U.C. Sunnydale Clock tower, at that same time.

"You know how hard it's gonna be getting this stain off my shirt?" asked an outrage Faith as she pulled the bottom of her shirt towards Buffy, who in turn smirked back at the dark haired Slayer before looking at the dead Gentlemen and their minions. After getting their voices back, the two young women then opened their mouths and screamed; the result being that the heads of the floating creatures literally blew up. It was their only weakness, and the reason why they had stolen the voices of people in Sunnydale.

Buffy nodded at Faith, before turning towards the other young man in the room. Riley was someone Buffy expressed an interest in pursuing a relationship, in fact, the both of them kissed not a little over an hour ago.

It was something that made Faith stick her finger in her mouth, and pretend to gag since the both of them were patrolling together. It was Giles' idea to not have the two Slayers be separated at a time like this.

But that was then, and this was now. Buffy and Faith had encountered people dressed in uniforms, complete with military tactical gear, for the first time during Halloween a few months ago. Then a few more times after that, when they were not out Slaying. It was later on that Spike, who Buffy caught while on patrol, claimed people from the Army had installed a chip in his brain that prevented him from biting other humans. He told the blonde Slayer that he tried to bite a young woman, but instead of feeding… all he got was a sharp sting in his head.

"They're running experiments," whined a very pale Spike who wrapped his arms around his body. To Buffy, it seemed as if the vampire was shivering… as if he was going through withdrawal symptoms, "I need food."

"No." That was the only thing Buffy said before knocking him out, and then dragging him back Giles' house. There, he was chained to the bathtub…. Much to the unhappiness of Giles, who still had many questions for him. HE suspected that Wesley would have even more questions when he returned from London.

In the meantime, Buffy and the others had many questions about why the military would be interested in Spike; more specifically, vampires in general. And if they were interested in vampires for some reason, were they also interested in other demons.

And now they knew there was a chance to get some questions answered as they looked at Riley, who was holding a weapon that released a surge of electricity earlier. They saw him just standing there looking at the two of them transfixed.

"How… how?" asked Riley as he looked, and pointed a finger at Buffy, and then at Faith who picked up an axe that was lying on the floor, "Buffy? What?"

"Yeah," grimaced Buffy, "we need to talk, but not tonight."

"Buffy," said Riley putting his weapon on his side, the barrel facing down onto the floor, "you and Faith… you…"

"Tomorrow, soldier-boy," replied Faith as she lay the axe on her shoulder. She then turned to Buffy and whispered that they needed to get back and tell 'their guys' that things were back to normal.

"Or as normal as normal can get in this town," she whispered as Buffy nodded her head.

"Go home, Riley," said Buffy turning to the soldier in front of her, "look we won't tell anyone we saw…"

Buffy narrowed her eyes and then turned to Faith who was looking back at her with her mouth wide open. Althanea, once she had gotten her voice back, contacted Buffy and Faith telepathically through magic. She told them that Willow was back, and that after performing a location spell, she found that Willow was at her own house.

"Come to our room tomorrow," said Buffy pointing at Riley before she turned, and ran alongside Faith. They ran out the door, and then onto the stairs that would lead them down the ground floor while hearing Riley shout Buffy's name. But Buffy wouldn't stop for him, not even for a second as she ran down the stairs in a hurry with Faith by her side. Althanea had told them through their magical telepathic link that it had taken some time to perform a location spell for both her and Faith, and for Willow, without using her voice.

The witch told them, just as they got to the ground floor and was nearly out of the clock tower, that she had only sensed Willow ten minutes ago. Althanea 'said' that all of them wanted to leave at the same time, but figured that since the Gentlemen were still out there, it would be better to perform a location spell for the two Slayers. She continued to 'say' that once they had determined where the two Slayers were, she ran a spell searching for Willow, before getting out there. She said that once their locations had been discovered, Giles left with Xander and was heading to the two Slayers. The Witch 'told' Buffy and Faith that Giles told her, and the other remaining women, to lock the doors and not let anyone into the apartment until they got back.

Just as Althanea had finished 'talking' in their heads, Faith and Buffy were at a full run on the road outside when they saw a car. They were running at full speed on the pavement when the car's headlights blinked, and the horn blared while heading towards the two of them. It came to a screeching halt alongside them, and then Xander looked out the window and told them to get into the car. Wordlessly, and in a hurry, Faith and Buffy rushed into the car which then screeched its tires while it quickly turned around. Giles pressed down on the accelerator, and then shot off down the road, away from the clock-house. It was just as Giles' car made a left turn, that three black vans made a turn from the street on the right, and headed towards the clock-house.

Back in Giles car, the four occupants remained silent as the car was being driven as fast as possible. Buffy had questions about how Althanea knew that Willow was back on Earth, but she didn't care about asking.

She just wanted to see Willow.

Unknown to Buffy, that same thought in regards to Willow's arrival was going through Faith's head as well. She didn't know Willow at all, but from everything that Giles and Buffy and Xander had told her, she would have liked the redhead. Faith turned to look at Buffy, who was looking out the window at the trees and houses that were rushing past them in a blur. She could see the blonde Slayer's shoulders trembling, and she gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

Buffy turned around with tears in her eyes, and looked at her sister Slayer.

"How… how… how can she be here now?" whispered Buffy, her voice threatening to break while looking at Faith, and then at Giles who was looking back at her through the rear-view mirror, "why.. why wasn't she back yesterday, and…."

"Perhaps it was because of the flow of time in Acathla's dimension, Buffy." Giles said as he looked back out to the lit road in front of him, "that's a possibility. In either case, she's home and…"

"How long was she down there?" muttered Xander, who was looking out the window. It was the first question he had asked since getting into the car, a question he was afraid to ask. His mind was going through what he'd do to Willow once they had found her. In his imagination, he was running towards Willow and hugging her tight, swearing that he'll never let the redhead go again. Xander looked out at the blur of trees, houses, and lights and then turned to face Giles before repeating his question calmly. However, no matter how calm he seemed to be in the outside, he was still shaking thinking about Willow, and the things that she may have been through in Hell.

"A little more than a thousand years, according to Anya," muttered Giles as he continued to drive while Xander and Buffy looked out the window, and Faith put her hands on the driver seat and leaned forward.

"Will she be alright?" she asked.

"I don't know." Giles looked at the rear-view mirror once again and looked at Buffy and Faith, before looking out at the road, "but… but we need to be prepared for anything. We don't know what happened to Willow and…"

"Will she be the Willow we know?" asked Buffy as she looked out the window while wiping her eyes.

"I… I don't know." Giles was being honest with his answer. He had talked to Anya about Acathla's Hell, and even she feared it. When Xander had first met the vengeance demon, he brought her to Giles. The both of them asked the young woman if it was possible for them to wish Willow back to Earth. Xander still remembered that day, while Giles told Buffy and Giles the type of Willow they could expect, when Anya glared at Xander and asked if he only saw her as a Vengeance demon who grants wishes, or he just likes her for the orgasms.

"My boss, D'Hoffryn, won't let me… or any of his vengeance demons take anyone out of any of the thousands of Hell dimensions," said Anya after Xander reassured her that they were dating because he was interested in her, "and before you ask why? We're Vengeance Demons… we bestow vengeance on behalf of those who call on us. And anyway, I haven't granted a vengeance wish in months… and the big boss isn't happy with me. If I could save Willow? Then I'll be punished… and… and D'Hoffryn would sent the both of us... me and Willow, back to Hell. I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Xander was pulled back from his thought when they saw a group of police cars, and an ambulance, coming up behind them. Giles pulled his car to the side of the road, and then waited and watched as the vehicles made a left turn.

"That's the way to Willow's house," said Buffy as Xander leaned forward, and then looked at Giles, and nodded his head.

The Rosenberg residence.

Willow slowly stopped scratching the wooden porch and moving her legs wildly. She was still as her whimpering stopped, and all that Sheila and Ira could hear was her breathing. Ira put the phone down behind him and looked at the state of his daughter before he slowly reached out with one hand. He saw Willow shifting her eyes to his hand before whimpering again while her face twisted to one of anguish.

So he slowly pulled away his hand, and her whimpering stopped.

"Willow."

Willow didn't know why the man in front of her was calling her by that name. She had been beaten and tortured so much while being called 'it', that she believed that was her name. She felt the woman whose lap she was lying on humming a tune, and she felt herself calming down even more. She couldn't place the tune, in actuality, she couldn't remember the tune… but it was helping her remain calm.

She could feel herself breathing the fresh air, mixed with a scent that she didn't recognize coming from the woman. The night was silent as she looked at the man looking back at her with concern on his face. There was something at the back of her mind saying that the man would never hurt her.

But Willow had been hearing a lot of things for many years.

Snarls, Roars, gnashing teeth; all sounds that she would hear before getting ripped apart, and then reformed in her cell complete with pain.

As she looked at the man, Willow noticed something important; she didn't feel the pain that used to constantly course through her body; pain that broke her mind, and made her forget who she was. It was the constant pain that made her unable to sleep; and when she did sleep, she saw herself dying over, and over again. Right now, she only felt pain that came as a result of the beatings by the straightjacketed creatures she killed.

That pain was slowly fading away. But Willow was still afraid; afraid that the pain would come back, that this was just trick to lower her guard. She was afraid that a demon would come out of nowhere and kill the two people, and then it would torture Willow. She was afraid she would die again, and the pain would return a thousand fold, further shattering her mind.

Deep down, Willow didn't care anymore. She had wanted to die at the hands of the demon. But if this is just another trick of the Hell she believed herself to be inside… then there was no dying. She couldn't remember what she did to find herself here, but she expected to die again. So she closed her eyes, and listened to the hum of the woman.

She was lying on the floor, while her head and part of her upper body was on the woman's lap. Willow held onto the woman's knee, and released a sigh.

Willow expected to die again. She believed this was another test, and that there was no hope for death to take her.

It was just then that Ira looked up, and Sheila looked over her shoulder at the sounds of sirens that were getting closer. Sheila then looked down once she felt Willow's body tense. The white haired young woman's ears perked up at the sounds of the sirens. Willow started to shake her head while her body trembled as she tried to get up. But Sheila's hands were gently keeping her down; the woman was trying comfort her daughter with her voice. However, Willow started to whimper again while listening to the woman gently telling her that it was going to be alright.

Willow didn't hear Sheila talking to her, all she could hear were the loud sirens. And she knew that this was it, that this was the sign of the demon coming for her. The horde was coming to rip her apart again. Willow violently shook while she started panting, her hands moved wildly, as did her feet while Sheila and Ira looked on in worry.

Before the two adults could do anything, Willow screamed before ripping herself away from Sheila's arms. The older redhead, and Ira, then saw Willow scramble back away from them while they slowly got up to their feet.

"Willow," whispered Sheila as she held out her hand towards her daughter, "you're safe…. You're home. Those monsters who took you away will never get you again."

Willow continued to shake her head while she scrambled back while watching both Sheila and Ira with her eyes narrowed. Willow then got down on all fours and bared her teeth, growling as Sheila and Ira took a step forward, and then took a step back while putting their hands up.

"Willow, honey," whispered Ira as the young woman looked at him while baring her teeth, "you're safe… I.. know it's been a long time and… and Oh God, what they did to you is inexcusable, but you're safe. I'm your dad… remember? Your second word was dada… we taped it… remember, Willow? Your first words were Ma… remember?"

"Willow."

Willow closed her eyes and grabbed her head while her face was twisted in pain. She collapsed onto the porch floor while she whimpered when she had a memory flash. She remembered her arms around the man's neck as they were walking, the man looked younger than he was… she remembered laughter. She remembered the woman bouncing her on her knees. Willow remembered laughing.

"Da..a.. da.. a.." Sheila and Ira nodded their heads as Willow spoke in a deep hoarse voice, "m…aa…"

The two adults nodded their heads excitedly as Willow shook her head.

Willow knew it was a trick, that Hell was tricking her, as her head stated to hurt. Willow got back up on all fours when she saw Ira and Sheila coming towards her, telling her that 'mommy and daddy' missed her very much.

Ira and Sheila stopped, and then moved a few steps back when their daughter growled. Ira heard the police cars and the ambulance screech to a stop on the driveway. He saw police officers rushing towards them while Sheila was trying to calm down Willow who was preparing to strike. The noise, the rush of people, and the lights were an assault on her senses. She looked around as four more people in dark clothes joined Ira and Sheila.

Willow started to growl at them.

"Officers," said Ira, "stay back from her… look, she was taken, and from what it looks like? Those who took her subjected her to… to, Oh God, to imprisonment and… and those monsters, they… they... it looks like they debased her and…"

"Please, just step back," asked Sheila as two paramedics rushed up the stairs while one was waiting at the driveway with a gurney, "she must have been kept away from the outside world for…."

"Sir," said one of the officers, "we know about her case. Detective Kennedy is on her way, and.. and we just want to make sure she gets the medical attention she…"

Willow then growled again when she heard another car screeching to a stop.

One of the officers shouted at his colleague to keep the newcomers away. At the same time, Ira and Sheila saw Buffy, Giles, Xander, and Faith – the latter of whom Ira had been counseling- get out of the car. Giles yelled that they had been worried about the two of them, and came by to make sure that everything was all right.

A police officer was keeping Giles and the others away from the driveway. Even though he knew what was going on, Giles still asked the officer if everything was alright so that they wouldn't get suspicious.

"What are there so many police vehicles?" asked a concerned Giles as he looked at the cars, and then at the ambulance, and back to the officer again, "why is there an ambulance? What has happened?"

"I can't tell you, sir," said the officer as he held the four of them back, "I just need you to stay back for now, all of you."

Back on the porch, Willow continued to growl as Sheila and Ira, together with one of the paramedics, walked toward her slowly.

"Willow," whispered Ira gently while putting a hand on the paramedic's shoulder, "this nice man here is just going to make sure that you're all right and.."

Willow shook her head wildly while snarling. She gnashed her teeth at the people in front of her. To her, they were demons… this was just a trick. It had to be. Willow screamed and then shifted her body towards the porch sidewall. She then swiftly lifted herself and jumped over the side of the porch while Ira and Sheila shouted her name.

Buffy was looking at the porch when she noticed someone in a blue robe jumping over the side. She then heard Ira and Sheila shouting Willow's name, and the blonde Slayer took off running despite the officer shouting at her to stop. Buffy ran behind the ambulance, and then past it and saw some of the officers chasing her. But she was much fast than them, and the Slayer overtook them in a few seconds.

"Willow!" yelled Buffy as she grabbed the young woman's arm. Buffy ran past Willow, who stopped and then held her hands out to her side, her fingers curved inwards as the white haired young woman growled at Buffy, and then at the approaching officer who had their hand on a lump on their belts.

"Miss," said one of the officers, "get out of…" Buffy saw them reaching for Tasers instead of their sidearm, and Buffy wanted to prevent them from even using that weapon.

"Wait, please," said Buffy as she put her hands out while she looked at Willow who was snarling at the officers, and then at Buffy. And then she saw everything under the soft light of a lamppost, away from the lights from the police cars. Buffy's eyes teared up when she saw the white hair covered in dried blood and dirt, she saw the hints of red underneath the robe on Willow's skin. The Slayer then saw the circular brand on her chest, and then she saw blood, red and green, spattered on Willow's face. She saw the white haired young woman's hands were covered with the green blood… and then Buffy looked into her eyes.

She saw rage, pain, hurt; she saw a lifetime of pain from a person desperate not to go through that again.

"Willow," she said as her voice broke. Buffy saw the police take a step forward, and then the young woman asked them to give her a minute… that she'll try and calm Willow down. Buffy looked behind Willow, and saw in the distance that Sheila and Ira were being held back while screaming for Willow, and yelling at the officers not to hurt her. Buffy turned back to the growling young woman who was about to jump her, "it's me, Buffy. Do you remember me?"

Willow closed her eyes and grimaced when she had a memory flash. She felt as if memories were being dug up out of the deepest parts of her mind. It hurt, she felt pain again as she fell to the ground holding her head just as an officer pushed Buffy away while the other officers held Willow down while a paramedic injected her with a sedative. It was then that the officer holding back Ira and Sheila let them run to Willow, the thrashing from their young daughter slowly stopping. They kneeled next to Willow while the other officers stepped back, and the paramedic was looking the young girl over.

In the meantime, Willow's breathing normalized as she looked at Buffy.

"Uh, hi, Willow, right?" In the memory, Willow found herself looking nervously at the yellow haired young woman who was standing in front of her, while she was seated down on a bench.

"Why? I mean, hi. Do you want me to move?"

"Why don't we start with 'hi, I'm Buffy'.

"Willow." It was back in the present day that Buffy whispered her name again while Sheila and Ira were next to their daughter, "Willow?"

Willow didn't know why she felt she knew the blonde girl in front of her, especially since she didn't know her. Willow remembered flashes of her in her cell, but she never know who she was, and why she was important... or rather, if she was important. All she knew was that her eyes were getting heavy. But she didn't want to sleep, and she whimpered to make her feelings clear. She didn't want the demons to come back after her. But she couldn't stop… Willow closed her eyes, and then found herself being thrown into a pit. She screamed as she fell, and then landed with a thud on the hard, red, ground. Then Willow felt her body being torn apart by invisible forces, and all she could do was scream.

TBC.