For notes and disclaimer see part one:
 
Giles glanced at his watch for the twelfth time in as many minutes and sighed heavily. Come on, come on, come on, he thought, one of you come back and give me some good news. His feet were tapping out a complex rhythm on the floor and his eyes were darting around the shop. Giles felt full of energy, unable to sit still and certainly not able to concentrate on the open book in front of him. A complete change from this morning, thought Giles, when I had no energy at all. This was obviously the effect of having two people like Anya and Buffy standing by me, believing in me. God, I feel good, he thought, I feel like … like … dancing! Giles sprang to his feet, knocking his chair over in his haste. Executing a perfect yet complex two-step he was at the other end of the shop in seconds. Not bad, he thought to himself, but boring … I need something a bit livelier. A smile of delight lit up his face and he bounded across the shop, reaching out and sweeping everything off the counter. Leaping up onto the polished surface, he began to tap dance along the counter, the complicated steps he was employing punctuated with the occasional spin or leap. This is much better, he thought, jumping from the counter and continuing to tap dance his way around the shop. He was on his second circuit when he stopped suddenly, breathing heavily and frowning to himself. What was the name of the dance I liked? The one from that musical, he thought. I know, he grinned, the Timewarp … from Rocky Horror … now how did it go again? Was it step to the right and jump to the left or vice versa? Giles broke into song, dancing a very wobbly version of the Timewarp when his foot caught in the overturned chair and sent him to floor. He landed with an audible thud and then started giggling. That was bracing, he thought, much better than looking through dusty books …what was I looking for anyway? Oh yes, the new magic shop chap … something strange about him …ohhh, has he done what I think he's done? Giles giggled again, sitting up. So, you’re playing with spells are you? First of all, you make me depressed and lethargic and now this … what don’t you want me to see? Oh well, my turn with the spells, he thought, must regain equilibrium. Leaping to his feet, he scanned the spell ingredients, choosing various items and juggling across to the table with them. Now, he thought, looking down at the table, how did that spell go again?

Buffy bit her lip and frowned, hands on hips. Where could they be? She'd tried everywhere she could think of but to no avail. She sighed, heading for the University. Get the nerdy guys working then try and find Willow again, she thought. Buffy smiled to herself as her thoughts turned once more to Giles. I can't get him out of my head … wait a minute, isn't that a song? Sure sign that you've got it bad, she thought ruefully, when you link him to songs. Okay, let's sort this out … do I really love Giles? Course I do … but here's the biggie: am I IN love with him? Buffy grinned, well, I've sure got all the signs. Warm fuzzies, sweaty palms, heart pounding so fast it feels like it's gonna burst out of my chest whenever I'm near him and, of course, the dreams. Oh boy, those dreams.

"Buffy!"

Buffy looked up in annoyance, ready to give a piece of her mind to whoever had interrupted her pleasant train of thought. Her face cleared and she grinned suddenly.

"Willow! Tara!" Buffy exclaimed with relief. "Am I glad to see you … I've been looking for you two everywhere!"

"Why?" Asked Willow tonelessly and Buffy sighed. Jeez, she thought, talk about snippy.

"I wanted to apologise for earlier …" Buffy broke off as Willow and Tara both took a step forward, fixing Buffy with a penetrating gaze. She couldn’t tear her eyes away, she was transfixed, pinned, totally unable to move. All rational thought disappeared, she just wanted to lose herself in the swirling colours before her. She didn’t feel Willow and Tara gripping her arms, didn’t feel herself being propelled along. All Buffy could see were the colours, which she watched with all the fascination and wonder of a child.

Giles sighed with relief and dropped into the chair. He felt bone-achingly tired, wanting nothing more than to rest his head on the table and go to sleep. I may be tired, he thought, but at least I’m back to normal. What a strange sensation that was ... it was almost like being drunk. Why would he do something like that? Giles glanced up as the door was thrown open and Anya ran inside, slamming the door behind her. Giles winced and stood up, slightly shakily.

"Giles …" Anya began then she stopped, frowning. "You look terrible."

"Yes, thank you very much," replied Giles testily, putting his hands on his hips. "Now, what’s …"

"Xander’s missing," interrupted Anya. "I went to meet him and he wasn’t there. His boss said two girls had come earlier … one had red hair."

"Willow," sighed Giles, "which means that Buffy’s probably in trouble as well."

"What are we going to do?" Anya started pacing. "We have to find Xander!"

"Anya," replied Giles, trying to stifle a yawn, "you have to calm down."

"Calm down?!" She screeched. "Xander and Buffy are missing, Willow and Tara are weird, you look like you’re dead on your feet and you tell me to calm down?!"

"Anya!" Giles snapped. "This isn’t helping. Now, he cast a spell on me … made me feel full of energy, euphoric, almost like I was drunk."

"Great," replied Anya, "we really need a ‘full of energy’ you. So what did you do?"

"Cast a spell to neutralise the effects."

"Why?"

"Well … because I couldn’t concentrate on anything, couldn’t hold a thought in my head for any length of time … I would have been worse than useless."

"And you’re not now?"

Giles glared at Anya who took a step backwards. She’d heard about his infamous "Ripper" glare but this was the first time she’d experienced it.

"If I hadn’t neutralised the effects of the spell, I would have burnt myself out, collapsed and probably died," Giles replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So, what do we do?" Anya asked uncomfortably, tearing her eyes away from the force of the look he was giving her.

"I want to have a look in that shop," replied Giles, heading for the door. "Fancy a little breaking and entering?"

"What if he’s still there?"

"If the shop’s still open then we go right on in by the front door. If it’s closed then we sneak around the back … I think it’s time we found out what we’re dealing with here."

Hutchings fixed the manacle to Tara’s wrist and then stepped back, smiling at his handiwork.

"Four little humans chained to a wall," Hutchings giggled. He raised an eyebrow and walked across to Buffy. Bending over, he peered up at her, frowning slightly.

"Are you back with us, my dear?" He asked softly, smiling as she groaned and lifted her head. She opened her eyes, glancing around groggily before frowning at the figure in front of her.

"What … who are you?"

"Excellent," replied Hutchings. "You do recover quickly, don’t you?"

"Are they alright?" Buffy gazed at the three unconscious figures chained beside her.

"At the moment, yes," replied Hutchings, grinning as he saw Buffy flexing her muscles. "Oh do please try to escape … the chains are quite strong, but it will be interesting to see how they fare against the strength of a Slayer … and it’s not likely you’d get out of this room, anyway."

Giles and Anya crept quietly to the back of "Hocus Pocus", searching for a way in. Giles winced inwardly, certain that the echo of their footsteps could be heard for miles around. His blood was pounding in his ears and he moved slowly and surely, the tiredness making his limbs ache. Locating a window high up in the wall, Giles started to look for something to stand on when he froze suddenly. He could hear voices … one of them sounded like Buffy. Indicating to Anya, Giles pressed himself against the wall, straining to hear.

"You’re not the threat, my dear," he heard. "You may be the Slayer but it’s not you."

"It’s Giles, isn’t it?" Buffy sounded angry, defiant and Giles couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face.

"Past tense, my dear … it WAS your Mr Giles. He’s not strong enough to defeat me now."

"Don’t bet on it."

The chuckle that followed Buffy’s statement caused Anya to shudder and Giles reached out, gently squeezing her shoulder in reassurance.

"Enough talk of Mr Giles. He doesn’t matter anymore … soon, he’ll be the last thing on your mind."

"What do you mean?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from alongside Giles as Anya recognised Xander’s voice. Giles quickly covered her mouth with his hand, glaring at her.

"You’ll have other things to think about … pain, terror, death, that kind of thing."

"Why? What is all this about?"

"Oh, it’s quite simple, my dear. It’s what I live on. I didn’t just pick you randomly, you know. You have all been through so much pain, so much death … I can feel it pulsing within you. Every bit of pain you relive, every death you experience again, will feed me, nourish me, make me stronger … would you like a little demonstration before the main event?"

There was a brief pause before an agonised groan reached them.

"Come on, my dear, don’t resist. You’ll only cause yourself more pain … that’s it … remember facing the Master … remember dying."

A rattle of chains and then a scream cut through the night. Giles clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to rush in and tear Richard Hutchings apart. No, he told himself, calm down. He could feel his nails digging into his palms and the sudden pain cleared his mind. He took a deep breath and then grabbed Anya’s arm, propelling her quickly back to the Magic Box.

"What did you do that for?" Anya was furious. "Why didn’t we just go in and get them?"

"Because I know what he is," replied Giles wearily, "and he’s right … I’m not strong enough to defeat him."

 

****to be continued*****