This story takes place two days after the episode "Killed by Death", about a week after Ms. Calendar died.
Giles paced back and forth in the library, waiting for Buffy, Willow, Xander and Cordy to arrive. Buffy arrived first. She took one look at her Watcher before making an exasperated sigh and sitting down. Willow and Oz arrived soon after. They followed Buffy's example and sat down at the table. Buffy looked at the happy couple and gave a small, sad smile. Giles paced a little longer before finally giving up on Xander and Cordy.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," he said.
"So what else is new?" Xander said, leading Cordy in on his arm.
"Do we get to save the world again?" asked Willow.
"Not quite. Tomorrow night is the anniversary of the night Angelus was turned into a vampire, and killed his whole town. He fondly refers to it as his Rebirthday. I've been reading the Watcher diaries. They say that on his Rebirthday, he always killed a family member to celebrate. It was referred to as the only time Angelus didn't cause much trouble because he's too busy tracking down a relative," Giles said.
"Great so we just have to find the nearest relative of Angelus, and stand guard tomorrow," Xander said.
"But Angelus hasn't been too quiet lately," Oz added.
"Maybe he forgot," Cordy said.
"In all the records I have, Angelus has never forgotten," Giles said.
"He's coming after me," Buffy said quietly, from her chair.
"That is what I'm afraid of," Giles replied, "I can't know for sure off course."
"But Buffy's not family!" Willow cried.
"'I'm pretty much family'" Xander said, everyone turned to look at him, "'I'm pretty much family' that's what Angel said when he tried to get in to see Buffy, while she was at the hospital."
"Oh dear," Giles said sitting down. A silence descended upon the room.
"O.K., so he's going to be coming after me. That's nothing new. What can we do about it?" Buffy asked. They were soon knee deep, in a conversation full of ideas. As they talked, a girl about 19 years old entered unnoticed. She wore white sandals, blue jeans, and a clinging silver shirt. She also had a dark blue gym bag slung over her shoulder. She had shoulder length, straight, brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. She listened to them talk for a while, before clearing her throat. Silence descended on the room, as all eyes turned toward her.
"What do you want?" Cordy asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm looking for Ms. Calendar. She said she would be here, if she wasn't in her room and she wasn't," the girl said. The girl spoke with a slight Irish accent. Buffy was hit with a strange feeling of familiarity. She couldn't explain it, so she shook it off.
"I'm sorry," Giles said, "but Ms. Calendar died two days ago."
"OH NO!!!!" she cried. "I'm so sorry. You must be the friends she mentioned: Rupert Giles, Buffy Summer, Willow Rosenburg, Xander Haris, Cordelia Chase, and Oz Wolfe," she said reading the names and pointing to each in turn, from a list in her hands.
"How'd you know that?" Xander blurted.
"I was given a list from Ms. Calendar with your names and descriptions, including the part about Buffy being the Slayer, and Giles her Watcher," the girl replied.
"Great. Since you know all of us, why don't you tell us who you are and why you're here," Buffy said.
"Oh excuse me. My name's Harmony. I was sent here from SU in response to Ms. Calendar's request. Her situation was deemed worthy by the board, so they gave me the assignment as my final exam. I have th---" Harmony replied.
"What request?" Giles interrupted.
"Exam?? We're a test?" Cordy asked.
"In a way, didn't you know about the request? She said we should seek you if we couldn't find her," Harmony asked puzzled.
"No, we don't know. So start from the beginning, like what is SU?" Buffy said.
"SU stands for Sorceress University. This is my first assignment as a full sorceress, and is usually called the final exam. I graduated a few days ago. Ms--" Harmony began.
"But we've already got a witch," Xander said.
"I'm not a witch. I'm a sorceress. Witches have no training and are usually evil. Sorceress have an education and are always good," Harmony replied hotly.
"So you're a good witch," Cordy said.
"I'm NOT a witch. I have an education!"
"Sorceress, witch same difference," Xander said.
"I am a sorceress, please remember that!" she replied curtly, "Now, Ms. Calendar sent a description of her problem to SU. She said that she wanted to summon the soul of Angel, and place him back in his own body, which is now occupied by Angelus. She said she was working on a translation of the original spell. The original was broken when Angel had a moment of pure happiness. She asked for our help. The board deemed her cause worthy, so they gave the assignment to me. I can help because I think I can change the original spell into something that will work in a loving environment. From her description of the spell, it sounds like the original spell bound Angel's soul with hate, so when there was no hate to bind him, his soul was released. I think I can change it so that Angel's soul will be bound with love. That means that only complete lack of love will break the spell. Don't worry though, I'm talking about all kinds of love: friendship, family, pets, and of course true l
ove. All I need is the translation. So where is it?"
"Your theory is quite intriguing. The basis sounds solid though I'd want to go more in depth. Unfortunately we don't have the translation. This is the first we've heard of it," Giles replied, "Did she say where she kept it?"
"Well she said she was using her computer to translate it," Harmony replied.
"Her computer!" Willow cried excitedly, "But that would mean it's on disk or in a file. The janitors found a disk in her room." Willow fished around in her backpack, before coming up with a small disk. She rushed over to the computer and popped it in. Willow sat looking intently at the screen. Oz looked over her shoulder as her fingers plinked away at the keyboard. Everyone waited anxiously as Willow tried to break the password with a little help from Oz. "Got it," Willow cried triumphantly, "It looks like this is it. Everything's written in two languages."
"Can you print it out? It's easier to work with that way," Harmony said.
"Done," Willow said. The printer soon started to click and buzz, as it spit out the papers. Harmony hurried over to the printer and waited impatiently for it to finish. When it was done she picked up the pages, and read through them quickly.
"This is it!" she cried, "Now all I have to do is change it. Does anyone have a pen?"
"Here," Buffy said handing her a pencil. Harmony barely looked at it as she started making scribbles on the pages. Ten minutes later, Harmony finished rereading it for the second time.
"This should work," she said, "The original is much stronger than I thought, and the use of love instead of hate will strengthen it even more. It also has a second part for strengthening, which she didn't mention. The spell shouldn't be broken unless Angel hates everybody, and everyone hate him. If we use the strengthening spell as well, I may be able to do even more. Depending upon the strength of the love, if he's happy, he could be completely human during the day. The sunlight should weaken the demon so much, he will probably age during the day, too. He would be a vampire at night of course, but it would have the overall effect of letting him age at about half the rate of a human. I'll have to take this back to the University and the board to confirm my suspicions, of course. He will have to decide whether he wants the strengthening spell. I imagine after living over 200 years, he may not like the idea of aging."
"You mean he'll be human," Buffy asked.
"Possibly, but even if he will, it will only be during the day, and only if he uses the strengthening spell. I want to double check with the board."
"What do we need for the spell?" Buffy asked with real joy in her voice. Joy she had not felt in a long time.
"I'll need an Orb of Thesely, as many of his friends as we can find, and his love. I can get an Orb of Thesely, you were all his friends, and I was under the impression that you and Angel were quite close," Harmony told Buffy.
"Wait, who says we're still Angel's friends. How can we even like him?? He KILLED Ms. Calendar," Xander asked angrily.
"Angel did NOT kill Ms. Calendar! Angelus killed Ms. Calendar. The DEMON killed Ms. Calendar. You must understand," Harmony said turning to Buffy, "they are two completely different entities. Angel is a good, kind human soul, Angelus is a cruel, killing demon. Simply because Angelus was keeping the body alive when Angel was in control means nothing. You can love one and hate the other. Angel and Angelus are not the same person. You must all understand that, or this has no chance of bringing Angel back." A long silence followed. "Do you understand" A general assent of murmurs. Happiness alighted Buffy's face as she realized she still loved Angel and she might be able to get him back.
"No, this guy is a murderer!" Xander cried desperately.
"He's not! He saved you a time or two. Don't be a jealous ass. He needs your friendship too." Buffy replied. Xander looked shocked and offended, but looked at Cordelia and was quiet for a while.
"You're right," he finally said, "Let's save Angel."
* * * * *
Angelus watched Buffy as she practically skipped through the graveyard. She was humming to herself, but he didn't recognize the tune. He had followed her all night. She was on her way to the Bronze, and had already killed one vampire. He couldn't figure it out. Last night, he had killed another kid from the school. She should be moping or angry, not happy. Buffy let out a sigh of anticipation, and stopped staring up at the stars. Angelus froze in place. "Soon," she murmured, "Oh Angel, soon we'll be together again. Soon." Angelus stayed frozen in shock, as Buffy continued on towards the Bronze. He watched her go in bewilderment. He had always thought she would turn into a vicious crazy. Then a thought hit him and fear slowly crept into his vampire features. "The spell," he whispered in horror.
He looked up and darted after her. By the time he caught up to her, she was nearing the Bronze. He hurried up the fire escape of a neighboring building, and jumped to the roof of the Bronze. He took up his usual position on the roof, just over the public entrance to the Bronze. Buffy took up her usual position in the doorway below him. Willow came from inside and stood beside her. "So when's the sorceress supposed to get back with the Orb of Thesely?" Buffy asked as Willow handed her a cup of coffee.
"Some time around 4 p.m. tomorrow. We're all supposed to meet at the library around 8. She said she needed the library to herself to prepare," Willow replied.
"But that's an hour after dark."
"She said she wanted to give you an hour of darkness, in case you can't catch Angelus during the day tomorrow. That way you have an hour to drag him there, without killing him."
"What about you guys. You'll have to get to the library after dark."
"Oh Cordy's picking me, Xander and Oz up in her car, since it's Angel proof," Willow said giggling.
"Angelus proof," Buffy corrected, "so when did Giles finally let her leave."
"About an hour ago. He was asking her so many questions, she practically ran out the door." The girls giggled at the joke. Buffy finished of her coffee, before leading the way inside. Angelus let a smile cross his face, before heading for Spike and Dru's.
Spike and Dru were talking in the main room. "Someone new is in town. I can feel it," Drusilla told Spike.
"Of course there is," Angelus said as he came in, "They found a sorceress to give me my soul back. Damn gypsies just won't stop."
"It's not a gypsy. They're like a shadow," Dru said, "She's like a blade. She's powerful. Kill her."
"Of course I'm going to kill her, but she won't be back until tomorrow night," Angelus replied.
"Then why did you come back so early?" Spike asked irritably.
"Buffy's going to try and catch me, before she gets back. I'm going to split and hide out in the sewers. I've got to kill the sorceress at the Library, taunt Buffy, and possible kill one of her friends. I won't be back 'till late tomorrow night and I wanted to tell Dru so she wouldn't worry," Angelus said, kissing Dru's hand.
"Then go dammit! Don't lead her here!" Spike yelled.
"I'm going," Angelus said nonchalantly as he walked out the door. Spike watched him go, and an evil glint came to his eye.
"Dru, how would you like to watch Angel kill the sorceress tomorrow, hmm?" he asked.
"Oh yes please. She's strong. It'll be fun to watch her die. May we go, please?" she begged.
"Of course, of course."
.
Willow ran up to Buffy the next morning, as she walked up the steps to school. "Do you think he fell for it?" Willow asked.
"I think so. I know I felt him following me to the Bonze, and I talked to myself about it so much he must of thought I was crazy," Buffy replied.
"Great! Giles wanted us to report to the library before homeroom."
"Well we mustn't keep Giles waiting," Buffy replied saucily, as they darted towards the library. Giles and Xander were already there when they arrived.
"Good morning ladies. So did the bat fly away?" Xander asked. Everyone gave Xander a questioning look.
"Did the fish take the bait?"
"..."
"It's spy talk."
"Yes, ... right. Well do you think Angelus heard you?" Giles asked
"I think so. I could feel him following me on the way to the Bronze, and we talked about the plan at the entrance to the Bronze. I didn't get the feeling he was following me the rest of the night. I kept mumbling and dropping hints though, so now half of Sunnydale thinks I'm crazy," Buffy replied.
"Well, we'll see if he believed you tonight," Giles said.
"When's witch woman showing up?" Xander asked.
"She called this morning and said she's having a little trouble, but will be here by the end of school. She's going to explain everything then, so don't dilly dally" Giles said.
"Oh, right ho," Xander said in a fake British accent. Giles awarded him with a glare.
"Great!" Buffy said as the bell rang, "Not so great. Gotta go before Principal Snyder shows up."
"He still intent on expelling you," Willow asked, as they headed for the door.
"Yep."
"He must not see that ... killer charm," Xander replied dramatically. The girls gave him a disgusted look before starting off down the hall. "What? That wasn't too bad," Xander yelled after them, as he chased them down the hall. Giles simply smiled before returning to his books. Buffy looked happier then she had been since her birthday. He just hoped that they weren't bringing her hopes up just to shatter them.
The library table had been pushed up against the wall between the stairs. All but one of the chairs had been stacked up and put on the stairs. The final chair was up against the cage, facing Giles office. Giles was bringing a few chain ropes out and putting them on the stairs. Harmony entered wearing a dark blue, hooded robe with silver symbols all over it. The hood was up, but her smile was no less warm. She carried a small black box, and a small, short hair, silver and black tabby rode on her shoulder. "We won't need those," she said as she set the box down on the counter.
"I must remind you that vampires are quiet strong and we must restrain him," Giles said.
"I know, but when I'm done with him, normal, sturdy ropes will do just fine."
"All right. I hope no one saw you. Principal Snyder is quite...how do you say it...nosy and if your robes don't catch his eye, the cat will. Pets aren't allowed in the building."
"Oh don't worry. I used a simple illusion of nothingness. No one will have noticed me. So when do they get out?" she asked. Before Giles could answer, the bell rang. Voices and bodies filled the halls. "Never mind."
"Whoa! That gives me a major case of wiggins. Make those brown, and I see snake man," Buffy said shuddering at the memory.
"What?" Harmony asked.
"Long story," Giles said as Willow and Oz entered the library.
"Did you redecorate?" Oz asked.
"We're going to need some space," Harmony explained. Oz didn't reply as he and Willow went and sat on the unoccupied stairs.
"Oh my god, do you know how old that is, and it was never in style," Cordy said as she and Xander walked in.
"It's traditional."
"What's with the cat?" Willow asked.
"Oh this is Mystical. She's my familiar. She supposed to help me, but mostly she's just a house cat," Harmony replied, petting her cat.
"I thought all witch's cats were black," Xander said as her approached the cat. Mystical hissed at him.
"That's just an stereotype. Besides, I'm not a witch," Harmony said.
"Yes, well, perhaps we had better get started," Giles said cutting in before an argument could follow.
"Right well, it's really pretty simple. We only need two friends, Buffy and me. So you don't all need to be here, but the more friends, the more powerful the spell," Harmony explained.
"Great! I'm out of here," Cordy said standing up and heading for the door, "You guys can handle this on you own." And with that she left.
"Well, I never knew Angel that well. I only met him once. I'd still be willing to stay though," Oz said.
"Any help is welcome, but it is your choice. Xander however may have to go. It seemed that you and Angel weren't the best of friends and that's something we can't afford right now," Harmony said.
"Hey! I may not like him, but he's still my friend!" Xander protested. Harmony looked at him intently and he got a funny tingling sensation. After a moment, it passed and she nodded.
"I'll never understand, how boys can seem to hate each other and actually be good friends," she said shaking her head, "You can stay though."
"I'll stay too," Oz said, "You never know when you may need help."
"Great well it's pretty simple. I'll be here pretending to set up with fake mystic passes and that stuff. Angelus will show up between sun down and 8. He is going to show up right?" Harmony asked.
"We'll know tonight," Buffy replied.
"Great. Well he'll show up and probably attack me. Then we basically beat him, shoot him, break bones, and make life painful."
"We can hurt him?" Xander asked excitedly.
"Yes, but we can't kill him. He must be alive for this to work. Then we tie him to the chair with the rope. I'll then heal him using his own strength and power. It will leave him perfectly healthy, but as weak as a new born babe. Then everyone grabs a chair and puts it in a half-circle around Angelus giving him about 3 feet of space. Then we stand in front of the chairs and I cast the spell. Giles and Xander can be on my left and Willow and Oz to Buffy's right. Buffy and I will stand in the middle, with Buffy on my right. All of you will serve as a power source for the spell. All you have to do is think of Angel, and how much you care for him. You must try to keep all bad, evil, or even unpleasant feelings or memories from your mind. You shouldn't feel any pain. The spell will strip us of our strength though. That's why we have the chairs, so we don't collapse onto the floor," Harmony explained.
"Why don't we just sit in the chairs?" Oz asked.
"Because it takes longer to get up and fight, if any of Angelus's friends show up," Harmony replied.
"Oh," Willow said.
"I'll explain the second spell if Angel decides to go through with it. Angelus may try to break the Orb first, so if he goes for that stop him. Any questions?" Harmony finished.
"Yes, what happens if this doesn't work?" Giles asked.
"Angelus will be at full strength and we'll be exhausted," Harmony said cheerfully, "but don't worry, it'll work."
"And if not, we're vampire food. Does anyone else not like this idea?" Xander asked.
"You get to beat up Angel and you're still not happy?" Willow asked sarcastically. Xander shrugged his shoulders.
"Time to pick our weapons. I want to practice before he gets here," Buffy said cheerfully. Everyone rummaged through Giles collection of weapons. Buffy decided on a crossbow and her fists. Willow decided to stick with holy water and a cross. Xander chose a staff and spent the rest of the afternoon learning how to use it. Oz also had a staff but he nailed a cross to the center of it. He decided to use it mostly for protection. Harmony was simply going to use offensive magic. Although Giles asked (practically begged) her for information on her school and her magic, all she would say is that she was an all around graduate with an extra year in offensive magic and rare spells. It was decided that Buffy, Harmony, and Xander were going to be the main ones attacking. Harmony would call a stop when he had been beaten up enough.
Time slowly ticked by and sundown finally arrived. Everyone but Harmony hid in Giles office. Harmony began making mystic passes, and sprinkling water over the chair and ropes. Suddenly, Mystical hissed and jumped over to the box holding the Orb of Thesely. She stood over it and hissed, as if guarding it. Harmony turned toward the door, waiting for Angelus to arrive and he did. There was a crash as Angelus jumped through the glass ceiling and landed on Harmony. Harmony landed face down, while Angelus landed on his feet.
"Buffy showed me that one," Angelus purred, pinning his victim and kneeling down for a bite.
"NOW!!" Buffy shouted, as she shot an arrow through his shoulder. Angelus turned with a look of shock and then pain as the arrow penetrated his shoulder.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Xander cried as he charged Angelus. Xander hit Angelus with the staff, knocking him off Harmony. Angelus rolled away, while Harmony got up with a groan. Buffy took aim as the bedraggled Harmony joined Buffy, her hands almost pulsed with power. A ball was suspended between her hands. Angelus looked at the now bedraggled Harmony. Her hood at fallen back and her hair was mussed. He took one look and began to laugh. Buffy and Harmony paused in shock. The waited, weapons at ready, for him to stop. He slowly finished laughing, tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.
"I'm sorry, Harmony" he said, "I thought you were dead, not undead. Well sis'? Shoot!"
Harmony looked at him for a moment, before a smile crossed her face. "My pleasure," she said and threw the ball of light between her hands at his chest. He screamed in agony. Buffy smiled and sent another arrow through his stomach. While he was screaming, Xander got close enough to sweep his legs out from under him. Buffy threw aside her crossbow and closed in. She and Xander quickly pummeled him. Harmony called a stop, and Angelus was tied to the chair.
Harmony replaced her hood and looked around her. She went over to the counter where the black box still sat. She removed the Orb of Thesely from the black box. It was perfectly clear and strangely did not distort the images seen through it. Mystical jumped to her shoulder. The others all grabbed a chair and put them in a semi-circle around Angelus and stood in front of them. Buffy put her chair in Harmony's spot. "Thank you," Harmony said, "but you're going to need a chair too."
"Slayers are stronger than normal people," Buffy said.
"Perhaps, but you are going to be the main source of emotional power."
"I'll stand," Buffy said with a smile.
"Very well," Harmony said. She put the black box at her feet, and held the Orb before her in her cupped hands. "Angel Crowley, we your friends and loved ones, Buffy Summers, Oz Wolfe, Willow Rosenburg, Alexander Haris, Rupert Giles, and Harmony O'Conor, call you forth. Shantal kentra sutmon" Her hands began to glow and the Orb slowly rose above her hands. A white mist began to swirl inside the Orb. The mist steadied and glowed a warm, blue light. A feeling swept over them all and they knew it was Angel. Harmony sighed. "Now comes the hard part," she muttered, "Casto gitmo autbay chivot se demontra. Homtew bintox Angel yit ketall ponre." As she chanted, she could see Angelus began to glow a dull green. The warm blue of Angel left the Orb and enveloped Angelus. The green slowly became less inside the blue until there was no green at all. Then the blue began to fade. When Harmony saw it fade, she began to chant, "Witto vinram hinba!" As she chanted the blue light grew brighter, until on the last syllable of the third time, it disappeared all together.
The Orb of Thesely fell into Harmony's hands. Willow, Oz, Xander, and Giles fell back into their chairs with a sigh of exhaustion. Buffy let out a sigh and closed her eyes. Harmony reached out her right hand toward Buffy, but did not touch her. Angel looked around with confusion and bewilderment in his eyes. "Your memories should return to you soon. Now break free and catch her. I have little strength left," Harmony said from inside her hood. Angel took one glance at Buffy and quickly broke free. He caught her and carefully lowered her to the ground, cradling her to his chest. Harmony dropped into the chair behind her, and closed her eyes with a sigh of relief.