Willow woke up to find OZ, standing above her. She was lying; her head hurt
when she tried to sit up so she decided that she was just going to sit
there.
"Hey," she whispered
"Hey, How you doing babe?" Oz asked her, he had been so worried about her when he came back from the grocery store with the breakfast stuff he had found the love of his life curled up unconscious on the floor with Angel and spike standing above her looking worried and a figure floating in a gold light which on closer looking he had realised was Kayleigh only now she had become the guide.
He had dropped the bag he was holding and had ran over to her body, falling to the fall neck to her leaning over her on his knees, so scared that that had been it, she hadn't been moving he was so scared that the light had been taking from his life he would never be able to describe to anyone the relief which he had felt when he touched her long neck and felt the steady rhythm of her pulse, he had cried with relief.
He had scoped her up easily into her arms and carried her up the arms and over the threshold of their room in the same way, which he had on their wedding night, and he had lain her loving on the bed.
She had been unconscious for about half an hour by the time she finally managed to open her eyes, he felt such joy as he peered into their grassy deepness.
"I'm good, what happened to Kayleigh......... The guide? Did it work."
Willow said as she started to pull herself up in the bed, but flinching slightly from the pain in her head.
"The spell, worked babe, it was amazing you had her trapped, but she vanished it was like a mouth opened in her and swallowed her up into herself and she was gone."
OZ said as he stroked her hair softly so as not to put any pressure on her aching head.
"How did you know that would work?" he asked.
"I didn't but I knew that I had read it somewhere, in one of the books I looked in last night it tells the story of Angkara, Hakra was Angkara's twin sister, but they were different, two sides to the spectrum like ying and yang. Where Angkara was darkness, Hakra was light, when Angkara was swallowed up into the darkness, Hakra was pulled into the light, she is the protectress of life, where Angkara is the bringer of death." Willow said through closed eyes, her head hurt and worse than that she thought that she was going to be sick it was that odd kind of feeling where you think your going to be sick but you never are, you just have that feeling of yucky ness.
"Oh, well I guess you found more than me Giles, Spike and Angel any way."
Oz said with a passive tone, he didn't want to feel emotion any more he didn't want to tell willow what this meant but he knew that he had to. "So you didn't find anything about how to stop her?"
Willow said frowning slightly with her eyes shut, "Well that's gonna make it hard aint it. So there's nothing that we know."
"Will.. There is one way which we know how to stop her."
"Well what's wrong then we just work that angle."?
"If we go through with it, then it means we have to kill Violet her blood is the only thing which can........ Can destroy Angkara and restore Erin's soul."
"WHAT!!!" willow's eyes flew open, "We're not doing that..... I won't let you do that...... You'll have to kill me first." She said trying to get to her feet but her body not really connecting with her brains muffled directions.
Oz tried to push her back down, to hold her down in case she hurt herself more than she had by doing that spell.
"Will...Will.... Please settle down... Please."
Suddenly the door flew open and spike walked in, "I'm just gonna grab some blood for me and peaches..."
Noticing the scene going on Between Willow and Oz where, he walked over to them and pushed past oz, picking willow up in his arms he placed her back on the bed, she looked like she was about to say something to push past him again as he put her down squirming in his arms, he placed a finger on her lips and said "Now, Red calm down and listen to Oz here, he's only telling you what's for the best you need to build up your strength."
"But.."
"No But's Red, Just sit and be good."
He said that and walked towards the wardrobe. Oz turned back to willow, thankful for spike's interruption but kind of annoyed at being pushed aside in the way he had been.
"Will, like I was trying to say before spike came in, we're not going to be going through with the ritual you don't have to worry, I promise you we're not going to harm Violet. Ok."
He smiled down at her and kissed the tip of her nose. "Ok?" he asked again, wanting her to respond. "Ok." She said slowly.
Spike came back in the room at this point and said
"I didn't mean to listen but I couldn't help but over hear you in the wardrobe, but you need to know, Violet is going through with the ritual."
Willow and OZ both stared at him dumbfounded, "What?" they both asked in unison,
Willow responded first, "You monster, I thought you had changed, you did change with buffy, but now she's gone your back aren't you? Back to being the big bad, should have known that you never really cared about her, this is just a convenient way of getting rid of all that extra baggage that you don't want. Well guess what mister, I aint gonna let you hurt her, you might not like it but you helped make her you can't just dispose of her when your bored, you know......."
She said pausing for breath looking at Spike, He had gone pale, so much paler that she had ever seen him and he was taking breathes deep sharp ones contracting his chest back and forth, his face contorted and his demon appeared in his features, he took a menacing step towards Willow and screamed at her, a blood curdling cry which could only have been made by an immortal wronged, howling banshee like through the room and screaming back at him through the walls.
"How dare, you? You claim I feel nothing for her, the child who bares more than my soul, the child who bears my essence the essence of my ancestors; you have no idea do you? No idea how much she means to me, not idea about anything, I had to walk into the gates of hell and fight the demon lord who held my mortal soul so that I could have a child, so buffy could have a child, so we could have violet, I bear scares from that day that you can't imagine, worse than glory more powerful than anything you foolishly could imagine, I did that not just for buffy but for myself I wanted Violet, I needed her she is what my gift is to this world a way which I can repay some of my sins, Buffy taught me how to love again as William was never able to, I loved her with everything I had and I loved Violet with more than that, she is me she is William she has his soul in her, she is my soul that was the way which violet was created using my soul and buffy's body,"
He broke off for breath, "So don't you dare stand and judge me, I would rather die a thousand deaths, and live for an eternity in hells warmest furnace than see my baby die, but it is not my choice to make it is her's and I thought you would understand that Red, I was ready to take her away far away from here when Buffy died, but I knew she should grow up here so she would understand the sacrifices people made for her. Tara told me when I walked home that it was her choice to make, not mine and that she had to make the right choice and I wasn't to influence her if I could help it, but I wanted to, I wanted to hold her down to tell her to let the world die, to tell her that I would protect her that we would be fine and she wouldn't need to through with it, but I saw her last night when she had made her choice, she was so sure of herself, I knew I couldn't stop her just as I knew no one could have stopped Buffy from saving dawn, could they just as no one can stop Violet, and you know what? The one thing she asked me as soon, as she told me she had made her decision she asked me to make sure she didn't die alone, cause she's scared, she doesn't want to be alone. She doesn't mind dying for the world but she doesn't want to be alone, there's more of Buffy in there then there is me and you know what I'm proud, proud that she is willing to sacrifice everything she has just like her mom did but I just wish that you could be by her side like you were with buffy but oh well, if you don't want to be if you don't care enough I'll take violet with me when she gets back in secret me and her will perform the ritual and she will have to die knowing that you two think to little of her to even hold her hand as she goes through this."
Willow and Oz were both looking shocked from Spike's explosion and then Willow softly, "No stay, she needs to be with us, I'm sorry spike I didn't know, but let me help I'm the only one apart from you who could probably get through the ritual unhurt."
Spike nodded and left the room.
"Hey," she whispered
"Hey, How you doing babe?" Oz asked her, he had been so worried about her when he came back from the grocery store with the breakfast stuff he had found the love of his life curled up unconscious on the floor with Angel and spike standing above her looking worried and a figure floating in a gold light which on closer looking he had realised was Kayleigh only now she had become the guide.
He had dropped the bag he was holding and had ran over to her body, falling to the fall neck to her leaning over her on his knees, so scared that that had been it, she hadn't been moving he was so scared that the light had been taking from his life he would never be able to describe to anyone the relief which he had felt when he touched her long neck and felt the steady rhythm of her pulse, he had cried with relief.
He had scoped her up easily into her arms and carried her up the arms and over the threshold of their room in the same way, which he had on their wedding night, and he had lain her loving on the bed.
She had been unconscious for about half an hour by the time she finally managed to open her eyes, he felt such joy as he peered into their grassy deepness.
"I'm good, what happened to Kayleigh......... The guide? Did it work."
Willow said as she started to pull herself up in the bed, but flinching slightly from the pain in her head.
"The spell, worked babe, it was amazing you had her trapped, but she vanished it was like a mouth opened in her and swallowed her up into herself and she was gone."
OZ said as he stroked her hair softly so as not to put any pressure on her aching head.
"How did you know that would work?" he asked.
"I didn't but I knew that I had read it somewhere, in one of the books I looked in last night it tells the story of Angkara, Hakra was Angkara's twin sister, but they were different, two sides to the spectrum like ying and yang. Where Angkara was darkness, Hakra was light, when Angkara was swallowed up into the darkness, Hakra was pulled into the light, she is the protectress of life, where Angkara is the bringer of death." Willow said through closed eyes, her head hurt and worse than that she thought that she was going to be sick it was that odd kind of feeling where you think your going to be sick but you never are, you just have that feeling of yucky ness.
"Oh, well I guess you found more than me Giles, Spike and Angel any way."
Oz said with a passive tone, he didn't want to feel emotion any more he didn't want to tell willow what this meant but he knew that he had to. "So you didn't find anything about how to stop her?"
Willow said frowning slightly with her eyes shut, "Well that's gonna make it hard aint it. So there's nothing that we know."
"Will.. There is one way which we know how to stop her."
"Well what's wrong then we just work that angle."?
"If we go through with it, then it means we have to kill Violet her blood is the only thing which can........ Can destroy Angkara and restore Erin's soul."
"WHAT!!!" willow's eyes flew open, "We're not doing that..... I won't let you do that...... You'll have to kill me first." She said trying to get to her feet but her body not really connecting with her brains muffled directions.
Oz tried to push her back down, to hold her down in case she hurt herself more than she had by doing that spell.
"Will...Will.... Please settle down... Please."
Suddenly the door flew open and spike walked in, "I'm just gonna grab some blood for me and peaches..."
Noticing the scene going on Between Willow and Oz where, he walked over to them and pushed past oz, picking willow up in his arms he placed her back on the bed, she looked like she was about to say something to push past him again as he put her down squirming in his arms, he placed a finger on her lips and said "Now, Red calm down and listen to Oz here, he's only telling you what's for the best you need to build up your strength."
"But.."
"No But's Red, Just sit and be good."
He said that and walked towards the wardrobe. Oz turned back to willow, thankful for spike's interruption but kind of annoyed at being pushed aside in the way he had been.
"Will, like I was trying to say before spike came in, we're not going to be going through with the ritual you don't have to worry, I promise you we're not going to harm Violet. Ok."
He smiled down at her and kissed the tip of her nose. "Ok?" he asked again, wanting her to respond. "Ok." She said slowly.
Spike came back in the room at this point and said
"I didn't mean to listen but I couldn't help but over hear you in the wardrobe, but you need to know, Violet is going through with the ritual."
Willow and OZ both stared at him dumbfounded, "What?" they both asked in unison,
Willow responded first, "You monster, I thought you had changed, you did change with buffy, but now she's gone your back aren't you? Back to being the big bad, should have known that you never really cared about her, this is just a convenient way of getting rid of all that extra baggage that you don't want. Well guess what mister, I aint gonna let you hurt her, you might not like it but you helped make her you can't just dispose of her when your bored, you know......."
She said pausing for breath looking at Spike, He had gone pale, so much paler that she had ever seen him and he was taking breathes deep sharp ones contracting his chest back and forth, his face contorted and his demon appeared in his features, he took a menacing step towards Willow and screamed at her, a blood curdling cry which could only have been made by an immortal wronged, howling banshee like through the room and screaming back at him through the walls.
"How dare, you? You claim I feel nothing for her, the child who bares more than my soul, the child who bears my essence the essence of my ancestors; you have no idea do you? No idea how much she means to me, not idea about anything, I had to walk into the gates of hell and fight the demon lord who held my mortal soul so that I could have a child, so buffy could have a child, so we could have violet, I bear scares from that day that you can't imagine, worse than glory more powerful than anything you foolishly could imagine, I did that not just for buffy but for myself I wanted Violet, I needed her she is what my gift is to this world a way which I can repay some of my sins, Buffy taught me how to love again as William was never able to, I loved her with everything I had and I loved Violet with more than that, she is me she is William she has his soul in her, she is my soul that was the way which violet was created using my soul and buffy's body,"
He broke off for breath, "So don't you dare stand and judge me, I would rather die a thousand deaths, and live for an eternity in hells warmest furnace than see my baby die, but it is not my choice to make it is her's and I thought you would understand that Red, I was ready to take her away far away from here when Buffy died, but I knew she should grow up here so she would understand the sacrifices people made for her. Tara told me when I walked home that it was her choice to make, not mine and that she had to make the right choice and I wasn't to influence her if I could help it, but I wanted to, I wanted to hold her down to tell her to let the world die, to tell her that I would protect her that we would be fine and she wouldn't need to through with it, but I saw her last night when she had made her choice, she was so sure of herself, I knew I couldn't stop her just as I knew no one could have stopped Buffy from saving dawn, could they just as no one can stop Violet, and you know what? The one thing she asked me as soon, as she told me she had made her decision she asked me to make sure she didn't die alone, cause she's scared, she doesn't want to be alone. She doesn't mind dying for the world but she doesn't want to be alone, there's more of Buffy in there then there is me and you know what I'm proud, proud that she is willing to sacrifice everything she has just like her mom did but I just wish that you could be by her side like you were with buffy but oh well, if you don't want to be if you don't care enough I'll take violet with me when she gets back in secret me and her will perform the ritual and she will have to die knowing that you two think to little of her to even hold her hand as she goes through this."
Willow and Oz were both looking shocked from Spike's explosion and then Willow softly, "No stay, she needs to be with us, I'm sorry spike I didn't know, but let me help I'm the only one apart from you who could probably get through the ritual unhurt."
Spike nodded and left the room.