Disclaimer:- I own nothing but the imagination
Rating:- M
A/N Episode Villains
Chapter 10
"It has happened" the seer said to the circle, "The witch has lost control of the magics inside of her, the loss of a loved one causing grief too hard to bare"
"It is time to prepare you Mr. Giles" Jane said.
Giles hung his head, there was only one person that would cause that kind of grief in Willow and it was Tara.
He pushed back his own grief at the loss of such a gentle soul, took a deep breath and stepped forward into the center of the circle.
I'm coming home Buffy
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dawn had sat on the couch, silently crying, for twenty minutes after the ambulance carrying her sister had left.
Xander had said that it looked bad but that she would be okay, but he had her blood all over him, a lot of her blood all over him.
"Argh! No!" she slapped her hands to the side of her head, "Stop it!"
She had to stop thinking about it, except she couldn't, she was too afraid she would lose her sister again.
A whine from upstairs caught her attention so she ran up to Buffys room to check the twins. As she ran past Wills room, she thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye but she needed to check the twins,
Buffys children she thought and immediately had to fight back a fresh wave of tears.
She went straight to the cribs, expecting it to be Dani whining, instead she found Alex whimpering and twitching in his sleep. She gave him his pacifier and gently rubbed his belly, as she'd seen Buffy do, to calm him and he settled with a little shuddering sigh.
Smiling at him she stepped away quietly and walked back to Wills room to investigate.
She walked slowly up to the doorway, seeing the hole in the window she looked into the room and walked over to the bed. She saw Taras foot,
"Tara?" she walked a bit further and saw her lying in a pool of blood, her eyes open staring lifelessly at nothing.
"Oh god, no" Dawn whispered and she backed away until she hit the wall. She started to cry again as she slid to the floor, wanting to shut her eyes but unable to look away from the woman who had loved and cared for her like a sister.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
At the hospital, Xander stood in the hallway looking through a window at the doctor trying to save Buffys life. A nurse walked by with a tray and as the door opened he heard the steady beeping of the machines.
He couldn't hear a thing with the door closed, placing his hands on top of his head, he paced back and forth waiting anxiously.
Suddenly all the lights began to flicker and the machines blinked off and on again.
Appearing from nowhere, Xander saw Willow in the room with Buffy, but it didn't look like his Will. She had black hair and eyes with the clothes to match.
He rushed into the room as the doctor and nurses ran out.
"Willow? Will what are you doing? She's going to die" Xander said staring at her.
"No she isn't" Willow moved over to Buffy and stood beside her, staring down at her lying on the table.
Xander was looking between Willow and Buffy, the beeping of the machines getting faster. All of a sudden the bullet lifted up out of Buffys chest and floated in the air, hovering at eye level.
Willow looked at as the beeping stopped, "It's so small"
She put her hand out and plucked the bullet out of the air then brought her hand back toward her, the bullet gone when she opened her hand. Xander took a few steps closer staring in fascination at what had happened.
He looked down at Buffy as she slowly came to, blinking against the bright light that suddenly came back on.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Buffy!" Xander cried as she rushed forward and helped her sit up,
"Oh my god, are you okay?"
She looked confused, "Sure. How'd I get here?" then she remembered and gripped Xanders arm,
"The twins? Are they okay? Where are they?" she asked anxiously.
"It's okay Buff, they're fine. Dawn showed up at the same time as the paramedics so I told her to stay with them, it should keep her calm enough that she doesn't panic so much" Xander told her, hugging her in relief.
"You've gotta stop doing this. This dying thing is funny once, maybe twice"
Buffy looked over at Willow, frowning as she tried to recognize who she saw in front of her,
"Willow?"
"Buffy. Hey" Willow said giving her a very small smile.
"What's wrong?" she asked as she slid off the table.
"I'll explain. But we've gotta go" Willow said as she moved towards the door.
Xander and Buffy looked at each other then back at Willow, confused.
"Why?"
"It's time to find Warren" she said without turning back.
Willow walked to the door and pushed it open, leaving a very confused Buffy and Xander sharing a look of concern.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Twenty minutes later they're in Xanders car driving through the desert. Willow sat in the back staring straight ahead, not talking to them. Her eyes had gone back to normal but her hair was still black.
"Faster" Willow commanded sitting forward.
"I'm going as fast as I…."
"Faster!" she lifted her hand and the gas pedal slammed down under Xanders foot.
"Will, would you cut that out? If you wanted to drive..." he said looking back at her.
Buffy looked worried, she wanted to get back to her twins, to Dawn, not be out here in the middle of the desert hunting down the boy who shot her with a powerful, pissed off witch controlling a car.
"We need to stop. I don't like this" she said looking at Willow.
"We're close I can feel him"
"And we'll catch him, and he'll go to jail. I'm finding the whole getting shot, very motivating. But you're using magic"
"If I wasn't you'd be dead"
"Maybe. But this isn't right. Okay, this isn't how I want it"
"Sometimes you don't get a choice"
"I think Buffy gets the tie breaker on this one Will. She was the one on the ouchy end of a bullet" Xander said his pain at what he almost lost again clearly visible on his face.
"Will, you do have a choice. This isn't good for you" Buffy said turning in her seat to look at Willow.
"You made the decision to stop for a reason. You promised us. And can I just ask, what's with the make over of the damned? I mean, the hair…."
Willow was ignoring them concentrating instead on the feel of Warrens essence, looking around. Suddenly she sat up,
"Turn right! Go!"
"Go….where?" Xander asked, seeing no turning.
"Over there! Now!"
Xander looked around in confusion, "Will..."
"Turn" She command and the wheel turned itself under Xanders hands.
The car screeched off the road, bouncing over the desert floor, weaving between bushes.
Xander held his hands up, "Fine! Puppet master wants to drive? Go right ahead"
The car bounced along for another few minutes before it crashed over a ditch and stopped at the edge of the highway, Willow jumped out of the car and strode purposefully across the highway. Buffy and Xander followed, slowly.
"Willow, wait!" Buffy called
"Stay back!" Willow said, waving her arm back she shot a purple-black energy at them, immobilizing them.
She kept walking until she saw a bus coming towards her, she stopped in the middle of the road and glared at the bus. The bus braked and swerved a little but it came to a stop a few feet from Willow.
She walked around the side of the bus and the doors opened on their own.
"Get out" She ordered.
A minute later Warren stepped off the bus and Willow grabbed him by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
Buffy and Xander watched helplessly as she squeezed his neck, the sound of cracking audible to them. They watched Warrens eye pop out of his head and Willow drop his body to the floor.
The immobility vanished and they ran over, looking down in relief at was obviously not a human.
"It's a robot" Willow said surprised.
She frowned in confusion, "I...I could feel his essence"
Willows face flashed in anger, "He tricked me. We'll find another way" She began to walk off.
Buffy started to follow her, "And then what?"
"And then we kill him" Willow stated matter-of-factly.
That's it, no more playing chase the crazy witch Buffy thought and she grabbed Willows arm forcing her to turn and face them.
"Okay, you need to calm down"
"Calm down?"
"Look, you're angry. I...I am too. There's no excuse for what Warren did, but that..."
"He shot Tara" Willow said dispassionately.
Xander stepped forward as he and Buffy stared at her, lost for words.
"When he shot you, he hit her too. Upstairs in my room"
"Oh my god" Buffy put her hand over her mouth.
"Guess the last shot was the charm"
"She's dead?" Xander asked quietly.
"She's dead. Now he's dead too"
Buffys eyes were swimming with unshed tears,
"Oh my god….Tara" she whispered her name. She blinked and the tears fell. She had grown close to Tara over the last few months as she helped her figure out the magic side of her pregnancy, she had delivered her children, sat with her during her hallucinations.
She forced back a sob and, taking a deep breath, regained control over her tears.
"Christ, Will, how come you didn't say anything?" Xander asked shocked, he had liked Tara, she had added a balance to the scoobies, managing to bring a calm with her no matter how crazy it got.
"I'm busy" Willow said and moved towards the car again. Buffy reached out and pulled her back.
"W...Willow, please, just stop."
Willow stared at her coldly.
"We love you. And Tara. But we don't kill humans. It's not the way" Buffy said firmly.
"How can you say that? Tara is dead"
"I know…..I know. And I…..can't understand….anything. Not what happened a...and not what you must be going through. Will if you do this, you let Warren destroy you too"
"You said it yourself, Will….the magic's too strong, there's no coming back from it" Xander said stepping closer.
Willow looked at each of them, "I'm not coming back"
Again she started to walk away and Buffy grabbed her again, stopping her.
"Will, please. Please, we'll get through this together" Buffy begged her, she didn't want to lose her friend.
"We won't! Not your way"
"Please, just..."
"No! No more talking. It's done" she turned away again, this time waving her hand behind her.
Another bolt of purple magic flew backwards knocking Buffy and Xander over. By the time they had sat up Willow had vanished.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
By the time they got back to the house the sun was setting. Buffy ran into the house with Xander,
"You check the twins, I'll…..I'll go t...to Tara" Buffy said, Xander nodded grateful to be spared that duty.
He continued on to Buffys room as she turned into Willows, walking around the bed she saw Tara.
"I couldn't leave her alone"
Buffy turned and saw Dawn sitting curled up against the wall. With a last look at Tara she crouched next to her sister,
"Dawn. Sweetie. Come on, we need to get out of here okay?" she stroked Dawns hair as she knelt down next to her,
"Dawn? Be strong for me okay? Be brave for me" Buffy knew saying the same words she had said to her on the tower would snap her out of it and they did.
Xander walked in and looked at Tara sadly, "Their still sleeping Buff" he said quietly.
Dawn looked at her tears welling in her eyes, "The twins were fussy, but they didn't wake up. Do you think they know? Is their magic like that?" She asked looking at her sister.
"I don't know, maybe. We need to go downstairs sweetie"
"I don't understand" Dawn whispered as he tears spilled from her eyes.
Buffy wrapped her arms around her sister and pulled her close, hugging her tightly,
"Oh, honey, I don't understand either" she said thickly. "Come on, we'll get the twins and go downstairs, okay?"
"Okay" Dawn said weakly.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buffy watched as two men carried Taras body down the stairs on a gurney. Xander, who had changed his clothes and washed the blood off of his hands, stood waiting at the door.
Buffy put an arm around Dawn and pulls her into her side as they carry her to the front door.
She hears the coroner ask Xander to sign the form and tell him to call a number tomorrow. It was all too familiar and her mind flashed back to that day over a year ago when her mom had left the house the same way.
She heard the door shut and looked up as Xander walked into the room holding a folded sheet of paper.
"So that's it" he said sitting on the coffee table in front of them.
"Are the police gone too?"
"Coming back tomorrow with more of their pretty yellow tape."
They both sighed shakily as they fought back the tears that were always just under the surface.
"We need to find Willow"
Xander nodded, "Yeah, she's off the wagon big time. Warrens a dead man if she finds him"
"Good" Dawn said bitterly
"Dawn, don't say that"
"Why not? I'd do it myself if I could"
"Because you don't really feel that way" Buffy said gently looking at her with sympathy, she had been through too much, at sixteen she shouldn't have felt this much pain.
"Yes I do" She said looking up at Buffy, "and you should too. He killed Tara, and he almost killed you. What would have happened to the twins if you had died?"
"Dawn, don't" Xander said seeing Buffys guilt and pain blossom on her face.
Buffy stood up and walked over to the travel cot, hugging herself she stared down at the twins,
I'm sorry, I nearly left you and I couldn't have stopped it she thought, still hoping Giles would reply but not expecting him to.
Watching her Dawn said, "He needs to pay"
"Out of the mouths of babes"
"Xander" Buffy said, wiping a tear away she looked at him.
"I'm just saying he's….he's as bad as any vampire you've sent to dustville"
"Being a Slayer doesn't give me a license to kill. Warrens human"
"So?" Dawn scoffed
"So the human world has its own rules for dealing with this" she said sitting back down next to Dawn.
"And we know how well those work" Xander said shifting his feet.
"Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. We can't control everything. If we were supposed to...then magic wouldn't change Willow the way it does. And...and we'd be able to bring Tara back" Buffys voice wavered
"And mom" Dawn said quietly
"There are limits, and there should be. Willow doesn't want to believe that and now she's messing with forces that want to hurt her, hurt us."
"I just…..I've had blood on my hands all day" Xander looked Buffy in the eye, "Blood of the people I love"
"I know, it has to stop. Warrens going to get what he deserves, I promise, but I will not let Willow destroy herself"
Xander nodded, "Okay, where do we go? She could be anywhere"
"First guess, I'd say magic box, some sort of locating spell" she looked at Xander, "Can you go? I'll get the twins packed and take them and Dawn to Melinda next door at least she'll have a chance at protecting them"
"I want to come with you" Dawn said lifting her eyes to her sisters.
"No, it's too dangerous"
"But it's Willow...she needs us"
"She does, and you'll help her, lots but first we have to get her home in one piece"
"But…."
"Dawn, I'm serious, you've been through enough. You should be somewhere safe"
"Fine then I want to go to Spikes" she said folding her arms.
"No"
"Why not?!"
"Because he's gone, probably won't be back"
"Why?"
"It's complicated, please just go pack a bag while I pack the twins up and phone Melinda"
Dawn huffed and stomped up the stairs, Buffy watching her go.
"You gonna tell her?" Xander asked taking her hand.
"Not tonight. I'm so tired Xand" she said closing her eyes.
"I know, no rest for the wicked"
"I could go to the magic box if…."
"No, it's cool, I'll go, you've got to sort everything out here"
"Thanks Xand"
"No problem" he got up and picked his keys up from the table by the door, with a last look at her he left.
Buffy stood up and retrieved the phone from the kitchen, dialing Melinda she waited as it rang.
"Hi, Melinda…...yeah, I need your help with the twins and Dawn….would you mind? To be honest it would be easier if you came here….okay yeah, I'll wait for you on the porch…..see you soon then, bye"
She walked to the bottom of the stairs and called up, "Dawn, Melinda's coming here instead, try and sleep okay"
"Okay" she called down.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buffy rushed into the magic box half an hour later.
"Is everyone ok? Did Willow..."
"Got her power boost and took off" Anya said looking at her
"Anya's…..Anya was saying she knows where Willow is" Xander said
"A spell?"
"Not exactly. Seems Anya got her vengeance on again" Xander said bitterly.
Buffy stared at her, "Oh"
"So, Willows all wrathy….why don't you go to her? Isn't that your gig?" Xander asked her.
"Normally, I'd have to...but she doesn't want me" She said defensively.
"She wants to do it herself" Buffy said looking at Xander who paled.
"Yeah"
"Look, Anya, we don't have much time. Which side of this are you on?" Buffy asked, getting straight to the point.
Anya hesitated, looking between Buffy and Xander.
"If you know where she is, you can help us" Xander pointed out.
Anya stood up and sighed, "I'll help. But I'm helping Willow"
Both Buffy and Xander nod in acceptance.
"She's close to him. He's in the woods"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buffy and Xander were following Anya through the woods,
"What's happening? What do you feel?" Buffy asked Anya.
"She's stronger now. Close"
"What about Warren? Has she…."
"He's still alive. She's not done"
They walked for another ten minutes when Anya stopped and pointed a little to the left,
"Over there"
They come upon Willow standing in front of Warren, Buffy who had rushed the last few hundred yards, called her name.
Willow looked over.
She turned back to Warren who was still talking,
"Oh, and when you're caught, you'll lose them too. Your friends. You don't want that. I know you're in pain, but..."
"Bored now" Willow waved her hand at Warren.
A bolt of magic rips through Warren and tears the skin off his body in a single piece.
"Oh my god" Xander covered his mouth with his hand as he felt the bile rise in his throat.
Warrens body sagged against the vines still holding his lifeless body. Willow just stood there looking at it.
"What did you do?" Buffy asked shocked.
Willow just kept staring at the body as if committing it to memory.
"Willow, what did you do?" Buffy asked again.
Willow looked over at them then back at the body. Suddenly it burst into flames and burned to nothing in an instant.
"One down" Willow said calmly as smoke began to curl up around Willows body. Red fire flashed in her eyes, the lightening flashed as her whole body disappears into smoke.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I think I'm gonna be sick" Xander says and stops running, putting his hands on his knees.
"Again!" Anya said annoyed.
"I know it's just… what happened back there, the sounds, the smell"
"I know" Buffy said quietly.
"Willow did that"
"That's why we have to keep going, you heard what she said, 'one down'"
"So we're talking about 'two to go' right? Jonathan and that other one" Anya said pushing herself off of a tree.
"Andrew. They're in county with no clue whats coming"
"You think she's gonna kill them too? She wouldn't, it doesn't make sense" Xander said as he straightened.
"She's got an addictive personality and she's just tasted blood, she could be there already"
"No. She couldn't, a witch at her level.. She can only go airborne." Anya said moving in front of them, "It's a thing. More flashy, impresses the locals, but it takes longer"
"Longer than what?" Xander asked.
"Teleporting" Anya said then disappeared
"Right, vengeance demon" Xander said sarcastically, "well at least she'll get there first"
"I'm counting the ways that could go wrong".
They started walking again in grim silence. Xander couldn't get his mind off of what they had just witnessed, his stomach still rolling.
"Well Anya can handle herself"
"Against Willow? Tonight? Don't be so sure" Buffy said looking at Xander her worry evident on her face.
"Well...she should be coming down at some point, shouldn't she?" Xander asked panting as he kept pace with Buffy, "I mean, she was out of her head back there, running on grief and magic"
"Doesn't matter" Buffy said shaking her head, "Willow just killed someone and killing changes you, believe me I know"
"Warren was a cold blooded murderer who was just warming up. You ask me that bastard had it coming"
"Maybe" Buffy looked at him frowning, "But Andrew and Jonathan don't, they didn't pull the trigger"
They picked up the pace and jogged on in silence for a few minutes.
"This is still Willow right?"
"I hope so, whatever she's going through, we have to stop or she definitely won't be Willow anymore. Maybe we could actually do that if we could find your….." Buffy broke off as they came to a clearing and saw what was left of Xanders car.
"….car"
"Are you fucking kidding me!" Xander yelled angrily. "Willow!"
The car was trashed, smoke curling out from underneath the hood, a huge hole in the windshield.
"I guess she wants to finish the job without an audience" she said grimly looking at Xander, "Meet me at the jail"
"Sure, how're you gonna..."
Buffy started running, leaving him behind calling out to her. Sorry Xand but it's quicker this way, you need time to deal and I don't want you to watch me fight our best friend she thought sadly
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N Episode Two To Go
Chapter 11
Buffy arrived at the county jail as Willow was pulling bricks from the building and throwing cops around. She found a door inside and pulled it open, running up the stairs, already winded from her run from the woods.
She gets to the top and pulls another door open into the holding area, seeing Anya, Andrew and Jonathan all staring at the ever growing hole in the wall.
"Anya!"
"Buffy! We need to get them out of here"
"Really? I never would have thought of that on my own"
"No need for sarcasm Buffy" Anya said caustically, rolling her eyes.
Buffy walked to the cell and began prying the bars apart. Once the gap is wide enough she pulls them out and pushes them to the door,
"Anya? Come on we've gotta go!"
"Go, I'll stay here try and slow her down"
Buffy looked at Anya with fear and sadness in her eyes, Anya was actually touched,
"I'm a vengeance demon again remember? We're very hard to kill" she said giving the Slayer a small smile, "Now go! Get them out of here!"
With one last look at Anya, Buffy shoved the boys through the door and hurried them down the stairs.
They got to the street just as Willow started screaming.
"Aah! What is that? God, it kills" Andrew whined, his hands over his ears.
Buffy carefully peeked around the corner and saw the cops still standing there, some still staring up with their guns still trained on Willow the others standing around with their hands over their ears.
"We have to make a run for it" Buffy said looking back at them.
"Are you kidding? She's like Dark Phoenix up there! We can't outrun her!" Andrew said
"Pretty much, yeah, or you know, you could stand here and die like Warren did, it wasn't pretty"
Both boys gulped and stayed silent.
A police car drove up next to them and Buffy saw Xander behind the wheel, he leaned over and pushed the passenger side door open,
"Get in"
Buffy opened the back and all but threw the boys in before slamming the door,
"Drive!" she told Xander and he put his foot down before she was all the way in.
They sped away as a couple of cops realized what they were doing and tried to stop them. They could still hear Willow screaming behind them.
Buffy stared out of the back window, waiting to see if Willow would follow, when it became obvious she wasn't she turned back to the front and slipped out her cell phone.
"Hello"
"Hey Melinda. How're the twins? Is Dawn still sulking?"
"The twins are fine, fussy but fine. I think they can feel the magic, I know I can. And Dawns still in her room"
"Yeah it's Willow she's….she's.."
"I know. I fixed that room up. Didn't take long and I cleared the negative energies as well."
"You didn't need to do that, but thank you, I don't know if I could have…."
"I know, I'm sorry about Tara. She was such a sweet girl. I put the twins back in your room once I had finished, they sleep better in there"
"Okay. Ring me if there are any problems"
"There won't be. Stay safe"
Buffy hung up and looked over at Xander.
"Everything okay?" He asked his gaze flicking between her and the road.
"Yeah, no problems" she turned and looked at Andrew and Jonathan in the back, "Are you injured?"
"I...I don't think so" Jonathan said shakily.
"Where are you taking us?" Andrew asked.
"We'll find someplace safe and we'll keep you there until we can stop Will" She said turning back again and staring out of the windshield.
"Run and hide, that's your big plan?" Andrew said scornfully.
"I don't believe this" Jonathan said quietly.
"Boys, if you don't shut up I will pull this car over and you can just walk to your painful deaths from here" Xander said angrily.
Jonathan shook his head in confusion, "I don't get it, Willows a witch so why doesn't she just wave her arms and make us dead?"
"Because she doesn't want you dead, she wants to kill you and she wants it to hurt"
"But we didn't do anything" Andrew said.
Buffy turned round and punched him, "Of course you didn't. You just played with my life like it was one of your toys, tried to kill me more than once and put my babies in danger all because you were bored and wanted to play in the big boys pool. No, you didn't do a fucking thing"
"Hate to admit it Buff but Jonathan has a point. Why isn't she right here right now?" Xander said
"Maybe she's just getting fired up, or maybe she doesn't know how much power she has yet. We don't even know how much power she has yet?
"Guess we keep running then"
Jonathan leaned forward, "I still can't believe that was Willow, I mean I've known her almost as long as you guys have, she was...you know….Willow. She packed her own lunches and wore floods, she was always….just Willow"
Suddenly the car jolted forward sending Jonathan and Andrew into the backs of Buffy and Xanders seats. Buffy braced herself on the dash board as Xander looked in the rear view mirror.
"Geez, Xand" Jonathan said
"What was that?" Andrew squeaked
"Oh, you know, just Willow"
Buffy looked in her side mirror and saw Willow standing on top of a truck her hands out stretched. The truck sped up and slammed into the back of them.
"O..okay, any ideas" Xander said sounding scared.
Buffy just looked at him her face blank, "Drive faster"
Xander puts his foot down and they moved away from the truck but that sped up too, ramming them harder. The bumper detached on one side and scraped along behind them, sending sparks flying as the metal came in contact with the road.
The truck hits them again and now everyone in the car is scared.
"This is faster!" Xander said his fear in his voice.
"She knows you're in this car too, right?" Jonathan asked nervously.
Buffy and Xander exchanged a look that clearly said that they didn't think Willow cared and looked back at the truck.
"Right?!" Jonathan said anxiously.
They all looked back at the truck as it began to slow down.
"She's draining" Jonathan said surprise and relief mixed in his voice.
"She's what-ing?"
"Just keep going"
Xander kept driving, his foot to the floor, the bumper dragging behind them. Buffy watches as the truck slows even further, Willow dropping to all fours on the roof as the truck lurches from side to side before finally stopping with a squeal of brakes.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anya met them at the magic box and let them in, striding forward impatiently.
"Thanks Anya, for getting here so fast. It's a big help" Xander said.
"Once again Xander needs help" Anya said sarcastically.
Xander just sighed, "Whatever. So can you still sense her? Knowing where she is will be a big comfort right now"
They walked over to Buffy who was standing next to the big table still covered in books.
"No, I can't" Anya said sighing, "Which means whatever she's feeling has gone way beyond simple vengeance"
"Did you not hear me mention the need for comfort" Xander said looking at her in alarm.
"Whatever we've got we'd better grab it, this is probably the first place she'll look for us" Buffy said looking over the books, finding each one completely blank.
"Then what are we doing here?" Andrew said alarmed, "You know I could summon a demon that could kill her"
They all looked at him angrily, Xander stepped forward,
"And I could smack you so hard your eyeballs would switch sockets. Now sit your ass down and keep your mouth shut"
Anya walked off towards the counter as Jonathan and Andrew sat down, eyes on Xander.
"We need to find some sort of magic that can stop Willow, or, maybe just slow her her down" Buffy said looking around the shop.
"She's drained the place. She took everything that could be of use" Xander said picking up a book.
Anya bent down behind the cash register and lifted a box onto the counter,
"Not everything" she said as she unlocked the box and pulled a book from inside it.
"What is it?" Buffy asked walking over to her Xander right behind her.
"Um, a book of protection spells, sort of anti magic, our last resort"
"Think you can work this stuff?" Xander asked walking around the counter to look at the book.
"Well, the good news is the text is intact, the bad news, it's in like ancient Sumerian, or something"
Jonathan, who had been watching them, stood up and walked a little closer,
"Could I take a look at it?"
Buffy glared at him, "Shut up"
"Right" he said and he started to turn back but stopped, "I just thought that seeing as you're, you know, protecting us, the least I could is help"
"I'm not protecting you Jonathan, none of us are, we're doing this for Willow" Buffy said as she walked towards him, "The only reason it's your lucky day is that if Willow kills you, she crosses a line, I lose a friend"
She got right up in his face, "And I hate to lose"
Jonathan stood his ground, "I get that, it's just...you know she's running out of power right? I can practically feel it, I've dabbled"
"I think Will is in a league of her own dabble boy" Xander said
"But still, running that hot for that long, you gotta re-charge no matter how powerful you are" Jonathan said looking at both of them.
"Thank you, now you remember what I said before?" Buffy said narrowing her eyes at him.
"About me shutting up?"
Buffy nodded and watched him walk back to the table, Xander comes up beside and grabs her arm, pulling her to the side he said quietly,
"Buffy, let's say this works and we, somehow, stop Will from working the hoodoo, even for a minute, what then?"
"I talk to her"
"Great! And then what?"
Buffy took off her hat and brushed her fingers through her hair,
"Look….whatever she's planning she's starting with those two. They're the line we can't let her cross and if she is running low on magic, then she's probably somewhere recharging right now"
"Buff?" Xander said looking at her, his eyebrows raised.
"Don't….don't tell me I might have to fight her" she said shaking her head.
"But you know you might have to" he said gently as her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't" She said looking him in the eye, "I'll defend myself and you and Anya and god even the witless wonders, but I can't think of her as an enemy I have to fight…..I can't think of her as someone I have to kill to save the world"
Xander pulled Buffy into his arms and held her as she cried, his own eyes swimming with tears.
"Okay, I won't. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that" he said rubbing her back, "although, it's not like I never had a fantasy of you and Will mud wrestling, maybe we could give that a go while I sit back and watch, with popcorn"
He felt Buffys laugh and grinned, she pulled back and playfully shoved him back,
"Perv" she said smiling, her eyes still wet with tears.
He laughed and walked back over to Anya as Buffy pushed open the door to the training room.
She walked over to the couch and sat down, engulfed in the memories the room contained, all she could see was the ghost of Giles, instructing her, guiding her, patching her up, loving her.
She closed her eyes, letting the tears fall,
Giles? Ru? I need you. Even if I just get to hear your voice. I don't know what to do. I can't fight Willow. Please, answer me.
She waited, concentrating on the bond harder than ever, feeling nothing, hearing nothing. She sighed and slumped against the back of the couch,
"Where are you?" she whispered as tears leaked down the side of her face.
She felt her cellphone vibrating so she lifted herself up and pulled it from her back pocket,
"Melinda? What's wrong?"
"It's Willow. She's here, at the house."
"What?!" Buffy leaped from the sofa and ran back into the shop,
"Xander, it's Willow, she's at the house." she turned her attention back to the phone,
"Wait….what? She did what?"
"Dawn ran out of the house. I have a protection spell up and Willow can't get in but she threatened to destroy the house around us unless Dawn came out, the spell only keeps her out"
"What's she doing now?" Buffy asked as Xander stood close enough that he could hear her as well,
"She's just talking to her…..oh no she's trans-locating...I've got to go, maybe I could trace her magic signature..."
Before she could finish speaking Willow materialized in front of them,
"Melinda, she's here, so's Dawn….yes, ok…..I'll ring you when it's over"
She hung up and rushed to Dawn who had collapsed against the counter. She heard Xander whisper to Anya,
"I wish you could read this book"
She looked up and saw Anya smile before running towards the front of the shop and hiding behind the shelf at the end of the counter.
Willow looked horrible, veins all over her face, her eyes black.
"Sorry, the trip can be a bit rough if you're, you know, not me" Willow said smiling, she turned towards Jonathan and Andrew,
"You boys like magic don't you?" she asked smiling.
The magic started to swirl around her, "Abracadabra" she lifted her arms towards them and streams of purple-black magic flow towards them, her hair lifting in the resulting breeze as lightening flashed in the magic cloud.
It stops when it hits and invisible wall.
"Okay, didn't see that coming" Willow said surprised.
"W...what was that?" Andrew said, looking at Jonathan.
"We're alive" He said sounding surprised.
"Okay, you boys wanna take it slow, I can do that too" Willow said then tried again.
"Don't!" Buffy cried out getting up.
Willow continued to throw magic at the geeks but it never touched them.
Jonathan looked at Andrew, "Let's get out of here"
Andrew nods and they move around the table but Willow blocks their path, they grab swords and move towards the training room,
"No, stay" Willow says and the door closes on it's own in front of them. Slowly they turn around, the swords held up in front of them,
"I mean, we're just getting started and I've got big party plans"
"Will..." Buffy says softly as she moves towards her.
Xander grabs her arm and holds her back, "No, don't..."
She looks at him and understands what he's saying, she put her hand on his and nodded sadly.
"Guy's come on. I'm just getting wood for the violence, and you know what they say.." she said glancing back at them,
"If at first you don't succeed.." She lifted her hands and started blasting magic again only to have it fail to touch them.
"Damn that is one effect counter spell, won't keep you alive though"
"Will, stop, please. You need to give this up now" Buffy said, Xander still holding her arm.
Willow just ignored her, "I get it, you boys put a spell on yourselves, didn't you. Protecting you from harm...from magic. that's cute" She said to the boys.
"Will, back off before somebody gets hurt" Buffy said, Xander tightened his grip knowing she could brake it easily but not wanting to see the two women he thought of as sisters fight as much as Buffy didn't want to do it.
"How 'bout I back off right after" Willow said still staring at the boys, "So which one of you boys worked the mojo? It doesn't matter I'm just curious, 'cause if I can't use the magic on you it doesn't mean I can't do it to myself"
Magic crackles around Willow as she cupped her hands in front of her and mumbled something in Latin, the magic intensified and then faded as she lifted her head and smiled.
"Pretty sure I'm strong enough to beat you to death now"
The boys retreated back behind the table but Willow just grabbed an edge and threw it across the room. She started to advance on them but Buffy, with a look of regret at Xander rushed forward and blocked her path,
"I don't want to hurt you Will"
Willow punched Buffy and she flew all the way to the back of the shop and crashed into the magazine rack. The geeks look even more terrified and Xander, alarmed, moved in front of Dawn.
"Not a problem" Willow said smugly and moved towards the boys again.
Buffy gets up, looking pissed off, and strode over to get in front of Willow again,
"I said I didn't want to, not that I wouldn't" she said then she backhanded her into a glass display case, watching as she landed in a heap on the floor.
Xander rushed forward to the nerds and Dawn rushed at Buffy,
"I'm sorry I didn't want her to hurt the twins" she said in a rush.
"I know, it's ok, now go with Xander" Buffy said giving her a quick hug.
"I want to stay" Dawn said fear shining in her eyes.
"I need you safe Dawnie, go, now" she said giving her a little push, "I love you"
"No! Don't say that, it sounds like goodbye" Dawn said her eyes growing larger.
"Fine, go away brat, stop bugging me"
Dawn smiled at her and ran after Xander, who had grabbed the boys and rushed them out of the shop.
Willow looked up and saw her prey leaving, "No!"
She got up but Buffy had already reached her, she grabbed the back of her jacket and threw her back away from the door and watched as she slid across the floor and hit the stairs up to the loft.
She tensed as willow stood up and glared at her.
Willow smiled at her, "So, here we are"
"Are we really gonna do this?" Buffy asked her voice shaking.
"Come on, this is a big fucking deal for me. Six years as a sidekick and now I get to be the Slayer"
"Being a killer doesn't make you a Slayer. Being a Slayer means something you will never understand"
Willow sighed and shook her head laughing, "Oh Buffy, you really need to have every square inch of your ass kicked"
Buffy felt a flicker in the bond as she worked to hide her sadness at what was about to happen but she ignored it, focusing everything in her on Willow,
"Then show me what you got and I'll show you what being a Slayer really means"
They moved towards each other and began to fight. Struggling with each other at first, Willow tried to headbutt her but Buffy dodged it, she kicked her in the stomach then punched her, Buffy ducked another swing and hits Willow in the side then punched her in the face. Willow spun and kicked Buffy in the face, then the chest.
Buffy tried to kick Willow but she flipped over her head and landed behind her. Buffy turned and kicked her, tried to follow it with a punch but Willow grabbed her arm and hit her with her other hand. Buffy staggered back and Willow threw her across the room into a bookcase.
Willow holds up her hand and the stairs to the loft shoot across the room and trap her against the shelves. She clung to the ladder, trying to push it away, and saw Willow turn to walk out of the shop. She used a burst of Slayer strength and shoved the ladder away, climbing out from behind it she rushed Willow from behind knocking her to the floor, she sat on top of her and punched her in the head.
"Get off super bitch"
Willow threw Buffy off into the counter, smashing the glass. They grapple again and exchange several punches, Willow pulled Buffy backwards and kicked her several times in the head and chest. Buffy spun around and kicked her backwards, jumping forward, she used her momentum to deliver a punch. Willow swung at her but Buffy grabbed her arm,
"I can help you stop" she said panting, eyes pleading with Willow to end this.
Willow broke the hold and punched Buffy several times,
"Is it me, or is your heart not in this" Willow said as she punched Buffy again.
"Of course it's not in this, you're like a sister to me you fucking idiot! Why would I want to fight you?"
"Ah, that's sweet, but I thought you were gonna show me what a slayer was" She punched Buffy again but she blocked it.
Buffy shoved Willow across the room through a display cabinet and into the small merchandise table at the front of the store.
Willow sat up and noticed Anya, "Well, hey, isn't that interesting, Anya's still here" she said out of breath.
Willow got up, shoving Buffy across the room into another table, hitting her head on the shelves.
Willow advanced on Anya who was still chanting, holding the book in front of her and staring at Willow in fear.
"Looks like I've been beating on the wrong gal" Willow said and grabbed Anya by the throat and lifted her off the floor.
"Help me!" Anya cried looking over at Buffy but she was unconscious, lying amongst the wreckage of the store,
"Help me!" she cried louder, she looked at Willow, "You're hurting me"
"You can't block my spells if you can't chant and you can't chant if you're sleepin'" Willow threw her aside into the shelves, she hit the floor unconscious.
Willow looked over at Buffy as she staggered to her feet and down the stairs into the main area of the shop. Willow followed, circling her as they watched each other.
"Buffy...I gotta tell ya...I get it now. The Slayer thing isn't about the violence, it's about the power"
Magic began to crackle again, surrounding Willow. She lifts her hands and unleashes it on Buffy. It throws her back onto the desk, she slides across it head first into the wall and lands on the floor beside it with a thud, groaning she struggles to focus.
Willow walked forward with a smug look on her face as Buffy pressed her forehead to the floor and collapsed, exhausted she rolled her head to look at Willow.
Please, stop, I can't do this anymore. She begged her silently as she closed her eyes and let the blackness take her.
"And there's no one in the world with the power to stop me now"
Suddenly Willow was hit in the side by a blast of green magic, spinning around she hits the floor, sliding back to the shelves near the training room.
She lifted her head and her eyes widened in surprise when she looked in the direction the magic had come from.
"I'd like to test that theory" Giles said, standing in the doorway.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N Episode Grave
Chapter 12
Anya stirred and sat up, looking at the door she blinked hard, and looked again,
"Giles?" She said and stood up. He didn't respond, staring intently at Willow as he moved closer to her.
Anya looked around and saw Buffy lying on the floor, she looked between Willow and Giles and ran across the shop to her. Dropping to the floor next to her she put her hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake.
Willow, still lying on the floor, wiped her nose. Looking at her hand she saw blood,
"Uh oh. Daddy's home. I'm in wicked trouble now" she sat up and wiped her nose again. Her eyes were back to normal but her face was still covered in dark veins.
"You have no idea" Giles said calmly, "you have to stop what you're doing"
"Uh sorry, can't do that" Willow said giving Giles a fake smile as he moved down the steps, "I'm not finished yet"
Willow started to get up, her legs shaking a little.
"Neither am I, stay down" Giles waved his hand to the floor and Willow collapsed again.
Anya who had sat at Buffys head, moving it into her lap, looked at Giles in shock,
"How did you do that?" she asked softly.
Giles ignored her, still completely focused on Willow.
Willow huffed a chuckle "That's borrowed power. No way is it strong enough..."
Anya looked down when she felt Buffy stir,
"Buffy wake up now, this is not a time for sleeping" Anya said giving her another gentle shake.
"I'm here to help you" Giles said in that same soft voice.
Buffy's eyes snapped open when she heard Giles' voice and looked up at Anya,
"Giles?" she asked her, afraid she was dreaming. Anya nodded and looked up at something across the room.
Buffy slowly followed her gaze and gasped when she saw him, her heart swelling with happiness, then she remembered why she was lying on the floor with her head in Anyas lap. She rolled to her side and groaning, she got to her feet, pulling Anya with her.
"Thanks, but I think I can kill a couple of nerds all by myself. But hey, if you'd like to watch….I mean, that's what you Watchers are good at, right? Watching? Well..." she looked at Buffy and laughed, looking back at Giles she continued,
"You're good at fucking your Slayer as well as butting in on things that don't concern you"
"You concern me Willow. Stay on this path and you'll end up dead" he said, his hands now crossed in front of him.
"Listen to him Will, I don't want to fight you anymore, I never wanted to fight you in the first place" Buffy said as she held onto Anya, her fear for Giles making her unsteady.
"I don't wanna fight you anymore either, I wanna fight him" Willow said and she rose up off the floor.
"Stay down" Giles said gesturing at her again.
Willow makes her own gesture, waving her arm across the front of her body and blocked his magic,
"No"
Giles looked a little alarmed. Buffy looking warily at Willow moved to stand next to Giles.
"Remember that little spat we had before you left? You called me a rank, arrogant amateur. Well buckle up Rupert…."
Giles, Buffy and Anya watched her uneasily as a magical light appeared from nowhere and Willows eyes turned black, Buffy and Anya looking around as a humming noise rose in pitch and volume.
"'Cause I've turned pro" Willow said her voice deeper.
The humming noise continued to get louder as Willow began a spell,
"Asmodea, bring forth..."
"Vincire!" Giles said gesturing at Willow.
Green energy shot from Giles' hand and formed a band around Willow's body, pinning her arms to her sides. It began to glow with a green light that made Willows skin look green too.
"What? No! Get off! Solvo, libero..."
Giles continued to hold out his hand toward her and suddenly Willow threw back her head and closed her eyes, apparently unconscious. Her body floated up into the air and hovered about a foot off the ground. The band of magic holding her changed from green to a purpley- grey colour.
Anya and Buffy watched warily as Buffy moved closer to Giles,
"What did you do?" She asked staring up at Willow floating in midair.
"I contained her and her powers within a binding field, it puts her in a kind of…..stasis" he said and then he looked at her for the first time,
"You look tired my love" he said softly as he took in every detail of her
Buffy closed her eyes and nodded,
"So tired. If I turn around and look at you will you still be there?"
Yes my love, I'll still be here"
Tears slipped from behind her eyelids as she heard his voice in her head, the bond pulsing with his power.
Before Buffy could turn, Anya rushed Giles and threw her arms around him. He grunted in surprise and looked at Buffy, she stared at him, her eyes hungrily devouring every detail of his face.
"Thank you for saving us" Anya muttered against his chest.
Giles smiled and awkwardly patted her back, "You're very welcome Anya dear"
"Uh, Anya? Could you get off my boyfriend now so I can say hi" Buffy said smirking at her.
"Well, it didn't look like you were gonna hug him so I did" Anya said stepping back as Giles reached his hand out towards Buffy.
She took it and he suddenly pulled her forward and covered her mouth with his. She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her off her feet, holding her closer.
Buffy pulled away and touched his forehead with hers, staring into his eyes,
"Hi" she breathed against his lips, "Long time no anything"
Giles laughed, "I'm sorry love" he said as he let her down, taking her hand he pulled her towards the training room, "come, tell me what I've missed"
He stopped as he passed Willow,
"I'm very sorry about Tara" he said, squeezing Buffys hand when she let out a shaky breath.
"This….won't hold me….forever" Willow said, craning her neck and looking at him from the corner of her eye.
Giles looked a little alarmed as Buffy tugged him on, and through the door.
"Is she right?" she asked as she shut the door.
"I don't know" he said honestly watching as she sat on the couch, patting the spot beside her. He walked over and sat down, she turned to face him, pulling a leg up under her she leaned an arm against the back and rested her head on her hand as she looked at him, smiling as he did the same.
"What happened Buffy?" He asked and watched as the smile slipped from her face.
"Where do you want me to start? Oh I know the wedding that never happened" she smiled at him, "By the way, you will never see me in that dress, I burned all of the evidence including my memories of it"
Giles chuckled, "Darn" He took her right hand in his left and laced their fingers together, "Tell me"
"Okay, lets see, the week after the wedding I was looking for the merry band of nerds that have been causing so much trouble when I was attacked by a demon with waxy looking skin and a spike coming out of it's fist"
Giles' eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah you know the one. Well, he stabbed me and I experienced life in a mental institution. The hallucinations were so real and I'd come out of it and I would be having a contraction. Once, I come out of it and discovered my waters had broken, that was fun, but Ta….Tara was there for me the whole time. Will made me the antidote and made me drink it and I came round in time to deliver, Danielle was first and Alexander followed about half an hour later."
"I'm sorry I missed it, but I did feel it and now the fear and confusion makes sense" he said rubbing his hand down her arm.
"Thank you for my flowers by the way but the one on my pillow was enough for me"
"You deserved it" he said still stroking her arm, "What else did I miss?"
"Anya's a vengeance demon again and she slept with Spike, we only knew it had happened because Warren and Co had cameras everywhere, including one here. Xander saw it and went mad axeman on him, I managed to get to him in time to stop him killing him, I wish I hadn't now."
She shook her head at Giles' questioning gaze, "I'll get to that"
"Will tracked the camera signal and I went there, dodged giant buzz saws while grabbing anything I could. I was injured that night on a hunt and while I was getting ready for a bath Spike showed up and told me that I had feelings for him and proceeded to 'make me feel it' by trying to rape me" she stopped and looked up as he growled, his eyes burning with fury.
She cupped his cheek with her hand, stroking her thumb across his cheek, "Don't. He's gone. Hopefully he won't ever be back"
He closed his eyes and kissed her palm, "I'm sorry" he whispered.
"Why?"
"I wasn't there" he said sadly.
"No you were getting ready for this. I always knew there was a good reason, and now I know was right" she grinned at his eye roll.
"Now back to my story" she said shifting so she could lay her head on his lap.
"That same night we found out where Warren, Andrew and Jonathan would be so I went to meet them. Warren kicked the crap outta me, suddenly super strong, it turned out he had these magic orbs, once I smashed them he was easy to beat but he had a jet pack and he flew off." she stopped and sat up.
Moving his leg down she straddled his lap, his hands automatically resting on her hips,
"Now for this next part I need you to look at me, remember that I'm fine and as of right now extremely happy. Warren showed up in the backyard the next morning. He shot me then kept shooting"
His hands tightened on her hips and he looked over her, searching for the wound. She pulled her shirt aside and took one of his hands and placed it over the place the bullet had been,
"It was here. I don't know how close I was but Willow used magic to remove the bullet and heal the hole. See, I'm fine." she said leaning down, softly brushing his lips with hers,
"It wasn't until later that we found out a...about Tara. Dawn had come home as the paramedics arrived and Xander told her to stay with the twins. She found her, lying there, on the floor of Willows room, she stayed with her. I found her there when I got home"
She covered her face with her hands and sobbed, for Tara, for Dawn, for Willow, all of the suffering they had all been through poured out of her as Giles held her. He shifted her on his lap until she was sitting with her head on his shoulder, stroking her hair as she cried.
She calmed down and he handed her his handkerchief, "Feel better?" he murmured against her hair.
"A little, I'm just so tired, it feels like I haven't slept in a week"
"Well with the twins, I'm sure they keep you up..."
"They sleep through the night, have since they were born" she said looking up at him.
"Tell me about them"
"Dani is, as Dawn calls her, a fidget bug. Very rarely still, even when feeding, waving her arms or kicking her legs. She's blond. Alex is the calm one, he waits patiently for Dani to finish feeding, he has your hair colour. They're perfect"
"Who's with them now, Dawn?" he asked his eyes shining with happiness.
"No. Willow magicked Dawn here and now she's with Xander, Jonathan and Andrew running from Willow, I'll go find them once we know it's safe" She took a deep breath thinking of Dawn and Xander,
"Melinda's with them"
"Who's Melinda?"
"My neighbour. She moved in a few months a go. Tara met her in the magic box and it turned out she was magical. When Tara found out where she lived she introduced us. Melinda had heard of me and when she found out I was pregnant she offered to watch them whenever I needed it, no matter what time of the day or night it was and yes before you ask I checked her out, I had Will do a very thorough background check, even nabbed her fingerprints to make sure she was who she said she was"
Giles smiled down at her, "You've done brilliantly, with everything, I knew you would"
"Giles? What's going to happen to Willow?" she asked looking down.
"The coven is working on a way to extract the power from Willow without….killing her. And should she, uh, survive, you ought to know, Buffy, that there is a chance that she, uh, won't ever be the same girl. Willow has taken a human life, how will she be able to live with herself?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that"
Jumping up, Buffy saw Anya, unconscious, being held up by Willow.
Oh fuck! I'm not gonna let her hurt you, she'll have to kill me first. Buffy thought glancing at him then back at Willow.
You're not going to die Buffy, the prophecy tells me that much he replied and he quickly let her see it
"Five! I'm gonna have three more!" she said out loud, too shocked to use the bond.
"What'd I miss?" Willow asked looking between them.
"Your anti-psychotic medication" Buffy said looking at her through narrowed eyes.
"Now that wasn't very nice, was it Giles" Willow said looking at them with a mock pout, "I'm gonna have to punish you for being mean to me"
Buffy looked at Giles and started forward to attack her. Willow lifted her hand and shot a bolt of magic at her, sending her crashing into the wall opposite. She hit the ground unconscious.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buffy came to slowly. She had no idea how long she had been out, she sat up and stared in horror at the wreckage in front of her. She stumbled over broken beams and piles of rubble as she headed to the shop. She reached the doorway as Giles was speaking.
"…...become meaningless. I wonder what Tara would say about that"
"You can ask her yourself" Willow said grimly. She lifted her hand and shot a bolt of magic at Giles.
Buffy ran forward and pushed him out from under the loft just as the whole thing came tumbling down. They landed in a heap on the floor, books and rubble raining don on them, Buffy taking the worst of it as she lay over the top of Giles, protecting him.
She lifted herself up on her elbows to look at Willow.
"You're always saving everyone, it's kinda pesky" Willow said, half amused, half annoyed.
She bent down and grabbed a ball of fire from the burning pile of books at her feet,
"You probably even think you're buying escape time for Jonathan and the other one, well, I gotta secret for ya.." She smiled at Buffy who was looking more and more upset,
I can kill them anywhere I want, with this"
She held up the ball of flame, waving her hand over it, it began to grow. She bounced it in her hand, smiling at Buffy,
"It'll find them, it'll bury 'em and anyone else helping those dead men walking"
Buffy got to her feet, wincing, as she stared at the ball of flame,
"Don't"
"Unless, somebody, somehow…..can get there in time to save them" she said mockingly a she looked between Buffy and Giles,
"Huh, oh well" she threw the ball up in the air. It rose up and burst through the ceiling leaving a large hole,
"Fly my pretty, fly" she said as she watched it disappear,
"You see what I did there?" Smiling at them, pleased with herself.
Buffy looked down at Giles, he was hurt and he could see her reluctance to leave him,
"Go" he said, indicating with his head that she should leave. She closed her eyes and ran.
I love you!
And I you my love. Block the bond. Concentrate on them.
No!
Block the bond!
No! I won't do it. I need….I need to know….
Block the bond! I need my strength, I can't. Do it Buffy!
Promise me I'll see you later. Promise me you will get to hold our children.
I promise, now do it.
Sobbing as she ran through Sunnydale following the ball of flame, she shut off the bond. She swiped at her eyes, clearing them, she looked up and ran faster as she realized what direction it was going.
She got to Restfield before the ball of flame and saw Dawn staring up at it, Xander moved to her side and looked up as well,
"Get out of there!" She shouted. Are they seriously just staring at me?!
She jumped over headstones as she ran harder, "Move!"
She launched herself at Jonathan and Andrew, pulling them to the floor as the fire ball hit the ground. She looked up to see Xander smash his head against a headstone, falling to the floor unconscious, she saw Dawn trying to crawl towards her as the earth began to shake,
"Dawn! Dawn hold on"
She lurched to her feet trying to reach her but she fell into the hole that opened up right beneath her, Dawn screamed and as Buffy tried to grab her she fell in too.
They both hit the floor with a thud as dirt fell onto them from above, groaning Buffy opened her eyes in time to see one of the swords the boys had falling towards her, she rolled to the side just as it landed where her head had been, the point embedded in the earth. Dawn, who had pushed herself up, stared at the sword, fear in her eyes.
Buffy stood up just as the second sword landed next to the first and brushed the dirt off as she looked around. They were in a sort of cavern with uneven dirt walls and partially visible coffins, Dawn stood next to her, both looking up as they realized it wasn't going to be an easy climb out.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anya stumbled out of the training room looking around her in horror at the destruction around her. She walked slowly into the main room and saw Giles lying in the middle of what used to be her shop.
"Giles!" She ran over and knelt beside him, his eyes were closed and he was barely breathing.
Reaching out she gently gave him a shake, "Giles!"
His eyes suddenly open, "Anya"
"I'm so sorry. Willow forced me to free her with her brain. Are you okay?"
"I can see..."
"Oh. It's a….miracle" she said uncertainly.
"Willow….I can see her….I know where she is. I can feel what...Oh, God."
"Giles...you have to rest"
"Silly girl" He said looking at her, "I'm dying"
"No, you're not." Anya said looking at him in alarm.
"It was….it was the only way, I thought we...there'd be a chance….now..."
"Of course there'll be a chance. You and Buffy are going to get wrinkly and old and have grandchildren and be happy. You both deserve to be happy" she smiled weakly at him, tears pooling in her eyes.
He gave her a small smile, "I know where Willow is. She going to finish it."
"Finish what?" she asked confused.
"The world"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Buffy stood on a coffin trying to climb out of the hole, she reached for a thick root and pulled herself up but the root gave way and she fell back, yelling in surprise, and landed on the coffin below her.
"Buffy!"
She scrambled up and brushed the dirt off of herself and stared up at the hole.
"Are you okay?" Dawn asked looking up at her.
"Yeah, we have to get out of here. Xander!" she yelled.
"I think I saw him hit his head" Dawn said quietly.
"I know, I saw it. Xander!" She yelled again.
They both waited but there was no response. The sun had risen and they could see blue sky.
"Shit! The twins will be up soon and I need to feed them, plus, you know, there's Willow" she said jumping down.
She walked over to a wall and tried to pull the coffin out of it.
"This looks a little like Spikes place, you know, under it."
"I don't want to talk about Spike" Buffy said as she strained against the weight of the coffin.
"Why not? He's been helping us hasn't he? I don't get why he would just leave"
"Because I told him to Dawn!" Buffy snapped turning to face her.
"Why?"
"Because he tried to rape me! I told him I didn't have feelings for him and he tried to 'convince' me that I did!"
"Oh my god" Dawn whispered, looking at her sister in shock she walked forward and put her arms around her, "I'm sorry, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you didn't need to know"
"Yes, I do. I need to know! I'm not a kid anymore" She said angrily.
"I'm trying to protect you!"
"Well you can't not from everything! We're trapped in here, Willows gone psycho and is killing people and the people I love keep dying. You can't protect me from that"
"Dawn.."
"Hello?" Xander called down.
Buffy and Dawn looked up and saw him kneeling at the edge of the hole looking down.
"Xander?"
"Buffy, you okay? Where's Dawn?"
Dawn moved forward and stood next to Buffy so he could see her, "I'm here"
"Are Jonathan and Andrew up there with you?" Buffy called up.
He looked around, "No, they musta skedaddled when I was out, weasels. Whoa!" the dirt crumbled under his hand and he had to move quickly to avoid falling in with them.
"Xander, you've gotta find some rope or something and get us out of here"
"Right, okay I'll look around"
"And hurry before….Anya!"
Anya appeared in a swirl of magic, jumping slightly she looked around, "Holy frijole!"
"What are you doing here? Where's Giles?" Buffy asked trying to dampening the panic that was clawing it's way up her chest.
"He's still at the magic shop"
"Giles is back? You didn't tell me that" Dawn said
"Been a little busy dodging fire balls and trying to get out of here" Buffy said rolling her eyes. She looked back at Anya,
"Did he stop Willow?"
"No. And things just got a whole lot worse"
"How worse?" Buffy asked, please tell me she didn't kill him
"End of the world worse, Willows going to destroy it"
"She can do that?" Dawn asked amazed.
"She can and she will when she gets to where she's going"
"Where's she going?" Buffy asked.
"Big ass satanic temple. Kingman's Bluff?"
"There's...no temple on Kingman's Bluff" Buffy said looking at Dawn in confusion.
"There was. Built for a demon called Proserpexa"
"Who's she?"
"Uh, way up there in the hierarchy of she-demons"
"So she was a big deal then?"
"Yeah a big fucking deal. Her followers intended to use her effigy to destroy the world but they all died when the temple was swallowed by the big earthquake of thirty two"
"So now seventy years later Willow is going to make their dreams come true" Buffy said trying to get it straight in her head.
"She's going to drain the planet's life force, then funnel it's energy through Proserpexa's effigy and….and burn the earth to a cinder"
"Not if I can help it"
"You can't" Anya said bluntly. Buffy and Dawn looked at her in shock and confusion,
"Something else Giles said. No magic or supernatural force can stop her"
"What does that mean?" Buffy said, a tingle of unease tickled the back of her brain.
"Don't know. He, he said, 'the Slayer can't stop her' and then he said a bunch of other stuff" she looked at them anxious now, "he wasn't to clear"
Buffys unease blossomed into full blown fear, "Anya, what are you…."
Anya looked at her nervously, "I...I really should get back to him. He's alone."
"Is he okay?" Buffy asked worriedly.
Anya fidgeted as she she looked away from them, Buffy stepped forward and grabbed her hands,
"Anya! Tell me that he's okay!"
"I can't" Anya said quietly, looking up at Buffy with tears in her eyes, "I….don't think he….has a lot of time left"
Buffy gasped and stood back hugging herself as she shook her head,
"No..."
"I'm sorry Buffy" Anya said then disappeared in a swirl of magic.
Buffy stood there shaking her head, not willing to accept what Anya had said, suddenly she looked up,
"Xander! Wheres that rope?!" She called harshly.
"Buffy..."
"Xander! Where is he?"
"You heard what Anya said" she gulped when she saw the pain flicker on Buffys face, "You heard what Giles said"
"I heard" Buffy whispered, "And I don't care, I have to try"
Dawn watched as Buffy desperately tried pulling coffins from the walls, with a shuddering breath she moved forward to help her.
"I have to stop her…." she stopped as she heard Willows voice.
Always the slayer, right to the last
"Willow?" she asked uncertainly, ignoring Dawns look of confusion.
And it is the last, you know? For all your fighting….thinking you're saving the world…
"Buffy?" Dawn asks, Buffy holds a hand up to stop her, listening to Willow.
And in the end….I'm the only one that can save it.
"By killing us?"
It's the only way to stop the pain, I can't take it anymore. But I know you, Buffy. You're a warrior. You won't go out without a fight. I don't really have time for one. But you should go out fighting.
"Willow, what are you…."
It was me that took you out of the earth. Well, now the earth wants you back.
The ground of the cavern started to rumble, as Dawn looked at Buffy, alarmed, the walls turned into monsters.
Made out of the earth the detached themselves from the walls and moved towards them. Buffy moved in front of Dawn as they looked around themselves.
Scared and in sure what to do Dawn looked over her shoulder at Buffy,
"Buffy..."
She didn't answer her, instead she lunged for the sword sticking up out of the ground and swung it at the two monsters closest to them, following through with a kick.
Dawn watched another monster detach from the wall,
"Buffy!"
She swung the sword and sliced off a clawed hand, it fell to the ground as Buffy spun and kicked the third monster in the head. It slumped to the floor and stayed there.
She stood next to Dawn, more monsters were appearing,
"They just keep coming. I can't take them all" She turned to Dawn and held out her sword,
"Will you help me?"
Dawn looked at her in surprise. Nervous but determined to help she held her hand out and took the sword from her.
Dawn nodded, "I got your back"
Buffy turned and picked up the other sword, kicking one of them in the back as Dawn rushed forward.
The ground began to shake making them stagger, Buffy looked up,
"Willow…."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The shaking stopped and Anya looked around nervously. She looked at Giles but he had his eyes closed and he wasn't moving.
"Giles? Giles! Don't die" she brushed at the tears as they fell, "Not yet, there….there are things I wanna tell you"
She paused, watching for his next breath, "It was good of you to teleport all this way to help…."
She ducked as another tremor hit, covering Giles as she hid in his chest,
"Though in retrospect, it probably would have been better if you hadn't come then Willow wouldn't have all that magic making her, like, ten times more powerful. That would have been a plus" she said sadly.
Giles' eyes popped open and she sat back in shock.
"There..." he whispered.
"What?" She asked, her hand supporting his head.
"It's not over yet"
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Buffy staggered forward as a monster hit her in the back. She looked up at Dawns yell and saw a monster slash at her arm with it's claws then she was hit in the face, hitting the floor.
Buffy ducked under a swinging arm and swung her sword at another, focused on getting to Dawn,
"Dawn! I'm coming!" she yelled deflecting another clawed hand away from her head.
She saw Dawn look up with determination as the monster prepared to attack her again, she was still blocked by another monster and all she could do was watch in alarm as the monster advanced on her sister.
But Dawn ducked under the arm swinging at her head, rolled past it landing next to her sword, grabbing it she got up and stabbed it in the chest, amazed Buffy watched her sister slice off the demons head.
Dawn looked at her with a smile on her face, "What? You think I never watched you training?"
Buffy just looked at her, pride welling up inside her. Then the moment was over as more monsters began detaching themselves from the walls, they stood back-to-back, each of them holding a sword up and began to fight.
Half way through an attack Buffy stumbled forward as the monster crumbled into dust.
Looking around at her sister she noticed that they had all vanished.
"What happened?" Dawn asked lowering her sword.
"Not a clue" Buffy said looking around. She looked back at her sister, "But I can tell you that starting today, things are gonna change"
"Really, how?"
"For starters, I think it's time I gave you some training"
"Really?" Dawns eyes lit up.
"Really. I should have started long ago"
"So I can start training today then?" Dawn asked hopefully.
"No. Today I need to hold my babies and I need to...to know if Giles….if Giles is okay?"
"He's still alive?"
"Yeah, but I don't know how bad he is?
"That's good. Can I start training tomorrow?"
Buffy laughed, "Let's just get out of here first shall we?"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anya sat on the floor with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth. She heard a noise in front of her and looked up to see Giles sitting up,
"Giles!" She rushed over and knelt down next to him, "You're not dead!"
"No" he winced as Anya hugged him hard, "However, I am still in some pain."
"Oh, well, why aren't you dead? Why aren't I dead?" She asked frowning at him.
"Uh, the threats gone. Willows been stopped" he said trying to sit up.
Anya leaned forward and helped him, "Oh. You mean she's….."
"No, she's alive. The magic she took from me did what I hoped it would"
"Oh, you dosed her didn't you, you knew she'd take your powers all along"
"Yes. The gift I was given by the coven was the true essence of magic. Willows magic came from a….place of rage and power."
"And vengeance. Don't forget vengeance"
"Oh. How could I?" he said giving her a small smile, "In any case, the magic she took from me tapped into...the spark of humanity she had left. Helped her to feel again. Gave Xander the opportunity to….reach her"
Anya looked at him surprised, "Xander?"
"Yes. It was Xander who got to her in time" Smiling he looked at her, "He saved us all"
Anya gazed at Giles as she tried to absorb what he had just said, then she smiled back at him.
She helped him to stand, put her arm around him, "Hospital?"
"No. Take me to Buffys house"
"Oh yeah, the twins. And Buffy, obviously"
"Obviously" he said smiling as she let him lean on her as they walked from the shop.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Buffy?!" Melinda called as soon as she saw her, jumping from the porch she threw her arms around her and Dawn, "Thank the goddess you're okay, I was worried"
"We're fine, it came close but we pulled through" Buffy said as she pulled back, "Are the twins okay?"
"Oh, they're perfect angels, they fussed a little but they slept straight through"
"Thank you Melinda, I don't know what I would do without you" she said smiling at her.
"Oh, your friend Anya dropped a man off on the couch a little while ago, he's sleeping, looks pretty banged up"
Buffys smile grew and she closed her eyes breathing a sigh of relief, "Giles"
"Oh that's Giles. He's handsome" she said smiling, "I'm going home to sleep, I'm glad you're both okay" she hugged Dawn and walked across the lawn and into her house.
Buffy ran up the steps and into the house, Dawn trudging tiredly behind her.
Buffy looked down at Giles' sleeping form, his boots were on the floor next to the couch, his jacket thrown over the back of it and he had a blanket laid over him. She looked at Dawn then ushered her upstairs,
"I'm going to have a quick shower before the twins wake up. Why don't you go to bed. Things should be quiet for a while now so you can sleep"
"Okay, Buffy..."
"Yeah?" she turned at the bathroom and looked back at her.
"I'm really glad Giles is okay" She smiled at her sister and shut her bedroom door.
Buffy turned the shower on as hot as it would go and stripped out of her clothes, Putting them in the hamper, even the shoes, she stepped under the spray, letting the heat envelop her as she leaned against the wall.
She wondered what had happened to Willow, where Xander had got to and if she had time to make a tea before the twins woke up.
She washed away the dirt from the pit and washed her hair before getting out. She wrapped her hair in a towel as she dried herself before slipping on her new pale blue silk bathrobe, giving her hair a quick rub she left the bathroom to collect the twins.
Looking down at them, Dani looking up at her and waving her fists and Alex still sleeping peacefully, she smiled,
"You hungry baby girl?" she asked as she scooped her up with one hand, leaning over she did the same with Alex.
Holding their heads to her chest she took them downstairs and laid Alex in the travel cot, leaning over as far as she could as she did it.
She turned and pulled the armchair, as quietly as she could, closer to the coffee table and sat down. She pulled her Slayer diary and a pen out of her pocket and placed them on one arm then put a pillow against her side, she moved Dani over and pulled her robe open,
"There you go, little dove, breakfast time" she whispered as she held her breast for her daughter to latch on, wincing as she gripped it in her little fist.
She put her feet on the coffee table, bending one leg up so she could rest her diary on it, opened it, looked at the time and started to write about the last few days,
7am May 22nd,
Where do I start…..