Authors Note; And here we have the next chapter. I've almost finished writing the final chapter in this, so it should be completed fairly soon. I can't wait to start the next one in the series :)

Puppet.

Fifteen year old Willow Marie Rosenberg was walking home from a boring night at the Bronze; neither of her boys had bothered to show up and she sullenly wondered what their excuses would be, come morning out in front of the high school.

Lame, no doubt, and yet she knew she'd forgive them before they even opened their mouths.

She sighed.

She was such a pushover.

The redhead frowned when she came to another puddle; it had rained more in the last few days than is usual in California. Doing her best to step around it, so she wouldn't ruin her good shoes, she continued down the dark path of the alleyway shortcut.

When she finally stepped back out onto the sidewalk, she was only three minutes from her house, but it would take her longer than that to get there; she just didn't know it yet.

Having only made it past a few houses, something suddenly caught her eye in the reflected window of one of the dark cars parked against the curb. She stopped, curious, and was quickly shocked by the sight.

Shimmering change right before her eyes.

An image formed in the window, one she didn't recognize... except for herself.

She was standing in an unfamiliar room, bright with the light of a Sunnydale morning. Wearing clothing she was too shy and insecure to dress in now, it was obvious to her that this Willow was a great deal older than her fifteen year old self.

There was another woman in the room; a voluptuous female with dark brown hair. Before she even had time to ponder what she was seeing, her older self pulled the other woman in for a kiss...

A kiss!

Now she was sure this wasn't real; it couldn't be.

But the image wouldn't let her stew in her shock for long, because suddenly something happened. She saw red dots on her white shirt and then the woman fell to the ground.

Dead.

With tears stinging her eyes, she watched as her counterpart fell to the carpet in a fit of sorrow and grabbed the body into her lap. Just when she thought nothing could surprise her more, her heart beating like a drum in her chest, the redheaded older twin raised her head and stared back at her younger self.

Eyes red as fire.

Willow took two steps back in fear and removed her eyes from the sight. When she turned back the image was gone and she was finally looking at her own reflection.

What was that?

Hands shaking, breast heaving, stomach whirling, she walked in a daze further down the sidewalk toward her home. Praying she could get there before anything else happened that she couldn't explain.

If that was what she wanted, she shouldn't have peeked into yet another car window, before making it to her destination.

The next scene that played out before her started where the last one had ended.

A bedroom, a body on the floor, and a counterpart with black eyes.

But then it kept going.

She saw flashes of events covering more than twenty-four hours; frightening, horrifying glimpses into what she hoped wasn't prophetic.

Because she just couldn't picture herself capable of something like this.

She saw herself stick hands into books and gain instant black hair from it. Witnessed as she tortured a screaming man before she ripped off his skin.

Without even touching him.

Saw as her twin laid destruction to a store in town. As she fought against those that would try to stop her. Saw herself on the bluffs, raising what appeared to be a satanic temple.

Saw a much older Xander bleed trying to help her.

Because of her.

And then she saw herself crash to the ground in her best friend's arms, as her hair slowly turned back to its original color.

And the image was gone.

If she thought seeing herself kissing a woman was shocking...

She wasn't capable of this, she refused to believe that. But how could she deny it? What else could it be, if not prophetic?

She could only hope that they were warnings... which meant she could change it.

It wasn't just her hands that were shaking now... it was her whole body.

Her whole being.

She began to walk again, once more heading for her home, only this time keeping her eyes open for the next parked car she would pass by.

And, just as she saw her house in the distance, her neighbors Volvo came into sight.

She slowed down as she reached it.

And was rewarded with another vision.

Another unfamiliar room, another unfamiliar woman, another unfamiliar situation.

It appeared to be an office of some kind, with a desk pushed away to make room for something in the middle. Something mystical, Willow was sure.

The brunette woman sat before her, though not the same one that had died, watching her intensely, a knife in her lap.

But she didn't look at her long.

Willow herself had a much scarier weapon in her lap; it looked like an ax and a sword had mated and this was their love child.

There was even a sharp, wooden stake in the handle.

There were candles all around and the room lit up in a bright light. Willow couldn't look away, even if she wanted to.

Which she didn't.

When the light only became more bright, with each passing moment, she realized it wasn't emanating from the candles; it was coming from the red weapon.

And from the heart of her counterpart.

It grew and grew until it seemed to explode; so violently that Willow almost stepped back and covered her eyes. Then, suddenly, it wasn't just the room that was lit up.

"Oh, god," Willow whispered, staring at the vision that was her.

Hair as white as snow and a look of pure ecstasy on her face.

"You're a Goddess," the other woman breathed out and the moment was broken.

The last thing Willow saw, before the vision ended and the view became a simple car window again, was the pure and peaceful smile on her own, older, wiser face.

And suddenly the last two visions didn't matter.

She wanted this to be her future.

One month later...

She bit her bottom lip as she stared intensely at the bright screen of the computer, trying to figure out what the next step was. The words glared back at her, the cursor blinking every other second.

It had been a long thirty days.

Not once had Willow tried to deny that this was her future; not just because she wanted it to be true, well, some of it, but also because she was too smart to think it could be anything else.

It definitely wasn't something she ate.

She had locked herself in her room the next day after school and tried to go over everything in her head, attempting to figure out where to go from there.

The answer was fairly obvious to her, so she got on the web and went in search for anything she could find on magic and those that used it.

It was time for her to start training.

But when the first spell book arrived by mail, after ordering it online, she suddenly lost all that bravery she had previously felt. All she kept seeing in her mind's eye was that image of her using the power to rip the skin off someone's bones, of hurting those she was supposed to care about...of trying to end the world.

She didn't want to become the person that was capable of that.

But how was she supposed to prevent it?

She had gone over it, again and again, for days, staring at the book that lay ever still on her desk in her room, never gathering the courage to do what needed to be done.

Instead, she had kept up with the research.

She now had an entire pile of books, on spells, on the history of magic, and even what she hoped was some helpful tips on how to control the power and not let it control you.

She had yet to crack a single one of them open.

Willow had spent the first few weeks coming to terms with the things she had learned in the vision windows. After all, it wasn't just the thought that she may become a powerful, and dark, Witch one day that she saw; she was also forced to come to terms with something she had, deep down, always known, if not admitted.

She was gay.

It had started when she was seven, but thanks to her parents she had known better than to go with it. So, she had made up a crush on her best friend, knowing in her heart that he would never return it, leaving her safe from her secret and from having to pretend with a boy.

Of course, this Willow didn't know, and would never know, of her future with a boy from a band, so couldn't answer why she would be with Oz for two years, and even fight for the relationship to last.

For the moment, all the redhead saw was that beautiful brunette from the first vision; Tara.

Even her name was lovely, Willow couldn't help but think.

She didn't know how they would meet, when they would meet, or how their relationship would begin, but one thing she did know; she wasn't going to let anything get in the way of the future happiness of both of them.

Which was why she was gathering up the courage to come out to her parents.

Though she had decided to do a practice run with Xander, any day now.

There had been plenty for the girl to come to terms with and she still had a long way to go. For now, she was sitting on her computer, researching any nearby covens that might be able to help her with her control issues.

Willow was more than aware of her problems; she'd always been the type of person who had to control any situation, either because she thought she knew better, thanks to her high intelligence, or because she wanted to be able to predict the outcome.

These were serious issues and, though she'd considered therapy like Xander was doing, she felt that there was other things needed in her case. Whether that was because of the supernatural element, she couldn't say, but therapy didn't feel right.

Which may be because of what her parents did for a living; she had grown up around people who were constantly analyzing her every move...she didn't need a stranger doing the same thing.

Finally, after what felt like, and probably was, hours of searching, Willow found a link to a web-page that may hold the answers. There was a message box on the site and several people were online and writing.

She leaned back in her chair and waited, watching the conversation on the screen. She wanted to see if anyone on it actually believed and knew of the truth; she didn't want to come off as a lunatic who belonged in an asylum.

Finally, after almost thirty minutes of watching, something jumped out at her. She pressed on the name and pulled up a private conversation box, typing frantically and not even bothering to correct her spelling mistakes.

The other person called themselves JK1965 and seemed to understand more about the real world than Willow had expected to find. They were very helpful, accepting that the redhead was still new and wouldn't be able to handle too much at once.

JK1965, who soon turned out to be a woman, offered to help Willow find what she was looking for; a tutor. When she learned that the teenage girl lived in California, the conversation really took off; apparently this woman was living in the City of Angels.

The two women agreed to meet up the next day in the city, since Willow was going with her parents anyway, and said their goodbyes. She hoped that the older woman would be able to point her in the right direction; she wanted to get started on the magic soon, there was no telling when she might need it.

With as many answers as she was gonna get right now, she turned off the screen, sighed and stood, deciding that it was time for dinner. She rose from her chair and stepped out of the room, almost bumping into her new roommate and best friend in the hallway.

Her eyes widened and she stammered. "Oh, hi, I didn't know you were home. What are you up to?" She had been caught off guard and didn't get a chance to hide her heightened emotions.

If Xander heard the squeak in her voice, he didn't comment on it. "Not much, was just gonna go get my boxes; they've been sitting in the hall ever since I came here." He shrugged his shoulders and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

The redhead's eyes narrowed and she huffed. "No comics, Xander, not until you get your homework done. C'mon, let's go sit in the living room, we can put the radio on. Go get your school stuff and I'll get mine." It would serve as a fine distraction until the next morning arrived.

Xander knew better than to argue with her, especially when she was wearing her resolve face, so he did as she said and met her in the main room a few minutes later.

She really needed to have a sit-down with her friend, and soon. This keeping secrets thing was beginning to get on her nerves.

She had changes to implement.

Willow and her parents left early the next morning; while Xander was still sleeping. She left a note for him on the kitchen table and then got in the car, mentally preparing herself for a very long two-hour drive.

She kept quiet in the backseat and, as she correctly guessed, this kept them from remembering that she was in the car; they didn't speak a word to her on the drive over.

There was a note in her pocket with the name of the cafe where she was meeting JK1965. She had already worked out a plan on how to get away from her folks, though she couldn't put that into effect until they arrived at the museum. The small family had been there before and it was the perfect place to lose them.

She knew her parents; they wouldn't panic or contact the cops. They'd simply assume she was acting out and wait for her by the car, at the appointed time for them to leave to return to Sunnydale.

Which was exactly what she was planning on doing.

At two minutes to ten, she arrived outside of the cafe and took a seat at an outside table. She had already told the woman she was meeting that she was a young redhead and that seemed to be enough to recognize her, as four minutes later, a young woman sat down across from her.

"You must be Willow," she said, a kind smile on her face.

Now that she had internally admitted to her true sexuality, she was able to see how pretty this woman was and, only her slight crush on the girl called Tara from her vision kept her from obviously showing her opinion. The woman was a dark-haired beauty with slightly darker skin than usual, even in California, deep brown eyes and a kind face.

Willow already felt better about her decision to trust her.

"Yes, I am," she replied, returning the smile.

The waiter chose that moment to come over and ask for their orders. Only when he left, after writing down a black coffee and iced tea, did the redhead learn the name of the one she was talking with.

"My name is Janna and I'd like to tell you why I think I could help you."

She went on to explain her past; how she was a descendant of a powerful clan of Romany Gypsies, who had emigrated to the States after a terrible tragedy struck them in 1898. She didn't mention what it was, but from the darkening of her eyes, Willow knew better than to ask.

Janna explained that she had been one of the only members of her clan to show actual interest in the old ways of her people; the magic. She had trained from a young age and, now that she had permanently relocated to California, she would be more than happy to be the one to teach Willow everything she needed to know.

"Wow, that would be great, thank you," she gushed, almost jumping up and down in her seat from excitement.

"It's no problem at all, Willow. You seem like a sensible girl and you're certainly approaching this in the smartest possible way." She smiled at her as she sipped on her coffee. "I want to start off right, so why don't you tell me how available you'll be, in terms of coming to LA."

Willow shrugged. "I should be able to get here every weekend, and on week days if we plan ahead; I won't get a license for another year, but there are buses going back and forth all the time."

"That sounds good. There's a relatively small, but powerful, coven right here in the city. I doubt they'd appreciate being called a coven, though," she laughed, shaking her head.

"Why's that?" The girl asked, curiously tilting her head.

Janna set down her cup and looked at the bright, young girl. "They are actually called Furies and are...less than humans. Sort of a mix between Muses and Oracles, I guess you could say. They create powerful spells, though, from protection to long-lasting curses."

Willow frowned; they sounded scary, in an intimidating way, not a dangerous one. "And you think they'd help me?" Her voice dropped as her insecurities showed themselves.

Janna smiled gently and reached over to pat her hand on the redhead's. "I'm positive. They can be a bit...emotionless, but they are good people. But I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, so we won't go if you don't want to, or unless you feel prepared and ready for a visit."

She nodded, promising to think about it until their next meeting.

The rest of the lunch was spent discussing spells and where Janna wanted Willow to start. She handed the girl a book to take home with her and made her promise not to attempt a single spell until given permission, regardless of how curious she was or how much she would feel it necessary in the near future.

But Janna had nothing to worry about; the visions Willow had been shown had seen to that.

The sun was still high in the sky when they said their goodbyes, after exchanging phone numbers, and the redhead made her way to the restaurant where she knew her parents had reservations in a few hours. She knew there was several stores nearby where she could pass the time.

She never noticed the blonde girl she passed or the resemblance she had to the Slayer from her visions.

And in turn, Buffy saw right through her.

They passed each other by and went on with their individual lives.

For now.

As soon as they stepped back into the house later that night, her parents sent her straight to her room and then went into the living room to spend a few hours together in front of the idiot box.

Willow rolled her eyes and proceeded to do as they had asked, but only because that's what she planned to do anyway.

She wasn't the least bit surprised to find Xander waiting for her on her bed.

"Did you have a nice trip?" He asked, but there was something...off about his voice.

"Yeah, it was fine," she cautiously replied, putting down her bag and fidgeting on her feet.

"Good, that's...good," his eyes didn't seem to be able to land on her and her brows furrowed.

And then she saw the spot he kept looking back at; her desk that held the numerous books on magic, spells and the supernatural.

"I, uh, I can explain that," she stammered, not hearing the sound of her patio door opening or the breeze that was suddenly in the room.

"There's no need," he said, sighing, and she suddenly noticed that there were three comic books lying on the bed beside him.

"Looks like we've got some stuff to talk about," a voice spoke from the other side of the room and a surprised Willow turned to find none other than Cordelia Chase standing in her bedroom, a serious look on her face.

A face void of any hostility.

The redhead wasn't sure how to react, her head kept spinning back and forth between her oldest friend and biggest bully, waiting for someone to jump in with answers to this new conundrum. But Xander just tapped a finger on the comics and stared at his friend.

"Read these and then, we'll talk."

So Willow did.

She sat down at her desk, pouring all of her attention on the comics, especially once she realized what exactly they were about. It certainly explained why Xander had been so dead-set on getting Jesse and his family out of town.

While she read on and on about losing someone she loved, the bravery her friend hid deep inside him, and the horror of a day that was supposed to be joyous, the other two inhabitants of the small room stared at each other, thinking about their own reactions, earlier in the day.

It had all started in the magic shop.

Cordelia had been more than a little surprised to see Xander Harris in the shop, though certainly not as surprised as she would have been one month earlier. Not only because she herself had changed in that time, but because she had noticed his changes, as well.

From his best friend suddenly moving away, with little to no warning, to seeing a more serious look on his face more often, to him actually paying attention in school and saving his goofy grin for rare occasions.

But seeing him in Anita's store had still been a shocker.

She had barely managed to say more than hello to her new friend, when she noted that someone was sat at the table behind the most prominent bookshelf. Curious, since her and Anita were usually alone, besides the occasional customer who dropped in and out within minutes, she stepped around to see who it was.

It definitely hadn't been expected.

Xander had finally heard something; a gasp. He turned to see the face he had abhorred for years, his eyes widening at the sight. They had stood like that for what felt like forever, until Anita had cleared her throat and said, awkwardly, "So, you guys know each other?"

That had broken the silence.

They had talked for hours as the sun set in the distant horizon; about what they had both experienced thirty days ago and what they had each been through in the time since that event. Cordelia talked about the Oracles and what she had learned from them, while Xander explained about the personal changes he was determined to make.

It was the first time in their lives that they had an actual friendly conversation.

When they both came to the conclusion that Willow may be going through the same thing, due to the redhead's own, slightly smaller, changes over the last month, they made the trek to Xander's new home, to wait for the other girl.

One look at the contents of her desk had told them all they needed to know.

Now, Willow finished reading the last comic and going through it all in her head, before turning her attention back on the room itself. That appeared to be Cordelia's cue to tell her own story, one that, unlike Xander's, couldn't be shown.

The mirror didn't save data.

Willow sat quietly and completely still on her desk chair, staring at the statuesque brunette and taking in every word she uttered with absolute attention and interest.

Here she'd thought she was the only one...

The night grew longer and their voices hushed, to keep intruders, in this case Willow's parents, from learning that she was not alone in her room, nor was she asleep.

Tomorrow was a school day, after all.

They talked of everything between Heaven and earth, personal experiences throughout the last thirty days and any plans they had each made to deal with this event. They spoke of Cordelia's visit with the Oracles, Xander's plans to become a better person, and Willow's meeting with Janna and her ideas of practicing magic early on and with, hopefully, healthier results.

By the time they noticed the lateness of the hour, Xander retreated into his own room and, now knowing just how dangerous this town was when the moon was in the sky, Willow made up a bed on the floor for her enemy and bully.

Wondering if she would still hold that title for long.

The girls fell asleep with the same thought racing through their minds; were there others out there, just waiting to be found?

Authors Note; And there you have it, we're more than halfway there now :)

Hope you guys enjoyed it and don't forget to review!

Puppet.