The Pain Series Volume 1 REPOSTED

by casualattitude

Life is not always sweetness and light, sometimes it's just the opposite

4. Remembrance

OK - message at start this time to keep the ending pure.





## the timeframe will be cleared up in a couple of chapters ## thanks to lwbush for pointing out that motivation by Riley needed boosting ## it was always Willow, I just tried to hint otherwise ## many suggestions as to Riley's fate -I'll make my decision soon ## thanks to Obi for pointing out spelling errors in chap.1- will be reposted ## Drake Roberts - it was you. You review me, you feature. Don't get too cocky though, you haven't made it out yet ##

In addition, I am considering writing a slightly separate chapter (not more than that) covering Willow's role and time in this story from her POV - this will only happen if people feel it won't detract from main storyline. Chap.5 is only half written at present - having a little trouble structuring it so couple of you might be asked to help out For me, this is the best chapter to date - let me know if you agree/disagree. There is no end to this story in sight at moment, it'll just keep going..













Chapter 4 : Remembrance



'Willow.......'

Xander's voice cracked slightly as he gasped the words, his heart shattering as he did so, tears forming in his eyes.

'Oh god, no...'

The memories of his final day before being brought to this place returned, the sight of Willow dredging up images even through that drug-addled area of his memories.

.a picnic in the park, the whole group there, laughing in the sunshine. Giles and Joyce watching over them all smiling, Willow and Tara playing with each others hair, Riley and Buffy just lying under a tree, Anya rifling through his wallet as she watched Xander teasing Dawn.

.celebrating once again the defeat of Adam, just a couple of months ago.

.the sun beginning to fade, watching the colors across the sky, mixing together before their eyes.

.going to the Bronze, Buffy leaving early to patrol, taking Tara with her, laughing as Willow tried to steal one more kiss, Riley leaving minutes later muttering about work to do, leaving just Xander and Willow.

.walking home as darkness threatened, laughing as they did so, still alert for the dangers they knew threatened at night..

.the attack by two vampires, fending them off with crosses and stakes, then their dead bodies exploding into dust.

.Riley standing there, a stake in his hand, a strange smile on his face as he offered to give them a lift home, his expression shifting as Xander declined.

.Riley's fist flying into his face, even as a dart struck Willow on the shoulder, hands pulling them into the dark van behind them.

*********

'Why? Why did you do this to us? We trusted you,' Xander whispered, his face turning momentarily from the sight of Willow, locking eyes with Riley's figure standing before him.

'It was business Xander. I work for the government remember? It's always business.'

Opening the cell door, two of the accompanying soldiers thrust the small figure inside Xander's cell. Her body was sent crashing to the ground with the force of their actions, arms flying out to try to break her fall, Xander's rush to her side to late to save her from the impact on the hard floor.

'Make yourself comfortable Mr. Harris. We begin again tomorrow, only this time your friend will be participating,' one of the white clad scientists spoke up, his cold voice vibrating off the glass separating them.

At this the scientists and soldiers filed away, the glass shifting color again, darkening till the view beyond could no longer be made out by the two figures inside the cell.

Only Riley remained on the other side of the glass, watching Xander cling to the huddled figure beside him, clutching her tightly to his chest, the heartbroken expression on his face speaking volumes about how he was feeling.

Not so confident now are you Xander? Lets see how you feel tomorrow.

Minutes passed before Riley turned away from the sight of two of those with whom he had spent so much time, who had fought at his side, now suffering before him. To those who might have observed him he appeared unmoved, but internally he was smiling, the thought of what he was about to inflict upon the two raising his spirits, even as he strode away to continue with the planning of the forthcoming experiments.

*********

Xander held the small figure in his arms for what seemed like hours, holding her tightly within his embrace, her head resting against his beating heart. His hand ran through her hair, stroking it gently, feeling the auburn strands running through his fingers, over and over.

He didn't want to look at her too closely, not wanting to see the bruises on her face again, to see the pain that had been evident in her eyes, not wanting to see if she was hurt anywhere else, content for the moment just to hold her in his arms, to soften her pain.

His tears ran silently down his face, running over his own bruises and scars, rolling over his dry lips as they fell onto the woman in his arms. Willow's soft tears were rolling down her face too, oozing out of her bloodshot eyes to fall against his arms, soaking the shirt he was wearing.

Time passed as they knelt there in silence, holding each other.

Eventually it was Willow that broke the silence, that interrupted the comforting embrace between them.

'Xander...?,'she murmured against his chest. 'Oh god, I've missed you. I was so scared..'

"Willow..,' Xander whispered in response, his words almost lost against her hair, his lips only inches away from the top of her head. 'Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?'

Willow was silent for a moment, searching for the words.

'They took my magic Xander. They took my magic... They just drained it, over and over again, until at the end, I couldn't do anything, not even the smallest spell,' she whispered, pain evident in her voice.

'I'm sorry Willow, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have trusted Riley, I should have seen.'

'No Xander. You were the only one of us to question him and the Initiative. I thought you were just jealous because he had Buffy. I should have believed you, I should have wondered why he was still helping us after the Initiative closed down, why he hadn't been reassigned with the rest of them..'.

Her voice trailed off as she realized for the first time the depths of Riley's deception.

'He must have been working against us that whole time Xander. All that time he was going out with Buffy, when we were helping the Initiative, he was just getting ready to betray us. How could he do that to us Xander? How could he do that to Buffy?'

Xander couldn't respond. The same questions had run through his mind repeatedly over the past few months, alone in his cell, nothing but his thoughts and memories to occupy him, to distract from what they were putting him through, day after day. He knew she was right, that Riley must have been planning this for a while, that it couldn't have just been on the spur of the moment.

'I don't know Willow, I don't know. He worked for the government. They made him what he is. Remember? Maggie Walsh and the drugs? We thought he had rebelled. We thought he had rejected what they stood for, but it must have just been another way to get in with us. We had to take his word, and when Buffy believed him, we went along. We didn't stop to question why he would still be with us?'

'You tried,' she murmured again. 'You argued against letting him in in the first place, You said we couldn't trust the army...'

'I didn't question enough Willow. When we took down A.D.A.M. I stopped asking questions, I believed him, or at least I wanted to believe him. I wanted another guy in the group. You had Buffy, Tara, Joyce, even Anya, and I wanted another guy to talk to..if I hadn't been so short sighted, this might not have happened..'

'Xander, no! We were all at fault. None of us stopped to think he might do this to us, we couldn't know.'

Willow clung even tighter to her best friend, her first and strongest love, her brother - not of the blood but of the heart. The one person she knew she could count on never to let her down, never to let her fall, no matter what stood in his way. The one person she knew she could always count on to try to help her, even from herself.

She started to cry once more, holding on to him as her rock, the only thing standing between her and the darkness, and he could only return her embrace in kind, his eyes full of tears as he contemplated what she must have gone through.

*********

Time passed as they held each other.

'I knew you were here,' she finally whispered, again being the one to break the silence. 'They showed me what was happening to you, what they were doing to you. Oh Xander, I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything, I couldn't help you, I'm so sorry.'

'Ssshhhhh,' Xander soothed into her ear, not sure what to say to her.

'I know you didn't know I was here, they told me. They were laughing when they did so Xander. They thought it was funny that you didn't know I was so close..'

'If I'd known you were here Willow, I would have found you. I would have found a way, you know that don't you? I would have found you,' Xander tried to assure her, knowing that it was to himself that his words were really addressed.

'I know Xander, I know. But you couldn't have done anything, there's too many of them and if you'd tried.,' her voice trailed off, her sentence unfinished.

'You said they'd drained you magic Willow - how did they manage it? Did they hurt you?'

'They forced me to use my powers Xander, all the time. They wouldn't stop. They just kept on and on. They kept trying these spells and they had these machines.I don't know if they were trying to drain my powers for themselves or if they were trying to find a way of ending them. I still don't know. My strength just faded over time, they were drawing so much from me. I don't know if I just..ran out of the energy that makes my magic work...or whether they found a spell that stopped it. A couple of weeks ago, my powers just stopped. I couldn't do anything, and after a while they just left me alone. I didn't know what they were going to do to me..they can't just let me go, and if my magic is gone then I thought they would just...'

'Stop. Don't say that Willow. We'll find out way out of here, together we'll find a way.'

'But why did they put us together now Xander. It's been months, my magic's gone. What do they want from us?'

'I don't know. Whatever they were trying with me doesn't appear to be going too well. They're trying to draw out the memories of my possessions, I'm not sure why. They don't tell me anything, just run these scenarios, over and over again. They put me in this simulator thing, sometimes with the soldiers and then they force me to fight all the time, and it hasn't worked. The people in charge, they seemed to be getting more and more angry about it and I thought they were going to give up until a couple of days ago.'

'What happened?'

'They didn't come for me. I haven't seen them for a couple of days, and then they came today. And they brought you and ..'

'And.?'

'And that makes me more afraid. Because they said they would begin again tomorrow, and if your powers are gone, and they haven't succeeded with mine, then what do they want with us now?'

Willow fell silent, unable to answer his question, his fear for her echoed by her own fear for him.

*********

They spent the rest of the day talking, recalling happier memories from the past, before vampires and slayers, before they knew what went on in the shadows, before innocence was lost.

They didn't discuss their time after Buffy had arrived, after their lives had changed, be it for better or worse. What good would it do to recall those memories now? They were here, and nothing in the outside world was going to save them from whatever they were facing, as so they retreated to their past, to their childhood.

As the hours passed they began to drift to sleep, still holding each other tightly in a close embrace, Xander holding her against his chest, listening to the sounds of her breathing. As he felt himself drifting off, the question that had been at the back of his mind, the question that he had been too afraid to ask her surfaced.

'Willow? How did they get you to use your magic? Couldn't you have used it to get yourself out of here?'

Willow remained silent. She knew he would ask her this eventually, and she knew that her answer could only increase his pain, would cause him to blame himself once more for events over which he had no control.

'Willow?'

She knew he would keep asking. That stubborn part of his personality would force it out of her, even though he knew what her answer was going to be, knowing that she didn't want to voice it.

'Willow?'

'They showed me..'

'What Willow? What did they show you?'

'They showed me you. They showed me what they were doing to you, they showed me you were here, were still alive. And they said..they said that if I didn't use my magic, if I didn't do what they said, then they would kill you...and I couldn't let that happen, I couldn't let them do that....so I did what they said, over and over again, until...I couldn't any more.'

'Oh no! Willow, you should have gone, you should have used your powers and left, escaped. You could have come back with the others, I would have been ok, I could have waited, they wouldn't have killed me..'

Even as he spoke, Xander knew that she could never have done as he said. She would never have left him here in this place, knowing that he could never have even contemplated leaving her. If the situation had been reversed, he knew that he would have stayed, that he would have done anything they asked if only to keep her alive for even a day longer.

'You know that I couldn't,' she replied. 'You would never have left me here, you know that. You would stay for me - how could I do less for you?'

'But you should still have gone, you could have come back...'

'They would have killed you. We're both still alive now, but if I'd gone, they would have killed you. I know it and you know it too..'

Xander could hear it in her voice - the fear, the love, and the absolute confidence that she had made the right decision. He knew without looking that she was decided, that there was nothing he could have said or done that would have changed her mind. No matter how afraid she might be, for herself and for him, he knew that she felt she had made the only decision possible.

Xander didn't argue with her, didn't say again that she should have gone, taken the opportunity to save herself. What good would it do? Faced with the same situation, he knew she would do the same again, the same thing that he would have done..

So he held her as she fell asleep in his arms, allowing the beat of his heart to soothe her, the warmth of his own body wrapping around her own, comforting her even as she slept..

*********

The memory of that night crashed through Xander as he stood in the communications room, the two scientists tied up to one side, the two injured soldiers lying on the ground next to them, and Riley Finn in front of him.

He remembered her smell, that special fragrance that he remembered always coming from Willow, not matter what perfume she wore, what state she was in. A scent that had been more familiar to him than his own, that started when they could barely walk together and had only grown stronger as the years had gone by.

He hadn't known that was what it was. Hadn't known how he could tell if she was in a room just by walking in. Hadn't realized that her scent was impregnated almost in his genes, a chemical signal designed to raise the protective instincts all family should bear. For she had been his family, from as early as he could remember.

More than any other in his life, she had been his family, protecting him, supporting him, sometimes from his blood family, more often from outsiders, just as he had tried to support her against those who would hurt cause her pain, intentionally or otherwise.

She had protected him when he was young, inviting him to stay over when she sensed his pain, giving him the love that he was not offered elsewhere. She brought him into her parents lives, forcing them by her obvious love of the small boy to take him in when needed, to care for him as their own when necessary.

As they grew up together, she had still protected him, from himself, from others, from those who would make fun of his family, of his clothes, of his lack of money. She stood by him when he was alone, filling the hole in his heart with her love.

And he had tried to do the same for Willow. Protecting her against those who would hurt her, deflecting those who would attack her onto himself, his humor keeping some at bay, making others insult himself instead of her. Those who would hurt her with words often found themselves arguing with him, without even realizing that they have been turned away from the original target of their barbs. Turning himself into the verbal punching bag that they seemed to need, as Cordelia had seemed to need, what seemed so many years before.

As they grew up, this protection had taken a physical form, sometimes as simple as stepping in front of her when walking through a crowded hallway, then later, with the arrival of the Slayer, against the creatures that constantly threatened them, all of them. Xander knew there were times when she wasn't aware of his presence watching her back, that she didn't know all he had done for her in secret, behind the scenes, that she didn't always realize what he would do for her.

But that didn't matter.

For one thing had always been constant between them, and that was love. A love that had only grown over the years, that had taken on different forms at different times but had always been there, and Xander had known it.

No matter what his mood, no matter how angry or scared or alone he had felt, he knew that she loved him and he loved her in return.

And for that love, there was nothing he would not have done..

*********

..In the background the computing unit continued to hum softly, billions of computations and codes passing through its processors as it attempted to break into the Project's mainframe, to gain access to the information stored in its databases.

The two scientists remained mute, not moving a muscle as they stared at the confrontation between Xander and Riley, the exchanges that were passing between the two men in front of them too complex for them to understand....

*********

.'Rise and shine children,' called Riley cheerfully, 'Time to go to work.'

The entwined pair rose, blinking sleep from their eyes, not releasing their grip on each other as they came to their feet, identical wary expressions on their pale faces. They watched as the soldiers opened the cell door, pacing inside as Riley and the scientists watched from the other side of the glass window.

'Lets go,' barked one of the soldiers, slamming Willow in the back with the butt of his rifle.

Xander started to react immediately, leaping toward the soldier, only to be stopped by the soft call from the woman on the ground.

'Xander, no!,' she cried out, trying to prevent the beating she knew would be the result of his assault on one of the soldiers, 'Do as they say, I'm fine.'

Xander ceased his headlong rush at the sound of her voice, instead turning away to help her to her feet, lifting her up and supporting her as the pair were ushered out of the room.

'What do you want from us?,' Xander asked the nearby scientist. 'Why do need Willow?'

As they were half carried, half strode to the simulator, the short distance between the cell and the room covered in seconds, none of the scientists or soldiers answered his entreaties, choosing silence as their response.

'Lets go,' barked the scientist in charge as the group entered the large simulator. 'Strap him in so we can begin.'

There were more scientists than had been present over the last few occasions he had been escorted here, and that realization ratcheted his tension up another notch. He struggled as the soldiers tore Willow from him, forcing him into the chair, the electrodes and connections fixing themselves to his body, wrapping around his head as soon as it hit the chair back. The straps and connections held him down even as he fought them for the first time, panic running through his body as he watched Willow held in front of him.

Before the visual cortexes were slid in front of his eyes, filling them with the visions that the simulator would provide, one of the scientists spoke.

'You wanted to know the purpose of your friend Mr. Harris? Well it's actually quite simple. I'm sure you are aware of the reason behind these experiments we're performing with you - to recover your memories and instincts that came with your possessions. I'm sure you are also aware that they have not been the success we had hoped. You have not performed in the simulator to any degree of satisfaction, and we have realized that perhaps the motivation was lacking, and for that we have subject 269 - Willow Rosenburg.'

'What are you talking about?,' Xander cried, 'I'm doing the best I can you bastards, just let her go!'

'We do not doubt that you are doing the best you can Mr. Harris. However, the best you can do is not the best that can come from you, and in order to brought the motivation for that, we now have your friend. Before the simulation begins, you should be aware of the following - while most of what you will see in front of you will be as before, a simulation, that which involves your friend will not be. What happens to her Mr. Harris, will be quite real. The pain that she suffers will be real, it will not be part of the simulation, although it will be incorporated within it. The only way to end her pain will be for you to save her, any way you can. I hope this provides you with enough incentive.'

As he finished his speech, Dr Daniels nodded, and the screens slide in front of Xander's eyes. Even as they did so, the soldiers escorted Willow to the opposite end of the room, strapping her body to a complicated device, a mixture of a torture chamber and a medical screener, the digital recorders able to project her image into Xander's simulation. Willow's struggles against the soldiers as she was strapped down proved ineffectual, the strength of the soldiers beyond her in normal health, never mind her much weakened state at that moment.

'Ready the scenario'

'Initiating'

The last sounds Xander could hear as he was plunged into the artificial reality of the simulation were those of Willow screaming his name as she was strapped down, her cries echoing in his ears well after he could no longer hear them....

*********

....'Do you remember that Riley? Do you? When you watched as they strapped me into the simulator and Willow into that machine?,' Xander spoke in a hoarse whisper, his voice not reaching past the man in front of him, the rest of the people in the room with them simply tuned out by both men.

Xander's expression was dead, only his eyes reflecting the pain of his past as the images were wrenched from his memories.

Riley didn't say a word as the memories continued, simply watching Xander with a calm expression on his face, relishing the moment as Xander suffered before his eyes.

In the background, Xander's computer unit continued to hum as it attempted to gain access to the mainframe....

*********

..Xander was plunged back into a new scenario, this one different from all those he had faced before. Instead of any of the modern military settings he had encountered over the past few months, this time he found himself inside a castle, the sun high above him. Not just one of those picture story ones for the tourists, but a real castle, the whole moat and turret thing done in spades, everything made of huge stone blocks, flags billowing from the towers.

He looked down at himself, at the clothes he seemed to be wearing. Some kind of full length gray tunic, stretching from his neck to his feet, held at the waist by a leather belt.. On top of the tunic he wore a thick metal mesh, thousands of tiny metal circles intertwined together to form a protective layer. A strange design was splashed across his chest, not the expected Red Cross on white background, the long ago symbol of the Christian crusades, but a strangely beautiful swirl of colors, merging together to somehow form a coherent whole, almost like a dragon. The gauntlets he wore on each hand were matched only by his head, covered with a thick metal helmet which stretched across his jaw, only his eyes left completely uncovered.

He was standing on the top of the outer wall, high in the air, looking out on the fields surrounding the castle walls. He could see for miles, the green fields stretching out as far as he could see, crop fields of golden wheat breaking up the solid green, their harvest swaying in the warm summer breeze. To his right lay a beautiful lake, the water a crisp and clear blue, so calm that it acted as a mirror to the mountains in the background, reflecting them in perfect symmetry, the join where the real mountains and the reflection began almost undetectable. The tops of the distant mountains glistened with pure white snow, like a picture from the top of a Swiss chocolate box.

To his left, he could make out the beginnings of what appeared to be a huge forest, the trees soaring into the air, bending slightly in the wind. He could see a herd of deer taking off from their cover at the edge of the trees, sprinting across the green grass, almost floating through the air as they ran. He could hear the birds singing as they glided through the air, their happy songs reflecting the glory of the scenery.

The picture before him was the most beautiful he had ever seen, surpassing the beaches of California, the towns and cities in which he had spent his entire life. It was a sight to make spirits soar and hearts sing.

It was perfect...

And then he turned..

And the scene changed..

And the carnage began..

Around the walls of the castle, and in the courtyard below, a battle was underway. No movie style fight, no Robin Hood scenes of battling peasants fighting bravely against their oppressors. Every person he could see before him and beside him was armed to the teeth, crossbows, axes, scimitars and huge broadswords, and even as he realized this, Xander realized what he was holding in his own arms.

A shield hung from his left forearm, strapped tightly to help absorb any blows, the same strange pattern swirling across it, the spiked edges lending the shield a touch of barbarity. In his right he held a long broadsword, not the beautiful ones he always pictured the knights of old wielding, with jeweled hilts and gleaming silver blades. This was a sword made for killing and no other purpose. It could never be used in any parade, any pictures, its pitted surface showing clearly that it had been used before, the marks of heavy impacts against its sharp edge, its dull appearance an indication of the heavy use to which it had been put in the past. Despite its wear though, the keenness of the blade was evident as it cut through the air, slicing as it went.

Around him men were fighting and dying, their swords and axes clashing against each other, the sounds of metal on metal filling the air. Many of the men wore their own armor with the same swirling pattern across it, battling against black clad opponents, their faces - those not covered as was his own - grim with concentration as the battle raged.

Even as Xander turned, the simulator filled his mind, changed his perception of events, Willow's situation fading to the background, only a small part of his mind still aware of what was happening outside of this artificial reality, of what was going on in the real word. As the simulator took over completely, the world he was now in became the real world, the only world.

Xander was still taking in the scene before him when one of the black figures charged him, sword upraised as he screamed some ancient language. Ducking beneath the wild swing that aimed at his head, Xander slashed out reflexively with his own sword, cutting through the kneecaps of his attacker, sending him crashing to the ground. Reflexively following up with a wicked backhanded slice across the man's chest, Xander finished him off quickly, thrusting his sword deep within the man's torso, the blood spurting out, splashing against his face, streaking his helmet with the crimson fluid. As he pulled out his sword, now stained a dark scarlet color, he kicked the now lifeless figure at his feet to one side, sending the armored man over the side of the walkway on which he was standing, tumbling down to the courtyard below.

Pausing for breath, Xander took a quick look around him. His men, or at least those in the same colors, appeared to be holding their own against their dark attackers, some falling, some winning, the victors moving on to the next opponent. Then Xander looked more closely at the scene in the courtyard below him.

A mass of bodies were fighting in a pitched battle beneath him. If it had not been for the differing armors, he would have been unable to determine which men were on which side, so close was the combat, so fierce was the fighting. Bodies and limbs appeared to litter the ground, the figures of those cut down in the fighting scattered all around, as far his eyes could see, their blood mixing with the mud on the paved stone ground, turning the surface slick.

More men were charging through two doorways at opposite ends of the courtyard, black armored bodies from one end, those dressed in the same design as himself from the other, all joining in the battle immediately, engaging each other without words, without hesitation.

Multiple small battles were being fought, each combat merely a part of the whole, of the larger scene. But for those within each battle, each fight, it was not part of any larger scheme, it was all that counted, all that mattered in that moment.

Weapons swung through the air, the combatants pressed so close together that Xander could make out blows that missed their targets only to impact on another, striking down friend and foe alike without warning, without rhyme or reason. The cries of those stricken filled the air, men screaming in agony, clutching at severed joints, gutted stomachs, trying to stem the blood flow even as their victors swung again, at them, at others.

Then Xander saw what the battle was being fought for. On a raised platform at the opposite end of the courtyard, of the battle, were held several small figures, their bodies lashed to wooden frames, their arms and legs held out in the shape of a diagonal cross. Their limbs were lashed to the corners of the sideways crosses, pulled out as far as they could go, their backs taunt with the tension of the ropes. Beneath their feet was piled kindling, heaps of branches and wood jumbled together, each figure held above their own makeshift pyre.

Standing behind the figures - the women, Xander could now make out - was a much larger figure, a green robe covering him from head to toe, a mask of the same color shielding his face, a long green turban wrapped around his head in an unfamiliar design, not that of a Muslim or Sikh headdress but something different. In his hand he was holding a whip, its long leather tail stretching out beside him for a couple of meters or more.

Even as Xander watched the man swung back his whip, cracking it behind him. Xander cried out as the leather band whipped forwards, lashing across the exposed back of one of the women on the platform, cutting through her skin on the first stroke, the blood which immediately attached itself to the whip flying through the air as it swung back for a second stroke.

At the sight of the man beginning his second swing, Xander reacted, racing along the narrow walkway, weaving his way in and out of the combatants around him, not intervening in their own private battles, intent on making his way down to the courtyard below him.

Reaching the stone stairwell, he raced downwards, his metal clad feet ringing off the granite surfaces of each step. He encountered no resistance as he ran, but still it took minutes from the time he started his run on the walls above to the moment he reached the bottom of the stairwell, bursting out through the open door well at the small tower's base.

The battle before him was being engaged with even more fury than before, the lighter clad figures desperately trying to reach the platform, to stop what was happening, the black clad figures equally determined to prevent them intervening.

Xander could see that the battle was turning away from his small army, the number of dark clad combatants increasing as he watched, pouring in even greater numbers from one doorway. At the opposite end, those entering the battle against them was lessening, the previous torrent of men now reducing to a mere trickle of reinforcements. Should the battle continue, it appeared that it could only end with the triumph of the dark forces.

Recognizing this and yet unheeding it in the same instant, Xander began to fight his way across the courtyard, ducking and diving from the blows swung by both sides of the fight, occasionally slashing at a black armored body, slicing through mens' bodies and flesh, but concentrating more on passing through the yard as quickly as possible.

Halfway across the courtyard, Xander took the chance to glance at the platform in front of him, a sudden intake of breath his reaction to what he saw. The green robed figure had pulled a torch from a brazier behind him, waving the fiery wood in the air before dropping it, without warning, on the pyre that lay beneath the feet of the now bloodied form of the woman he had been whipping. The wood sparked up instantly, its dry timbers igniting immediately, the flames spreading from end to end in moments.

In an instant, the woman was aflame, her torn and bloody robes catching fire, screaming with pain as her flesh burned. As the heat increased, the flames feeding upon themselves, on the oxygen in the air around, her skin began to blister and peel, the pain so great that her cries began to fade, her lungs unable to generate the air necessary to scream.

The sight of the burning woman incited Xander to greater efforts for a moment until he caught sight of the next woman on the platform, suspended in the same manner as the first, a similar pile of kindling beneath her feet.

As he made out the pale face of the woman hanging there, the importance of rescuing the burning woman faded, her plight no longer important to him despite the fires. For the woman to whom his attention was now drawn, was not focused, was Willow, her face wet with tears, crying out to him as she saw him amidst the fast moving figures separating the two,

Xander screamed with rage as he raced forward, his movements faster than before as he ran, trying to fight his way thorough the crowd in front of him, the going made more difficult by the sheer number of black figures now trying to stop him.

A tall black figure rose in front of him, a glimpse of white skin showing beneath the rim of his helmet as he blocked his path, the man's shield slamming against Xander's chest, almost throwing him to the ground, the following sword thrust only just deflected by Xander's own desperate movement of his sword.

A rapid exchange of blows continued, the sound of metal on metal filling Xander's ears, blocking out the noises around them until broken by the scream coming from Willow's open mouth as the bullwhip landed across her back, breaking the skin, marring its creamy surface.

'Xander!!!!,' her cry filled the air, the pain behind it cutting Xander to the core as he fought to get past the man before him.

The battle continued, neither man able to land a crippling blow as the whip continued to swing, lashing Willow's small form again and again. Xander could not seem to find his way past despite his increased efforts, the speed of his opponent still enough to prevent him breaking through...

*********

'Very well,' the sound of the lead scientist filled the simulator room, the goggles and screens of the scientist displaying the battle before their eyes. 'The subject is performing as expected. The sight of his friend is encouraging his efforts, but his subconscious is still telling him that this is still a simulation. It is time to bring reality back into his world.'

One of the soldiers in the room was holding a short whip in his hands, not the same size as that featuring in the simulation, but dangerous looking enough to an impartial observer. He stepped behind the terrified figure of Willow, still bound in the device across from Xander.

At a signal from the scientist, his swung his whip, sending it lashing across Willow's small frame, crashing against her back, a scream of pain breaking from her lips, against her will..

*********

..in the simulation, Xander was still fighting the man before him, each lash against the woman on the platform cutting across his mind.

As the whip landed across Willow's form back in the lab, the soldier's action replicated itself within the fake reality in which Xander was immersed, the green figure's whip matching the movement of the lash occurring in real life.

Xander could only feel anger and fatigue as he fought, having to watch his sister figure being beaten before him, but when the first stroke landed back in the room, when the soldier's first strike made contact with the real Willow's body, everything changed.

A part of his subconscious reacted to the blow, surging up from that part of mind that remained from eons before, that area of the mind that stored the most primitive instincts, that held the most basic of drives.

Without understanding, without knowing that what he was seeing was any different than before that last stroke landed, Xander's body reacted, driven by an impulse older than time.

The speed of his blows increased, his movements becoming more rapid than before, his sword swinging and slashing through the air, driving the tall figure before him further and further back, his shield unused, abandoned as he attacked.

Adrenalin coursed through his body, combining with chemicals not normally present in the human form to send his muscles into a frenzy. As each successive blow landed on Willow in the lab, replicated in front of his eyes, his reaction grew, his movements growing faster and faster until they were almost a blur.

*********

The soldier's whip continued to fall, stroke after stroke in a smooth rhythm. Smooth at least to those watching. For Willow, each strike was merely pain, then more pain then more...

Her thin cotton top, all she had worn in the time she had spent here, was quickly shredded, torn apart. Her skin began to shred under the pressure of each lash, blood oozing out, then more quickly as one stroke was overlaid on the next.

She screamed in agony, her back bucking with each impact, but her screams had no effect on the soldiers and scientists around her...

*********

...but each of Willow's scream were heard clearly within Xander's world, each cry of pain cutting through the air towards him, forcing him forwards, faster and faster.

Suddenly, the figure in his way was down, his head sent tumbling across the ground as with a viscous strike Xander decapitated him with one blow, his sword cleaving through the man's neck, cutting through bone, sinew and muscle in the process, his blood coating the ground around him.

Even as the sword passed through to the other side of the man's neck Xander continued his advance, slashing his way through the figures in his way, no longer aware nor caring whether those who crossed his path were fighting with him or against him. His movements continued at a speed almost faster than a man could perform, his sword weaving through the air as he went.

As he approached the platform, he was assaulted by a half dozen figures, all attacking him at the same time. Even with his vastly increased speed, he was forced to halt his forward motion to fend them off, the strokes of the whip still lashing across the figure now mere meters in front of him..

*********

'Captain Finn's supposition appears to be correct,' one of the scientists interjected, interrupting their observation of the scene. 'The subject is now performing well above previous levels, well above that of a normal fighter. He appears to be showing increased speed, aggression and skill.'

'Cease,' the same scientist called to the soldier holding the whip, 'Now we see the reaction if the real threat has ended.'

The blows in the simulation continued, no longer matched by strikes from within the lab. The whimpering figure of Willow, still attached to the device around her, ignored as those in the room focused on the artificial scene before them..

*********

..Xander was still swinging rapidly, his sword cutting through the air in ceaseless motion as he fought, cutting down one after another of the figures before him, his face now coated in gore, the helmet lost at some point in the fight, unnoticed, uncared.

As the actions in the lab ended and the whip blows crashing against Willow's flesh returned to simulation, Xander's mind and body reacted without even realizing it. The threat against his loved one had ceased, was no longer real, and at that, his subconscious responded.

His speed dropped without Xander even being aware of it. He was not aware that the scene before him was no longer real, he had never perceived it as being any different from how it had begun. Only a part of his mind had reacted, that animal core of his being, sensing what was real and what was not, and it was that part of his mind that had affected how he fought.

His conscious mind, that area of the brain that controls the higher functions, that thinks it determines what is important, was unaware of what had changed, had never been aware of any difference in the first place, but as the real whip lashes ended and his subconscious retreated, his body acted in response.

The chemical signals faded from his bloodstream, the enhanced speed and strength seemed to drain from his body. Xander still fought as desperately as ever, still slashed and cut at those surrounding him, but with the end of his enhanced capabilities, his fight became too much.

He took a slice to his leg, the tendons above his knee slashed from behind, sending him to one knee, but still he fought.

A thrust from in front, deflected at the last moment by a desperate stroke from his tiring arm sliced through his side, sliding into his flesh, but still he fought.

Another strike from behind, cutting through the back of his upright ankle sent him crashing to both knees, but still he fought.

A cut from behind rendered his left shoulder useless, the arm nearly severed, blood pouring from the wound, but still he fought.

He fought as the blows rained down on him, as the swords of his enemies cut, slashed, and sliced through him, as the wounds on his body weakened his defenses, but in the end it was not enough.

His last sight was that of the fire descending onto the pyre beneath Willow, her agonized expression the final image before him.

And then, as he had countless times before his time in the simulator,

He Died.

*********

Xander came back to awareness to the sound of Willow sobbing from across the room, his own pain immediately forgotten, his own "death" no longer important. As the connections to his mind retreated, as the connections to his body were withdrawn, he could hear her cries of pain, each whimper like a fresh blow to his body.

As the last connection was severed, Xander fell from the chair in which he had been suspended, scrambling across the room towards Willow.

As the soldiers removed the devices holding her in place, she collapsed to the floor, curling in on herself as her body reacted to the pain still coursing through her system, huddling into a fetal ball on the cold floor.

Reaching her, the soldiers not intervening, Xander slid along the ground the last few feet, his knees skating across the floor as he took her in his arms, trying not to touch her back where the bloody marks were evident, seeping through the thin cotton top she was wearing.

Before he could begin to comfort her, the lead scientist broke the silence of the Project's staff.

'Take them back to the cell,' he called to a pair of the soldiers, 'and treat the wounds on her back. We don't want them getting infected before the experiment ends.'

Not watching to see the soldiers carry out his orders, the scientist turned and marched from the room, followed by the large group who had observed the results of the test. As the last left the room, Riley hung back for a moment, savoring the sound of Willow's sobs and Xander's soft whispers, the pain on both their faces, one physical and the other emotional, serving only to improve his mood.

*********

As Riley strode into the large conference room, he could almost feel the excitement in the air, the scientists surrounding him in as near a state of excitement as was possible for them.

'You were right Captain,' called one of them across the room. 'The introduction of the subject's friend clearly affected his capabilities within the simulation. Harris's performance today clearly exceeded any that he has proved capable of before.'

Images from the simulation were filling a number of flat screen displays against the walls of the room, screens full of numbers and graphs filling others. Heart rates, adrenalin counts, measurements of speed, of reflex, of strength, all were shown on the screens before them, every aspect of Xander's performance measured, recorded, charted and displayed for analysis.

'Dr Clark,' one of the those huddled around a smaller computing unit on one of the tables in the center of the room called to the man in charge. 'The computer has completed its initial analysis of the subject's performance, and to be frank, the results are startling.'

Dr Rob Clark turned from his view of one of the many moving displays of combat now showing, his head cocked as he did so.

'Tell me.'

The room fell silent as the small group of scientists focused on the man in the center of the room, clutching a small hand held monitor.

'Until the interjection of subject 269 into the scenario, Harris was performing in line with expectation based on his past performance. Upon the appearance of his friend as a virtual simulation, his heart beat increased by a consistent 5 beats per minute, with smaller surges of adrenaline into his system. This too fitted our past profile, slightly more than in the past but not unreasonably so.'

'And when subject 269 was engaged in reality?'

'Well sir, that's when it changed. The computers are quite clear on this sir. These changes came into effect less than a tenth of a second from the moment the first strike made contact with her body. Harris's heart rate increased by 30 beats in an instant, and I do mean in an instant. The levels of adrenalin in his system doubled in less than 5 seconds, and combined with another chemical we have yet to identify. How the two reacted to each other is still unknown, and it is unclear how with that level of activity in his body he was even standing.'

'The effects, Dr Spiron. What were the effects?'

'Muscle strength is estimated to have increased by 40% compared to prior simulations, based on the initial computer extrapolation of course. Speed is estimated to have increased by 50%, and reflex time appears to have been cut by approx 45%. There is evidence of brain wave activity in areas of the brain typically dormant. There are indications of activity within the gray zone, the cause and effect of which have yet to be established by the initial analysis. Quite frankly sir, the results exceeded our expectations by quite some way.'

'Remarkable. And when the involvement of the woman was ended?'

'Harris's increased capabilities ceased sir. The reaction was not as immediate as when they surfaced. It was approx 10 seconds after the threat ended before the level of enhanced abilities began to drop, and they did not return to prior levels until approx 30 seconds later. His performance remained slightly above trend until the simulation ended.'

Another scientist suddenly interrupted, voicing a thought that no-one had fully appreciated until now

'Sir, there is another thing that came out of this. From Captain Finn's accounts, Harris had been possessed by a Vietnam veteran, but his performance today may show that this was not complete. His performance with the sword was too good to be simply relying on instinct and improved reflexes. It is possible that the possession was more of a warrior spirit than any single entity. We will need to conduct more varied tests to prove this but if true, this could prove invaluable to the project.'

The murmur of the scientists around them reflected the excitement at what they had witnessed, the realization that months of work might not have been wasted after all.

'Captain Finn, it appears that your suggestion has proved successful. The results of this initial simulation alone are grounds for continuing with the experiment, and if we succeed in our aims, your involvement will be noted with the appropriate personnel. If you will excuse us, there remains a great deal of further analysis to be performed. Report to the conference chamber at 2000 hours.'

Dismissing Riley with these words, Dr Clark turned his back on him and returned to the discussion now ongoing in the crowded room, his attention returned to the data before him, the pictures still flickering on the walls beside him.

As Riley exited the room, his usefulness over at this stage, he could not help but exult at the success of the scenario he had just witnessed. The memories of Xander's performance outweighed by the remembrance of the expression on his face when he had tumbled out of the simulator to witness Willow's pain.

He only wished he had been the one to be wielding the crop as it had slashed at Willow's back, to feel it slicing through her skin, to render it as bloody as in the simulation. Riley was well aware that he had sadistic tendencies, but rarely did he get the chance to exercise them, and never before had he the opportunity to develop them with official approval, even assistance.

This was a good day for Riley.

*********

This was a bad day for Xander.

In fact the word bad was so inadequate to describe how he felt that it may as well be meaningless. The pain that still wracked through his body, the bruises caused by the "impact" of iron and steel weapons on his torso, on his arms and legs, was insignificant compared to the pain he felt as he held the trembling body of Willow in his arms.

The treatment of her wounds had been cursory at best, the presence of so many highly qualified doctors in the facility of no help as a field medic had tended to the ragged cuts across her back. In fact the word "tended" was probably taking it too far. There had been no tenderness as he swiped across the cuts with antiseptic swabs, splashing the wounds with iodine and bacteria killing chemicals, breaking open the freshly clotted blood running diagonally from shoulder to hip. The wounds may not get infected after the treatment, but it would not help them heal, nor would go towards helping them mend without scarring.

After the medic had completed his work, the pair had been returned to their cell, Xander half carrying her inside when they got their. The window was dark as usual, almost black, leaving them unable to see out, but this time he knew that they were still being watched from the other side, that at least one scientist had been left to study their reaction after the activities of the day.

He didn't care.

He didn't care if they saw him crying, he didn't care if they saw him in pain. At that moment, he cared only for the woman in his arms, half unconscious.

Xander held her in his arms, taking care not to allow his hands to brush across her damaged back until eventually she drifted into sleep, her cheeks streaked with tears, her face lined with pain. Willow had cried for hours, the pain from her wounds never ending., the soldiers having refused any kind of painkillers, despite Xander's entreaties, leaving her to suffer for whatever reason.

As she finally slept, Xander could not. He stayed with her, unable to leave her defenseless should they return, watching over her as the night passed. The lack of sleep did not affect him, the number of nights he had forced himself to stay awake, anything to avoid the nightmares.

As morning returned, Willow stirred, snuggling against his chest until she twisted slightly, breaking open the newly clotted blood on her back. The action was enough to make her cry out softly, biting her lips as the pain flashed across her, the soft sound causing Xander to jolt upright, breaking the light doze into which he fallen.

'Xander?'

'I'm here, I'm here Willow, everything's going to be ok, everything's going to be all right. I'll take care of you, I won't let them hurt you again' Xander whispered against her hair, trying to reassure her, trying to reassure himself. 'It's going to be ok Willow.'

'No it's not,' Willow replied, her voice muffled against his body. 'You know it's not Xander. We're still here, and they're going to do it again. They want to hurt you Xander, to force you to respond, and they're going to hurt me to do it.'

'Then I won't let them. I won't react, I'll quit,' he responded, trying to convince himself.

'Can you Xander? When they do it again, and you're in that machine, will you be able to quit?'

Xander fell silent, knowing even as he'd said the words that he couldn't do it, that what he was saying could never happen. Immersed in the simulator, his awareness of the outside world gone, he could not ignore Willow in pain, could not fail to respond to her cries for help, whether real or artificial. Helping her, protecting her, that was what he did, what he was.

'They'll come for us again,' she whispered and this time there was nothing he could say...

*********

Time passed.

Hours. Days. Weeks. Months.

*********

The experiments continued, limited only by the time taken for Willow's wounds to heal. Not completely - they never allowed enough time for that - but enough so that she was able to continue.

Each scenario differed from the one before, some the same as Xander had been forced through in the past, many as new as the first in which Willow "participated".

In all of them, two things remained constant.

The first - that Willow was hurt.

Not just in the simulation, although there she suffered worse, but in reality. Sometimes she was beaten by the soldiers, sometimes she was tortured by some of the scientists, while in others they allowed demons to attack her, to wound her, stopping them only short of killing her.

The second - that Xander died.

Just as before, the scenarios were always ran to his death, never stopping short, never allowing him victory. He suffered in the simulations, both real and simulated pain, but throughout it all, his pain while in the machine was always outweighed by the aftermath.

For each time it ended, Xander had to suffer his own form of torture. To hold Willow in his arms, to listen to her screams, to see her suffering, bleeding.

He had spent countless nights holding her in his arms, smoothing her hair with his fingers, brushing her cheeks. Countless nights warming her, hugging her, talking to her, trying anything that would lessen what she was having to go through.

For he knew that the only reason she was suffering was because of him. If only he had trusted his instincts and his suspicions of Riley. If he had sent Willow home with Tara and Buffy that night. If he had fought harder when they were first taken.

But most of all, he knew that she was suffering here only because she loved him, because she cared for him enough that she would sacrifice her chance to escape in order to save him from harm. That she had stayed, had lost her powers, only to protect him once more.

And in return, she was now here with him, in pain, suffering only because he could not bring back his memories without her, could not meet the project's demands on his own.

He blamed himself.

So every night, he held her, comforted her, watching over her as she slept, quieting her moans, always ready to soothe her when she awakened, screaming from the pain and the nightmares.

He rarely suffered nightmares himself anymore. He had gone past that now, for his nightmares could rarely be worse than his days, could rarely compare to what he had been through, what he was now having to witness. Seeing her pain, feeling her pain, was far worse than any physical pain inflicted on him.

Throughout the months, as Willow was tortured, wounded, injured, Xander always feared the one torture they never inflicted on her.

He never voiced this fear to her, never hinted to her of what he had seen her put through in the simulations. Watching the humans, the demons, with her, stripping her, rap-

NO!!

Xander refused to consider it, refused to mention it to her, keeping it to himself. Willow had suffered enough, he only prayed she would be saved that. And so he watched over her each night and each day, whenever they were not forced into the machines.

*********

They spent as much time as possible reminiscing, recalling their childhood, till it seemed that between them they could run through every day of their lives, every trivial detail, every time they had spoken.

They talked of the day they had first met in pre-school. Xander left alone, unwanted in a corner, Willow clinging to her parents.

They talked of their first conversation, Willow shy and withdrawn, Xander trying to make her laugh, overcoming his own fears to see her smile.

They talked of their first kiss, 6 years old, of their breakup over a stolen Barbie doll, hidden away in Xander's room.

They talked of high school, of friends, of enemies, of the people they had known

Larry, Jonathan, Harmony, Amy, still a rat even after all this time.

Of people they had lost.

Bob Flutie, Jenny Calendar, , Jessie.

They talked of Xander's home life, of the beatings, the neglect. Of how parents should be. Of Willow's parents, so driven to success that sometimes they overpowered their own daughter despite the love that was there.

They talked of Xander's sex life, the strange women that always seemed to feature.

They talked of past love, of broken hearts.

Of Oz. Of Cordelia.

They talked of regrets, of lost opportunities and missed chances.

Of Faith.

But mostly they talked of happy times, of lazy days in the park, of nights spent watching stupid movies in his room, of sleepovers and birthday parties.

And of the friends that they missed.

Willow's parents, Giles, Joyce, Anya, Tara, Dawn, Buffy, even Angel and Spike.

So they talked of the demons they had slain, the lives they had helped save. Of the time they first found out about Buffy's calling, of the decision to help her, or at least to try.

They talked of Willow's discovery of magic, of Xander's complete failure at the same.

They talked of prophecies and danger. Of Buffy's death and resurrection at the hands of Xander and Angel. Of the mayor's ascension.

They talked of the college year, of Xander's isolation from the group.

They wept together, laughed together, forgave each other.

For no matter how long it was between each visit to what they called the chamber, no matter how many times they thought it might be over,

The soldiers always came.



*********

Returning to the present, Xander's memories were interrupted without warning by his computer unit began to bleep frantically, the high pitched sound breaking the tense silence that filled the room.

SYSTEM ACCESS GRANTED..

256 BIT ENCRYPTION DETECTED..

DOWNLOADING ALL FILES..

Xander was well aware that he could not break the encryption on any files of importance with the equipment he had brought with him or in the time that remained before any further reinforcements arrived. His unique unit was not designed for that purpose, only to download the information to be accessed later.

The two scientists paled as they realized what was going on. The information stored deep within the mainframe was the results of years of work, almost all highly classified, and all with serious implications if leaked to the outside world.

Should Harris gain complete access to the records of the Institute, should the security layers be breached, he would possess information that could be used to destroy not just this program, but seven other related programs operated across the globe, all unknown by the residents of those countries in which they were ran.

They thought of saying something, of trying to stop him, but in the end they remained silent, unwilling to risk their own lives, to spoil the chance that they might yet live through this.

Xander interrupted the bleeping of the unit, breaking the quiet with a hoarse whisper.

'The one thing I never understood, the one thing you never told us - why Willow? Of all of us, she liked you. She helped you with Buffy, she welcomed you in, she never said a bad word about you, so why? Why did you did it to her? How could you?'

Riley was silent for a moment, watching Xander's face with detached interest, considering his response.

'You think everything's about you Xander? You think we took Willow just because she was with you? Willow was a witch. An increasingly powerful witch, and as such, the Project had every interest in her. We were watching all of you Xander, you were all targets. We already knew about the slayer, we studied her when she was working with us, but there were limits to her usefulness. Willow and you, there was so much more that we could learn.'

'But why did you hate her so much? Willow was your friend.'

At this Riley sneered, his contempt for Xander's weakness overcoming his caution.

'I hated her for what she was Xander, for what she did. She was a witch, a freak. That alone was one of the reasons we were watching her.'

'That doesn't explain it all Riley. Why did you hate her so much?'

'You really want to know? You really want to know? Because when it came down to it, she took your side. I could have lived with that, I never had your trust and I didn't care, but then she started with the others. With Giles. With Buffy. Do you know how much harder she made my job when they started asking questions? She cost me a huge amount of time and effort just because she couldn't keep quiet. Drip, drip, drip with the questions, she never shut up! So much for friendship! And in the end, I wanted to bring her here. I wanted to see her hurting, just like I got to see you hurting. Buffy and the rest - they could be dealt with at any time. But Willow? She would have only got more powerful.

'You did it all to her just because she took my side? You hurt her, tortured her, just because she questioned you?'

Riley remained silent, falling back to his study of Xander, offering no more explanation for his actions.

'So what changed Riley? After all that time, what made them do it? Why?'

His question was met with silence, Riley ignoring him even as he answered the question inside his own head...

*********

..'What are the results of the last few scenarios Dr Daniels?,' Dr Clark asked, studying three charts on the screen in front of him.

'Sir, it appears that Harris's performance may have peaked. In the past 2 months, there has been no improvement in the stats, despite the differing approaches taken. At this point sir, I do not believe that there is anything left we can do. The change in his performance has been incredible. It proves our theory that by using controlled possessions, we can induce rapid training and instincts far faster and superior to normal training methods, but I would suggest that this experiment has now reached the extent of its useful purpose.'

'I concur. Unless his performance shows any improvement in the next scenario, I will recommend to the board that we finalize this part of the project and that both subjects be terminated.'

'Sir?,' interjected Riley, once again standing unnoticed at the back of the room. 'I believe there is one more test we should carry out.'

'What is it Captain Finn? You've seen the results, and we are grateful for your suggestion that helped produce those results, but there always an end.'

'Yessir, but as I said, I believe there is one more test we should perform. There is only one more step that should be taken. Subject 269, Miss Rosenburg, should be killed, this time for real, as part of the simulation. We can then observe his reaction and measure any response before terminating him in turn.'

'This will have to be discussed within the group Captain Finn, but I will suggest it at tonight's meeting'

'Thank you sir, and sir? I would suggest that I be the one to terminate the woman. I believe it would illicit a greater response given our history and the animosity he shows towards me.

'As I said Captain, it will be discussed.'

*********

Several hours later, the meeting of the core group of scientists was winding down, only one point remained to be considered.

'Dr Clark, I must state that I do not feel Captain Finn should be involved in the termination of subject 269. He is too involved in the project, and frankly sir, I'm beginning to wonder whether his personal motivations are instigating his suggestion.'

A murmur of agreement from a number of other scientists indicated that this was not the sole voice of doubt.

'I may agree with you Dr Daniels, but his suggestion does have some merit. If not him, then how would you recommend we deal with this matter.'

'Sir, while Harris may not care for Captain Finn, it is still the demons to which he reacts strongest, against whom his performance is most marked. My recommendation is that the involvement of one of our Class 2 demons be included in the next scenario in a controlled manner, permitted to kill the woman within the framework of the simulation, and then itself terminated. The death of the woman will occur both within the simulation and within the real world, and Harris's reaction recorded and measured.'

'A show of hands?'

'Then it is agreed. Dr Daniels, we will follow your suggestion in the scenario to be run in 3 days time. I shall arrange for Captain Finn to be off site during the experiment in order to minimize the chance of his emotions interfering with our work. Dr Daniels, please arrange for the simulation to be prepared, and the demon readied. Ladies and gentlemen, the end is in sight. Lets finish it up.'

*********

Riley Finn had been ordered off the facility the next day, having agreed to inspect the security on a new facility under construction back in the US.

The Farlizago demon had been moved from level 5 down to one of the few holding cells on level 6, close to the simulator room.

Agreement had been reached to terminate Xander Harris if no further improvement was noted upon the conclusion of the exercise.

The stage was set.

*********

Back in their cell, it had been almost two weeks since they had last been forced into the simulator, the longest time yet. Willow's wounds had healed, the scabs sealing into scars, one mark overlaying another, broken bones re-fused. Had it not been for the healing spells used by one of the Project's low-power tame witches, she would have been almost unable to walk. The severity of the wounds she had suffered over the months could not have been borne had it not been for that occasional magical assistance, designed to keep her alive for the length of the experiment.

They had not allowed themselves to hope that the last scenario would be the end. There had been breaks before, gaps in time which had raised their hopes, only to see them crushed when the scientists returned, and once again, their fears were justified...

*********

....Xander found himself in a familiar graveyard, a place he had spent far too many nights, far too much time. In the center of his hometown, the cemetery held too many bodies for its small size, graves packed tightly together.

As usual it was night, by the watch on his wrist approaching 11 o'clock, and once more he was in front of a familiar grave.

His mind was caught somewhere between reality and suggestion, as his brain tried to piece together the tangle of thoughts The simulator taking him back to the past, a part of him trying to maintain the images of the present.

'We're in trouble Jessie. Willow and I, we're in big trouble. It's not like before, we can't just fight our way past the demons this time. We were betrayed by a friend, and Willow, she's hurting. They've been hurting her really badly man, and I think...I think they're going to kill us, to kill her. I can't see a way out Jess, so if you could help me out now, I'd really appreciate it.

The grave remained silent, the night air unbroken as he knelt, unmoving, tracing the inscription on the tombstone.

'I didn't mean to kill you Jess, you know that don't you? It was an accident, but I know it was what you would have wanted. Only...it looks as if we might see you sooner than we all thought. Funny huh? Who would think that none of us might make it past college, even if I didn't go?'

Xander's words were interrupted from the cry from across the graveyard, the sound disturbing the silence, breaking the peace.

'Xander!!!!'

And with that, the simulator took over, the neural connections making this into reality, his partial memories of the real world, of Willow, overtaken once again by the world in which he found himself in.

Xander turned to find the group running toward him, Buffy leading as usual, Tara and Anya following, Giles bringing up the rear, clutching a book as he ran, none of them looking happy.

'Xander, they took her, they got Willow, now come on, we have to go,' Buffy called, skidding to a halt in front of him, the others piling up behind her.

'Who got her? Where is she?'

'The Farlizago demon. Remember the ones we killed last week? One of them got away and it looks like it teamed up with a bunch of smaller Ginzas. They're trying to sacrifice Willow to bring back some dead higher level demon, Karankados, Karakodis..'

'Karinkodis,' Giles interjected with exasperation. 'Don't you ever listen?'

'Whatever. We need to go, they're heading for the caves.'

Grabbing him by one arm she turned away and started running, handing him a crossbow and small axe as she went. Giles and Anya were armed with smaller knives but larger crossbows, while Tara carried only a stake, relying on her magic for the rest of her protection.

Buffy of course was strewn with weaponry, an axe in one hand, sword in the other, and a row of wooden stakes strapped around her left thigh. As they sprinted across the cemetery, Xander could only gasp out,

'Don't we need crosses and stuff? We haven't even got any holy water?'

'That doesn't work, you already know this Xander. I know you're worried, but for god's sake, keep up,' Buffy replied, showing no signs of fatigue as she ran, only the furrows on her brow indicating her worries for Willow.

Within moments, they reached the entrance to the graveyard, piling back into Giles's Citroen, Buffy and Giles in the front, the two girls and Xander clambering into the back seat, trying to keep their weapons from impaling each other as they went, the tires screeching as Giles stepped on the gas.

'We should have enough time,' he shouted over the grinding of gears. 'The ritual can only be completed at midnight, and Ginza demons aren't that tough, I don't know why he hired them. They're going to be in the same cave as last time, so if we can keep the smaller demons away, Buffy should be able to take out the Farlizago.'

Ten minutes later, with a screech of worn tires and faded brakes, the car slid to a halt, black streaks of rubber left along the road as it skidded. The group piled out, the entrance to the caves just yards away, readying their weapons as they strode.

Ducking through the entrance, Buffy led the way through, Xander covering her back as usual, Giles heading up the rear, protecting the two girls in front of him. The walls of the small tunnel dripped slightly, moisture running down the walls, adding to the dank atmosphere.

Trudging through the tunnels, marching as fast as he could, Xander could feel his heart beating frantically, trying to control the fear he could feel as they approached their destination.

Suddenly they arrived at the entrance to the cavern deep inside the rock. They paused, hidden behind a rocky outcropping while Buffy scanned the open space beyond.

'Looks like 20 or so Ginzas with the Farlizago. They've got Willow at the far end of the cave, and she's tied to some kind of pillar. It doesn't look like they've hurt her so far but we have to get moving. Anya, Giles, you try and pick off the Ginzas. Tara, you keep them away from the other two with the repeller spell you've been working on. Xander.'

'I'm coming with you. If you're taking on the big mother then you'll need someone to watch your back.'

'Xander no, you should.'

'I'm coming with you Buff. They've got Willow and you need someone to keep the others off you while you're fighting. Anya and Giles will back us up but I'm coming with you.'

Buffy glanced across at him, at the determined expression on his face. She knew he'd do what he felt was right, no matter what she or anyone else said, the same as he always had done.

'Ok. The rest of you ready?'

A soft chorus of agreement came from the small group behind her, their voices muted in the darkness.

'Lets go!!'

With a cry, Buffy leapt into the torch-lit room, the rest of the gang following close behind. As she landed on the rocky floor, the nearby demons backed away, forming a semi-circle around the small group, the larger Farlizago demon crouched behind them.

The two groups stared at each other, not moving, not speaking, facing off across the space separating them. The Ginzas, 5 feet tall, were baring their 6 fanged jaws, a horrible purple fluid dripping from their teeth, feet clawing at the rock beneath their feet.

'Krenaga flurangi !!!

With a sudden cry the demons charged, following the order of their employer, still squatting further back in the cave. They screeched as they ran at the humans, undulating wails emanating from their mouths.

The first wave was cut down in an instant, arrows from Giles and Anya piercing the skulls of the foremost pair, Buffy and Xander slicing apart the next pair, cleaving the misshapen heads apart, sending their brains splattering across the floor.

Even as her axe was pulled from the demon's head, Buffy was charging, hacking and slashing as she ran, heading straight for their leader. Xander tried to keep up, delayed by the bodies in front of him, tripping over the first one, falling to one knee.

Behind him, Tara conjured up a shimmering shield in front of the trio, protecting them from the immediate attentions of their attackers. The shield could not protect them completely, the demons throwing themselves against its surface were rendering it with their claws, shimmering ragged lines created with each slash, cutting into the protection. The constant murmur from the blonde was enough to maintain its solidity, renewing the barrier as quickly as she could.

Beside her, Anya and Giles were firing as fast as they could, the efforts made more difficult by the need to dodge the claws of the demons when they rendered through the shield, slashing out with their knives when a demon got too close.

Xander struggled to his feet, fending off a demon with his crossbow, trying to use the axe in his other hand. As he swung it, the spiked end ramming into the attacking demon's leg, the Ginza's fist slammed into the crossbow, splintering, shattering the firing mechanism, rendering it useless in the process.

Buffy's axe had done its work as she ran, littering the floor with another 4 bodies, their innards left pooling as she headed towards the Farlizago in front of her. As she reached it, the crouched figure suddenly rose to its full height.

'Oh Shit!,' she cried out, 'Giles - this one's an awful lot bigger than the ones we killed last week!'

Xander sprinted towards her, swinging his axe as he did so, cutting another demon in half, its legs toppling to the floor. Its upper body flew through the air, crashing against the nearby wall, sending a fiery torch crashing to the ground, igniting the body in the process, sending flames licking upwards.

While the torso was flying through the air, Xander continued to run, spotting another demon bounding towards Buffy's unprotected back, her attention focused on the huge beast in front of her. The Ginza was in mid leap when he acted.

Unable to reach her in time, Xander was left with only one option. Spinning around, he let the axe go, sending it whipping through the air, spiraling as it went. Its metallic surface reflected the flames of the torches around the room, the orange fire turning the axes blade into a golden weapon of death.

It span in slow motion, circling, twisting, spinning as it went and Xander could only watch it as it went.

The demon was only inches from Buffy's neck, its fangs extended, when the axe made contact, its blade slamming into its body, carrying it past her and on to land at Willow's feet.

She barely had time to gasp a word of thanks as she fought, ducking and diving beneath the wild swings of her attackers limbs, avoiding the serrated claws and spikes that substituted for its fingers. She was swinging her own axe as she moved, slicing away at the demon's torso, cutting into its limbs, driving it backwards.

Nearer the entrance, the trio continued to hold their own against the assault of the smaller Ginzas, the deadly arrows of Anya and Giles killing one after another of the demons, Tara's shield still holding against their assault.

With the number of Ginzas dropping rapidly, it seemed that they were going to succeed. Xander didn't have time to relax though, three Ginzas racing towards him, screeching as they came.

With his crossbow broken and his axe gone to save Buffy, Xander did the one thing that made sense to him under the circumstances,

He ran.

His muscles strained with the effort of running full out, his breaths coming as gasps,

He ran.

As fast as he could, as hard as he could, his heart pounding, his pulse racing,

He ran.

Straight at them.

Even as they reached him, their jaws wide open, he dived, his muscles extending as he soared over their heads, flying through the air in a graceful somersault. His motion was perfectly smooth, almost balletic in its fluidity as he moved through the air. The watching Anya could only admire his grace.

As he passed over their heads and landed on the floor behind them, Xander's hands reached out, ready to continue his movement into a smooth forward roll. Unfortunately for him, the rock on which his left hand landed shifted under his weight, sliding away from him.

Instead of the slick athletic movement he had planned, Xander ended up crashing against the floor, his body sliding behind him until he impacted against the wall, momentarily stunned. One of the demons over whom he had flow was racing toward him, only to be sent crashing to the floor just yards from his body as an arrow slammed into its back, its jaws breaking as it landed.

With just 4 Ginza demons left, and two arrows flying through the air, the threat appeared to be ending, even as Buffy continued to fight with their leader.

As the last two demons attacking the trio were cut down by the lethal arrows, Xander concentrated on keeping the two still attacking him at bay, wielding the flaming torch he had snatched from the wall as if it were a sword, thrusting it in the demons' faces. The flames were enough to fend them off, at least until Giles arrived behind them, catching them by surprise as he buried his blade deep inside one.

That distraction proved enough for Xander. As the last Ginza turned to face this new threat, he thrust his torch at the demons head, igniting the mane of green hair that ran down its back, sending it squealing away as it ran from the cave, the flames spreading across its body.

Turning back to Buffy's battle, now the only one in the cavern, they watched as she fought, the two combatants being in stark contrast to each other.

One was a huge beast of a creature, 7 foot tall, gray flesh mottled with darker blotches, its huge arms finishing in those serrated edges. Its giant torso was marred by repeated slashes from Buffy's axe, its green blood flowing down its body as it swung its massive limbs wildly through the air.

The other was Buffy.

Her petite frame was still untouched, the demon having failed to make any contact despite its extra reach. She fought like a dervish, ducking and diving, wielding her axe and sword at the same time, simultaneously slashing at the demon, wounding it with every stroke as it tried to defend itself.

'Oh for gods sake,' muttered Giles to himself. 'Just finish it.'

Losing patience with his slayer, he took the crossbow that Anya was still carrying, reloaded it and fired.

The arrow sped past Buffy's ear, missing her head by inches, but burying itself in the Farlizago demon's throat, driving into thorough the spinal cord in an instant, sending the demon crashing to the ground and ending the fight abruptly.

'Hey!! I was having fun,' Buffy complained as Xander picked himself to his feet.

'Um guys? Still tied up here?,' Willow interrupted Buffy's tirade before it even began, as the group began to relax.

*********

'Stage 2 ready. Bring it in, but for gods sake, don't let it loose.'

The scientists has watched as the battle had continued, slightly surprised by the speed with which it had ended. No matter, the real battle was only just to begin.

As the Farlizago demon was brought into the simulator room, its movements controlled by the leashes that secured each limb, those leashes in turn gripped firmly by the squad of soldiers, it snarled incomprehensively.

A number of the scientists left the room at this point, granting more room for the demon and the soldiers, moving to a secondary observation room that was occasionally used.

'Initiating stage 2'

*********

Xander was just in the processing of severing Willow's bonds, hampered slightly by the greasy fluid that seemed to be soaked into the ropes around her wrists and ankles, when the group heard the sounds.

Pausing in his work, Xander could only watch, horrified, as holes appeared in two places on the cavern walls, the rock sent tumbling inside as huge fists punched through, clawing their way into the open space.

From the same entrance they had used to get in, poured another horde of Ginzas, at least as many as before. That would not have been a problem for the group save that this time there was not one Farlizago demon, but three, each as big as the one Giles had just finished off.

The rush of advancing Ginzas were halted momentarily by Tara's hastily thrown up shield, but the speed and suddenness of their attack had prevented her from completing it. In moments they had broken through, racing on towards the small group. Giles and Anya managed to pick off a few with their crossbows but all too soon the demons were upon them, forcing them to use their bows to fend them off, slashing at them with the knives.

As Buffy moved to face off the Farlizagos, Xander snatched up his axe, tearing it from the fallen demon's body with a squelch, and hurled himself back into the fight, hacking and slashing at the Ginzas that surrounded his friends.

This time the battle was not so easy. With the shield down, the quartet were forced to fight at close quarters, leaving Buffy on her own. As the axes, knives, claws and spells cut through the air, she whipped her blades at two of the demons, forcing them to engage her.

This was not enough. Even with the Ginzas and two of the Farlizago demons fully engaged by the group, there still remained one more, and this one headed straight for the still-bound Willow.

As it reached her it paused, studying her bound frame, and then, without warning, it reached out with one long arm and slashed her across the stomach, tearing through her clothes in an instant.

*********

Willow's screams filled the simulation room as the demon slashed her, the blood splattering across the faces of the soldiers who still limited the demon's movements. Had it not been for them holding the demon back, it would have killed her with that one slice of its claws, but instead it merely cut deep into her belly, tearing through skin and muscle.

*********

At the sound of her screams, Xander reacted as he did in each and every simulation. The moment Willow's pain became real instead of simulated, his mind and body responded, his actions speeding up, his reflexes suddenly increasing.

The Ginzas that surrounded them couldn't have known what was to happen as he ploughed through them.

With every slash of his axe, every swing of his blade, he seemed to make contact, carving limbs from bodies, heads from torsos. His path became a tunnel of death as he forced his way through, heading towards both Buffy's battle and Willow's torture.

He made rapid progress through their ranks, leaving a trail of bodies as he ran, the claws of those he faced marking his body, his legs even as he went, staining his torso red with his own blood, but no matter how fast he was advancing, no matter how many demons he cut down, there always seemed to be more, streaming into the room as fast as they were being cut down.

Giles, Anya and Tara were now focused only on keeping themselves alive, their backs to one wall, while Xander and Buffy fought, slashing out with their knives and bows to fend off those assaulting them.

Even as Xander fought his way through the swarm around him, the Farlizago demon continued to assault Willow, her bound body unable to fight back, to flee. Her screams echoed around the cavern, bouncing off the walls, assaulting his ears.

As he finally made it past the last Ginza in his way, the valiant defenses of the trio behind him failed, Tara the first to fall. Her spells could not stop one of the demons breaking through, its jaws fastening themselves to her leg. As her defensive chant faltered, a second demon slashed her across the throat with its claws, tearing deep into her voice box, shredding the flesh. As the blood gushed from her throat, she was unable to even scream, only a gurgle making it past her lips as she fell, crashing to the ground.

Her fall was enough to caused Giles to falter, the impact as her body crashed against his legs enough to send him off balance as he struck out at another demon. Catching it across its shoulder joint instead of its neck, the injury was not enough to halt the demon's leap, leaving it still able to crash into his body, its claws slashing as it came. As he went down under its weight, two more piled on top of him, their claws and teeth extended.

Anya lasted only a few seconds longer, the desperate swings of her knife and bow enough to delay them for only a short time. With Tara and Giles down, the sheer number of demons overwhelmed her, ripping her apart in moments.

Xander was only dimly aware of this, all of his concentration focused on the red haired woman in front of him, all his efforts towards her aid. As her screams continued, as the demon continued to slash and rend, he became ever more frantic in his efforts.

Just as it seemed he would be able to reach her attacker, Buffy was sent flying across the room, the effort of fighting both demons at the same time in the confined space proving too much. One hard swung limb, one missed block, was enough to send her soaring through the air, crashing against the side wall, out of the fight for the time being.

Xander was then faced with all three demons in front of him, and a handful of remaining Ginza demons behind. Despite the odds, he charged forward, snatching up Buffy's fallen axe as he did so, now gripping one silver blade in each hand.

*********

Back in the simulation chamber, Willow's body was covered in blood, the teeth and claws of the restrained demon rending into her, tearing her apart. Only her face was untouched, the demon unwilling for some unknown reason to mar its surface.

As the scientists watched, Xander's body chemistry and stats reached the same levels as before, and once more peaked.

'No further change,' called Dr Daniels.

'It's time,' said Dr Clark through the speakers from the observatory. 'Finish it.'

*********

Xander had continued to fight, the twin axes cleaving into the demons facing him, almost ignoring the smaller attackers behind him except when he felt them against his body. The occasional vicious slash behind him was enough to keep most of them at bay as he continued to attack those separating him from Willow.

The speed of his axes was a blur, the two blades criss-crossing each others paths as they flew through the air, the complicated pattern preventing the demons from reaching him.

Even as the scientists were speaking back in the real world, his axes carved into one of those facing him, sending it smashing to the ground, its head flying through the air, cleaved from its body, brains coating the metal blade.

As he flung himself towards the second, a lucky strike made it past the demon's flailing limbs, the ax burying itself deep into the armored torso, severing the spinal cord which transmitted the signals from its brain, leaving only one more between Willow and his racing form.

The Ginzas behind him were ignored, their claws that slashed at his legs and back disregarded as he ran.

*********

As Dr Clark's words faded from the speaker, the soldiers that still controlled the demon loosened their bindings, granting the demon additional reach. It responded immediately, bounding forward, jaws snarling as it came.

As it reached Willow, it slashed her once more, cutting deep into her body, and then, with no further warning, it plunged its fist into her belly, ripping deep inside her.

The soldiers immediately pulled it away, stunning it with their phaser guns, sending it to the floor, writhing in pain, preventing it from killing her immediately.

*********

Despite his speed, Xander was still yards from the demon when it made its first blow, his axe swinging, still inches away when the second strike buried itself in her belly.

As she screamed, a sound of pure agony forced from her lips, Xander finally reached the demon, his axes cutting it in half, ripping it to pieces in a frenzy of motion.

It was too late.

*********

Xander's mind reacted, rejecting the simulation, tearing him from the artificial world, his subconscious taking over.

His hands reached out, tearing the goggles from his eyes, ripping them from his face and flinging them across the room. His muscles, enhanced by the chemical reactions in his body, tore through the restraints designed to limit his actual movements, breaking the straps with sheer force.

The neural connections attached to his head held him in place for a moment, until he yanked them from their sockets with a sharp movement of his upper body, the electrical signals sending sparks flying through the air.

His eyes shifted frantically in their sockets as he searched for Willow, until his vision crossed her damaged frame. As his eyes locked on her, a cry burst from his lips.

'NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!'

He tore from the chair in which he was suspended, throwing aside the two soldiers that tried to hold him down, effortlessly hurling them across the room, flinging himself across the room, uncaring of those in his way.

As he reached her, he slid along the floor, on his knees, supporting her body even as he tore the straps that held her upright. Willow crumpled with the release of the straps around her wrists, falling into his embrace without a sound.

*********

'What the hell is going on?,' called Dr Clark from the observation lab to the scientists around him and in the simulator. 'How did he get out of the simulation? He should still be immersed within it.'

His frantic questions were met with silence from those around him; dumb incomprehension replacing the normally intelligent expressions on their faces. The lack of understanding would have been almost comical under other circumstances, but at that moment was a terrifying signal that events had perhaps spiraled out of their control.

Punching frantically on his keypad, an alarm rang out in the holding complexes above, immediately locking down the holding cells in the levels above, alerting the troops in both the security room and the barracks below.

'Get in there! Find out what happened!'

Over the sound of the frantic scientists that filled the observatory could be heard the pounding of the feet of the second team working that shift as they raced into position, weapons ready.

The scientists broke free from their stillness, racing to the computer screens around them, hammering on keyboards as they attempted to find out what had happened, their frantic questions breaking their silence as they scrambled around.

*********

To all of this activity, to all of the sounds, Xander was oblivious.

To him, the only thing that mattered was the woman he now held in his arms, her blood spilling onto his black sensory outfit.

He watched as the wound to her belly continued to bleed, her insides visible to his horrified eyes.

Xander couldn't summon the will to speak, his throat choked with tears as he looked down on her broken body, on the wounds that marred her frame.

Willow's eyes fluttered open as she felt his arms around her once more, felt the first of his tears falling to her lips.

'Xander...'

The sound of her voice broke his silence, shattering the ties that prevented him speaking.

'Willow no!! This can't be happening, they'll make you well. You can't die, you can't leave me, you can't. You can't die, you can't..'

Xander's voice was breaking as he held her in his arms, her blood still pouring from the wound to her body, repeating himself over and over again, trying to deny what lay in front of him.

'Xander, no, it's too late. I know it, I feel it. They won't help me Xander, it was the final test...'

'Willow no. Stay with me Willow, you can't leave me.'

Willow coughed softly, the action sending a trickle of blood from between her pale lips, the scarlet stream standing out in stark contrast against the pure white of her face.

'Xander, you have to .. you have to promise me....'

'Anything Willow, anything.' At that moment, looking down on her broken body, Xander would have promised her the world, would have died to give it to her.

'Promise me you'll take care of the others, of Tara, of Buffy. That you'll care for the slayers that will follow if..if it happens'

'I will Willow, I will. I promise'

'Promise me you'll keep fighting, that you'll kill the demons, that you'll make them pay, make the world safer..'

'I will..'

Xander could hardly speak the words, his throat choked with tears.

'One more promise Xander...promise me..that you'll keep on living. That you won't give up, no matter what.'

Xander tried to answer, tried to give her the promise she needed, but he couldn't force the words out of his mouth. To promise to keep on living after what he had been through, after all that had happened, it seemed too much

'Willow, I...'

'You have to Xander, you have to. For me, for you, but most of all....for us. You have to go on Xander, because as long as you do, as long as you live, then I do too. I'll live with you, in you, the same way you've always lived in me. I'm not really dying Xander, I'm just..moving on, and I'll be watching over you, I'll be waiting for you, and I'll see you again but not yet Xander, not soon...'

Time slowed down as she spoke, more of her life draining away with each word, her life blood spilling from her lips. Xander's fingers were covered in her blood as he held her, his hands striving to stem the flow.

'Promise me Xander. You must! Now promise me!!'

Willow gasped out her words with a spray of blood from her lips, using up her fading reserves to demand his promise. She tried to frown at him, but a flash of pain caused her face to grimace in agony.

But that grimace was enough. The flash of her resolve face acted on Xander as it had done all his life, as it always would have done. His indecision faded, his resolve hardened and he gave her the words that she was asking for, that she was demanding from him.

'I promise Willow. I promise, I love you..'

Willow's body began to glow, power rising from her as her life force gathered itself, concentrating, focusing. Where her hands touched Xander's body, where her fingertips brushed away at the tears flowing down his face, a soft blue glow began, rising out of her, flowing from her and into him, as she gave him the only thing she had left, the one thing that she trusted him to guard for all time.....her soul.

She kissed him gently, her lips touching softly against his own, the glow intensifying.

'I love you Xander...'



And with those last words,

with that last kiss..





Willow died.

*********