Fury by SLynn

Chapter 16:  The Storytellers

Buffy, not long after Xander's departure, joined the rest of the gathered party.  Dawn was wide-eyed and impatient to hear what had been said, but Buffy wasn't complying.

She had no intention telling them he'd been there.  Not yet at least.

Everyone was in the dining room, discussing as before what to do.  Zothos was once again speaking.

"If it was to be done, you'd have to weaken him first.  I believe she is transferring power to him, making him strong."

"There are spells that do that," Willow said quietly, "I can start looking them up."

"So it's back to plan B already, 'kill Xander'," Buffy said catching all of their attention.

"No one wants this Buffy," Giles said somberly.

"I don't hear any other suggestions being made," Buffy replied, "Don't we owe it to him to at least try something else first."

Giles gave her a curious look.

"Do you have one?" he asked, "A suggestion."

"What if," she began coming and sitting at the table, "he's being controlled…"

"Well, it's Xander," Willow jumped in, "of course he is.  No one would think…"

"Let me finish," Buffy cut her off, "What if it's something Constance brought with her, or conjured.  Something that feeds off of the bad feelings you have."

She had everyone's full attention.

"There are lots of things that could do that," Tara added, "Constance would be strong enough to make them herself."

"If we could find out what it was," Buffy said more confidently now, "we could stop it.  Stop her control over him.  It would give us more time to straighten this mess out."

"Where would we begin?" Giles seemed to ask himself.

"It sounds dangerous," Zothos said gravely, leaning back into his chair, "The Fates have said we do not have much time.  A wrong decision now could prove very costly."

"We'll start looking tonight," Willow said, brushing off the warning.

Tara nodded her approval, looking more at ease then she had in weeks.  Everyone looked more at ease, except Zothos.  Everyone now seemed active and ready to research.  As the girls prepared to go on a book hunt, Giles gingerly pulled Buffy to the side.

"I could ask how you know this," he began.

"You probably don't want to know," she finished.

"Alright then," he nodded, "but still Buffy, please consider if the source of this revelation can be trusted."

"I have.  And it can."

"Very well," Giles said starting to walk away and begin to help.

"Wait," Buffy said just remembering, "there's more.  Constance may try to use these things on others too.  She may be planning something, some type of attack."

Now Giles really stared at her.

"Don't ask," she responded, "not yet okay."

"Alright," he said starting to walk away again, "I'll be thinking of something just in case then."

Only Zothos left the house that night.  Everyone else stayed up late and researched into the night.  They had found several promising leads, many of which Buffy rejected outright seemingly for no reason.  Of course she did this because they didn't match the description Xander had given of the things, but she couldn't just out and out say that.  Not yet.

It was now just past two in the morning.

Joyce had gone up to bed an hour before and Dawn and Tara were sleeping in the living room.

"What about this?" Giles asked the two still awake.

Buffy and Willow turned to look at the book he now held out for them to see.

"A Phasma," Willow said somewhat doubtingly, "it sounds familiar."

"It's because we ruled it out an hour ago," Buffy added.

"Yes, I know that," Giles said somewhat defensively, "but the more I read of it, the more I think it may be what she'd use.  It fits with the type of magic and spells she prefers, it's from the Medea scrolls.  Greek."

"But it doesn't…" Buffy started and stopped abruptly.

"Doesn't what?" Giles asked giving her the odd look again, "Have you seen what she's using."

"No."

"Well then, how do you know it isn't this?"

"Xander told me."

"What?" Willow said loudly enough to cause the two in the living room to stir, "When?  Where?"

"I saw him tonight.  He warned me about these things.  Told me what they look like and what they do."

"He was here?" Giles asked shocked.  At the most he'd expected that the bond between them had somehow started working again.  Over the past few weeks it had diminished some, but given their run in the other night, he wasn't too surprised to hear she had new information.  This however was wholly unexpected.

"I didn't want to tell everyone, just the two of you.  He couldn't stay long.  He…"

Buffy suddenly stopped her face contorted in pain.

"Buffy?" Willow asked with concern.

"…he's… he's…." Buffy said shutting her eyes tightly.

"Get her mother," Giles said to Willow who got up at once.

"Buffy?" he said, holding onto her hands. 

Tears began to stream down her face.

And just as quickly as it had started, it ended.  Buffy opened her eyes and drew in a loud breath simultaneously.

"I felt it," she said, her voice hoarse.

"Buffy," Joyce said rushing in, "are you…"

Giles shook his head at her and both Joyce and Willow stopped in the doorframe.

"I was there.  She's hurting him.  I was there and she won't stop."

Joyce looked absolutely white.

"She's so angry.  She's yelling and she never yells.  '… could ruin it all'  She keeps saying that.  '…should have listened'."

Willow felt a few tears slip down her cheeks, but didn't bother to wipe them away.

"It was so clear.  Inside my head.  I felt it.  He's…"  Buffy shook her head, trying to rid herself of the pictures, but they wouldn't go.

She stood up and looked about the room, as if just now aware of where she was, and then without saying anything left.  Neither Joyce nor Willow tried to stop her.

Buffy stayed the rest of the night upstairs, and Willow was sorry for it.  She wanted to go and comfort her, but just felt odd doing it.  Things were different now.  What could she say to make any of this better?  It looked as if things were hopeless.

She did, however, read over Giles book on the Phasma's.  It was interesting and she began to think like he did, that this would be what Constance would use.

Willow was the last one awake in the house that night.  Heading to the kitchen for some water she noticed something odd.  The backdoor was open.

"Willow…follow me…"

She'd heard this voice before.  Now, it was calling her outside.  Unafraid, she went in search of the woman whose voice she knew.

In the backyard surrounded by a gray mist she saw her.

"Lachesis," Willow addressed her, one of the Fates.

"You have not heeded my warning.  You have not listened to my advice."

"I can't kill my friend," Willow said nearly pleadingly, "We can't do it.  Don't you understand that?"

"Then this world is doomed," she answered stoically.

"How?  How is it doomed?  Because we won't kill Xander?  I can't believe that he…"

"No one said you must kill him.  He is incidental in this matter.  His death will only cement this world's doom.  His will be the first of many."

"But you said…"

"I said there were three.  The evil, the slayer and your friend.  Have you no other friends?"

Willow awoke with a start.  The sun was shining in the dining room where she'd fallen asleep.  Her mind was racing.  It was all starting to fit together, struggling inside. 

"I feel like we are friends," she muttered under her breath before turning to Giles.   "Giles," she said loudly to wake him.

"What, what is it?"

"We have to talk.  All of us.  Now."

"Willow, what on earth…"

But it was too late, she was already out the door and half way up the stairs before he could get a complete reply out.

"Buffy," she called once upon knocking, and then throwing open the door, "Buffy, get up.  Downstairs, now."

Buffy was a bit surprised by Willow's attitude, and evidently she wasn't alone.  By the time she'd gotten the whole house together, no one knew how to act.

"Okay," she said once they were all together, "We've been going about this wrong.  Thinking about this wrong.  We've been assuming Xander is the key here and he isn't."

Before she could be interrupted, she cut off all chances.

"Here me out.  Please.  I know that it's my fault.  It's because of me we even… but it was a mistake.  The Fates told me that three strands are the key.  Those three lives are affecting everything else.  I should have known that it wasn't Xander she was referring too.  It couldn't have been.  He just doesn't have that kind of power.  I thought it was him because they kept referring to my friend."

Willow was really worked up now, pacing the floor.

"But we have other friends."

Buffy's eyes lit up, she had a feeling she knew where this was headed.

"New and powerful friends."

She paused for a moment to regain herself.

"Lachesis visited me again last night.  She warned me again that doing nothing would doom our world.  Xander isn't who we have to get rid of to set things right.  It's Zothos."