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:: Chapter 4: Pacifist ::
Buffy felt the strength that she had finally found just moments ago slowly slip from her grasp as she took in the sight before her. Her body had been bracing itself for the sharp pang of pain that was bound to come as she watched Willow crumble to dust. She had been ready. For her own pain, and for everyone else's. But this… she had not been prepared for.
"H-How…" She heard a strained whisper with hints of Xander's voice, and the slow, hesitant retreat of footsteps that sounded like Tara's. She couldn't quite be sure who it was though, every sound that met her ears felt like it was reaching her from miles away. The crossbow in her hand began to shake again for the first time since it had been raised, still holding its aim at her last target. A target who, instead of being a pile of dust, stood calmly before her, seemingly unconcerned with the two arrows that had stopped just short of touching her skin.
"You know…" Willow sighed with furrowed brows, her features no longer adorned by a smile for the first time in their encounter. For a second she studied the bolt that had been aimed for her eye, casually picking it up from where it was floating mere inches from her face, a proximity she was clearly very unhappy with, "I can't help feeling a little unwelcomed here, Buff..." Bolt held delicately in hand, with the other still hovering above her chest, she turned towards Buffy. Green eyes were now slowly being painted in a dangerous yellow, her steely gaze now turning sharp with displeasure, "I want to cut you some slack here, believe me… But there really aren't a whole lot of ways for me to interpret my best friend trying to kill me."
Buffy found herself incapable of returned the jab, incapable of a single sound. She was starting to quickly realize that she didn't quite know what was going on anymore. And that, maybe, she never had. She felt herself shiver as she recounted their encounter in a new light. How pathetic the Slayer must have looked to the demon before her, reveling in the illusion of strength, the illusion of power. She had never had power. Never had power or control or any semblance of an upper hand. She only ever had what the demon wanted her to believe she had… The demon wearing Willow's face, using Willow's voice… wielding Willow's magicks.
Willow, having had her fill of the Slayer's unresponsive form, turned her gaze to meet Xander's, wearing an annoyed frown that was now leaning dangerously close to being angry. "Don't you know it's rude to go for the eye, Xand?" She asked in a light voice that betrayed none of the emotions she so clearly wore on her frowning face. Buffy jumped back into attention as she heard a sudden yelp from the direction of friends, the reintroduction of danger doing well to shake her out of her intimidated stance. "See? Not too fun, is it?" Willow continued, as Buffy noticed the bolt having vanished from her hands, and turned to see it now located alarmingly close to Xander's own eye.
Intimidation vanished and fear returned. Buffy now became all too aware of the scissors still held lightly in Willow's hand, and the second bolt still effortlessly floating in place. Both, once laughable excuses of weapons in a vampire's hand, now transforming into lethal threats when given to a crazed witch. She heard Xander wince as the bolt held in front of his eye no doubt crept closer, and watched Willow's frown slowly dissipating as she enjoyed the teasing of pain. Fear now gave way to anger…
"If you so much as touch them…" the Slayer warned with a growl, letting the useless crossbow fall to her side as she prepared to engage the unpredictable witch. She didn't care who had the power. She didn't care if this uncaring, unfeeling caricature of Willow truly terrified her, now paired with the undeniable strength of the magicks. And dark magicks at that, the Slayer could tell. She could feel the electricity in the air, the hair standing up on her arms, as she inched closer to the redhead.
Willow chuckled lightly at the threat, amused by the return of the Slayer's aggressive stance. "You'll what, Buffy?" She challenged with a grin, finally picking up the second crossbow bolt that had targeted her heart, and waving it around mockingly, "Turn the air around me into a pincushion? Run all 'Slayer-mode' into the range of my magicks?" Her face morphed into a taunting expression of seriousness as she said 'Slayer-mode', and the grin resurfaced as she carelessly snapped the bolt in her hands like a twig and let it fall to the ground, discarding one of her physical weapons in a show of audacity.
Unfazed, the vampire took a series of steps forward, now standing just a few dangerous strides away from a shocked and frozen Tara, but paying no mind to anyone but the Slayer. "Come on, Buffy… You know better than that," Her grin had disappeared as she silently dared Buffy to prove her wrong, and her tone had shifted from mocking to earnest, with more than a hint of disappointment, "You got nothing…" Buffy felt the tenseness of her shoulders, the readiness for battle, loosen as she considered those words. There was truth to them, there was no doubt. Truth that made her body wish for a reprieve, almost wanting to accept defeat as it was becoming so exponentially harder to fight. But Willow was wrong. Buffy still have one thing to give. One thing to lose, if it came to it. And she was more than willing to throw away her life if it meant taking the dark witch down with her.
"And besides!" Willow suddenly exclaimed, dissipating the tension in the air just as fast as she had introduced it, as she took a few casual steps back to her earlier position. The friendly Willow-smile returned, which when combined with eyes that had now faded back to green, caused an emotional lump to form in Buffy's throat, even when her heart had hardened too much to have a response. "I'm not here to kill you, really. That's not nearly as fun, you know," Willow's voice was soft, pleading, and more than a little desperate as she implored the Slayer to listen to her, as if trying to reason with a stubborn child and dreading the sternness that would come if he didn't listen. "I'm just here to talk…" Willow continued with an innocent shrug, and Buffy frowned as she felt the words resonate throughout the room, accompanied by the slightest of hope and lessening of fear among the other Scoobies. Even Xander, who still had an arrow threatening to rob him of depth perception, albeit now at a less scary distance, was looking at the demon tenderly with the smallest amount of recognition. "Well, talk… and take," Willow whispered as an afterthought, and Buffy had no doubt that her eyes now rested on the other witch, who now seemed utterly lost again after briefly regaining her rationality.
"Sorry, I'm not really big on the whole trusting of murderers," Buffy answered stiffy, her stance unrelenting as she moved closer, more as a show of strength than a challenge. A hint of a frown appeared on Willow's face at that word, and she scrunched her nose in distaste, "and especially not those that threaten my friends," She growled in warning. This demon couldn't get to her anymore; hadn't been able to get to her ever since Buffy first lifted her crossbow. She was sure Willow knew that by now. But she was also sure this was more about collecting allies than pursuing Buffy. Weaker allies that wanted to be collected… Allies that could in turn weaken her.
"Hey! I'm not threatening anyone," Willow argued, seemingly offended by the accusation, "But, you know, can't really say the same for you Miss Death-To-All-Undead. Even though, you know, can't really die when you're undead, but…" Willow trailed off distractedly and then shook her head, as if trying to drown the urge to continue with her babble. "You know what I mean," She finished once she had recovered, looking more than a little peeved, "Did ya forget the whole crossbow-in-my-face thing?"
A distant squeak of "Nope," answered the redhead before Buffy could, the tone clashing heavily with the tenseness that had been reintroduced to the room. The Slayer turned to see Xander's reddening face, awkwardly leaning back as the arrow continued to probe closer to his face, seeming to be involuntarily egged on by the redhead's anger, "Still very, very vivid in my memory, Will…" He continued, almost on the verge of falling while he leant back when the bolt finally stopped its movements. "So, uh…" He looked uncertainly at the demon that a part of him hoped still housed his friend, nervously keeping an eye at the arrow that was still far too close for comfort, "m-maybe we could hold off the reminder, if that's ok?"
"Oh… that threat," Willow murmured under her breath, smiling sheepishly at the situation that had so obviously gotten out of hand, "Sorry Xand, that was just meant to be a joke, you know… Let me get that for you," As promised, the bolt slowly retreated from its alarming position in front of the carpenter's face, a move that was welcomed by a relieved release of breath, and twirled around in the air to sit perfectly back into his crossbow. Buffy almost would have found the move amusing, the willing forfeit of a weapon into the enemy's hands, if she hadn't known that it was nothing but a meaningless gesture to bribe trust from the man. The crossbow was useless, no matter how many bolts it held. It was worse than useless, even; it was still Willow's weapon, just held in Xander's hands. Which made Xander worse than useless. And even Buffy herself was on the verge of useless… No one could come close to scratching the vampire now, not without having even the slightest understanding of what she was capable of.
"There! Threats have been zero-ed," Willow smiled brightly, looking as though she'd just solved a complex hacking problem, "We okay now?" She looked at the Slayer expectantly for a few seconds, a hopeful twinkle in her eyes, before deflating slightly with a sigh when she was greeted by nothing but a steely gaze from the blonde. "Look, I get where you're coming from, ok?" She muttered in acceptance with the roll of her eyes, slightly pacing as her earlier excitement was slowly replaced by hints of anger and frustration, "Family blood; killing innocents; the whole 'evil' thing, yada yada. Doesn't really make for a very trusting image, I'll give you that…" The redhead suddenly settled in her pacing, turning towards the Slayer in so swift a motion that Buffy instinctively inched for the stake on her person. But Willow's face as she turned to her best friend showed no hints of aggression, only a look of sadness and defeat at her inability to make the Slayer listen to her. "But it's bigger than that, Buffy." She all by shouted, her voice surprising Buffy in its desperation, "Don't you see that? Because I do…" Willows eyes did nothing to hide the disappointment that coated her words, or her raw desire to make the Slayer understand. The sight cut through the hardness of Buffy's heart, and for a second – just for a second – she listened.
"I see it…" Willow trailed, her eyes gazing dreamily somewhere above them, "I see it, and it's beautiful." She sighed, closing her eyes as the frustration on her face dissolved to nothingness, and was replaced by a light smile. Buffy was still listening, and the listening made her wonder if Angelus had truly been an accurate comparison to this Willow, or if Drusilla would have been more apt instead... "I know you don't, but I finally get it now." Willow whispered as she turned back to her, the smile on her face losing some of its innocence, and slowly curling into an excited smirk. "It's not about the violence…" Buffy watched, transfixed, as the emerald in her eyes danced with trails of yellow, glinting in excitement, "Or the blood, or the screams… Though, those are always nice too."
The demon raised a hand in the air, palms facing the Scoobies, and Buffy finally reached to pull at her stake in response. But her hands weren't nearly fast enough for the witch, and just as she felt whispers of wood touching her fingers, the intense waves of dark magicks rushed through her, making her intensely nauseous. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Dawn collapse, and wondered why in the world her sister was still in the room when Anya had been pulling her to the door what felt like hours ago. She saw Xander bend over, nearly ready to retch himself, and Tara, white as a ghost. A single object flew to the other side of the Magic Box faster than human hands could throw, landing perfectly into Willow's outstretched hand. Buffy desperately fought the nausea and the accompanying dizziness to face the witch, turning just in time to feel another bout of magicks, this time originating from the book clasped in the redhead's hand. She watched in horror as the physical embodiment of magicks seeped through the book, twirling its way around Willow's arms and planting itself snugly in her head. The witch's eyes burned through her soul as they darkened into nothingness.
"It's about the power."
Anya felt the shocks of magicks just as well as the others, but being a vengeance demon, her experience was far less unpleasant. She also knew exactly what Willow was doing, recognizing the book in her hands as one of the stronger dark magicks books held 'safely' in the upper section of the Magic Box. 'Safe' never really takes evil witch vampires into account though… I'll have to give insurance a call. She sighed as she wondered what the cost of replacing that volume would be, it was quite a rare one she was sure, and wondered if Willow could be convinced to return it to her once she was done with it. Anya concluded that she could probably swing that bargain, the book wasn't being drained after all. She could tell that Willow was pulling just enough power to strengthen her for the time being, but being careful not to pull the words from the pages themselves. She'd never actually seen anyone do that, Anya mused, slightly disappointed that this wasn't what the witch was doing. But it proved that Willow was in it for more than just a power boost, willing to spend time with the tome and study it. Which meant that, in time, Anya could probably get her to return them once she was done. Anya smiled to herself at her solution… Giles wouldn't even have to know. Still calling the security warlocks though, she shouldn't have been able to get that thing in the first place…
"Oh. Goddess…" She heard Willow moan, and could all but feel the magicks that reverberated from her being. The vengeance demon inched closer to the scene, having long since abandoned the plan to escape once she'd found the doors magickally locked, and stood close to the front desk, just a little way away from Tara, to study the events before her. She was curious about this Willow. Confused about her intentions, but utterly overjoyed that she was still alive. Or… is she technically dead? Or, undead? Regardless, she knew the rest of the 'Scoobies' didn't really feel the same, she'd gathered as much with their rather rude welcoming of the redhead, but she for one was glad to no longer be the only demon in the mix. "I missed this." Willow continued distractedly, her other hand grasping at the front desk to support her weight as she desperately gasped for air. Anya thought she saw Buffy twitch forward, as if she was considering using the moment of distraction to attack. She really hoped the blonde decided against it, that was not a good idea… High, evil witches didn't let death threats slide quite so easily.
"It's almost ironic, isn't it?" Willow grinned, and Anya finally noticed the physical change that the overflow of magicks had introduced, "This is what got me killed. And now it makes me feel… alive. For lack of a better word, of course." The natural redhead was a redhead no longer, and her eyes sparked darkly with electric magicks. Anya frowned to herself at all the wasted magicks. If only she had held off on studying the tome more slowly and carefully, her body would have better adjusted to contain the power. It wasn't a permanent waste, but it was quite a drag from an efficiency standpoint. Anya was proud she still remembered so much, she had grown quite adept at this stuff from her forays into dark magicks in her human life, coupled with her desire to maintain her natural hair color. She watched as Willow picked at a lock of hair that had fallen on her face, carefully studying the color with an amused and excited grin on her face, "Huh. Interesting…" Anya wondered if she should catch the witch later to impart some of her advice, help her contain the overflowing magicks if she wanted. But the thought of what Willow could do with the full power of the book, especially when coupled with the slightly unhinged look currently on her features, made Anya quickly put a pin in that plan until she was a bit clearer on the vampire's intentions.
"So that's what you're after?" Buffy questioned, as if thinking on the same track as Anya, though probably without as much helpful advice in store. "The books? The dark magicks? And then what?" Though the Slayer put on an airs of toughness, Anya could tell that this had been the last straw in her determination. Buffy had quite obviously given up on facing the witch in her current state, probably hoping to learn more about what she was up against before getting tangled in a fight. But Anya knew that would only ever make things harder. "You planning on keeping the tradition of a springtime apocalypse?" Buffy continued, her mocking tone far too unserious for Anya's liking. This was what the vengeance demon had been truly afraid of, and it was no laughing matter. This Willow wasn't blinded enough by emotion to act without thought. She was willing to be slow and clever, and would only get stronger as time progressed. Annoyingly enough, she still contained the painstaking and irritating calculated nature of the human Willow, combined with the soulless demon inside her that craved destruction, and a willingness to fully embrace the dark magicks… If left unchecked, Willow Rosenberg could quite easily be the last thing this world had the displeasure of facing.
"Maybe, I like to keep my options open." Willow smirked back, amused that the Slayer was underestimating her, probably following the same line of thought that Anya had just been. The vengeance demon didn't quite like that answer enough to convince herself not to interfere. She decided to attempt an inconspicuous teleport to the location of the other strong dark magick books, wanting to remove the temptation the candy store provided to the child before her. She was quite certain that popular saying fit appropriately into this situation. "Anyanka…" Willow hummed just as Anya had started her slow teleport. Damn, she cursed, it seemed that the child was more than a little privy to her tricks… "Come on, I know you're smarter than that. So don't even think about it," That's true, Anya agreed easily, quick to take the compliment. At another time she would never have thought twice about a dark witch wishing to end the world. The more the merrier after all, and they were technically on the same side, being evil and all. She would just jump ship to another alternate reality or dimension if things truly got hairy. But Willow wasn't just another dark witch though was she? She was a friend, and quite decidedly evil, which probably made her Anya's closest friend among the Scoobies. And on top of that… she was kind of starting to like this world. "We don't have to be enemies. You know that…" Anya did know that, and enemies was the last thing she wanted to be with the witch she had been mourning over just an hour ago. So she did the one thing she imagined she would do if Halfrek started speaking of destroying the world…
"Willow," Anya started with a deep breath, knowing full well that her people skills weren't quite the best, but also aware that evil people generally seemed to be less judgmental in that regard, "as glad as I am that you're alive – although not in the literal sense, of course – I think I'll have to agree with Buffy on this…" The vengeance demon saw the Slayer turn to her in surprise, as if just noticing her presence for the first time. Anya only met her eyes for a second, making it clear she was on the blonde's side for the time being, before turning back to the amused black eyes of the witch. "Those books... You don't know what you're getting into," She put as much urgency as she could behind her worlds, knowing Willow would pay her at least some attention with their shared demonage. Truth be told, she had little problem with the witch just studying the books for herself, and maybe wreaking some un-apocalyptic havoc in some other city. In fact, if she was being honest, she would probably be more than a little inclined to watch. But she wasn't going to tell that to her just now… Now, she was just going to keep her gaze locked with Willow's intense stare, trying her best to persuade the witch to not destroy the fun playground that the world could provide for her, "And while I'm usually all in favor of ending the world in a myriad of horrible ways… I'm just a little attached to this one. And I think I'd like it un-ended…" She resisted the urge to add 'from one demon to another' in her earnest speech, knowing it would probably do nothing but ostracize her friendship with the other Scoobies.
To Anya's pleasure, Willow seemed to be listening quite intently to her words, the smirk on her face slowly being replaced by a more serious expression, and the drunkenness of power leaving her dark eyes, which had now shrunk to a normal size. "I told you..." She started in a gentle voice that made its first appearance since she had absorbed the dark magicks, "I don't want to kill you…" Her voice was pleading, and her gaze shifted from Anya to the rest of the Scoobies, sans Dawn who was still unconscious, as she tried, not for the first time to convince her friends of her worlds. "Any of you… Most of you," The last phrase almost alarmed the vengeance demon, but she relaxed as she saw it was directed only to Tara, and the threat to kill was obviously more of an invitation to sire.
Anya sighed in relief, being the only one in the group to actually believe the words. In her heart of hearts, of course, she knew it wasn't entirely quite true. Willow was a vampire, and this was her family, consisting of people that loved her, whom she had also once loved. Her longing for their blood and pain, and desire to drink them dry was undoubtedly driving her crazy. But the vampire had also given her no reason to doubt her so far, aside from the mild threatening of Xander. Anya believed her. Willow wanted kill them, she was sure. She wanted it more than the humans could possibly comprehend. But she wouldn't kill them. Why, Anya had no way of knowing. But she had easily had more than a dozen opportunities to do so, and ignored every single one. And that was all the vengeance demon needed to believe her. "Triggering apocalypses… usually tends to fall into the headline of 'killing' I think." Willow admitted, a warm smile still in place, like she was congratulating herself for being so accommodating, "So no, maybe I won't add that one to my bucket list."
"I don't believe a word coming out of your mouth," Buffy hissed, and Anya winced at the undeserved anger and venom in her voice. It was as if Buffy was doing everything she could to get under the witch's skin, either out of spite, anger, or foolishness. The demon could feel the deep distrust the Slayer felt for her once best friend, and that she saw every gesture made as simply a means to weaken their resolve until the witch could find the perfect moment to strike. Which, to be fair, is probably a big part of it... Why go for the kill when you can go for the pain?
In less than a second, just by hearing the sharp voice of her best friend, the smile that Anya had worked so hard to bring to Willow's lips vanished, and the low rumble in her chest made her rising anger quite apparent. Anya silently wished for the Slayer to back down, and just talk to the demon. Or, better yet, let Anya talk. Rue the day my people skills are actually better than Buffy's… But Buffy just continued, "You act like you know us, like you're our friend," the anger in her voice slowly made way for sadness and exhaustion, and Anya could see the dangerous mixture of aggression and grief coming together to form a volatile mix of emotions, "But you don't. And you're not. You're not Willow."
"Good Goddess!" came the roaring yell, accompanied by the shattering of glass display cases and multiple lightbulbs, and Anya knew some final straw had been… pulled? broken? She wasn't quite sure how that saying went. "What is it with you people?!" Willow continued to thunder, her eyes dark again, this time with nothing but seething rage, as her hair began to stand up on edge. The raw magicks and anger emanating from her made even Anya a little sick. Sick, and very, very scared. She inadvertently backed away slowly, but not moving quite as far as Tara and Xander had. She wasn't quite sure where she landed in Willow's definition of 'people', and wasn't willing to find out the hard way.
"I come in all nice and polite," Willow started in an annoyed tone, pacing the short width of the Magic Box as she finally let herself burst, "I do the whole peace offering and the extended hand…" She turned to face the Slayer now as the blonde stood frozen in place, rendered motionless by both the strength of the dark magicks and the sheer power emanating from the witch before her. Willow looked straight into her eyes as she growled animalistically for the first time that evening, "And I don't lift a fucking finger! When I could've snapped Dawnie in half about a dozen times over by now," The witch made a fist with her hand to accentuate the image, and Anya couldn't help but shiver at the thought. Inoculated as she mostly was to violence against humans, she was unable to feel some sympathy for the young child she had come to regard as a friend, along with her older sister, who was visibly shaking at the image boing forced into her head. "I don't even touch you," Willow continued, her voice suddenly breaking with emotion as she gazed into the Slayer's eyes with nothing but betrayal and anger, "and you still make me the bad guy?"
Obviously angered by the betrayal of emotion in her voice, Willow closed her eyes and took a few moments to calm herself before continuing. Anya could almost feel how hard it was for the vampire to not rip the Slayer's throat out right there, and she imagined that Buffy's earlier distrust must have been true. If the vampire restrained herself from killing the offending party even at the brink of an outburst like this one, perhaps her plans for the Slayer really were worse than death… "I'm being so polite it makes me want to vomit my insides out." Willow sighed once she had calmed down, her eyes still dark and angry, but the magicks much more restrained. "What does it take, Buffy?" She questioned, her voice growing softer as she urged for a serious answer, but still maintaining the edge of anger. "It's me. I'm Willow. And maybe I'm not the Willow you'd like to remember, but I'm the only Willow you've got left."
The sound of footsteps echoed the room as Willow closed the distance between herself and Buffy, standing close enough to feel the breath of the other on her face, "And all I need from you right now", she growled, "is to get out of my way before I do something you regret for the rest of your short life." Buffy still stood tall in the face of the threat, meeting Willow's eyes without betraying any hint of fear. Anya couldn't quite tell if there was anything to betray, but knew that Willow would smell any fear no matter how well it was hidden. And so far, her actions didn't really reflect those of a predator with a broken prey. "So believe me now, Slayer." Willow continued in a whisper, her vampire face finally revealing itself for the first time that evening, "Because you really don't have a choice."
The air stood still for a few fateful moments as Anya wondered which of the two would be the first to strike. She could see Buffy itching to reach for her stake first, and the vampire readying to grab for her neck. Anya was never very good with the violence. Not the physical kind at least, the mental kind she had quite the practice with. This was far from being her playing field, and although she wasn't exactly in any real danger, being able to teleport if the need arose, it still made her horribly uncomfortable. So she used what was clearly, and ironically, becoming her only weapon in this specific situation, "Th-Then you'll let us go, right?" She squeaked, immediately clearing her throat to avoid producing such an embarrassing sound on her next attempt, "If you don't want to kill us. If you just want us out of the way… Then could you unlock the doors?" She finished hopefully, frowning when Willow refused to meet her gaze, "Please?"
"As soon as the Slayer lets me have what I want, the doors open." Willow growled, still wearing her demon on her face. She stared expectantly at Buffy, who Anya noticed was flinching ever so slightly every time her best friend referred to her as 'Slayer'.
"Not a chance." Came the easy reply from the blonde.
"Then there's your answer." The witch quipped back. This was honestly getting quite absurd…
"Will…" A new voice broke in, and Anya turned to look at the woman she had almost forgotten about. Tara stood tall, staring intently at her lover with sad eyes. She was shaking, but as far as Anya could tell she was always shaking now. Always shaking, and always crying. But the tear stains on her cheeks were a lot less prominent than they were just some time ago…
The vampire looked up with a start, almost jumping when she heard her name being uttered with such tenderness. As Willow's eyes met her lover's, Anya saw the demon instantly retreat inside her, leaving a human face that now looked like a different person from before. Furrowed brows relaxed, and any trace of anger left her dark eyes. For a second, Anya even though she almost saw a return of scarlet to her hair
"Tara…" Willow whispered, uttering her name in a voice that was now hoarse from the strain of shouting. Her face contorted to one of regret and concern as she gave the brunette her full attention. "I-I'm sorry, baby, with the yelling," She murmured in a pleading voice, turning away from Buffy to walk closer to her lover, her frown deepening with sadness when Tara matched her forward steps with backwards strides of her own, "I know you don't like the yelling…" She sighed dejectedly as she retraced her steps, putting distance between herself and Buffy that more closely resembled where they had been before her outburst. Her eyes now turned to Anya, "A-And the breaking stuff… I'll pay you back for that." Oh, I'm counting on it.
"I just…" The vampire trailed off, sighing as she ran a hand through her hair, some of her earlier anger now returning. "They just really made me cranky, you know," She explained to her lover, her voice still calm even if etched with deep irritation. Anya almost wanted to nod in approval, they had made her quite cranky too. But some underlying resentment from having her property damaged kept her from taking Willow's side in the matter. "That was annoying." She continued, now just purely irritated as she turned towards Buffy with narrowed eyes, "With the crossbows and the spitting in my face. That really hurt, okay?" She sighed again and forced herself to quell her emotions, turning back to her friends with an earnest look on her face. "I don't want to kill you guys. Just believe me," She tried again, a defeated look on her face as she already knew the words would mean nothing to the others. She attempted to chuckle as she joked, "Let's be realistic, if I really didn't care, Giles would be halfway on his trip to the next Chosen One by now…"
"I'm not giving you those books, Will." Buffy exclaimed stiffly. At this point, Anya almost had to agree. She had been with the vampire up until her outburst, after having been convinced that Willow wouldn't do anything apocalyptically evil, but the sheer ferocity of her rage had shaken the vengeance demon deeply. And she could tell, even if Willow's promise was made in earnest, that it would only take a few perfectly placed jabs at her unbeating heart to convince her to shroud the world in eternal darkness. But Anya also knew there was no way to stop her now, not really. They could try, of course, and Buffy probably would try if she felt like she needed to. And someone would get hurt, or maybe even join Willow in death, and she would probably still get away. She was going to get away. And Anya would just have to keep a close eye on her…
"Alright…" Willow sighed in acceptance, surprising Anya with her accommodativeness, "I suppose I got the big one anyway." The witch raised her gaze up to the upper level of the Magic Box once again, and this time Anya was expecting the reach of magick before it came. And this time, it did make her sick. There, that's more along the lines of what I expected… without the bit about the hurling.
"And these should be good for now…" Willow continued obliviously with a smile, tracing the spines of a handful of new books she had just called to her side. Buffy forced herself to rise from where she had stumbled with the force of magicks, and made a feeble attempt to attack. "Ah-Ah-Ah," Willow scolded, flicking a finger to push the blonde back on the ground. Buffy panted desperately and looked eerily pale under the effects of the magicks, now directly aimed at her. Anya shivered as she imagined what that would feel like, especially to a human. "I'm not going back for seconds, Slayer. Just need to dip my toes in a bit… This is hardly the entire collection," Willow explained, trying to convince her that she wasn't getting away with much. And it was true, in comparison to the full racks of books they had in stock, she wasn't getting away with much. But what she was getting… Anya's jaw clenched as she recognized the other texts. All as powerful as the first one, all incredibly complex to master, and often horrifyingly dark. And all very, very expensive… She'd better get those back in once piece or we will be enemies.
"Don't worry," Willow smiled, her attention drawn from the still immobilized slayer to land on the form of Tara, who had now inched a few steps closer. She smiled a smile lacking in warmth as her eyes sparked darkly with magicks, "I won't let my hair go all crazy again," She purred to her lover, "I know you love the red, baby."
"Willow, I-I think…" Tara whispered, her face pale and body still lightly swaying from the after effects of Willow's power. Willow looked at her expectantly, letting her engulf all her attention as if she was the most interesting thing in the world, "you need…" Tara continued, obviously having trouble with getting her body to listen to her. She finally continued after a few heartbeats once she had been gently egged on by her lover, and stared deeply into those black eyes as she whispered resolutely, "You need to stop."
Willow's face visibly fell at her lover's words, and she took a few steps closer, this time not letting Tara's backwards strides stop her. "So you're not coming with me, then?" She asked softly, and Anya's eyes widened as she remembered that this was also one of the things Willow had come for. The books…The books had been one thing. But the Slayer would never let her take Tara alive. Anya thought for a few heartbeats. Could she let Willow take Tara? She shook her head. No, it would never come to that. It would never come to Anya. She really wasn't very good with violence…
"You don't want that?" Willow asked after receiving a negative to her earlier question. Her voice was surprisingly vulnerable, and this time Anya didn't think it was a farce. She could easily take Tara if she wanted, not without a fight of course, but it was a fight she could easily win in Buffy's current state. And yet the vampire seemed to care what this witch thought of being sired. "You and me, us, forever?" Willow tried again, now standing just a few steps from Tara as the brunette stopped moving back and let her approach. "Those were my last thoughts, you know…" She murmured with a soft smile, reaching to touch the other witch's cheek, smiling wider as Tara let her, "How we were meant to be forever," Anya could see Tara's shaking worsen, saw her involuntarily melting into Willow's touch, "And that I couldn't let some worthless waste take that away from me…" For a second she saw Xander pass her, purposefully marching towards the two, obviously intent of coming between the vampire and her prey. But Anya hurriedly grabbed at him before either could notice and pulled him back, able to do so easily in his already dizzy state. She understood where he was coming from, she wanted to help too, at least a little bit. But this was the exact opposite of being the right time…
"I guess I was wrong, you know?" Willow continued to murmur to her lover, continuing to caress her check as Tara's eyes clasped shut with the intensity of emotions, "I guess he gave us forever. True forever. If you want to take it?" Willow gently pulled her hand back as she saw the answer to her question in newly opened eyes, and she sighed softly, "I can wait," She assured her, in so low a whisper, Anya almost felt like a pervert for interrupting their privacy, "I know you'll find me when you're ready." The tenderness in her gaze vanished as she stepped back from the brunette witch, grinning as Tara's body instinctively leaned forward to recapture the heat of her body, "It's really no fun if you don't want it too…"
Dark eyes turned to the now-standing form of Buffy, grin still in place, "Oh, thanks for offing him, by the way. I can still smell the dust on you," Anya could only guess she was talking about her sire, a guess which was proven true as Buffy cringed at the mention of dust. "He was going to be my first stop anyway…" She scrunched her nose in distaste, the anger in her eyes resurfacing, "Way too boring to be with me…"
Silent seconds passed as the Scoobies slowly recovered themselves. Dawn stumbling to help Xander up after just regaining consciousness, and Xander finally emptying his stomach as close to the bathroom as he could get. Anya sighed at the introduction of yet another mess she would be expected to clean. Tara stood still, silently gazing at her lover, though Anya doubted that any coherent thoughts were going through her head. The lover, however, was quite oblivious to being stared at by both the Slayer and the witch, and Willow stood in place just casually flipping through one of the books she carried, lost in thought as she let the rest of the tomes float in the air beside her. Quite aware that no one could get to her, even as the Slayer clasped a stake in a trembling hand. The jiggling of a locked door, attempted by Xander, brought her out of her musing, and she looked around at the room, seemingly surprised they were still there. "Oh, you can go now," she announced with a cold smile, unlocking the doors with a flick of a finger, "I know the Slayer probably wants to take some stuff with…" Her eyes met Anya's for just a second, then went back to her books, seemingly aware that the vengeance demon would be helping keep the remainder of the dark magicks out of her reach, "I won't keep you," She murmured vaguely, still not moving from her place.
Buffy's eyes met Anya's and she knew the Slayer was probably thinking of the same plan to remove the books from the vicinity. Anya sighed lightly at all the teleportation that this plan would spell for her, and hoped no one was monitoring her for excessive transport. As Anya went back up to gather the first batch of books, she heard Buffy walk towards the vampire, the two now being the only ones in the room. Anya had a feeling Willow had stayed back almost exclusively for that moment.
"I don't know what you're planning," Buffy started with a voice that was still harsh even while it cracked from exhaustion, "But I'll sooner die than let you take Tara. Or hurt any of them," Anya inched towards the end of the platform of the upper level, craning her neck to see the interaction. Even after this long day, she was still conflicted about Willow, still unsure of where the vampire stood. And if she was going to keep an eye on her, she need to know what to keep an eye out for. Though in reality of course, Anya was just intensely curious about those two… "And the first chance I get," Buffy hissed, standing threateningly close to Willow, though both knew that there would be no exchanges of violence that evening. "The first second they're not here to feel for you, to confuse you for the person you once were… I'll drive a stake through you myself." Buffy voice was meant to drive daggers through the heart, but only elicited a small grin from the witch before her, "Even if you fry me to a crisp on the way."
"Thanks, Buff," Willow's grin widened in a less than honest display of gratitude, as she called Buffy by her name for what felt like the first time that evening, "That's kind of touching, you know? In a… evil kinda way, which I guess I get now." Her grin vanished as she stared intently into Buffy's eyes for a few long seconds, her own eyes having calmed down from their earlier overflow of magick. Anya watched as color returned to her hair and eyes, and knew it was nothing more that time that had dictated the change. "I meant it when I said it, you know?" Willow whispered, and this time, Anya could feel the slightest sliver of hope coming from the Slayer, more likely than not propagated by the redhead's return to color, "I really don't want to kill you…" She gazed intently into her best friend's eyes for a few seconds longer, and Anya felt herself relax as well at the belief that Buffy could maybe finally begin to quell her distrust.
The grin returned, now morphing into a smirk, and Anya felt her relaxation revert itself to create even more tenseness than it had removed, "Believe me," the vampire purred, stepping even closer to the Slayer, an excited glint dancing in emerald eyes, "it'll be a lot more fun to just watch you wither and die on your own..." Willow smirked wider at the anger she could no doubt feel emanating from the Buffy, reveling in her control over the blonde's emotions, "Of course, I'll try my best to help, but I think you'll manage it eventually." She backed up a few strides, and for a second, Anya thought she would finally leave. But the vampire stopped just a few steps away from the Slayer, suddenly turning back with a thoughtful look on her face, "Of course, that's unless Tara disagrees," She continued matter of factly, a smile returning, and green eyes now mixing into yellow, "If that happens…" She whispered, and Anya could hear the excitement dripping from her voice, "we'll probably just bind you in your sleep, and let you watch us kill the others." She heard Buffy take in a deep breath, no doubt trying to calm the anger clawing inside her. Willow just smiled, dreamily looking up into the ceiling, lost in her own thoughts, "Hmmm…" she finally hummed, turning back to her friend with a grin, her eyes now unmistakably yellow, and Anya wondered how her face hadn't morphed yet, "Dawnie could probably fit on that little slanted roof in your room, right?" She asked casually, grin widening as fire danced in her eyes, "Would give you a pretty nice view…"
And that was all it took for Buffy to pounce on the vampire, and she grabbed at her collar roughly in one hand, the other held in place by one of Willow's, keeping the stake at a safe distance from herself. The redhead wore a smile as she watched the Slayer struggle with her simultaneous powerlessness and explosions of rage. Anya thought she heard a gasp from the Slayer that usually signified the presence of tears. "Try me, Buff," Willow whispered, her tone almost seductive if it hadn't promised of things that were far from sexy, "Please, try me." Anya could tell it was an invitation Willow desperately hoped the blonde would take.
"You guys have a good night's sleep now," She called as she disentangled herself from Buffy, walking a few steps further towards the entrance of the Magic Box before letting herself slowly dissolve into smoke, casting a last lingering look at the teary Slayer behind her, "Don't go having too much fun without me, Buff…"
There was only one thought Anya could muster as she desperately sought more books, trying to look busy as Willow's promises for Dawn danced in her head, making her feel something dangerously close to disgust.
God, D'Hoffryn is going to lose it when he finds out what he missed out on…
…and, wait, did she take my scissors?!
A/N: Anya's a surprising amount of fun to write, and might end up being a bigger part of the story than I initially planned. People so often forget that she's like really kinda evil at this point in Buffy. It's really the only time we see her as vengeance demon in action. Her POV wasn't planned at all, it was just supposed to be Buffy through and through, but I'm a lot happier with this. Buffy kinda comes off as an ass(ish) because of it, but really if I'm being honest she was getting a bit tiring to write by the time I got to the POV change. Also "It's about power" just really really deserved a mic drop, just cause I love that line (even though Will was kinda obnoxious when she says it in Two to Go.)
Also, I know, SO MANY MONOLOGUES, but this is probably the most concentrated Vamp Willow goodness you'll get in a while, and also first impressions and all, so I had to make it count. She's very hot and cold and all over the place, and I know that and it's very on purpose. Also hope I explained her magicks ok, it's not exactly the same as in Villains as she's not really as emotionally unstable as she was then. And about the crazy power difference, I don't really think she's more powerful than Buffy before sucking the book, but you also have to consider how weak Buffy is at that point, both physically and emotionally. She's been puking till there's nothing to puke, and Will's just here like "Hey, want me to make it worse for ya? ;) " And after the book, she's definitely more powerful, but still not as much as it seems to be in this situation. The only two people who have a chances against her, Tara and Buffy, are just drained. I also really think that Will could've easily taken Buffy in Two to Go if she'd actually used her combat magicks rather than just raw strength... But we're getting too into this. Don't worry about the power difference, it all gets resolved.
Hey, leave a review to let me know what you like / don't like! Helps tell me there're actually people reading my bored 'ol mind make stuff up and post it. :P Also, hey, sneak peaks, always of the good!