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Part Thirteen“I have it,” Willow said, pacing around the cavern. “I’ve finally figured out why the Thesulan Orb has been glowing like this. Remember I told you none of the others do? I always thought there was something special about this one. Emily!” She shouted, “What is the purpose of a Thesulan Orb?”
The Slayer blinked. “To serve as a repository for souls in certain rites involving the undead.”
“Right!” Willow snapped. “Now, now hear me out. This Orb didn’t glow before Giles botched the spell. Why? Because it wasn’t storing a soul. We all assumed it had temporarily held Angel’s soul, and well, we were obviously wrong. But there is a soul inside.”
A large grin of hope broke out on Xander’s face. Regan was slowly nodding, “Of course …” but Emily, Cordy and Cale still seemed lost.
“Don’t you get it?” Willow asked. “In the Orb — that’s Buffy’s soul!”
Regan said, “The Slayer’s soul shall return …”
Xander said, “Yes! Yes! No … how does this help us?”
“If I can perform the ritual again —”
“Big if, Willow,” Cordelia said. “Giles was a lot more experienced than you, and he blew it.”
Emily gave her a disgusted look. “Tactful, aren’t you?”
“It needed to be said,” Cordy shrugged. Cale and Emily glared at her angrily.
Willow got between them. “I learned a long time ago that tact and Cordelia come from different planets. And she’s right — it’s not going to be easy.” She sighed. “I have it memorized, but I’m going to need one of you to help me.” Cale, Emily, Xander and Cordelia instantly volunteered. “No. Regan?”
The pale blonde was startled. “Me?”
“It’s going to have to be you. Cordy — Xander — you’re too involved. Emily — you’re the Slayer, and we might need you for physical defense. And Cale —” a pained look entered Willow’s face — “Don’t be upset — please — but Regan’s smarter than you are.”
“And I’m unemotional, right?” Regan asked.
Willow said, “That’s part of it. You don’t get easily upset. I need someone steady enough to do this without panicking, and smart enough to know what to do when.”
Regan answered, in a voice barely above a whisper. “I do like you all, you know.” Emily put an arm around the tall blonde’s shoulders, and she didn’t pull away.
“We love you too, Reeg. But this isn’t the time for you to get mushy.”
“I already am,” Regan answered. After a second she yanked out of Emily’s grip and walked over to face Willow. “That’s enough of that. What do you need me to do?”
“What do we do while you’re chanting and stuff?” Cordelia asked.
“You and Cale inventory weapons and stuff. Xander, you and Emily keep an eye out for intruders. They might not be able to come in, but they’ll certainly try to disrupt the ritual if they find out.” She turned to Regan. “Now, Regan, while I recite the first four lines of the spell —”
* * *
In a nearby antechamber, Angelus and Elsza prepared for their own ritual.
“I got the power!” Elsza screamed. Angelus regarded her with a puzzled expression. “Nineties flashback. Sorry. Just ready to bring my own personal brand of Hell to the world. With you at my side all the way.”
Angelus chuckled. “You’re as impatient a vampire as you were a human.” He kissed her on the neck. “It’s one of your more endearing qualities.”
Elsza was apparently no mood to be distracted. “Not now, Angelus. I need to focus here.” Elsza took a deep breath as her consort noticed a lesser vampire approaching.
“Excuse me, Master — Angelus — we were just wondering how we are going to share in your power.” Elsza didn’t move; she was drawing the first bits of power escaping from the Hellmouth storage chamber. Angelus turned to the interloper.
“They will be by her side as she ravages the Earth. You, on the other hand —” he reached forward and staked her through the heart and watched her turn to ash, “Won’t.” He turned to the flock of vampires behind the ashes of the former speaker. “Any other questions?” They turned and bolted from the room. “Good.”
Angelus could feel a large wave of Hellmouth leakage approach, and stood back to avoid it. There was no way even he could have handled as much energy as Elsza could. For that, it took a vampire-Slayer.
The Master screamed and stumbled. Angelus was at her side in an instant — no Elsza, no rampaging across the world wreaking merry havoc. “What is it?”
Elsza shook her head and said, “What the —” She blinked. “They cast a spell on me from there!” She laughed. “Smarter than I thought. We’d better go put a stop to it.” Then, hesitantly, “Bring the whole gang along.”
“We can’t —” Angelus began.
“We’ll find a way,” Elsza said. They stormed down the passageway, the lesser vampires trailing at a very respectful distance, and confronted the six behind the mystic pattern. Elsza waited for her consort to join her and then strode boldly up to the edge of the barrier.
“Well, well, well,” the Master began. “I see we’ve been busy little boys and girls.” Angelus gleefully watched their faces fall. “Whatever spell that was, it didn’t work. Don’t try it again.”
“Or what?” Willow asked.
Suddenly the barrier dropped! Angelus looked down and saw Elsza’s feet erasing the pattern. He then watched in shock as Elsza grabbed him and threw him against the wall. She rushed up and started to choke him.
“Elsza, what —” he choked out. Then he heard the three most frightening words he’d heard in his 250 years of existence.
“Not Elsza,” she screamed. “BUFFY!”