The Empty Grave
Part 1: A New Journey.
Chapter 3

Authors note:-
After some advice from a friend I have tweaked some points in the last chapter before posting this one.

Buffy could barely see, a dull grey fuzz crawled in from the corners of her eyes. The very air was as thick as treacle and she could feel her windpipe being crushed by some invisible fist. If she didn't do something they were all going to die. She had just accepted this world again, she wouldn't leave it like this, not this soon.

Willow felt the power coming from him in waves. Limitless power that seamed to come from some infinite pain that clung to his essence like the shadows clung to his glistening armour. Despite all that had happened a part of her wanted that power. She had tasted it and she needed more, more that she could handle just to see how much that was. With every last shred of willpower she fought that desire down. It was impossibly hard but she could do it, she had to.

'Do not fight it Willow. It is who you are.' Vader spoke, she didn't know how he knew her name and didn't care.

'It's not, and it never will be. I'm not that person.' She dug as deep as she could to find the strength to hold back the flood of darkness that was rising. Unfortunately she could not hold back the flood of tears

'But you could be that person, nothing would be denied you. You have the power, the skill but not the will. Take hold of that and nothing would be able to stand in your way. Grasp that power and use it to stop me, they are still alive. For how long will you let them suffer.'

'No, I'm not listening. I'm not.' Slapping her hands over her ears Willow tried to block out his words but she could still hear him. Screwing her eyes shut she fell back as the blackest magic's within her writhed like a snake.

'Accept your destiny, use your anger use your hatred and strike me down! You have no choice. You have the power. It's within reach. All you have to do is take it!'

He was right she could do it. Nothing could stand in her way with that power. She would brake his hold on them and then brake him. Willow could feel the dark energies surging through her again as the pitiful barriers she had put up crumbled. She felt her hair darken moment by moment. The rage built up in her. How dare he presume to know what power this was. How dare he even talk to her in that way. It wasn't him who lost Tara.

As the great swell of darkness threatened to explode she found the last piece of herself to hold onto. Tara. Snapping her eyes open Willow looked into his empty mask. 'No. I won't give in. I can't.' Then she saw what was happening behind him.

Somehow Buffy had seen the wooden support lying next to her. Her lungs were burning and somewhere far away she could hear Willow losing her battle. Swearing to herself not to let it end this way Buffy stood up, wooden beam in her hands.

All she could hear a hollow roaring but Buffy could still see Willow over, well around, Vader's shoulder. Her hair was almost black again but it suddenly glowed with an inner light. She said something only a moment before Buffy brought the beam across.

Instantly the Slayer could breath again. 'That should slow him down. Willow are you alright?'

'No, nowhere close.'

'Stupid question.' Around her the others were slowly getting up; 'So what do we do with him?' From the counter a roar reverberated across the room. 'You have got to be joking!' Buffy managed to gasp before he hefted the beam off and stood up.

'Alright. That was impressive. Shall we try again?' growled Vader as he stood up.

Giles stepped in front of the gang, shouting; 'Vincheri!' A burst of green energy shot out from his raised hand and wrapped itself around Vader.

'What is this?' he managed to ask before the binding spell rose him from the ground, paralysing him as it became clear and transparent.

'As I was saying; Any ideas what to do now?' Buffy shrugged.

'Well Giles how do you kill Darth Vader?'

'Anya, I doubt that it is possible with what we have at our disposal. Nothing short of totally destroying him would be of any use.' He stopped and reached for the glasses he was not wearing. 'However I believe that if we remove his mask, we could suffocate him.'

'Sounds fair' Buffy shrugged. 'Someone find me a ladder and I'll do it.'

'You do not have the power to stop me. I am a Dark Lord of the Sith, this trick will not hold me.' Hissed Vader.

Willow then spoke in a quiet voice, disagreeing with him; 'That spell could hold me. Without the nullifying spell you're helpless.'

'I beg to differ. As wise as you are to my past you do not yet understand that my power has no limits. Observe.' With a mounting dread Buffy watched as he brought his face down to meet theirs. Slowly the binding shifted, green then black cracks began to dance over it's surface.

'Good lord!'

'That's… but that means he's… Buffy that thing should be able to hold anything this side of a god.'

'Not just that. I researched that spell incase we had to face someone of Glory's calliber again.' Giles struggled to pull his jaw from the floor

'We need a plan pretty quick here Giles.'

'I agree Buffy. But only one springs to mind at the moment.' Confused, Buffy watched as he turned around and picked Dawn up.

'And the plan is?' asked Xander.

'Peg it!' Giles shouted. Buffy looked at her friends, what did "Peg it" mean? Looking back to Giles she saw he was already outside and running like the hounds of hell were after him.

'Good plan' shouted Anya and the gang followed.

Xander unlocked his apartment and let the gang in. Even Buffy was out of breath as they piled into the living room. 'Can someone please give me a hand.' Gasped Giles still cradling the sleeping Dawn in his arms.

As he was closest Xander took her off him before he collapsed. 'I've got her.' It wasn't the first time he had picked her up but it had been a while. 'Whoa. She's getting heavier. Hear that Dawn-patrol, no more late night chocolate feasts for you.' She couldn't hear him but the little laughs from Buffy and Willow told him the joke worked where it was intended.

'So other than running like scared children. Something that Xander's so good at. What are we going to do? In case you haven't noticed THE Darth Vader is after her.' Anya pointed at Willow before continuing, 'and we can't stop him without some really big guns or something.'

Ignoring Anya jibes Xander eased Dawn onto his couch before he remembered something. 'The Troll Hammer! That's something we could use!'

'Yes but that's at my house Xander.' Buffy mentioned. 'If he's not broken free yet Darth will and then he'll come looking for us. How did he find us anyway you guys said you gave him the slip?'

'We did, he must have tracked me. Someone as powerful as he is can sense others who use magic.' Willow said in a painfully quiet voice.

'Great. You lead him to us and you'll do it again.' Anya turned on the recovering Wicca.

Xander could see the others were about to as well, including Willow. 'Is there anything you can do?'

'I've done it. I've cut myself off as best I can from the magic's. He can't follow us here.'

Giles smiled and patted her on her shoulder. 'Good thinking there Willow. It should also help you recover.'

'Back to my question; How do we stop him? Xander you're the biggest geek here, spill it. How do we stop him.'

Giving Anya a black look he told them what they already knew. 'That's easy. Call Luke Skywalker and have him talk to his father. Or we could hit him with a couple of million volts of Force lightning. We could even throw him into a reactor core and blow it up. But we don't have any of those things, do we?'

'That's not a bad idea Xander.' Giles half smiled. 'I think I know of something we could use.'

'What?' the gang asked.

'That' Giles pointed at the corner.

Vader walked out of the broken shop, once the fledgling closed herself off from the Force he had picked through the wreckage. There were more ineligible books and many items that contained great Force powers. Without instruction these items were, however, completely useless to him.

It took him a moment to realise that there was something else missing, the child. With an evil grin he reached out and looked for the residue of his influence. Not too far away he felt what he was looking for. The child was still in a dreamless sleep, that made it much easier.

Willow felt a slight tugging in the back of her mind. She knew that it had to be Darth Vader trying to find them again, but it lasted longer. For a second she wondered if he had found a way to trace her but that was impossible.

They were looking through Xander's video collection, somewhere in this graveyard of cheap Mexican flicks and recorded from T.V Babylon 5 were his copies of Star Wars. Giles master-plan was to trick Darth Vader into watching the last few minutes of Return of the Jedi, hoping that he was at least distracted enough for them to get the drop on the dark lord. She didn't think it would work but it was the only chance in hell.

The tugging was stronger or was it just her imagination? No, something was happening. Turning around she saw Dawn roll off the sofa and stand up. 'Dawnie?'

Dawn didn't answer, in fact her head still lolled limply from her shoulders. Like a sleepwalker she sloped towards the door, feet dragging across the carpet.

'Dawn? What's wrong? Are you okay?' Buffy asked, the others had noticed what was going on.

'Goddess, no!' Willow gasped as the comatose girl limply opened the door. On the other side stood the form of Darth Vader.

'Fools. Your compassion will be your undoing.' As he stepped in Dawn collapsed, now useless to him he had simply released her. Instantly the others got between him and Willow, casting glances at Dawn who had fallen much as a puppet does when its strings are cut.

'We don't want any trouble. Just to talk…' started Giles.

'Enough. I underestimated all of you, this time you will not get in my way.' Then he looked past them, to Willow, before giving them a small wave. Like rag dolls caught in a hurricane they were picked up and tossed into the wall.

In a long second Willow watched her friends crash into each other and falling in a heap beneath a large, new, crack that ran across the wall. Just as she turned to look Vader in the eyes a hand shot out from under the mound of limbs; 'That all you got big boy?' cried Buffy as she climbed over the others.

With a curious tilt to his head the Dark Lord of the Sith watched her stand. 'You are powerful, impressive but hardly a challenge. Sleep now.' Even separated from the magic's Willow felt the power of the suggestion and found her eyes drooping. Buffy, astoundingly, had the strength to fall to her knees before succumbing.

Any other time Willow would have found the idea of Buffy's snoring funny. Right now it was the last thing she wanted to hear.

Darth Vader allowed himself another grin. Now all the obstacles were out of his way. In mere moments his new apprentice would succumb to the Dark Side and the very universe would tremble. 'I can feel the power within you. It is screaming to be let free. Embrace it and you will be free to do whatever you wish.'

'No.' Still she protested, a waste of time.

'I can show you things you can never have imagined. The power you have, the universe, is yours for the taking. Reach out and grasp it.

'I won't'

'You will. The power is braking free even now, you cannot stop it.'

'I must. If I accept it I wont be me.. It won't be me…'

'No. You will be Darth Demonus. Dark Lady of the Sith.

'Demonus… Demon, I'm no demon.'

'You will be who you are meant to be.'

'I'm meant to be Willow Rosenberg. The same way you're really Anakin Skywalker.'

'That name has no meaning to me. Soon Willow will have none for you.'

'You're wrong. You'll always be Anakin Skywalker.' She took a step forward, a fire burning in her eyes he could dimly remember. 'You've buried him under layers of hate and pain but he's still there. I can feel him the same way you can feel me.'

'Then you know that he is dead.'

'No he's not. He is what is fuelling your hatred. His grief is what made you.'

'Lies.'

'He has a son, he has a daughter. Despite it all they love him.'

'A desperate plea. I knew this, it means nothing. I am Darth Vader. Enough of this distraction, now you see the power of the Dark Side you must chose to become my apprentice.'

'I know why you hate yourself. Goddess your screaming it in your mind, over and over again.' Tears of empathy were free flowing down her face. 'You think you killed your wife.'

'I did. She betrayed me and I punished her.' The pain was back. Many times in the dark of night it came and each time it threatened to drop him dead. Only his anger drove him forward. Onward in the service of his master. A master he sought to kill.

'That's right. You did. Not Anakin. Your anger has blinded you Anakin. It was Darth Vader who was responsible for your wife. You were out of control.' She was advancing, coming closer as her words came closer to the core of his being. 'It was never your fault. You acted before you had all the facts. You know she could never betray you…'

'Enough lies witch.' he used his height as an advantage, cowling her into the ground. 'Accept the gift the Force and your rage has granted. Your fate is sealed accept or…'

'Or what? You'll torture me? Like you did Leia, your daughter.'

'Who?'

'The Princess… Leia, she was your daughter.'

Something happened in that instant. It was as if a great door slammed open, echoing in a cavernous vault deep within his mind. Distantly he fell to his knees and a voice he hadn't heard in so many years shouted from his own mouth in a scream of pain. It was not Darth Vader, instead it was Anakin. It was him. He had hurt Anakin's daughter. The power that had created him turned in on him, used by a new, or rather older mind. The distant shreds of decency and the man once known as Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker became a power within his mind. The great pain of Padme's death, once more than enough to shatter that power was no more than a piece of wreckage caught up in a terrible storm. A storm more than powerful enough to wash the personality of Darth Vader from the mind it once ruled.

Willow gasped as she saw in to his mind. Reliving the moment he blindly killed Padme, the second he cut Obi-wan in half and the fear in Leia's eyes as the torture droid hovered into the cramped cell. Then he screamed again, sparks and smoke began to rise from the grill in front of his mouth and the whole apartment shook with the force at the death of Darth Vader.

End Chapter 3