Queen Of Darkness
Chapter Eight: Conversation
"What did you find out from your conversation with Faith?" Wesley asked as Angel entered his office.
Angel gave him a worried look as he sat down in one of the chairs across the desk. "Nothing good. Faith's in a very bad place right now, Wes. And I think Willow is the one that put her there."
"What exactly happened?"
"I don't want to go into details, let's just say that maybe leaving those two alone together is not a good idea."
"I'll keep that in mind. Did they hurt each other?"
Angel shook his head. "Not physically. All the damage we found was caused by Faith, I'm just glad she didn't decide to take it out on Willow herself."
"Yes, well, such things are understandable, I guess," Wesley said. "Still, I will have to talk to her about the property damage."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Angel warned.
"And why not?"
"Look, Wes, Faith isn't dealing too well with her situation, and a big part of the problem is the way you've been riding her since we got her out of jail. She was never good at taking orders, and the way you seem to expect her to jump at your every command, well, it's just not going to work."
Wesley nodded, his expression unreadable. "Do you remember what she did to me, Angel?" He asked the Vampire.
"Don't bring vengeance into this, Wes," Angel said.
"This isn't about vengeance, this is about survival," Wesley said firmly, leaning forward in his chair. "Do you remember how she tortured me? Kept me awake and lucid, feeling every cut, every punch. I remember it, how she was able to sit for hours and gleefully hurt someone who would have helped save her. The question, Angel, is this. Would she be able to do it now?"
Angel stared at the former watcher, his expression dark. "No," he said finally. "She couldn't. She's changed too much."
Wesley nodded. "Far too much. She wants redemption now. She wants acceptance, and she wants to do it the good way, without resorting to her savage side. She isn't willing to take it all the way, and that is dangerous. Do you think you could kill Buffy?"
Angel's eyes widened in shock, but he knew where this was going. "Never," he said, hanging his head.
"One of us might have to. I don't have the strength, and neither you nor Spike are willing to harm her. That leaves either Faith or the Vampire Willow. As yet I cannot trust the Vampire with anything more than what Cordelia's vision says I must. That just leaves Faith, and if she is not willing to take it all the way, then we might as well give up now. Because if Willow decides to send a Slayer we are unable or unwilling to stop, then we are all dead men waiting for our graves," Wesley leaned back, taking off his glasses and rubbing at his eyes. "So you see the problem I am faced with."
Angel sighed. "There has to be a better way."
"If there is, then please tell me. I do not want to do this to Faith, but we have so little time, and there is so much to do," Wesley said, sounding very tired.
They sat in silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Angel spoke. "This spell you want me to do on Willow. It's the identification spell you were talking about last night, right?" Wesley nodded. "What should I expect?"
Wesley shrugged. "I simply found the spell while doing research a while ago. It's based on a simple truth-detection spell, but modified and made much more powerful. It should place both you and Willow into a trance where you will be able to see every aspect of her being. Most of it will likely be unrecognizable, symbology that is only important to her. The most significant facets of her personality should manifest as different versions of Willow herself. I believe that the factions fighting for control of her mind and body should show themselves to you this way."
"What about what we're really after?"
"Yes, the Other that 'Lorne spoke of. As yet research efforts have been completely fruitless as to what it might be. The descriptions and reactions provided by 'Lorne and the several other aura-sensetive demons the Initiative was able to track down don't correspond with any entity on record. I suggest that you be very careful when you come to it, Angel. We will be on hand to pull you out of the spell if you appear to be in distress, but we have no idea what even a casual contact will do to you."
"Very comforting, Wes," Angel said.
"We need to know, Angel. Whatever is in that girl, it could endanger our entire effort. If we knew what it was we would have at least a chance of controlling it. I'm sorry about asking you to do this, but you're the only one we have with the necessary power and skill."
"I know that Wes. Hey, what about that guy you're hiring to do the Spirit-Teacher spell? Couldn't he do this instead?"
Wesley shook his head. "I asked him, but he said something about needing to conserve his energies for the Spirit-Teacher summoning. You're the only candidate available on such short notice."
"When's this guy going to do that anyway? I managed to weasel the money out of the Initiative, it should be here later tonight."
"He said he would do the spell tonight. Sometime after three am."
"That doesn't give us a lot of time."
"We shouldn't need it. The spell you are to perform, while seeming longer for you, should only take a few minutes. Then we shall test the girl on her physical prowess, which may take us until sometime just after midnight, depending on what we find. That would leave us plenty of time to rest and recuperate before the summoning is performed."
"Still cutting it kind of close, Wes," Angel said. "Spirit-Teachers, from what I've heard, tend to take a lot out of their students. And on top of that, Willow could be out of it for days, learning magic. Is it good to push the envelope on endurance like this?"
"We don't have a choice, Angel. Whatever the Willow of this universe is going to do, it will happen in the next two weeks. We know this as fact. That does not give us a wide schedule to work with, so we need to use every moment we have. We wasted enough time today at the hospital, though we are all glad for Cordelia's safety, I do not intend to waste any more."
"Alright. What now?"
"Now we see if Fred is done drawing the ritual circle. Prepare yourself, Angel, it's time to see just what makes Willow tick."
* * *
The ritual circle was actually three circles in a row, two smaller ones at each end and a larger one in the middle. The larger circle was filled with mystical symbols and lines, almost to the point where it seemed a solid blotch of color on the lobby floor. "Are you sure this stuff won't stain the tiles?" Angel asked.
"It's just paint," Fred answered, getting up from drawing the last line. "Some water and a mop and it'll come right off."
"I don't feel so good," Willow said as she curled up on the couch.
"Angel," Gunn said, catching the Vampire's attention. "Man in a uniform at the door holding a briefcase. Says it's for you."
"Let him in," Angel told Gunn before turning back to Willow. "What do you mean you don't feel so good? What's wrong?"
"Something feels wrong with my head. Like it's too small. Is my head small?"
"No, Willow, your head is fine."
"My orders are to deliver this case to your hands, Mr. Angel," a tall, brutish looking soldier said, holding out a large metal briefcase. "I will need you to sign a form I have before leaving."
"Oh, that's okay then," Willow said. "I think I kind of like this feeling anyway."
"Okay, I'll sign, do you have a pen on you?" Angel said as he took the heavy case from the soldier.
"Hey, peaches!" Spike called out as he sauntered down the stairs. "Who poked all the bloody holes in the wall?"
"Thank you, Mr. Angel. Commander Finn will be here later tonight," the soldier said, retrieving the paper and his pen from Angel before heading back outside.
"Puppy, why do we have to do this spell?" Willow asked.
"Angel, you want me to be on call for the rest of the night, 'cause I gotta say, man, I am dead tired here," Gunn said, walking carefully around the ritual circle.
"Ask Wesley," Angel told him. "Yes, Willow, we have to do this spell. We need to know what might have come with you through the dimensions."
"Is that the money?" Wesley asked, stepping out of his office.
"Yeah, it just arrived."
"Wes, do you need me around much longer?" Gunn asked.
"One of those holes goes to my room!" Spike snarled. "You can see straight through to the bloody hallway."
"I really don't think it's necessary," Willow said, almost too softly to be heard in the din of conversation. "But it might help you understand a few things."
"Is Faith alright, Angel?" Fred asked.
"It depends on what Angel feels is necessary for tonight's activities," Wesley told Gunn.
"She's fine, Fred," Angel said as he carefully opened the case to check the contents.
"Even a bloke like me needs his privacy, you know. It's not like I… oh look at all that pretty money," Spike said as he walked up to where everyone else was standing.
"He told me to ask you," Gunn told Wesley.
"I really hope she's not too angry when she comes back up here, she can be really scary sometimes," Fred rambled.
"Then by all means get some rest," Wesley told Gunn before turning to Angel. "Have you memorized the spell yet?"
Angel nodded, shutting the case much to Spike's disappointment. "It's pretty simple, and all in English, too. Except for those last words. What language are those in, Wes, I've never seen it before."
"Unfortunately I can't really say. I can't get an accurate placing from only three words, but they don't look like any language I've ever seen before."
"Okay then, I'm taking off for the night," Gunn said as he made his way upstairs.
"Kirast eltray morea," Angel said, running the words around in his mind. "I wonder what they mean."
"Enter the mind," Willow said, casually.
"What?" Wesley asked, looking sharply at the red-haired Vampire. "What do you mean?"
"Kirast eltray morea," She answered. "It means 'enter the mind', well, not exactly, but that's what comes closest."
"And how do you know this?" Wesley pressed.
Willow shrugged. "Don't know how. I just do. Bored now, can we do something interesting?"
Wesley and Angel looked at each other. "I think that sooner would be better than later on that spell," Wesley said.
"Oh yeah," Angel agreed. "Willow could you sit in that circle over there?" He asked, pointing to the smaller circle at one end of the design.
"Sure, whatever," she said, rolling her eyes as she got off the couch and sat cross-legged in the circle he had indicated.
Angel sat in the circle opposite hers. "Okay, just relax, this should only take a second," Willow gave Angel a bored look and yawned theatrically. "Okay. Here goes nothing," He focused his will, gathering what magical energies he could, and began the spell. "Mind to mind, heart to heart. Let the veil be lifted, let the unseen come to light. Hecate, by your power I do call, Hypnos, by your power I beseech. Morpheus, giver of dreams, reach into the unseen thoughts and bring them to my eyes. Let every desire be known, let every thought be made real, let the one before me be the architect of their own revealing. Powers of the mind, powers of the heart, I call on you to show me the truth. Come forth! Come forth! Come forth!"
Through this entire invoking, Angel hadn't felt a single shred of magical movement. Whatever this spell was, it obviously wasn't working. Angel paused for a moment, hoping that there would be some sort of reaction. He had done ritualized magics before, and there was always a feeling of power flowing through him that came with it. That feeling was completely absent here.
Shrugging, he decided to finish the spell anyways and find out what went wrong later. "Kirast," with that word, the world seemed to slow and dim, the air becoming thick like water, and the light seeming to drain from everything. "Eltray," the designs of the ritual circle suddenly flared up with intense, fiery brilliance. Streaming tendrils of iridescent light wrapping themselves around himself and Willow. He felt the power now, power like he'd never handled before flowing through him like he was a sieve dipped into a raging river, almost too much for him to handle. "Morea!" He gasped out, and the world went away in a swirl of impossible color.
* * *
Scenes whirled y him, places that held no connection to each other. He saw an empty hospital room, the bed covers twisted as if someone had been lying there only moments before. He saw the Bronze, but not like he'd ever seen it before. There were cages hanging from the ceiling, chains on the walls and blood splattered everywhere. He saw the Master's lair, a thousand candles shedding their faint light on the twisted subterranean mockery of a church. He saw a dark alleyway, one light shining down on a plain red brick wall as the sound of screaming echoed into the outer darkness.
In a flash of light, he was swept into a new place, one he really didn't expect. He was in Willow's room in her parent's house, the bedroom not looking any different from the first time he had seen it several years ago. He blinked, waiting for the scene to change again, but this time it stayed. He heard a rapid clicking sound from behind him, and turning found Willow, sitting at her computer, typing away.
"Okay," he said. "This is weird."
"Hey, puppy," Willow said, turning around in her chair to look at him. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a large white flower which was beginning to wilt printed on its front. "How are ya doin'?"
"Kind of confused," he admitted.
"Really? Too bad," a voice said beside him, he turned to find Willow stretched sensuously on the bed, staring at him with hungry eyes. She was wearing the leather outfit she had come to this world with but had Faith's jacket on over it. "Yum," she said. "Tall, dark and sexy, almost as good as you look in chains. What do you think?" She asked, looking at something behind Angel. He turned again to find a third Willow, sitting on a chair, reading a book. She looked at him with an emotionless expression before snorting and going back to her book, which was either titled 'The Prince' or something in a language he couldn't understand.
"What the hell?" He said, turning back to the Willow at the computer.
She smiled at him sympathetically. "Sorry, but this is a symbolic representation of my psyche, you have to expect at least some unreconcilable imagery shifts, especially from a mind as fractured as my own."
"Huh?" Angel said, completely unsure of what Willow had just said.
Willow on the bed sighed. "Look, puppy, the basics are this. You are in my mind, what you're seeing isn't real, just an interpretation of what's happening with me. I'm the Demon, computer girl over there is my original Soul, and the aloof bitch with the book is my other Soul, freeloader that she is. I wouldn't bother talking to her, she's got this really annoying habit of using people's full names. There's only so many times I can stand referring to myself as 'Willow Rosenberg childe of the Master of the Order of Aurelius' before I get cranky."
"The Demon's got a point," Willow at the computer said. "She is really annoying. I try to be nice to her, but sometimes I feel like punching myself in the head."
"What?" Angel said. "Wait, so you just sit around in this room and, what? Talk at each other?"
"Metaphorically," the Demon said. "The struggle for control has kind of wound down since last night."
"I come to terms with things fast," the Soul said. "We laid down a few ground rules while I was sleeping, and we came to an agreement."
"Which is?" Angel asked, still confused, but starting to understand.
"Rule by consensus!" All three responded at once.
"I only do what the three of us decide is the best way to go," the Soul said.
"Wait, how does that work?" Angel asked.
"Well," the Demon began. "I provide the killer instinct and good fashion sense, on top of my usual duties of animating this corpse and such. Soul one provides the moral fiber and concept of right and wrong, which is a lot looser than I remember it being. Soul two over there brings passionless, calculating, logical intellect to our little construct. In the end I get to keep a stable personality, everybody gets something, and, hey, maybe I'll even get to kill a few people in horrible, horrible ways somewhere along the road."
The Soul frowned at the Demon. "Not without good reason! I can't just go around slaughtering people any more. Although it might be fun to kick a little ass every now and then."
Angel stared horrified at the two Willows. "You're working together?"
The Soul looked taken aback. "It seemed like the best thing to do."
"The best thing to do?" Angel said, almost shouting. "You're letting the thing that stole your body have a say in how you act! You know what she's done! Do you feel nothing?"
"Hey!" The Demon said, getting up from the bed and standing in between Angel and the Willow at the computer. "Don't yell at my Soul like that! Just because you and Angelus hate each other with a fiery passion doesn't mean we will. I'm actually kind of enjoying the company. And, yeah, the guilt and morals get in the way sometimes, but at least I don't deny that the Demon exists."
"I would never spend a century punishing myself for what I've done," the Soul said, standing up herself to face Angel next to the Demon.
"Such an act would be counterproductive," the Willow with the book said without looking up. "Creating unnecessary animosity between the Soul and Demon only leads to physical and mental decay."
"That bitch speaks the truth!" The Demon said. "So calm down and be nice, or we're kicking you out."
Angel looked back and forth between the Demon and the Soul, both with identical, resolved faces. "This is very disturbing," he said finally.
The Demon shrugged. "Just how I felt at first. If it makes you feel better we spent all yesterday beating each other up trying to take control."
"Yeah, it was this big symbolic battle," the Soul said, sitting back down at the computer. "I was crying my eyes out at every opportunity, the Demon was trying to bite everything that moved, and the other Soul was being all cold and callous."
"Very exciting stuff," the Demon said, stretching herself back out on the bed. "But tiring as hell. I realized during a conversation with Spike that I couldn't go on being so fucking split."
"Compromise was the only viable option," the Soul with the book said.
"So I compromised," the Demon said. "And, hey, working! So don't knock the situation, puppy, 'cause it's the best one I could think of."
"This is worse than the Hyperion," Angel said, rubbing his temples. "All of you share one mind, right? So could only one of you talk?"
"Aw, is puppy all confused?" The Demon said, grinning. "Come on over here, puppy, I'll make you feel better," she patted the bed.
"Don't tempt the puppy," the Soul said. "I'll tell you whatever you want, puppy."
"Could you stop calling me that?"
"No!" The three of them answered simultaneously.
"Isn't that a little immature?"
"Just call me the eternal sixteen year old!" The Soul chirped.
"I don't really look sixteen, though," the Demon said.
"Demon controlled metamorphic abilities allow for the appearance of aging in certain powerful Vampires," the Soul with the book said, turning a page.
"That explains it," said the Soul at the computer. "So, puppy, just what is it that you want to know?"
"There's three of you here, but I know that something else should be. Where's the Other?"
The three Willows looked at each other, becoming perfectly silent. The Soul lifted her hand to point at the curtained sliding door that led outside. Angel looked at it, and the room seemed to go dark. A feeling of utter cold spread itself through him, flowing through his veins like blood. The curtain billowed as if in a breeze, but in this place of imagination there was no wind to be found. A whispering voice echoed into the shadows, hissing words that held no meaning to him, but were filled with power. He reached out, his hand grasping the edge of the curtain, ready to pull it back and reveal what was hiding behind.
"Don't do that, Angel," a new voice said. A voice which was dangerous but casual, a voice that he recognized.
"Skip?" Angel asked, letting go of the curtain and turning around to find the tall gray Demon staring down at him. "What are you doing in Willow's mind?"
"Actually," Skip said, in his easy, conversational tone. "I'm in your mind, but since you're in Willow's, well, it gets complicated."
"What are you doing in my mind, then? And what are all these rumors about you working for the other side?"
"What side I work for doesn't matter in this conflict. Both the Powers That Be and the Forces of Evil are in the same boat right now, you know that. And what I'm doing in your mind is trying to stop you from making a big mistake."
"I don't want to see what's behind the curtain?" Angel asked.
"Absolutely not," Skip answered. "What's behind the curtain is something not meant for eyes, metaphorical in this case but eyes all the same, to behold. If you were to even catch a glimpse of it, well not even the higher powers have any clue of what would happen to you. Did you see 'Scanners'? The scene where the guy's head exploded?"
"Yeah, great movie. You think that would happen to me?"
"Let's just say that it's a best case scenario," Skip said, Angel gulped and took a careful step away from the door.
"Could you at least tell me what it is?"
Skip shook his great head. "Can't tell you what I don't know. Believe me, Angel, I want to find out just as much as you do, but the higher powers are scared of it, whatever it is, and they aren't saying any more than they absolutely need to."
"Doesn't bode well," Angel said.
"Not at all," Skip agreed. "I can tell you this, though, the Other is dormant. It's not in action, and as far as we know, it won't be able to wake up by itself. It will need a catalyst, and one hell of a powerful one at that."
"What kind of catalyst?"
"We don't know. But we are sure that it's almost impossible to get to. The higher powers say that nothing we have planned for her will be able to do it, so don't worry about teaching her magic or sending her up against her alter ego, that won't be enough to wake this thing."
"Kind of a relief, but not a big one," Angel said. "You can't tell me anything more? Not even a rumor floating around whatever higher dimension you live in?"
"Well," Skip said, then hesitated. "There is one thing, it's only hearsay, but some of the more intelligent super-beings have been saying that it must be connected to something that the Master was planning. But since the Master was working on his own, without help or guidance from any of the higher ups in the Forces of Evil, no one's sure of exactly what it might be."
"Thanks Skip," Angel said. "I owe you one."
"Nah, I'm just doin' what has to be done," Skip said, waving him off. "The higher powers can't interfere directly thanks to the Queen, so we gotta help out anyway we can," His voice became serious. "Remember, whatever she's planning it has the potential to literally make everything, the higher powers included, as if they never existed. We're rooting for you, Angel, don't let us down."
* * *
The light faded, letting the lobby of the Hyperion fade back into view. Angel blinked, trying to clear the spots from his eyes as he stood up. He looked around at the intent faces of the people he worked with. The Vampire Willow sat calmly as he had left her, eyes closed and hands folded in her lap.
"Well?" Wesley asked. "What did you find?"
Angel gave Willow a long look before answering. "It's a lot more messed up in there than we thought."
"What do you mean?"
"Her Demon and her Souls are, uh, working together," Angel answered, still feeling a little groggy from the powerful spell.
"Really? Fascinating, are they aligning their priorities together, or are they actually working towards the same agenda?" Wesley asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Actually, they've set up a rule by consensus. At least that's what they called it."
"How odd. You must tell me everything later. But first, what of the Other? What did you find about it?"
Angel shook his head. "Not much. I learned that I shouldn't look at it, but Skip didn't have too many details for me."
"Skip, like that Demon you and Cordelia met?" Fred asked, Angel nodded.
"This Skip was in Willow's mind?" Wesley asked.
"No, he was in my mind, sort of. Look, I don't know. All I know is that Skip saved me from possibly ending up with my head splattered all over the walls. Wes, he told me some stuff about it. It's dormant, and won't wake up without some sort of ultra-powerful catalyst that no one knows anything about. It's got the Powers scared off their mightier-than-thou asses, and it has something to do with the Master and what he was planning."
"That old ponce?" Spike asked, unbelieving. "He was a bloody cartoon villain, that one, got himself killed by Buffy, too. What the hell could he have to do with this?"
"He is the one that made her, Spike," Wes reminded the Vampire. "It is not beyond him to have altered her in other ways as well. It shall take a good deal of digging to find out what, exactly, the Master hoped to accomplish."
"I'll get started on that," Fred said, and headed for the computer. "I looked up some information on the Master when we were getting ready to bring Willow here; I think I still have most of it bookmarked."
"Good thinking, Fred," Wesley said. "Spike, go tell Faith that we're nearly ready to begin our test of Willow's abilities."
"Right," Spike said and headed for the training room.
"Angel, this puts a bit of a different spin on things, and there is something I need to discuss with you after we test Willow," Wesley said and Angel nodded in acceptance. "Willow, are you awake?" Wesley asked.
The red-haired Vampire nodded. "Yup, totally, completely, fully awake."
"Are you feeling alright?"
"Mmm. Like it here. I feel tingly," she said, a smile coming to her lips.
"It's the aftereffect of the magic. Do you remember Angel being in you mind?"
She nodded. "It was like a big warm blanket being wrapped around my head. Don't remember what anyone said, though. Went by too fast for me. So, puppy, what's next?"
"Spike, Faith and I are going to test how well you fight," Angel said.
Willow's eyes snapped open. "Faith," she hissed, her smile widening into a grin. She sprang to her feet, looking from Wesley to Angel and back again. "So? What are waiting for? Bored now, let's go!"
Author's Note: A new chapter for all my fans! And out in record time too! I personally think that this one is much better written than the last one, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Please keep the reviews coming, I do this for feedback on my writing style. Expect the next chapter in about two weeks; I have to get a few other things done before I can continue this story. All for now, enjoy!
-Aeliar
