Part 1
"Giles, look out!" Willow yelled as the demon they were fighting made a move toward him.
Willow's yell allowed Giles to barely avoid the poisonous spike protruding from its shoulder as it lunged in his direction. Nothing they were doing was working. Buffy was holding her own against its twin but she wasn't winning. Xander was slumped against a tree where the demon had tossed him. He was holding his arm carefully. It didn't feel broken but he wasn't sure.
Willow frantically looked over at Buffy but she was too busy fighting her own demon to be able to get to them in time. There was no help for it she would have to use magick even though she had promised she wouldn't, ever since the whole Rack/Dawn incident.
Oh well, in for a penny in for a pound she thought. Searching her mind for a spell any spell that would help. Perfect. Willow mumbled the incantation that she had used against Glory's minions hoping to make the demons just disappear like the minions did.
Buffy was shocked when she tried to kick the demon in its midsection and her foot went through it. Not like it was a ghost but like it was liquid.
"Gaaaaah, gross." Buffy quickly yanked her foot out of the demon. She looked over at the demon Giles was fighting and saw that part of its face was melting down over itself. "What is going on?"
Willow watched horrified as the demons began to melt in on themselves. It wasn't until they were almost melted that she noticed that her constant headache had disappeared. She had had a headache ever since she went cold turkey but she just thought that it had been from stress now she wasn't so sure. Added to the fact that the demons weren't supposed to be melting but fading from existence made Willow think that maybe going cold turkey had not been a good idea.
Giles looked over at Willow and saw the guilty expression on her face and knew that she'd used magick to defeat the demons. He quietly moved to her side, "Which spell did you use?"
"W-what?"
Giles looked into her eyes, "Which spell did you use, Willow?"
"T-the same one I used on Glory's minions. They weren't supposed to melt just fade away."
Buffy could not believe that Willow had used magick when she had promised not to. Sure it defeated the demons but that didn't mean they couldn't have found another way to defeat them.
Xander gave a moan of pain as he tried to stand up. Giles looked over as Buffy helped Xander to stand and then turned back to Willow, "We'll discuss this after we take Xander to the hospital."
Willow nodded and followed Giles as he moved to open his car door for Xander. Neither seeing the dark figure watching from the shadows.
~~~~
Xander was still unsure about this whole intervention thing that Giles and Buffy had planned. He knew they had to show a united front or it wouldn't work but knowing Willow like he did she would probably view it as a betrayal. It wasn't, they were doing it for her but she might not see it that way. The picture of that demon slowly melting would probably stay with him for a while. Giles had said it had been a slow and painful death. Yeah okay, demon but it demonstrated that Willow shouldn't do magick. There were too many examples of it going wrong. Okay a few examples of it going right like when they fought Glory. It was a big help then. Buffy had decided to jump if it came down to it when Giles had realized that it was Summers blood not necessarily Dawn's. Willow's frustration of not being able to heal Tara caused her magick to go out of control at the site. The positive was that it weakened Glory/Ben enough that Giles and Buffy were able to defeat her while Spike got to Dawn before Doc did. Tara never recovered and Willow had gone further into magick as a crutch until it came to a head with the whole Dawn incident.
Last night had been the final straw for Buffy and Giles. If Willow didn't stop she could really hurt someone. Not intentionally of course but that wouldn't stop this disaster waiting to happen. Xander just hoped that this intervention worked and didn't cause more problems.
He looked nervously over at Buffy and Giles as he heard Willow coming down the stairs.
Willow noticed the others gathered and watching her somberly. Trying to lighten the mood, "What is this an intervention?"
When Xander winced and Buffy just looked at her she knew something was wrong.
~~~~
The jogger reached down and tied his shoes outside 1630 Revello Drive. Looking over his shoulder at the man sitting on the front porch across the street he gave an almost imperceptible nod. Straightening up he adjusted his headphones.
Anyone passing by would think that he was singing to himself.
"Are you getting good sound from inside?"
"Yep, clear as a bell. Hang on and I'll patch you through. I think we've finally hit the jackpot. It seems their intervention isn't working."
"So the target will be vulnerable?"
"Roger that."
The jogger began to do stretching exercises as the man across the street patched him in to what was happening inside the house.
The voices came in loud and clear. He returned to his running as he listened.
~~~~
Willow looked around the room at the people she had once considered her friends. How could they ask that of her? She had just explained about the headaches and that going cold turkey had been a bad idea. She suspected it was physically harmful to do that but she couldn't prove it other than the headaches.
Their voices penetrated her thoughts.
"Willow, we're only doing what we think is best." Giles tried to placate her.
"Are you, Giles? What happens if I go cold turkey again? What happens when it's needed again? Why won't you help me control it, work with it so what happened before doesn't happen again?"
"That's what we're trying to do now, Willow." Buffy tried to make her best friend understand. "We're trying to prevent what happened from happening again. What would have happened if the demons hadn't melted but Giles or I did? It's just too dangerous."
"But if I could control it . . . Look what happened with Glory."
"Yes, let's." Giles started, "Your emotions were out of control and Glory got the backlash but what would have happened if Dawn or any of the others that were nearby got it? We very well could have had hell on Earth."
"But that's a reason to help me control it not stop completely. What about the headaches?"
"What about the nosebleeds?" Xander asked quietly. "When you used powerful magick it gave you nosebleeds and headaches. Maybe the not using headache was just your body adjusting to non-magick use?"
"And what if it was my body telling me how dangerous it would be to not use magick? What if it's a part of me that can't be separated? I'm sorry, but I just can't give it up cold turkey anymore."
Buffy sadly looked at Willow, "Then you can't be a part of our group. I'm sorry, Willow but until you see how harmful your magick use would be you can't be part of our group anymore."
Willow looked at each one in turn. They sadly returned her glance while Giles and Xander shifted to stand behind Buffy. Willow felt hurt and betrayed. Yeah okay sometimes magick went cablooey but in both instances good came out of it. My god, she had just saved Giles' life last night but did any of them see that? NO! All they saw was the horrible deaths of the demons. Okay so that was bad but hey bad, evil demons gone. Not to mention her headaches. No matter how hard they argued Willow knew deep inside that not using magick at all would have horrible consequences for her. So if that meant she couldn't be part of the Scoobies then so be it. She'd find a different way to control and harness her power. She really wished Giles would be the one to teach but it didn't look like he wanted the job. She'd still fight the good fight but in her own way and on her own terms.
With resolve face firmly in place she looked at each one. "I'm sorry that you all feel that way and if you insist I can't be part of your group then okay. I wish we could work together but I have to do this. I can't give up my magick, even for you. Just remember that you were the ones that forced this decision on me."
With tears she turned to go up the stairs. "I'll pack and be out of the house in a few hours."
When Willow was up the stairs Xander began to pace and run his hand through his hair. "We did the right thing, right? I mean, she'll come to her senses and know that we were really trying to help. Right?"
~~
"Bingo!" The jogger mumbled as he heard the confrontation come to an end. "Target is vulnerable. Prepare to intercept when she leaves house."
"Roger that." The man across the street stood and entered the house. "Willow is vulnerable and perfect for our new program. Do you think you'll be able to recruit her Agent Finn?"
"I believe so, Sir. The Initiative made her wary of the Government but I believe I can convince her that we're different. Permission to speak freely, Sir."
"Granted."
"I think even though she's vulnerable Willow will have a lot of questions and concerns. I think we should be honest about everything from the very beginning. If she so much as suspects we're holding something back she'll refuse to join."
"Agent Finn, are you suggesting that we tell a civilian all about our program and our ultimate objective before she joins?"
"Yes, sir if you expect her full cooperation and at the briefing I got the impression that her magick could become a very powerful tool in our battle with the demons. She has proven that she can keep secrets. She has shown no indication that she has breeched the agreement concerning the Initiative and she is very careful about Buffy's Slaying activities."
Agent Williamson looked out the window to the Slayer's home across the street. It had been a few years since he'd actually been in Sunnydale. It was when they picked up Agent Marcie Ross. Her invisibility had proven invaluable in the war against terrorism and her success had given him the idea for this new project.
Infiltrate the demon community with operatives with supernatural powers. Their first recruit had been the demon Whistler. He had wandered aimlessly after the whole Acathala/Angelus disaster. It wasn't until he was recruited by their agency that he had been given another purpose. Whistler had become one of their first operatives and one of his best, the intel that he had been able to send back to Quantico had helped Riley and his team take out a nest of demons in the jungles of South America.
If Willow proved half as capable as their intelligence on her she would be a very valuable asset.
The agent posing as the jogger ran around to the unlit shadows of the side entrance before quietly melting into the house itself.
"Willow is a go. I just heard her talking as she came down the stairs. Be ready to head out, Finn."
Riley picked up his backpack and prepared to meet with Willow. Willow had come to the attention of Williamson when he had been in Sunnydale a few years ago and Riley had agreed to take this assignment to bring her on board. He thought she would be a great addition to his team.
Riley waited in the shadows watching as Willow left Buffy's house. He quietly followed her as she wandered aimlessly toward her house. She came to a small coffee shop, hesitated and then stepped inside. He smiled as he watched her order coffee. Even better, he thought.
Xander had said he'd bring her stuff to her parent's house so she wouldn't have to and Willow didn't really feel like talking to him again so she decided to make a stop at the coffee shop. She needed to decide where to go from here. She had been running on emotion but now she had to plan.
A small frown marred her forehead when a shadow crossed her table.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Riley?"