Evil Revealed
Episode 13
The Cemetery:
Willow stood in the darkness, in her lovers arms. She was ecstatic. Her lover had returned to her. She didn't know why, but she didn't care. She could finally be happy. The moonlight shone down on them, making their time all the more special.
Willow brought her lips to Tara's. At first her lips brushed gently against the other woman's. But Tara wanted more. She shoved her lips against Willow's. The kiss became more passionate.
Willow broke off the kiss, catching her breath. Tara also caught hers. Willow wrapped her arms around Tara once again, embracing her in a gentle hug. Tara complied and did the same. Willow let go and stepped back from her lover. She gazed into her eyes.
"I've missed you so much, baby," Willow told her.
"I've missed you too," Tara replied, smiling.
"I'm so sorry that I let that happen to you back then. It was my fault. I should have protected you."
"Shh…baby. Don't worry about that now. It wasn't your fault. It was Warren's. But it's okay now. We are finally back together again."
"And we'll stay that way forever."
Tara moved in and kissed her lover full on the lips. It was a passionate one at that. The moonlight still glistened on them. They looked beautiful together.
Axel's Place:
Kennedy was surprised at how fast Buffy moved. In an instance, she was gone. She wondered why Buffy had run off like that. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. Maybe it really wasn't Tara. Maybe Willow was in danger.
She didn't do anything though. She didn't care. Willow had betrayed her. She had ditched her just like that. And it hadn't even occurred to Willow that she was there. It was like she had disappeared.
She was still sitting in the chair when Axel returned. Again tears were dripping down the young girl's face. She was in such much emotional pain. She still couldn't believe what had happened.
Axel walked silently back into the room. He watched the expression on the young girl's face. He could see it in her eyes that she was in a lot of pain. He could see the hurt in her eyes.
"So you want to tell me what's wrong, sweetie?" Axel asked, sitting down next to her.
Kennedy sat there in silence for a few moments. She wondered if she should tell this stranger about what she had been through. It might be best to get it all out of her system.
"Where would you like me to begin?" she asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"From the beginning," he answered.
"I was walking with my girlfriend a little while ago. It was so nice and peaceful. I was so happy," she began.
"You're a lesbian?" Axel questioned.
"Why, is there a problem?"
"No. None at all. I was just wondering. Go on."
"I told her that I loved her. It was the first time I had ever loved someone. And I knew I was in love with her. She told me that she felt the same way; that she loved me too."
Downtown Haynesville:
Buffy was running. She had to save her friend. Who knew what kind of trouble her best friend might be in? She could already be dead by now. Buffy sure hoped not. She couldn't let that happen.
She had remembered Kennedy's exact words, "Tara's back," she muttered. It was those two words that chilled her to the bones. As soon as Kennedy had said those two words, she knew. She knew that it wasn't Tara. It was the Goddess of Evil.
Buffy had no clue how she knew where exactly Willow was. It was very strange. There was just something in her head that told her that Willow was in the cemetery. She had to get there and fast.
Giles's Apartment:
Giles hadn't gotten any sleep in at least three days. He and the others had been researching more on this town. They needed to learn more about it before they officially set up business to try and stop the evil that lived here.
He had already been here at least a few months and hadn't come across anything evil. Well there was that ex-queen vampire that Buffy had slain a few weeks back. But that was about it. But he didn't want to worry about that now. He desperately needed sleep.
He climbed into bed and closed his eyes. But a strange thought entered his head as sleep was upon him. He hadn't see or heard from the remaining potential slayers in a few months. It had been way too long. As a matter of fact, he had forgotten all about them until now. He began to worry.
The thoughts filled his mind. It was all her was thinking about. It was his responsibility to look after them, keep them safe. He had taken on that responsibility when he told Quentin he would take them to Sunnydale, right before the Watcher's Council was attacked.
"You called?" Giles questioned.
"Yes," Quentin replied, "We have slayers-in-training here at the base. I want you to take the three of them with you to Sunnydale."
"Of course," Giles replied.
"They are your responsibility, Rupert. Take care of them, keep them safe," Quentin told him.
"I promise that I will care for them," Giles replied.
"And you failed at that, didn't you?" Wood asked.
"What are you doing here?" Giles questioned, "How'd you get in my dreams?"
"I'm here to torment you, Rupert. Even though I cannot hurt it, I can still hurt you and your friends," Wood continued.
"It?" Giles asked.
"You will find out soon enough," Wood replied, "You will face her eventually. And when you do, your world will come tumbling down."
"What are you talking about?" Giles asked.
"You see there is something more terrifying than me out there, something that none of you can fight. You will all fail, you will all die."
Giles didn't answer him. He stood there listening to the former principal. Well actually it was the First speaking, not the principal.
"What did you do to Robin?" Giles questioned, ignoring everything that he was told.
"Oh he had such a quick death," Wood informed, "You see, Buffy left him to die on that bus. My minions killed him."
Giles took all of this in. He couldn't blame Buffy though. She had no way of knowing. She was only doing what was right to protect the group.
"Remember Rupert," Wood said, "She is coming for all of you."
Giles eyes shot open and he say up in bed. Was this one of those slayer-like dreams that Buffy sometimes received. Giles climbed out of bed and headed into the kitchen. Her poured himself a cup of tea and then sat down. He began to think about what Robin Wood told him.
It all started out as just an ordinary dream, one of him remembering a promise he had made. Then the First appeared in the form of Robin Wood. But that had to mean Robin was dead. The First only appeared as someone who had died. As a matter of fact, no one had seen him since that day on the bus a few months back. He must have been killed.
Then Giles' thoughts turned towards what the First had said to him. The First had told him about something that could hurt them. It told him that they would face it soon and that once they did, their world would be destroyed. Giles began paging through several books. He was looking for a prophecy dealing with the something destroying the world.
The Cemetery:
Buffy dashed through the gates of the Haynesville cemetery. She was going after Willow. She just hoped she would get to her in time before something horrible happened to her. She couldn't let Willow get hurt. She had felt so bad after Xander had been hurt and she didn't want to have to go through that again.
She ran along the moonlit path, not slowing down for anything. Her mind began drifting towards bad things, about Willow getting hurt or even worse, killed. She had no idea where in this place Willow would be. This was a fairly large cemetery for such a small town.
"What's the hurry?" someone asked.
Buffy didn't have time to deal with this. But she knew she had to. She came to a stop and turned to the direction of the voice. She was glad to see who the person was.
"Robin, you've been missing for a few months," she said, "Where have you been?"
"Hmm…it hasn't even seemed like that long," he replied, "Why are you running?"
"I've gotta find Willow," Buffy told him, "She's in big trouble."
"I wouldn't worry about the safety of your friend," he informed, "She's safe. It has no business with her yet. I am what she is after and then you're next."
"Her? What?" Buffy questioned, totally confused, "What are you talking about?"
"Oh come on," he replied, "You don't actually think I've been hiding these past few weeks, do you?"
"You've lost me," Buffy said.
"He's dead," he told her, "My Bringers got him the night after you left him on that bus."
"The First?"
"That's right, sweetie."
"What do you want with me?"
"Nothing, I'm not your biggest problem anymore. You know of this already. You have met her."
"What do you know about her?"
"Well I know that she will beat you and destroy the world. She hates this place. This world is too beautiful for her. She wants it gone. And you are the only thing standing in her way."
"You know, as soon as I beat this goddess thing, I'm coming after you."
"Doubt it. I'm leaving soon. I don't want to get involved in this war. I can't get destroyed by this thing. That's why it is too risky for me. Say goodbye to your world, slayer. Things are going to get a whole lot bumpier from now on."
And with that, the First Evil was gone. Buffy was glad to finally have it gone. It was really starting to annoy her. Now she could focus her attention on this evil goddess thing. That's when she remembered Willow. She started running down the paved pathways once again.
After a few minutes of running, she spotted Willow in the distance. She had another woman in her arms. It was Tara, or what Willow thought was Tara. Buffy knew what this Tara look-a-like was. That's when it hit her. How was she going to break it to Willow? Angel had told her to keep it a secret. She was going to have to tell Willow the truth.
"Willow!" Buffy called.
Willow broke off her kiss with Tara. She glanced in the direction of the voice and saw who it was. She smiled and her face turned red. She removed her arms from around Tara, who also did the same.
"Hey, Buffy," Willow said, her face still red.
"H-hi B-Buffy," Tara muttered.
"Get away from her!" Buffy yelled, as she neared the two.
"Buffy, is there something wrong?" Willow questioned.
"I said get away from her!" Buffy shouted again.
"W-why?" Tara asked, obviously knowing who Buffy was shouting at.
Buffy couldn't do anything. She wasn't going to attack the goddess. She couldn't go out this early and she knew that she would by messing with a goddess.
"Leave my friends out of this!" Buffy yelled.
"But its all the more fun," Tara replied, her voice changing drastically.
Suddenly Tara's form began to alter. Left in Tara's place was a woman with black hair and completely black eyes. Willow stepped back. She was horrified. She couldn't believe that this woman had been Tara just moments again and that she had been kissing her.
"What's wrong little witch?" the woman questioned, "You didn't seem this scared a few moments ago when your tongue was down my throat."
Willow didn't reply. She was too horrified and ashamed of herself. She couldn't believe what had just happened, what she had just done.
"And you slayer," the goddess began, "Why come face me again? You were defeated by the demons last time."
"I wasn't expecting it," Buffy replied, "I wasn't expecting to run into a hideous goddess like yourself."
"What did you just say?" she questioned.
"You heard me!" Buffy shouted, "You hideous demon!"
"Arise!" the goddess shouted.
Thousands of rotting hands shot up out of the ground. They were reaching for Buffy and Willow. The goddess just laughed.
"So you think you can beat me, do you?" she asked, "We'll see how you fare against these thousands of zombies. You didn't do so well last time, so we'll see if this'll be a repeat."
With that, the Goddess of Evil was gone. The zombies were still trying to free themselves. They were not having an easy time doing so, but Buffy knew it was only a matter of time until they broke out of their graves.
"Buffy, this is all my fault," Willow cried, tears dripping down her face.
"This is not the time to board the guilt train, Will," Buffy said, "We've gotta get out of here before these things completely free themselves."
Buffy grabbed Willow's arm and began to run. The two were dashing madly through the cemetery, trying to escape. By now, the zombies were all almost completely free from their graves. Buffy could see the exit now. They were so close.
Suddenly, a hand shot out and grabbed Buffy by the ankle. Both she and Willow tumbled to the ground. Willow quickly rose to her feet and continued running. She reached the gate and ran through. She slammed it shut and turned to run down the street. That's when she realized that Buffy was not with her. She peered back through the gates and saw her.
Buffy lay on the ground. Several zombie hands held her in place. She was fighting them though. She just couldn't break free. The rotting hands began pulling her closer to the ground. It was just like she was chained to the ground. Three zombies came staggering towards her out of the darkness.
"Buffy, watch out!" Willow screamed in horror.
She had remembered what zombies did. They liked to eat brains. And that's just what these three zombies wanted to do. Buffy looked up and saw them staggering towards her. She began struggling even more.
"Willow! Help!" Buffy shouted, trying to break free.
Willow was still unsure with the magiks. She had really only done one spell, the one that made all the potential slayers into slayers. Anything could still happen though. And she wasn't sure if she wanted to risk turning evil again. But Buffy was about to be killed and it was all in her hands.
Willow closed her eyes. She couldn't save her friend. She couldn't watch her friend die. She heard Buffy trying to fight off the zombies and then she heard something hissing and smelled burning.
Buffy pulled off the burning zombie hands and rose to her feet. She was free, thanks for Willow. She tossed the burning hand at another zombie, setting it on fire. The burning zombies fell to the ground, hissing in agony.
Buffy headed for the gate once again. She pushed it open and exited. She found Willow standing there, covering her eyes. She reached up and wrapped her arms around her friend, embracing her in a hug. Startled, Willow opened her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Buffy," Willow said, apologetic, "I wanted to use my magik but I was afraid that I would go all evil again. I'm sorry."
"No Willow, you did fine," Buffy replied, "You saved me. And you didn't go evil."
"What do you mean?" Willow asked.
"You did use magik," Buffy answer, "Although you didn't realize it. Thank you."
"Buffy, what was that thing?" Willow asked.
"It's our worst nightmare," Buffy replied, silently.
Giles' Apartment:
It had taken the two girls several minutes to get to Giles. Buffy realized that since she had told Willow, it was only right to tell Giles. She felt bad though. She didn't want to get them involved in this yet. She didn't want them worrying about something else now.
Willow knocked on the door. They heard some noise coming from inside. Then the door opened. Giles stood there. He looked like he'd been up for a while. He had bags under his eyes and his hair was rumpled.
"Buffy, I have some urgent news to tell you," Giles informed, "It isn't anything good though."
The two followed Giles back into his apartment. Buffy casually glanced around. Giles went to a table piled high with books.
"That's a big surprise," she replied, sarcastically, "You know since I'm always the one to receive good news all the time."
"Buffy has something important to tell you too, Giles," Willow told him, sitting down on his couch.
"Why don't you go first?" Giles asked Buffy.
"All right," she began, "There's something that has been messing with us for a while now, since we've arrived here in this nice town of Haynesville."
"Messing with us, how?" Giles questioned.
"It had me believing it was Spike," she replied.
"You mean that wasn't Spike?" Giles asked.
"Afraid not," she said, "And it had Willow believing that Tara was back."
Willow froze when Buffy mentioned that. Buffy had noticed so she quickly changed the subject.
"This thing is similar to the First," Buffy continued, "It can take the form of something, but it is corporeal."
"Buffy, what is this thing?" Giles asked, "You've been avoiding it."
"I'm afraid to say this Giles, but it's a…god," Buffy finally blurted out.
"A god?" Giles questioned, "Like Glory?"
"Nothing like Glory," Buffy replied, "She was one of the first gods ever. She is the Goddess of Evil."
"Then what I've been reading is most definitely true," Giles informed, heading over to his books.
Buffy and Willow both looked up. He reached the table and picked up a book. He began reading from it.
"The one of pure evil, the very creator of evil, will be awoken from her eternal slumber," he began, "She will swallow up everything. The mouths of hell will burst open, releasing every demon and creature into the world."
"Well that's interesting," Buffy replied, "We've got another apocalypse heading our way. That's just peachy."