xander noticed they were following him.
Elsza slugged Emily in the face, rolled and knocked the stake out of Xander’s hand and spun him into the advancing women. All three went down. As Emily sprang to her feet, the Master told Angelus, “Go. Finish the pattern thing. I’ll be with you in a second.” Angelus sprinted for the exit and bent down to the ground. He seemed to be painting something.
“Pattern!” Willow spoke for the first time in what seemed years as the three got to their feet. “Hurry. We’ve got to —” Whatever they had to do, they didn’t, because then Elsza deftly blocked the Slayer’s kick, slammed her into the furious Regan and Cale, and dove towards Angelus.
“Now!” She shrieked as Xander charged towards them … and bounced off an invisible barrier. He cursed at the two, who turned and walked away as Elsza shouted a cheery, “Later!”
* * *
Xander blurted, “I can’t believe they didn’t tell us what they were going to do. How are we supposed to stop them if they don’t tell us their plans?” Cordelia hugged him.
Willow said wearily, sitting down on the warm stone floor, “My guess is, we’re not. At least we now know what the prophecies meant by the undefeatable one. There’s no way we can attack her.” The Orb was behaving oddly: first warm, then cool, then warm again. That was a mystery for later. If there was a later.
“No way the three of you can attack her,” Emily said as she approached the still-chained and gagged Cale and Regan. “I don’t have quite the emotional ties you do.”
“Please! Emily, get serious,” Cordelia said. “Elsza just cleaned your clock. Plus, she’s a vampire and a Slayer as well. That can’t be a good combination.”
Angrily the Slayer yanked the chains from the wall and removed the gags. Cale hugged Emily; Regan spat and, to Emily and Cale’s visible astonishment, joined in the hug. Willow was also amazed Regan; had been known to throw people who had accidentally brushed her in the hall into lockers. She hated to be touched.
“Fuck, I’m glad you’re here,” the pale blonde whispered.
Willow motioned for Emily to come over. “Let me look at your arm … no serious damage. Good.” Then she motioned for Regan and Cale to approach. “How are you two doing. Physically, I mean.” Anything to postpone thinking about … but it couldn’t be put off forever.
“Cramped,” Cale said. Regan simply gave a curt nod, echoing Cale. Without being asked, Xander and Cordelia were gingerly probing the outside of the mystical barrier, but it seemed impenetrable. It resisted hands and stakes and gave off an angry spark when touched with crosses.
“Well, that’s not going to work,” Xander muttered. “Any ideas, O fearless leader?” he asked Willow.
Willow said quietly, “Come here and sit down. We need to calm down and talk about this.” She was barely holding herself together. The other two approached and clustered around her. “There’s something we have to face. That was —”
“Don’t say it!” Cordelia pleaded, tears welling in her eyes.
“— Buffy,” Willow said firmly. “And I don’t know about you, but — but —” She started crying again. “I can’t attack her. Not even to save the world.”
Xander slammed his hands to the cave floor, and Cordelia said, “Me neither.”
Willow smiled humorlessly. “Some Watcher I am, huh? No wonder most of us decide to forego old emotional ties. They can kill.”
Emily said, “You’ve been a great Watcher, Ms. Rosenberg.” Willow flashed a look of gratitude at her charge. “But you’re forgetting something.”
“What?” Willow asked quizzically.
Regan piped up, “The cryptic crap. ‘On the first day of spring the Watcher and the Slayer and their companions shall face the undefeatable one, and shall not defeat her, and shall cause her to be defeated. This will end where it all started.’ I think I can finally see how this makes some fuckin’ sense. We can’t beat her, but we can clear the way for someone else to. And, dunno about you, but the only thing I can see starting here is a good earthquake.”
Willow blinked, gathering it in, then turned to the crowd. “Now the only thing we need to do is figure out who can defeat the undefeatable one.” The Orb flashed hot and cold across her chest. She ripped it off and threw it to the ground. “Cut it —” Realization flashed across her face. “Oh, my God …” She had the answer.