Chapter 6 -- The Abyss Stares Back
The first vampire who tried to escort them down to where the Master waited had been in for a shock.
Willow shoved a tree branch through his heart, turning him to dust. The second vampire merely stared in shock at the dissipating body, leaving Legolas free to stake him as well. He and Willow fought fiercely, but they were vastly outnumbered when the vampires who had been in the clearing came to assist. After that, they were quickly subdued and led down to where the Master stood.
"Look, my children." He gestured to the vampires around him, pointing to Willow and Legolas. "These are our enemies. Warriors for good. Pathetic, aren't they?"
He turned to Willow, staring as if he could see into her very soul, down to the dark place that she'd been suppressing all summer. The dark magic still lived inside her, threatening to break out, overwhelm her, and make her lose control.
She forced herself to focus, though it seemed as if the Master were reaching inside of her, pulling on the evil she'd taken in during her desperate quest for revenge. She had to concentrate, stay in control and think. There had to be a way out of this. Even if they couldn't defeat him tonight, she and Legolas had to survive to warn Buffy and the others. She and Legolas had to survive, period. Now that she'd found her soulmate, she wasn't about to let him go.
"You should be mine," The Master growled. "You were mine. Then that brat of a carpenter found you and brought you back to the light, to the side of good. Please. Who do you think you're kidding. You're not good. You've got so much power that you don't have to be. Good and evil are terms created by the powerless to give meaning to their wretched lives; they mean nothing to creatures like us."
"I'm not like you." Willow's voice wavered, but her convictions held firm. She caught Legolas's eyes, drinking in his silent show of support. He believed in her. She could do no less. "I'm not evil. I've faced the darkness and won. You may be able to kill me, but you can't change me. I'm stronger than that. I will not surrender to the darkness. You have no power over me."
The Master shrugged, walking over to where his captives stood, held immobile by the legion of minion vampires. "I have no power over you?" he laughed. "We'll see." He looked at Legolas, staring as if he were starving for next meal. He'd see how much pain it would take to send her over the edge again.
He turned his back, walking away from the gathering crowd. "Kill the elf. Drain him dry, then, to be certain he's dead... cut off his head."
"No!" she yelled, struggling against her vampire captors. In the midst of it all, she stared into Legolas' emotion-filled eyes. Wisdom, pain, longing, and the realization that they could not escape were evident in their blue depths.
Willow watched helplessly as two vamps moved in, fangs bared. Not again. Goddess, not again. She couldn't watch someone she loved die. She had to do something, anything. She had to save him.
The magic built up inside her, and she felt her eyes grow black with the force of her fury. No one was going to kill her love. Not this time.
With a scream, she let loose. Magic radiated out from her body in thick waves, obliterating all evil in its path. The vampires didn't have time to run, to shout, as the mystical fire consumed them. They simply ceased to exist, their ashes in the wind the only sign they had ever been there.
Legolas sank to the ground as the vamps who had been supporting his battered body were dispersed into the air. In seconds, the only things left in the clearing were Willow, Legolas - and surprisingly enough, the Master.
Which meant he wasn't an ordinary vampire, Willow concluded. Destroying him was going to be much harder.
The Master clapped. "Very good, child. You're learning quickly. You'll serve me well."
"You're not the Master," she stated. What the hell was he? she wondered.
"Such a talent for stating the obvious," he smirked. "What I am, you'll find out soon enough. This is far from over."
With a shimmer, the Master disappeared, leaving Willow and Legolas alone in the clearing, staring at the space where he had been.
Willow moved first, walking over to Legolas and holding out her hand. The elf scrambled to his feet, enveloping her in a firm hug. She pushed him away just far enough to see his face, staring into his eyes before pulling him down for a kiss.
Their mouths fused, tongues dueling wildly, hands roaming over each others bodies. Right now, all Willow wanted to do is drag him down to the forest floor and make love with him, to celebrate their continuing lives.
Despite their brush with death, Legolas had never been happier than at that moment. Willow, the only woman he'd truly loved in his thousands of years of life, was in his arms. She wanted him as desperately as he wanted her.
No, he cautioned himself, this wasn't right. He didn't love her...couldn't. Loving leads to nothing but pain and death, he reminded himself. Nothing good could come of any sort of relationship with his beautiful witch.
He cautiously extricated himself from her embrace, staunchly ignoring the hurt look on her face. She was young, and human. She'd get over it and move on. He, on the other hand, would take her memories with him for eternity.
Willow frowned as he pushed her away. The look on his face... it was regret, she realized. He regretted their kiss... no, even more than that he regretted their emotional closeness. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. After all they'd been through, he didn't want her. She wanted him to stay here in Sunnydale, to stay with her, but she knew he wouldn't. He was going to leave her.
Legolas turned away, unable to bear the pain on her face any longer. "Let us head back to the cabin, before another evil force tries for our lives," he suggested, heading out of the clearing in the direction they'd come from.
Willow wiped back a falling tear, and slowly followed him through the trees.
The first vampire who tried to escort them down to where the Master waited had been in for a shock.
Willow shoved a tree branch through his heart, turning him to dust. The second vampire merely stared in shock at the dissipating body, leaving Legolas free to stake him as well. He and Willow fought fiercely, but they were vastly outnumbered when the vampires who had been in the clearing came to assist. After that, they were quickly subdued and led down to where the Master stood.
"Look, my children." He gestured to the vampires around him, pointing to Willow and Legolas. "These are our enemies. Warriors for good. Pathetic, aren't they?"
He turned to Willow, staring as if he could see into her very soul, down to the dark place that she'd been suppressing all summer. The dark magic still lived inside her, threatening to break out, overwhelm her, and make her lose control.
She forced herself to focus, though it seemed as if the Master were reaching inside of her, pulling on the evil she'd taken in during her desperate quest for revenge. She had to concentrate, stay in control and think. There had to be a way out of this. Even if they couldn't defeat him tonight, she and Legolas had to survive to warn Buffy and the others. She and Legolas had to survive, period. Now that she'd found her soulmate, she wasn't about to let him go.
"You should be mine," The Master growled. "You were mine. Then that brat of a carpenter found you and brought you back to the light, to the side of good. Please. Who do you think you're kidding. You're not good. You've got so much power that you don't have to be. Good and evil are terms created by the powerless to give meaning to their wretched lives; they mean nothing to creatures like us."
"I'm not like you." Willow's voice wavered, but her convictions held firm. She caught Legolas's eyes, drinking in his silent show of support. He believed in her. She could do no less. "I'm not evil. I've faced the darkness and won. You may be able to kill me, but you can't change me. I'm stronger than that. I will not surrender to the darkness. You have no power over me."
The Master shrugged, walking over to where his captives stood, held immobile by the legion of minion vampires. "I have no power over you?" he laughed. "We'll see." He looked at Legolas, staring as if he were starving for next meal. He'd see how much pain it would take to send her over the edge again.
He turned his back, walking away from the gathering crowd. "Kill the elf. Drain him dry, then, to be certain he's dead... cut off his head."
"No!" she yelled, struggling against her vampire captors. In the midst of it all, she stared into Legolas' emotion-filled eyes. Wisdom, pain, longing, and the realization that they could not escape were evident in their blue depths.
Willow watched helplessly as two vamps moved in, fangs bared. Not again. Goddess, not again. She couldn't watch someone she loved die. She had to do something, anything. She had to save him.
The magic built up inside her, and she felt her eyes grow black with the force of her fury. No one was going to kill her love. Not this time.
With a scream, she let loose. Magic radiated out from her body in thick waves, obliterating all evil in its path. The vampires didn't have time to run, to shout, as the mystical fire consumed them. They simply ceased to exist, their ashes in the wind the only sign they had ever been there.
Legolas sank to the ground as the vamps who had been supporting his battered body were dispersed into the air. In seconds, the only things left in the clearing were Willow, Legolas - and surprisingly enough, the Master.
Which meant he wasn't an ordinary vampire, Willow concluded. Destroying him was going to be much harder.
The Master clapped. "Very good, child. You're learning quickly. You'll serve me well."
"You're not the Master," she stated. What the hell was he? she wondered.
"Such a talent for stating the obvious," he smirked. "What I am, you'll find out soon enough. This is far from over."
With a shimmer, the Master disappeared, leaving Willow and Legolas alone in the clearing, staring at the space where he had been.
Willow moved first, walking over to Legolas and holding out her hand. The elf scrambled to his feet, enveloping her in a firm hug. She pushed him away just far enough to see his face, staring into his eyes before pulling him down for a kiss.
Their mouths fused, tongues dueling wildly, hands roaming over each others bodies. Right now, all Willow wanted to do is drag him down to the forest floor and make love with him, to celebrate their continuing lives.
Despite their brush with death, Legolas had never been happier than at that moment. Willow, the only woman he'd truly loved in his thousands of years of life, was in his arms. She wanted him as desperately as he wanted her.
No, he cautioned himself, this wasn't right. He didn't love her...couldn't. Loving leads to nothing but pain and death, he reminded himself. Nothing good could come of any sort of relationship with his beautiful witch.
He cautiously extricated himself from her embrace, staunchly ignoring the hurt look on her face. She was young, and human. She'd get over it and move on. He, on the other hand, would take her memories with him for eternity.
Willow frowned as he pushed her away. The look on his face... it was regret, she realized. He regretted their kiss... no, even more than that he regretted their emotional closeness. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. After all they'd been through, he didn't want her. She wanted him to stay here in Sunnydale, to stay with her, but she knew he wouldn't. He was going to leave her.
Legolas turned away, unable to bear the pain on her face any longer. "Let us head back to the cabin, before another evil force tries for our lives," he suggested, heading out of the clearing in the direction they'd come from.
Willow wiped back a falling tear, and slowly followed him through the trees.