CHAPTER 9: VENGEANCE IS A LIVING THING
Angelus hurried away from the Magic Box. It was really hard to keep up the soul façade, even for a few minutes, but he wa pretty sure they all had thought he was Angel. Well, after all he had picked up a few tricks being locked inside the ensouled body for a hundred years. Angelus chuckled to himself. He couldn't wait to see how the coming day would unfold. Too bad he wouldn't be there to see it when Willow found the… as Spike would put it, gag-gift, in her bed. Now he was heading out to find himself. Okay – the other him. It wasn't very hard, as soon as he concentrated he was able to sense his way to him.
When the first Angelus saw him coming, he stepped out of the shadows, studying his other self carefully. It had worked, it had most definitely worked. He smirked.
"I see that the spell worked. No side effects?" Angelus the second grinned broadly.
"Had a soul, now I'm free. You know the drill."
"Sure do. Did you grab something to eat? You'll want to wash that foul swine blood out of your system."
"Didn't get the chance to, I was gonna, but I ran into the blonde witch instead… Tara." He flashed a satisfied grin at the memory of the sound of her neck snapping. "She's currently – resting in her girlfriend's bed."
Angelus pounded him heartily on the back.
"Great beginning! Did you reveal yourself to Buff and her little retards?" Angelus shook his head.
"Fooled them I was Angel. They bought it, but damn, that's hard work. Couldn't stop thinking about what I'm gonna go to them, if you know what I mean." Angelus nodded.
"Now, why don't you tell me why I'm here?" the second one went on. "Not that I'm complaining, but I-we are the jealous type, isn't it more fun to be the one and only? I know I think so."
Angelus shrugged.
"Had to be sure the soul wasn't consumed by guilt and staked himself – you know, he's really the throw himself on the sword type. Besides, it'll take a while before they figure this out. We'll have some fun until they do, and when they rejoin us – nothing has changed." The second nodded appreciatively.
"I like it. As far as I know, they're not anywhere near reintegrating us, though. Apparently they need blood from the demon and a piece of its weapon."
Angelus grinned.
"It just so happens… I have the only piece of the weapon available." He patted his pocket. The other one nodded.
"Good. Let's get outta here. I have to get someone to eat before sunup. And some decent pants."
The two almost identical versions of the Scourge of Europe walked off, leaving the cemetery for a little macabre fun before dawn.
What they didn't know was that a certain platinum blond vampire had been watching the whole scene closely from the shadows. The figure chuckled softly and disappeared into the darkness.
At the break of dawn, Willow excused herself as quickly as possible and half ran away from the Magic Box to grab the first bus back to the UC Sunnydale campus. She was worried. In fact, she was very worried – why hadn't Tara come back? What if she had run in to Angelus? How could she be stupid enough to let her go on her own?
She knew that she was probably overreacting. It had been late when Tara went home; maybe she simply decided to wait for her at home instead of coming back. It was a possibility. Still, Willow had a nagging feeling that the reason to her absence was more serious than that. She would have called if she decided to stay at home, wouldn't she?
IF something had actually happened, she would have to blame herself for it. She had been foolish enough to think that Angelus wouldn't even consider targeting Tara, who of all people she was the one he knew least. It didn't make any sense, why would he hurt her?
Of course, it did make some sense, she thought, swallowing against the large lump in her throat. She had been the one to return his soul the last time; he would want her to suffer. Besides, Tara was a powerful witch, and it wouldn't exactly serve Angelus' purpose to have another one of those around.
Nervously fidgeting with the strings in her sweater, Willow tried to convince herself that it wasn't any danger, that everything was okay. Tara had gone to the bus, rid with it straight home where Angelus didn't have an invitation, and for one reason or another, she had decided to stay there for the rest of the night. Maybe the phone was out – it happened sometimes. Maybe they had even forgotten to pay the bill; it was theoretically possible, wasn't it?
She practically ran as she stepped off the bus, eager to get home. The closer she came to her room, the more uncomfortable she got. Maybe she should have told Giles and Buffy? Xander and Anya had gone home and Cordelia and Wesley had been off to find a suitable motel room, but Buffy and Giles had still been in the shop when she left – and right now she didn't feel much like going into her room alone. She considered calling them – though that would mean searching for a phone, explaining her not exactly well grounded concerns and wait for them to come and meet her. No, she had to do this.
Her hand slightly shaking, she turned the key. She could almost see it already, Tara sitting inside – maybe she was still asleep, smiling at her, greeting her and telling her how sorry she was for bailing on her, Miss Kitty Fantastico jumping down from the bed, greeting her…
Two steps into the room, Willow stopped dead in her tracks.
Even though she had feared that something might have happened, nothing could reduce the stabbing, jolting shock that hit her when she saw her.
Her lover, her girlfriend – her soul mate lying dead in her bed, dead, glassy eyes staring at her. When Willow tried to take a step forward, she felt her knees buckle. Almost passing out, she fell to the floor. She managed to stay conscious, struggling to the bed, to be at Tara's side. She dragged herself on to the bed, arms shaking.
"Tara…"
Her voice was only a pained whisper. Her throat was a large lump that threatened to explode in a flurry of hysterical sobs once she truly realized what had happened here. Tara was dead, as in gone, never coming back. Killed by Angel. Angelus.
Biting her lip, unable to stop the flow of hot tears rolling down her cheeks, she pulled Tara into her lap. Her head fell backwards unnaturally. There was no mistaking what had happened here. Angelus' twisted, sadistic sense of humor had resulted in Tara's death. Oh, how she could remember the pain only of hearing the news of Jenny's similar death. The feeling here was the same – only about a hundred times worse.
"No… Tara, no, no…" Willow collapsed over Tara's chest, breaking down in into an uncontrollable fit of sobs. Nothing seemed real or important, except for the fact that she had let this happen. How could she be so stupid that she let her go by herself! She should have been there! Together they had fought the Gentlemen – they could have held Angelus at bay too. She shouldn't have left Tara all alone to get killed.
Several minutes later she finally moved Tara off of her lap, putting a pillow under her head and closing her eyelids. Trying to wipe her own tears away, she brushed Tara off and put a blanket over her. Her light green shirt was wet from her tears. Willow carefully pulled the blanket far enough over her to cover it. It almost looked like she was sleeping.
Willow backed away a few steps, reaching for the phone. Suddenly a strange smell caught her attention. The smell of…. It was metallic and definitely not something she associated with anything good.
Blood.
Instinctively she looked at her own hands and Tara's neck, but it was nothing there. Turning around, looking for the source of the smell, it didn't take long before she found it.
Her gaze drifted to the closed door, on which Miss Kitty Fantastico, Tara's cat was hung up for display. Carefully Willow went closer, recoiling in horror when she saw what he had done to her. The small cat was threaded on a piece of rope which had been nailed to the door. Willow felt nauseous. Whatever Angelus had used to get the rope through the cat… oh, dear God how she must have suffered. She put her hand over her mouth to avoid throwing up. This was a savage and disgusting remake of what he had done to her fish a few years ago. She could see how a twisted mind like Angelus would find that amusing. But this… it was appalling.
She stumbled away from the savaged animal and gripped the phone, ripping the receiver from its cradle. Hoping that someone would still be there, she dialed the number to the Magic Box. Her hands were shaking so much that she had to dial three times to get it right. As she waited for an answer and watched the horrible destruction before her, Willow's disgust, grief and sadness turned to seething rage and hatred. When Giles finally answered she was holding on to the phone so tightly that her knuckles whitened.
"Hello?"
"Giles. He killed her." Her voice wasn't even unsteady, but cold and hard. Determined.
"Willow? Is that you?" Giles sounded bewildered, as if not even sure if it was really Willow he was talking to.
"He killed Tara."
Giles didn't say anything, but Willow could hear a scraping sound and muffled voices in the background. It was probably Giles covering the receiver with his hand as he spoke to Buffy.
"Willow, are you alright? What's happened?" Buffy's voice.
"He killed her." A short pause.
"Just stay there, I'm coming." Willow barely heard what she said, and she didn't care.
"No. He killed Tara… And now he will pay." She could hear Buffy protest as she ended the call by slamming the phone into its cradle so hard that she nearly broke it.
Wasting no time she opened the closet, moved away a few boxes and some clothes and unloaded three books she had "borrowed" from Giles when she was sure he wasn't looking. She briefly caressed the covering before she opened the books. They were all really powerful, and she could imagine Giles' reaction if he found out that she had them.
Quickly she eyed through and memorized several spells while she filled a big with all the weapons she could find in the room. Finally she looked up and performed a location spell which would show her where Angelus was and take her there.
The mansion. If Willow hadn't been blinded by fury and grief, maybe she would have remembered that Angel said that he would be staying at the mansion – but she didn't. All that was important was that it was that Tara's murderer was the one placed in the mansion by the location spell. Grabbing her bag, she disappeared out the door.
"WILLOW! Damn it, she hung up." Buffy turned to Giles, who was standing next to her, looking at her sternly, his eyes worried and sad.
"What happened? Did she tell you anything further?" Buffy shook her head.
"Angelus killed Tara," she said shortly. "That's all. God, I have to get to Willow, who knows what she'll do?" Giles mouth was pulled into a thin line. He removed his glasses and began cleaning them with a handkerchief. He looked at Buffy.
"By the way she sounded, I don't think it's very hard to figure out what she has her mind set on. I trust you remember… my reaction, after Jenny." His gaze darkened at the memory. This was hard for him to speak about. Buffy nodded silently.
"She's in for revenge," she said simply. "I have to stop her. She-she's not match for him. He'll kill her. God. I don't even know where he is, how am I gonna make it in time!"
"Take it easy, Buffy. I'll drive you to her dorm, hopefully there will be some clues there. If she already knows Angelus' whereabouts, she must have done a locator spell of some kind."
"You're right. Come on, we have to hurry."
Angelus the first was alone in the mansion's main room. His other half was currently downstairs in the basement, sleeping. They had come back from their very short killing spree just before sunup. While he was killing a homeless woman, his other half had broke into a leather store to upgrade his wardrobe.
And at the moment, he – well, they, were planning what to do after nightfall. He had all sorts of interesting ideas He – the other him, had done a good job taking out Willows girlfriend little girlfriend. The spell books he had taken after he killed her held secrets that they really didn't want Buffy and her pals to get their hands on – they had burned immediately. The question was what was up next? Maybe the other witch should go to. She was by far the biggest threat with her knowledge in the black arts. Besides, she probably wouldn't be too happy when she found her lover dead in her bed.
Then again, Giles was the backbone of the operation, being the oldest and Buffy's mentor and father figure. The levelheaded, stuffy ex-librarian might not be much of a threat himself, but he could bet that killing him would be like killing the spider in the web. Maybe he should turn him? Angelus chuckled to himself. He pictured Giles as a vampire. That, THAT would be priceless. All that stuffiness, turned into a demon. And Buffy would have to stake her own watcher. Yep, that was definitely something to consider.
His other half had told him that both Gunn and Xander were alive since his little attack, and that Gunn was still in the hospital. Not that he-they, cared very much about that. First of all, by the time the fatal sunlight had moved from his room he would be released, and besides, he wasn't their priority.
Angelus didn't have time for any further fantasies and planning of coming murders before the front doors to the mansion flung open with a crash, allowing blistering sunlight to flow freely into the room. It was only Angelus' good reflexes that saved him from being deeply fried, as he quickly leapt over the couch took cover behind it. He grabbed his coat and put it on to get as well protected from the sun as possible.
"What the hell…?" he hissed at the intruder. Who would…? Of course.
It was Willow by the door, floating several inches above ground. Her eyes were completely black. Now that was a new look for her. Evidently the lover hadn't lied about her growing powers. Well, screw that. She was, after all, still just a little girl.
"Kali, Hera, Kronos, Tonic." Willow spoke. "Air like nectar, thick as onyx, cassiel by your second star," she continued chanting. Angelus smirked at her, not letting his confident stance slip for a second. It wasn't like he hadn't experienced this before – the vengeful lover or family member that would come after him in a vain attempt to make him pay for what he'd done. He actually enjoyed it. It was only proof that his work had been successful. That he had managed to royally piss off a gentle soul like Willow was a great reward.
Besides, if he didn't want the mightily pissed off witch to take out her grief on him, what should he tell her? 'I didn't do it'? Well, actually he didn't, but…
"If it isn't Tara's bitch," Angelus scoffed. "How cute."
"Hold mine victim as in tar," she finished her incantation. The air around Angelus started to shimmer and he couldn't move forward. How nifty. Willow stared at Angelus, her eyes still black.
"I – OWE – YOU – PAIN!" she shouted as the first spell wore off. Angelus felt like he was being stabbed with a hundred knives at once. Okay – so that was less nice. Willow extended her hand, holding the spell for as long as she could. Angelus gasped in pain and fell to his knees.
"Someone needs to bring ordinary stakes into the game," he commented as cockily as he could muster.
"They don't hurt enough," Willow replied coldly. That was just it. Mmm, he liked her. Even in a moment of blind grief and passionate vengeance, she had taken the time to consider what would hurt him the most. No wonder that vampire self of hers from an alternate reality had been a peach.
"Shatter!" Willow yelled. All the windows in the room exploded and the glass seemed to explode inwards. Luckily the heavy black curtains took care of most of it. Some of it his Angelus, slicing him, but he didn't get badly wounded. He chuckled as he got to his feet.
"This is it, hm? This is the revenge of the wicked witch?" he taunted her. Not answering or letting him go with her gaze for a second, she floated a black leather bag in front of her that she opened.
"And what's this? Bag of tricks?" Angelus sounded amused. She stared at him.
"Bag of knives." Several daggers and a small ax flew aimed straightly at Angelus, but he was too quick and batted them all except one aside. The single dagger that hit its mark caught him in the chest, but he simply pulled it out, too angry to feel the pain. Willow looked unaffected.
"Tree, come undone. Pierce this demon, have the crust, go in this direction and turn my enemy to dust." For about two seconds Angelus had the time to consider what that might mean, then he heard a creaking from outside, sounding very much like wood breaking. He glanced passed Willow. Outside a small tree was bending and breaking, forming a large and dangerous stake like weapon. A grim look on her face, Willow moved her hand forward as if to give the weapon coordinates.
"Oh hell," Angelus muttered as the tree came flying in his direction. Having no time to get out of the way without possibly getting smacked into the sunlight by the branches on the tree he braced himself for the impact.
And what an impact it was. He shielded himself as well as he could, stopping the tree partly with his hands as the sharp end hit him in the chest, the force sending him flying back into the stonewall. The surging pain and smell of his own blood told him pretty quickly that he had been impaled. Again. What was it about his torso and sharp objects sticking out of it?
The tree had hit him a few inches below the breastbone, leaving him hurt but not fatally wounded. Groaning and bleeding profusely he tried to get the tree out of his chest as Willow began to speak a new incantation.
"Spirit of serpents, now appear," she said coldly, studying Angelus as he got away from the tree and pushed it aside. Staggering from the pain he picked up a small table and threw it at her. As it hit her, she descended to the floor, reeling for a moment, but was able to rise again. So her powers were fading, Angelus thought. The tree spell must have taken it out of her. Good to know.
"Hissing, writhing, striking near," she said, her voice almost faltering.
A snake emerged from the stone floor just where Angelus was standing a bit shakily.
"Ooh, a worm, scary," he said as cockily as he could muster, shaking his head and crushing it with his boot. It died and disappeared in a puff of smoke. That seemed to drain Willow even further. She fell to the floor and was now partly covered in shadow. Seeing his opening Angelus didn't hesitate a moment before he moved forward and grabbed her by the throat.
"Now, that was fun," he snarled, tightening his grip around her throat. "But I think it's time we move on to the main event." Just as he was about to crush her windpipe, something kicked him from behind. He was forced to let go of Willow and stumbled forward. He turned around and glared angrily at his attacker.
"It really is," she said. Buffy. Of course. He could see Rupert standing in the door to the atrium, pointing a crossbow at him, looking at him with a grim expression.
"Well. Hello lover," he smirked at Buffy, heartily aware what she felt about that title. Especially now, when the body of her dead ex was barely cold.
Without another word, she attacked him, kicking his wounded chest and hitting him in the face. When she struck out again, he grabbed her leg and flipped her to the ground. He barely dodged an arrow from Giles and before he knew it, Buffy was back on her feet, sending him to the ground, only inches from the fatal patch of sunlight.
He shoved her away, quickly deciding that this wasn't the time and place for a fight to the death. He preferred it when she didn't have the advantage of a pissed of ex-watcher and a lot of sunlight working for her. And when he wasn't recently impaled - his reactions wasn't what they should be.
As he retreated well into the shadow, Buffy grabbed Willow and dragger her outside, Giles following them, never letting his eyes off Angelus or his finger off the trigger on crossbow.
As soon as they came outside, well into the sunlight where they knew that Angelus couldn't follow even if he was foolish enough to try, Willow broke free from Buffy grip. Giles remained standing at a distance, not wanting to interfere with the scene that played out before him. When he saw the books that Willow had been using – his books, that she had stolen, he had been angry and disappointed, but this wasn't the time for a lecture. She was deeply grieving and had been prepared to die in there, as she executed vengeance upon Angelus. He had been too – going alone into the stronghold of Angelus, Drusilla and Spike, setting the place on fire and attacking the Scourge of Europe himself with a baseball bat hadn't exactly been the most carefully laid out plan of the century.
"What are you doing here? It wasn't your choice Buffy!" Willow yelled, attacking Buffy, taking out her frustration and grief by hitting and kicking her. Buffy shoved her away, making her stumble and fall to the ground.
"Don't you understand? He would have killed you!" Buffy yelled, panicked at the thought of how close it had been, what would have happened if she and Giles hadn't found the location spell in Willow's dorm room and come straight to the mansion. Willow looked so lost where she sat, tears trailing down her cheeks, so much pain in her eyes. Buffy kneeled down beside her and put her arms around her, hugging her tightly.
"You're my best friend Willow." Buffy's voice was shaking as she had a hard time holding back her own tears as well. "I love you. I can't loose you to him."
Willow broke down into a fit painful, heart wrenching sobs again. Nothing could take away this pain. Tara had been brutally murdered, and she couldn't even avenge her death. She was helpless and hurting… and the person she had felt strongest connected to in her whole life wasn't there to comfort her. She wouldn't ever be again.
"Tara's gone… She's really gone."
