"Hey, black-eyed girl...Whatcha doin'?" Xander greeted with mock joy.
"Get out of here." Willow commanded.
"Oh no...You're not the only one with powers, you know. You may be a hopped up uber-witch, but this carpenter can dry-wall you into the next century." Xander joked.
"I'm not joking, Xander. Get out of my way. Now." She blasted a beam of energy towards him and he flew back. He indomitably stood in front of the beam and stopped the satanic temple from rising out of the ground.
"You can't stop this."
"Yeah, I get that. It's just - where else am I gonna go? You've been my best friend my whole life. World gonna end - where else would I want to be?"
"Is this the master plan? You're going to stop me by telling me ya love me?" She mocked also feeling curious.
"Well I was gonna walk you off a cliff and hand you an anvil, but it seemed kinda cartoony." He said moving towards his best friend.
"Still making jokes." Something touched her deep inside and her eyes started to change back to the hazelish-green color they originally were.
"I'm not joking. I know you're in pain. I can't imagine the pain you're in. And I know you're about to do something apocalyptically evil and stupid and hey, still want to hang. You're Willow."
"Don't call me that!" She screamed forgetting the emotion
"The first day of kindergarten you cried 'cause you broke the yellow crayon and you were too afraid to tell anyone. You've come pretty far, ending the world, not a terrific notion... but the thing is, yeah. I love you. I love crayon-breaky Willow and I love scary veiny Willow. So if I'm going out, it's here. If you wanna kill the world, well then start with me. I've earned that." He held his arms out and braced himself to see if she really would. Xander prayed to god that Willow wouldn't kill him. There had to be some part of Willow inside that shell
"You think I won't?" She asked seriously.
"It doesn't matter. I'll still love you." He spoke from his heart
"SHUT UP!" She screamed and then there was silence. Nothing was in the spot and Willow had disappeared. A void of despair filled Xander's heart hoping he had said enough to let her know that she was loved.
The darkness cloaked Willow as she studied her surroundings. Ancient looking buildings stood tall before her making her petite self look smaller and meeker. The cold water splashed her jacket and she looked at the source. Racing ahead was a taxi coach that belonged in the eighteen hundreds.
"Oh, no" She muttered to herself. "This is not good." Behind her a voice spoke. She wasn't sure if they were addressing her. She whipped around and in the distance saw vampires feeding on what looked to be a harlot. Willow scanned the surroundings and saw a tree. Hopefully she still had her powers because if she didn't, she'd be dead. Slowly she reached up and wrapped her hands around one of the dead branches of an oak tree. With little effort she snapped it and headed over to the scene. They were gone. "Damn." She ran into the alley and searched for the vampires and found them. There were ten and she only had one stake. "Well seeing how I don't have the strength of the Slayer, I'm going to go." She turned to run but crashed into another person. "I'm sorry."
"Crystal you shouldn't be sorry, you should slay the vampires." His English accent felt vaguely familiar.
"Wait a minute, I'm not Crystal. My name is Willow Rosenberg." She paused and realized she was talking to a stranger. "Who are you?"
"I'm your watcher."
"I'm not a Slayer."
"Listen, I know that you may have only been called a few days ago, but it's of great importance that you learn your duty as a Slayer. You must-"
"Fight the forces of darkness? Slay all the vampires?"
"Well yes that's some of it. You have to avert the apocalypse."
"LISTEN MR. what's your name?"
"Randy Giles." She chuckled at the memory of Spike complaining about the name when her Tabula Rasa spell went all kablooy.
"Okay, I'M NOT A SLAYER!" This echoed in the night sky and all the vampires turned towards her. "Oh, crap." She said as they surrounded her. She tried to blast energy towards the vampires, but she realized her powers had disappeared. Looking at the branch in hand she prepared to fight not even sure if she could. The vampire rushed at her and she was knocked to the ground. "See Giles." She said as she struggled under the vampire's weight. She slammed her head against his and staked him. "I'm not a Slayer."
"You just staked a vampire and fought. Therefore you must be a Slayer."
"Somebody looking for me?" a girl with an Irish accent inquired. Willow and Giles turned around and almost fell over at the girl before her. She had red hair like herself, was wearing a dark, royal blue noblewoman's gown, and was a splitting image of Willow. She automatically looked back at the memory of the girl in the text book.
"Okay, is this some kind of cruel joke?"
She ran out of the alley and towards what she thought was a park. Tears flowed freely down her face as she thought of Tara and their times together.
She was sitting on the chair across from her blonde haired beauty. They were talking about the incident with The Gentlemen.
"You were there looking for me?" Willow asked curiously to the girl.
"I thought maybe we could do a spell - make people talk again. I-I'd seen you in the group, the Wicca group you were... you were different than them. I mean they didn't seem to know..." She trailed off and gazed into Willow's eyes.
"What they were talking about." Willow finished smartly
"I think if they saw a witch they would run the other way." They both laughed at this. Willow decided it was time to change the subject
"How long have you been practicing?" She asked curiously.
"Always, I mean, since I um, was little... my, my mom used to, She um, she had a lot of power, like you." Tara said sincerely taking Willow back for a moment.
"Oh I'm not ... I don't have much in the way of power. Really, I mean most of my potions come out soup besides... spells going awry, friends in danger... I'm definitely nothing special." Willow said denying it.
"No, you are." Tara said smiling and making something arise deep down in Willow's soul.
Willow pulled up another memory.
Tara started to tug at the cast. A perfectly manicured hand stopped her.
"You, what are you doing here." Willow stepped up
"She's with me." Willow stuck her hand in both of their brains and they were blasted back.
"Tara! Tara? Tara?" She crawled over and held her lover.
"Willow?" She asked weakly and Smiled
"Tara!" Willow held her tight.
"Willow... I got so lost ..." She started to cry
"I found you!" She said crying just as hard and smothering her with kisses and holding her tightly. "I'll always find you..."
And then the best memory of all that made her sob and the rain to pour
The sun was shining and it was a perfect day. Tara and Willow walked hand in hand talking about nothing. She was wearing a greenish yellow corset bohemian style dress that brought out the best in her. And then she started to sing; her voice was heavenly and all Willow wanted to do was bask in the sound.
"And you can't imagine what they see in you." Willow said
"I know exactly what they see in me…You.
I lived my life in shadows
Never the sun on my face
It didn't seem so sad though
I figured that was my place
Now I'm bathed I light. The sun shined down on her face illuminating every feature.
Something just isn't right
I'm under your spell
How else can it be
Anyone would notice me
Its magic I can tell
How you set me free
Brought me out so easily
I saw a world enchanted
Spirits and charms in the air. Their powers combined to make such beauty.
I always took for granted
I was the only one there
But your power shone
Brighter than any I've known
I'm under your spell
Nothing I can do
You just took my soul with you
You worked your charm so well
Finally I knew
Everything I dreamed was true.
You made me believe. They danced into the bedroom and Tara's face was wry
The moon to the tide
I can feel you inside
I'm under your spell
Surging like the sea
Pulled to you so helplessly
I break with every swell
Lost in ecstasy
Spread beneath my Willow tree
You make me complete
You make me com-plete
You make me com-plete
And then everything went wrong from there. Tara found out about the memory spell and challenged Willow to going a week without magick. She couldn't not use magic and did the tabula rasa spell. This backfired and everyone forgot. But then the crystal was shattered and Willow lost Tara for a while. After a few months Tara came to her.
"Things fall apart, they fall apart so hard.." Tara said leaning on the door
"Tara?" She blinked a few times making sure this really was the woman she loved.
"You can't ever... put 'em back the way they were..."
"Are you okay?"
" I'm sorry, it's just..." She sighed and continued " you know it takes time. You can't just... have coffee and expect-"
"I know." Willow said nodding
"There's just so much to work through. Trust has to build again, on both sides...you have to learn if... if we're even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other's lives, it's a long and important process and ... can we just skip it? Can you... can you just be kissing me now?" Willow jumped up and started kissing the woman she loved. It was long and passionate. She even let a few tears escape.
And then it happened, during their last kiss Tara was shot and all she was able to say was:
"Your shirt." And then she collapsed, lifeless.
Then of course Willow tried to destroy the world and here she was. The rain started to let up a bit as her crying became softer. Her thoughts were interrupted.
"Well…well…well…what have we got here?" A familiar English accent asked behind her. She could here the footsteps echo in the thunder filled sky. "Seems like I finally get to kill the Slayer."
"For the last time," She stood up and turned around. "I'm not the Vampire Slayer." She looked at the vampire before her. "Oh, no. Not good. Chip-less Spike, who's almost, killed me a lot. Not good." She muttered to herself. Then she thought 'then of course you wouldn't want to change the course of history.' She started to back away as Spike's eyes took a predatory gleam. "Listen, you've got the wrong girl, I'm not the Slayer. I mean, you'd be able to smell it in my blood if I was. I'm just a witch whose had her powers taken away." 'oh yeah, that's great Willow, tell the nice vampire that you're helpless. WAIT! I'm not helpless. I have a stake.' She looked down at her hands. 'Okay, I don't have a stake.'
"Okay, if you're going to kill me do it. I deserve it…" she trailed off about Warren and almost destroying the world. Spike listened with interest and smirked when she realized that Spike had her pinned against the wall. "This isn't really good for me is it?" She asked. A surge of power went through her veins. She head-butted him and kneed him in the groin. Spike sank down and she ran. She stopped and looked for any sign of Spike. He was nowhere. Thinking she was safe she turned around and started to look for a store and brushed up on her English accent from Drama class.
In the distance she distinguished a store that looked to be open. She walked confidently into the store and approached the counter.
"May I help you Miss?" The store keeper asked.
"Yes you may." She said in her best English voice. "My name is Winifred Scarlet and I need some new attire. On my way into town, my coach was robbed and then tipped over. I have no money and I need to dress appropriately. I mean, even the harlots don't dress this way."
"Right this way Miss." She ushered Willow into the back room and peeled off her soaking clothes until, she was entirely nude. "I assume you've been laced before Miss?"
"It's been a few days." She gasped sharply as the maid laced her corset so tight that she could hardly breathe. The maid then lowered a pale blue under-dress over the corset. The material felt like heaven after everything she had been through. The maid then lowered a midnight blue gown over her head. The dress was low cut which was improper those days and very form fitting. Willow felt as though she couldn't move or breathe.
"Thank you for your kindness." Willow said and then curtsied. She walked out the door gracefully and stared up at the now calm night sky. The sky reflected her mood. Her heart ached for Tara and she felt gray and blue. She turned towards where she thought a hotel would be and crashed into Drusilla.
"Sorry about hurting your Childe. If you would let me go, you'll never hear from me again." She ran and crashed into Angelus. "Okay, listen, didn't I say I was sorry."
"Yeah you did." He said smoothly. His Irish accent put her into a sort of trance. "Now, I've been hearing some interesting things about you…Crystal." Before he could speak she interrupted him again.
"Listen, I know what you're thinking. You think I'm The Slayer. I'm not okay? So why don't you leave me alone or I'll restore your soul." Willow covered her mouth and her eyes widened. "I didn't mean that. I babble sometimes and I don't mean to and I'm just going to go…away." She moved to run again but Angelus caught her arms and prevented her from moving.
"You did mean that. And you do have Slayer blood in you though you may not be. I don't know how that works. Seeing how you're not from around here." He gave a harsh tug and she lost her balance. Angelus caught her and looked into her eyes. She tried to look away, but he wouldn't allow it. "I'm just going to have to show you around." Willow tired to fight and figured she should be able to but she was just meek little Willow.
"Where'd she go?" Dawn asked Xander who was still staring at the spot where Willow had been a few hours before. The sun had set and the temple had sunk into the ground.
"I don't know." Buffy said.
"I know," a familiar voice said behind them. Buffy turned around and locked eyes with
"Angel?" She breathed kissed him passionately.
"I take that as you're happy to see me." He chuckled.
"Yeah. I am, I mean Willow just disappeared. Do you know where she went?"
"The Powers That Be sent her back in time to learn her lesson about abusing the use of magick. She has no powers, except the fact that the weather reflects her mood. She also was sent back into London time when Spike, Drusilla, Darla and I were at large. They're showing her that love does exist and that Tara is still alive with in her. Once she learns this she'll be sent back. The point of this whole thing is to show her that people feel pain as well and that she's stronger than she thinks. Also…Willow's a half of a Slayer.