Part 10
Stepping
into Darkness
Part 10
~~~~~*****~~~~~
The blonde witch stepped into the
dull light and moved slowly towards Willow. The hushed silence
that fell over the group made her smile.
"Tara, what are you doing here?"
Willow asked, fear and disbelief ringing in her voice.
"I knew you wouldn't understand."
"Understand?" Willow's
forehead crinkled in disbelief, "What wouldn't I understand?"
"Red, step away," Spike
crept up behind her and pulled her backwards.
"No... No I don't understand.
What's happened to you?"
Tara smiled sadly, "You
defeated her Willow, you helped defeat the Great Glorificus. You
searched through all those dimensions to find meand you did,
didn't you." Tara laughed and Willow felt a shiver echo down
her spine. "I spent time in hell, in a place that changed me
in a way you could never understand, you might have found me, but
I'm not the same. I have powers that you couldn't possibly
understand, Willow."
"Tara?" Willow tried to
step forward as tears streaked her face, but her feeble attempts
to break Spike's hold barely even registered with her.
The blonde smiled, reaching out to
stroke Willow's face, laughing as Spike growled and pulled Willow
from her reach. There was another echoing laughter but this time
it seemed closer, and sent a shiver through the spines of every
member of the group, Slayers and vampires included.
"We have to get out of here,"
Anya said, the fear apparent in her voice. "Now!"
The group sprinted through the
sewers once again, back the way they had come. Anya had changed
her face back to normal and wouldn't look at Xander. Spike was
practically carrying Willow, who was still too distraught to move
by herself. And all the while, a pair of yellow eyes followed
them through the dark passages and a silent smile pierced the
shadows.
~~~~~*****~~~~~
The group sat in silence, each
trying to process what they had seen. No one was quite sure how
to react. Anya had yet to speak and Willow just sat in the chair
rocking back and forth as Spike tried to get her to calm down.
The others were simply staring at nothing. Angel had insisted
they let Cordelia sleep but other than that, no one had uttered a
word.
"We have to find out what they
want," Fliq stated, trying to dispel the silence, "Anya,
what were..."
"How did you know?" Buffy
interrupted.
"How did I know what?"
"About Tara?" Willow's
head jerked up instantly as Buffy continued, "You asked how
well I knew her...you knew."
Fliq shifted uncomfortably, "I
just sensed something about her, that's all." Spike and
Angel exchanged confused glances as Buffy and Willow eyed Fliq
expectantly.
"No, that's not it. You knew."
Buffy pressed.
"I sensed dark magick in her
and I knew something wasn't right. I didn't know she'd betray you."
"How did you sense the magick?"
Buffy continued, unwilling to let the subject drop.
"I can sense it, that's all.
Now, we can sit here and chat idly about this or we can do
something to stop it from getting worse."
"They wanted evil itself."
All heads turned to Anya. "That's what she said, that's what
you need to fight. Pure evil."
~~~~~*****~~~~~
"You let her get away, little
witch."
"You could have stopped them
yourself."
"Boring," Willow sighed,
pulling unneeded air into her undead lungs. "Now, we're
going to play a little game," she said moving behind Tara,
pulling her hair aside to reveal a milky white neck. Tara smiled
and sent a spark from the end of her fingertip through the
vampire's body.
Willow grinned, "Witch."
"You heard what I said, we need
to change this world, make it better."
"I liked my world," Willow
said dragging her nail around Tara's neck, stopping to whisper in
her ear, "We got to play with whips and chains," Tara
shuddered, smiling a little, "Want to play, little witch?"
Tara nodded as Willow continued to
move behind her, the vampire grinding into her hips, "Oh
yeah," she whispered.
"You," Willow whispered
into her ear, "are going to help me get my puppy and then,"
she licked Tara's neck, causing her to drop her head back, "we're
going to have some fun with the Slayers and their friends."
She placed a kiss on Tara's cheek,
then laughed lightly before turning back to the sewers. Tara
followed her, as they made their way back to their layer.
~~~~~*****~~~~~
"I've found something,"
Giles called as he made his way to the main table.
"Something useful this time, I
hope," Spike sighed as he placed his own volume onto the
floor, careful not to wake the red head who was sprawled across
his chest. Everyone was exhausted but sat forward to listen to
what Giles had to say.
"'And then there shall be a
darkness like no other. A gathering of the undead shall rise and
the shadows shall surround the mouth of hell. A flame of power,
redder than the fires of hell, shall pull the fallen angel from
the arms of love, and together the two shall rise and the
darkness will engulf us all.'"
~~~~~*****~~~~~
END OF PART 10