Buffy was bone weary. She hadn't been exactly open to Joyce's small questions and she had sidestepped all of the direct ones. She had eaten, showered and washed the color rinse out of her hair so that it was back to a pale blond. Now she was resting in her bed with Mr. Gordo, her stuffed pig, hugged tightly to her chest. Her mother thought the whole vampire slayer thing was some sort of mental breakdown and Buffy hadn't the heart to show her all the weapons and take her to Giles. She just insisted she was tired and went to bed.

She sighed and glanced at the clock. It was after five in the evening and she still hadn't slept at all. She heard the phone ring and her mom coming up the stairs. "Buffy, hon?" Joyce poked her head in. "Willow is on the phone. Do you feel like talking?"

Buffy sat up and nodded her head. She grabbed her cordless phone and clicked it on. "Thanks, Mom. I got it." She waited until her mother hung up. "Hey Will. What's up?"

"Giles told me not to bother you and to let you rest but I had to make sure you really are back and stuff. Oh Buffy, I missed you so much."

"It's okay, Willow. You aren't bothering me at all and I am back. For good." Buffy looked at the claddagh ring on her hand. One that she had not taken off since it happened. "Willow, how bad is this ritual thing?"

On her end, Willow cringed, wishing she had waited about calling. She didn't know how to answer the question. "Well uhm..."she stammered. "It's a ritual. Just like all rituals are rituals."

Buffy grinned a little. "That bad, huh?"

Willow made a small grunt of confirmation into the phone.

"Well..that figures. Tell you what. I'm gonna get ready and head to the library. I'm not accomplishing anything here." They said their goodbyes and Buffy put the phone back on her desk. She stood up and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She still had dark circles under her eyes and was pale. She shrugged and pulled on some worn out jeans and a tank top. She tied her Nikes and jotted down the stairs. She quickly explained to her mom that she had been invited to a "Welcome Home" type thing and she was going to make an appearance and hang with friends. Joyce reluctantly agreed to let her go.

Giles glanced at Whistler who was sitting in a corner of the library. "How did you get in here?"

"You know better than to ask me stuff like that." Whistler smiled and took a sandwich from his bag. "Want some?"

"No. Thank you." Giles returned his attention to the book in his hand. "So, we know that we have all the ingredients to open Acathla back up. Slayer, rings, the ritual chant and the strength to close it back up, but if we have these things...then Druscilla might have her own."

"What did I tell you last night?" Whistler asked through a bite of his dinner. "You have the ring! Buffy will have the ring. DruVamp won't have it."

"But what if.." Giles looked at Whistler.

"Don't say it." Whistler wiped his mouth. "Don't say it Giles, cause we both know what happens if Dru gets him out. Dru gets what she wanted. Which is Angelus."

"But if he had his soul restored.." Giles said.

"Giles, what's a soul?" Whistler didn't let him answer. "What's a demon? In hell, Angelus is on his own and Angel is a dead guy with a soul but still a vampire. Angelus is damned to hell every single time Angel gets cursed. Now they are both in there. And Dru ain't gonna be asking Angel out."

"They are two seperate beings?" Giles sat down.

"Yes. Angelus is in his demonic form. Angel is still a vampire but somewhat human. They are two very different beings. If DruVamp gets it opened first...Angelus will be the one summoned and he can posess. But keep in mind that if Angelus comes out..he has to posess a human corpse within fifteen minutes..you know the drill." Whistler chewed another bite and let Giles digest all that in. Whistler wiped his mouth again and added. "We can't let that happen. If Angelus gets out then Angel won't."

Giles was about to add to that when the door opened and Buffy came in. He stood up and greeted her. "Buffy, you look so much better. Are you feeling alright?"

Buffy looked past Giles and sneered at Whistler. "I was. What's he doing here?"

"You two know each other?" The Watcher glanced from one to the other.

"Unfortunately." Buffy looked at Giles and crossed her arms. "It's because of him that I had to kill Angel."

"Correction, blondie." Whistler picked up his trash and tossed it in the garbage. "It's because of YOU that you had to kill Angel. But he ain't dead. I've been reading up on some of the stuff you've done in Giles' journal. You seem like a good Slayer. I've seen better though. You have to be ready for this."

Buffy looked at Whistler and then looked at Giles and said, "Can I kill him now?"

Giles laughed a little and shook his head no. "If it hadn't been for Whistler's help I never would have figured this out."

"We can send a thank you card." She glanced at Whistler again. "Good-bye."

"I ain't leaving." Whistler walked to stand in her face. "Angel is a friend of mine. I know how to be a friend and there is alot on the line right now. You need help. It's going down tonight."

Before Buffy could object, Willow and the rest of the Scooby Gang walked into the library. Xander looked from Buffy to Whistler and said, "I can not feel the love in this room."

Oz headed straight for the laptop and began punching the keys. Willow looked at Giles who was studying Oz curiously, "He is checking on the moon. The man on the radio said the full moon starts tonight instead of tomorrow."

Cordelia glanced at Whistler and then said. "Surrounded by freaks. I'm *so* not into this whole world savage gig today."

Druscilla heard the cars pull up. She had dozed off and on but kept waking up to check on the statue. She stepped further into the shadows and ran her toungue over her pointy teeth. She was hungry. She wanted to bite the pretty brunette first. The one called Cordelia. She watched from the corner as all of the pretty people filed in.

Spike glanced at his watch again. For the thirtieth time. Only half an hour left of sunlight. He was right under the mansion. He felt it. He felt Druscilla. He could also feel the energy of the hellmouth. It pulsed like a heartbeat. Spike was chilled. The power here was far greater than anything he could have imagined. It terrified him and it mesmerized him. He reached into his pocket for a cigarette and remembered that he had lost them. "Son of a bitch." he muttered and shoved his hands in his pockets waiting for the night.

Giles wanted details. He wanted Buffy to tell him word by word, step by step, play by play..what had happened. She was not in the mood. She looked at the statue and then at Giles and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Giles, let's just do this. Okay? If we can get him out then let's not wait. I can't imagine what he thinks of me right now. What's first?"

"Well," Giles opened a bag and pulled out a thick book. "By the time we get set up the sun will be set. Look over these words that you have to say. Commit them to memory. When the spell begins to work you should be able to say them without thinking..but you need to know them."

Buffy hefted the book and glanced at the words. There was only about ten...lines. "Giles, this is impossible! I can't learn all this."

Whistler stepped up and popped a piece of gum in his mouth. "If you want Angel out of there you will learn it and you will stop bitchin'."

Buffy flopped on the floor to recite the lines over and over in her mind. Giles tapped her on the shoulder and held out a chain. Buffy looked confused and took it in her hand. On the end of it was a claddagh ring. She looked up quizzically at Giles. "Who's is this?"

"It's Angel's." Giles knelt beside her. "You have to have a common worldly possession. You both have this. Well, he doesn't have his. But you are going to throw it into the hellmouth and then you will be able to put your arm in there..the one with the claddagh ring on it. He'll come to you. You'll feel him. When you have a grip on him. PULL."

"What else is in there?" Buffy said slowly.

"You don't wanna know." Whistler walked past her and began to draw symbols on the ground in front of and around the statue.

"Buffy," Giles tapped the book. "go on and read. And have no worries. Nothing but Angel will be able to touch you. The ring."

Willow strained to pull the bag of sand into the room where Acathla was. Her eyes widened as she looked at it. Acathla was an ugly thing. There was a sword protruding out of it's stomach and she walked up and touched it. "OUCH!" she said. "That thing burned me."

Whistler glanced at Willow. "Don't touch that, Red. Only certain people can touch it. Evil people."

"I nominate Cordelia then." Xander said. "She'll crack that sucker wide open and never even feel a singe!"

Cordelia punched Xander in the arm. "I'm not evil."

"Let's get busy, people." Whistler clapped his hands together.