Nor a Borrower Be: Part 4
by Berloke
Fade in to Library. The Gang are there, looking devastated.
Willow: What're we gonna do? Giles?
Giles: I don't know
Willow: But you must have a plan or something
Giles: I don't
Willow: Well you must know a ritual or.
Giles: Not without the staff.
Willow: But you always know wh..
Giles( stands up and shouts): For God's sake stop it! I don't know what to do!
Willow goes to pieces, crying. Oz tries to comfort her.
Giles: I'm sorry Willow, but we have nothing.
Buffy: But we got the necklace. The Shield.
Giles: It's no use. It only prevents a demon from entering. Once it's in, there is nothing we can do. Without Ethan, we have no access to the staff, or the incantations we need.
Oz: But he's still gonna try steal Xander's strength. He'll be around somewhere.
Giles:No, he won't try that without the Shield. He'll be long gone by now. Xander's been turned by his demon. And Cordelia is a vampire. With the two of them working together, and no slayers, we're lost. We're just absolutely lost
He crashes down into his chair, and massages his eyes
Willow stands up
Willow: No, Goddamnit! You can sit there and be Mr Hopeless Guy, but I'm not giving up. Xander's still alive, he's still got a soul, and he can fight this thing. I'm gonna find him, and so help me God, I'm gonna drag him back to being good even if have to use a pair of pliers and blowtorch.
The door flies open and Xander and Cordelia stride in Xander has Ethan Rayne and the staff with him. Ethan has very clearly been tortured by the two of them.
Cordelia: Why, Willow, I didn't know you could talk so....dirty.
Angel and Buffy run towards them, in fighting mode. Cordy vamps, punches Buffy out, and headbutts Angel unconscious. She takes Ethan from Xander.
Giles: What are you doing here?
Xander: We found Ethan here sneaking around in the sewers. We played a little (Ethan twitches), had a few laughs, then we decided to come over, pick this up (takes the Shield), destroy it, (He tears the Shield in half, it throws off some special effects, and Xander tosses it on the table) and do a bit of reading. Maybe grab some food
Cordelia has walked over to Willow, passing Ethan to Xander. Oz jumps in her way, but she decks him with ease.
She grabs Willow and forces her head down on the broken necklace on the table, and flicks her hair off her neck.
Coredlia: Kind of a business lunch.
Giles: Cordelia, you don't want to do this.
Cordelia: What? This? (she grinds Willow's face into the necklace so hard she screams.) Or this?
She picks Willow back up and bites her. Giles runs towards her, but Xander scones Ethan's head of the wall so he's too unconscious to run away, and intercepts Giles, shoving him up against the shelves.
Giles: Xander, I know you're still in there. You can stop this now.
Xander: Shut up and watch.
Xander holds Giles face so he is forced to see Cordelia feeding..
Buffy and Angel have come round, and stand some distance away.
Buffy: He's right. Xander, look at what she's doing. It's Willow..
Xander: I said shut up! (vamps) You people make me sick. You had all this strength (crushes Giles face so hard his teeth crack. Giles screams), but you're so weak
Angel: Don't listen to it Xander. It isn't you.
Buffy: She's killing Willow! You can stop it. You know this is wrong.
Angel: I know what it's like, Xander. It's got you right now, but it's still you in there.
Giles: Xander please. You're stronger than it is. I know it.
Buffy: You have to try. Xander, I love you, I can't lose you. Please! Let her go..
Oz (from floor): Xander. I know you still love her. You always have. That has to be stronger than that thing inside your head.
Angel: He's right. Use that to get out. Do it!
Xander's vamped out face morphs briefly into something even more bestial, then becomes human.
Xander throws Giles down and grabs Cordelia off Willow. Willow falls to the ground, and Oz embraces her, shielding her from Cordy and Xander.
Cordelia snarls and turns on Xander, but he punches her clean across the table. She falls unconcious by the bookshelves
Cut to Faith's motel room. She's still sitting up in bed, hugging herself. The door knocks and she jumps out of her skin, panicking.
Faith (unsteadily): Who is it?
Joyce: It's Joyce Summers. I've come to drive you to the library You're going to get your powers back
Faith burst into to tears, relieved, and goes to open the door. Cut to later, in Joyce's car, pulling up to the school. Faith is more composed.
Faith: Mrs Summers, I'd like it if you'd didn't tell the guys that, you know.
Joyce: I understand
Cut to later, at the library. Angel, Ethan and Cordelia are tied up heavily. Willow, looking pale with a huge graze on her face, is sitting covered by a blanket. Oz has a black eye, and is tending to a blood drip going into Willow's arm. Giles and Buffy stand close together, Buffy with an evil bruise on her face, Giles with blood around his mouth, and fingerprint bruises on his cheeks. Xander is standing by himself, looking guilty as hell. The mystic circle is painted on the on the ground. Faith comes in.
Giles: Alright, now we're ready. The three of you stand in the centre of the circle. Xander, you hold the staff and walk in. That should reverse the effect. I can only hope and pray the curse is restored too.
Angel (testing his bonds): Not as much as I do. You okay, Xander?
Xander: I'm hanging on. Can we do this now?
They take their places, Buffy and Faith walk into the circle, Xander casually picks Angel and his chair up
Xander: Angel? Thanks.
Angel and Xander share a look of understanding.
Xander puts him inside the circle He gets the staff from Giles. Giles starts chanting in Incan. The circle flashes, and Xander walks in.
The weird shimmering effect passes between them. They fall unconcious. They lie on the floor and Angel's head falls forward in the chair. They all mildly vamp in and out, but then Angel gets more and more of it until he is fully vamped, and none of the others are. He unvamps, and they all come round.
Xander stands up, holding his head. He looks around at them all, tears in his eyes, then sees Willow and runs to her. Oz stands up and gets between them, ready to fight. Xander backs off, overcome by guilt.
Cordelia: God you are pathetic.
Angel: What are we going to do with her?
Giles (grimly): Give me the staff.
Cut to a minute or so later. Angel is untied, and holding Buffy. Ethan is in the circle, with the staff strapped to his hands.
Giles has Cordelia on the trolley, still tied up in the chair.
Buffy: Don't do this
Giles: Don't argue Buffy.
Buffy: Giles, this is murder.
Giles: This is justice.
Ethan: Rupert please! Come on old friend...You can't do this! Please! I didn't mean for..
He is interrupted by Oz striding up and punching him unconscious, with a growl, and the faintest hint of wolfing out. Oz nods grimly to Giles, and walks back to Willow, avoiding everyone else's eyes, and massaging his hand.
Giles pushes Cordelia into the circle. The shimmer shimmers and Ethan wakes up and vamps out.
Giles kicks Ethan's chair over, and beheads Ethan with a bloody huge axe and a seriously scary scream. It sticks in the ground and Ethan dusts.
Buffy unties Cordelia.
Cordelia stands up, looks round at the battered faces of the gang, horror dawning on her face. She looks over to Willow, who is clearly still terrified of her. Oz is staring daggers at her and Cordelia starts crying. Xander moves towards her, but she turns on him with a look of fear turning to absolute hatred, then runs off crying.
Buffy picks up the staff and shatters the orb on the floor.
Faith walks to the axe and tries to pull it out. It's stuck in the floor so hard that the handle breaks.
Cut to close-up of axehead buried in cracked floor. The symbol the axe is buried in is a picture of a man, surrounded by monsters. Wavy lines are drawn between the man and the beasts. The axe head is buried exactly in the man's heart.
Closing credits.
As the little demon guy at the ends walks across the screen, it goes "Argh, Grr"
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