Chapter 10: The Black Hope
Sometime in the 23rd century, Lex building, 53rd street, Haddyn, Noram
"Mel!" a voice yelled. Willow felt pain, a lot of pain, she had no idea that dying would be this painful. "Jesu!" the same voice cursed. But the pain did not bother Willow, she had succeeded in doing what had to be done, she had received the rest she had craved for the last 200 years.
"Mel, Where did you go?" the voice asked. Slowly Willow opened her eyes and saw a blonde woman sitting nearby, crying. Willow recognized the blonde woman as the slayer's sister, Erin Fray. Willow expected the world to go black soon, but instead the world grew sharper.
It took a while before Willow realized that she was not dying, but instead had somehow survived. Impossible Willow thought. She had felt the scythe being pierced trough her hearth, she had seen the look of sadness on Buffy's face, she had felt dead approaching, but yet she lived.
Willow looked down at her chest and saw to her surprise that her chest wound had completely healed. When Willow looked around she saw that she was sitting in a pool of her own blood, so it had not been some dream.
Willow tried to think back to what exactly happened. Buffy had stabbed her with the scythe, then some lightning hit her, burning, no, protecting her. Her past self had come trough the portal, she saw that when she was falling down, and had taken Buffy back to her true time. She had also seen a white flash, and saw two people descending from another building, a blonde boy and a black-haired girl. The children of Twilight Willow thought.
Willow noticed a machine lying near where Erin was crying. Willow stood up slowly and walked to the machine and looked at it. It looked like a beacon with a date on it: 27th of September 2010.
This could mean only one thing. Sam and Kate had somehow saved Willow's life and gone back to the their proper time. At that point Erin noticed that Willow was standing nearby and pointed her ray gun at Willow.
"Where is Mel?" Erin asked. Willow looked at the beacon again and somehow knew that Melaka had also traveled to the past.
"Lost in the seas of the past." Willow answered while she tried to think of her next action, not worried about the gun pointed towards her.
"I don't have time for games, tell me where to find her or I will shoot you." Erin said coldly. Willow looked towards Erin and saw the anger in her eyes.
"That anger is not going to get your sister back." Willow said. A new plan was forming in Willow's mind, but it involved going back in the past herself. Erin might be able to help with that. "I know in what time your sister is, important things happen in that time. Her being there will be the step stones for this time." Willow continued.
"What is your plan this time witch?" Erin said angrily.
"I will open up a portal to that same time and then we can both look for your sister." Willow said. Not that Willow cared about the slayer, but she might need her for Willow's plan to work.
"Okay, now I'm pissed." A new voice said. Willow turned around and saw a black-haired boy with glasses arriving at the scene. Willow recognized him as Harth Fray.
"This is not your day Harth." Willow said. Erin backed away and pointed her ray gun at Harth.
"I want to know the truth!" Harth said. "First you help me out, then you set Gunther on my trail, who are you going to spin next?" Harth asked. At that moment a new portal opened at the beacon.
Willow turned towards the portal, but Harth blocked her way.
"You are not-" Harth began, but got hit by a ray gun bolt out of Erin's gun, Harth was knocked back trough the portal. Great Willow thought, was nothing going to go as she had planned tonight?
Willow quickly moved trough the portal herself, and felt a lot of pain again.
When finally the pain had stopped and Willow knew she was on the other end of the portal she quickly waved her hands and closed the portal with an easy spell. Luckily for Willow, Erin had not made it trough the portal. There where already to many people misplaced in time to even try to get a good plan going again. Better go with the flow, story of my life. Willow thought.
"Well, well, what have we got here?" a voice asked. When Willow looked around she saw a hooded vampire with sunglasses standing nearby. Willow recognized the vampire as the Vampire King, Willow remembered that the Vampire King had ruled New York somewhere in the 21st century.
When Willow looked around she saw that she was surrounded by a small army of vampires, she saw a slayer jumping off the roof and shooting a grappling gun at the next building, Willow also saw a red-haired woman flying away from the scene, and a small portal closing where a couple of people disappeared trough. Willow remembered that the slayer was Satu, and that the red-haired woman was herself. Willow also remembered that the Vampire King was really Xander. The memory's made her sad, but Willow could not linger on them to long.
"Great, vampire city." Willow muttered. Xander moved towards Willow and the unconscious form of Harth Fray.
"Haven't seen you dark in a while." Xander smirked.
"I have been dark for quite some time now." Willow answered
"Are you from the future? Alternate dimension?" Xander asked. It seemed that Xander had once again no idea what was going on.
"Future, past, it doesn't matter where I come from." Willow answered, knowing that Xander could not use such answers. Willow was not going to make it easy on Xander, in fact Xander might be just the one person who could lure Buffy out. Willow desperately wanted to talk to Buffy. Only Buffy could do what was needed. Willow knew that Xander was easy to manipulate, Willow knew that Xander's position was extremely fragile, and she could use that against him.
"Future then. I remember Buffy telling me she killed you." Xander said.
"She did, it did not work out though." Willow said.
"Figured as much, you are my prisoner now, as is that vampire you got with you." Xander said. Willow knew that she did not have much of a choice, but she also knew that Xander's time was coming to an end, one way or another.
"You think you got this won Xander?" Willow asked. Willow could nearly see Xander's eye grow under the sunglasses.
"You know who I am?" Xander asked surprised.
"You think Buffy doesn't know?" Willow asked in return. At this Willow could see uncertainty showing on Xander's face.
"S-she d-doesn't, s-she c-can't" Xander stuttered. It seemed that Willow had hit a nerve and was right that Xander's position was extremely fragile. "I've been careful, I even changed Dawn's memory and everything." Xander continued after he got his posture back.
"You're time is running out Xander." Willow said, knowing that this would drive Xander even more crazy.
"You know what happens don't you?" Xander asked. "You can change things!" Xander nearly begged.
"The future cannot be changed." Willow said, enjoying the desperate looks that went hidden behind those sunglasses.
"What happens soon?" Xander asked.
"Not soon. Now." Willow said while she saw a blue beam heading into the sky on the horizon in the east. "The time for battle has come.". Willow was certain that it would work out.