“That’s the Queen of the Teplir,” Willow answered, mustering up her strength, though still leaning heavily on Xander, and rising to her feet. “We took her as a souvenir. She’s the one taking all the souls.”

“She looks…” Wesley began, looking over the still form of Saria.

“Human,” Tara finished. “She is.”

“Bloody Hell,” Spike groaned.

“This whole thing just gets weirder and weirder,” Gunn muttered.

Fred stood up. “We need rope.”

“For her,” Xander corrected, tilting his head towards Saria. “For a mightily pissed off Slayer and Dead-Boy? We need chains.” As an after thought he added, “With magic locks.”

“Regular will have to do for now…I’m tapped,” Willow told him as he led her to a chair.

“Sit. Both of you. We’ll handle this.” He walked to the back of the store. “Giles left his weapons trunk. There’re chains in it.” He ducked into the training room.

Spike and Wesley followed Xander, dragging Angel by his arms. Cordelia and Anya managed Buffy. Dawn, Fred and Gunn remained with Tara and Willow until the rest of them returned.

“Six sets of chains between the two of them should hold them…for about fifteen minutes,” Xander quipped, walking back into the main part of the shop. “We’ve so got to figure out something quick.”

Gunn and Xander lifted Saria up and onto a chair and secured her with rope. “Damn…who did that to her face?” Gunn asked, eyeing the now swollen and purple cheek and the blood dried on her lip.

“Buffy,” Willow told him. “After she wrestled her away from Angel. I mean Angelus.”

“What’s wrong with my sister?” Dawn asked. “What happened there?”

Quickly Tara and Willow took turns going over the events that had unfolded. “So now Buffy’s mostly Slayer, no Buffy, and Angel’s purely Angelus.”

“Nothing like a trip to Sunnydale,” Cordelia moaned. “Ok. This is easy. We just do the curse again, right? Curse Angel and return his soul to him? And that’ll work on Buffy, too, won’t it? Willow, you guys have to have one of those orbs and the noxious herbs around here…I call herbs again!” She grinned. “I’m good at the herbs. Done it twice now.”

“Um…” Wesley began, looking hesitant. “I’m not entirely sure that’s true.”

“What part? That Cordy’s not all Julia Child when it comes to recursing?” Gunn asked.

“No…I’m not entirely sure the recursing will work.”

“Why?” Dawn demanded.

Wesley removed his glasses and began pacing around the room. “You see…the curse used to restore Angel’s soul was specific. It could only be returned to him via the methods it was removed -- through the Orb of Thesulah. In this matter, I believe that trying to recurse him that way will be useless. They will need to be resouled using alternate means. If there is a method for removing a soul, there has to be a counter measure to restore it.”

“So you’re sayin’ until her highness wakes up here, and we can make with the interrogation, we’re stuck,” Gunn surmised.

“Pretty much,” Wesley admitted, looking defeated.

Dawn stamped her foot. “Fine.” Crossing over to the sleeping Queen she lifted her lolling head up and began not-so-lightly slapping her face. “Wake up! Hey! You! Queen! Wake up!”

“Dawnie,” Tara murmured as Saria’s began to stir.

“Wake up!” Dawn ordered again, and the Queen’s lids fluttered, then opened, and she found herself under the angry scrutiny of ice blue eyes.

“Wha--?” she mumbled, wincing at the pain from moving her jaw. Looking up she took in her new surroundings, and the mob of unhappy looking people.

“Hi. What did you do to my sister?” Dawn demanded, her hands clenching the arm rests of Saria’s chair as she leaned in, nose to nose.

“Your who?”

“My sister. Buffy. The Slayer. You took her, Willow and Tara brought her back, and they say you’re to blame for it.”

“I--”

“Come on! Out with it!” Dawn cried, frustrated.

Xander placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her back. “Dawn. Back off a bit, okay?” he requested softly.

Dawn stared at the Queen a moment more before allowing herself to be moved back.

Wesley moved in instead and spoke to her very calmly, his voice quite low, but very deadly. “I’ve no doubt you’re tired and confused, but unfortunately, we don’t have the time to wait for your recovery, your Highness. Our witches brought you back with them, and we need answers.” He took a step closer. “Now, please.”

“Answers for what?” Saria asked, trying desperately to control the panic in her voice.

Wesley tilted his head, examining her, and noting the fear in her eyes. “The soul-restoration. Angelus and Buffy will get their souls back. And you will be the one to tell us how.”

“That is impossible!” the Queen gasped. “It cannot be done!”

“It can’t? Or you won’t?” Wesley countered.

She stared wildly at them, from person to person, almost pleadingly. She was going to receive no mercy with this group, she realized. Her jaw snapped shut and her chin set. “It’s never been done.”

Gunn rolled his eyes. “This is ridiculous. She’s not going to tell us.”

Wesley smiled at him benignly. “I think she will. She’s here. Her people are on their own plane. Even if they attempted to locate her, we’ll be ready. You’ve seen them. Angel and Buffy have seen them. They’re no match for us. And once Willow and Tara regain their strengths, I’m sure a protection spell can be built around the shop. And until then…well…it’s not as if any of us have never cast a spell.”

Spike, quiet up until now, caught on. “She’ll talk all right,” he agreed, cocking his head to the side and blowing smoke into her face. “We got all sorts of folks here tonight, don’t we? Consider yourself lucky, bit. It’s a special engagement.” He morphed into vamp face.

“One night only,” Gunn agreed, flashing his homemade battle-ax.

Cordelia grinned. “Yeah,” she said. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, do you? I’m Cordelia. Resident visionary, and I was the Queen of Pylea…your royal status? Doesn’t mean much to me,” she sniffed.

“We’ve got a little more than a Slayer in the mix, darling,” Spike cooed. “Vamps, witches, visionaries, ex-demons…we’re the complete set.”

“And we like to play,” Wesley smirked.

“I’m telling you the truth,” Saria whimpered. “I do not know how to reverse the procedure. It has never been done.”

Willow stood up. “You said you’re the ruler there. But you’re human. So who was their ruler before you showed up?”

Saria did not answer.

“The lady’s talking to you,” Spike growled.

Saria continued to say nothing.

“Hey!” Spike shouted, grabbing her by the shoulders.

“Get off me!” the Queen shrieked. “You’ve ruined everything! You’ve ruined everything!”

“Ruined your ritual, yeah, sorry about that!” Spike snapped. “Put a damper on your day, eh?”

Saria spat at him. “Fool. You know nothing! Nothing about what you’ve done to me!”

Spike’s eyes flew open. “To you! We’ve got two friends in the back, all soulless now and only you to thank!”

“You know nothing about what you’ve done!” Saria shouted as angry tears slid down her face. “It can never be fixed now! Never!”

Spike moved as if he wanted to strike her, but Tara put a hand out and stopped him. Sighing, unsatisfied, he walked away, muttering to himself.

They let the queen calm down, though her chest continued to heave in anger.

“You’re human,” Tara said softly. “H--how are you a queen of demons?”

Saria stared at the ground.

“I think you better answer him,” Fred said timidly. “Best just to get it over with.”

“Why would I answer any of your questions. It will do no good. For me, for anyone,” Saria mumbled.

“Could you just try? The yelling’s not good around the baby.”

Saria stared at the gentle Texan for a moment before her eyes moved to a fitful Connor, nestled in Fred’s arms. Shoulders slumped, but the Queen’s chin came up proudly. “Fine. But understand, it will do you no good. None.” She glared at Tara. “I have been the sovereign of the Teplir for the past three hundred and fifty-four years.”

“That’s not very long,” Wesley mused.

“How did it happen? How did you become their Queen? You told Angel you’re the only human on that plane,” Willow continued.

Saria swallowed but gaze did not waver from her interrogator. “I do not see how this has anything to do with your friends.”

Anya surprised them all by placing a hand on Willow’s arm and approaching the queen. She leaned in, each hand grasping one of the armrests of Saria’s chair, and gave an icy glare. “We’re the ones asking the questions. You’re the one tied up. I’ve only been human again for these past four years or so but even I know that bondage is only fun in the bedroom. We’ve all got places we’d rather be. So why don’t you sit back, answer our questions and we’ll all get this over with a little more quickly.”

Saria stared at her before closing her eyes and nodding. “Fine. I will answer them,” she said faintly.

“Great,” Dawn chimed in. “So, how did you get to be Queen?”

Saria’s eyes moved to hers. “Do you know your geography?” she asked testily. “I was born in 1632 in what is now known as Germany. My father was a powerful man in our village, but he was also feared because of his associations with the black magics. When I was sixteen I was to be married to a man that I detested, Sigroy Krucher. He was horrid, cruel, and ugly. I refused and my father, though he loved me, became enraged at my disobedience. He told me I would do as I was told and marry Sigroy anyway. I cried for weeks, but it did no good. The night of our wedding I was brought to Sigroy’s house. It was then that I learned how he and my father had become friends. Sigroy also shared the love of black magic, had in fact been a student of my father’s for many years.” She paused, her eyes lost in the foul memory. “Sigroy had made a deal, with a demon called The Traveler. I was the bargaining chip.”

“The Traveler moves from dimension to dimension,” she continued, “feeding off the weaker species, cleaning out each place until nothing is left but a vast wasteland. He’d come across a Teplir, feed off it, and was willing to do anything to get his hands on more. The Teplir have a high energy quotient,” she explained. “The energy is what the Traveler seeks, much as the Teplir do. However, to access the portal one must have a soul, or at least, part of a soul. And he did not.”

“So he took yours,” Fred surmised from the back of the room, where she quietly held Connor.

Saria nodded. “The Traveler performed a ritual to halve my soul, and to deposit the other half in himself, therefore ensuring that he could enter the Teplir’s dimension.”

“Why you?” Cordelia mused. “Couldn’t he have gotten anyone? Just yanked someone off the street?”

“He could, but I was desirable. I have magic in my blood,” Saria explained. “It gives the soul more power.”

“So…what did Sigfried and Roy get out of this?” Gunn asked.

Saria’s gaze ticked to his. “By assisting the Traveler, Sigroy was granted access to any dimension that he chose. I believe he is now ruling somewhere in the Foth region.”

“Right. Foth. I’ve got a time-share there,” Xander quipped. “Get to the part about them making you queen.”

Saria glared at him with contempt. “The Traveler performed the ritual to open the portal to the Teplir’s world. As you know, a soul may not enter if it is unwilling. I was more than unwilling. Until the Traveler showed me something. He forced me to look into his eyes, and there I saw my mother, held captive at Sigroy’s home. My father was dead. Sigroy had killed him, the student turned against the pupil. I was told that unless I crossed the dimensions willingly, my mother would also perish. I had no choice. And so I went.”

“We entered the Teplir’s world, but the Traveler had not…what do you say…done his homework. He failed to realize that the moment anyone foreign enters our dimension they are put through the extraction ritual.”

“Like Teplir customs,” Gunn murmured.

“We were both placed in the spheres, as you found your friends,” she said to Willow and Tara. “But this is where the demon was stupid and the Teplir were intelligent. The soul only has to be willing to cross into the dimension. Once in the sphere, a scene is played out for the individual to keep them complacent, until the extraction is complete. The Teplir look into your memories for perfect moments of happiness and use them against you.”

The entire group of Scoobies groaned.

“Can of worms. Open,” Xander muttered.

Saria was confused but did not comment. Instead she continued. “Deceitful, yes, but necessary for their way of life. The Teplir chose to show me my parents, the only love I had ever known, and this triggered my memory. I was distracted enough to cause the ritual to end. I was released with what was left of my soul. The demon was infatuated with what the Teplir showed him, and the rest of my soul was taken. The ritual was completed and the sphere was broken. The Traveler was free to kill, and began to do so in earnest. But I had been ready for this. When I was released I sought out a weapon. I grabbed a spear and when his back was to me, I stabbed him through the heart.”

“Wow,” Dawn murmured.

Saria’s gaze was now permanently affixed to the floor. “The Teplir were amazed and grateful. They began to praise me. All I wanted was to be returned to my home, but I was told I could not. I was stunned that I could understand them. They spoke my language, they spoke every language it seemed.”

“And because you defeated the big bad wolf they made you their head honchette,” Xander guessed. “What a lovely story.”

Saria nodded. “I had nothing to return to. Here I was a queen. My parents were both dead, I knew enough about Sigroy then to know he would never have let my mother go free. I had no one else. Had I returned to my village I would have been a pauper. And so…I am Saria, Queen of the Teplir.”

“Touching,” Willow snapped. “So you took Buffy and Angel because their souls are strong.”

Saria nodded. “They have souls so strong it was as if they called out to us. You as well, witch.”

“Yeah, well, you can’t have mine.”

“So explain again how it’s not possible to return their souls,” Cordelia demanded.

“There, the energy of the souls kept me and my people alive. I was blessed with an anchor of what was left of my soul. It would remain in place while I was on that plane, immune to the extraction ritual. Once I crossed the dimensional gate, I was relieved of my soul. I cannot reenter my plane,” Saria moaned. “That is what I was trying to explain.”

“You can’t go back,” Tara gasped.

“No, I can not.”

“So we can’t get back there unless we do the astro thing,” Dawn said quietly.

“Astral,” Wesley corrected her absently.

“Whatever.” She crossed to Saria. “You have no idea what you’ve done, do you?”

Saria met her eyes with an angry stare.

“Angelus is going to kill us all. And Buffy’s the Slayer! We need her!” Dawn cried.

“You were not supposed to retrieve them. Death is final on this plane,” Saria growled.

“Not so much,” Xander told her. “Anyway, that’s not point. They’re here now, so are you. Minus three souls.”

“And one up on the homicidal maniacs,” Cordelia added. “We’ve got to figure out how to get Angel’s soul back.”

“I agree,” Wesley cut in. “While it’s a priority to obtain both their souls, I fear Angel’s is the most crucial. I highly doubt Buffy will be trying to murder us each in new and inventive ways.”

“Fine. Research it is. Again,” Anya groaned. “You people are never leaving my shop, are you?”

“I’ll get sandwiches,” Xander volunteered.

“You just don’t want to read,” Dawn grinned.

“I’d better go with you,” Gunn added quickly. He threw a glance at the group. “Lots of bad stuff out there at night.”

“And we’ve got to get Dawn home soon,” Tara told them all as Gunn and Xander exited. “Mr. Summers will be wondering.”

“What are we going to tell him about Buffy?” Willow moaned.

“She’s on a book club retreat,” Dawn reminded them.

Willow gave her a look. “Buffy?”

“Your dad hasn’t seen her in a few years,” Tara chimed in. “She might have become a bookworm.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “We have to come up with something he’ll believe.

There was commotion from the back of the shop, the sound of chains rattling, then shouting.

The entire group glanced worriedly at each other.

“Oy,” Cordelia said.

Chapter Sixteen: Closet Full of Skeltons
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