Here we go, the last of the Willow POV. Next stop Faith, but she only gets 2 chapters, mainly because I want to move ahead to the next season! Enjoy.
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A/N – Uh definitely NOT for the kiddies this one.
There's a man goin' 'round takin' names. An' he decides who to free and who to blame. Everybody won't be treated all the same. There'll be a golden ladder reaching down. When the man comes around.
Johnny Cash, When the Man Comes Around.
Twice Lucky
The Scarlet Witch
Chapter 5: Here Come the Drums
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The hours seemed to fly by; Willow helped Cordellia with an issue and some guy named Kevin and Xander and Buffy finished their schoolwork. Nothing dramatic happened at school and everything seemed somewhat quiet.
Xander blatantly ignored Buffy, to the point of being downright rude, which was noticed by a few, including the teachers who normally asked him questions. One of them even pulled him aside, and he actually growled at them.
The day wore on and the classes got a little bit better. He wasn't going to the Spring Fling and Buffy would probably put it down to their little spat. Frankly, he had better things to do, like looking after Faith's 'needs.' He grinned wickedly at the thought.
Angel and Buffy would deal with the Master, while Giles and the rest of the gang dealt with the big bug-thing that tried to crawl its way out of the hole underneath the library.
He walked past the library and heard Jenny Calendar speaking. He flexed his ears and listened: "Well, I have been surfing the net, looking for unexplained incidents."
"You know, people are always sending stuff my way. They know the occults my turf. Now, here is the latest. A cat, last week, gave birth to a litter of snakes; a family was swimming in Whisper Lake when the lake suddenly began to boil; and Mercy Hospital, last night; a boy was born with his eyes facing inward. I'm not stupid. This is Apocalypse stuff. And throw in last night's earthquake, and I'd say we've got a problem. I would say the end is pretty seriously nigh."
It wasn't anything interesting…
"You know, following me around isn't smart," Xander said idly, as he half-hid in the shadows. "Stick with it, don't hurt Cordellia and I'll help you."
And, with that, he turned and walked off, pausing and turning back to, roughly, where Marcy was staying. "Piece of advice, stay away from the library tonight. Some bad mojo is going down."
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A little later
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She had her hands tied behind her back by a thin piece of ribbon. She was wearing a silk blindfold, a blue blouse and a long, matching skirt. She was kneeling on the bed; her senses more than aware of everything in the room, should something happen. Her long mane of hair was tied back and only a few strands fell down the sides of her face.
She never heard him enter the room.
She felt his finger graze against her soft skin and she shivered at his touch. He moved closer to her ear and breathed heavily on it; she could smell his breath as it filled her nose. She liked his breath - it always smelled clean, like he'd just brushed his teeth.
She could've broken free at any time; she could've jumped up and hit him hard enough to escape if the need ever came up, but she trusted him.
He licked her earlobe gently, like a dog tasting its mate. She shivered again, feeling goose bumps rising on her naked flesh. He lowered his head to her neck and reached to where the vampires would normally bite and, as if in reaction to that, she tensed.
His head moved once again back up to her earlobe. "Do you trust me?"
She shivered and nodded.
"Say it." His voice was gruffer… she managed to mumbled a 'Yes.' He reached back down to her neck and kissed it gently, nipping at it as though tasting her. He then latched on to her neck and fear filled her again. She wanted to bat him off, to run for her stake and ram it into his heart. But something kept her there, something stronger than the fear. Something more primal.
He didn't sink his teeth into her neck; didn't start draining her of blood. Instead, he latched on with his lips, kissed and sucked just enough to leave a hicky mark. She let out a soft groan as he moved away and repeated the process on the other side.
She was getting wet - she could feel it - and he hadn't even done anything yet. Was it his mouth, his breath or the fact that she was so willingly giving herself to him? Or was it something more primal, the hyena spirit making a connection with her own partial-Slayer spirit?
Who knew?
Not her. All she knew was that when his hands finally starting working the buttons on her blouse, she was just about ready to rip open the silk, throw him on the bed and ride him 'till the cows came home.
Faith sighed as he popped the last button from its hole and let the blouse hang free. She was certain that he could smell her own musky scent, and she smiled as she imagined the smile on Xander's face.
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Now
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Giles was lying unconscious on the floor with a Buffy-sized mark on his face. Jenny stared down at the Watcher and then looked up at Buffy and held her hands up. "You fight the Master, and you'll die."
Buffy nodded quietly. "Maybe." She bent down and picked up a crossbow. "Maybe I'll take him with me."
She met up with Colin at the spot that Xander had said; for some reason he hadn't come down here with her.
In fact, he'd said that he was deliberately staying out of the action. Angel didn't blame him, though, as he watched her, and couldn't shake the feeling that she was walking towards the gallows.
He wanted to run to her; to hug her and hold her; to revel in her goodness, but what Xander had said - and Jenny confirmed - any moment of happiness would mean eternal damnation. It would mean death to her friends and, eventually, to her. Angel would not allow that to happen. Not now, not ever. He followed at a discreet pace, watching as the two most unlikely of characters walked toward almost certain doom.
Giles groaned as he was lifted to his feet, then stood unsteadily and tapped his rather tender nose. "My, she does have a strong punch. I wish Xander could've warned me about that."
Jenny's eyebrows went heavenly. "Giles, what's going on?"
"Not now, Jenny. Maybe later, we'll see…" The old man turned and looked at Ethan, who had appeared with Willow and the large axe. "Are we ready?"
Ethan looked down at the floor and cringed. "As we'll ever be, I guess."
Giles sighed… it was going to be a bloody long night.
"Well, I guess we'd better get this show on the road then." The group turned around as one to stare at a tall cheerleader with long brown hair. "I need to get back for a pedicure, so can we please move the Apocalypse on!"
"Bloody hell…"
Ethan agreed. "She does look impressive with that bloody big axe…"
Wesley couldn't agree more as he stood next to four or five cheerleaders people Harmony and Cordellia had conscripted to fight - the blonde Harmony also brandishing a long blade. The Hellmouth wouldn't know what hit it.
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Some time before
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Angel was staring at Xander with a mixture of grief and anger. He couldn't believe what he'd just been told: the gypsies had done more than curse him. A small, dark part of his soul was laughing, and laughing loudly.
"Why are you telling me this?"
The kid who was standing in the darkness of the room, cloaked in it like a shadow, sighed. "You loved her. You loved her so much it tore your soul apart and, in the end, you broke her heart."
"Sounds like she broke yours, too…" Xander smiled, but didn't respond. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"
"Aren't you?" Xander asked in response.
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Now
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"Welcome…"
The voice came out of the darkness - she could hear him, but couldn't see him. She knew that he was there, grinning in that way when most vampires thought they had the upper hand. Well, in this case, he would be right; there was no denying his superior skill, strength and speed. And, yes, even cunning.
"Thanks for having me." She held the crossbow up and ready; he cackled slightly, mockingly.
He stepped out into the light, which gave him an almost halo-type aura.
Buffy smirked. "Y'know, you really oughta talk to your contractor. Looks like you got some water damage."
Grinning, the vampire sneered at her fear. He could taste it. "Oh, good, the feeble banter portion of the fight. Why don't we just cut to the..."
The Master moved quickly, his line blurring as he laughed and flashed out of sight. She let her senses open up and took aim, the arrow firing out.
The Master caught it before it could reach his heart and cocked his head, holding it up for inspection. "Nice shot."
He threw it on the ground and chuckled.
"You're not going to kill me with that thing," he smiled as if to reiterate the point. The Slayer shrugged it off with her usual arrogance.
"Don't be so sure."
"You still don't understand your part in all this, do you? You are not the hunter. You are the lamb."
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Xander's house
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She was on top of him, completely his - body and soul - giving herself to him willingly; rising up and down with each stroke and gasping for air as each wave hit her. He knew her body intimately - which should've been impossible, she knew - but she also knew that she had been with him in the previous timeline.
He had never told her, in great detail, what had happened between the two of them. Always finding ways to skim over the truth; to hide it from her. But, now, as she rose up and down, she knew; she could see.
As her hands moved over his chest and scraped it, she could see flashes… images, pictures, her hands wrapping around his neck and squeezing. She could feel the blood of a human's heart pouring over her hand; she could feel the anger at the world.
She heard Wesley scream as she tortured him.
The bookkeeper she killed for the Mayor… the knife, as it stabbed into her stomach. All those terrible deeds washed over, and yet, she was being forgiven. She was seeking a redemption she had no idea she was in need of. She made a vow, the same vow that Willow herself had made as she made love to Xander - as another orgasm swept over her - that she wouldn't hurt another human; she wouldn't hurt Xander. Faith was now Xander's, body and soul; combined, united in ways that neither could understand; and, yet, both would know and recognise in the months to come.
She groaned loudly as his hands worked up her chest; as his fingers brought her pleasure.
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The Library
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The ground started shaking, books falling to the ground and scattering everywhere. Fortunately, Giles had thought beforehand to move anything valuable and put it somewhere safe. One of the vents smashed open.
"Ready!"
Everyone raised their respective weapon.
"Willow, now!"
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The Master's lair
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"You know, for someone who's all-powerful, you sure do like to hide"
The Master spoke, "I'm waiting for you. I want this moment to last."
"Well, I don't." She felt disgusted, unclean.
She searched for a few moments longer, then the Master suddenly appeared, right behind her.
"I understand."
She turned around and the Master knocked the crossbow out of her hands. He grabbed her by the neck.
"You are not the hunter," the Master repeated what he had said before, "Merely a puppet, a lamb to the slaughter."
He breathed into her neck and said, "There is another here, stronger, faster, more cunning than you." He grinned as his hand slowly reached up to her neck.
Buffy tried, pitifully, to block his attempt, but his hands were strong. As she felt his fingers slowly closing around her neck, she moved out of his grasp and tried to run away, fear giving her a jolt of adrenaline. He played with her, like a lover letting her arm slip through his hand. He let her go and held up a finger.
Buffy froze in place, as though hypnotised… He moved slowly, rhythmically; twisting and turning like some sick dance. He moved behind her again and gently slipped off the leather jacket she was wearing and let it fall to the floor. The Master smiled as his mouth lowered gently to her neck, like a lover's embrace; his soft words reaching her ears.
"You tried. It was noble of you. You heard the prophecy that I was about to break free and you came to stop me. But prophecies are tricky creatures. They don't tell you everything. You're the one that sets me free! If you hadn't come, I couldn't go. Think about that!"
He paused, chuckled and bit deep into her neck. As he started feeding, she could see a pool of water and suddenly it dawned on her.
Suddenly she understood…a sense of clarity washed over her. Wasn't that what Xander had said before?
"Oh, God! The power!"
Buffy fell to her knees.
The Master smirked and wiped away a trickle of blood. "And, by the way..."
Buffy's last thoughts were of irony as she fell, face-first, into the pool of water.
"I like your dress."