Disclaimer:
The characters of Charmed, Buffy – the Vampire Slayer, and Angel do not belong to me. I am only borrowing them.
Summary:
AU Crossover between the Buffy and Charmed universes. Willow disappears from the Magic Box and now finds herself in Hell. Buffy and the Gang are confused to find her gone.
Chapter Four – Welcome to Hell
Part One
"Hell." Willow spat out in confusion.
"Exactly." The man answered.
Willow froze. Where the hell am I? One minute I'm arguing with Giles and the gang, the next minute I seem to have taken a trip over the rainbow! Damn! She looked to the man who had spoken. He was sitting casually in a large and very black chair. The way he sat in it made her think of a throne. However, his gaze at her was most certainly NOT casual. She felt as if she was being examined like an insect or... No, that's not quite right. It's more like I'm a prize bull or thoroughbred horse. Something that belongs to him that he's evaluating. She returned his gaze fiercely. She bristled at the sense of ownership he seemed to be bestowing on her. She didn't belong to anyone.
He was tall. His long legs were crossed at the ankles. Dressed all in black with a scarlet shirt, he appeared to be the Devil himself. He was smiling at her. It was a very engaging smile. Yet, very frightening too. Damn! He's smiling at me just Angelus used to – when he was in one of his moods. When he was hatching a plan. Now, Willow did show her fear. She shuddered and backed up involuntarily. Angelus was one of the few evil creatures she was afraid of. She took another step backwards and bumped into something. Spinning around, she found herself face-to-face with her father.
Tempus smiled. However, inside, he was disturbed. He hadn't meant for her to be exposed to her heritage quite so soon. Still, she did shimmer. And, to me! Me! The thought of her shimmering straight to him, and even before he told her what she was. Well, it thrilled him. He smiled down at his daughter and reached out a hand to stroke her cheek. She jerked back as if stung. "Willow. Welcome. I'm so pleased that you figured it out on your own."
Willow paled and stepped away from her father. Just what was going on here? Where am I? "What. Am. I. Doing. Here? And where is here? And, who are you?"
Tempus had opened his mouth to reply when he heard a chuckle coming from the Source. He froze. He always hated it when the Source became amused. He felt that an amused Source was far more dangerous and unpredictable that an annoyed Source. He turned to the Source and bowed. His daughter spun to face him and glared. Tempus froze. Was she challenging the Source? He had just found his child and he certainly didn't want to lose her at this point to the Source's formidable temper. He was certainly shocked. Didn't she feel it? Couldn't she sense the Glory?
Willow was also very confused. She felt as if the entire world had turned upside down and inside out. Her father – was he her father? Or was he something else? It brought up feelings of that demon Moloch – Malcolm, as she knew him – all over again. And just how had he brought her here? And just where was here? Looking at the man in front of her, she glared. Stepping towards him, she felt the dark power stir within her. It flared and she felt it take over. She coasted the power surge and confronted the man in front of her.
The Source raised his eyebrow as he saw Tempus' child transform in front of him. She was glorious! Her auburn hair and green eyes transformed into a midnight black, glistening with the power within. Streaks were evident in the veins on her arms and face, pulsing with the dark magicks within.
Cole shivered as he looked at the girl. She was incredible and the Source was quite aroused by her. What was really strange was that she didn't seem to react to the Source's Glory at all. As a demon, she should be able to sense wherever the Source was. But she didn't. Curious. The Source's attraction to her could be used. It should distract him from Phoebe and the girls. Excellent.
"Damn it! I'm serious!" Willow exploded. "How did I get here? Where is here? What's going on?"
The Source's eyes glinted with amusement and admiration at the fury in the girl before him. He could feel her power bristling just under her surface. She was much more powerful than her father. Perhaps, a combination of the demon and the witch. Demons had been breeding with witches for millennia for just such a result in vain. Yet, here she was – Fate was surely a capricious mistress. He turned to Tempus who was shuffling nervously. Amusing, isn't it? He heard Cole ask. I'm not sure who Tempus is more intimidated by – her or you. The Source grinned in agreement. Sometimes Cole was very perceptive. He stood and reached out a hand to the girl.
Willow's eyes narrowed as the man rose. He moved a lot like Angel – or Angelus, really. Smooth and fluid, like a cat. And probably ten times as deadly. He also reminded her of a snake or a spider, toying with its prey. The man made a motion with one hand and a chair appeared next to the chair he'd risen from. Her eyes darted from the chair to him and back again. He smiled and took her hand, escorting her to the chair. She shrugged, letting go of the tension that had built to lethal levels. No sense going all Darth Vader just yet.
The Source raised an eyebrow as he watched the dark tension leave her as she took her seat. Her hair returned to the remarkable copper tresses she'd had before, and the dark veins disappeared as well. Hmmmm... that definitely merited investigation. "I am the Source and you are in my kingdom, the Underworld. As for HOW you got here, well, that was YOUR doing not ours."
"Mine!" Willow erupted, her eyes darting from her "father" to this Source and back again.
In the darkness, at the edge of the room, another pair of eyes was watching the scene play out. This, this was something she had not foreseen. She would have to keep an eye on this new arrival, and perhaps dispose of her if she proved to be a hindrance to her plan. She had planned for years, she would not have it jeopardized by one half-breed.
Part Two
"What the hell?" Xander screamed, spinning around. Where the hell had Willow gone? They had been arguing and then – poof! - she was gone. Except it wasn't so much a poof as a-- a-- well, hell! He didn't know. He looked to Giles who, unfortunately, looked just as confused as they were. "Giles, please tell me you know what happened. Was that a spell?"
Giles rarely found himself at a loss for words but this was definitely one of those times. He knew exactly what Willow had done – she had shimmered. But it was all too confusing. She had never shown any signs of this. Witchcraft, yes. She had always shown a great natural talent in that area. But that was completely different. Shimmering was a demonic talent. Even if he hadn't been able to perceive it, Buffy should have. As the Slayer, she should have known. He looked at Buffy who looked just as flummoxed as everyone else. She was in battle mode, standing over a weeping Dawn. So much had happened to poor Dawn in the last few years. In many ways, Willow was just as much a mother figure to Dawn as Buffy. More so, in some ways. He looked into Buffy's nearly frantic eyes and cleared his throat. "Buffy, this is hard for me to ask, but--"
"Giles!" She screamed. "Just spit it out, okay? If you know what's possessed her or whatever, you got to let us know!"
"I don't think she is, Buffy. Possessed, I mean. Buffy, at any time, since you've known Willow have you felt that she was different – supernatural?"
"Huh?" Buffy snorted. "Of course not! What do you mean different? You mean like I feel when a vamp's near?"
"Yes, except more like you feel when a demon is near."
"So you think she's been infected or something by a demon?" Xander interjected, a panicked tone to his voice.
Giles shook his head mournfully. This was going to be especially difficult for Xander. He'd known Willow since they were very small. How would he take this. "No, Xander, not infected or possessed. I think she was born this way. I think her mother was probably a witch, a human, and that her father – this Tempus that we've met – was a demon. That's how she was able to shimmer out of here." He saw the perplexed looks as he made his last statement. "Shimmering is a form of teleportation, it's how Earth demons travel."
"But why now?" Nearly everyone jumped at Dawn's question. They'd almost forgotten she was here, she'd been so quiet. She chuckled. "Sorry, guys. I just mean if she had this demon buried inside her – why did it wait so long? Here she was, on top of a hellmouth, being attacked by vamps and demons and stuff regularly. You'd think it'd have been an issue before now. Right?"
"Indeed. Quite right, Dawn. That is the part that flummoxes me."
"Flummox? Sheesh, Giles!" Xander snorted. They're right, though. Why now? Why not at puberty? Why not when the Hellmouth opened? Why--- "Wait a minute!"
His friends jumped and glared at him. Buffy snarled at him. "Xander! I realize you're upset, but you could you just start acting your age!"
"Whoa!" Xander recoiled. "Where'd that come from? I'm not the only one with issues in this room. As a matter of fact--"
"Children, children. Calm down. We're all overwrought. Now Xander did you have something more substantial to add?"
"Huh?" As always, Giles could throw a splash of cold water in a room just by speaking. "Um, yeah. I do. It's just that I was asking myself why did she shimmer now? The only thing I could think of is that it was triggered by something. Maybe it was triggered by Dark Willow coming to the surface. I mean, not every witch has that kind of power, right?"
BANG! Giles slammed his fist down on the table, causing the others to jump yet again. "Of course! Of course that's it! Why didn't see that for myself? That would explain everything. She had been raised as a mortal, a human. It probably had to take a significant life-changing event to cause the demon to emerge. Excellent, Xander!"
"But," Buffy began hesitantly. "She's not an evil demon, right?"
"Well, that's a little more problematical. She's half witch, and half-demon. That would mean that she has a soul due to the human influence of her mother. However, the demonic part of her cannot be dismissed lightly. Half-breeds are not uncommon to the Underworld – Hell, if you will. If they're raised down below, the human side is suppressed. So, I imagine since she was raised up here the demon was suppressed. All creatures have a need to belong."
Dawn mulled that over. That sort of made sense. Like the ugly duckling, a swan raised as a duck. Or like in Babe, where the pig that had been raised by sheepdogs. "She's still Willow, right? She's still our friend. So that means we have to get her away from Daddy dearest."
"Well, yes, that's one outlook. But we still have to deal with the fact that the demon has been awoken. I don't think he'll go quietly." Giles sighed. Willow had burrowed in his heart long ago. He didn't think he'd have the strength to do what might be necessary.
"Got to find her first." Xander interjected downheartedly.
"Yes." Giles agreed. "I think we may have to go to San Francisco."
"How do you know she went there?" Buffy asked in confusion.
"Oh, I don't think she did. But, I do think a visit to the Charmed Ones is in order. I think we really need their help now."
