Disclaimer, etc. as on first chapter.
A/N: Come on, people! Thirty more reviews and I've got a bi-centennial! ;) Anyway. This chapter. Some more of Buffy and Giles in England as she gets the magic out of her. Nothing special there, really. Don't know how long it's going to take. The real treat here is what happens to Willow, along with the aforementioned special guest. I hope you're not disappointed. It's vaguely implausible, but I think I've gone so far beyond the realms of plausibility already that it doesn't actually matter any more… (On that same note, no, I know absolutely nothing about magic, 'real' or otherwise…)
Just a note I'd like to mention - Devon, from what I've seen, which is quite a bit, seems to be composed entirely of cliffs, forest, and seafront, along with miles and miles of hills. And interestingly enough, in Cornwall, which is further on England's south coast (in the pointy bit in the west) for my trans-Atlantic chums, has a witchcraft museum in a little town called Boscastle. Just a little snippet of information. I keep thinking it would have been more sensible that the coven came from Cornwall and not Devon, for that reason, but there we go… (Incidentally, Buffy's view at the beginning is pretty accurate for what one sees from a high point of the northern edge of Devon… although I admit it's somewhat an amalgamation of two different ones. Ah, well, call it artistic license…)
Enjoy. Reviews appreciated, as always.
Cradle
Chapter Twenty-Six
Devon, England, two days later…
Buffy had never seen anything like it. Sure, she'd seen a few amazing views in her time - the night skyline of L.A., for example, and Sunnydale's vista by night, when she'd been at the top of the tower a year ago, marvelling at everything for the last time. But this… this was completely different. So… fresh. Just greenery, hills and sky for as far as she could see, and the cold, greyish-blue of what Giles had informed her was the Bristol Channel in the distance. And, far beyond that, disappearing into the haze, was the Welsh coast. The Slayer was fascinated by the smallness of it all, the way the two countries just squished together like they did. She was used to huge cityscapes, and sea that disappeared over the horizon instead of meeting land a few miles away.
She was standing at the side of the road, where she'd demanded Giles stop the car they'd hired. She was wired, probably from the incredibly long time she'd been asleep during the flight, and there was no calming her down. She'd been up the entire night of their arrival, much to Giles' chagrin as he'd been trying to get to sleep and she'd pestered him about everything from the Civil War to the Royals and all points in-between, and she seemed to be blissfully unaffected by jetlag. However, standing at the very top of a hill on a practically deserted country road, breathing in fresh, half-sea, half-countryside air, she felt her nerves starting to calm down.
Giles was standing by the car, waiting for her. They'd been driving from the hotel in Barnstaple, the main large city of the county, to a secluded spot in the middle of nowhere. At least, that's what it looked like on the map - it was, in fact, a secluded spot in the middle of Exmoor, that Vivianne had given directions to. They'd stopped for a breather, mainly so they could both stretch their legs, and also to attempt to calm Buffy before they met the rest of the coven. Vivianne had given strict instructions that Buffy needed to be clear in mind prior to her arrival, to make the recalling spell work as fast as possible.
Luckily, the fresh air seemed to be helping considerably, and when she turned back and headed to the car, he could tell she was much mellower than she'd been on the way.
"Okay, let's go…"
"Feeling better?"
"Yeah. Nervous, but less hyperactive…"
"Good." They both clambered back into the car and Giles started it up again, continuing their journey. Buffy resisted the urge to fiddle with the radio - the last time she'd tried, she'd managed to cause flying sparks and short circuit the entire car - and conceded to sit watching the view as it passed by. Tall hedgerows on either side of the narrow road blocked any attempt to figure out where they were, and she was only just getting used to the impossibly bendy route they were taking. She'd been far more comfortable on the motorways; at least they were straight like she was used to.
Suddenly, a thought struck her. "Hey… I'm sure I read somewhere about there being some kind of creature on Exmoor…"
Giles laughed. "It's a common myth, yes."
"A myth?" She didn't look convinced. Peering at the thick hedges, she could believe there was something lurking there. "Well… if there is, it's going to be messing with the wrong American…"
"Quite." He seemed to find the idea amusing, and added, "Afterwards, I'll take you up to Scotland and you can throttle Nessie."
"Ooh, really?" He looked across at her with a knowing glance, implying he'd been joking. "Oh… geez, you people sure have a lot of myths."
"It's part of our innate charm," he said. "Besides. We don't know for sure if they are myths. After all, there's no Slayer here to keep the demon, monster and dragon population at bay."
"True," she said. After that, their conversation dwindled away into nothingness once more. After another half-hour or so of driving, they turned into an even narrower road than the apparent 'main' road they'd come in on, which seemed to be little more than a dirt track. Buffy looked around somewhat nervously. "Are you sure this is right?"
"Yes, this is the road Vivianne marked on the map," he said, assuredly, and kept on driving. Eventually, a gap appeared in the hedge, and, as he slowed to a stop, a woman emerged through it and flagged them down. Her long, brown hair was scraped back into a somewhat messy braid at the back of her head, and she was dressed in jeans, walking boots, and a thick fleece.
Giles stopped the car, and indicated for Buffy to get out. A little cautiously, she did so, and waited for him to lock up the car and join her. Once he had done, he gestured for her to move. She fixed a friendly smile (albeit a slightly weak one) and approached the woman.
Vivianne smiled widely as they got nearer, and enveloped Giles in a huge hug. "Rupert! Good to see you again."
"You, too."
She turned to the Slayer, who was shifting uncomfortably and looking around at her surroundings. Exmoor was more foreboding than the parts of Devon they'd travelled through had been, and the sky was clouding over, too, making the whole scene a lot more eerie. "And you must be Buffy," said Vivianne. "Rupert's told me lots about you."
"Uh… yeah. Hi." She held out a hand to shake, awkwardly, then retracted it again with a shrug when she remembered her predicament, and put her hands in the pockets of Spike's duster. She was beginning to see why he liked it so much; it was perfect for feeling invisible when you were uncomfortable with a situation. Her fingers wrapped around a box that she instantly identified as his cigarettes, and she held back a smile. Spike was probably going insane without them.
She could sense the power in Vivianne, but she wasn't sure if it was her Slayer's Spidey-sense allowing her to do so, or if it was because of the magic in her own system. Whatever the reason, the brunette woman was clearly a very powerful witch, and, unlike Willow had been, was in complete control of her powers.
Vivianne could tell Buffy was nervous, and decided to be as gentle with her as possible. "Listen. It's going to be fine. You're a strong young woman and as long as your mind is free of distractions, there should be no problems."
"Is this gonna hurt as much as the other stuff did?" she asked, finally.
"No. You don't need to do anything, either, just concentrate on… well, nothing."
Feeling a little happier, she put on a determined face. "Right. Good. Let's get started." With that, she moved past Vivianne through the gap in the hedgerow, and into the field beyond. Giles and the witch watched her for a moment.
"How long will it take?" he asked.
"That depends. If she stays focussed, no time at all. If not… it could take several attempts."
"I think she's determined to get this over with," he admitted. "She managed to completely clear her mind the first time around… I'm fairly confident she'll be able to do it again."
"Only fairly…?"
He nodded. "She's got rather a lot on her plate at the moment. Aside from everything that's been happening in Sunnydale itself, she and her friends are all in various stages of emotional crisis…"
"Oh…" She looked over her shoulder to where Buffy was admiring the view once more. "And does she know about-"
"No, I haven't told her yet. Or any of the others. I didn't want to make it any more difficult for her."
"You'll have to tell her eventually, Rupert."
He sighed. "I know… I know I will…"
Sunnydale…
With Xander out patrolling with Clem, having finally finished repairing Buffy's couch and coffee table (remarkably well, probably out of guilt), Willow was having an early night. Anya had gone back to her apartment for the moment, just to check on things, and Dawn and Spike were down in the basement training, for what it was worth. She'd been patrolling with the teenager the night before and it seemed like training would be a waste of time - Dawn was already a very skilled fighter. She suspected it was just an excuse to spend some time with Spike, however, and she wasn't going to complain if it meant it was reasonably quiet on the top floor of the house.
Sitting at the dressing table, she stared absently at her reflection. She looked terrible, she realised. On patrol the night before, they'd gotten ambushed by a dopey fledgling, and before Dawn could get near enough to stake it, quite a fight had ensued. She was sporting a nasty bruise on her cheek that she was currently wishing she could just heal with a spell. Apart from that, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her mouth was drawn into an almost perpetual grimace. She wondered how she was managing to stay happy around the others.
The thought of Buffy and Giles' surprise party, however, made her feel slightly better. Finally, things were starting to feel right again for her friends. Anya and Xander were struggling, but it wouldn't be for long; Buffy was clearly determined to make it work with Spike. And, magic or no magic, Willow herself was miles better than she'd been only a week ago.
She yawned, closing her eyes momentarily, and got up to prepare the bed for sleeping in. She'd made a conscious decision that morning to stop sleeping on Tara's old side of it, because it wasn't helping her at all. Instead, she'd moved all the pillows into one big pile in the middle so she had the whole mattress to spread herself out on. Not only was it less painful emotionally, it was also more comfortable.
She finished beating up the final pillow and turned back to the mirror, nearly jumping out of her skin at what she saw. Reflecting back at her was not only herself, but Tara, once more, standing just behind her like before. Willow blinked, just to ascertain whether or not the image was real, and when it remained, she took a step closer to the mirror. Tara remained where she was. Willow swallowed, then said,
"Are you real?"
"Yes, Will…"
Breathing a sigh of relief, she smiled. "What are you doing back? I thought the Powers were all strict on that sort of thing."
"They are… I guess they like us, huh?"
"I guess…" The two shared a smile like they used to. "So… why are you here? Not that I'm complaining…"
"Because y-you need me."
"I do?" Realising that didn't sound particularly good, she back-tracked. "I mean, I do… always… but… not like before."
The mirror-Tara came up closer behind Willow's reflection and wrapped both arms around her waist, comfortingly. Willow felt a chill go through her midriff and instinctively wrapped her own arms around her stomach; in the mirror, she saw herself holding Tara's arms. "You… you can't do magic, c-can you?" asked Tara.
"How did you know?" asked Willow, surprised.
"Watching over you, remember?"
"Oh, yeah… And no… I can't. The… the purging, it…"
"I know…"
"Giles is gonna ask his friend in England if she can help me."
"I know that, too…" she said, grinning. Dropping the smile, she continued, seriously, "But I don't think she can…"
"No, me neither… I guess I'm just going to have to… re-learn, or something."
"Will, you never learnt magic." The redhead looked confused. "I-I mean, you didn't have to. Magic's always been in you; when you started practising, it just… ignited the power."
Willow looked suddenly terrified. "I'm never going to get it back?"
"Well… th-that's sorta why I'm here." Mirror-Tara released her again and moved to stand next to her. "When I died, my powers came with me. And… and I don't need them where I am. I s-spoke to the Powers, and they agreed it would be best… I mean, seeing as you lost yours fighting the good fight… that it'd be best if I… gave them to you…"
"What…?" Tara didn't answer, merely smiled. "But… how?"
"Just stand still…" Bewildered, Willow did as she was told, watching as Tara's mirror-self walked behind her, then began to walk forwards, straight through her, until her own reflection was an amalgamation of herself and Tara, oddly translucent and shimmering. The shimmering became a white glow emanating from her (or their) stomachs, working out, eventually enveloping them both and shrouding the entire room in brightness. Then, suddenly, it stopped, and Tara walked right the way through Willow and emerged on the other side, before standing next to her again.
Willow looked down at her hands, sensing the power in her grasp once more. The spot on her face where her bruise had been had also stopped smarting. She could feel the magic pumping through her veins, exploring new territory, before finally settling in the pit of her stomach, familiarly. She looked up again and met Tara's gaze in the glass. "Wow… Thanks…"
"What else are mirror-girlfriends for?" she joked, bringing a smile to Willow's face, that turned into a wide grin.
"I feel like I should give you something, but… I don't even know if I can…"
Willow's shoulder suddenly tingled right the way down her arm as mirror-Tara rested her head there. "You've given me so much already… Just… just promise me you'll use it well."
"I will… I promise… I don't think I can do bad with this, Tara; it feels… it feels so pure. It's like silver and satin and ice at my fingertips…"
Tara smiled. "Really? I always thought of it more as gold and honey…"
"That, too… God, my power was like fire and… and lava compared to this…" She looked at her hands again, somewhat in awe. She'd never realised how different their magic had been, nor how 'impure' her own had become. She felt as though she'd been cleansed inside and out. Feeling the loss of contact at her shoulder all of a sudden, she looked up again to find Tara looking up at the ceiling.
"I… I have to go… I've been here too long already…"
"Darn those Powers," muttered Willow, semi-comically. "But… but thank them from me. I owe them big time."
She giggled. "I won't use those exact words. They, uh, tend to remember stuff like that."
"Right."
"I don't know if I'll be able to come here any more. Once was difficult; twice is nearly impossible. But… but if you really, really need me, then… I'll try."
"I understand… I think we're all going to be okay, now. And now I know you're happy where you are, I… it doesn't hurt so much."
"And now I know you're all right, I can, um, rest in peace."
The two smiled again. "Love you…"
As the light began to form in the ceiling of the mirror-bedroom, Tara stood away from her slightly. "Love you, too, Will. Goodbye…"
"Goodbye…"
The light enveloped her, and she was gone. Willow smiled, a proper, genuine, happy smile, for what felt like the first time in centuries. Looking down at her hands again, still amazed by the new sensations, she decided to test out her new powers, just for curiosity's sake. She moved back over to the dresser, where she'd put the dried flowers she'd been using a few days ago to practice, and placed her hand over a lipstick. She muttered "Leviosa…" again, and raised her hand… then laughed in pure delight as the lipstick raised effortlessly and smoothly from the surface of the table and followed her every move.
Not wanting to overdo it, she let it drop to the table once more. She looked up, heavenwards, and said, "Thank you…" then examined herself in the mirror again. Being happy did wonders for one's looks, it seemed, and she grinned at herself. Things were finally starting to go right again.
Suddenly, she didn't feel like sleeping any more, and the sound of the door opening downstairs indicated that Xander was back, and, by the sound of it, had invited Clem inside, too. Or, at the very least, Clem had invited himself. Leaving the bedroom with a positive spring in her step, and hoping she didn't look too goofy, Willow went downstairs to meet them, just as Dawn and an exhausted-looking Spike re-emerged from the basement.
"Hey, guys," she said. "Hi, Clem. How was patrol?"
Xander waved a hand to indicate he was incapable of talking at the moment. "Can't talk. Need beverage…" So saying, he stumbled towards the kitchen and began rooting in the fridge.
Clem looked a little out of his depth for a few seconds, then shrugged and decided to answer the question for him. "Wasn't too bad. Just a couple of fledglings. They put up quite a fight. Oh, hey Spike…" The vampire waved half-heartedly in greeting.
Xander came back into the lounge, swigging from a carton of orange juice. "They were fast… well, they were fast until Clement here used all that skin to our advantage…"
Everybody suddenly had the same horrible mental image, and shuddered. "Ew…" noted Dawn, speaking for the room. Then, to Xander, "And eww, Xander. Other people have to drink that, you know…"
"No, they don't," he said, holding it upside down to indicate it was now empty.
"How did your training go, Dawn?" asked Willow.
Spike answered for her. "Her training, my arse. Bit gave me a run for my money, I can tell you."
"Oh, you're a wuss, Spike…" she countered, then whispered conspiratorially to Willow. "He just wasn't paying attention 'cos he's so worried about Buffy. It's kinda cute, really…"
She'd forgotten about his vampire super-hearing. "Cute, am I? I'll give you cute…" So saying, he lunged at her, making quite sure he had no intention of harming her so the chip wouldn't go off. She reacted instantly and on auto-pilot (or auto-Slayer, more appropriately) and kicked out at the back of his knees, sending him toppling over backwards with a crash. He groaned at the impact, and Dawn realised what she'd done.
"Oops… sorry…" she said, offering him a hand up.
Spike clambered to his feet and addressed Willow. "See what I mean?"
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah… I'll be glad when your bloody sister's back, though. You can beat her up instead…"
"We'll all be glad when she's back," said Xander. "Talking of which, how goes the party-planning?"
Willow grinned. "I've got a few ideas. I thought we could make a banner, y'know? And lots of balloons and confetti and stuff. And I thought we could all sorta ambush her when she arrives, and…" Willow continued to reel off all her ideas to the group at top-notch speed, for at least another fifteen minutes. Xander and Dawn occasionally offered suggestions, and Clem offered to help if he could - he'd thoroughly enjoyed Buffy's birthday party and was looking forward to this one, too.
Spike, however, since he wasn't having any part in the surprise, wasn't in the mood to discuss it, and took himself off elsewhere. The only place free of Scoobies and more or less memory and emotional demon-free was the basement, and even that wasn't completely perfect after his encounter down there with Buffy. Nevertheless, the cot was still set up from his stay, and he could, at least, shut the door on the meeting in the lounge. Much as he was looking forward to the Slayer's return, he didn't want to crowd her; he was going to let her spend the time with her friends, and if she wanted to see him, she'd know where to find him. This time, he was determined not to push her too hard.
Exmoor…
It was nearly nightfall by the time the coven had gathered, and if the clearing hadn't been decidedly spooky before, it most certainly was now. The sky had darkened to a deep blue, almost pitch black, and it was too cloudy to see the stars. There was no moon; the coven were working by candlelight. The only thing that was putting Buffy's nerves at ease was the fact that she knew Giles was close by, watching the procedure.
She was sitting cross-legged, as instructed, in the centre of a circle of five candles, her eyes firmly shut as she concentrated very hard on clearing her mind. Around her, the coven had gathered, and were busy focussing their energies so they could be perfectly attuned to each other. Twelve of Vivianne's friends and associates were members of the coven, all of them friendly and pleasant, and nothing like Buffy had imagined. Many of them were in respectable jobs when they weren't practising magic; some of them had families; Vivianne herself, it turned out, was a school teacher.
Clearing her mind was proving far more difficult than she'd anticipated. The surroundings were unfamiliar, for a start, and she was beginning to wish she'd put on another layer of clothing. Spike's advice had turned out to be useful after all. Not only that, she could feel the magic within her much more than she had previously. It wasn't an altogether unpleasant sensation, just an unfamiliar one - like something not quite warm, and not quite cold, bubbling in her stomach. As the ladies' energies began to focus, Buffy could feel it, as though it was getting excited, preparing to be released.
Eventually, the outside sounds became more distant, and she finally managed to clear her mind of any erroneous thoughts. One of the reasons Giles had stuck around was because he knew, instinctively, from years of training her, when she'd reached a suitable trance-like state for the coven to proceed. He watched her for a few more seconds before finally giving a single nod to Vivianne.
The brown-haired witch began to chant in a low voice, and her neighbour joined in. One by one, the others started up, until all twelve of them were muttering the same words. They repeated it, over and over again, each time getting slightly louder. Giles watched the process somewhat curiously - he remembered something similar to this happening when they'd created the magic for him in the first place. As the chant continued, after a while, Buffy began to hover, getting higher, very slowly, still in her cross-legged position. Her entire body started to glow, emanating from her middle; the chant had increased from a whisper to a full-blown shout.
Suddenly, the entire coven stopped chanting, and silence fell. Then, Vivianne spoke. "That which was created for good, and which now causes pain, let it be recalled!"
Buffy had, by now, completely vanished into the ball of light that was surrounding her, which was so bright that Giles had to shade his eyes. From within the ball, a snake-like wisp emerged, spiralling upwards. It separated into twelve smaller snakes, and from there, it drifted slowly towards each member of the coven. The glow around Buffy gradually diminished, and she headed back towards the ground, just as gently as she'd gone up, landing in the same position she'd started in.
Each member of the coven briefly crackled, their borrowed magic resettling itself with the rest of it. Then, everything stopped, and the twelve women came back to reality, one by one, at their own pace. Vivianne was the first to recover, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that Buffy was still safely on the ground in her trance-like state, and she gave a nod to Giles.
He breathed out, and approached the circle, finally able to turn on the torch he'd brought and shedding some more light on the matter. "Did it work?"
"It seems like it. Ladies?" She addressed her friends, who all gave various positive affirmations. "Well, everyone seems to think so. I suppose the real test is when she brings herself out of it."
Giles nodded absently, approaching Buffy and crouching to her level. Cautiously, he placed both hands on her shoulders. He received no shock, and smiled. That was, at least, a good sign. He shook her slightly. "Buffy…"
He had a brief moment of panic when she didn't react, and then, just when he was beginning to think she'd gone completely catatonic, her eyes opened. "Whoa…" she said, clearly still not quite alert, and remembering very vaguely what had happened. "I was… I was flying…"
He laughed. "Near enough…"
She shook her head to clear the fuzz, and allowed him to help her stand up, realising her legs weren't going to co-operate for a while. "As you can touch me, I'm gonna assume it worked…"
"Well, do you feel magical?"
She concentrated. "Nope."
"Then it worked…"
"Thank God…"
Giles helped her stumble towards Vivianne, who was smiling. "Well done, Buffy," she said. "I had no doubt you'd be able to cope physically, but I never realised how strong you were mentally…"
"Thanks." Finally, Buffy got to shake the woman's hand. "And can I just say, wow? You were amazing, all of you… before the magic left, I could just sense so much power… Not just that, but so many different types of power, too. I'd never realised before."
"Looks like we both learnt something, then," she said. "Now, you should rest. You probably don't feel very tired, but trust me - sleep now, and you won't burn out later."
"Right." She looked over to the gap in the hedge where they'd originally met, and saw the women of the coven leaving, their cars driving past and occasionally lighting the field with their headlamps. "Can you thank the rest of them for me?"
"I'll be sure to do that."
Buffy smiled gratefully, and stood there a little awkwardly, still with Giles' arm around her shoulder to support her. "Oh, what the heck…" she muttered, and threw her arms around Vivianne. The older woman returned the gesture, a little taken aback, but pleased nonetheless. Buffy let go, and instantly clung to Giles again as she felt her knees buckling. "And by the way, I love England. Even if it is horribly expensive…"
"I'm with you on that one," said Vivianne. "Now go. Rest."
Buffy nodded. "'Bye. And thanks again." With that, Giles smiled his goodbye to Vivianne, and directed Buffy to the car. He helped her in, and then walked around to the driver's side. He cast a glance to the witch, who gave him a knowing look that wished him luck when it came to telling Buffy about his staying in England, and then he got into the car himself. As he drove off, the brunette sighed, and made her way to her own vehicle. Rupert was a dear friend, but sometimes, he really did get himself into the most complicated predicaments…
To be continued…
A/N: Not such a cliffhanger, this time. By the way, I've worked out how many more chapters this is going to be, and figured out it'll end bang on chapter 30. How's that for good timing, huh? So I'm sorry to say it's going to be ending soon, but keep the reviews coming anyway :)
