CHAPTER NINE: Conspiracies within

Tara awoke to the sound of whimpering. She instantly turned to Buffy whose eyes were clenched shut a thin layer of sweat lining her brow. "B-Buffy." She whispered trying to get the slayer's attention. "Buffy." She glanced at the clock that read five am then down to where Buffy was holding her stomach and noticed blood beginning to pool. "Ohh Goddess. JOYCE!!!!" she yelled crouching down next to the slayer and adding additional pressure against the now bleeding wound. She attempted a healing spell but it just faded into nothing she couldn't focus and felt drained. Tears began to prick her eyes. "B-Buffy!"

"T-Tara…?" Buffy's eyes opened weekly while blood began to trickle out of her nose.

"W-what's happening to you?" Tara asked trying to hold back her tears as Buffy lurched crying out. She attempted the healing spell again with the same results. "JOYCE!!!" she screamed out again pulling the slayer into her lap.

"What is it?" Joyce asked rushing into the room. When she saw her daughter curled into a fetal position saturating the sheets with blood her stomach lurched. "What's happening?!!!"

"I-I don't know! She j-just started bleeding…and I-I can't h-help her…" Tara said, now freely sobbing.

"G-Get Giles…." Buffy choked out between gasps.

Joyce just nodded blankly and ran out of the room and down the steps. As she reached for the phone the doorbell rang. "It Giles! Is anyone there?" he rang the doorbell again. Joyce quickly put the phone back on the hook and darted to the door.

"Giles!" she said opening the door her relief barely masking the fear written on her face. "She-she…"

"Is Buffy alright?" he asked hurriedly.

"No!" she bellowed finding her voice "She just started bleeding and is shaking and was asking for you and I think she's dieing…" Joyce began to shake. Giles set the bag he had in his hand on the table and grabbed her shoulders firmly.

"Where is she?" he almost screamed, terrified knowing the slayer's time was limited if they didn't act quickly.

"She's upstairs with Tara." Without a word Giles grabbed the bag and ran up the steps two at a time. He could have no idea how much time he had lost already.

"Tara?" he called out. An answering sob resonated from one of the first rooms on the left. When he entered the room he was caught off guard. The blood was sliding down Buffy's face and Tara was covered.

"G-G-Giles…."Buffy stammered. Tara looked up from where she was holding onto the Slayer.

"What's happening to her!!" she screamed between sobs. "She was fine!!!" he looked at her squarely.

"I'll explain it later but right now I need your help." Tara nodded blankly, watching as he set three candles in the shape of a triangle on the floor.

"W-What are you going to d-do?"

"There is no time! I need you to set Buffy on the ground, to where her head is lying between the candles." She quickly did as was told watching helplessly as Buffy's body twitched on its own accord. After lighting the candles he handed Tara a piece of paper.

"W-What is this??" she asked not recognizing the spell.

"It's a Disintaglement spell, similar to an Extrication but only temporay. It would seem that whatever attacked her earlier is harvesting itself within her and trying to kill the Slayer's essence form the inside. We need to disengage the Slayer's hold." Tara wiped at her eyes quickly trying to follow. "On my count I need you to start reading this." He handed her a piece of paper that looked to be torn out of a book.

"Aren't Disentanglements dangerous...I m-mean" He looked at Tara seriously.

"If we don't do this she will die." Understanding the severity of the moment she nodded her understanding and began to prepare.

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Buffy's eyes blinked open tiredly. She couldn't remember ever feeling so tired or sore in her life. Slowly she moved to a sitting position.

"Your awake." Giles said awakened by the sound of her movement. "Thank God." He set down the book he had been reading and adjusted his glasses. "How do you feel?" she yawned looking around the room it must have been around noon.

"Tired. Where's Tara?" she asked sensing that she wasn't in the house, but knowing she couldn't have been gone that long.

"Buffy we have a problem." He started beginning to stand. Buffy paled then sat up straighter.

"Giles? Where is Tara?" she asked again. "Is she okay?" she said getting worried.

"Yes, yes she's fine." He rubbed his brow. "Scared out of her wits for you but she is fine." He sighed. "She's hardly left your side since you've been out."

"What do you mean since I've been out?" she asked starting to get scared. "What's going on?!!" He pulled off his glasses and started cleaning them.

"Buffy I don't know how to say this, but you've been in and out for the last day or so." He took off his glasses. "Whatever that thing was that attacked you…it's done something that even I don't know how to handle."

"GILES! What is going on." She yelled getting frustrated.

"It's hard Buffy!" he said almost choking up himself.

"I need to know what is going on." He looked away. "And I want the truth."

"There is a war going on inside of you Buffy." He said forcefully..

"What?" she said that being the last thing she would have thought to come out of his mouth. "What are you talking about?"

"The slayer is an immortal being that chooses a host. It collaborates the soul of a host with its own." He said quickly. "Sometimes sharing insight and history that usually aspire as dreams or visions. This knowledge or strength is protected by the host and the Slayer uses the host to fulfill destiny and keep the balance between good and evil." He sighed. "But whatever attacked you has been able to tap into the Slayer and has targeted its very essence."

"I don't understand...the other night…" she grimaced thinking about the pain. "But I feel fine."

"We've been able to contain it so it is no longer affecting your health physically…but the battle is still raging." Buffy shook her head.

"But what does it all mean. I understand that the slayer and all the pasts slayers are connected with me, and I understand the sharing of the histories, but what exactly are you saying."

"What I'm saying Buffy is, something has been able to get through to the Slayer side of you, it shouldn't have but it did. It has been able to get through to the Slayer and is waging a war against her. And because her essence was coiled as one with your own the physical implications were rising and becoming present in the slayer's host."

"You mean this?" she touched the freshly stitched flesh beneath her shirt.

"Yes, when the wound you endured opened a new it refused to heal. Your strength has dissipated and will continue to do so. Initially whatever we are dealing with was and still is killing you from the inside out." Buffy just stared too shocked to reply. He turned to finally look at her. "Buffy…"

"Are you saying I'm dieing?" she barely whispered.

"Not exactly, no. Tara and I both performed a spell to hold the external damage at bay. And temporarily disable the Slayers hold upon you. You won't suffer from it, but along with doing that, your speed, strength, and power have also been lowered drastically and will continue to decrease with time. But the spell is only temporary, the war is still raging within you."

"Giles…How do I fight something inside of me?" the watcher shook his head solemnly.

"I really don't know Buffy." He sighed. "Things like this the Slayer usually is able to fight off on her own without the host being aware...perhaps something is broken between the two of you…making it impossible for you to combat this and allowing whatever this entity is to continue inside of you. But until we learn more about it we have no way of knowing"

"So we just need to fix something that's all?" she asked confused.

"Initially yes if you want to put it that way…but it's not that simple." Buffy nodded to herself affirmatively.

"So what do you suggest?" she said feeling detached from the whole situation.

"Pardon." Giles said shocked at how well his slayer seemed to be taking this. She rolled her eyes at him.

"If I can't fight than I'm an open target and so are all of you." She said simply "I'm putting us all in danger. Not to mention Tara just being here…" her head perked up. "Giles where is Tara?"

"We realized the danger in having a disabled slayer on the Hellmouth and think that it would be best if we start the cleansing rituals in L.A. at Lucinda's Coven."

"Cleansing rituals?"

"We need to find out why the slayer was unable to defend herself against this and fix whatever gap there is…if there is one." She stood on shaky legs. "And hopefully find something that can help us prepare ourselves for what is to come."

"So your saying there is a way to fix this or might be a way?" she said clinging to the possibility.

"Yes there is a chance." your mom is gathering some last minute items and Tara is packing her bags as we speak." Buffy's eyes lit up.

"Tara's going to be coming?" Giles scoffed at that then grinned never having imagined Tara being angry.

"She wouldn't have had it any other way." He put his glasses back on his face. "She actually put up quite a fight when I suggested that perhaps she should stay on the Hellmouth…"

"You did what?" Buffy said twisting on him. "why would you go and do something like that?" Giles raised his brow at Buffy and just shook his head not really knowing how to take that.

"I was simply giving her the option Buffy that's all." Then something occurred to her.

"Well who's gonna be here?" Buffy asked indicating the Hellmouth. "We can't just leave it when things are becoming so chaotic. That's probably what this thing wants us to do."

"I have already contacted Faith and explained the situation. She said she'll be in touch and will be catching the first flight in." Buffy sighed in contemplation, she trusted Faith with her life and knew she would take care of things, she just hoped she would be able to do the same, hoped she would beat this thing.

"Well that's a relief." Both their heads turned as Joyce and Tara stepped into the house chatting casually. Tara spotted Buffy first and froze. "Tara?" Hearing her daughter's voice caught Joyce's attention.

"Buffy you're awake…"she looked back to where Tara had been standing "Tara Buffy's…up?" That's when she realized Tara must have already known because the young Wicca was already halfway across the living room floor. Joyce just shrugged at Giles's look of bewilderment.

"Y-You're here right?" Tara said touching the slayer's face, the tears she had been holding back for almost two days coming to a rise. "I-I'ts you right?" Buffy nodded quickly grasping the Wicca's hands. "I-I thought I was g-going to loose you…" Without thinking she pulled her to her. Needing to feel the security of being near her because if she wanted to admit it or not she was so much more frightened right now than she would ever let on.

Okay well this is what I got and I know I haven't updated in ages (a month) but I've been crazy busy with the enemy aka (life)…now I know this chap may seem sketchy but I promise it will work out in the end. It all comes together. As always thank you everyone who has reviewed! Especially people like shadow high angel, and stama I hope I didn't disappoint you. Lovings coming soon…P.S. "squid-ward" ILU!"

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