HOW DO YOU KNOW THE WORDS?

[ 6.07 ]

The entire gang was already gathered in the Magic Box when Buffy walked in for the day. Willow and Tara were over by the counter while Anya and Teddy were restocking some of the shelves. Giles was reading at the table while Kitty and Xander were eating donuts — they had to be purchased from the bakery now that Kitty had been fired.

But that was okay because she was busy putting a pink pair of laces on the new shoes she had to wear at work. All the new job entailed was sitting at the counter, getting people the size shoes they wanted, and then spraying them with some kind of cleaner once they returned the bowling shoes. The perks weren't nearly as good as the free pastries from the bakery, but she did get to bowl for free twice a month, which Xander was very stoked about.

"Good morning, Buffy," Giles greeted brightly as she walked into the shop.

"Oh, hey, did Dawn get off to school all right?" Willow asked her.

"What?" Buffy asked, seeming a bit distracted. "Oh, uh, yeah. I think so."

Kitty looked up from her laces to watch Xander with a smile. He was making his pastries battle it out on a plate. "Respect the cruller. And tame the donut!"

"That's still funny, sweetie," Anya said, patting his shoulder while en route to the counter.

"So, uh, no research? Nothing going on? Monsters or whatnot?" Buffy asked. Giles simply shook his head while reaching for a donut. "Good! Good. Uh, so, did anybody... uh, last night, you know, did anybody, um... burst into song?"

Everyone stared at Buffy for a moment, taking in what she said. Then everyone came over, all talking over each other.

"Merciful Zeus!" Xander exclaimed.

"We thought it was just us!" Willow said, nodding to Tara.

"Well, I sang but I had my guitar at the apartment," Giles admitted.

"Me, Willy, and a few of the guys had a little barbershop quartet thing going on," Teddy said, grinning at the memory.

"It was bizarre," Tara went on. "We were talking and then it was like—"

"Like you were in a musical!" Buffy said, relieved that she wasn't the only one.

"Yeah!"

"That would explain the huge backing orchestra I couldn't see and the synchronized dancing from the neighbors through the window," Giles muttered with a frown.

"We did a whole duet about dishwashing," Willow revealed.

"And we were arguing and, and then everything rhymed and there were harmonies and the dance with coconuts," Anya added.

"There was an entire verse about the couscous," Willow said.

"It was very disturbing," Xander said, shaking his head.

"Kitty, what about you?" Teddy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I didn't sing," she said, tilting her head. "But Spike did. How come we didn't get a duet like all of you?"

"Spike sang?" Xander asked, chuckling. "Please, god, tell me all about it."

Kitty bit the inside of her cheek, knowing he didn't really want to know. "I think I should just keep it to myself."

"Oh, no! I need ammunition and blackmail to hold over his head. Please, oh, please tell me it was an embarrassing and dramatic rock ballad," he said eagerly.

"Well, he was talking about things he... wanted to do to me... then he sang about the things... while doing... said things."

As she spoke, Xander's delighted grin slipped away as his brain was forced to think about that. "You should've kept that to yourself," he muttered, pushing his donuts away.

Giles rubbed his forehead, also not wanting to think about Spike singing while having his way with Kitty. He looked pointedly at Buffy. "What did you sing about?"

"I don't remember," Buffy lied. "But i-it seemed perfectly normal."

"But disturbing," Xander said. "And not the natural order of things, and do you think it'll happen again?"

"I don't know," Giles said, shrugging. "I should look into it."

"With the books," Willow said.

"Do we have any books on this?" Tara then asked. It certainly wasn't anything they'd ever heard about.

"Well, we just gotta break it down," Xander said. "Look at the factors before it happens again. Because I for one—"

"I've got a theory that it's a demon," Giles suddenly sang. It put a smile on Kitty's face as music sounded from nowhere. "A dancing demon!"

"No, something isn't right there," Teddy sang, moving to Giles' side.

Then Willow joined in. "I've got a theory. Some kid is dreamin' and we're all stuck inside his wacky Broadway nightmare." Tara did jazz hands behind her.

"I've got a theory we should work this out," Xander sang.

All at the same time, Anya, Tara, Willow, and Xander sang. "It's getting eerie, what's this cheery singing all about?"

Xander jumped up suddenly. "It could be witches! Some evil witches!" Then he spotted the looks on Willow and Tara's faces. "Which is ridiculous, 'cause witches, they were persecuted. Wicca good and love the earth and woman power and I'll be over here."

"I've got a theory! It could be bunnies!" Anya sang suddenly. They all stared at her in silence and crickets literally chirped.

"I've got a—"

Tara was cut off as the tune changed and a frantic, hard-rock beat filled the air. There was a roving spotlight that waved around Anya as she banged her head crazily while singing. "Bunnies aren't just cute like everybody supposes! They've got them hoppy legs and twitchy little noses! And what's with all the carrots? What do they need such good eyesight for anyway? Bunnies! Bunnies! It must be bunnies!"

Fireworks went off all around Anya, and then the smoke slowly cleared away. Everyone stared blankly at Anya, who then went back to the original melody. "Or maybe midgets."

"This is the best day of my fucking life," Kitty whispered with a huge grin on her face at the huge production. Then she frowned and tilted her head. "Why didn't I sing that?"

Willow quickly sat down beside Giles and opened a book, continuing to sing. "I've got a theory. We should work this fast."

Teddy and Giles then sang in unison. "Because it clearly could get serious before it's passed." Giles got up to go check the books in the loft.

"I've got a theory. It doesn't matter," Buffy sang softly. They all turned to look at her, not understanding. "What can't we face if we're together? What's in this place that we can't weather? Apocalypse? We've all been there. The same old trips. Why should we care?"

They all — sans Kitty — sang together. "What can't we do if we get in it? We'll work it through within a minute. We have to try. We'll pay the price. It's do or die."

"Hey, I've died twice," Buffy sang, making them all smile.

"What can't we face if we're together?"

As they all sang, Giles went off on his own descant. "What can't we face—"

"What's in this place that we can't weather?"

"—if we're together."

"There's nothing we can't face."

Anya sat at the table. "Except for bunnies."

Then the soft music faded out and the singing stopped. They all looked around, thoroughly bothered.

"See, okay, that was disturbing," Xander said, taking a seat again.

"I thought it was neat," Willow admitted.

"Yeah, neat! Why didn't I get to sing?" Kitty asked, crossing her arms and pouting. "Teddy, how'd you know the words. Give me the words! I wanna sing too!"

Teddy could only shrug. "I don't know. I just knew. Don't know why you didn't know."

"So, what is it?" Buffy asked. "What's causing it?"

"I thought it didn't matter," Giles said to her.

"Well, I'm not exactly quaking in my stylish yet affordable boots, but there's definitely something unnatural going on here. And that doesn't usually lead to hugs and puppies," she said.

"Well, is it just us?" Anya asked. "I mean, is it only happening to us? 'Cause, that would probably mean a spell or—"

Anya stopped as Buffy went to the door and opened it. The sound of singing hit their ears, and it seemed everyone on Main Street joined in. A man was holding up his dry cleaning bag.

"They got the mustard out! They got the mustard out!"

Buffy turned back to the others, closing the door. "It's not just us."

"Well, that's good about the mustard," Kitty said, smiling. "Maybe I'll get to sing at work today!"

♡︎

"I can't believe four group numbers broke out at the bowling alley and I didn't know a single damn note," Kitty muttered, dropping into a chair at the table in the shop. She'd just returned from the day shift to see what kind of progress the group made, which wasn't much.

"Sorry, sis," Teddy said, patting her shoulder as he passed. This was kind of Kitty's ideal demon, and she was missing out on all the singing for whatever reason.

Then Dawn came into the shop wearing a huge grin. "Oh my god. You will never believe what happened at school today," she said excitedly.

"Everybody started singing and dancing?" Buffy asked flatly.

Dawn looked disappointed that they guessed her news. "I gave birth to a pterodactyl," she said sarcastically.

"Oh my god, did it sing?" Anya asked, her eyes wide.

"So, you guys too, huh?" Dawn asked, walking closer.

"Not all of us," Kitty mumbled.

"What'd you sing about, Dawnster?" Teddy asked, grinning from Kitty's annoyance.

"Math," she said, sighing.

"Math?" Kitty asked in disbelief. "I have so many complex emotions and fun thoughts to sing about, but a whole musical number was wasted on math? There's nothing even interesting about math."

Willow was whispering away in Tara's ear, who suddenly spoke loudly. "Tha - that's right! The, the volume. The text."

"What text?" Giles asked, looking at her.

"The volume-y text. You know? The, the—" Willow mumbled over the word so that they couldn't understand. "—report."

"The what now?" Xander asked.

"Oh, there's just a few volumes back at the house that deal with mystical chants, bacchanals," Tara explained. "It might be relevant."

"Yeah, we could, um—"

"Well, I'm a hair's breadth from investigating bunnies at the moment, so I'm open to anything," Giles said, rubbing his forehead.

"Great, we'll, uh, go check it out, and uh, we'll give you a call," Willow said, grabbing Tara's hand and getting up.

"Yeah, this could blow the whole thing wide open," Tara said, a grin on her face as they rushed out.

Kitty watched them leave, giggling with each other. She shared a look with Teddy after they were gone. "They're totally going to sing and smash."

"Totally," he agreed.

Then Kitty sighed heavily and laid her head on the table. "Seriously, though. Anya got her bunny Alanis Morisette vibe song. I could totally sing about raccoons with that same fear and anger!"

♡︎

"If you sing or dance, I'm gonna break up with you."

"What?" Spike asked in disbelief, his eyes wide. Then he let out an airy laugh. "Didn't like the little show last night?"

Kitty came over to his crypt after the shop closed up. And of course, not one musical note had left her lips, not counting times when she hummed already existing songs to herself to try and feel included.

"No, I really liked the show," Kitty admitted, not even embarrassed by it. In fact, she'd thought a lot about Spike singing a slow and loving rock ballad about how much he needed her and loved her before proving that by worshiping her body all night. "No complaints on that."

"So, what's the deal with threatening to break up with me?" he asked, raising an amused eyebrow.

Kitty sighed and threw herself down in his armchair. "I wanna sing too! I already sing all the time, so why can't I have magical lyrics and dance moves put in my head? It's not fair," she whined.

"I'm sure you'll squeeze in a song before the Slayer fixes all this," he said, coming up behind her and rubbing her shoulders.

"I'm gonna sue," Kitty declared.

Spike snorted. "You're gonna sue? Who?"

"That better be a regular accidental rhyme and not a song," she said, turning her head to cut her eyes at him. "I'm gonna sue the demon or witch responsible, that's who. Or cut their head off. We'll see how it goes."

"Right, well, I hated bursting into song, so I'll back you up however it goes," he told her. "Seriously. I've seen some damn funny things in the last two days. A six hundred pound Chirago demon making like Yma Sumac? That one will stay with you—"

"I'm gonna die!" Teddy exclaimed, bursting into the crypt. He didn't care about interrupting as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Or, if I don't die, I'm gonna run away. LA is nice. I'll join Angel Investigations. That's what I'll do—"

"Teddy," Kitty interrupted, looking at him pointedly. "Why are you dying?"

Teddy swallowed thickly as he turned to her. He was short of breath like he'd just run there to find her — or finished a dance number. "I sang a song."

"Oh, I don't wanna hear it," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Start a boyband with Spike, Giles, and Xander."

"I sang a song to Buffy," Teddy clarified. "Like, no filter, from my heart, things she definitely wasn't meant to know. That kind of song."

"Oh my god," Kitty said, sitting straighter.

"What? So, Slayer knows you've got a crush on her?" Spike asked, not seeing the big deal. "Pretty much everyone's picked up on that — way before she even kicked the bucket."

The two Cupids ignored Spike though. Teddy sat on the coffin and put his head in his hands. "There was stuff about how it hurt to look at her each day, and that part of me wished I never met her, and that I wish she'd never use me as a shoulder to cry on ever again because it was too hard," he admitted, shame washing over him. Then Teddy looked up to meet Kitty's gaze. "She knows the real reason I was banished. Which, as if that wasn't bad enough, there was a rapping portion."

"Oh," Kitty said, her eyes wide. "What, uh, how'd she react?"

"She ran away."

"Shit."

"Then I tried to run after her and explain with words but tripped and fell in an open grave."

"Oh, shit."

"Yeah. Oh, shit."

♡︎

The next day — another day of no songs for Kitty, who was getting more bitter — Giles was in the back room of the shop with Buffy. Kitty was there too, just sitting on the couch and lazily watching while Buffy worked out. Understandably, Teddy wasn't joining her for the day.

"I feel like I should bow, or have honor or something," Buffy said after she finished kicking a wooden board in half.

"Yes, do that," Kitty said while tossing some popcorn in her mouth. "That'd be very entertaining for me."

Giles rolled his eyes. "It may seem hokey, but we need to work on precision and concentration as much as power. We're still not sure what we're facing."

"Oh, you'll figure it out," Buffy said while stretching her leg out on the vaulting horse. "I'm just worried this whole session's gonna turn into some training montage from an eighties movie."

"Ah. Well, if we hear any inspirational power chords, we'll just lie down until they go away," he said. Though Buffy's comment about letting him handle it made him frown. "Anyway, I don't think we need to work that much on your strength."

"Yeah, I'm pretty spry for a corpse." Kitty looked to see Buffy doing a handstand effortlessly.

"Have you spoken to Dawn about that incident at Halloween?" Giles then asked her. That night, instead of disciplining her, Buffy asked Giles to do it.

Buffy got down from the horse and frowned. "Oh. I thought you took care of that."

"Right," he said softly.

Buffy was oblivious to his change of mood. "What would I do without you?" she asked, finishing her stretches. Giles looked skeptical as he walked to the set of knives on the display case. "Okay. I'm ready."

Kitty suddenly heard the soft strumming of a guitar and perked up. But she perked right back down when she realized the song was for Giles and not her.

"You're not ready for the world outside You keep pretending, but you just can't hide. I know I said that I'd be standing by your side, but I..."

"Well, this is a sad song," Kitty muttered. Giles was throwing small knives at Buffy, who dodged them easily. It was almost like she didn't hear him singing either.

"Your path's unbeaten and it's all uphill, and you can meet it, but you never will. And I'm the reason that you're standing still, but I... I wish I could say the right words to lead you through this land."

"Oh, woah! She's in slow motion!" Kitty exclaimed, jumping off the couch. She watched as the scene changed around, and Buffy ended up on the other side of the room, doing a split. "It is a training montage!"

"Wish I could play the father and take you by the hand," Giles sang, reaching out to Buffy. "Wish I could stay here, but now I understand. I'm standing in the way."

As Giles kept singing while Buffy exercised in the background, Kitty's mood fell even worse. He was going to leave again, she realized. Because if he stayed, he'd keep doing everything for Buffy, and she'd never reach her full potential — as a Slayer and parent to Dawn.

Buffy's training session then ended and she slowly walked past Giles, back toward the main room. Giles sang all the while, and Kitty followed him sadly.

"I'm just standing in the way," he finished singing.

As soon as the music cut out, Buffy looked at Giles, now back at regular speed. "Did you just say something?"

As they entered the magic shop portion, the music cut in once more. While Buffy moved over to Willow, Giles stood in the doorway with Kitty watching him.

"Believe me, I don't wanna go," Giles sang.

Then another voice joined in. Kitty looked at the loft and saw Tara singing while staring down at Willow with a heartbroken look in her eyes. "And it'll grieve me 'cause I love you so. But we both know."

"Is this a reprise?" Kitty asked. "Am I the only one hearing the song this time?"

But Kitty was ignored as Giles and Tara sang their duet, both moving toward the table. "Wish I could say the right words to lead you through this land. Wish I could play the father and take you by the hand. And I just—"

"Wish I could trust that it was just this once, but I must do what I must." Kitty was starting to realize something bad was going on between Willow and Tara. "I can't adjust to this disgust. We're done and I just—"

"Wish I could stay," they sang in unison. "Wish I could stay. Wish I could stay. Wish I could stay."

"Well, I'm depressed now," Kitty mumbled as the music died out.

Then the bell above the door rang, and Spike and Teddy burst in, shoving some kind of demon with a huge, wooden head like a ventriloquist doll.

"Lookie lookie what we found," Spike announced.

"Is-is this the demon guy?" Tara asked.

Willow looked at Tara happily, who she hadn't even noticed arrived. "Tara!" But Tara just ignored her and walked over to the others, upsetting Willow.

"Works for him," Teddy clarified. "Was on the way back from a shift and found him."

"Has a nice little story for the Slayer, don't you? Come on, then," Spike said, shoving the minion forward. "Sing."

Music swelled up dramatically as if to introduce a big musical that would no doubt annoy Kitty, but then the minion just spoke in a normal voice. "My master has the Slayer's sister hostage at the Bronze because she summoned him, and at midnight, he's going to take her to the underworld to be his queen."

"But she's fifteen," Kitty said, grimacing.

"What does he want?" Giles asked.

The minion indicated Buffy. "Her."

Spike scoffed. "If that's all you've got to say, then—" He tried to grab the minion and kill him, but he broke free and ran off, surprising him. The minion was strong enough that he probably could've escaped Spike and Teddy at any point on the way there. "—Strong. Someday he'll be a real boy." It made Kitty smile, and she moved to stand by him.

"So. Dawn's in trouble. Must be Tuesday," Buffy said, not looking particularly worried.

"I-I just left her for a few minutes," Tara said, not wanting Buffy to get mad at her.

"Oh, it's not your fault," she assured her. "So what's the plan?"

"Plan, schman," Xander muttered. "Let's mount up."

"No," Giles said suddenly. They all looked at him, surprised by the decision.

"Uh, Dawn may have had the wrong idea in summoning this creature, but I've seen some of these underworld child bride deals and, and they never end well," Anya said nervously. "Well, maybe once."

"We're not just gonna stay here," Willow said.

"Yes, we are," Giles said firmly. "Buffy's going alone."

Teddy, who wasn't there for Giles' song like Kitty, shook his head. "Giles, you can't be serious."

"Quite," he said, looking at Buffy.

"A little confusion spell could—"

Tara sharply cut Willow's offer off, raising her voice. "No!" Then she spoke in a quieter tone. "I mean, I don't think it'll help."

"Look, Buffy, I've got your back," Teddy told her softly. "You're not going alone."

Buffy tilted her head as she looked at him. "I thought you wanted me to stay away from you? Stop coming to you. Isn't that what you sang?"

"Fine," Teddy said, shaking his head. "You wanna try and save Dawn all on your own, fine by me. Maybe you'll get what you want and end up dead again." Teddy turned and stormed out of the shop, missing all the confused looks on everyone's faces.

"Wh - what did he—"

Buffy ignored Willow and turned to Giles. "You're really not coming?"

He set his jaw and walked up to her. "It's up to you, Buffy."

"What do you expect me to do?" she asked, clearly upset. As if she hadn't been doing this for years.

"Your best."

♡︎

No one felt good about letting Buffy go after this demon on her own. There was a lot of underlying tension in the group as they waited around the shop. Tara and Willow wouldn't even look at each other. Spike couldn't get much out of Kitty, who was thinking too much about Teddy's problem with Buffy and also Giles' problem with Buffy. She didn't like seeing her family upset.

And then the singing started up again, the gang joining some song that Buffy was singing on the other side of town.

"Will this do a thing to change her? Am I leaving Dawn in danger? Is my slayer too far gone to care?" Giles sang, doubting himself.

"What if Buffy can't defeat it?" Xander went on.

"Beady Eyes is right, we're needed!" Anya joined in. "Or we could just sit around and glare."

Everyone got up in sync and moved toward the door, all singing. Even Spike. Kitty sat a moment later and watched in disbelief. "I hate it here," she grumbled before following quickly, grabbing a weapon in the process since none of them thought to.

"We'll see it through. It's what we're always here to do. So we will walk through the fire."

Then all their voices began to overlap as they walked across Sunnydale.

"What can't we face if we're together?" Tara sang softly. "Everything is turning out so dark."

"She came from the grave much graver," Anya sang.

"I think this line's mostly filler," Willow sang with a frown.

"Oh, come on!" Kitty exclaimed, wishing she got a line.

"What's it gonna take to strike a spark?" Giles sang.

"And we are caught in the fire," they all sang together. "The point of no return. So we will walk through the fire and let it burn. Let it burn. Let it burn Let it burn!"

Kitty turned to see multiple fire trucks pass behind them at the lyrics about burning, and she wondered if that was the spell's doing. When the song came to an end, she huffed and crossed her arms childishly.

"I don't wanna hear another fucking peep on the way to the Bronze," she grumbled.

And there wasn't one, mostly because everyone was in too horrible a mood to speak. As it turned out, this whole singing your inner thoughts deal wasn't very fun for most of them.

When the group finally reached the Bronze, the side door was already kicked open. Buffy was in the middle of the dance floor, finishing up a fight with the demon's minions while also singing. And Dawn was up on the stage in a chair next to the demon. He had a twisted face with red skin and pointed features, and was dressed in a purple zoot suit.

"So hard all day to be like other girls. To fit in in this glittering world," Buffy sang. "Don't give me songs."

"She needs backup," Giles said without singing.

Kitty's feet were glued to the ground like a force was keeping her from rushing to the dance floor. Anya and Tara took up positions behind Buffy, ready to be backup dancers and singers. As Buffy went on, they added melodic 'ahh's. The three moved in sync, swaying their hips.

"Don't give me songs. Give me something to sing about. I need something to sing about."

Then a hard-rock beat dropped and they danced to it for a moment. Kitty scoffed and shook her head. "They get a whole dance break? Unbelievable."

Then the ballad returned and Buffy continued to sing. And they all listened to the very revealing lyrics as she moved closer to the stage where the demon was.

"Still my friends don't know why I ignore the million things or more I should be dancing for. All the joy life sends — family and friends — all the twists and bends, knowing that it ends. Well, that depends on if they let you go. On if they know enough to know that when you've bowed, you leave the crowd."

The demon motioned for Buffy to come closer, eating up every painstaking word that she sang. "There was no pain, no fear, no doubt 'till they pulled me out of heaven." They all looked at Buffy in surprise and horror at the revelation. "So, that's my refrain. I live in hell, 'cause I've been expelled from heaven. I think I was in heaven. So give me something to sing about. Please, give me something."

As Buffy looked at him almost desperately, the demon shook his head at Buffy. She then turned and flipped off the stage onto the floor. That same hard tune from before returned and she began to dance, getting faster and faster. No one knew what to do as she spun wildly, smoke beginning to come from her, like she was about to explode. There'd been reports of people combusting since this whole thing began, and it seemed it was due to dancing.

But suddenly she was forced to stop as Teddy appeared and grabbed her upper arms. She looked at him with a horribly unhappy look — like she wanted to explode.

"Life's not a song," Teddy sang softly, a frown on his face. "Life isn't bliss. Life is just this. It's living." He carefully brushed some hair back from her face. "You'll get along. The pain that you feel, you only can heal by living. You have to go one living."

Dawn stood with tears in her eyes and repeated what Buffy had said to her just before dying. "The hardest thing in this world is to live in it."

Buffy looked at her sister tearfully before looking back at Teddy as the song came to an end with a few chords. But then the demon applauded and stood.

"Now that was a show-stopping number. Not quite the fireworks that I was looking for," he said.

"I'll give you some fireworks," Kitty said, still a bit bitter as she moved toward the stage. Spike grabbed her shoulder to keep her in place.

"Get out of here," Willow ordered the demon, more angry at herself than him.

He eyed her carefully. "Mm, I smell power. I guess the little missus and I should be on our way." Dawn backed away in fear and fell back in her chair.

"That's never going to happen," Giles said.

The demon chuckled. "I don't make the rules. She summoned me."

"I so did not!" Dawn insisted. "He keeps saying that."

"You have my talisman on, sweet thing," he said, reaching to touch the necklace she was wearing.

She cringed back in fear and looked at the others nervously, not wanting them to know she stole it off the counter. "Oh, but, no, I, I, um, uh, this, at, at the Magic Box, on the floor, I was, I was cleaning, and I forgot — but I didn't summon anything."

"Well now, that's a twist," the demon said, tilting his head.

"If it was in the shop, then one of us probably..." Giles trailed off and looked at them all.

Reluctantly, Kitty raised her hand while looking down and dragging her toe across the ground. Spike scoffed and looked at her in disbelief — they'd all put up with her whining the last two days only to learn it was all her fault anyway.

"Kitty!" Xander said in disbelief. As if it wasn't totally something he'd also do on accident.

"Well, I didn't know what was gonna happen!" Kitty insisted, taking a step back from all their judging stares. "I just thought there were gonna be dances and songs. But then I didn't even get a fucking song, and now everyone's fighting, and Buffy wants to be dead, and - and - and I just like musicals, okay? I thought everything would work out."

The demon chuckled, getting their attention. "I think everything worked out just fine," he said, slowly coming down the steps of the stage and eyeing Kitty.

She swallowed nervously and eyed the demon as he got closer. "Does this mean that I have to... be your queen?" she asked nervously.

"Oh, over my already dead body," Spike said, scoffing. "Sod off—"

The demon boldly put up a hand to silence Spike, who glared at him. He continued to watch Kitty, inspecting her. "You are quite tempting," he said. "Certainly beautiful enough to be my bride."

"Will I get to sing a song?" Kitty asked, plastering a hopeful smile on her face.

"Kitty!" Spike hissed in disbelief.

Once the demon was close enough, he reached out to brush her cheek with a clawed hand. "Any song your little heart wants—"

Kitty moved quickly, swinging the ax in her hand that nearly everyone forgot she had. She swung it at his neck but wasn't quite strong enough to behead him. However, the demon dropped, and she lifted the ax to hit him once more, getting green blood splattered on her.

"Woah," Xander breathed out, his eyes wide. "You're really pissed about not getting a song."

Kitty dropped the ax and blew a strand of hair out of her eye before turning to smile at the group. "Now, I'm not one for violence, but I feel much better."

"I'll say," Spike said, glancing at the demon's body. "I see you decided that was more effective than a lawsuit."

"Sorry for, uh, summoning that guy on accident and then playing dumb and then complaining so much," Kitty said sheepishly to the others. "But man, am I glad that's over."

Except it wasn't.

"Where do we go from here?" Dawn began to sing as they all looked at each other.

"Where do we go from here?" Teddy and Buffy sang, avoiding looking at each other.

"The battle's done and we kind of won," Giles sang. Then Tara joined in. "So we sound our victory cheer. Where do we go from here?"

Xander and Anya looked at each other. "Why is the path unclear when we know home is near?"

They all moved to stand in a line, side-by-side. Kitty rolled her eyes. "How do you know the words? I killed him!" Spike simply shook his head and led her out of the Bronze by her hand, knowing there was nothing that would make her feel better until the singing stopped.

"Understand we'll go hand in hand," the others continued to sing, joining hands. "But we'll walk alone in fear." They all released and walked off in different directions.

"Tell me!" Giles went on dramatically.

"Where do we go from here? When does the end appear?"

Teddy, realizing that the demon wasn't actually making them sing anymore, sighed and walked off mid-song. The song continued as he left the Bronze and started toward the sidewalk. But someone came after him.

"Hey," Buffy called, making him stop.

"You should go back inside," Teddy said, glancing at her. "Finish the big group number. I'm sure it's very moving. Kitty will be jealous you're passing on it."

"I don't want to," she said quietly.

Teddy smiled sadly at the ground. "That's probably the first thing you've decided you wanted since coming back."

"Theo..."

"Look, you don't have to say anything," he said, shaking his head.

"I touch the fire and it freezes me," Buffy began to sing, surprising him. She began moving toward him. "This isn't real, but I just want to feel. You can make me feel—"

"No," Teddy interrupted, speaking firmly. He took a step back. "God, you just said it wasn't real. And - and that's okay. You don't have to feel the same way, but don't just make a move to try and force a feeling. I'm not gonna... abandon you or hate you for not loving me back. But just don't lie to me. Don't give me hope when there isn't any — not now at least."

Maybe there was something between them before Buffy died, but things were different now. She was different. And Teddy didn't want her to kiss him recklessly in an attempt to get those old human emotions back only to regret it when the morning came. He couldn't handle that.

"Theo," Buffy said, looking away. "I'm... sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," he told her. "But don't be out here with me. Dawn's probably still scared, especially after your big reveal. Right now, just be Buffy and be there for Dawn. You two are what matter. Not me."

"You're a good guy," she whispered. Guilt consumed her, knowing good and well that she was planning to use Teddy rashly. "Too good for me."

♡︎

"I am sorry you didn't get your song, love," Spike said to Kitty. They were back in his crypt on the lower level. "But maybe it was payback for the whole summoning the demon responsible thing."

"It's hardly my fault," she said, shrugging. "I didn't know what it did until after I started messing with it. Honestly, it's a miracle we've gone this long without me making mistakes in the shop. I don't know what eighty percent of the merchandise does."

"I'd suggest trying to learn, but I like the chaos that comes with you not knowing," he said, chuckling. Spike wrapped an arm around her and leaned his chin on her head.

"I'm pretty sure I accidentally caused our group to implode internally all for a chance to sing about how much I love you," Kitty said, sighing into his chest.

Spike chuckled again, not actually caring about the gang potentially imploding as long as Kitty wasn't hurt in the mix. "Well, let's hear all about how much you love me. It's the least I deserve."

"I can't live without you," Kitty said, beginning on the second verse of the Ramones' song. Spike grinned as she began to sway them to the beat. "I love everything about you. I can't help it if I feel this way. Oh, I'm so glad I found you. I want my arms around you." She slipped her arms under his coat and around his waist to hug him better. "I love to hear you call my name. Oh, tell me that you feel, tell me that you feel, tell me that you feel the same. Baby, I love you, come on baby. Baby, I love you. Baby, I love, I love only you."

"See?" he asked, raising the scarred eyebrow. "Didn't need no demon to do that."

"I guess," she said, smiling. "I'm still extremely jealous of the dramatic orchestra that was playing while you were going down on me. It added a lot to the experience."