By The Pricking of My Thumbs... Something Wicked This Way Comes
by Megan & Schehrezade

Chapter Three

There was a scent of burnt rubber in the air, underlaid with the sweeter scent of Jasmine and Sage.

The heavens over Sunnydale were electric with power - it was almost as if the elements knew that there would be something significant happening that evening.

Demons glanced up at the sky as they went about their business - they could sense heavy magicks being prepared for use. It was the beginnings of rituals and spell casting that usually caused the most disruption in the ether- when the powers needed to channel into magicks were gathered together.

The air was thick with it and it unsettled them all. And not just the demonic side of Sunnydale - everywhere dogs were barking in their yards and chasing imaginary intruders. Cats stalked the night with fur on end - hissing and spitting at their own shadows.

Other magic users sensed the change in the balance of the elements - and those following the White Way were untroubled by the powers being harnessed
as they were pure and their intent was not for harm but defence and protection.

But those who followed the darker side of magic were troubled; they could sense that something was about to happen, which would impact on their power. Unable to pin point it they began to scry far and wide - but it was too well cloaked.

The usually balmy Californian weather had been replaced with heavy rain and bolts of lightening. The ominous rumble of thunder filled the air as well with sonorous portents of doom as the dark magick users began casting spells to try and disrupt whatever was happening.

Something was in the air.

~@~@~

Willow slipped out of the house and tucked her coat up around her throat. She patted her pocket where she had secreted the stolen strands of flaxen hair and scurried down the path to the road.

She paused for a moment and glanced back at the innocuous house that looked like any other American suburban house - but this one was different. It had bore witness to many supernatural fights in its time. And now it housed two grieving supernatural beings - one forged from ancient mystical energy and the other a Master vampire - brought to his knees over the death of his once mortal enemy and now unrequited lost love.

Willow's tired eyes shot up to Buffy's window and she shivered at the sound of Spike's wails of grief, that had carried on, even though he was asleep. "I swear, Spike, it'll be okay - I promise." With that she turned and headed off in the direction of Spike's old lair - The Factory.



Once the scene of death and destruction of hope. Now it would play host to a more positive train of events.

Dawn peeked out from behind the curtains to check that Willow had gone before returning to the book she had stolen from Giles earlier.

She had been surprised at how easily she had been able to translate the text in the book. Dawn figured that it was some residual effect of being The Key. The teen was sitting cross-legged on her bed and scribbling rapidly on a pink notepad.



She had found the relevant spell and was now tailoring it to her and Spike’s needs. She was determined not to lose him by misspeaking a few words, and had carefully outlined the parameters of the chant. After spending time with Tara and watching her, Dawn had learned to respect magic and it’s use.



She was not gonna make a mistake by just leaping headfirst into magic – unlike Willow, she thought guiltily.

~@~@~

Willow glanced over her shoulder - she could hear footsteps and it was beginning to bug her. She stopped and slipped into a doorway and waited. After a few moments, a vampire appeared from around the corner. She was only newly risen; dirt clung to the Sunday best cloths that her family must have lovingly dressed her in. Willow watched the older maternal looking woman draw level with her and she reached for her stake hidden in the small of her back. Willow frowned when her hand came away empty. 'Oh goddess, I must have dropped it!'

Her vampiric hunter passed her and then paused in her tracks. She turned to face the door and sniffed the air. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," she hissed around a mouthful of gnarled teeth.

Willow released the breath she was holding and clasped her shaking hands in front of her in a frantic effort to calm herself. 'Where's Spike when you really need him!' Willow rolled her eyes, 'oh right, passed out from being a big weepy vamp. I am sooo gonna bite him if I get turned!'

"You looking for this, little one?" The vampire threw a stake at Willow's feet and she jumped in surprise and fell into the alleyway. Glancing up through her hair, Willow saw the motherly looking vampire smile at her - revealing her sharp incisors. "Aren't you just the cutest? Come to Mama!" The vampire took a step towards Willow and reached down to grab her hair.

"I so don't have time for this!" Willow pushed herself up and batted the vampire's hand away - her unexpected actions surprising the vamp enough that she allowed Willow to push her away. "I have a ritual to conduct and I don't have time for creepy interludes in alleys with weird vamps who want to be my Mom!" Willow propped her hands on her waist and glared at the now gaping vampire who stood in front of her.

"I'm a vampire! You should be scared of me!"

"Piffle to that, lady. I have seen scarier stuff in my science lab!" Willow shrank back and made an intricate gesture with her hands, muttered the word "Incendre," and then neatly side-stepped the now burning momma vamp and headed off down the alley.

~@~@~

The mood in the factory was rife with nerves and anticipation.

Anya and Xander were heaving what remained of the long dining table to one side. It was charred in places and burnt completely away in others.

Giles and Tara were conferring over a book as to which symbols they would use for the ritual- they had already purified the area with some cleansing chants and were now reading over the final part of the spell.



Tara knew deep down that Giles was making chitchat to distract himself from something she couldn't discern. They had already established what symbols to use and were really only waiting for Willow to return with something personal of Buffy's to use as an anchor in the spell.

Giles tried to suppress the feelings that were threatening to envelope him in a miasma of rage and sorrow. He glanced up and around the burnt out factory remembering the last time he was here. He whipped off his glasses and busied his hands by cleaning them on the front of his shirt.

"Mr Giles, are you alright?" Tara asked tentatively.

Giles smiled briefly at the sweet girl standing next to him looking up with such concern in her eyes. His smile faded as his mind filled with memories of beating Angelus around the body and head with a baseball bat; after shooting him in the shoulder with a crossbow bolt. "It's alright, Tara - this place doesn't bring back any fond memories at all."

"Oh." Tara bit her lower lip and then hesitantly reached over and patted Giles on the shoulder.

Giles sighed as he recalled Buffy's desperate pleas to him after she had managed to pull him to safety from the burning building. 'You can't leave me. I can't do this alone'.

They had both cried in each other's arms that night. Giles had sensed a change in himself from then on - once Jenny had gone from his life he had nothing else but Buffy and her mission to focus on. A part of him had died with Jenny, which would never be replaced. ‘Why did you leave me? I can’t do this alone, Buffy, all for that cuckoo Dawn who pushed you out of the nest…’

And then only a few short years later he had now lost Buffy - his surrogate daughter.

He really loathed this place and was unsure about what they were planning to do - to bring over a girl who was Buffy and yet, was not. But he knew that they had no choice. The Bot had been a sickening but useful substitute for Buffy - but now she was gone. And a part of Giles was glad; it had turned his stomach every time that vapid smile had been focused on him. Spike was right to shred her - but now they needed to find someone who would keep the balance here on the Hellmouth.

Which was why he stood here in the ruins of a place that had nothing but bad memories for all of them barring Tara and Anya. Xander and Willow had been brought here and nearly bleed to death over the bones of the Master, which had resided on the very table Xander was currently pushing to one side.

No, this was not a good place for the original Scoobies; Giles shook his head and replaced his glasses in a fluid and practiced move.

"All clear, Tara," Anya called briskly as she dusted her hands on the seat of her pants.

"Hand me some chalk and I'll start on the Aramaic bits." She nodded her thanks at Tara and knelt and began to carefully inscribe the relevant symbols for the opening of a trans-dimensional portal. Xander stood to one side and watched his secret fiancée with pride as she rapidly began to fill the area with strange calligraphy.

Giles knelt on the other side of the room and began on the Latin inscriptions that were to be used to call the other Buffy through the portal once it had been stabilized.

Tara stood to one side and began to pull out the incense burners, bowls and various other magical implements that Willow had packed. She was beginning to get nervous about the ritual and was starting to wonder if it was more than any of them could handle. She knew that both Anya and Giles were practised magic users, she was used to handling magicks as well. But Willow- in comparison to the others and herself- was a comparative novice and this troubled her.

"Hey guys!" Willow's breathless voice broke the silence that had descended on the factory as everyone went about their allotted tasks. "Wow. I nearly got chomped by a vamp on the way over here!"

Tara hurried over to Willow and ran her hands over her pale neck. "Are you okay?"

Willow nodded. "Yup, I set her on fire and escaped!" She omitted mentioning that she had managed to drop her stake at some point and quickly changed the subject before Tara could call her on using magic to destroy the vampire and not a stake. "Wow! This looks amazing!" She walked over and examined all the symbols that Giles and Anya had carefully written on the floor.

She glanced up and around the room. "Weird! It looks smaller than I remembered."

Giles rose and cleared his throat. He tucked the piece of chalk he had been using into his jacket pocket. "Willow, did you manage to get anything of Buffy's?"

"Oh yeah, here!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out Mr. Gordo, who she tossed over to the Watcher. Willow tucked her hand into her other pocket and nervously checked that the hair she had taken from Buffy's brush were still there - she had plans for them.

Giles eyed the stuffed toy and then handed it over to Tara; his eyes misted over slightly and he whipped off his glasses and began to polish them.

“This is good, Willow. I sense Buffy’s aura all over this cutie.” Tara petted the pig and then gently placed him in the centre of the circle that she had just created with some enchanted sand.



“So, do you think we are ready?” Xander stepped forward and hesitantly placed a hand on Willow’s shoulder.



She reached up and patted his hand and smiled over her shoulder at him. “I think so…Giles?”



Giles scanned the room and then nodded. “I believe we are.”



Giles was starting wonder if maybe this wasn’t the best thing to do – but when he looked over at Buffy’s friends and saw the grief that lingered in their eyes, and also now the hope- he knew that there was really no other option but to follow through. He also realised that in a sense they were offering this other Buffy a chance at life.




He also acknowledged a self-thought that had been plaguing him since the idea of bringing over another Buffy to help them fight. His adopted children would be safer with a Slayer to help. They needed more power alongside them when they more than Spike in his grief was able to give them. The Hellmouth needed a Slayer to protect it – to defend it from the demons who seemed intent on causing chaos. But alongside this, Giles also wondered if the others would be able to accept a different version of Buffy, who may look and sound like her but would also be a bird of a very different colour.



“Okay, Wills, where do we stand?” Xander clapped his hands together and rubbed them nervously.




“Umm… Xander – you and Anya on that North and South points – Tara, honey, you take East and Giles West. I’ll be in the centre and be doing the chanty stuff. Is this okay?” Willow looked over at Giles for confirmation; he nodded and smiled in encouragement.



There was a silence as they all took their places. Willow stood in the centre of the circle, clutching the book to her chest. At her feet sat the bowl containing Mr Gordo. She knelt down and carefully placed the large sunstone crystal she had been carrying with her into the bowl next to the stuffed pig. Quickly she placed a variety of other crystals around her which she was going to use to channel all the power she could draw from the others to boost hers. Looking over at the other empty circle in front of her, Willow took a deep breath.



Xander stood still, his hands hanging at his sides as he watched Willow prepare to cast the portal spell. He caught Anya’s eyes and gave her a nervous grin that was returned by his girl.



Tara and Giles stood opposite each other, ready to cast their part of the ritual – the summoning. Tara was chewing her lower lip nervously, while Giles stood straight and calmly smiled at her – trying to reassure the blonde Wiccan.



“Ready?” Willow’s voice brought the other’s attention to her and their murmured assent was all she needed.



”I call on the Powers for their help.



This humble supplicant asks for their assistance to open that which we need.”



Unbeknownst to Willow, as she began to chant, Dawn was beginning her own spell on the other side of Sunnydale.



Tara, Giles, Xander and Anya felt a slight tug at their minds as the crystals began to glow, and an eerie light began to fill the warehouse. Minutes passed as Willow continued to call for assistance and gradually the circle in front of her began to shimmer with a blue light.



The portal was beginning to open.



Outside a rumble of thunder filled the ether as the power both Willow and Dawn channeled interacted with the sky. A massive crack of lightening hit the ground and the earth shook for a brief moment.



Willow’s eyes flashed silver as she began to whisper the stabilising aspect of the ritual and the portal shimmered once and then solidified.



Xander and Anya were both starting to feel their strength weakening and they struggled to stay upright. Sweat poured down Xander’s face as he gritted his teeth; of all of them he had no magical powers and felt the strain the most.



Willow raised her hands – this was the signal for Tara and Giles to begin their summoning.



Tara took a deep breath as Giles clasped his hands in front of him.



Their voices were low but filled with strength and determination.



”We call on Buffy Anne Summers – warrior of the people – defender of the innocent and helpless. Come to us, we call on the Slayer, not of our dimension, not of our world bring her to us. Come to us …come to us”



There was a slight disturbance in the portal and a slender form began to appear in the shimmering blue circle – it was small and gradually began to solidify as Tara and Giles continued the summoning ritual.



Willow’s body was taut with effort as she used her own and the two other’s strength to keep the portal open. This was the vital part of the spell and she needed to stay strong. Crackles of electricity sparked from her fingers and arched over to make contact with Anya and Xander.



For a brief moment, images appeared in the portal of the alternate universe – but none of them saw as they were absorbed in the ritual.



For a second, the Master and his two-favoured Childer appeared.



Outside, the storm reached its zenith and the rain was sheeting down.



Then, an image of Angel lying beaten and tortured in his cell.



Another crack of lightening hit the factory roof and it shook briefly and then stopped.



For a brief second, a flash of Oz and Larry appeared as they fought in the factory.



And then the room filled with a bright white light and a massive clap of thunder signaled the completion of the ritual.



~@~@~



Everyone scrambled to their feet and peered anxiously over at the huddled form that lay on the floor where the portal had appeared.



Giles hesitantly walked over, followed by Xander and Anya. Xander paused by Mr. Gordo and swept him up and tucked him away in his pocket.



Tara went over and pulled Willow into her arms. “You okay, sweetie?”



Willow buried her face in Tara’s neck and nodded tiredly. “Did it work?”



“Ohhh man, what the hell just happened?”



Everyone jumped at the familiar sound of Buffy’s voice – something that they had all missed for so long, and now she was here.



Willow and Tara rushed over and joined the others and stared in surprise at the diminutive blonde that had shakily risen to her feet.



She was dressed in olive green combat trousers and a tight fitting t-shirt, while heavy work boots completed the look. Her hair hung in a long braid down her back and swung slightly as she looked up.



Willow and Xander gasped at the sight of the horrific scar that ran across Buffy’s full mouth. Anya cocked her head and curiously appraised the newcomer – for once she kept her frank comments to herself. Tara stared at the small woman and frowned at the muddy aura around her – this Buffy had suffered a lot and was much harder than theirs had been.



“Where am I?” Buffy demanded as her hand reached into her jacket and pulled out a stake. Before she could say anything more, she wavered and then collapsed into Giles’s arms.



“Right. Well, I wasn’t expecting her to collapse…” Giles carefully cradled the small girl against him and glanced over at Willow. “I imagine that us calling her here has tired her out.”



“Maybe we should get her home and make her comfortable?” Tara interjected.



“Great idea, Sweetie.” Willow leant tiredly against Tara. “I could do with some shut eye too…”



With that they left the factory, their success in the ritual pushing aside any thoughts of clearing up after themselves. After all, they had what they wanted and the ritual was a complete success.



As was the spell across town.


~@~@~



A faint flicker of light emanated from the circle where Buffy had appeared and then it began to flash wildly. Instead of being a solid blue as before, there were streaks of emerald green running across it.



The crystals that lay in position still shimmered with stored power and flared for a brief moment and then exploded – their power spent.



The three figures that had appeared as the crystals had flared were showered in a hail of shining motes of crystal.



“Well, that was unexpected,” the tallest figure muttered.



“Not so bored now!” The female vampire stepped forward and examined the empty factory curiously.



“Wow – you step out for a bite of Cordy and the house gets messed up by freakass graffiti artists!” Xander stepped up next to his leather-clad girl and wrapped his arm around her waist.



“Children…Children – something is different here. I think this is definitely not our home.” The bat faced vampire stepped out of the circle and stared curiously at the symbols written on the floor.


Xander slid into his game face and sniffed the air. “Sure aren’t in Kansas anymore, Wills…”

To be continued