A/N: Here's a little chapter to get us closer to some good stuff. Feedback always welcome! Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 10: Where's Willow?
Dawn was watching Tara. She had just been sitting on the floor leaning her back against an empty bookshelf that Mr. Summers had stored in the basement years ago. It was strange, Dawn hardly even remembered her father's face, but she remembered that her mother had wanted to donate the bookcase, and her father had wanted to keep it.
The others were interrogating Amy, it didn't seem right, seeing her tied up to a chair, rocking back and forth as if she didn't realize she was moving at all. Sweating like she had a fever. Clenching her teeth so loudly that Dawn could hear the grinding. Buffy had bound her tightly to help stop the spasms, but Amy still rubbed her wrists against the rope to feel the friction.
"Wrong she made me come back wrong. I was better in the cage. Better not knowing. Better without the constant pinching, prodding, tingle underneath. It's all gone wrong, erosion in the flesh..."Amy was muttering. Dawn found it hard to look at, hard to listen too. Maybe Buffy was right, maybe she was too young for this stuff.
She walked over to where Tara sat on the ground, and crouched beside her in a similar position. The bookcase wasn't the most comfortable back rest, one shelf dug in to Dawn's shoulder blades and the next into her tail bone.
"Hey." Dawn greeted softly. Tara didn't respond. When they'd got home Anya had insisted Tara keep off her feet, drink plenty of fluids, and try not to puke on the carpeted areas. Dawn had put two and two together.
"How you doing?" Dawn asked, attempting to pull Tara out of whatever thoughts had caused that haunted expression. No reply, but Tara did take a steady breath in through her nose and out through pursed lips.
Dawn shuffled closer and leaned her head against Tara's shoulder.
"I'm really sorry." Dawn whispered as she took Tara's hand and squeezed. And she was.
"What's wrong with her?" Anya asked, as Amy began twitching her neck in little jolts. Giles knew of course, he'd seen this before.
"Withdrawal. She's withdrawing from the dark magic. I've never seen a case this severe." He admitted to the others who circled around the wooden chair.
"That doesn't make sense, she's not an addict Mr Giles. She's never shown any symptoms of dependency. I would have noticed." Tara said in an almost inaudible voice; however the fact that she opened her mouth was enough to get everyone's immediate attention.
"Could she have cloaked it? Like the whole Willow's a ghost, see no more, thing?" Buffy suggested.
"We've been over this, once you know about the cloak, the cloak is lifted. It's like alternate reality 101." Anya interjected.
"Leave it to demon girl to have all the fun-facts on life after a wish." Xander muttered bitterly under his breath and Anya fell silent.
The tension in the air was palpable. Giles felt his own weariness catching up on him through the ache behind his eyes. But this was no time for rest. If their theory was correct then Willow was not only a tremendously dangerous witch in her own right, but also a very dangerous weapon.
"You say she admitted it was her?" Giles inquired as if heading towards an idea.
"She did. Everything but a signed confession. She's our reality bender." Buffy affirmed
"Well that's probably what's been sustaining her. In a world created by Dark magicks, the one controlling it would have a continuous feed to the power in-which it came to be." He stated.
"Which would mean Amy's been getting a constant flow of dark juices since before Buffy's dream?" Xander asked .
"Preciously." Giles agreed. As he looked over at the girl, there was pity in his eyes.
"What stopped it? Why is she cut off now from her wish-world supply of evil?" Buffy asked, always trying to get to the point.
"I suspect that ever since this world begun to lose its credibility it has had an effect on her. But Rack changed something this morning. By making Willow human he must have altered a fundamental aspect of Amy's wish, it's breaking apart; it's no longer her world." Giles summarized his hypothesis. It seemed plausible enough.
"Why did you do it? Why curse Willow? Who is she too you?!" Buffy yelled at the girl whilst shaking her shoulders.
"Willow, Willow, Willow. Everyone wants to find Willow. No one cares about her secrets, no one holds them against her, no one scratches at her skin..."
Amy's rant was interrupted when Buffy slapped her across the cheek.
"Tell me where she is." Buffy ordered.
Amy grinned through a split lip letting her head fall to the side as if her neck refused to support it.
"She's mine. Bastard promised. I get all the glory when they drink till she's dry." Amy hissed. Buffy shoved the chair so that it fell onto its side.
Amy let out cackle. It was the sort of laugh that would have seemed natural when enjoying a comedy on TV, but in the current circumstances was just plain eerie.
"You got nothing on me Buffy. And in case you don't remember you're not big with killing humans. To high and mighty to watch the sinners blood boil." She taunted, as a shrill chuckle forced through her throat.
Giles found himself wondering again what makes a person so much better than a beast.
It was then that Tara, who had remained quite all afternoon, stood slowly, walked to where her girlfriend (well most likely ex-girlfriend by now) was lying strapped to a chair and promptly kicked her in the face with one solid motion.
"I am having the worst day, and I really couldn't care less that I've been dating a manipulative psychopath for over a year. I don't care who the hell you are. I don't care why the hell you did it. I just care where she is. So tell Amy Madison, where's Willow?" Tara spoke through clenched teeth, tears escaped blue eyes but they didn't have any effect on her voice. She didn't' stutter once.