Ethan smiled at the young man as he completed the sale. He wasn't sure where the cloth had come from, but the generally poor condition of the cloth lent itself to conveying to the purchaser that he would make a fine mummy. Ethan then laughed with glee at the thought of a mummy moving about town sucking souls and spreading disease.
At the hour of Chaos, Xander Harris was no more, in his place stood someone completely unexpected. He wondered about town observing all things that he saw, contemplating the follies of those around him. He had no fear of the demons before him, nor did he hold any malice.
The smaller demons themselves ran when he got closer to them. The larger ones would come closer, out of curiosity, but would soon leave the area. A couple of vampires pressed their luck and paid the price.
Willow, as a ghost, found Angel and Cordelia who were dragging a screaming Buffy down the road toward the library. They paused long enough to stop Larry the pirate from sexually assaulting anyone.
When they did this, Spike attacked. He was overjoyed when he realized that Buffy was no longer the Slayer but an unwitting twit from the 19th-century.
While Angel fought to keep Spike at bay, Buffy fled the area. Willow followed the screaming woman for a little while but since she couldn't physically help the young woman she decided to seek out Giles and see if he could help.
Being that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, Willow passed through walls, fences and buildings in order to reduce the amount of time that it took to reach the library. One of the buildings she passed through on the way to find Giles was the magic shop that the gang had bought their costumes from. She watched as Ethan sat in front of the effigy of Chaos and chanted. It didn't take long for the young which in the making to realize that he was the orchestra of these events.
After thoroughly scaring Giles, Willow explained what was going on, including the dark mage that was most likely the cause of it.
Giles told Willow to find the others and he would "take care" of Ethan.
Willow left the library to seek out the others. She was unsure of where they had gone but spotting Spike she had an idea that he knew. So she followed the bleach-headed vamp.
Breaking into an opening in the park, Willow spotted the Master vamp and his minions closing in on Lady Buffy and Angel. Angel was seconds away from being overwhelmed by Spike and his crew. Willow wanted to cry because she knew that her friend was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it.She needed some sort of help and she got it in the form of Xander, only not Xander.
Spike's lackeys took one look at Xander and fled the area. Spike hung around, he didn't get to close but he talked to the future carpenter. "You can't be here until the end," Spike stated.
"The Chaos mage opened up an opportunity that I decided to use. After all these children shouldn't be what they currently are either."
Spike was bursting with desire to try his luck against the young man but he knew better, so he ceded this round and fled to plan for another day.
Willow stepped over to her friend and spoke to him, "Xander?"
"No Willow, I'm not Xander. I am; just using his body."
"Who are you?" Willow asked the stranger in Xander's body.
Angel answered for him, "you are The Lamb."
Willow was shocked as she looked at Angel. He was on his knees bowing to the young man. What was more shocking was the fact that Angel's skin appeared to be bubbling and he appeared to be in great pain.
Across town Giles had finished beating the information out of Ethan about how to end the spell. Grasping the statuette, Giles threw the item against the wall. When this happened the magics that held the local disturbance intact dissipated, leaving a mass of confused and upset people. Except for the man in front of Willow.
The man in Xander's body spoke softly but with authority, "my time here is at an end. It was good to walk among you again."
Buffy was coming out of the fog that she had been under as Lady Buffy. Upon becoming aware of herself again she immediately noticed two things, one; that Angel seemed to be boiling and two; that her Xander shaped friend had an eerie calmness but an underlying power that the Slayer essence could feel.
It was a power unlike any that the Slayer had ever encountered. She moved to the side of her beloved while keeping a wary eye on Xander.
"Liam, a drunken fool, turned into a vampire one drunken night. You became Angelus, the scourge of Europe. Now Angel, cursed by the Gypsies to roam the earth, knowing no peace. I think you were judged poorly. After all it wasn't you that killed those people, it was the demon Angelus. Yet still you pay the price. It is time for this torment to be over my child. In the name of my Father, I cast you out: Angelus."
With those words, Angel screamed in pain and crumpled to the ground as the demon spirit was torn from his soul and Liam was at last freed.
"You killed him," Buffy screamed kneeling over the lifeless corpse of Angel.
"No, Darla killed him all those years ago. I cast out the unclean spirit that animated his body."
With tears and her eyes Buffy continued, "it doesn't matter, he's gone."
"You have seen demons, magic and things that would fill most people with awe, yet still you have no faith," he addressed Buffy. Looking upon Angel's body he spoke to it, "Angel, hero for the light, you lie there cold on the ground, but your time here is not over. Like Lazarus I commend you to get up."
It had been over a century since he had to breathe, but Angel took his first breath like he had many hundreds of times before that dark night so many decades ago. The first words that he uttered were, "now I realize what the smog index means," he said while coughing. With a look of horror he turned to look at Xander and said, "I didn't, I mean . . . "
"Do not fear Angel, for you do not insult me or the Father."
"Thank you for my freedom," Angel said after climbing to his knees and bowing again.
"You're free of the demon, not the task that you took up. You have been left with the strength to fight the darkness."
Buffy became angry at this thought, "oh yeah, there's always a catch isn't there. Here's your life Angel, but you have to fight."
Angel grabbed Buffy's wrist and tried to pull her back, "Buffy."
"No Angel, we didn't ask for this. Why should we fight their fight?" She asked Angel.
Xander spoke, "you're right we didn't ask you. It was man that forced it upon you."
"Well, I don't want it," Buffy snapped.
"We are well aware of that. So it will no longer be your problem," he spoke softly to her.
Buffy became nervous, "what does that mean?" He ignored her and turned to Willow, who had been silent, while trying to take all of the information in.
"When he asks why, tell him I have a soft spot for people who take on other people's burdens even though they don't have to. Also tell him, I think he would make a good carpenter."
Xander stared at Willow then spoke, "OK Wills, do I have something on my face and wheeeere the hell are the kids?"
"Xander is that you?" Willow questioned, while moving closer to him.
Xander looked at his friend strangely, "of course it's me. But why do I have this feeling like I could go out and kick some serious demon ass."
Buffy's face fell when she realized what had happened.
A few hours later Giles confirmed what the others thought. Xander Harris was now the Slayer.
"Well dead boy, who used to be dead but is now alive. I've got to get a new nickname for you. Let's go kill things," he said confusing the others. Before they could raise any objections he left and Angel soon followed behind.
The next time that Buffy and Willow saw Xander and Angel, was when they came to get the girls so that they could all share the moment when Angel got to bask in the sun for the first time in over a century.
Willow asked Xander after sunup why he was being nice to Angel. Xander replied, "I now understand that what's in me helps me fight the darkness, what was in him was the darkness. I have a new respect for him. Speaking of respect, after slaying vampires, did you have these certain strong feelings Buff?" He asked the short blonde woman.
Buffy's eyes got wide at the question, while Xander just smirked.
The smirk didn't last long as Buffy leaned over and whispered into Willow's ear. Willow blushed but had a conniving grin on her face.
"Hey, no fair," Xander lamented.
Willow smiled at him and said, "all's fair in love and war."
"Miss Edith says that the Fisher of men did this to my lovely Spike. But it's OK, I hear the voices in my head all the time."
Spike said, "shut up Dru. I drove you crazy, you are not going to do the same thing to me you crazy bitch."
Then Spike said, "shut your gob you sodding wanker. Don't talk to her like that."
Then Spike said, "I made her. I'll talk to her anyway I want."
"Isn't it lovely? My two boys together forever." Dru smiled as she started to twirl about, while Spike continued to argue with himself.
"Do you think she will change her mind about fighting, master?"
"Yes and when it happens, the rest of the demon's power will go to her. Then after Willow becomes a witch the four of them will be ready to assault the Wolf, the Ram, and the Heart."
"And then my Lord?"
"Patience Gabriel. I can't tell you all of my Father's plans."
"Yes my Lord."