Title : I've Seen The Rain
Author : Tariq ( formerly Aeris Jade Orion )
Rating : R
Pairing : WR/TM
Timeline : Season Six
Summary : What if the First Evil had won? What
if Giles had a back up plan? One which Willow
had been forced to carry out alone?
Authors note: It's unbeta'd. At the moment I
have no beta reader for this genre. So drop me
a line if you're interested.
Second, due to health issues, and taking care
of my disabled mom, I haven't been able to
write much. But over the last several years
I've managed to slowly write on a number
of stories.
What I've decided to do is go ahead and
publish what I've managed to put together.
The stories are unfinished, and sometimes,
the last chapter I worked on is unfinished.
Plus, there maybe multiple chapters, each one a
different version. Just warning everyone.
So I apologize in advance.
Disclaimer : Not mine. All characters belong
to Joss Whedon.
00000
Prologue
00000
Willow swiped at the blood running freely from
her forehead. Panting tiredly in exhaustion. She
was low on energy and on magic.
It had been months since Buffy had opened the
Hellmouth, and lost. Months since the Turok-Han's
had over run the world. The uber vamps were too
much for the newly risen, and untrained slayers
still out there.
Willow could do nothing as they died in waves.
Becoming extinct within weeks of her spell. This
time there was no Faith or Buffy to ride to the
rescue. Not even a Scooby.
Willow and Giles were the last two surviving
members of the gang. Barely making it out of
town with their lives.
" There's no choice. " Giles rasped in pain.
His hand pressing the deep gash in his side.
" You must fix this. "
" But the coven... Ms. Harkness... " Willow
flinched at just the idea of what the ex-watcher
was suggesting.
" After I discovered the cause of The First's
attack's on the slayer line, I began to discuss
the idea with the coven. " Giles admitted hoarsely.
" Just before the final battle, they agreed that
should things go wrong, it would be an acceptable
risk. "
Willow sat beside her mentor in thought. The dusty
crypt was dead quiet and it was a far cry from were
they had been months earlier. Living in Buffy's
boarded up house, no electricity, no hot water,
no fresh food. Thirty something people cramed in.
She ran her bloody hands through her greasy, uncut
hair. It fell forward in uneven strands, showing a
number of white single hairs mixed throughout.
Magic.
It had been used almost constantly since her
spell to activate the slayers. In the process,
she had been given a hard life lesson in the
difference between battle magic and black magic.
Keeping a careful inner balance with an outer
balance.
The result had been white hair peppered along
her red hair. The intense use of white magic,
powerful white magic, and the stress of grey
battle magic being too much for her body.
Now, he was asking her to take it a step
further. No, not a step. A stair case.
He wanted her to use the most powerful of all
white magics to reset time and redo her life
from the just before Buffy's resurrection.
No, Buffy. No, First Evil.
But what would the magic do to her? To her
body? Yeah, she had in the past months regained
her balance of black and white magic. Whoo and
hoo. White hair, not so much with the whooing.
What about the Hellmouth? With no slayer they
had been struggling, and yeah, she was all
witchy foo, but she was using way too much magic
as is.
The problems just kept adding up, and she
had no answers.
" Willow, I believe in you. " Giles softly smiled,
and took a rattling breath.
He was dead.
She didn't feel anything. Too much death, too
fast. After a while, she had become numb. Simply
closing their eyes, then moving on. No time to
bury them, no time to pray, or say goodbye.
Slumping forward in defeat, she realized she had
two choices.
She waited to die. Or she could not die.
00000
' She saved the world. A lot. '
Willow placed a small, smooth stone on Buffy's
grave. Today was supposed to be the day she
would bring up the idea of performing the
resurrection spell. The first of many times
spent trying to convince her three cohorts.
Instead, she would spend the meeting on other
matters. The Hellmouth, Dawn, Mr. Summers,
money issues, and a dozen other little problems.
She tucked her white and red hair back behind
her ear. Wincing in pain at the simple movement.
She felt raw inside. Raw, tender, and filled
past bursting.
Her magic was five times more concentrated than
it was. More bang for her buck.
She frowned at the grave of her best friend.
So far she hadn't seen anyone yet. She'd arrived
early in the morning, here where everything had
started to go wrong.
How would she explain the changes in her? Her
hair? Her magic? Her personality?
Goddess, Tara was alive.
There was so much to consider.
The sun rose in front of her. Painting the sky
in a large range of colors. The air swirled
around her, free of the dark magic and ash of
the future.
' Goddess, if you hear me, guide a lost daughter.
Watch over her as she stumbles down a path blindly. '
11111
Chapter One
11111
She entered Willy's with shaded eyes. Scanning
the bar slowly. She had three targets today.
Three very important targets.
Willow confidently paced up to a vampire in the
back corner. Six foot one inches tall. Three
hundred eighty nine pounds of pure muscle. Short,
spikey, neon green hair. A dozen earrings in each
ear.
" Pat? " Willow cocked her eyebrow at the brick
wall.
" Who wants to know? " He rumbled.
" I'm Willow, the slayer's witch. " She let her
power surface, smirking as the bar went silent.
" I have a few bets to place. The question is,
can you handle them? "
She reined in her magic so the demons around
her could function. But even so, she could see
the weariness in the patrions eyes.
Pat seemed more amused and curious than anything.
Making her wonder what his story was. She knew
just a handful of information about him. Mostly
what she'd picked up over the years from dealing
with Spike, Clem, and Willy.
" Depends on the bets. " Pat lifted a cigar from
the tables ash tray and puffed on it.
She tugged a folded sheet of paper from her jeans,
dropping it into in front of him. He unfolded it
and chuckled.
" Well, well. The wicked witch doesn't do things
by half. " Pat put his cigar down. " Horses, NFL,
NHL, NBA, you've covered every bet I take. Hmmm.
The amounts are very, very large too. High odds
against you. "
" Is that a problem? " She challenged.
" Far from it. " Pat grinned widely. " You a
seer? "
" Not a seer. " She mischieviously let out a
single knowing giggle.
" But you're a witch. " Pat nodded, removing a
thick book from his leather jacket, writing in
it. " I'll take your bet's. "
Willow grew serious. Her magic coming alive.
" You will honor them when I win. "
" The minute you win, I will honor them. " Pat
agreed easily, giving her the betting ticket.
She noticed he was positive she would win. Yet,
he didn't have her future memories.
' Strange vampire. ' She thought. ' Useful, but
strange. '
" I'll be back tonight for my winnings. " She
warned.
" I'll be here. " Pat assured.
She spun on her heel, and marched toward her
next victim. A chaos demon in a booth by the
front wall. Slime and all.
" Mr. Jameson? "
" Yes, ma'am. " The demon nervously spoke up.
" I have some items to sell. " Willow hefted
a large duffle bag onto the table. " Rare
mystical artifacts. "
" Really? " The demon perked up. He reached into
his tweed jacket and removed a pair of thin
glasses. He perched them on his nose with an air
similar to Giles. " What do you have? "
" Nothing dangerous. " She said. " I don't want
to risk anything apocalypsy getting out. "
She unzipped the bag. The first item she lifted
out was a jar of blood. Sealed, labeled, and
classified.
" Oohhh. Where did you get the blood of a
virginal vengeance demon? " He blinked.
" Don't ask. " She blushed.
" Ten thousand. "
" Twenty. "
" Fifteen. "
" Ninteen. "
" Sixteen. "
" Eighteen. " Willow demanded. " Not a cent less. "
" Seventeen fifty. " He shot back.
" Agreed. " Willow opened a small pocket in the
duffle bag. She grabbed the small flip notebook
and pen, then made a note. " Okay, the next item. "
She removed the light bamboo, palm sized box. It
was similar to a rubix cube. Instead of square's
of color, it had symbols. Ancient Japanese. The
borders were engraved with mythical Japanese
creatures.
" Oh my. What a find. " He breathed. " A magical
puzzle box. "
" Signed by Akihiko. "
" Dear Hades. " His hands shook, taking the box
from her, cradling it like a newborn. " It's... "
" ...priceless. " Willow finished.
" Fifty thousand. " He offered.
" One million. " She countered firmly. " We both
know it's worth a hundred times that. "
He looked up at her, then back at the box. " Very
well. "
She made another note, then brought out the third
item. A roll of leather.
" Leather from an Earth Elemental. "
" Those are very rare. " The demon was less
excited, but interested. " Perfect condition,
three yards... Five thousand. "
" Ten. "
" Six. "
" Nine. "
" Seven. "
" Eight. "
" Deal. " Jameson nodded.
She noted the latest amount down.
" Okay, the fourth item is a blank book of
shadows. " She handed it over. It was prepared,
protected, all inscribtions made, and magics
completed. " Made with Sprite hide, thrice
blessed by fairies, reinforced with dwarf
silver. "
" Eight thousand. "
" Twelve. " Willow shot back.
" Nine. "
" Eleven Fifty. "
" Nine Fifty. "
" Eleven. " Willow became firm.
" Ten. "
" Ten Fifty. " Willow glared.
" Alright. "
Willow wrote it down. Then lifted out the last
item. A jewelry box. Celtic. Pewter. Decorated
with trinity knots. Three Rubys were on each
side of the box.
" The Music box of Damara. " Willow smirked
lightly. " I don't need a magical music box of
fertility so... "
" I understand. " He chuckled. " Five hundred
thousand. "
" Two million. " She countered. " It's a very
powerful artifact. Ferility magic or not. "
" One. "
" One point eight. "
" One point two. "
" One point six. "
" One point three. "
" One point five. " Willow glared. " It's more
than worth it. "
The demon sighed but nodded. " Bring the items
back tonight and we'll make the exchange. "
" Fine. I'll see you at two. " She said,
packing everything back up.
Which left one more piece of business. She lifted
the duffle, and stalked behind the bar.
" Hey, you can't come back here. " Willy squeaked.
She snatched hold of his shirt collar, dragging
him into the back room, then dropped her duffle.
" Hello Willy, we need to have a little talk. "
She purred.
" W-what about? " He squirmed in her hold.
" I've been hearing rumors lately. Rumors that
the slayer is dead. Now, you wouldn't happen to
know anything about this, would you? "
" I don't! I swear! "
She slammed him into the wall. She let her magic
loose. Let him feel it. Fear entered his eyes.
The kind of fear Buffy usually installed in him.
" Try again. " She growled.
" Okay! Okay! " He whimpered. " One of Glory's
minions got away. H-he saw the slayer die. He's
been telling a-anyone who'd listen a-about what
h-happened. T-the entire community knows. I-its
this big joke, h-how you have t-that stupid bot
out p-patroling. "
She felt her magic try to surge up. Her emotions
want to get out of control. The entire summer the
demon community had been kicking back and watching
the show like they were a sitcom to laugh at.
" D-demons have been coming in from everywhere.
They've been hiding underground. Waiting to
make a move. The town is breeming with hundreds
of demons. It's swarming. Overflowing. We're
about to explode with 'em. " Willy whined.
' Oh Goddess. ' She felt her eyes harden. Her
control tighten. She wasn't in the future anymore
but she was a survivor of war. ' I won't lose
anyone else. '
" Listen closely, Willy. " She leaned forward,
hissing in his ear. " The slayer may be dead, but
the Wicked Witch is here and ready to play. Any
demon not out of town by morning gets a Willow
special. "
" W-Willow special? " Willy trembled.
" Starting at sunrise, I will go from crypt to
crypt, warehouse to warehouse, and I will
personlly exterminate any demon I find. How
depends on my mood. Maybe I'll skin them, maybe
I'll pull them apart piece by piece, or maybe
I'll just flambe them. Understand? Or do I have
to give you an example? "
" NO! "
" Good. Spread the word. " She let him go,
wrinkling her nose at the yellow stain spreading
across the front of his pants. " By the way, do
you know a good lawyer? Someone with a lot of
magical or demonic experience? "
11111
" Where the hell have you been?! " Xander demanded,
yanking his door open. " What happened to your
hair? What are you wearing? "
" Are you Willow? " Anya blinked.
Willow walked into the couples apartment, pausing
at the sight of everyone whole, and alive. Tara
especially was a punch to the gut.
" Your magic... " The wiccan froze.
" I know. I did a powerful white spell this
morning. " She explained. " I was worried Buffy
might be trapped in Hell, so I decided to check
on her soul. She's in Heaven by the way. "
" What does that have to do with your magic? "
Anya frowned.
" Oh, it sort of interacted with all the black
in me and overloaded it. I went all white haired,
too. " Willow smiled sheepishly. " Talk about a
power trip. "
" Y-you should have asked m-me to ground you. "
Tara scolded lightly, hugging her tightly.
She wrapped her arms around the blonde. The
smell of vanilla and cherries filling her
heart with warmth.
" I know, sweetie, but I woke up from a
nightmare, and couldn't get back to sleep. I
kept imagining Buffy in Hell being tortured,
and you know how my mind is. " She let go,
settling for holding Tara's left hand instead.
" It never stops. " Tara smiled gently.
" To put it lightly. " Willow joked. " Plus, I
worried Dawnie would wake up and I didn't want
to leave her alone. "
" I understand. "
" So the meeting. " Xander clapped. " I vote
we get started, and for the first order of
buisness, I think we need a leader. "
" Oh, I agree, we defintely need a boss. "
Anya nodded, taking a seat on the couch,
yanking Xander next to her.
Tara took a seat in a chair, and Willow perched
on the arm of it.
" I think it's a good idea. " Tara smiled at the
ex-demon. " Willow? "
" Yep. "
" Great, in that case, I vote for Willow. "
Xander beamed.
" Hey! " Anya smacked him in the chest. " Why not
me? "
" Well, first, ouch! Secondly, Willow is the
brainy type. She actually has an IQ in which
the other genius's stop and stare in amazement
at. Thirdly, Giles has been training her in
Watcher like stuff since forever. Forth, ouch. "
Xander rubbed at his chest.
" Okay, you have a point, " Anya pouted. " or
two. Still as your fiancee you are obligated
to give me a token nomination. "
" And he would, under any other nonhellmouthy
circumstances, " Willow piped up. " but he loves
you so much he would rather have you alive and
mad at him, than dead and happy with him. "
" What do you mean? " Anya eyed her.
" Well, Buffy's secret death, not so secret. "
Willow winced at pale white faces of her friends.
" We've currently got a town swarming with
hundreds of demons. "
" How...? " Tara asked.
" One of Glory's minion's survived, and has
been blabbing to every demon he can find
since. "
" Where'd you get your info? " Xander frowned.
" 'Cause this isn't exactly something you pick
up on the corner market, and I get the idea the
demon community doesn't want this getting out. "
" I was at Willy's today and..."
" Okay, hold up. " Anya stopped her. " Why were
you at Willy's? "
" I was taking care of our finacial problems. "
Willow explained.
" Why don't I like the sound of that? " Xander
questioned Anya.
" Because you're not a complete moron. " Anya
patted his knee.
" Relax. " Willow rolled her eyes. " I was selling
some harmless artifacts I've been hoarding. "
" And you didn't come to me first? " Anya huffed.
" I got a better deal from the chaos demon. "
Willow shot back. " Plus, he didn't charge me
some sort outragous finder's fee. "
" But I'm your friend, and I'm going to be your
sister in-law. " Anya accussed.
" I made over two million dollars. " She said.
" Really? " Tara lit up in relief.
" Yeah. Much more than that, really. " She smiled
back. " I also opened an off shore account with
great interest, no fees, and it's not illegal. "
" Thank Goddess. " Tara kissed her.
" I also got the name's of a few attorney's who
deal with the demon community. I need to research
them, but they may be able to wrangle us custody
of Dawn. It may mean getting paperwork for us to
be life partners. You know, full power of authority
and such, but I figure we can discuss that later. "
" What about the demons? " Anya demanded.
" Oh, right. " Willow frowned. " I overheard a
vampire talking and cornered Willy. It took some
persuasion but he spilled the beans. Said the
demons have been getting a real laugh at us. "
" Oh boy. " Xander shuddered in fear. " What the
hell do we do? "
" I vote for Willow. " Anya raised her hand.
" Me, too. " Tara raised hers.
" Great, so Willow's now the boss of us. Can
we decide how to save the town, preferably while
staying alive. " Xander gestured frantically.
" Actually, I had Willy pass on a message. I'm
giving the demons til morning to get out of
town. " Willow said.
" What?! " Anya sat up. " Why? "
" Two reasons. One, I have to go back to Willy's
tonight to get my money, " She sheepishly admitted.
" and two, I figure I can kill the majority of them
in the day time. It'll be easier, and make more of
a statement, after the whole message thing. "
" Especially if most of them are vampires. " Anya
nodded. " Okay, I can see why you're the leader. "
" Thanks. " Willow smiled.
" I don't think you should be going back to Willy's
alone. " Tara frowned.
" I have to get the money tonight. I made a deal,
if I don't keep to my end, it could get nasty. "
" Willow's right, but so is Tara. " Anya said.
" Great, group outing. " Xander hopped up. " Spike
is with Dawn so why don't we head out? "
Willow didn't like this idea at all. A greedy
ex-demon, a construction worker, a wiccan, and
a time traveling magical addict walk into a
demon bar...
Some joke.
11111
" Oi, Red. " Pat called.
" Pat, how's business? " Willow walked over with
Tara at her back and the other two following.
" You swept the board, kid. " Pat smirked.
" Angry? " She batted her eyes.
" Far from it. I was curious so I place my own
bets using you for a guide. " Pat chuckled. " I'm
thinking of naming you my lucky charm, or maybe
my lady luck. "
He raised an eyebrow to an eight foot tall robed
demon. It's nasty claws curled around a large
canvass duffle. The figure threw it onto the
table in front of her.
" Four million. " Pat handed her a recipt.
Willow unzipped the bag, pointedly ignoring Anya
materializing next to her, and Xander's choking.
" Four...? " Tara frowned.
" I made a small bet. " Willow flipped through
the stacks of money. She had no doubt Pat wouldn't
cheat her. Not after her earlier display. But she
wasn't taking any chances.
She rezipped the duffle, and handed it to Xander.
Very happy to see him having to fend off his own
fiancee. The blonde was doing everything and
anything to get to the bag.
" You made a bet? " Tara intently focused.
" It's okay, sweetie. It was on a few things I
was positive on. " She assured.
She let Tara brush her mind. Allowing the blonde
feel her intent. Her trust in her information.
Finally, the blonde left, and smiled in relief.
" We'll talk later, okay? " Willow gently asked.
" Okay. " Tara agreed.
She head over to Jameson and smiled at the
cheery wave he gave. The chaos demon might be
all antler's and slime but he was a friendly
sort.
" Hey, you have the money? " She asked, sitting
her bag on the table.
" Oh yes, I've already got several buyers lined
up. " Jameson handed over a briefcase. " I can't
wait to see what else you come up with. Why the
venegeance demon blood alone is going is already
sold. Virgin indeed. By the way how old was the
demon? "
" Thirteen thousand, give or take a few hundred
years. " She opened the briefcase, and scanned
the money. " It's female blood. A black haired,
blue eyed ex-viking. Real man hater, who isn't
into women if you get my meaning. "
" Wait, you have blood from Hilda, and you sold
it? " Anya stopped drooling over the money.
" How'd you managed that? "
" It's actually kind of funny. I saw her at the
Bronze. She was in the middle of a bar brawl.
Drunk off her goard, and taking a lot of head
shots. Finally she just sort of passed out in
the middle of this mess. " Willow closed the
briefcase. " She was in full demon face, and
losing a lot of blood. "
" Y-you took her blood? " Anya gaped.
" W-well, it's not like she was doing anything
with it at the time, a-and it was just going
to waste. Plus, I bandaged her up. " Willow
weakly protested.
Much to her confusion Anya hugged her and began
to sniff. " I'm so proud. "
" W-what? " Willow's eyes widened in horror.
" My sister-in-law is a commerce fiend. A true
money making expert. I never dreamed you would
become my best friend in the whole world. " Anya
gushed.
' Oh Goddess, no. ' She cried out in fear.
" You're my mentor. I must learn the ways of
money from you. " Anya let go excitedly. " We
must schedule a time for lessons. "
She shot Tara a look of pure desperation, but
her lover was to busy giggling uncontrolibly.
Turning to Xander, her nightmare was complete,
her best friend was beaming at her. With pride.
Her shoulder's slumped in defeat. Eyes watering
in despair. She sighed the sigh of the betrayed.
" The day after tommorrow we'll start. " She
offered Anya weakly.
The blonde squealed in delight.
She slumped further down, pouting at the increase
of giggles from Tara.
' Betrayed by the woman I love. '
-
To Be Continued