Risen
Chapter 9...
We're in a heavily wooded area now, barely any sun gettin' through the trees. We left the desert behind some time a couple days ago, and hitched a ride from some small town. The car broke down just outside of the forest a few hours ago, and the Watchers caught up to us. We ran into the forest so they couldn't follow us with their trucks, but we're still runnin' from the army of Slayers that are followin' us on foot. We can't see them behind us anymore, but they're still there. They're not gonna give up.
Dawn stumbles on a tree root for a second, but Oz catches her and we all keep running. We can't slow down for a second, or they'll get us.
Finally, I stop, and Oz and Dawn crash into me. Buffy stops right beside me.
"What the-?" Dawn asked, then saw what I was lookin' at. We ran into a trap. About twenty different Slayers are lined up in front of us, crossbows loaded and pointed right at our chests. Even Buffy isn't fast enough to avoid them all.
And at the front of the group, walkin' up to us, is a Slayer we were all very familiar with. Especially Buffy. Satsu.
"Faith." Satsu nods to me, but her eyes are fixed on Buffy. They contain the same amount of grief as I feel. "Vampire." She says to Buffy.
"Come on, S-"
"Don't try using my first initial on me, Faith. That's what you do for friends. You and I... we're not friends." She says coldly.
"Ah. I see what this is about." I say. "You found out that I just happen to have feelin's for B, and it pisses you off."
"You what?!" Satsu growls. Apparently, she hadn't heard that yet.
"Okay, nevermind, then."
"So. You're in love with Buffy. And yet, you let her become a monster, and you let her kill other Slayers. Your friends. My friends. Kennedy's dead because you couldn't let her go."
"Well, you should understand. You're in-"
"No, Faith. I don't understand. If you truly loved Buffy, you would have driven a stake through her heart when she died. You wouldn't have let her turn. It would have been hard. You wouldn't have enjoyed it, and you'd probably hate yourself for doing it, but if you truly loved her, you wouldn't have let her turn. Everyone would have mourned her for a while, I could have grieved, you could have grieved, her other friends and family could have grieved, but none of this would have happened, and we could still be focusing on killing the real bad guys. The vampires. The demons. We could be killing them right now, together, instead of having to track you guys down so we could put a stake through one specific vampire's heart."
"I take it they didn't tell you what I'm tryin' to do, huh?" I ask.
"Doesn't matter. It's obvious. You're trying to get away. You want her all for yourself, you just can't stomach the thought of her turning to a pile of dust."
"True. But I'm actually tryin' to get her soul back. I'm tryin' to get Buffy back."
That surprizes her, but she recovers. "So. You want to rip her out of Heaven again? Where's the justice, Faith? She deserves to be in Heaven, and you want to just rip her back out again? Besides, you know that if you succeed, she'll have to give up something that means the same to her as her soul. She'll lose something of equal value."
"Yeah? Well, I also know that I can offer to make the sacrifice myself."
And now she's surprized again. And the surprize doesn't fade after a minute or two.
"Wait... what?"
"Yeah. You didn't know that? See, I can make the sacrifice myself. Way I see it, I'm willin' to sacrifice anythin' to get her back. Even my own life. If I have to die in order for her to come back, then that's what I'll do." I can feel everyone's eyes on me. Satsu's, Dawn's, Oz's, every one of the Slayers behind Satsu is starin' at me in disbelief. But most of all, I can feel Buffy's eyes on me.
"So... You're serious about this?" Satsu asks.
"Dead. I'm dead serious. And no half-pint, fresh outta the academy Slayer wannabe and her little girl scouts is gonna stop me. I really hope it doesn't come to this, but if I have to, I'll kill every single one of you, and I'll sleep like a fuckin' baby after." I'm starin' her in the eyes, hopin' I'm gettin' my point across. I doubt that even me and B together could take Satsu and the other twenty Slayers, but I've made my point. There's gonna be a fight, and a lot of people are gonna die. People who didn't ask for any of this. People who deserve to go home and live normal lives.
"Well... The way I see it, we have a few choices. A, you can surrender."
"Not gonna happen."
"Didn't think so. B, you can try and push past. My Slayers will open fire and kill all of you. You might kill a few of them, maybe even most of them. I'll die, you'll die, Buffy will die, almost everyone here will die."
"Next option?"
"What I thought. C, you can capture me, but refuse to take me with you. I order my Slayers to kill me and all of you. Basically, a repeat of option B will happen, just with a different beginning. Same end, though. Almost everyone dies. D, you can capture me right now. You use me as leverage to get past my Slayers, and we all make a run for it are your choices. A, surrender and die. B, keep fighting, and everyone dies. C, capture me and I tell my Slayers to kill everyone. Everyone dies. D, you capture me, and we all get through this together. You gain some more help. Two Slayers and a Slaypire is better than one Slayer and a Slaypire."
I hesitate. I know this is a bad idea. Takin' S with us. It's a bad idea. Me and her, we'll be constantly fightin', arguin'. Especially since both of us are in love with B. But on the other hand, if she thinks there's a chance that we can get Buffy back, there's nothin' she won't do to save her. She'll sacrifice herself just the same as I will to save B, and that's somethin' I can use more of right now.
"Fine." I whisper. "I think door number four is the only way we're gettin' out of this alive."
"That's the one I thought you'd take. I'm glad you did. I want to help, Faith. Let me help."
"I already said you're in."
"No, you said that this is the only way we're all getting out of this alive."
"Same difference."
Satsu smirked. "Well, I suggest you overpower me now, then. Otherwise, my Slayers'll get suspi-" She yelped as I grabbed her by the shoulders and got her in a headlock. I held her between us and the other Slayers, who were all pointin' their weapons at us.
"Drop them!" I shout, and they all hesitate. Satsu nods, and I'll bet she looks terrified right now. The Slayers all, one by one, drop their weapons. "B, Dawn, Oz, could you go pick a few of those up? We might need them later."
Buffy, Dawn and Oz go and each grab a crossbow and a quiver of bolts, then carry them all back to stand behind me as they strap on the quivers and crossbows to their backs.
"Alright, now nice and slow, move to the left. Back away from the weapons, and let us through without any trouble, or you'll get your leader back in two pieces. First you'll get the head, then, once we're all dead, you can come over and get the rest of her body back. Okey-dokey?" I sing-song the last part. They all back away from the weapons with their hands in the air, and we slowly inch past them. Once we're out of sight of them, I let Satsu go, and we all make a run for it. Soon, we leave the woods behind. I look at my phone's GPS, and see that we're only abou fifty miles from the city we were tryin' to get to. We can cover that distance in less than a day. Buffy could have her soul back tomorrow.
...
I can't believe I have Tara back. Don't get me wrong, I loved Kennedy, but Tara... Tara is my soul. I've felt lost ever since she died, and now she's back. I have her back, and as far as I can see, she's exactly the same. Nothing feels off about her at all, she's just as I remember her, right down to her aura. I checked her magically, and she's perfect. She has all ofthe scars she got growing up. None of them is missing, and no new ones have appeared. I would know. I know Tara's body better than I know my own. The entire ride back to the Underground, I filled her in on what all's happened, and the first thing we did when we got back was head up to my room and reacquaint ourselves with each other's body. We made love for hours, and I told her about each and every single mark I've recieved since she died. I even told her about Kennedy. She got sad, and teared up when I told her about Kennedy, but that didn't last long at all, because I proved to her just how much I missed her, and how much I love her.
I mean, when I'm with Tara, yeah, I still miss Kennedy, but it seems more like I'm missing a dog I had when I was young. I feel complete finally.
But now I feel guilty for being so happy when Faith, and Dawn, and Oz, and Angel are all out there, risking their lives to get Buffy back. Tara does, too. So, I figure, maybe there's something we can do about it.
"Tara, baby?" I ask, and she stirs beside me. She hugs the sheets to her chest, making sure to stay covered.
"What is it?" She asks, concerned.
"Um... What are the conditions you have, exactly? To stay with me, I mean? What exactly did they say we'd have to do?"
"Um... They said we have to come back here. They said if we leave to go help Faith and Buffy escape, then I'll..."
"You'll die again?"
Tara nods, remembering the fear she felt as she faded after being shot. I told her about what I did to Warren, too. She didn't like that, but she relaxed when I told her I have total control over my powers now, thanks to the coven in England.
"So, basically, we can't leave the Underground to go help them?"
"That's what they said."
"Well... What if... What if I could send someone else to help? Would that break the rules?"
Tara smiles. "No. I don't think so. Who are you going to send?"
I smile back. "Me."
Tara frowns. "But...?"
"Well, it is me, but it's not really me. It kind of is, but kind of isn't."
"Wait, did you build a Willowbot, or something?"
"No. But... remember how I told you about how I started to suspect I was gay?"
"The vampire you from another dimension?"
"Yes. Well... Back when Anya was still trying to get her powers back, she tricked me into doing a spell, and-"
"And that spell is what brought vampire Willow here, right?"
"Yeah. Well... Anya always remembers things like that. I... I think I can figure out how to cast the spell again, with her help. I... I think I can summon vampire me from that dimension. And... I might be able to get her to help Buffy. Technically, I wouldn't be leaving here, so I wouldn't be breaking the rules, and Faith and the others would still have more help!" I'm excited now. I feel really good about this. I think it will work.
"How do you know she'll agree?"
"Well, we're both pretty powerful witches. I'm sure we can control her. We'll make her a deal, or something."
"But what do we have that she wants?" Tara asks.
I chuckle. "Well, me, for one." I joke.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. Just remembering how vampire me was hitting on human, still-think-I'm-straight me."
"Wait... You were attracted to yourself?" Tara asks humorously.
"Well, now you're making me sound narcissistic."
Tara laughs.
"But yes. Vampire me tried to get me to let her turn me and have sex with her."
"Hmmm..." Tara says, then I realize it's a moan.
"Oh my god!" I exclaim.
"What?" Tara asks innocently.
"You were just picturing it!"
"Picturing what?"
"Me! And the other me! Sleeping together!"
"No I wasn't." She says.
"Yes, you were!"
"No, I was picturing both of you sleeping with me." Tara says with a wicked grin. I gulp. Now that I think about it, it is a nice fantasy. Only, my version involves two Tara's, not two me's. Or Tara, me, and Kennedy. But two Tara's sounds better.
I push her shoulder playfully.
"Hmm..." Tara moans again.
"Stop that!" I shriek.
"No, seriously. I was just thinking... Maybe... if she still... you know..."
"Wait... You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you?" I ask cautiously.
"Well... You never know. Maybe... Maybe she'll want both of us?"
"And you're really hoping for it, aren't you?" I tease.
"Maybe a little. I mean, having even just one Willow is amazing. But two of you? God, it gives me chills just thinking about it." She has that sly grin on her face I can't resist. I know I'm going to lose this battle.
"Fine. If she wants us, we'll give her what she wants." I agree after a few moments of silence. She squeals with delight.
"Okay, but first, we have to summon her here." She says, and I nod.
"I'll go find Anya." I say, then move to get up, but she holds me down.
"Not yet." Tara says, and the look in her eye tells me exactly what she wants right now. "While two of you sounds amazing, right now, I just want one. I just want you right now."
I smile as I lean over and kiss her again, and our several hour-long lovemaking session begins again.