A dangerous sorcerer named Felix Faust has come to Sunnydale, intent on raising an ancient demon to subjugate all of humankind. To succeed, he must perform a powerful curse to displace his enemies, transporting them from one time and place and exch...
Giles watched the ring of light spread throughout the library, encircling Marceau and the Leónes within it. The light became so bright it was nearly blinding. Giles shielded his eyes, then looked again as the light dimmed, and several figures appeared in the center of the room. Batman's silhouette was easily discerned, holding the unconscious forms of Felix Faust and the Scarecrow. Beside him appeared Xander, Willow, and ... Buffy.
"Xander!" Cordelia squealed, running to him and throwing her arms around him. He hugged her back, but with less enthusiasm. He couldn't stop thinking about Willow, and how close they had come to expressing their own feelings for each other.
Willow ran past him to the cage, where a savage wolf was rattling its bars. "Oz!" She knelt down outside the cage, wishing she could safely touch him.
Batman presented the limp forms of Felix Faust and the Scarecrow. "We've taken care of these two. Now we can send them all ..." He glanced around the room. "Where's Ethan Rayne?"
Everyone stopped to look around.
Giles soured. "Gone, as usual. He must have vanished in the confusion, the moment he saw the reversal was working."
Xander was amazed. "How did that guy get so nimble?"
"Fear gives some people the reflexes of a rabbit," Giles said as he started toward Buffy. "They spend all their time searching for an escape, or for the next opportunity, never learning to appreciate what's right in front of them."
Buffy smiled, looking ready to hug him.
Batman stepped between them, dragging the two unconscious villains across the library floor. "Giles, I'd like to have a word," he said.
"Oh. Uh ... yes, of course."
Batman turned to Buffy. "Could you find some rope to tie these two up? And get something to gag Faust with. The fewer spells he can speak, the better."
"Roger," Buffy said. "Hey, Will, could you help me with these guys?"
Will tore her attention away from Oz. "All right, sure." She moved to assist Buffy as Batman and Giles stepped into Giles' private office.
Buffy grabbed some rope from behind the reception desk and handed it to Willow. Buffy put Faust and the Scarecrow in chairs beside each other, then started tying Faust to one. "I was wondering," she said, eyeing Willow carefully. "Maybe Helena's got a point about demons and spells. I know you're learning all kinds of new things to help out. But I don't want you getting in too deep. Especially with anything dark."
"Oh, me, neither," Willow assured her. "We don't like things that are too dark. We want to stay in the light, where we can see stuff."
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Buffy tightened her lips. "I just mean ... Look what happened to Avurkana. With all her power, she thought she had control, but in the end, those demons dragged her off to Hell." She took a cloth that Willow handed her and stuffed it in Faust's mouth, knotting and gagging him with it. "I don't want you to end up like this guy, either. An ordinary joe who keeps dabbling in dark magic more and more, until one day, he's summoning demons to destroy the world. Maybe witchcraft is too dangerous. I'm not saying we get down on our knees and start praying, but maybe we need to look for other – safer – ways to fight."
