It was a routine patrol.
Xander and Spike were bickering about what video to watch afterward.
"Blair Witch Project," Xander insisted. "Scariest ever..."
"Please!" Spike rolled his eyes. "Can't hold a candle to Psycho- or ANY Hitchcock film."
Buffy looked back laughing..."Why does it have to be a scary movie? Don't we get enough horrors on the hellmouth? I vote for a comedy! What do you say, Willow?"
"Um....maybe a romance?" Willow suggested timidly, thinking of Oz. Soon the Dingoes would be finished playing, and he'd be joining them at Buffy's house.
To her secret amusement, the other three looked more terrified than any horror movie could ever make them. Willow grinned. "Heyyy, let's finish the sweep- and catch Fabrienne before we select the video."
"Yeah, Chief Witch and Bottlewasher won't be too thrilled that we wiped out her coven. How many were there?" Xander asked.
"Ten..." Buffy began...then her entire body stiffened and she fell to the ground. Spike managed to catch her while Willow screamed and Xander cursed.
"Buffy!" he yelled. "Buffy?"
"She's unconscious..." Spike said hoarsely.
"And unconscious she'll stay."
Fabrienne materialized out of the darkness, making no effort to escape. "All my brave followers....gone into limbo! No way out...but SHE will be joining them. She'll sleep forever.... as will I."
Her head fell back as she lost consciousness; and the witch disappeared, fading into a thin whisper of mist.
"Guys!" Xander said frantically. "Buffy's not breathing!"
She was, but very lightly; and her face was almost as pale as marble.
"It's a sleep spell," Giles pronounced, studying Buffy carefully. "If we don't break it soon, she'll fall deeper and deeper into sleep, until she is no longer able to awaken!"
"How much time have we got?" Oz asked.
"Until dawn; that's when the wards are weakest."
"But how do we break the bloody thing?" demanded Spike.
Giles frowned. "You say ten witches were in that coven you destroyed? There is one sure way; but there's so little time..."
"Well, there won't be more time if you're babbling away half the night," Spike retorted impatiently. "Tell us what we have to do!"
Giles sighed. "The spell is rather unusual. We need ten people, and each must claim a life from the coven. When all the lives are accounted for, the spell is broken."
"That's no problem." Xander said firmly.
"Claiming a life from the coven results in immense pain,Xander. If the claimant attempts to stop the pain by leaving the magic circle prematurely...then it will kill Buffy outright."
Xander winced. "So- we need ten people who can suffer excruciating pain for Buffy...."
"And- they must sincerely love her," Giles said gently. "If anyone tries making the claim who does not- he will die on the spot."
"Wow." Oz shook his head. "Any other conditions?"
"One more. The ten claims must be made before sunrise; and they must be entirely voluntary. We cannot ask or coerce anyone to make the claim."
"What? Then how do we get ten people before sunrise?" Xander was appalled.
"The Internet!" Willow said excitedly. "I'll send out a message to anyone who knows Buffy Summers and ...loves her."
"There's not enough time," Spike said roughly.
Giles just looked at him. "There has to be."
Because the claims had to be made in private, they chose the courtyard of the former high school- virtually the only part of the area that remained intact. Giles drew the large circle and carefully scattered the herbs.
"I put word out," Willow told them. "Explained the whole thing. But I'm afraid, what if we don't get ten people, or one of them breaks the circle, or.."
"We'll get ten people," Oz said gently. "Ten people who love Buffy enough to suffer for her."
Giles bit his lip. "The suffering will be intense, I'm afraid. But it's Buffy's only chance."
"I don't believe that." Willow lifted her chin. "I'm going to look for another spell, just in case!"
"I claim a life from the coven." The middle-aged man in tweed had researched the ritual carefully. The claim must be made, the reason given. So now he added, "She is the most important person in my life."
He cried out in agony as the spell began; but he never stirred. Ripper was there too...and Ripper knew how to stand pain. And when at last he left the circle, he knew that at least one of the ten had succeeded.
Her red hair was bright enough to glimmer in the light from the moon. She knelt fearlessly in the center,and said "I claim a life from the coven, for my friend, dearer than any sister could ever be."
The white-hot bolt shooting through her body made her scream and scream...but so certain was she of her victory that she managed a smile as she crawled weakly from the site.
The dark-haired young man made sure she'd left before he stepped forward in his turn. "I'm here for Buffy because...she's my friend, but she is so much more than that. I love Buffy, and so I claim a life from the coven."
He'd known the pain would be bad; but not like this. Not...like...this. But he waited; and when he walked away, he held his head up proudly.
Joyce came then... "For my beloved daughter," she said simply. She sobbed aloud, but never faltered. "Childbirth hurts too," she murmured.
The moon drifted behind a cloud...when it shone out again, a blond vampire stood erect in the circle. For him this was a fearsome place; forcing him to face what he'd always refused to admit to anyone, not even himself. Making the claim was easy, but stating the reason....
"I...think I love her. I know I need her; and I ...don't need anyone."
The torture made him hiss but left him standing; and afterward he melted swiftly into the darkness.
When he was gone, Oz moved resolutely into position. "I claim a life from the coven. I love her for the courage in her eyes, and the warmth in her heart, and the music in her soul." The pain battered him to his knees; but he took it.
His van had no sooner driven away than a slim girl hurried forward. "I claim a life from the coven," she said clearly. "Buffy Summers showed me how to live...to be brave enough to face anything, even my own mortality."
She yelled and whimpered; and almost moved to the edge... but then she remembered that she'd run once before, run like a coward from her terror of the ascension - and that had cost her not only her self-respect but also the respect of the man she loved. She waited it out...before staggering away.
Another took her place. "Buffy gave me my youth back," she said softly. "Gave me my father back...helped me in so many ways. I want to claim a life from the coven."
This one was used to magic, and she endured.
The short chubby dark boy was just as direct. "Buffy saved my life; so I figure it's hers. If this kills me or something, it's fair...I claim a life from the coven."
His entire body jerked; and he made animal-like noises as he writhed on the ground, but still he stayed in the circle as long as necessary.
The sky was beginning to lighten...a fast car on the road from L.A. screeched to a halt; and two people emerged.
The dark, brooding vampire took the steps running. "For Buffy," he said. "My love."
The resultant pain was nothing to one who'd withstood the torments of hell.
The stunning brunette made a face as she glided into the circle. "I don't know why I'm doing this. I'm sure Buffy already has enough people and this is a waste of my time; but anyway...IloveherandsoIclaimalifefromthecoven."
She didn't hold back on her screams...they made her own ears ring for days later...but she never once attempted to leave the circle.
"Well, I just hope Buffy appreciates this," she panted, as the dark man eased her back into the car.
They gathered at the house on Revello Drive, watching Buffy as she slept...Joyce and Giles in the doorway; Willow and Oz kneeling at the foot of the bed; Xander sitting at the desk; and Spike positioned carefully inside the open closet.
"Think there were enough?" Xander asked abruptly.
"I don't know," Willow said dully. She'd failed to find another cure; and that failure made her heart ache even more than her body had.
"It's almost dawn," Giles said softly.
A rosy finger slid across the sky; Joyce hurried to pull the shades, glancing anxiously at Spike.
The vampire scarcely seemed aware of the lightening horizen; his eyes were fixed on the tiny blonde in the bed.
There was a collective sigh; and the assembly seemed to brace...
Sea-blue eyes opened slowly; and Buffy sat up.
"Hey, guys....so, what video did you get?"