Moonlight Angel
Flood lights from neighbouring homes casted bright round circles on the ground making the Summers' home look lonely and abandoned. Make a mental note. Buy new garage lights. Willow descended towards the window belonging to the master bedroom. It was closed with the curtain drawn. She glanced at the sidewalk to make sure no one was watching. It was pointless since, even if someone was watching, she wouldn't really care. The entire street was barren except for a black cat that was prowling on the edge of a wooden fence. The feline's head turned to Willow and its bright green eyes stared at her for a moment. Then it jumped down and disappeared into the darkness. Willow remained hovering in front of the window with Tara in her arms. Being outside and alone with her was serene, and she felt a glint of happiness. Leaves ruffled in the distance and the wind howled as it blew against her back. She realized Tara was probably freezing, so she quickly gestured her head sideways, making the windows flap open. She glided through and gently rested Tara on the bed.
Willow lied down beside her and held her hand.
"Tara?" she whispered. "Tara?"
No response. Willow smiled and stroked back Tara's hair.
"This will never happen again, I promise."
There was only one way to protect Tara from harm, and it was something that would bring Willow and her closer together. Their bond would strengthen and their power would grow. Finally, Tara would see how wonderful a life of infinite magic could be.
. . . .
"Hello Buffy."
Hey.
"I shine like an eye's glint and burn for all eternity. I wave to you from afar while holding my deepest secret."
That's nice.
"Buffy?"
Yeah?
"What's your secret?"
Secret? I don't know what you mean.
Another voice came, with a disturbing presence that brought Buffy out of her mind.
"BUFFY," Spike barked.
"Huh?" Buffy shifted her head clearly startled. "Were you saying something?"
He smirked. "For a moment there, you had Dru's expression. You know, the one where she's off dancing on some other god forsaken planet." His expression turned a bit worried. "Somethin botherin you?"
She made another startled sway of her head. "What? Oh, no I'm fine. I was just talking to someone."
"You were talking to me."
"No not you."
Spike's worried expression deepened. "If talking about Drusilla bothers you-"
"You were talking about her? What of?"
"About the moment she tore my heart in two. But it's no big deal really, since talking to yourself appears more interesting."
Buffy didn't understand why she wasn't apologizing. It seemed, for the moment, she had lost all of her emotions. Her mind was clear; at peace. It was strange talking to another voice in her mind, but it seemed kind enough. Slowly, as Spike gave up on talking to her, her state of mind began to wash away and the calmness along with it. No, don't go away. I want to feel this longer. Her mind began to fill with memories and the emotions that went along with them. She sighed and looked to the vampire.
"Spike."
He stopped walking. "Shh."
"Oh, so now you don't want me to talk to you."
His expression was grave, his eyes focused straight ahead.
"What's with you?" Buffy looked forward. A massive figure was standing a hundred paces away staring directly at them. A large horn protruded from its head and one of its hands rested on top of a large weapon that stood vertically from the ground. "Oh boy." She felt the creature's eyes pierce through her.
"Shit," Spike said.
Buffy looked at him.
"I forgot my sword."
Buffy grabbed the crossbow from her back and ran on a diagonal brushing past trees as she unloaded quills in the demon's direction. They all seemed ineffective, but the point wasn't to deal damage. She had drawn the demon's attention long enough for Spike to come charging at it from behind. The body of the demon towered over Spike, but he was more than thankful that, other than its head, it hadn't bothered to move. He kicked the large hammer from underneath the demon's grasp and then rolled towards it grabbing the shaft in his hands. It was surprisingly light as he held it up against the demon.
Both of them were surprised when it began to speak. It's voice echoed.
"Where is the one who brought my brothers here? Neither of you have the power of this being." Its eyes glowed purple.
Buffy and Spike exchanged glances. The demon was telepathic, but when it spoke, it felt like their bodies were shaking.
"Speak."
It seemed there was more to the demon than Willow had let on. Buffy lowered her weapon slightly. "What do you want with her?"
Its horned head shifted as if it was surprised at the question. "She must die."
"Sorry, not happening." Buffy released the trigger on the crossbow. The quill struck the center of the beast's chest and like a pebble against stone, it deflected off its hide. I really need to sharpen those.
Spike swung the mallet over his head, but before he could make contact, the demon raised its palm surrounded by glowing light, and the momentum of the weapon froze. Unable to move it, Spike released his grasp from the shaft, and the weapon remained floating in the air. The demon's eyes shifted to Buffy. It seemed to be scanning her.
"A soul still resides in this night creature. Yet there is something else. How two beings can coexist independently in one body is an anonymity that must be studied."
"Fascinating, really," Buffy said. "As fun as it sounds to be one of your lab rats, I think I'll pass for today. Fortunately, you can still lend a helping hand in the future of medicine and science by giving us your liver." Buffy bolted towards the demon. She expected the demon to grab the weapon from the air and take a swing at her but something else happened. With a gesture of the demon's hand, the mallet began to spin in the air and before Buffy could respond, the weapon hurdled towards her at high speed and struck her in the chest. She felt the air leave her lungs followed by an unbearable pain in her gut. She landed hard on the ground.
Spike charged at the beast knowing full well he was going to get pummelled to death. With its weapon far away, Spike leaped at its head, but he realized the stupidity of the move when the demon lowered its horn in his path. Spike quickly grabbed the horn with both hands and swerved his body so he was practically sitting on the demon's shoulders. He grabbed the demon's head and tried to twist it but its neck muscles were too thick. The demon reached back and grabbed Spike by the shirt and then flung him to the ground. It raised one of its hooves over Spike's head, but before the demon could land the death blow, it roared in agony and stepped backwards. Spike looked up in bewilderment as the demon continued to stumble backwards and then finally dropped to the ground in a thud. It no longer moved.
A figure stood behind the demon's body with his arms crossed. His spiky hair glinted in the moonlight, followed by a pair of eyes that were like a wolf's. He wore a smug smile, and when he spoke, an old fire immediately began to burn inside of Spike. The bloody wanker waited until the last second didn't he.
