Los Angeles, 2300 hours
"You should have seen her face, Cordy," an exasperated Willow cried out, raising her arms up to her side before falling back down on her hips. She was pacing the floor while Cordelia, slightly confused, was leaning forward on her couch in a knee length T-shirt and black leggings with a glass of wine in one hand. Willow stopped and then she turned to Cordelia, took a few steps forward, and then raised her arms to her side and huffed before starting to pace again.
Willow then ran her hands through her hair and exclaimed, "she was devastated. And…"
"Maybe devastated is a bit too much?" asked Cordelia before taking a sip of her wine and looking at Willow who was frowning back at her. Cordelia then sighed before she brushed the hair from her forehead back and leant back on the couch, "Willow, you do realize that you just flew in through the window. And then you started pacing on the carpet with your whole mask thingy off in your whole vigilante costume thing and then you said 'you should have seen her face, Cordy', who are you talking about?"
"Oh, right," Willow whispered before looking out the large balcony windows which were wide open. Willow then sighed and thought to herself she was lucky that Cordelia's apartment was high up in the building, and that the darkness covered her entrance. If it was on the lower levels, then the light from the surrounding buildings, the cars, and the street lights, meant that people would have seen her going into Cordelia's apartment. Willow then turned away from the window and frowned while wrapping her arms around her body and staring at Cordelia.
And Cordelia was staring back at Willow with a quizzical look on her face.
Willow then explained that she had been trying to use a glamour to get rid of the scars on her body so that she could be presentable to Tara, and the rest of the world, "you think I like wearing…." Willow then motioned at the uniform she was wearing before crying out in frustration as Cordelia looked on while letting Willow blew off some steam, "those clothes? It's hot out and I always have to wear something with a turtle neck, full sleeves shirts, and jeans… you know how hot it gets?"
Cordelia opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by Willow. The young actress then sighed, took another sip of wine, and just listened.
"I want to show Tara that I'm comfortable around her, I know she thinks that.. that I'm not," said Willow as she started to pace the floor once again for a few seconds before staring at Cordelia after stopping, "and she's right. I'm not comfortable and… I mean, would you be? Would you be comfortable if every time I want to change, I ask you to leave the room? Or that… you know… we're late for class and the only way to get to class on time is to take a shower together and I tell her that I'll wait for her to finish. Or how would you feel if…"
"Oh my God just stop!" Cordelia cried out waving a hand as she put down the wine glass. Willow stopped talking before she raised her eyebrows at the woman who got off the couch, and strode towards her.
"Cord..."
"You're not the only one who has scars, Willow," Cordelia said sternly, "you're not the only one." She then went on to say that there were many people who had scars just like her, "and they live with their…"
"Their scars heal," Willow countered before she, in a moment of anger, unzipped the upper section of her black matte body suit, and then pulled it apart slightly so that all Cordelia could see was the brand on her chest just above her breasts. Willow then pointed at the symbol etched into her chest, and the other visible scars that were next to it. Cordelia, this being the first time she had seen the scars that Willow carried, looked with sadness in her eyes at the scars, and then up at Willows' face. The former redhead explained that the scars would never heal, nor could they be hidden with magic.
Cordelia then looked back down at the scars, and back up at Willow whose face was red while she was panting. Willow then whispered, "my scars will never heal. The scars will always be there, and.. and the symbols that make up the brand on my chest are etched into my ribs, my lungs, my heart…"
Willow then looked away from the stunned Cordelia, and zipped her uniform back up, "my parents had the X-Rays back in the house. I saw what's in me, Cordy. The brand on my shoulder signifies that I am a traitor. The symbols that make up that brand is etched into my shoulder blade too. My whole body is a scar, Cordy."
"Willow," Cordelia said gently as she took a step forward and placed her hands on the white haired young woman's arms, "I'm sorry about your scars. I'm sorry about everything that happened to you, but you need to move on. You have someone who wants to help you move on and you're not letting her."
"I…"
"Do you love her?" asked Cordelia tilting her head as she looked into Willow's eyes which were focused on her floor.
"Yes," Willow said looking up and staring into Cordelia's eyes, "and… and that's why I… I have to tell her that it's over."
"Willow," Cordelia closed her eyes and shook her head.
"She wants someone who can love her… I mean really love her," said Willow, "you didn't see her face last night. She wanted to go on to the next step and… and so did I. I mean I love kissing her and.. and… look, Cordy, it feels like we're going down into a whirlpool. I need her to get away so that she doesn't fall into the middle and drown."
"Stop it," said Cordelia sternly while shaking her head.
"You know I'm right, and…."
"You showed me your scars," Cordelia pointed out.
"Just so that I could…."
"Did you show Buffy? Xander? Dawn? Giles?" asked Cordelia, and Willow stared at her for a few more seconds before looking away and shaking her head.
"Buffy saw me when I came back naked, but the lighting was awful, so…. Yeah,"
"Will Tara love you no matter what?" asked Cordelia.
"That's what she said, that she'll love me no matter what," Willow admitted.
"Then there you go," Cordelia said motioning at Willow who took a deep breath, "and why are you here with me when you could be with her?"
"Because you've always told me the truth," Willow replied as she looked straight into Cordelia's eyes.
And she was right, Cordelia had been brutally honest with all of the Scoobies in high school… at least that was the Cordelia that Willow remembered. "The hard truth even if we didn't need to hear it."
"Exactly," Cordelia said as she leaned in, "and now I'm telling you to get over yourself. You're not going to get through this by yourself. And your moping isn't really helping you or Tara. You said she's the best thing that happened to you since Oz, so tell her that. Tell her that you trust her, and then show her that you trust her.. that you love her. And then?"
"And then?" asked Willow.
"Then you and she have fun for the rest of the night."
Willow smiled before reaching out and hugging Cordelia. She felt the dark-haired woman holding her tight while whispering, "thanks for coming. You're welcome anytime you want to get your head back on straight."
"Ever thought about counselling?" whispered Willow as they continued to hug for a few more seconds before pulling away. Willow looked into her eyes while Cordelia joked that she would probably lose her license if she told anyone else to get over themselves.
Willow couldn't help but chuckle as she and Cordelia slowly walked back to the balcony. Cordelia asked if there was anything she needed to be caught up on.
Willow then told her about how she, Buffy, Faith, Giles, Riley, Xander, and Graham just faced off against Dracula and survived.
"Wait, wait." Cordelia waved her hands, "you mean THE Dracula?" She then raised her arms by her side and imitated the voice of the classic movie Dracula, "let me suck your blood?" Willow chuckled while nodding her head as she put on her balaclava once again. She then put on her goggles before looking at Cordelia and saying that he was after Buffy, who was under his thrall for a few hours. Cordelia then sighed and shook her head before laughing when Willow mentioned that Xander was eating bugs without them knowing about it. "Wait… you mean Xander was Dracula's…."
"Yep," Willow nodded her head.
"Oh my God!" laughed Cordelia. She giggled for a few seconds at the edge of the living room, a step away from the balcony. She soon stopped laughing and looked at Willow for a few seconds before whispering that the white haired woman was going to be fine.
Willow nodded her head before asking, "how about you? Is there you and someone else?"
"Still dealing with the whole Brian-Borzan thing," Cordelia said before continuing to say that she was aware Borzan had been dead for months, "but something like that? Forgetting that? Yeah, not that easy."
"I know," Willow whispered before leaning in to hug Cordelia once again, "come by and visit when you can. Tara and I have a spare room."
"I've got months of shooting coming up," said Cordelia pulling back and looking into Willow's goggles, "after that, maybe yeah."
Willow then nodded her head before flying off into the warm night air. She used her magic to get airborne, and then switched to her telekinesis so that she could travel faster. With the training she's already undergone, Willow was able to travel at a fast rate of speed without getting the decapitating headaches as when she first started using her powers.
While Cordelia closed the balcony doors and then prepared to go to bed, Willow banked in the air as she sliced through the wind, the on-rushing air hitting her uniform while the goggles protected her eyes, and the balaclava protected her hair and her mouth.
Sunnydale, a fews minutes later.
She recalled what Cordelia had told her, and realized that she was moping around. Willow told herself that Cordelia was right, that she had Tara to help her move past everything that happened. It was what the blonde witch had been doing ever since they met. With a renewed sense of a need to see Tara, the very young woman Willow had been avoiding since they woke up together, Willow slowed down slightly.
'I'm not going to tire myself out,' she thought to herself as the wind hissed by.
It was several minutes later that Willow hit the outskirts of Sunnydale. She thought about heading home but instead decided to fly a quick patrol over the city itself... leaving the graveyards to Buffy, Faith, and their significant others. As she flew overhead, Willow slowed down and then stopped mid-air upon hearing someone shouting, "let me go!" Willow narrowed her eyes and then slowly flew overhead until she was over a group of four people dragging a man away.
She saw that the man was unconscious and was being carried; one person was holding onto his upper body while the other was holding onto his legs. Willow narrowed her eyes as she watched the other two walking alongside.
From her vantage point, Willow couldn't tell if the four beings were human or demon, but she could tell that one of them had a female voice.
Willow then straightened her body in mid-air while taking out her batons. With one in each hand, Willow landed onto the street behind the four people as they stepped into an alley that led to another lit street on the other side.
"Hey!" Willow yelled, her voice muffled by the balaclava. Willow jerked her wrists as the people turned around so that the batons extended with a 'click'. Under the light, Willow was able to take a look at the faces underneath the hoods; their skins were wrinkled and covered with scabs of various sizes, their eyes were black with hair that was peeking out from under the hoods. Willow gripped the handles of her baton tight while the beings looked at each other, and then at Willow. "Let the man go."
"Take him away," said one of the being as Willow tilted her head. The creature then turned to Willow while reaching under his cloak only to take out a dagger. And it was the same with the other one while the remaining two creatures carrying the unconscious man began to run away.
"Yea… no.." Willow whispered as she mentally pulled back the person carrying the legs of the unconscious man. The creature was trying to stop himself from being dragged away by an unseen force by trying to get a grip on the road. The fourth creature kept on dragging the man whose feet were now scraping against the surface of the road with the other two holding daggers were in surprise as they watched the third creature being dragged towards them.
Willow stopped him between the other two as she rushed towards them while, at the same time, mentally punching out the fourth creature still dragging the unconscious man.
The unfortunate man's unconscious upper body fell onto the ground while the creature carrying him stumbled to one side while cradling the side of his own face, before falling onto the street. In the meantime, Willow was stepping back from a swing of the dagger from her left.
Avoiding the strike from her right side, Willow jumped and used her telekinesis to then flip her over the third creature who swung at her with his fist. Willow was upside down as she flipped over the third creature, who was earlier dragged backwards, before she, with a 'thwack' against the side of his head with one of the batons, landed behind him and then hit him again. She then, without a word and careful of her breathing, mentally pulled the daggers out of the hands of, who she mentally called, 'Hobbit One' and 'Hobbit Two' and then flung them to the side. The daggers hit the alley wall and then fell clattering to the ground.
The creatures who remained, the three of them, looked genuinely surprised at the daggers flying from their hands. Willow took that opportunity to dash in and then hit Hobbit One on the side of his head while her back was to two of the remaining creatures who shook their heads before attacking her. Willow saw them from the corners of her eyes as they rushed at her.
She then rose high up into the air while mentally taking the batons out of her hands and then slamming one into the abdomen of one of the creatures, who granted, while the other one fell onto the street in the alleyway after the second baton hit the back of its head with a sickening crack.
"Jinx!" yelled the one she mentally called 'Hobbit Three' as she dashed to one of the fallen daggers as Willow floated down to the street. However, before the creature could grab the dagger, Willow mentally flung him away while picking up the dagger with her mind and then stabbing him in the chest.
'They were taking the unconscious guy somewhere,' Willow thought to herself as she ducked another swing from 'Hobbit One' after landing before spinning around with her leg out. She caught the creature's feet, and then tripped him. As he fell to the ground, Willow glanced around and noticed that there should have been four creatures; 'the other two are dead, and this one…' Willow stood up and then dashed to him before he could get up. She stamped her foot down on his throat and stared at him while finishing her previous thought, '.. is still here. So where's Hobbit Four?'
"Who are you?" asked Willow as she stared at the hoodless figure gritting his teeth with black shaggy hair splayed on the ground. "You were taking the poor guy somewhere; where? Why?"
"She… she will be most angry," the creature hissed at Willow before his head turned around to the left and to the right, and then back up at Willow, "you do not deserve to know her name. You do not…"
"Who's 'she'," hissed Willow as she pressed her foot down slightly. She watched the creature's eyes and mouth open wide while gasping for breath. She could tell it was a male from the voice and watched him grab her leg to try and push it off. "Tell me who you this 'she' is, and maybe I'll let you go."
Willow then stopped pressing down on his throat so that he could speak.
"I will never tell you the name of our bright light," the creature said, "and she will be angry at you for stopping us…. Her rage will know no bounds. She is here for the Key, and she will find it. If you are protecting it then…. "
Willow looked on confused underneath her balaclava as she tilted her head at the mentioning of something called the Key. She pressed down with her foot to stop the creature from talking, "now, my dear Hobbit. Before Gandalf comes to save you, tell me what's this Key."
"I will never…"
"Tell me about this Key," said Willow in a bored voice as she looked around while pressing her foot down as the creature gasped. Willow was checking for any movement nearby in case the fourth creature was hiding out somewhere and waiting for the right time to strike. She then looked at the unconscious body of the young man before sighing, 'he can't stay here,' Willow then looked down at the creature looking back at her while grasping her boot and trying to push her off.
The creature looking up at Willow could only think of her god, Glory, and what she would do to the goggle wearing woman whose foot was on her throat. The creature then, with one huge gasp, pushed Willow's foot away. She saw the woman stumble back slightly while she stumbled towards the dagger a few inches away. Upon getting the dagger, the minion felt herself being flung again a wall. She hit the wall while grasping the dagger in her hand and then fell onto the ground with her back to Willow.
Willow, for her part, was slightly surprised by the one moment of strength that the creature used to push her off. She did stumble back just to see the creature reach for the dagger nearby. The former redhead then immediately flung the creature to the side of the wall to the left and watched as it fell back onto the ground. Willow then glanced around and watched for the gleam from the dagger's blade reflecting the lights from the street lamps behind her.
However, there was no blade. Willow sighed and strode to the creature lying still on the floor before using her foot to turn the still body onto its back. Willow stared down at the deep gash on the neck of the creature before she stepped back and looked around; the other two were dead, and the fourth one seemed to have run away.
And then there was the unconscious body.
Willow sighed and then mentally picked up her batons, before retracting them and placing them back into their holsters. She then walked out of the alleyway and to a nearby pay phone where she called the police. Rising back up into the air, Willow watched and waited for either the fourth creature to return so that she could get some answers about the Key or who the 'she' the creature was talking about.
However, it was the police who showed up after five minutes while she was in the air, her black uniform camouflaging her against the night sky.
Willow then flew out to the surrounding area to search for the creature that escaped, eventually flying over one of Sunnydale's four parks and then over a few high rise apartments. However, she found no sign of the creature in the relatively empty areas.
Frowning, Willow wanted to talk to Tara about their relationship, but this encounter had to delay that for a few minutes. Willow instead made her way towards Giles' home, 'just give me a few minutes, Tara. Just a few minutes.'
TBC.