Willow and Tara's hotel room, 1200 hours.
It was only two hours ago that Willow woke up to find Tara still fast asleep. As she got out of bed and placed her feet on the carpet, Willow guessed that the blonde witch was simply tired from her late night escapades. Willow, her back facing Tara, took in a few deep breaths before she got onto her feet and stood up. Yawning while stretching her arms over her head, Willow then walked over to the door that led to the suite next door and knocked.
"Yea," yelled Faith while Willow chuckled opening the door to the next room slowly as Buffy grumbled obscenities. Willow saw Faith sitting on the bed while typing on her laptop, with Buffy stirring in her sleep thanks to the three of them staying up until the wee hours of the night. Willow turned her head and looked over her shoulder at the back of Tara's head and she felt a chill when she heard the young woman breathing gently in her sleep. Shaking her head, Willow then turned towards the open door and watched as Faith waved her inside, and then patted on the spot next to her on the bed.
Willow was about to head into the room when there was another chill that went up against her spine. She remembered a chill like this in Hell when her body was frozen so that she could be eaten by a nest of ravenous demons with blades for hands. It was a feeling of fear as she told Faith that she'd be right back. Faith gave Willow the thumbs up sign before closing the door and quietly walking around Tara's bed until she was looking down at Tara's face sticking out of the blanket since her entire body was covered up to her ears.
To the former redhead, Tara looked slightly tired but otherwise, there seemed to be nothing out of place. Willow wanted to wake her up but then thought the better of it before shaking her head. Willow thought to herself that, while she accepted what happened to her in Hell, it couldn't be forgotten and those memories would come out at certain times since she spent a little over a thousand years there. Willow crouched down and gently placed the back of her hand on Tara's forehead. She then sighed when Tara's body was warm to the touch… the blonde with didn't have a fever.
To Willow, Tara seemed to be alright, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something amiss. After brushing Tara's hair from her forehead and to the back of her ear, Willow remembered the blonde witch being the first human she met after being brought back from hell.
'You weren't scared,' thought Willow to herself as she stood up, 'thank you. For not being scared, and for helping me through my trauma.'
Noting that there was nothing physically wrong with Tara except for her exhaustion, Willow didn't have any suspicion that there could be something mystically wrong. Especially since they had just arrived in France. She then walked around the bed again and opened the door to Faith and Buffy's room. Willow then closed the door behind her while grinning at the sleeping Buffy, and bit her lower lip.
It was Faith who started laughing hard when Buffy suddenly woke up and cried out in surprise once Willow ran up to, and then jumped onto her bed. The former redhead was jumping on the bed while Faith giggled; the former redhead gaining her revenge for the way Buffy woke her up the previous morning. Once Buffy had rolled off the bed and onto the floor, the Slayer got up to her feet and narrowed her eyes at Willow who flipped off the bed and landed on the carpet before sticking her tongue out at the Slayer.
Buffy frowned while wiping her eyes before saying that the former redhead was going pay for waking her up. Willow just chuckled before sitting next to Faith on the bed and was looking at some of the videos from the Moulin Rouge, the place they were heading for later that night with Tara, Althanea, Xander, Anya, Giles, and Jenny. As the two of them watched videos of the dances, followed by funny cat videos that had them laughing so hard that Buffy, who lay down again, had no choice but to throw a pillow at Faith and Willow.
In the meantime, after Willow shut the door behind her and entered the next suite, Tara was shivering in her sleep as she wrapped the blanket around herself tight. She opened her eyes slightly upon hearing the laughter from the next room, and her mind was telling her to wake up and enjoy the day with Willow and the others. However, Tara couldn't think about moving at all; her body was exhausted. All she could do was shiver as she closed her eyes again while licking her lips as her mind wandered to Eliza.
Tara wanted her.
She shivered at the thought of Eliza touching her, tasting her, biting her, and grinding against her. Goosebumps rose on Tara's skin as she looked at the sunlight being filtered through the sheer curtains. Tara then closed her eyes to the sounds of Eliza whispering in her ear last night that she was a magnificent creature. Tara shivered even more as she felt, even though she was alone, Eliza's fingers brushing down her side and then to the small of her back.
"I'm yours, Eliza," Tara whispered as Eliza appeared in her mind once again. She was whispering in Tara's ear while they lay in Eliza's bed.
"You're mine, Tara, you magnificent creature. Tell me you're mine. Tell me. Tell me."
"I'm yours," Tara whispered as she lay alone in her own empty hotel room, "I'm yours, Eliza. I'm yours for all time."
It would be two hours later that Tara opened her eyes again and saw Willow in a blue dress, that covered her scars, with her back to the sleepy witch. Tara tried to get up but found it hard to even move… her mouth only able to whisper Willow's name.
"Hey," said the former redhead as she turned around and looked at the dazed face looking back at her, "look who's finally up."
"Time?" Tara whispered as she felt her strength at such low levels.
"It's one in the afternoon," said a grinning Willow as she put on some shoes before getting on her feet and walking over to Tara, "I didn't want to disturb you. I.. well, Buffy, me, and Faith really figured you had a great night with your guy and you needed some sleep. We're heading out for lunch, and then… well, Giles is our guide today. If you want, we can wait for you… I mean yesterday was just a me day while you guys enjoyed yourselves. And today I was hoping that all of us could… you know… go out?"
"I'm so tired, Willow," whispered Tara as she wrapped her blanket around her body tightly, "I think you should go on ahead without me."
"Are you alright?" asked Willow as she stopped by Tara's bedside and then lay her hand gently on her forehead. However, she just felt a gentle warmth… it seemed as if, like a few hours ago, Tara didn't have any fever.
"Just tired," Tara mumbled as she looked up at Willow, "I think being with my friend took a lot out of me."
"You need to get outside, Tara," said Willow as she crouched down, "the sunlight will do you good. Plus, you haven't eaten any breakfast."
"So tired, Willow," she mumbled.
"Come on." Willow clapped her hands in an effort to keep Tara awake, and then have her take a shower before they head out together, "Xander, Anya, Giles, Jenny, Buffy, Faith, Althanea, you and me.. we're going out for lunch and then we're heading to the Moulin Rouge tonight."
"No, Willow," mumbled Tara, "I want to, but.. I'm so exhausted."
"Taking a shower would do you good, Tara," insisted Willow, "we're leaving the day after tomorrow, and that when we should…"
"Willow…" Tara whined shaking her head slightly.
"I'll take you to the shower if I have to," said Willow as Tara gave a small smile.
"I wish," mumbled Tara while Willow chuckled saying she was just kidding about taking her into the shower.
"But I'll wait here for you while you're under the warm water," said Willow as she slipped an arm under Tara's head, and then with her other hand reached for her blanket. Willow wanted to help her up while taking off the blanket at the same time, before pushing the young woman to the shower. As she pulled down the blanket from covering her neck, Willow narrowed her eyes at the bruises on Tara's shoulder and neck.
"Tara?" asked Willow staring at the red and black splotches, "how'd you get the bruises… oh… nevermind."
Willow guessed that the bruises must have come from her date last night. However, before Willow could say anything else, everything was a blur as the blanket was ripped off and Tara's hand shot out and wrapped its fingers tightly around Willow's throat. Willow was gasping for breath as she looked at the wild eyes staring back at her while she was swiftly pushed back onto the floor with Tara rolling off and then straddling her as another hand wrapped around Willow's throat. Every bit of the former redhead was telling her to fight back, but this was the gentlest person that Willow knew as Tara's thumbs pushed into her larynx. Willow didn't want to hurt her... every part of the former redhead was telling her to snap Tara's fingers before pushing her off, but Willow was in complete control as an idea popped into her head.
"This body belongs to her," Tara hissed as she leaned down, putting her power into squeezing Willow's throat, "you cannot have this body. This body is hers, Bitch."
Willow shifted her eyes to the wall and mentally pounded on it, as well as the door to the suite. She then looked back at Tara whose hair was wildly scattered and gasped for her to stop.
"This body cannot be touched," hissed Tara as the suite door opened with Buffy and Faith asking why Willow was pounding on the door, and then they saw Tara, "it is only for her… only for her… I belong to her."
"T!" yelled Faith as she rushed to Tara, and tried to pull her off Willow while Buffy tried to pry Tara's hands off Willow's throat.
"Tara!" yelled Buffy as she pried off the hands around Willow's throat with a grunt, leaving the former redhead gasping for breath. However, Tara turned her body and then elbowed Faith in the jaw, before she swung her fist at Buffy knocking her back and over the bed to the other side where she landed. Tara then went back to choking Willow. However, before she could wrap her hands around Willow's throat, the former redhead grabbed them telekinetically and pried Tara's arms, which were straining to move, apart from while doing everything possible not to hurt the witch.
"This body is hers," hissed Tara as Faith got back up off the floor, surprised at Tara's physical strength to knock Buffy across the bed. She then grabbed Tara's arm and pulled them back while she was growling at Willow, "this body is hers. Not yours, and…"
"I don't want your body," said Willow. Suddenly Tara went limp and collapsed in Faith's arms as Buffy got up and then rushed around the bed. She saw Tara lying in Faith's arms, and Willow panting while rubbing her throat.
"I'll call Althanea," said Buffy as she headed for the phone while Willow nodded her head as she scrambled to her feet while Faith lay the sleeping Tara on the carpet. Buffy then rushed in and stood by Willow, who was still rubbing her throat, and asked what happened. Willow explained everything up to the part where Tara tried to strangle her, and that Tara kept on saying that her body belonged to someone else.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Faith as she gently picked up Tara, and then lay her on the bed.
"And she said she was tired?" asked Buffy at Willow. "Will?"
"Yea," Willow responded nodding her head as she looked down at the sleeping Tara, "but she's got no fever, she' got no visible sign of the flu, like coughing, or a runny nose. But she said she's exhausted."
"Damn, that chick she was with last night must have been really good," an impressed Faith said while nodding her head, "not sure about the whole 'this body is hers' though".
"Chick?" asked a surprised Willow as she looked at Faith who slapped her hand onto her forehead while Buffy sighed and shook her head.
"Sorry," mumbled Faith looking at Tara, and then at Buffy, "I messed up."
"Chick?" asked Willow again with an eyebrow raised as Faith and Buffy turned to look at her, "you mean Tara's a… well… she drives on the other side of the road?"
"She likes girls," said Buffy nodding her head, "she didn't know how to tell you and…"
"Tara's gonna kill me," said Faith shaking her head, "can you hide it? Willow?"
"Yeah," Willow replied with a hint of surprise in her voice. She remembered Tara not going out with anyone in Sunnydale over the past few months, but she always assumed the witch was interested in guys and just hadn't found the right person. In fact, Tara didn't correct Willow when she said that Tara must have had a wonderful night with her guy. Shaking her head, Willow then looked up at Faith who asked if this new knowledge was going to be a problem. The former redhead shook her head before looking at Tara again just as there was a knock on her door.
Willow rushed to the door, opened it, and then stepped back as Althanea walked into the room asking if everything was alright. She looked at Willow shaking her head while closing the door and then nodded towards Tara. Althanea turned and gasped before rushing to the blonde witch. Althanea held Tara's hand and then sat down next to her before closing her eyes and whispering a spell. When she was done, Althanea opened her eyes again and turned to Buffy, asking her to call Giles and then call Anya. She then asked Faith to check the internet for the current address to a magic shop she used to frequent when she was living for a time in France several years ago.
"Willow," said Althanea, "her aura's starting to disconnect from her body. Something's trying to steal her soul and magic, and… well…. She's dying. It's like she can feel it, but she can't do anything. It's like torture, Willow. You more than anyone know what it's like, I… I need to prepare a powerful protection spell and something to reverse the effects."
"What should I do?" asked Willow.
"Go with Xander, Faith, and Anya to get the ingredients," said Althanea, "and I'll send Giles, Jenny, and Buffy to get some other supplies from a nearby store."
"Giles is on the way," said Buffy as she rushed back to Willow's room while Faith was checking the internet for the address of the shop Althanea gave her earlier. In the meantime, Buffy asked Althanea if she knew what was wrong with Tara. Althanea stared at the sleeping witch and then hovered her free hand over her body while narrowing her eyebrows. Althanea tilted her hand in confusion as she let go of Tara's hand and then leaned towards her shoulder. Althanea placed her hand over the bruise on Tara's shoulder and asked if it was received during the commotion.
"Faith pulled her back," said Willow, "and I just pounded on the walls and door with my T.K. We didn't hit her."
"I can feel the magic on these bruises as if magic was being sucked out," said Althanea just as there was a knock at the door. This time, Buffy opened the door to a concerned Giles, Jenny, Xander, and Anya. It was Anya, the Vengeance Demon, who rushed to Tara's side pushing past Buffy and Willow while Althanea was examining the bruise on Tara's shoulders and neck. Anya then asked Althanea if she felt any magic from the teeth marks.
"What teeth marks?" asked Willow as Buffy leaned forward and examined the bruises. She then looked up at Anya, and then back at the bruises again. Looking over the bruises again, Buffy finally managed to see the teeth marks, something which Althanea confirmed. It was then that Buffy said the bruises were probably hickeys given to her by her date.
"Are there more?" asked Anya as she lifted Tara's tank top to her abdomen while Xander and the others stared stunned at the number of bruises from which Althanea said she was sensing magical remnants. Anya and Willow then turned Tara to her side and looked in stunned silence at more bruises with magical remnants all over her back. They then lay Tara onto her back and covered her with the blanket.
"I didn't sense any magic," said Willow.
"It's almost non-existent," said Althanea shaking her head, "but it's there."
"I've seen this before," Anya added.
"What caused this?" asked Giles.
"A Succubus," said Anya as she folded her arms over her chest and looked at a surprise Althanea before looking at a surprised Giles. "And yes, I know that Succubae hunt males and steal their life forces through the power of orgasms. I mean, if I were a succubus then Xander would be dead from the number of orgasms he gave me last night."
Willow, Buffy, Faith, Giles, and Althanea all looked at Xander who had his face in his hands while saying, "oh God!"
"That's what he says too," said an excited Anya before turning back to Tara. Willow and Buffy patted Xander on the shoulder while Jenny chuckled and Giles rubbed his forehead in frustration. Faith then sniggered before asking Anya of they could do anything to help Tara. "We need to get her as far away from here as possible. Or we kill the Succubus."
"She looks in no condition to fly," Jenny said, "we probably won't be able to get her through the gate. They'll think she'll sick, or drunk."
"That's why I need for you, Giles, and Buffy to get some supplies while Willow, Faith, Anya and Xander gets some ingredients for a spell," said Althanea, "it'll restore her vitality, and when that happens, her magic and health will restore over time. Right now, she's severely weakened."
"Usually a succubus kills their prey in one go," said Anya, "I'm not sure why Tara's alive."
"We can ask just before killing it," said Buffy.
"Any way to track the thing that did this?" asked Faith.
"None," said Althanea shaking her head, "I can only sense Tara's magic on the bitemarks, but not the magic from the Succubus."
"Althanea," said Giles, "I think it best to leave Paris tonight."
"The potion should restore her enough to be lucid," said Althanea, "but from what happened to Willow, I'd say Tara is under the thrall of the creature. So we need another spell to keep Tara from lashing out."
"Won't the Succubus just follow us back to the States?" asked Willow.
"Succubae have their own hunting grounds," said Anya, "and they very rarely go out of it. I don't think that this one would leave Paris for Sunnydale to feed on just one person. There are more targets here it could feed on."
"We should go," said Giles, "we have our jobs to do, and we need to do them."
"We need to get out of here," said Willow.
"Sorry to put a break on your visit to Paris," said Jenny.
"I came here to celebrate my anniversary with Oz," said Willow, "and I've done that. Today and tomorrow were supposed to be a bonus. We can do this again after Tara's recovered. Or at least we could go to Disneyland… I doubt that place has Succubae."
"A Minnie mouse succubus would be kinda hot," Xander quipped. Every turned towards him, with Willow jokingly saying that there was something wrong with him. Xander nervously chuckled saying that he was simply joking before heading for the door. "Let's get the stuff we need to get for Tara."
The group left while Althanea stayed behind and began casting a powerful protection spell around the room, as well as a calming spell around Tara that would prevent her from lashing out at her.
In the meantime, Eliza was alerted to Tara lashing out at Willow several minutes ago from her office through a mental link. The woman gasped before getting up and then rushing out of her office, followed by exiting the building after telling her boss that she needed to buy some feminine hygiene products.
It was through the link that Eliza knew Willow had tried to put her hands on Tara, and that the witch lashed out. It was a defence mechanism that Eliza placed in Tara's mind so that no one else would touch her property… and Tara was her property. She also sensed that Tara's friends wanted to take her away following this outburst. And Eliza did not want that to happen. Tara's life-force mixed with her extraordinary amount of magic was Eliza's food… and she was not going to let them take Tara away from her. She ran for four minutes, as fast as she could, until reaching a field that was bordered by trees with the hotel just a short distance away.
Eliza ran to one of the thick-trunked trees with the Eiffel tower some distance behind her and sensed a protection spell being cast from the hotel. Pursing her lips as she looked up at the hotel before sensing another spell being cast, Eliza then looked downwards while standing behind the tree and saw the group from the club last night, and a few extra people, get into two cabs. Eliza laid her eyes on the redhead who entered the cab last and licked her lips.
Eliza could feel the magic coming off of Willow, and she wanted that too. She knew that two magical life-forces of such magnitude would keep her in the body of a young woman for a century before she had to feed again.
"You're mine after I take Tara," said Eliza as she eyed the cab with Willow driving off. Eliza then looked up at the twelfth floor and frowned. She was very aware that the protection spell around the hotel meant that she could not get into Tara's room. She also knew that Tara was out of the range of her thrall, but their mental link lasted as long as they were in Paris – her hunting ground. Knowing full well her limitations in being unable to get into the hotel itself to get to Tara's room, Eliza closed her eyes and mumbled a spell in an ancient language.
Back in Tara's room, Althanea narrowed her eyebrows when she felt magic pushing against her spell. She got up from sitting on the edge of Tara's bed and walked towards the window. She didn't see Tara open her eyes, and then turn her head at Althanea. Without making a sound, Tara got up and then stood up in her tank top and shorts.
"You dare try to take away this one?" said Tara as Althanea turned around only to be knocked out by the phone receiver smashing against the side of her head.
Back in the cab that carried Willow, Xander, Anya, and Faith, it had just made another turn when the former redhead felt a knot in her stomach. She looked out the window and narrowed her eyes at her reflection when she felt another knot in her gut.
"Turn the car," she said with worry on her face while she looked at the driver, "turn the car, turn the car."
"Willow?" asked Xander while the driver was saying something she couldn't understand in French.
"Anya, I don't have my phone with me so I can;t translate what he's saying. Could you tell him to turn the car?" said Willow, "I have a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. We need to head back to the hotel room."
Anya then told the driver to head back towards the hotel. The grumbling driver then started to turn his car and drive back towards the hotel. It took nearly three minutes thanks to traffic, but the taxi stopped at the other side of the road, and then Willow opened the door and rushed out with Faith behind her. Xander paid the driver and then rushed across the street and got into the hotel lobby with Anya. Willow was waiting at the elevator with Faith when she had a gut feeling that something wasn't right. She rushed back out to the entrance past Xander and Anya, both of whom she ordered to go up to her room. She handed them the keycard to her room and then rushed outside with Faith behind her.
"Red?" asked Faith to the non-red-haired Willow while Xander and Anya went on up to the room, "what's going on?"
"It's strange, and… I could feel it in my gut that Tara's… oh… there!" yelled Willow as she pointed to a figure in the distance. Faith turned her head from Willow and squinted her eyes at the blonde figure wearing a tank-top and shorts running fast towards another female figure standing next to a tree. "We need to go." Faith nodded her head and the both of them ran as fast as possible while the mysterious woman grabbed Tara's hand and the both of them started running.
Willow and Faith knew that the other two had a head start, and it was a second later that Faith pulled past the former redhead. They avoided cars and scooters as they ran across several streets with Faith, while running ahead of Willow, looked back and said that Tara and the 'other one' had gone into a building.
While Xander and Anya were helping up a groaning Althanea who was bleeding from the side of her head to the bed, Eliza and Tara ran through the building and out the back. Eliza then rushed into another building and closed the main entrance door behind her while pulling Tara along. They ran through one building after another until Eliza looked behind her and sensed Faith and Willow very far away. She had lost the two of them.
She then turned to Tara smiling back at her while her forehead was covered in sweat before asking if she was ready.
"I'm yours completely," Tara breathed.
"Then come," Eliza said before he led Tara to a nearby hotel, "I have a feeling your friends have means to find you. Unfortunately, by the time I am finished, all they will find is your body."
"Then take me," breathed Tara again before Eliza turned and kissed her as a couple walked past them. She then stepped back and pulled Tara into a small hotel. In the meantime, Faith and Willow were both panting while looking around at all the buildings around them. The Slayer said that she lost track of them.
"The bitch with Tara obviously knows this place better than us," Faith said before taking a few deep breaths. Willow nodded her head while taking out her phone and called her room. "Red, can you use a location spell to track her?"
Willow said that she needed something that belonged to Tara in order to get her exact location when the ringing on the phone stopped. It was Xander who picked up before saying that Althanea had a gash and bruise on the side of her head, which Anya was examining.
"Xander," said Willow, "I need you to hand the phone to Anya."
"Hold on," Xander said noticing the near panic in his friend's voice before he handed the phone to Anya.
"Willow?" asked the Vengeance demon, "have you found…"
"I need you to do a location spell on Tara," said Willow as Anya slipped into Buffy and Faith's room while Xander remained with Althanea, "do the spell and then give us directions."
"How the hell did the thing with Tara get her?" asked Faith.
"You heard that, Anya?" asked Willow on the phone.
"I felt the protection spell around the room, Willow," Anya said, "I… I don't know how the Succubus could have gotten to her."
"Her life's in danger, Anya," said Willow as Faith scanned her surroundings before looking at Willow again, "I need her location. And I need a cloaking spell for me and Faith. What we're about to do? Well, we don't want eyes to see us… human and electronic. And I need something that'll burn a body... and I mean leaving no trace."
"Not even DNA," said Faith as Willow nodded her head.
"I'll call you once I have it," said Anya before she started on a location spell after retrieving a used blouse from Tara and Willow's room.
In the meantime, Eliza shut the door to the hotel room while a smiling Tara walked back towards a bed. Eliza licked her lips as she felt Tara's magical infused life-force calling out for her.
"I wanted to savour the moment with you, my lovely creature. I wanted to take my time with you," whispered Eliza as she grabbed Tara by the hips and the both of them kissed. The blonde witch was panting as she started to take off her clothes, parting temporarily to pull the tank-top over her head before kissing each other again. Eliza stopped kissing Tara and let the witch take off her blouse and let it fall to the floor before they kissed each other furiously. She then gently pushed Tara onto the bed and lay her down. Eliza crawled on top of her while Tara whimpered and bit down on her lower lip. "Your power and life-force will live on in me. It will feed me, my dear Tara."
"Yes," Tara hissed as her hands brushed past the straps of Eliza's undergarments, and then onto her bare skin until reaching the top of her skirt, "take me."
Eliza leaned down and kissed Tara deep on the lips. The both of them moaning together. Eliza slowly moved down to Tara's jawline while feeling the witch's hands tightened on her waist. She then whispered into her ear that "the white haired witch was next".
"Yes," Tara hissed as Eliza left a trail of kisses and saliva to the first bruise at the nape of her neck. Eliza smiled before biting down on the bruised area and then started to gently bite down. She closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure as a trickle of Tara's magic and life-force entered her body from the bruise. Tara felt pleasure rippling through her body as she moaned out loud. Tara was running her hands through her own blonde hair as wave after wave of pleasure went through her body while, at the same time, she felt herself getting weaker and weaker.
But it didn't matter to her as Eliza crawled downwards while taking in more of Tara's magical life-force through the bruises she had already made last night. Tara started to push Eliza's head down when she stopped and continued to feed on her life-force from the bruises on her abdomen. The Succubus looked up and smiled as she grabbed the sides of Tara's shorts. The blonde witch raised her hips and Eliza took them off before throwing them on the floor at the foot of the bed.
"Don't stop," Tara said between pants. Her voice was barely audible... but she knew that Eliza heard her because of the wicked smile on Eliza's face after Tara brought her head up and looked down her body. Tara then saw Eliza's eyes glow purple before she lowered her head downwards. Tara screamed in pleasure as she arched her back and drew her head backwards until she was looking at the window behind her. The pleasure going through Tara's body was more intense with each passing second as she screamed at Eliza to not stop what she was doing. "Never stop!" Tara screamed out loud in pleasure again as she grabbed the covers of the bed into her fists and felt her skin tingling. Tara glanced at her arms and saw the skin starting to wrinkle. She closed her eyes again and gave in to the sensations going through her body – more intense than the sensations that very morning when the both of them showered together, and even more intense than their intense 'meeting' the previous night after the club.
Tara opened her eyes and felt her face starting to wrinkle and tighten. Her eyes started to cloud over while she kept on telling Eliza to continue as her life-force was being taken out of her. Just as Tara was about to close her eyes for the final time, she felt Eliza tighten her hold on her hips before she pulled in more of Tara's life-force into her. The exhausted Tara knew she was dying, and she didn't care as she screamed at Eliza… her voice deep and raw, to continue and never stop. Suddenly, the door to the room swung open and the last thing Tara saw was Eliza being flung against a wall.
Willow was the last one into the room and shut the door behind her before saying, "silencio." A field of magical energy surrounded the room, making it soundproof. Willow rushed to the nearly desiccated form of Tara looking back at her and she gasped. She saw Tara move her head towards Eliza as she pushed Faith, who had been viciously punching her, and flung her to the wall on the far side just above the bed. Willow ducked while pulling the covers over the nude Tara as Faith hit the wall, fell on the bed, and then rolled off onto the floor. Willow stared at the impact mark and then turned to Eliza who was staring at her with purple eyes, sharp teeth, and a long tongue that licked the blood that was coming down her cheeks from Faith's punches.
"Faith?" asked Willow as the Slayer grabbed the side of the bed and started to get up to her feet.
"She's a pussy cat," replied Faith as Tara reached out for Eliza with a trembling, wrinkled, and greying hand, "all meow, and no bite."
"You're not as magically proficient as my Tara," said Eliza as she leaped at Faith, "but a snack… what?"
Eliza found herself floating in mid-air just before Faith grabbed her by her throat, and then swung her around with a scream - smashing her into the cupboard doors. The doors crashed in on themselves as Eliza was sent flying through them. She then tried to get up before she gasped and clutched her chest.
"We have a friend who said that the only way to kill a Succubus and to return the life-force she stole was to rip out the heart," said Willow as she looked down at the panting Eliza remembering something that the dizzy Althanea relayed to Anya who was on the phone with Willow.
"How did…. How….?"
"Did we find you?" asked Willow as Faith rushed to Tara and covered her with the blanket and lay next to her to comfort her. Willow looked over her shoulder while mentally holding Eliza down, stared into Tara's sunken and cloudy eyes while she was wordlessly moving her lips and reaching for Eliza. Faith gently pulled Tara's face towards her and watched the witch tear up while continuing to reach for Eliza. Willow then turned back to Eliza who was struggling to move, "location spell. That plus a cloaking spell activated once we reached the hotel. No one saw us coming in… not even the cameras. We followed the screams and then used my T.K to open the door. Then I made the room soundproof and fulfilled Faith's wish to beat the snot out of you before I had my fun."
"I will…" However, Eliza never got to finish what she wanted to say as Willow lifted her arm and aimed it at Eliza's chest.
"Do you feel that?" asked Willow as Faith looked up from Tara at Willow's back. "Do you feel the skin on your chest stretching to either side. How about your rib cage starting to crack open?"
"Red," said Faith as Tara started to pant, "we need her life-force back now."
Eliza looked down at her chest and watched as a thin red line spread down to her abdomen from between her breasts. She then looked up at Willow before releasing a howl of pain as the skin ripped apart, followed by her ribcage coming apart and exposing her organs. Willow smiled at the blood flowing onto the carpet while Eliza begged for her life.
"Her life... Tara's life-force will ensure that I will be young for several decades," said Eliza gasping for breath, "humans will be safe from me killing them. I won't kill anymore and… please. I… I will let you and your…"
Eliza stopped talking after a squelching sound was made after her heart was ripped from her body. Tara screamed for Eliza as she saw her 'lover' fall to one side. Willow mentally lifted the still beating heart of the succubus. And then crushed the heart before mentally rippling it apart. As she was tearing it apart, blue light emanated from the organ and then flowed back into Tara who continued to scream for Eliza. Faith watched as Tara's face regained its colour and youth before the screaming stopped and she closed her eyes. Willow then shred the last remaining portion of the heart before letting the gooey mess fall onto the carpet.
"Hey, T?" said Faith as Tara slowly opened her eyes and looked at Willow, and then turned her head with confusion etched on her face as she stared at a concerned Faith who asked, "you alright?"
"Faith?" asked Tara in a hoarse voice, "where…"
She then coughed before looking at the room, Willow, the blood on the inside of the cupboard, and then at the clothes on the floor as she sat up with Faith's help. It was then that Tara noticed she was covered in a blanket, and that she was completely naked with bruises along her body.
"Where am I?" asked Tara shaking her head, "what are you guys doing here, and…"
"Oh, you know," said a sarcastic Faith, "you didn't want to disturb Buffy, so we came to this hotel room and had a three-way."
"She's kidding," Willow said as Tara turned to her with a red face, "what do you remember?"
"We were at the club last night," said Tara, "I met a girl named Eliza, and I went to her place. I remember kissing her and… and that's it. Now I'm here and… oh God!"
Tara then looked at Willow and said that she was sorry she didn't reveal earlier that she was a lesbian, and that the fact she kissed a girl had just slipped out.
"I found out earlier," Willow nodded her head as Tara looked on surprised. "Oh, and I take it this is Eliza?"
Tara looked on in shock as Willow moved to one side and revealed Eliza's dead body. The blonde witch then asked what happened, leading to Faith telling her that they'll go to the hotel first and then explain everything. Willow then bent down and picked up Tara's clothes, handing them to her before turning around to not only give her some privacy but to whisper a spell as well. Tara put on her shorts and her tank-top as Willow created two illusions similar to the one she created of Nighthawk when she was held hostage by Angelus at Sunnydale High; except this time, one illusion was of Tara and another one was of Eliza.
"Willow?" asked Tara.
"Anya found a cloaking spell that hid us from human and electronic eyes," said Willow, "that's how we got in without being seen. And now, the camera's need to see you and Eliza leaving together."
"You should mess them up a little, red," said Faith, "they did just have fantastic sex… I mean the whole building probably heard them."
"Faith," whispered Tara shaking her head while feeling exhausted, "please… I don't know what happened after that kiss so… please… no joking until I know what exactly happened."
"Sorry, Tara," said Faith rubbing her back before placing an arm around her shoulder.
"Faith's right," said Willow as she created a new image of the both of them slightly dishevelled.
"They look good," Faith nodded her head before explaining to Tara that they needed everyone to see that she and Eliza left together since it was every likely that the cameras saw them arriving together. "It would be suspicious if no one saw you two leave."
"And the body?" asked Tara before she coughed because of her dry throat.
"Anya's looking for a spell that'll create a flame to burn anything organic… including the blood on the carpet," said Willow remembering her Ranger training, "we can't leave any evidence that someone was killed here."
"The bump on the wall from where I hit after she threw me?" asked Faith.
"Tara and Eliza were kinky," said Willow with a smirk while Tara frowned. "Listen, I'll head off first. The cloaking spell is keeping me shrouded for ten more minutes from humans and electronics. And I need to be close to the illusions for my T.K to surround them. Once we're outside, the cameras will catch them as taking separate paths away from each other, and then I'll be back."
"See ya, Red," Faith said as the image of Tara grabbed the door and then turned the door knob. The door opened and the two images walked out with Willow behind them, the white haired young woman closing the door behind her as the hallway cameras only picked up the slightly dishevelled images of Tara and Eliza walking and laughing arm in arm with each other. Willow then turned back to the hotel and walked past the unseeing front desk manager, and up to Tara's room.
"What did I do, Faith?" asked Tara looking at Faith with fear and confusion in her eyes, "what did I do?"
"You'll be alright, T," assured Faith as she hugged Tara who started to tear up, "everything's gonna be alright."
TBC.