The Key

"You know what we should do?" Spike asked before they got to Buffy's. "What's that?" Layla asked. "We should move out of here. You have done what you needed to do. Buffy is safe. The world is safe. We should just get outta here," he said. "Where would you suggest we go?" she asked. "How about LA? I have friends in Los Angeles. We could move there and start a brand new life over," he said. He sounded convincing. "You have friends in the city of lost angels?" she asked. "I know. Ironic, isn't it?" he said. "After we make sure this new threat is not more than Buffy can handle by herself we will go," she said. "Really?" he said smiling. "Yes. We can move there and start over as William and Olivia Devlin," she said. "You would take my last name?" he asked looking at her. "Of course silly. We have already performed the vampire mating ritual. So that makes me yours and you mine. Why wouldn't I take your last name?" she asked. He picked her up and twirled her around. "I love you Olivia Devlin," he said his heart swelling with pride. They kissed and walked into Buffy's house.

Xander was still repairing the wall. He saw Spike enter the house. "Come to break something else?" Xander asked. "No. Sorry about that," Spike said. Layla came in behind Spike. "Oh hey Layla. I didn't know you were coming over," Xander said his mood lifting. "I didn't either. It was sort of a spur of the moment thing," she said. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Great. Spike nursed me back to health," she said looking at Spike. "Where's Buffy?" Spike asked. "She went out on patrol. Is something wrong?" he asked putting down his tools. "No. It's just a hunch," Layla said. "And Giles?" she asked. "He has seemed to have disappeared. No one knows where he went off to and he left his packed bag out by the back door," Xander said. "Good riddance," Spike said. Layla went over to the bag and touched it. She got a vision. "He was definitely leaving but he never left," she said. Spike walked over to her deciding whether or not to pull her hand from the bag. She seemed fine so he let her continue. "Where did he go?" Xander asked. Layla pulled her hand back and touched her head at the spot where Giles had been hit. It felt sore. She winced from the pain. "He was leaving out the back. He thought I was dead so he was going to move back to England. As he walked out something hit him on the back of the head," she said. 'And you felt it?' Spike asked. She shook her head yes. He took her hands and pulled her away from the bag. 'I don't want you touching anything else,' he said to her. 'That is going to be kind of hard,' she told him. "Could you two please speak out loud? When you do that it makes me think that you are talking about me," Xander said. "Sorry," Layla apologized. "Do you know where he was taken?" Spike asked. "No. After he blacked out my vision did also," she said. "Maybe Buffy will find him. She said as she was patrolling she would look for him," Xander said. The front door flew open and a girl fell in. "Help me," she said collapsing. She had cuts all over her body and her clothes were torn. Spike ran over to her, picked her up, and put her on the couch. "She's a slayer," he said smelling the sweetness all slayers have in their blood. Layla knelt in front of the couch. The girl grabbed Layla's arm. "They are after us. We have been called to Sunnydale and they know it," she babbled. "Who knows it?" Xander asked. The girl spit up blood trying to answer. "Sh," Layla told the girl. Layla pulled her arm free and ran her hands over the girls body. Layla saw the girls insides in her mind. "She has been badly beaten. Nothing in here is where it should be. It was the robed creatures that got to her," she said. "Robed creatures?" Xander asked. "Tell you later," Spike said. Layla's hands and necklace grew warm. She was drawing power from the necklace. Her hands illuminated. She slowly ran her hands all around the girls body. The girl had passed out from the pain. The blood on the girl dried up and the cuts closed up. Layla had healed her. When Layla backed away she was breathing heavily. Spike steadied her. "Are you alright luv?" he asked. "Yes. That just took more out of me than I thought it would," she said. "How do you do that?" Xander asked. "I have no idea," Layla replied. "You are probably still tired from earlier," he told her. "Probably," she said absentmindedly.

Buffy and Dawn walked into the open front door. "What are you trying to do invite in all of the demons in town?" Buffy asked as she closed the door. She saw Layla and Spike standing there and a girl she had never seen before sleeping on her couch. "What is going on here?" she asked. Dawn went into the kitchen. They had told Buffy the entire story. Starting from when Layla and Spike saw the men in the robes to Giles being hit in the head. "So what could it be?" she asked. "I know my slayer intuition had been acting up earlier," Buffy said. 'I guess we are putting off our move to LA,' Layla thought to Spike. 'Soon,' he replied putting his arm around her waist. Layla put her hand on Spike's. Buffy left the living room and headed for the kitchen. Layla followed her. "I can't believe this. From one dilemma to another. When will it end," Buffy said. "I don't know but things have to get better. All of this doom and gloom has to be for a reason," Layla said trying to comfort her cousin. "What do you think happened to Giles? Where could he be?" Layla asked. "I don't know. Andrew was the only one home when he went missing," Buffy said. "I think I will go and ask him a few questions," Layla said. "Go ahead and try. I asked him a few earlier. He just run off," Buffy said. "Yeah but you didn't have the gift," Layla said rubbing her fingertips together. She thought about going through the living room to the basement but decided not to. Spike would only try to stop her from getting information. She instead went through the back door to the garage. She touched the door to get into the basement and got a vision.

*Leave me alone. I won't do it - Andrew said.
Oh but you will. I can make you a better person. I can make you more of a man - an evil voice hissed. *

Layla felt Andrew give into the voice and the voice took possession of Andrew's body. She removed her hand as she saw what happened to Giles. Andrew opened the basement door and saw Layla standing there. "You killed Giles?" she said. Andrew started fidgeting. "I didn't mean to. I didn't know that is what he wanted to do. You have to believe me," he said. "You should have known better than to be messing with something you can't control. I have to go and tell the others," she said. He grabbed her arm. "No, you can't," he said. "Yes, I can and I will," Layla said pulling her arm free. This time she didn't even bother going through the kitchen. She walked through the garage door to the living room. The girl was awake and sitting up on the couch talking to the group. Layla walked through to the kitchen, looking at Buffy. Buffy followed her. Spike went in behind Buffy. He wanted to know where Layla had been. "He did it," Layla said before looking to see who was in the kitchen with her. "Who did what?" Spike asked. Layla turned and looked at him. She might as well tell him too. Buffy stood there. "I knew it but how?" she asked. "Andrew killed Giles," she told Spike filling him in. "I hope he told you because I told you not to touch anything. Didn't I?" he said to Layla. Layla's cheeks flushed. He was actually getting on to her in front of Buffy. "I asked her to do it," Buffy said taking the blame. Spike sighed. "Don't do it again. At least not without me there, okay?" he asked. "Okay," she said agreeing with him. She looked back at Buffy. "Andrew wasn't Andrew when he killed Giles. He had been in the basement all day doing some sort of ritual when a demon's voice entered his head. It promised to make him less afraid if he would give it control of his body. He did. It is the one that knocked Giles on the head. It took him to the basement of the school and there it killed him," Layla said remembering all she saw. "Why the basement of the school?" Xander asked coming into the room. He had be listening from the other side of the door. "The hell mouth," Spike said. Buffy eyes widened. She hadn't thought of that. "Did it succeed?" she asked Layla. Layla looked from Buffy to Xander and then at Spike. "Yes," she said. Spike slammed his fist into the wall creating another hole. "Hey," Xander squealed at him. Buffy sat down. "What now?" she asked her head in her hands. "There is still hope," Layla said. "Andrew didn't finish the ritual. The seal was broken but not opened completely," she added. "The creature that took control of Andrew is waiting on the other side. He is trying to gather up enough bad guys to help him break the seal completely," Layla said. "But he will never be able to do it," Andrew said entering the room. "What are you talking about?" Spike said grabbing Andrew's shirt by the collar. Layla put her hand on Spike's arm and he released Andrew. "Only I can finish opening the seal. I started it and I would have to finish it," he said. "Good then we will not let you finish," Xander said. "But you don't see. The creatures on the other side can still control beings on this side. They can get us to do their evil. So I will have to finish it," he said. Spike went to grab him again but Andrew ran around to the other side of the kitchen. "We just need to find a way to seal the thing back up," Buffy said standing. "Or destroy it completely," Layla said. Everyone looked at her. "In my vision I felt that this thing knew all about the seal. He knew how to open it. Maybe he knows how to destroy it completely," she said. "And just who is going to get this information out of him?" Xander asked praying it would not be him. Spike was staring at Layla. She never took her eyes off of his. "No," was all he told her. "But I have to. It isn't safe for anyone else in here to do it," she said. "It isn't safe for you to do it either," he said. She went to open her mouth to protest but her interrupted her. "No and that is final," he said. She would find a way to get to the school without Spike knowing about it. "Spike's right, Layla. None of us are strong enough to go and have a conversation with this thing. We will just find another way," Buffy said leaving the room. Andrew ran out the back. Xander went back to working on the wall. "Come on. We need to be heading back to the apartment. Sunrise is coming soon," Spike said. He was still angry with Layla for even thinking about doing it. He left out the door and she followed.