This is still a huge work in progress. I'm hoping to go far with this story; it'll be the first I've done anything this big. If there is anything you believe I need to change, or anything you'd like to see as the story progresses, please tell me! This first part is mostly for people who've forgotten the episode, or have never seen it. I've added in thoughts that I believe would be running through Willow's mind at the time.

The sentences in bold are what Willow said in Conversations With Dead People, and italicized with quotation marks are what Cassie said. Only one quotation around sentences are Willow's thoughts, and the italicized sentences with nothing around them are the dark magicks speaking inside Willow's mind. Just in case anyone was confused!

Disclaimer: The story, characters, and ideas are all given to Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The main basis of this story is taken from Whedon, I have only branched off from it. The main idea is all his.

The day started off as it always seemed to: alone. Willow Rosenberg awoke in her bedroom with the sun shining through. With a groan, she pulled the covers over her head, mumbling "too early" before turning over. Sooner than she would have liked, the day's events slammed into her head, with yesterday being all too fresh for her.

Slowly, her arm ventured towards the other side of the bed, but of course she would find nothing but more sheets. Buffy had told her they had gotten a new bed since…the incident, and it was smaller. It was a welcoming comfort compared to what she slept in during her visit to England. When she did sleep, that was.

Willow groaned softly at the thought of England, phantom pains soon following its path. The rehabilitation process was worse than letting the magicks seep out on its own, but nothing was worse than the voices. People always assumed that the magicks only had power, that it felt like a drug; and that was true. However, they also had a personality, each type of magicks having a personality of its own. Elemental magicks were extremely kind and soft-spoken, never pushing the user into anything. Willow smiled softly as she thought of it: it was the embodiment of Tara, really. Without knowing, a tear trickled down her cheek. She sniffled, wiping it away with the back of her hand.

The magicks that the redhead was dealing with were different; these magicks never left the user alone, incessantly chatting, cackling, screaming, moaning, calling out. It clawed at the user's brain, hissing in the ear, threatening the loved ones around her.

You'll always be alone.

No way out.

Some days were harder than others, and every single day, Willow wished and prayed that one person could be with her. Just one. That's all she asked for. But no…that wish would never be granted. She'd screwed up—taken in the Darkest of Magicks, killed a human. There was no going back from that now.

She hadn't seen Buffy since she got home last night, and wasn't in the mood to wait for her. Did last night even happen…? Unfortunately, she remembered it well enough to know that she wasn't drunk. It started off so well, too…

She was sitting in the library doing research, when she saw a familiar face. It was the psychic that Buffy had attempted to save, a girl named Cassie. At first, Willow was freaked out, wondering how she was able to see someone who had already passed. 'That's one thing in my life that doesn't happen often.' She had thought to herself.

" She asked that I come talk to you. It's important."

She? Willow's heart started to painfully thump in her chest. She immediately jumped to the conclusion on who it was, but didn't say.

"She says she still sings. Remember that time on the bridge when you sang to each other? Well, she says even though you can't hear it, she still sings to you."

'Oh goddess…'

"Tara?"

It had been one of the happiest moments, but also the most painful. She knew Tara was safe somewhere on the other side. She had then asked why her baby couldn't be in front of her, why she had to speak through someone else.

"You killed people. That's just the way it is."

Another consequence. They seemed to just keep on piling. She could hear her though—finally, she could speak to her again.

"Tara? Tara…I miss you…I miss you so much."

"She misses you too."

"It hurts so much. Every day, it's like this giant hole…and it's not getting better."

Willow's words echoed in her mind, the same pain thumping painfully in her chest.

"You're strong, like an Amazon, remember?"

It was her. It had to be her.

"I remember."

After that, that's when things began to fall apart.

"We can see your path, and you have to stop. You can't use magic again, not ever."

"Black magic, of course. I'm gonna be okay."

"She says…you're not gonna be okay…you're going to kill everybody."

Her heart nearly stopped. That didn't sound like Tara at all…she always had faith in her, even when Willow found it completely pointless to. A red flag had gone up in her head, and she should have stopped it then. She should have questioned the dead girl in front of her. She couldn't be sure it was Tara she was speaking to, something had felt off. And now, with this…it didn't seem right.

"What did you see?"

"You don't wanna know what we saw."

Tara would have told her, even if it hurt or scared Willow.

'Something's wrong, something's wrong.'

'I was doing something wrong. I messed up again. She thinks I can't control myself. I can. I taught myself how to use the earth, how to use the natural energy around us. I've gotten better…haven't I? Tara says otherwise…she has to be right.'

She had tried reasoning with herself in her mind, but something felt wrong.

"But if you stop, completely, no more magic…"

'Listen to Tara. She knows best.'

"Right. Okay."

'Something's wrong, something's wrong! She would never tell me to just quit magic! Maybe for a week, yeah, but not forever! She knew better than anyone that magic is a part of who we are. Meditating, doing a simple spell-' Cassie's next words cut her off.

"If you do so much as another spell-"

"I-I tried to stop. I tried! W-what if I can't do this?"

"Don't think that way!" The blonde spoke incredulously, as if it was the simplest answer in the world. The redhead started to hyperventilate. Tara was telling her simply not to think that way?! Another red flag.

'Something's wrong, something is wrong!'

"Well how can I not? You're telling me I'm gonna kill all my friends! I'm not strong, I'm not an Amazon, I'm just…me…"

"There is one thing…One thing you could do to stop it…"

Willow thought it was still Tara. She'd listen to her through anything. Tara would make this pain go away.

"Then you could see her! You wouldn't have to talk through me."

Willow's mind started going to dangerous places, thinking of dark, sinister things. Was it still Tara…?

"Tara…?"

"It's what you want, isn't it? So go! Be with her. Everyone will be safe and you'll be together again." A dark smile arose from the dead girl. "It's not that bad. It's just like going to sleep."

'She's…she's telling me to…'

That's when the voices came.

Do as she says, Red.

It's best for the world.

Nobody needs you here.

You're worthless. Just a waste of space.

She shoved the voices aside, anger flaring within her. Somebody was toying with her, and they'd brought Tara into this. Was she even talking to Tara at all? Whoever it was, she would have no more of it.

"Who are you." It wasn't a question; it was a demand.

The rest was a blur. She still couldn't fully comprehend what had happened.

"I still stand by my opinion. I can see it now. Candlelight, the Indigo Girls playing…Picture of your dead girlfriend bloody on your lap-"

"Stop it!"

"You don't know hurt. This last year's gonna seem like cake after what I put you and your friends through. And I'm not a fan of easy deaths. Fact is, the whole good versus evil balancing the scales thing, I'm over it. I'm done with the mortal coil. But believe me, I'm going for a big finish."

"From beneath you, it devours…"

"Oh not it…Me."

A Cheshire Cat grin started and spread, spread, and then Willow saw one of the most terrifying things…she couldn't even begin to describe it—and it disappeared. Right before her eyes.

Coming back to the present, Willow shivered by the sudden chill of reminiscing.

"I've gotta get up…face the day. Figure out what the hell's going on…"

Face the day. Just like every other. Face it alone, or don't face it at all. That's how life was, and she deserved it. She let Tara die, she let the magicks take over, she killed someone, nearly killed all her friends, and nearly destroyed the world. And nobody would tell her otherwise. There was only one person who would take the time and have the patience to soothe her frazzled nerves, to make her believe that it wasn't her fault…She could dream all she liked, but it wouldn't happen.

But who knows, crazier things have happened, right?