"So. Here we are.", Willow spoke, plainly and purposefully, her eyes staring defiantly.
"Are we really gonna do this?", Buffy said, looking at her friend with disbelief.
"Come on!", Willow smiled as she spoke. "This is a huge deal for me! Six years as a sidekick, and now I get to be The Slayer."
"A killer isn't a Slayer.", Buffy said, her tone factual and serious. "Being a Slayer means something you can't conceive."
"Oh Buffy, you really do need to have every square inch of your ass kicked.", Willow spoke, her voice a mix of amusement and annoyance.
"Then show me what you got," Buffy said purposefully, "And I'll show you what a Slayer truly is."
With those final words the two women squared off, but it was Willow who struck first. She threw a punch at Buffy, knocking her into a bookshelf. Before the slayer could recover Willow waved a hand at her, causing books from the shelves to fly at the Slayer.
Buffy was struck several times, but she managed to move out of the line of fire, using her opening to tackle Willow to the ground. However, this only served to annoy the witch.
"Get off me, super bitch!", Willow yelled, kicking Buffy away from her and into the glass counter display. The slayer landed hard, wincing in pain as she felt one of her ribs crack. Still she stood up, walking to Willow and grabbing her.
"I can help you stop.", Buffy's voice was compassionate, yet pleading. "We don't have to do this."
"I thought you were going to show me what a Slayer was.", The witch spoke arrogantly, backhanding the Slayer into the wall. Buffy rose up slowly, holding her side as she picked herself up off the floor. She was clearly in pain and running out of energy. Willow however, was barely winded, and she grabbed the blond by the throat, lifting her off the ground.
"Buffy, I gotta tell you, I get it now.", Willow said as she threw Buffy across the room. "The Slayer thing really isn't about the violence," she raised her hands, throwing mystical energy at the blonde. Buffy screamed in agony as the mystical energies coursed through her. "It's about power.", Willow said, her voice cold and arrogant. She let loose with another blast, earning another scream from the wounded Slayer.
"You should have used your power Buffy. You should have stopped Warren. You should have done your job.", Willow was lost in her grief and rage, and she was determined to take it out on Buffy. She levitated the Slayer off the floor, turning her limp body in the air. After a moment, Willow turned toward the back of the store, where the training room was located. An idea occurred to the witch, and she smiled as she spoke. "Time for you to learn a lesson."
Buffy lifted her head, still reeling from the magical blast, realizing she was floating in the middle of the room. Before she could react, she was thrown forward, smashing through the door to the training room, landing in a heap on the mats inside. The impact disoriented her, but she tried to get up, pain tearing through her entire body. She tried to speak, but ended up coughing up blood instead. Willow walked in on this scene, studying the Slayer with interest.
"Aww, poor Buffy, all broken up.", Willow spoke as she reached the slayer, kicking Buffy in the side. "Just like I broke Warren," The witch smiled at the memory, "you know, before I skinned him alive and incinerated him."
Buffy glared at Willow, anger battling with compassion in her mind. "Is that what you're going to do to me? Am I that guilty in your eyes?"
"No, you're worse. You let him get away. You failed to stop him, even when you knew he had killed before.", Willow narrowed her eyes as she continued, "Now the light of my life is gone, and it's all because you refused to use your power." She waved her hand, lifting Buffy up and pinning her against the wall. "No, don't move. I just want to share my pain with you."
Buffy was struggling to retain consciousness, but she had lost a lot of blood, and she was really sure most of her ribs were broken, and her left shoulder felt dislocated. Still, she tried to reach the friend she knew was buried within. "I'm sorry Willow, I screwed up, and you're right. I should have stopped Warren a long time ago."
The dark witch merely smiled at Buffy's attempt to reach her. "Willow doesn't live here anymore. She died when her light was taken from her." The weapons on the rack next to her suddenly floated up, and one of the knives flew forward, imbedding itself in the Slayer's left hand. Buffy clenched her jaw, refusing to scream, even though she was in agony. "Something you could have prevented." Another knife flew forward, pinning the Slayer's right hand as well. This time she screamed, all the while being watched by Willow.
"But no, you were too busy screwing a vampire you hate." She walked up to Buffy, slapping her hard enough to draw blood as she continued, "Too busy ignoring Dawn.", She grabbed the handle of one of the knives as she spoke, "Unless she was in danger, then she was worth your time." Willow twisted the knife's handle, earning a sharp cry from Buffy before the Slayer broke down in tears, the agony overwhelming her. "All because you couldn't handle the pain of living."
Using the last of her strength, she started to speak. "You're right. It hurts to live in this world. It's harsh and unforgiving, and all I wanted was to return to heaven, where I belong."
"Wanted? What, did you change your mind?", Willow rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Or are you too good for heaven now?"
"No," She replied, her voice nearly gone, "I just. . . I don't know why I was brought back. So if you're going to kill me, just do it already." She lowered her head, closing her eyes as she waited for Willow to finish her off.
However, her statement only served to anger Willow further, and she moved in close to Buffy's ear as she spoke. "Do you really think I would send you back? After all your failures here? No Buffy, I'm going to make sure you never leave the mortal plane again." Willow leaned back, gazing into Buffy's eyes, a cold smile spreading across the witch's face. With a blur of movement, she decked the Slayer with a hard right cross, drawing even more blood from her ravaged face.
Buffy had grown very weak by this point, and she was close to passing out from the combination of massive pain and her numerous injuries. Her final thought was a fear of what Willow's last words could mean, and then everything went dark.
TBC?