Notes and Disclaimer-All events up to Season Six, Normal Again are unchanged. Willow sees Tara after class with another woman and relapses into her dark magick addiction with unforeseen consequences. I anticipate 50K+ words and about 30 chapters. High angst warning! I do not own any part of BTVS. No copyright infringement is intended and I will not make any money from it.
Chapter One-Return to Sunnydale.
April 2006
"Me remittebas domum. Return me to my home, Sunnydale." The command was spoken without inflection, trying to contain her emotions. She stood alone, far from any sign of civilization, wearing plain clothes and her thick dark cloak and carrying only the bare essentials needed for her task. She had drawn the runes on the rock tableau before her, now glowing with the request for power. All that remained was for Willow to draw the athame across her palm and infuse the spell with her blood, a task easily performed with only a gritting of teeth following countless practice. As the portal opened wider, the view remained dark and Willow realized she would be returning to her home at night. 'Appropriate' she thought with one last look over her shoulder at the dry cold hills of Khul, her residence for nearly eight years. At least this time the journey she was undertaking would be alone and welcomed. Although midday here, the rocky landscape was lit only by the weak sun that never rose above the horizon, circling the inhabitable portion of this dimension never rising or setting.
Willow found she was at peace with leaving this endless twilight, although going back to Sunnydale meant facing not only the dark of night before her eyes, but the subsequent light of day, a far more terrifying proposition. She was leaving a place that had never been home, despite the love and concern of those who had taken her in and cared for her when she was a stranger, a damaged outcast. With one last deep breath, she strode forward into the portal and found herself with no ground beneath her feet. She landed face first on a hard concrete surface after a short drop, coughing clouds of dust from her mouth and realized with a chortled laugh that she was inhaling dust, primarily from staked vampires, off the floor of a cemetery crypt. 'Definitely back on the Hellmouth' she thought ironically, brushing her long cloak as she climbed the short staircase to take her out of the crypt and into the cemetery night.
A brief stroll brought Willow to a familiar city street, devoid of people. Finding her bearings she walked two blocks up to where she remembered an all-night convenience store was located, and was pleased to find it still in operation and open. The clerk gave her a brief glance as she entered and looked around for a newspaper rack, finding one near the counter. She picked up the top paper, a USA Today, and looked at the date above the headline, March 17th, 2006. By quick calculation she realized she had experienced just over two years in Khul for every one that had passed here Sunnydale. Eight years older and I feel even older than that. I hope time has been kinder here, Willow pondered, not that I didn't deserve it. She tried to stop herself but couldn't see the point. No day would be complete without a strong dose of internal beratement, especially not my first day home.
She turned to the clerk, "I've been out of town for a while, any big news lately?" The sallow young man looked at her for a moment before answering "Nope, same old Sunnydale." Willow gave her thanks and turned to leave, thinking that as far as her life was concerned at least, same old Sunnydale was highly unlikely.
Next stop, 1630 Revello Drive. Well maybe not so much of a stop as a drive by. Or really more of a walk by with possible fleeing to follow, Willow decided. The early spring night held a light chill of the kind that dampened sound and made the world dark and quiet, as was the Summer's residence from the sidewalk across the street where she stood. Extending her hands and senses towards the dwelling, she smiled as she found a protective shield surrounding the property, clearly magical in nature. Good work, she thought as a magickal signature she knew well emanated strongly from the barrier. The spell had been designed to keep out non-humans like vampires and demons of course, but also uninvited users of magicks, which would include herself. Not that she had any intention of approaching the house. Observation only. I don't even know if she, or they, still lives here.
With a frown, she peered down the street plotting out her strategy for procuring information. She needed a secure vantage point, preferably one that would also provide a place to stay. A For Sale sign at the end of the block caught her eye. Approaching the residence she found the house vacant and in need of repair. 'Another sudden departure from Sunnydale in all likelihood,' she commented to herself as she removed the sign from the yard and the realtor lock from the front door. Willow pondered how to get started as she checked to see that Buffy's house was visible from the front room. With that she settled down on her heels beside the window to watch the house where she had lived her happiest days, and where she had destroyed everything that she held dear.
